There’s been a strong mad scientist motif running lately with a feminist bent, and we needed to talk about it. Poor Things. Lisa Frankenstein. The Tortured Poets Department--we get into all of it, plus some of our other faves on the trope. 

To keep up with FANTASY+GIRL, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform follow us @TypoPodcasts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and subscribe to the Typo Podcasts newsletter. 

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Em and EJ get their act together long enough to rehash the best stories they consumed in books and screen over the past year. Stay tuned for a deep dive into Bunny, Saltburn, Poor Things, among others, and a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT from Em about what to look forward to in 2024. 

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As we wrap up the summer, E. J. and Emma have completed their summer reading and are ready to report back. Emma assigned E. J. to read Bunny by Mona Awad, a speculative/horror cult favorite with shocking twists and a lot of takes. Bunny, we have a lot to talk about. Egregious spoilers ahead. 

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FANTASY+GIRL is going back to school with a series dedicated to the nostalgia of summer reading assignments! For the series, Emma C. Wells and EJ Wenstrom will be challenging each other with SFF books to read, and then come back to discuss.

Keep going--Emma and EJ have already announced what they're challenging each other to read first: 

Tune and and read along to join the discussion in the next episodes:

• What EJ is Assignging Emma to Read
• What Emma is Assignment EJ to Read

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FANTASY+GIRL Podcast is back with a new series celebrating summer reading! Emma and EJ are
choosing a book for the other to read. The duo will then lead a deep dive into the chosen stories on the podcast! Which book did Emma choose for EJ?

BUNNY by Mona Awad. Emma chose this book hoping to appeal to EJ’s love of weird—but well
written—speculative fiction. EJ loves Catherine House and Her Fearful Symmetry—and Emma thinks
Bunny fits nicely with those titles (even if it is a bit weirder…possibly even darker?). The story has dark academia vibes with a dose of Mean Girls…but with magic and monsters. Sort of…

How can you join the fun? Easy! Read Bunny, and let the Emma and EJ know what you think!

You can comment on their social media or email them at fantasygirlpodcast@gmail.com

Bunny, we can’t wait to hear from you!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

FANTASY+GIRL is going back to school with a series dedicated to the nostalgia of summer reading assignments! For the series, Emma C. Wells and E. J. Wenstrom will be challenging each other with SFF books to read, and then come back to discuss. Here, E. J. reveals what she's challenging Emma to read first, and why.

EJ is assigning Emma to read HOW TO LIVE SAVELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE by Charles Yu.

EJ has been a Charles Yu fan for years and this was the novel that started the obsession. This story starts with a time travel repairman stuck in a mutliverse full of tropey playfulness that any science fiction fan is going to get a kick out of, but underneath it, this is a story about a man trying to untangle the mess left behind when his father mysteriously disappeared, and what that means for himself and his mother left behind.

(Hint: EJ loves audiobooks but says to read this one in print because of the mathematical formulas and creative use of space on the page)

How can you join the fun? Easy! Read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and let the Emma and EJ know what you think!

You can comment on their social media or email them at fantasygirlpodcast@gmail.com

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Ignore the year of silence, let's pretend we're structured normal podcasters and get right into the good stuff--which was a lot in 2022! Em and EJ reminisce on the moment in horror, Em's foray through the microtrend of female cannibals, TV's SFF wins and losses, the overwhelming beast of franchise TV, and more. NOTE: FANTASY+GIRLS stands with the HarperCollins union.

We're back, and just in time for a Halloween episode! Tag along (and bring your best axe and/or brain-bashing bat) as we take a deep meandering dive into our favorite zombies.

What's even better than a strong female protagonist? An entire gang of them. In this episode, Emma and EJ share their favorite all-female crews from across speculative fiction, comiserate on what makes them great, debate what earns the label, and pick their own fantasy girl gangs.

Star-Crossed-Lovers abound! Last year’s Valentine’s Day episode (featuring our favorite couples in SFF) continues to be our most downloaded episode of all time. This year Em and EJ list their favorite star-crossed-lovers. From comics, books, and movies—from well-known to more obscure—this episode centers romances that the universe attempted to tear apart. Who is their number one? Listen and find out.

* This episode was recording in the days following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. * 2020. It's over, and good riddance. But one silver lining to a tumultuous, bizarro year? There were some damn good books, shows and movies. Em and EJ discuss their highlights, what they're looking forward to most in 2021, and the importance of story amid a deeply divided world.

We’re in the home stretch of 2020, ya’ll. Em and EJ embrace the spirit of Thanksgiving with a look at their favorite themed speculative fiction and pop culture (or the next closest thing). They also share about their NaNoWriMo goals and experiences. Also some alligators, just for fun.

In this final episode of our female-driven horror miniseries, Em and EJ take a stroll through Bad City and weigh the pros and cons of befriending a vampire.

The BabadookEm and EJ talk about the monstrosity of grief, the dark side of motherhood, and what frightens us most with guest host Erica Waters, author of Ghost Wood Song.

Em and EJ explore more female-driven horror with Ma, starring Octavia Spencer in a wildly unhinged and out-of-character role. Claustrophobic small towns, dumb teenagers and a few seriously inappropriate laughs ahead.

Continuing Em and EJ's exploration of female-driven horror, we dive into the French film He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, which offers two sides to the same twisted love story.

Em and EJ are leaning into our cravings for the dark and the weird with a series focused on female-driven horror! Each episode focuses on a different film featuring female writers, directors, characters and themes. We're kicking off the series with the 2008 cult classic Jennifer's Body, and we all owe Megan Fox an apology.

Em and EJ acknowledge the important Black Lives Matter movement that took hold during the gap between recording episodes, the impacts of systemic racism in publishing, and the value of reading diversely. Then, in this concluding episode of the series, we set out to determine our favorite apocalypse, only to be distracted by our deepening pandemic obsession with gothic and horror themes. We've out-caveated ourselves in this one.

*Recorded in April* Em and E.J. take a detour from the typical, bleak, oh-no-the-world's-ending typical apocalypse sob stories and face off for the title of wackiest doomsday. Get ready for snarky aliens, distant planets, and naturally, the '80s.

*Recorded in April* The pursuit for the best apocalypse of them all continues. Em and E.J. take a twisting road through their favorite apocalpyses...apocalypti...apocali? Also, a brief consideration of what qualifies as an apocalypse anyway.