This Week In Fandom History

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June 20, 1904: Saluton, Morojo! (The Invention of Cosplay) Sep 14, 2025

Show notes

Saluton! This week, Emily and V look at the life of one of fandom's under-appreciated heroes: Morojo, AKA Myrtle Rebecca Smith Gray Nolan (née Douglas), the Mother of Cosplay. From her genuine belief in the ability of humankind to be good, like in her favorite scifi stories, to her BANGIN' sewing ability and sweet-ass silk rompersuits, Morojo deserves to be way more well-known in fannish spaces. (And for more than being some dude's girlfriend.) Join us as we celebrate the legacy of one of fandom's founding women.

Also: apologies for the unplanned hiatus, this episode was technically VERY messed up and V had to watch so many YouTube tutorials to learn how to salvage it.

Promo Codes

Aim High Brooch Designs - For 25% off any order on Aim High Brooch Designs on Etsy, including a custom brooch, bag charm, keychain, or magnet design, use the promo code TWIFH.

Sources

Fantasy Cosplay Personality Quiz Wikipedia

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 14, 2021: The NSFW Episode (Thanks, Batman) Aug 10, 2025

Show notes

Holy lunch at the Y, Batman! This week, V and Emily just rate which, if any, superheroes are fuckable, because DC's editorial team made an edict in 2021 that will never, ever, ever, never not be funny.

Sources

Vice Bleeding Cool Gail Simone on X

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 8, 2024: A Surprise for Emily! (TW Mentions of Suicide, Parental Grief, Religious Control) Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

Roll for initiative! This week, V and Emily use the actual "what happened this week in fandom history" event (the USPS released Dungeons & Dragons themed stamps) purely as an excuse to talk about a meatier topic: the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and its effects on fandom... focusing on the writing of one blorbo extraordinaire, Mr. Eddie Munson. Stranger Things did a great job with Eddie and the other nerd characters! The 1980s did NOT do a great job with nerds! And for being the only two people on the internet who don't play DND, we think we did a great job with this topic...!

NOTE: This episode was auto-edited by Zencastr, so it may not be as clean as our usual releases. We should be able to go back to human-edited episodes very soon! Thank you for your patience and for listening!

Sources

DND Forever Stamps BBC Magazine NY Times Dicebreaker University of Wisconsin-Parkside Wikipedia

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June 3, 2011: Cherik Explodes the X-Men Multiverse Jul 20, 2025

Show notes

To us, our X-fandom-historians! This week, Emily and V venture once again into a fandom that has way too many moving parts to understand as they discuss the release of X-Men: First Class and the subsequent multiversal explosion of Cherik (Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr, or Professor X/Magneto) fanworks. Even though this is literally a pairing V has written, we claim no knowledge of the X-Men franchise, because again: there are so many X-men and they are all always doing things. While the internet fandom for the X-Men had been alive before XMFC, as we discussed in our Subreality episode, Cherik really brought it to dizzying new heights because those two men are so, so sad and they should kiss about it. Which version of the X-Men do you like best?

NOTE: This episode was auto-edited by Zencastr, so it may not be as clean as our usual releases. We should be able to go back to human-edited episodes very soon! Thank you for your patience and for listening!

Sources

Fanlore: XMFC A Beginner's Guide to Cherik XMFC as a Love Story Brokeback Mutants erikandcharles.tumblr.com

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 25: A Double Nerd Holiday! Jul 13, 2025

Show notes

Grab your towel and your hard-boiled egg, nerds! This week, Emily and V look at a double holiday once again, because May 25 is a big day for two big fandoms: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy celebrates Towel Day, while Discworld remembers Sir Terry Pratchett and celebrates the Glorious 25 of May. Both of these hugely influential, beloved book series have spanned decades, genres, and all manner of fans, becoming tentpoles in the worlds of scifi and fantasy. Whether you're hopping from planet to planet with Arthur Dent or patrolling the streets of Ankh-Morpork, there is something about the universe to find joy and connection about on May 25. Would you rather have a towel or an egg??

