This week Kayte and Mae are joined by writer and editor of Cul de Sac of Blood (a horror poetics journal) J †Johnson to sink our teeth into Gretchen Felker-Martin's nightmarish novel Cuckoo. We talk about the unknowable monster, the horror of the family and liken the book's desert conversion camp to the violence of ecological colonialism and memoricide. "Elements of Semitism" by Jake Romm, Parapraxis Magazine"The State Wants to Remember For You. Don't Let it" by Camelia Berry-GrassJJ is the co-editor of Cul de Sac of Blood, a horror poetics journal and the author of two books with Punctum Books. Their forthcoming book, Janky Materiality will also be published by Punctum.Mae is co-host of the podcast Pleasers and Punishers, is a Scooby on Slayerfest98 and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.

Long live the new flesh. Kayte, Dave and guest Jake Flores dig into David Cronenberg’s weirdo masterpiece, Videodrome. We talk Marshall McCluhan, techno-utopians, techno-fascists, kink and more! Media referenced:  The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McCluhan and Quentin Fiore  Rev Left Radio: episode on Marshall McCluhan & The Medium is the Message with Matthew Furlong. Listen here. Videodrome: The Slithery Sense of Unreality by Gary Indiana. Read here Jake is the co-host of Pod Damn America, Why You Mad (on hiatus but listen to the old eps!) and The Preacher and The Slave. He’s also a standup! Follow him on insta for dates. Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

Help us come ashore, we won’t eat you, my dear. This week, we deep dive into the mermaid musical, The Lure (2015) (directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska) with our guest DeVaughn Taylor. We talk about Poland in the ‘80s, mermaid lore, trans themes, disgust and desire and so much more.  Find DeVaughn as a co-host on Specter Cinema Club and Tainted Love and a regular on The Pod and the Pendulum Mae is co-host of the podcast Pleasers and Punishers, is a Scooby on Slayerfest98 and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here

This week, we are slurping and crunching our way through Fruit Chan’s film Dumplings with guests Gretchen Felker-Martin and Sophie Lewis! We talk about the politics of food, abortion, class in Hong Kong and Birkin bags!  Media referenced:  Fruit Chan's "Dumplings"—New "Diary of a Madman" in Post-Mao Global Capitalism by Lu Tonglin Buy Gretchen’s books: Manhunt, Cuckoo and newly published Black Flame from Tor Nightfire  Buy Sophie’s books: Full Surrogacy Now!, Abolish the Family and Enemy Feminisms Follow Gretchen and Sophie on Patreon (I do!)  

Boils and blood and side wounds, oh my! This week we are joined by artist/professor (and Kayte's MFA thesis mentor!) Jonathan Van Dyke to talk about Renaissance paintings, torture, eroticism and more. On the menu: Jesus's sexuality, saints in ecstasy, leaky artists and why so many old Christian paintings look so queer.  About Jonathan Van Dyke:  Jonathan VanDyke is a New York City–based visual artist working at the intersection of painting and performance, with an emphasis on a queer, collaborative, and embodied practice. He is an Artist in Residence at Bard College and teaches for Pig Iron Theater and has many many shows you can read more about here! Or, follow JVD on insta! This is probably our most research heavy episode to date so please peruse our media referenced!  Readings: Steinberg, Leo. The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and Modern Oblivion, University of Chicago, 1983.Jones, Amelia. "Performing the Wounded Body: Pain, Affect and the Radical Relationality of the Body", Parallax, 2009Van Dyke, Jonathan. "Hold, Still", free copy hereVan Dyke, Jonathan. "Why Do So Many Old Christian Paintings Look So Queer?", free copy here Paintings we discussed: Francesco Bachiacca, The Flagellation of Christ, 1512-1515, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Diego de la Cruz, The Mass of St. Gregory, 1490, oil and gold on panel, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. Giovanni Bellini, Lamentation Over the Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdalen between Saint Martha and Filippo Benizi, 1510-16, oil on canvas, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice. Marcello Fogolino, Madonna and Child enthroned with Job and St Gothard1505-1508, oil on canvas, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk! Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

The shoe is too small for her, the true bride waits for you. This week we dig our teeth into the bloody fairy tale of Cinderella retold as the film The Ugly Stepsister with our guest, writer/editor Payton McCarty-Simas. We talk through the rot of beauty standards, overbearing mothers and fuckboy princes through the many iterations of tale, including Angela Carter's Ashputtle and Grimm's Cinderella. Media referenced: "Cinderella" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (read for free here)"Ashputtle or The Mother's Ghost: Three Versions of One Story", American Ghosts and Old World Wonders by Angela Carter (read for free here)"Deconstructing a Disempowering Normative Identity: Angela Carter's Adaptation of the Ashputtle Story" by Per Bauhn and Fatma Fulya TepePre-Order Payton's book here!Read more of Payton's work here!Mae is also a Scooby on Slayerfest98 and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here

