Last year, we (like many people) were so overcome with the Netflix show Bridgerton that we recorded not one but two episodes about it. We weren’t the only ones. It was a runaway sensation. Well, it’s been a year and Bridgerton time has returned with slightly more fixed fanfare. Even this week’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has…
Author: Hannah Lee Rogers
Call for Comments: Bridgerton Is Back … and Still Beloved?
From Hannah: Bridgerton caused a stir worthy of Lady Whistledown when it premiered on Netflix in Christmas of 2020. Voxpopcast found so much in the first season to discuss that we recorded not one but two episodes where we analyzed everything from its portrayal of sex to the implications of the alternate historical setting. You…
e205. Why Do We Love Batman?
If you’re a regular listener of this show then you no doubt are aware that the Batman was released in cinemas last week. At the current moment, it is in fact the number one movie at the box office worldwide. And of course, that was to be expected. Everyone knew that it would be a…
Call for Comments: Hey, Are Y’all Talking About Batman?
From Hannah: How have we gone over two hundred episodes without dedicating an episode to talking about Batman? (Indeed, the Eternals of all superheroes got their own episode before we decided to focus on Batman.) From Mav: I mean, we didn’t. Episode 54 was totally all talking about Batman! Just none of you were on…
e202. To Kill a Mockingbird… and a Maus — Censorship & Book Banning
Every once in a while the world of weekly pop culture and the world of literary academia collide so totally that the world notices even outside of our show. Last week was one of those weeks. A school board in Tennessee voted to remove Maus, the critically acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize winning Holocaust memoir graphic novel,…
e201. The Romance Show: (Hannah wouldn’t let us call) Love In The Time Of COVID
Despite the fact that it is perennially one of the best selling genres in literature, Romance is often looked down upon. Part of this is simple misogyny; as a culture we look down upon things that are seen as “for women.” However, not only are romance novels dominant best sellers, romance as a concept essentially…
Call for Comments: Breaking Down The Romance Genre
From Hannah: Way back on Episode 24, we talked about the concept of genre in general: Why is genre occasionally a dirty word? What are the rules a piece of fiction has to follow to be considered a member of a particular genre? How useful is this concept in understanding a work? So I want…
e198. STEM vs Humanities: the Clatter in the Classroom
If you’ve been or known any kid who has gone to an American school in the last 50 years or so you’ve probably heard the advice to “get into STEM” because that’s where the future is. It’s an odd bit of advice really, because essentially all it means is “Hey kids! Pay attention in school…
e197. Serialization II: Electric Boogaloo (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Franchise)
Way back on episode 170 we did a show talking about Serialization. As is often the case on our show… we resolved nothing. But we did note that there was so much to talk about that the conversation needed to be continued on a future show. Well this is that show. It’s time for Serialization…