It's Time to Make a Difference

With the November 3 midterm elections approaching, Jason and Wendy discuss the current political landscape, what’s at stake, and how a shift in congressional control could change things for the better. Plus, a little news about The Testaments Season 2.Check your voter registration status and find voting information at vote.org.You can join our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at facebook.com/groups/thtmayday.And as always, you can email or send a voice message to [email protected].

What a thrill to once again talk to Bruce Miller, showrunner of The Testaments! His enthusiasm for the material is clear and infectious, and we hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did. Among other things, Bruce talked about: Why Gilead is terrified of teenage girls Rowan Blanchard’s performance as Shunammite, and why he thinks viewers eventually came around on the character Lydia’s motivations, including whether she really believed she was protecting the women of Gilead The brutal stadium flashback, and the challenge of adapting such disturbing material without making viewers turn away What Agnes remembers about her mother, and how Gilead may have manipulated the memories of stolen children The cameos from Handmaid’s Tale characters, and whether he thinks more of The Handmaid’s Tale cast would want to return The visual storytelling of the series, from production design and costumes to color and cinematography Why we saw so little red this season What it was like working with the remarkable young cast Some intriguing hints about season two, including character backstories and a possible Gilead road trip And a lot more! Check out our other podcasts: If you like our coverage of The Testaments, we cover many other shows on our network at podcastica.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another big batch of passionate, thoughtful, insightful messages from you guys. Praise be! It was a pleasure for us to go through these and respond, and think about The Testaments in new ways. We really made the right decision making these podcasts interactive, because you all really do add a lot. As we mentioned on the podcast, there’s a chance (though not guaranteed) that we’ll be back soon with an interview with The Testaments showrunner Bruce Miller. Otherwise, we may or may not be in this feed before The Testaments season two, but we’ll definitely be back for that!  In the meantime, here are some other podcasts of ours you might be interested in: Dragon ‘Cast, where Wendy, Veronica, and Archmaester Renny cover HBO’s Game of Thrones follow-ups, House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: https://podcastica.com/podcast/dragon-cast  Yellowjackets wtf?, where Daphne, Wendy, Jason, and Penny cover the delightfully dark show, Yellowjackets: https://podcastica.com/podcast/yellowjackets-wtf  Run for Your Lives, where Daphne and Pake cover all kinds of monster, disaster, and horror movies: https://podcastica.com/podcast/run-for-your-lives-podcast  Wax Episodic, Jason’s main podcast, where he and various others cover top-tier shows like Severance, Pluribus, Fallout, Welcome to Derry, and Alien: Earth, with others to come: https://podcastica.com/podcast/wax-episodic  Welcome to the White Lotus, where Jason, his wife Jenny, and their friend Randy cover The White Lotus: https://podcastica.com/podcast/welcome-to-the-white-lotus  The Walking Dead ‘Cast, the one that started it all way back in 2010, where Jason, Lucy, and others cover The Last of Us, all the Walking Dead spinoffs, and our ep-by-ep Walking Dead rewatch: https://podcastica.com/podcast/walking-dead-cast  Talk to you soon, D, W, & J P.S. If you want more conversation during the hiatus: Come check out our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at facebook.com/groups/thtmayday. Or join our Discord where you can leave comments and chat with hosts and other listeners: https://discord.gg/6WUMt3m3qe  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A moving, satisfying, bittersweet season finale where these girls who’ve spent the season waking up to how oppressed they and the women of Gilead have been decided to take a stand. We loved it, and we have a lot to talk about.  A huge thank you to everyone who listened and who wrote or called in. It’s been a fantastic season of podcasting, and we really loved sharing the experience of this great new show with you guys!  We’ve got one more episode left to go. We had intended on including all your feedback in this episode, but as we should’ve known, there’s more than enough for a standalone episode, so that should be out sometime next week. Talk to you then.  