Fansplaining

@fansplaining.bsky.social

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The podcast—and publication!—by, for, and about fandom. Reporting and analysis on fan culture published once a month, with more than 250 episodes of the podcast (currently on hiatus) in our back catalog!

fansplaining.com // patreon.com/fansplaining

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👶🏻 👶🏻 👶🏻 FANSPLAINING BABY ALERT 👶🏻 👶🏻 👶🏻 @flourishklink.bsky.social & Nick welcomed Trinity Ada Montfort to the world on Wednesday, June 19th, and all are doing well. 💕

We discussed fan anxiety in the streaming area in depth earlier this year, in episode 215, “The Broken Contract”: www.fansplaining.com/episodes/215...

I'd been closely watching fan anxiety over renewals in the unstable streaming era for years—and then it happened to me. 🥲 For WIRED, I wrote about my beloved IWTV, the "nobody is watching the best show on TV" narrative, and fans' frustration over this season's marketing:

Fans of ‘Interview With the Vampire’ Say the Stakes Have Never Been Higherwww.wired.com As social media filled with people asking why no one was watching the best show on TV, fans desperate for a season three renewal of “Interview With the Vampire” turned the blame on AMC's own marketing...

“Once I found out about the yellow balloon groups, it was just like magic for me, like I found my people.” In our latest article, Maria Temming talks to clean and sober music fans about building communities within their broader fandoms:

The Yellow Balloon Movement — Fansplainingwww.fansplaining.com Within jam band fandoms often dominated by substance use, clean and sober fans are building their own communities.

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Maria is such a meticulous, thoughtful reporter, and this was a very interesting piece to edit—especially her many interviewees' thoughts about connecting to a fandom they'd heavily associated with drug/alcohol use once sober, or how fandom helped in their recovery journey.

With the audio portion of the podcast on hiatus, we'll be publishing a lot more writing. This month, we're *thrilled* to have Maria Temming (of our whump deep dive) back, writing on yellow balloon groups, fandoms-within-fandoms for clean and sober music fans. Read or listen to an audio version:

The Yellow Balloon Movement — Fansplainingwww.fansplaining.com Within jam band fandoms often dominated by substance use, clean and sober fans are building their own communities.

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My latest Atlas Obscura column is live! I talked to the wonderful Daniel Cavicchi about his work uncovering pre-20th century names for fans and fandom-like groups. Fascinating to see how many elements echo modern fandom history: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/fan...

Before ‘Fans,’ There Were ‘Kranks,’ ‘Longhairs,’ and ‘Lions’www.atlasobscura.com How do fandoms gain their names?

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Showing up here for once to repost this, because man, it's been a wild nine years. (And neither Fansplaining nor I are falling off the face of the earth! @elizabethminkel.bsky.social is continuing it as a publication for now, and I'll look forward to guest appearances...)

IT'S TIME!! We just released @flourishklink.bsky.social's final (regular) episode. 😭 Since we first met on an SDCC panel in 2015, we look back at the state of fandom then. What’s changed for the better—and what’s gotten worse? Listen or read a full transcript: www.fansplaining.com/episodes/223...

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Yes, there were tears. 🥲 (Also the more we discussed it, the more I remembered how cursed the mid-2010s fandom era was. Lots of things are bad now but I sure as hell don't want to go back to Graham Norton showing actors slashy fanart!!)

We just released @flourishklink.bsky.social's final (regular) episode (😭😭😭) to patrons. To listen now—and to get access to nearly 3 dozen special episodes, including our newest one on House, MD—pledge today! patreon.com/fansplaining

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Key thoughts from my rewatch over the past few months include 1) this show absolutely holds up 2) don't watch it while you have pneumonia 3) the ending was exactly as romantic as I remembered, it's too much 😭

We just released our newest special episode, on House, MD!!! 🩺💊🏍️ Sherlock Holmes adaptations, the show as a 2000s-era text, and the most romantic series finale of all time. To listen or read a full transcript, become a patron at $3 a month or more! patreon.com/fansplaining

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Our 19th AFA 😭. Totally wild to me we've been able to do so many of these—not to mention all the listener letters that have prompted full eps, or that we answer on non-AFAS. We truly have the smartest, most thoughtful listeners.

