Estradiol Illusions
Entertainment & LGBTQ Issues show hosted by Ian Thomas Malone (@ianthomasmalone)
Episodes
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe for the first Frosty sequel, Frosty's Winter Wonderland. Essentially just a riff on Bride of Frankenstein, the special has next to no plot. Jack Frost makes his first Rankin/Bass appearance, decidedly at odds with his next two appearances in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July and Jack Frost, but when has Rankin/Bass ever cared about continuity? Ian tries to make sense of the cha...
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe with the Cricket on the Hearth. One of the earliest specials in their canon, Cricket is a bit of a mess. The animation is somewhat solid, but the characters are a bunch of morons and the music is awful. What else is new?
This special is pretty awful and should be avoided by everyone other than Rankin/Bass completionists. No wonder it's taken us this long to cover it! Watch at your o...
We're back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe. Ian covers the classic Frosty the Snowman, the most normal of the hand-drawn animated holiday specials. Ian unpacks Professor Hinkle's villainy, and the beauty of Frosty's existential musings. Hinkle's tracking abilities don't make a lot of sense, but at least we have a Santa Claus who isn't completely worthless for once.
Ever wonder what a St. Patrick's Day special would look like if it suddenly became a Christmas show?
The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold is easily the worst stop-motion Rankin/Bass Christmas special, twenty-four minutes of nonsense with practically no redeeming qualities. Ian does not recommend this show at all, but we at Estradiol Illusions are nothing if not Rankin/Bass completionists.
Watch this garbage at your own risk! We tried to...
Our Christmas coverage begins! Ian revisits the 1964 special Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer for an episode that's more stylistically in line with our Rankin/Bass episodes than the first one we did in 2020.
Ian still has a lot of complex feelings about this special, namely it's Axis of Awful (Santa, Donner, and Coach Comet). It's definitely problematic, but there's a reason people love this one so much.
Be sure to check out all of EI...
We are back, not only with our first episode of the year, but in our beloved Rankin/Bass cinematic universe. ITM covers the bizarre Halloween film Mad Monster Party?which features plenty of classic monsters, an horror icon Boris Karloff himself.
Did Mad Monster Party? succeed where Universal's Dark Universe fails? Maybe not.
Does this film have plenty of non-sequiturs that make no sense and cheap, borderline offensive humor? Of cou...
Our holiday coverage continues with an ITM personal favorite, and not just because she bore a resemblance to the boy as a young child. The Snowman is a beautifully animated special that tugs at all the right heartstrings. Ian unpacks her relationship to the special and its themes.
Note: Ian spends the first five minutes talking about EI's 200th episode milestone. Listeners looking just for Snowman are recommended to skip the first ...
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe! Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July is in many ways a prototype to the Avengers-style team-up modern audiences are used to, a convergence of beloved heroes such as Rudolph, Frosty, Big Ben, Jack Frost, and Mickey Rooney's Santa. It is also a terrible movie, the only feature-length Christmas release in the Rankin/Bass catalogue.
ITM's sister Barbara returns to the show to unpac...
It’s time for holiday coverage! ITM takes a look at the 1947 classic Miracle on 34th Street and its 1994 remake. While the remake boasts an impressive cast, it's hard to top the magic of the original. ITM examines the peculiarities of the beloved film, particularly its preoccupation with ethical consumption under capitalism and the trial that soaks up much of the narrative.
It's that time again! ITM makes her appeal for you to fill out a ballot. The stakes are too high, something we're used to hearing, but the threat of another four years of Trump is simply unfathomable for our country. Too many people's rights are on the line. The Senate map is very tough for Democrats, and every vote counts.
Please take a moment to check your voter registration status, and be sure to make plans to vote in this ele...
ITM has a bunch of updates, including a lip implant removal procedure that kept her away from the microphone during Pride Month. It's been a stressful time for many LGBTQ people. Ian shares her own struggles with stress, and talks about her new relationship. It's a weird time to be LGBTQ in the world. It's okay to not be okay 100% of the time (or any of the time). Be good to yourselves, fam.
Her web connects us all! Or does? Absolutely not.
Ian is joined by Ed Carroll for a discussion on Sony's Spider-Man Universe's latest disaster. Ian and Ed break down the odd narrative decisions, like the bargain bin Terminator chase to the odd application of clairvoyance powers to the puzzling absence of spider powers in a film with three Spider-Girls/Spider-Women. What a mess!
Disclaimer: Sony sent Ian a copy of the 4K/Blu-ray ...
Ian has a lot of feelings about The Phantom Menace on its 25th birthday. She already wrote an article about the film a few years ago, so naturally her only recourse was to make a podcast film about it. Why do we care about a children's movie that somehow straddles the line mediocre and underrated? I guess you'll have to listen to find out!
Ian's old article on The Phantom Menace (rescued from the Wayback Machine): https://web.ar...
Five year Estradiol Illusions anniversary! Ian talks about what she's been up to this year, mostly writing and trying to get over yet another breakup. Life is a tricky game. Best to keep a stiff upper lip and get on with things.
Thank you to everyone who's listened to the show over the past half-decade! We don't do as many new episodes as we used to, but it's always fun to catch up.
ITM just celebrated a three-month anniversary of her new relationship. She's really excited to be in love again. So excited, in fact, that she recorded a whole episode on how her emotions represent the culmination of her whole transgender journey, even years removed from the end of her medical transition. For all the nonsense the world throws at trans people, there's a lot of joy out there too.
Did The Little Drummer Boy need a sequel? Absolutely not. Is Book II worth watching? Ian unpacks the short film's surprisingly strong anti-capitalist message. For a special that's running on fumes, Aaron's second act is one of the better lesser-tier Rankin/Bass specials.
EI's coverage of the original Little Drummer Boy: https://ianthomasmalone.podbean.com/e/the-little-drummer-boy-1639166205/
EI's full holiday slate: https://ia...
We are continuing our holiday coverage with the 1978 Disney special The Small One, a quietly powerful short little film. A favorite of Ian's from an early age, she gets a little emotional talking about the narrative toward the end of the episode. For all the fun we have joking about all the cringe that often goes into holiday specials, The Small One is among the genre's finest offerings.
The Small One is streaming on Disney Plus
...
We're back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe, covering the 1974 animated special 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Santa is really angry about an op-ed penned in the local paper by a young mouse who dared not to live his life in service to the altar of faith. The town government is pretty apathetic toward Santa, a proper sentiment for a lackluster special.
EI's full holiday coverage: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2023/12/holid...
ITM offers a passionate defense of the LGBTQ sensation known as U-Haul. Is it a bad idea to rush into emotional entanglements that make you feel like you're floating on the moon? Hey, if you find something that makes you happy in this modern landscape, roll with it. Life's too short to deny yourself a beautiful U-Haul.
ITM has had quite the eventful stretch. With someone new in her life, Ian unpacks the nerves and calming effects of being thrown into The Deep End. As scared as she feels, the idea of having something worth feeling anything about is cause enough for celebration. The deep end isn't such a scary place to be as long as someone remembers to throw you a paddle.
Popular Podcasts
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com