Mentioned:  Bruce Miller interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/the-testaments-finale-creator-promises-june-hannah-reunion-1236606878/ Next up: Listener feedback for The Testaments S1E10 “Secateurs”. Let us know your thoughts! You can email or send a voice message to [email protected]. Or check out our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at facebook.com/groups/thtmayday. Or join our Discord where you can leave comments and chat with hosts and other listeners: https://discord.gg/6WUMt3m3qe  Check out our other podcasts: If you like our coverage of The Testaments, we cover many other shows on our network at podcastica.com.  Digging our podcast? A quick, free, and easy way to show support and help bump us up in the charts is to give us a rating or a review: On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-handmaids-tale-podcast-the-testaments/id1610222002 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5MbAApyqlk3gLJUTHNnIH9?si=74013f9e35c64f0e Or just search for “Podcastica Testaments” wherever you get podcasts.  Show support and get ad-free episodes and a bunch of other cool stuff: patreon.com/jasoncabassi  Or go to buymeacoffee.com/cabassi for a one-time donation. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daisy takes matters into her own hands. As does Becka.  Next up: The Testaments S1E10 “Secateurs”. Let us know your thoughts! You can email or send a voice message to [email protected]. Or check out our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at facebook.com/groups/thtmayday. Or join our Discord where you can leave comments and chat with hosts and other listeners: https://discord.gg/6WUMt3m3qe  Check out our other podcasts: If you like our coverage of The Testaments, we cover many other shows on our network at podcastica.com.  Digging our podcast? A quick, free, and easy way to show support and help bump us up in the charts is to give us a rating or a review: On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-handmaids-tale-podcast-the-testaments/id1610222002 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5MbAApyqlk3gLJUTHNnIH9?si=74013f9e35c64f0e Or just search for “Podcastica Testaments” wherever you get podcasts.  Show support and get ad-free episodes and a bunch of other cool stuff: patreon.com/jasoncabassi  Or go to buymeacoffee.com/cabassi for a one-time donation. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We gathered up ALL your feedback from the last few episodes, and we’re responding. Your thoughts, theories, questions, and insights are so varied and well-considered, and absolutely add depth to the discussion about this show, so THANK YOU! Even to those of you writing in in disagreement with our style of podcasting, we appreciate you engaging in the conversation, too.  Next up: The Testaments S1E9 “Marat Sade”. Let us know your thoughts! You can email or send a voice message to ⁠[email protected]⁠. Or check out our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at ⁠facebook.com/groups/thtmayday⁠. Or join our Discord where you can leave comments and chat with hosts and other listeners: ⁠https://discord.gg/6WUMt3m3qe⁠  Check out our other podcasts: If you like our coverage of The Testaments, we cover many other shows on our network at ⁠podcastica.com⁠.  Digging our podcast? A quick, free, and easy way to show support and help bump us up in the charts is to give us a rating or a review: On Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-handmaids-tale-podcast-the-testaments/id1610222002⁠ On Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5MbAApyqlk3gLJUTHNnIH9?si=74013f9e35c64f0e⁠ Or just search for “Podcastica Testaments” wherever you get podcasts.  Show support and get ad-free episodes and a bunch of other cool stuff: ⁠patreon.com/jasoncabassi⁠  Or go to ⁠buymeacoffee.com/cabassi⁠ for a one-time donation. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Announcement: Sex-ed class sign-ups are today. Teachers are Aunt Vidala and Daisy, your choice ;) PS This show is such an interesting and unique mix of coming-of-age wonder and discovery, tension, humor, and dystopian darkness, and this episode delivers on all of it. We’re very much enjoying watching it and podcasting about it, in case you can’t tell. And we thank all of you for listening along! Mentioned: THR interview with Ann Dowd (Lydia) Mabel Li (Vidala): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/the-testaments-aunt-lydia-june-agnes-ann-dowd-interview-1236580179/  Next up: The Testaments S1E9 “Marat Sade”. Let us know your thoughts! You can email or send a voice message to [email protected]. Or check out our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at facebook.com/groups/thtmayday. Or join our Discord where you can leave comments and chat with hosts and other listeners: https://discord.gg/6WUMt3m3qe  Check out our other podcasts: If you like our coverage of The Testaments, we cover many other shows on our network at podcastica.com.  