Your Biggest Fangirl Podcast

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Episode 23: Beyond Broadway with Hamilton Education Program Director Sasha Rolon Pereira Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

Sasha Rolon Pereira joins us from the Hamilton Education Program, where she is the director of the program and Associate Director of Education at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The Hamilton Education Program (#eduham) is a partnership between the Rockefeller Foundation, Hamilton, and Gilder Lehrman, that sends thousands of students to see the hit musical on Broadway and in tour cities around the country. Sasha tells us about how the program bring students into “the room where it happened”, and the ways students engage with this important piece of popular culture to reflect and connect with American history. We also explore Hamilton’s intersection between fandom and academia and the unique qualities the show possesses that makes it culturally significant beyond Broadway and a fan-favorite! Learn more about the Hamilton Education Program at the Gilder Lerhman Institute’s website: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/hamilton-education-program Follow #eduham on social media for student projects and performances and videos from the cast. Where to find Gilder Lehrman on Social Media: Facebook: @gilderlehrman Twitter: @Gilder_Lehrman Instagram: @gilderlehrman Pinterest: @gilderlehrman

Episode 22: The Ladies We Fangirled Over at San Diego Comic Con 2018 Aug 21, 2018

Show notes

For this week of All About Conventions August we have a super-sized convention special for you! Not only do Victoria and Kristen recap their experiences this year at San Diego Comic Con, they share their lessons learned from their trip to help you crush your next con. We also share our interviews from the convention floor with four fabulous female creators! They are: Agnes Garbowska is an illustrator known for her work illustrating titles such as the New York Times Best Sellers & Gem Award winner DC Superhero Girls for DC Comics, My Little Pony for IDW, and Grumpy Cat. She’s also drawn covers for IDW titles including, Jem and the Holograms, Transformers, and Powerpuff Girls. Check out Agnes's latest artwork in the graphic novel DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2MD9KQZ Twitter: @AgnesGarbowska Instagram: @AgnesGarbowska Facebook: @AgnesGarbowska.Art Tumblr: http://agnesgarbowska.tumblr.com/ https://agnesgarbowska.com/ Diana Greenhalgh is a professional illustrator and designer, primarily working in comics, trading cards, and film and television. Diana's first love is comics, where she works as a professional inker on numerous independent and mainstream comic books titles spanning over a decade. Diana also works as a prop artist and graphic designer for film and television. You can see her prop work in season 1 of DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, and she's designed and illustrated one sheets for 20th Century Fox's Deadpool and X-Men Apocalypse films. Instagram: @mechangel Twitter: @DianaGreenhalgh Facebook: @DianaGreenhalghArt Check her out at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mechart Beth Sotelo began working in the comic book industry in 2001 as a colorist for Top Cow Productions. Since then she’s worked for Aspen Comics, DC and Marvel. Her recent coloring credits include DC Comics' Suicide Squad: Most Wanted and coloring/illustration work for 20th Century Fox. She is also the writer and illustrator for her creator-owned digital graphic novel “Grump”. Instagram: @midimew Twitter: @midimew Bethsotelo.com EK Johnston is an archaeologist-turned-author who has lent her words to retellings like Exit, Pursued by a Bear and Spindle. She has contributed two works for the Star Wars canon with a young adult novel Ahsoka and “By Whatever Sun” in the From a Certain Point of View anthology. Her repertoire continues to expand, with The Afterward due to come out next year. And at SDCC, it was also announced that she would be writing Queen’s Shadow, a novel based on Padme’s transition from Queen to Senator -- a dream come true for the author! (And Victoria. Obviously.) Twitter: @ek_johnston Tumblr: http://ekjohnston.tumblr.com/ Instagram: @ek_johnston ekjohnston.ca

Episode 21: Fangirls and Geek Couture at the Her Universe Fashion Show Aug 07, 2018