This episode was edited by our lovely listener @s0apb0xst0ries!

Sources

Towel Day Glorious 25 of May Terry Pratchett gave us a million dollars for Alzheimer's research – here's what we did with it.

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 19, 1997: Clan Denial Avenges Richie Ryan... On the High Seas Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

There can only be one! And that one better fucking be Richie Ryan! This week, V and Emily tackle a requested topic from lovely Patron @elismor and look at the extremely confusing, way-too-many-installments fandom of Highlander. Specifically, Highlander: The Series. And specifically, teenage thief and heartthrob Richie Ryan, and how he was unjustly killed off by canon and revived by the formation of Clan Denial. This fandom-within-a-fandom is also nine inside jokes wearing a trench coat, but that's our favorite thing, so it's a fun romp. Come along with us as we shadow Clan Denial on a cruise! (A real one, on a boat. It's shipping on a ship.)

This episode was edited by our equally lovely Patron, @garrideb!

Sources

Fanlore Clan Denial on the Wayback Machine

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 1–31, 2020: The First VoiceTeam! Jun 29, 2025

Show notes

Let's get together, yeah yeah yeah! This week, Emily and V head to summer camp! That is, we discuss the podfic summer camp extravaganza that is VoiceTeam, an annual challenge to create creative podfic for any fandoms and pairings your heart desires... as a team. We also look at how podfic was THE COOLEST way to pick up chicks in the '90s, where podfic started back in the '80s as a way for sight-impaired fans to get their shipping on, and what VoiceTeam 2025 is doing (and how it's stressing V out). Let's pull some pranks and make some friendship bracelets! And, of course, make some podfic!

This episode was edited by our amazing listener and Patreon supporter, @kingstoken! Thank you so much!

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 6, 2001: BNF Leyla Harrison Appears on The X-Files Jun 22, 2025

Show notes

Grab your tissues, it's a crying episode! This week, V and Emily look at the short life and long impact of X-Files BNF (Big Name Fan) and BNA (Big Name Author), Leyla Harrison. The very first thing she did when she got the internet was post an X-Files fic... and immediately got anon hate. From there, she became one of the cornerstone writers of '90s XF MSR fic and helped to shape the way we all still think about, read, and write fanfiction. Her legacy loomed so large that when she died of cancer, the actual X-Files created a character named after her. Join us as we sob about the time she met Gillian Anderson.

Sources

The X-Files Wiki Fanlore: Leyla Harrison Fanlore: Working Stiffs Interview with Leyla Harrison The Stories Are Out There Fanlore again Fanlore: The E-Files Tribute2Leyla.com

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

April 27, 2023: Fanbinding Puts Dramione Fandom in a Bind Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

Going once, going twice, sold... unfortunately! This week, Emily and V look at an event requested back while it was actually happening: the 2023 fanbinding drama that nearly ended Dramione- and Reylo's fanbinding communities on Instagram. Mostly, though, it's an episode about people coming into fannish spaces without an interest in fannish community, and people who view fanfiction as "content" to be consumed rather than art to be engaged with or affection bids meant to be answered. We're probably preaching entirely to the choir if you love fandom enough to be listening to a fandom history podcast, but still.

Sources

Fanlore LumenVale on YouTube Bast

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

April 20, 2000: The Haircut Warning Wars Jun 08, 2025

Show notes

Grab your floaties! This week, V and Emily travel back 25 years (gross) to the spring of 2000, when the internet was the Wild West and everyone was an asshole. Or maybe not everyone, but wow, this one e-mail list for The Sentinel sure was. We discuss the difference between tags, warnings, spoilers, and censorship, and we also discuss just how much has changed in the fandom landscape over the last 25 years in terms of expectations and norms. Get ready to be kind of mad at people in the past!

Sources

Fanlore Fanlore again

This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!

Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at @thisweekinfandomhistory
You can support the show via our Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thisweekinfandomhistory.
If you have a fannish company, event, or service and would like to sponsor or partner with TWIFH, please contact us via our website.
Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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