Who are the real cannibals? Spoiler: it’s western imperialism! Kayte, Jay and guest Mark Steven dissect the cult classic Cannibal Holocaust and discover layer upon gristly layer of meaning. Topics we cover: found footage, the complicity of media, anthropology, groovy soundtracks and well-meaning liberals. a note: this movie contains a lot of SA, violence and animal cruelty. We still think it’s a really important film to watch! Media Referenced: "The Raw and The Cooked: An Interview With Cătălin Avramescu " by Justin E.H. Smith, Cabinet Magazine.Splatter Capital: The Political Economy of Gore Films by Mark Steven "Nightmare Green: Cannibal Holocaust as Theory-Fiction" by Micheal Uhaull, Ancillary Review of Books. Where to find Mark: Buy his book Capitalism: A Literary History here. Find all of Mark’s other writing hereJay is also a co-host on Library Punk! Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

Out by 16 or dead in the scene but together forever! This week we are joined by writer/performer Addison Peacock to talk about Ginger Snaps! Topics include: being a weird girl, fashion before the internet, becoming a monster and sisterly incest!  Media referenced:  The Monstrous Feminine by Barbara Creed ”Out by 16: Queer(ed) Girls in Ginger Snaps” by Tanis McDonald Where to find Addison:  Listen to her on the steampunk fantasy podcast Kingmaker  Listen to her on the queer cyberpunk audio drama KILLJAMXXX Writing for Dead Meat   Mae is also a Scooby on Slayerfest98 and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here

We're back for Season 2 of Yellowjackets with Dave and writer Madeline Lane McKinley! We talk about mystery box TV and if solving mysteries matters. Plus, physical media, girls eating girls, '90s bangers and over-medicated teens.Buy Madeline’s book Comedy Against Work here  Buy Fag/Hag here soon!  And look out for Solidarity with Children here soon!  Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

Kayte, Mae and our guest Rocco are in our shiny tendon suits and, uh-oh, we're in the nightmare mind of Vincent D'Onofrio? That's right, we are talking about Tarsem Singh's surrealist psychological horrror, The Cell. We talk about the lost art of music videos, Jennifer Lopez's unique empathetic heroism and unreal animation vs AI. Where to find Rocco:The LadyKillers PodcastRead Rocco's Reviews!Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here

Then we'll all sing together, Society waits for you...This week on Tender Subject, it's finally time for the shunt! Kayte, Dave and our guest, comedian Gabe Pacheco, talk about Brian Yuzna's gooey satirical horror film Society (1989). We talk about Bodies without Organs, capitalism, Luigi Mangione and the possibilities of a Communist shunt. Media referenced:Some good podcasts to get started on Deleuze and Guattari's concept of the Body without organs:Theory & PhilosophyAcid CommunismOverthinkSplatter Capital by Mark StevensGabe is the co-host of Halal Cartels. Go see Gabe perform by following him here and here!Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

This week on Tender Subject, Kayte and Jay are joined by Ash from Horror Vanguard to talk about Alison Rumfitt’s brutal novel Tell Me I’m Worthless. We talk about haunted houses, bodies and territories plus TERFs, RadFems and looming Fascism.  Media referenced: ”Battlefield Exctacies” by Sophie Lewis, The Point Magazine. Capitalism: A Horror Story by Jon Greenaway, Repeater Books. Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook by Mark Bray, Melville House Publishing   Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk! Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

Who's hungry? As you travel this week to your own Blood Feasts, we're taking another bite of an old favorite episode! Kayte and Jay are joined by noted Herschell Gordon Lewis expert LaborKyle to talk about the film Blood Feast (1963). In doing so, we summon Ishtar (which means we talk about all sorts of stuff like treating your artistic work as work, how Victorians ate mummies, and the warm piss stream of Marxism).  You can find LaborKyle on places like YouTube, Patreon, Twitter, and Bluesky! He also co-host the podcasts All Gamers Are Bastards (AGAB) and Horror Vanguard!   Media Mentioned: Arendt, Hannah, ed. 2007. “Theses on the Philosophy of History.” In Illuminations, by Walter Benjamin, translated by Harry Zohn, 253–64. New York: Schocken Books. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/benjamin/1940/history.htm. Chris, Jason, and Kevin. 2023. “Bathing in the Warm Stream: The Romantic and Gothic Strain of Marxism with Jon (TheLitCritGuy) of Horror Vanguard.” The Regrettable Century. https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/13227904-bathing-in-the-warm-stream-the-romantic-and-gothic-strain-of-marxism-with-jon-thelitcritguy-of-horror-vanguard. Cohen, Margaret. 1995. Profane Illumination: Walter Benjamin and the Paris of Surrealist Revolution. Weimar and Now. Berkeley: University of California Press. Steven, Mark. 2017. Splatter Capital: The Political Economy of Gore Films. London: Repeater Books, an imprint of Watkins Media Ltd.   Oh, and we have a discord! https://discord.gg/RsxRZ3TA9  Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