Show notes

We’re continuing All About Conventions August this week with our coverage of the Her Universe Fashion Show! Kristen and Victoria share their experiences at the event - getting to fangirl out together, squeeing over the surprise guests, and which were their favorite designs from the show! We also introduce you to the amazing fangirls we encountered at the Fashion Show: Carina Langley-Lacy was a finalist in this year’s fashion show. She is a costume designer and technician who has worked on costumes for the LA Opera and for television shows including the CW’s Supergirl. She has previously competed in the Her Universe Fashion Show before, and her design “Vincent and the Exploding Tardis” was inspired by the episode of Doctor Who episode "Vincent and the Doctor". Follow Carina on Instagram: @carinaterra8787 Lynne Martens, another finalist at this year’s event, is a costume maker, cosplayer, and fashion designer from LA. 2018 was her third year competing in the fashion show and her brand, Classy Looking Nerf Herder is described as geek vintage couture. Her look for the fashion show “Flight of the Phoenix” was based on Fawkes in Harry Potter. Follow Lynne on Instagram: @classylookingnerfherder Corina Marie Smith was one of the winners of the Her Universe Junior Fashion Design Competition. This was the inaugural year for the Junior Fashion Design Competition, which awarded 4 winners under 18 who designed looks inspired the Powerpuff Girls in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the show. Corina designed a Blossom-inspired look, drawing from Japanese street fashion, punk and juniors fashion. Sarah Garringer is the Global Social Media & Content Manager at Singer Sewing Company. Singer was a new partner of the Fashion Show this year, and the company sponsored an additional award to recognize a designer that showcases exceptional sewing and construction. Follow Singer on Twitter: @SingerCo and Instagram: @SingerSewingCompany For more on all the fangirl fabulousness that went at this year’s fashion show, check out Kristen’s blog post recapping her thoughts and insights about the event! We’ll be back on Tuesday 8/21 with our next episode featuring more awesome female creators that we interviewed on the convention floor at SDCC - stay tuned! Where to Find Her Universe: Heruniverse.com Twitter: @heruniverse Instagram: @heruniverse Facebook: @heruniverse Tumblr: https://heruniverseofficial.tumblr.com/

Episode 20: Stories of Strength with Best-Selling Author Renée Ahdieh Jul 24, 2018

Show notes

This week, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling YA author (and fellow Tar Heel!) Renée Ahdieh joins us on the podcast! Renée recently finished a book tour for her most recent novel Smoke in the Sun, a sequel to her magical-action hit Flame in the Mist. Her debut novel, Wrath in the Dawn, was inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, which kicked off Renée’s prowess for retelling fairy and folk tales in fresh and inclusive ways. Renee’s talent for world building is born from her own love of stories and strong characters; as a fangirl herself, she endorses the idea of falling in love with possibility--no matter the story you consume. We talk about how important it is to embrace the things you love, even when it’s written off as not having critical value. Where you can find Renée: Instagram: @reneeahdieh YouTube: http://ow.ly/DCjY30l55X6 You can also follow her on Twitter (@rahdieh), Facebook (@ReneeAhdiehAuthor) and Tumblr (http://rahdieh.tumblr.com/). Find all Renée’s books and find out what’s coming next at her website, http://www.reneeahdieh.com/.

Episode 19: Becoming Jane Austen Fangirls with JASP Organizers Jennifer Abella and Inger Brodey Jul 10, 2018

Show notes

This week on the podcast we’re taking you to a land of Regency balls, sweeping romances, and perfectly composed prose! We sit down with Jenny Abella and Dr. Inger Brodey who run the Jane Austen Summer Program, an annual four-day symposium focusing on the author's novels for academics and Austen fans alike at our alma mater - the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We explore why Jane’s works still resonate with readers today, dispel common misconceptions about fangirls of her novels, and discuss the delicate balance a fangirl must strike between loving an author’s work and engaging with it in an academic context. Not only do the ladies give us advice on how to make the most of your symposium experience and reveal next year’s theme for the program, we even get Jenny and Inger to answer a few painstaking Jane Austen-themed Would You Rather questions! Speaking of our Fandom Would You Rather game, this episode also features a question submitted by our friend Zach from the Always Hold onto Smallville podcast! Where to Find the Jane Austen Summer Program: Twitter: @JASPhotline Facebook: @janeaustensummer Instagram: @janeaustensummer Support the program at: https://janeaustensummer.org/donate/ Hope to attend next year? Check out their 101 guide to the Program! Where to Find Jenny: Twitter: @nextjen Instagram: @jenabella78

Episode 18: Whovian Women with Cosplay Photographer and Geek Blogger Monica Duarte Jun 26, 2018

