Material Girls

You had so many great questions about Hannah's forthcoming book, Clever Girl and our Jurassic Park episode all about spectacle —and we answer a lot of them in part one of this Material Concerns episode! As a reminder, for just $5 USD/month you'll get part two, our extensive backlog, ad-free episodes, and oh so much more!

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Music Credits:

“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020

Used by permission. All rights re...

In this episode, Hannah and Marcelle discuss what made Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993) the ultimate CGI summer blockbuster, the history of American spectacle, and the monstrosity of the movie's out-of-control lady dinosaurs! Hannah leads this episode and if you're left wanting more, we have great news: their forthcoming book, Clever Girl: Jurassic Park, is available for preorder right now! Clever Girl "is a smart and incisi...

We continue our summer slowdown with a new Material Concerns episode once again featuring answers to YOUR questions. Marcelle is in Ontario for a family TRIP (not a vacation because kids are present!!) and Hannah is recovering from travels east!

In this episode, they answer your hard hitting questions like "why is your team so hot!!!!?" Part two of this conversation will be available at all our tiers on Patreon on Thursday! For ...

We're so thrilled to be joined by the incredible Karrmen Crey (she/her) for this episode about FX's coming-of-age dramedy, Reservation Dogs! Released via Hulu from 2021-2023, this show is notable not only for its rich storytelling and beloved protagonists (shoutout to Bear, Cheese, Elora, and Willie Jack!), but also for its entirely Indigenous creative team from the creators to the cast and crew. In this episode, Marcelle (who is a...

Welcome back to another Material Concerns episode! We recorded this episode live for all our Patreon supporters so you'll notice there's a slightly different vibe; namely, Coach is on mic! We talk theory, past episodes, what's making our hearts flutter these days, and more. If you want more, tune into Part II, all about the second half of Bridgerton Season Three, through our Patreon. Become a paid supporter at any tier and you'll g...

Have you ever been to a Tupperware party? Or perhaps a Pure Romance party? Avon? Then you may be familiar with pyramid schemes! In this episode, Marcelle guides Hannah through the history of Tupperware parties and their rising popularity post WWII. She then offers some Lauren Berlant theory (which always makes for a good episode!!); specifically, their concept of "cruel optimism." If that sounds familiar, it's because we first visi...

We continue our summer slowdown with a new Material Concerns episode featuring answers to YOUR questions. As a reminder, we're still releasing episodes every two weeks, but every other episode will be a Material Concerns episode; an unscripted, more casual conversation between Marcelle and Hannah. In this episode, they talk about how Dirty Dancing, summer camp, Bridgerton, the female gaze and so much more. If you enjoy the episode,...

In this episode, we're talking about the HBO series The Last of Us, which was adapted from the popular video game of the same name! If you like the show, zombie content, playing video games, or thinking about how art gets transcoded across mediums, then this episode is for you! AND if you don't know what transcoding means, then this episode will really knock your socks off because Marcelle does a great job defining the word — as we...

We're starting a summer slowdown! That means we're still releasing episodes every two weeks, but every other episode will be a Material Concerns episode; an unscripted, more casual conversation between Marcelle and Hannah. They'll talk about how they're doing, what they're up to, research they didn't get to in "regular" episodes, content they're consuming and more! In this Material Concerns episode they give personal updates and ch...

In this episode, Marcelle and Hannah are joined by Andrea Warner (she/her), the author of The Time of My Life, an exploration of Dirty Dancing as a deeply feminist film. We begin with a conversation about sexy films that made our younger selves all hot and bothered before heading into the segment "Why This? Why Now?" Hannah guides us through the difficulty that writer and producer Eleanor Bergstein faced in getting this movie made ...

Witch Please Productions is on Spring Break, so we're taking the opportunity to re-introduce you to Gender Playground, a podcast co-hosted by Marcelle Kosman and Raimi Marx about the joys of gender-affirming care for kids. This show launched to our Patreon last year and through patron support, we were able to launch it to the public in February of this year! We're dropping Episode 5 into your feed: Plans, Trans, and Autonomy.

Material Girls is on Spring Break! But don't fret! We unlocked an episode of Making Worlds, our Patreon-exclusive video podcast hosted by Hannah McGregor.

Making Worlds is dedicated to the liberatory possibilities of other worlds! In each episode Hannah speaks with a guest (or two) about a sci-fi, fantasy, speculative fiction, or magical realism text that has changed the way they view the world.

In this episode, Hannah talks ...

Like the serious academics they are, Hannah and Marcelle not only researched Disney in academic journals, they also went to the happiest place on earth! They made custom Theodor Adorno t-shirts, scooped Marcelle's eight-year-old and Gender Playground co-host, Raimi Marx, and wen on their way! In this bonus episode, they answer your questions about the experience. Sharing one mic, Raimi, Marcelle and Hannah talk about managing expec...

What drove Hannah and Marcelle to go to Disneyland? And what is with all the rainbow Mickey ears? And where does pinkwashing end and real change begin? Tune into this episode about the happiest place on earth to find out! In this episode, Marcelle leads Hannah through a history of the term pinkwashing. She then draws on an article by Karine Duplan called “Pinkwashing Policies or Insider Activism? Allyship in the LGBTIQ+ Governance–...

We're thrilled to be joined by Anne Helen Petersen for this episode about the popularity of athleisure! If you don't already know, Anne Helen Petersen (she/her) is the incredible writer, journalist and recovering academic behind the beloved newsletter Culture Study. She is the host of a brand new podcast of the same name and the author of four books, most recently Out of the Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working Fro...

For this episode, we're joined by the incredible Karen Tongson, Professor of Gender & Sexuality Studies, English, and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Why Karen Carpenter Matters and Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries. Her newest book, normporn: Queer Viewers and the TV That Soothes Us provides theory for this episode about the beloved TV show, Gilmore Girls.

Remember about fifteen years ago when we all went a little nuts for sweet potato fries? What was going on there? Well it turns out, that beloved appetizer was more than a tasty treat circa 2007. In this episode, Marcelle leads Hannah through research about the “orange-flesh sweetpotato” and its relationship to GMOs, cash crops, fat phobia and food imperialism. She pulls on the work of Joe Kobuthi for an analysis of food systems tha...

Do you play D&D? Do you have a friend who does, but you don't totally *get* what it is? Did you see the recent film Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and think "wow, that role playing game went MAINSTREAM!?" Then this episode is sure to satisfy your curiosity about this zeitgeisty game! Hannah, who herself plays D&D, leads Marcelle through a history of the tabletop role-playing game created by Dave Arneson and Gary ...

There was so much more to say about Wonka and Twilight. In Part I of this bonus episode (aka a 'Material Concern' episode), we talk about fatphobia in children's literature, the "representation" of indigeneity in Stephanie Meyer's the Twilight Saga, and so much more. If you enjoy this episode, head over to Patreon.com/ohwitchplease for Part II! The rest of the conversation is available at all our tiers. For just $5 USD/month you'll...