We just released episode 222—our newest (and @flourishklink.bsky.social's final 🥲) Ask Fansplaining Anything. RPF about less-than-famous people, characterization, the tropification of fic, and more. Listen or read a full transcript: www.fansplaining.com/episodes/222...

We just released @flourishklink.bsky.social's final AMA episode to patrons at $2 a month and up! 💌 To listen to this a day early—and for $1 more, to get access to our full back catalogue of special episodes, including a new one coming later this week—pledge today:

On our most recent ep, @effietheant.bsky.social discusses her research on self-insert fic (aka y/n or reader x character formats), and the "slip-ups" that fracture the idea of a "blank slate" the reader can project themselves onto. Listen or read a transcript: www.fansplaining.com/episodes/221...

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@effietheant.bsky.social was SUCH a good guest, and I'm so excited to follow her work on this in the coming years. I also highly recommend the TikToks in the show notes...I had a real Back in My Day moment as I marveled at the fanworks young people are creating with their own faces today 😭

We just released episode 221, "Self-Inserts," featuring fan studies scholar @effietheant.bsky.social! Y/N and x reader fic, imagines, shifting, classic Mary Sues...and also roleplay, theme parks, and so much more! Listen or read a full transcript: www.fansplaining.com/episodes/221...

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Thank you so much to @elizabethminkel.bsky.social & @flourishklink.bsky.social for having me!! If anyone wants to hear me talk about my research and all the fun quirks of self-inserts, check out this episode of @fansplaining.bsky.social!

We just released our newest episode—a conversation on self-inserts with fan studies scholar Effie Sapuridis—for patrons at $2 a month and up! 🪞 To listen a day early, pledge today:

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Write for me!! (And if you are, like, independently wealthy, or have something relevant to sponsor—our pieces draw thousands of readers!—please help me fund more smart, substantive writing on fandom 🙏🏼) Details in the doc:

Calling all fandom journalists, current and aspiring! 🌟 We've put together a pitching doc as Fansplaining (temporarily) transitions to a written-only publication in a few weeks. If you have a story that fits our general approach and tone, please get in touch:

Pitching Fansplainingdocs.google.com

An excerpt from Kayti Burt's article for us this week, "The Fan-Journalist Tightrope," on the challenges of being a fannish pop-culture journalist—which are only heightened when you're covering topics like K-pop for U.S. outlets: www.fansplaining.com/articles/the...

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There is a portion of this where @flourishklink.bsky.social had to interrupt us to go "OK now you're just commiserating" 😅

We just released episode 220, "The Fan-Journalist," a conversation with one particular fan-journalist—Kayti Burt—about her recent article for us on the challenges of covering the things you love. Listen or read a full transcript: www.fansplaining.com/episodes/220...

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I'm so grateful Kayti wrote this piece (and that I got to edit & publish it), which I think will resonate with anyone who covers something they love...and honestly, probably with most journalists working right now (we don't have to tell you it's bad out there lol, but Kayti tackles it head-on):

Today we're thrilled to publish our newest article, by longtime pop culture journalist (and longertime fan) Kayti Burt! On the especially precarious position of fan-journalists in an already precarious industry:

The Fan-Journalist Tightrope — Fansplainingwww.fansplaining.com Low pay, minimal worker protections, and pushback from both publicists and fellow fans. Is covering the thing you love even worth it?

Kayti is also our guest this week, and we've released the new episode for patrons at $2 a month and up! 📝 To hear it early—and to support us publishing more pieces like this—please consider becoming a patron: patreon.com/fansplaining

The Fan-Journalist Tightrope — Fansplainingwww.fansplaining.com Low pay, minimal worker protections, and pushback from both publicists and fellow fans. Is covering the thing you love even worth it?

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The news is out! Our 9-year partnership is coming to an end. (weird??) As discussed in the ep, Fansplaining will shift to a written publication only in June (fandom journalists, I will be putting out a call for pitches soon!) but will likely be a podcast again in some form in the medium/long term...

We just released episode 219, "Tropefest Speedrun," with a big announcement: in May, @flourishklink.bsky.social is leaving the podcast. 🥲 This ep builds on our Patreon "Tropefest" series, with 10 fanfic tropes/themes in an hour. Listen or read a full transcript: www.fansplaining.com/episodes/219...