This week, Kayte and Mae are joined by writer and professor Jo Isaacson to dissect the polarizing new body horror film by Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE! We dig really deep, and discuss camp, old Hollywood and hagsploitation, Marxist alienation, unboxing videos and giving birth to a new beautiful monster. Sources mentioned: The Monstrous Feminine and The Return to the Monstrous Feminine by Barbara Creed ”Whatever Happened to Monstro Elisasue: In Defense of Psycho-Biddies in the Substance and Beyond” Jo Isaacson, Blindfield Journal  “The Guardian View on Female Led Horror: Time For a New Formula”, editorial, The Guardian  Where to find Jo: @StepfordDotter on Twitter Stepford Daughters book Facebook horror group Blind Field Journal Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here  

This week on Tender Subject, Kayte, Jay and Dave have cooked up a feast of an episode on the demon barber himself, Sweeney Todd! Join us as we sink our teeth into the movie, the play, the sets, the songs and lots and lots of blood. Media referenced: “Is That Just Disgusting?" Mapping the Social Geographies of Filth and Madness in "Sweeney Todd" by Aleksei Grinenko link here  Six by Sondheim Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk! Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

In honor of Texas Chainsaw's 50th anniversary and Jo's Post45 cluster (Kayte's collage is in it!) we are re-publishing our TCM episode. Enjoy! Did somebody order head cheese? If you did, you're in luck! This week, we're joined by Johanna Isaacson, author of Stepford Daughters: Weapons for Feminists in Contemporary Horror, to talk about the one, the only, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre! We ask the important questions, such as, "does Leatherface represent feminized labor?" and "is Leatherface trapped in an MLM?" (We worry about Leatherface's wellbeing a lot.)   Readings: “Blood for Oil,” Chuck Jackson Men, Women, and Chain Saws, Carol Clover Splatter Capital, Mark Steven “The American Nightmare,” Robin Wood “Cannibalism, Class, and Power: A foodways analysis of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Mark Bernard “Horrible Form,” Evan Calder Williams “Headcheese and a Side of Benjamin,” Jerry D Metz “Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess,” Linda Williams   Jo’s links:  Twitter handle @StepfordDotter Stepford Daughters link  Facebook horror group Blind Field Journal Precarious Souls (a super DIY movie they're making with friends)   Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

Jay and Kayte are joined by Carlee from Hit Factory podcast to talk about a movie near and dear to all of our hearts, Julie Taymor's brutal and gorgeous Shakespeare adaptation, Titus (1999). We discuss intentional anachronisms, faithfulness to texts, how Victorians tried to re-brand Shakespeare (and the Classical Era!) and heroes and villains. This is an incredible movie that we all love so much but it's hard to find so please enlist your tech-savvy friends! (big wink)Media referenced: David Sterling Brown talks about Aaron and Black Lives MatterDr. Mia Escott discusses Aaron and Race on Shakespeare Anyone?The making of Titus on YoutubeWhere to find Carlee:Co-hosting Hit Factory podcastWriting essays about sex in film Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk!Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

Facehuggers, Xenomorphs, Offspring, oh my! This week Kayte and Mae are joined by writer/educatrix Tina Horn (@tinahornsass) to talk about our favorite body horror scenes in the Alien Franchise! We're talking about guts, gore, psychosexual horror and more in our longest, rowdiest episode yet! But hey, we watched SEVEN alien movies in a week for you! Where you can find Tina: Buy Tina's new book, Why Are People Into That?Listen to Tina's podcast, Why Are People Into That?!Check out Tina's comix and other writing Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.

Kayte and Jay and guest R.E. Parrish are zipping up our wyrm-skin jumpsuits and plunging into the gnostic fantasy that is Elytron Frass' Moieties. We talk about Ergodic literature, Ero Guru nansensu, the history of gnosticism, the book as tactile object and all sorts of other esoteric weirdness. Media referenced: "The Erotic Japanese Art Movement Born Out of Decadence" by Evelyn Wang, Dazed Magazine."George Bataille Book Club Bonus", Girls, Guts, Giallo, S3, Ep6."On Eleytron Frass' Moieties" by Germán Sierra, Apocalypse Confidential. You can find R.E. here: ComicsEtsy Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk!Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!    

"The End of the World is Nuts"Writer J †Johnson joins Kayte and Mae to talk about the beautiful and bloody novel Manhunt by Gretchen Felker Martin. We talk about how refreshing it is to read a gender apocalypse book that doesn't deal in binaries. Plus: don't trust rich libs, incredibly hot sex and how to build community at the end of the world.  Media we referenced:Heat Death interview with GretchenJJ is the co-editor of Cul de Sac of Blood, a horror poetics journal and the author of two books with Punctum Books. Their forthcoming book, Janky Materiality will also be published by Punctum.Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.