Show notes

As a fangirl, Monica Duarte wears many hats: a mother, a photographer, a cosplayer, a vlogger and correspondent for Temple of Geek. A seasoned convention goer, she shares tips on nailing a cosplay photoshoot and making fandom fun for the whole family. We discuss Doctor Who and our excitement for Jodie Whittaker as the first female Doctor, as well as we look at the portrayal of female characters in the show. With Doctor Who being a long-running sci-fi show, we also explore how it has evolved over decades -- and how the relationship between the Doctor and his (now her!) companions have changed. What We Discussed: The Future Has Regenerated — A History of Women in Doctor Who by Mandy Chew Where to Find Monica: Personal Instagram: @thisdorkynerdgirl Cosplay Photography Instagram: @geekandcosplayreport Professional Photography: @paparazzimon Temple of Geek Instagram: @templeofgeek Twitter: @templeofgeek Facebook: @templeofgeek TempleofGeek.com The ConMadres YouTube: The ConMadres Instagram: @theconmadres

Episode 17: Embracing and Examining Fanfiction with Best-Selling Author Seanan McGuire Jun 12, 2018

Show notes

We are pumped to be joined by best-selling author Seanan McGuire on the podcast this week for a long overdue discussion on fanfiction! Seanan’s urban fantasies include October Daye, Incryptid, and the Wayward Children series, she received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and in 2013 she became the first person ever to appear five times on the same Hugo ballot. We unpack a brilliant tweet thread Seanan wrote exploring the shame and stigma surrounding female fanfic writers opposed to men who pen transformative works, embracing the training the fanfic community can provide for female professional authors, and writing well-rounded female characters in sci-fi that challenge “The Default” hero trope. Seanan even shares with her some of her favorite fanfics to binge-read!

Episode 16: Cosplay, Community and Cavill with Super Savant Lauren Winn May 29, 2018

Show notes

Lauren Winn makes her grand return to the Your Biggest Fangirl Podcast! She recounts the single greatest moment of her life: meeting her fave Henry Cavill, pinpointing the 10 Rules of Fangirling Like a Pro that helped her the most. Lauren also shares the time the photographer became the photographed when she debuted her Superboy cosplay at New York Comic Con in October. Lauren walks us through Project KR, and we discuss the origins of cosplay, the empowerment through cosplaying, the community and more. Lauren rounds out the rest of our Would You Rather questions -- send us your suggestions so we can update our game!

Episode 15: Problematic Faves with Theme Park Expert Bethany Curl May 15, 2018

Show notes

We’re thrilled to welcome fangirl and Universal Studios Team Member Bethany Curl onto the podcast! She joins us to continue the discussion on problematic faves and how to address media, characters, artists and their flaws. Can you love something that has problematic elements? And if so, how does one acknowledges its issues? Bethany also shares with us her behind-the-scenes intel on what it’s like to work at a major theme park how to make the most of your visit, and avoiding park burnout when Disney and Universal are at your doorstep!

Episode 14: Marvel Comics, Heroines, and the Ladies Who Love Them with Actress, Writer, Podcaster Ashley V. Robinson May 01, 2018

Show notes

We welcome actress, writer and producer Ashley Victoria Robinson, who is a fellow fangirl-podcaster! Ashley co-hosts the Geek History Lesson podcast -- a wonderful resource that delves into the origin stories of your favorite heroes, villains and everything in between! She is also co-author of the newly-released Jupiter Jet comic book, which features a spunky sixteen-year-old heroine named Jacky Johnson who discovers an experimental jetpack in her late father’s workshop, taking to the skies to keep her neighborhood safe. In honor of the release of Avengers: Infinity War, we talk with Ashley about the ladies of the Marvel Universe (don’t worry -- no spoilers here!). And as an authority on comic book heroes and more, we discuss the ways in which female fans sometimes face challenges to prove themselves as fans -- and what that means for fandom as a whole. What we discussed: 9 Ways Women Experience Sexism in Fandom by KT Hawbaker Where to find Ashley: Twitter: @AshleyVRobinson Instagram: @AshleyVRobinson Jupiter Jet is now available at Amazon and Comixology! You can also follow along on Twitter. Listen to Geek History Lesson on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play and more. Their new PinBomb line of fandom-inspired bath bombs with collectible pins is now available! Order them on Etsy.

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