Digging our podcast? A quick, free, and easy way to show support and help bump us up in the charts is to give us a rating or a review: On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-handmaids-tale-podcast-the-testaments/id1610222002 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5MbAApyqlk3gLJUTHNnIH9?si=74013f9e35c64f0e Or just search for “Podcastica Testaments” wherever you get podcasts.  Show support and get ad-free episodes and a bunch of other cool stuff: patreon.com/jasoncabassi  Or go to buymeacoffee.com/cabassi for a one-time donation. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So much conflict and tension is being sown in this show, with Agnes’ crush Garth courting Becka, who loves Agnes;  Agnes’ suitor Weston closing in on Daisy as the leader of the Eyes; and Daisy the anti-Gilead-spy getting closer to Agnes, who thinks anti-Gilead spies want to kill her. In honor of all the discord, Daphne, Wendy, and Jason argue fiercely throughout this episode. Enjoy! (PS Just kidding. Maybe.) Next up: The Testaments S1E8 “Broken”. Let us know your thoughts! You can email or send a voice message to ⁠[email protected]⁠. Or check out our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at ⁠facebook.com/groups/thtmayday⁠. Or join our Discord where you can leave comments and chat with hosts and other listeners: ⁠https://discord.gg/6WUMt3m3qe⁠  Check out our other podcasts: If you like our coverage of The Testaments, we cover many other shows on our network at ⁠podcastica.com⁠.  Digging our podcast? A quick, free, and easy way to show support and help bump us up in the charts is to give us a rating or a review: On Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-handmaids-tale-podcast-the-testaments/id1610222002⁠ On Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5MbAApyqlk3gLJUTHNnIH9?si=74013f9e35c64f0e⁠ Or just search for “Podcastica Testaments” wherever you get podcasts.  Show support and get ad-free episodes and a bunch of other cool stuff: ⁠patreon.com/jasoncabassi⁠  Or go to ⁠buymeacoffee.com/cabassi⁠ for a one-time donation. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, if anyone was missing The Handmaid’s Tale, here’s your episode. Bleak! And harrowing and masterfully done, we thought. Listen in as Daphne, Wendy, and Jason talk it out.  Next up: The Testaments S1E7 “Commitment”. Let us know your thoughts! You can email or send a voice message to [email protected]. Or check out our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at facebook.com/groups/thtmayday. Or join our Discord where you can leave comments and chat with hosts and other listeners: https://discord.gg/6WUMt3m3qe  Check out our other podcasts: If you like our coverage of The Testaments, we cover many other shows on our network at podcastica.com.  Digging our podcast? A quick, free, and easy way to show support and help bump us up in the charts is to give us a rating or a review: On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-handmaids-tale-podcast-the-testaments/id1610222002 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5MbAApyqlk3gLJUTHNnIH9?si=74013f9e35c64f0e Or just search for “Podcastica Testaments” wherever you get podcasts.  Show support and get ad-free episodes and a bunch of other cool stuff: patreon.com/jasoncabassi  Or go to buymeacoffee.com/cabassi for a one-time donation. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re not sure we’ve ever seen a dance turn so creepy so fast. Another fantastic episode, deepening the characters of these girls, and making us hope for the best for all of them (because, you know, optimism bias).  Next up: The Testaments S1E6 “Stadium”. Let us know your thoughts! You can email or send a voice message to [email protected]. Or check out our Handmaid’s Tale: Mayday Facebook group, where we put up comment posts for each episode, at facebook.com/groups/thtmayday. Or join our Discord where you can leave comments and chat with hosts and other listeners: https://discord.gg/6WUMt3m3qe  Check out our other podcasts: If you like our coverage of The Testaments, we cover many other shows on our network at podcastica.com.  Digging our podcast? A quick, free, and easy way to show support and help bump us up in the charts is to give us a rating or a review: On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-handmaids-tale-podcast-the-testaments/id1610222002 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5MbAApyqlk3gLJUTHNnIH9?si=74013f9e35c64f0e Or just search for “Podcastica Testaments” wherever you get podcasts.  Show support and get ad-free episodes and a bunch of other cool stuff: patreon.com/jasoncabassi  Or go to buymeacoffee.com/cabassi for a one-time donation. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices