Tender Subject

"The End of the World is Nuts" Writer J †Johnson joins Kayte and Mae to talk about the beautiful and bloody novel Manhunt by Gretchen Felker Martin. We talk about how refreshing it is to read a gender apocalypse book that doesn't deal in binaries. Plus: don't trust rich libs, incredibly hot sex and how to build community at the end of the world.  Media we referenced: Heat Death interview with Gretchen JJ is the co-editor of Cul de Sac of Blood, a horror poetics journal and the author of two books with Punctum Books. Their forthcoming book, Janky Materiality will also be published by Punctum. Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoe Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.

Guys, are cars bad? We ask this and so many other important questions as we dig deep under the hood of Julia Ducournau's oil slicked film, Titane with writer Sophie Lewis (@reproutopia) We're talking about abjection, family abolition, gender fluidity and what it means to f*ck a car. Let's ride!  Sources referenced: Return of the Monstrous-Feminine: Feminist New Wave Cinema by Barbara Creed "A New Humanity: Interview with Titane's Writer/Director Julia Ducournau" The Final Girls Where to find Sophie: Join Sophie's patreon here. Buy Full Surogacy Now: Feminism Against Family Buy Abolish the Family: A Masnifesto for Care and Liberation  Take a class with Sophie at BISR And look out for their new book Enemy Feminisms: TERFs, Policewomen, and Girlbosses Against Liberation from Haymarket soon!    

Press play on your PJ Harvey cassette tape, we are talking about season 1 of Yellowjackets with writer Madeline Lane-McKinley! We dissect themes of adolescence, maenadism, fandom and ‘90s culture. Plus! Are teenage girls really that mean? Is there enough cannibalism in Yellowjackets or just enough?  Buy Madeline’s book Comedy Against Work here  Pre-order Fag/Hag here soon!  And look out for Solidarity with Children here soon!   

This week, Kayte and Jay are joined by Jon from Horror Vanguard and we are back in the world of Hannibal Lecter! We talk about Ridley Scott's 2001 movie Hannibal and the Thomas Harris novel (1999) of the same name. On the menu: Dante! Opera! Hannibal shopping! Florence! Surveillance and Mediation!  Sources discussed in this episode: "A Postmodern Reproduction of Dante Alighieri's Exile" by Antonio Sanna "“A very well-tailored person suit” Hannibal Lecter as Genderqueer American Gothic Cannibal" by Alena Kiel Jon's Patreon Buy Jon's books here and here 

Writer, worker and agitator Vicky Osterweil joins us this week to talk about the 1999 horror western dark comedy (?) Ravenous! Come along with us as we head out to the snowy wilds of the Western mountains; we talk Wendigos, colonizers, monstrous gays, the myth of the "noble frontiersman" and bravery. Also, a bananas soundtrack by Michael Nyman and Damon Alburn! Subscribe to Vicky's newsletter: https://all-cats-are-beautiful.ghost.io/about/ Buy Vicky's book, In Defense of Looting  Stay tuned for Vicky's new book The Extended Universe (2025) with Haymarket Books, which is about Disney movies, intellectual property, and franchise cinema.

Hello Sapphic sickos! It's a femme extravaganza this week on Tender Subject as we are joined by Mae of the Ladykillers pod and Beth of Kayte's polycule to talk about Love Lies Bleeding! We talk about service tops, muscle mommies, Macho Sluts and giant women! Plus, is the end of the film real or fantasy and does it matter? Sources mentioned in the episode: Macho Sluts by Patrick Califia (borrow it on The Internet Archive) "Inside Kristen Stewart and Katy O'Brien's Sapphic Fever Dream on Steroids" by Wren Sanders, Them Magazine    

This week, Kayte and new co-host Dave Maher are talking about David Cronenberg’s earliest features, Shivers and Rabid. We dish about sexual repression, white flight, zombies and wonder what it would be like if the United States funded arts and culture.  Sources we referenced:  “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre and Excess” by Linda Williams  “A Mindless Orgy: Liberation and Monstrosity in Cronenberg’s Body Horror“ by Sam Moore ”David Cronenberg’s Dreams and Nightmares” by Adam Nayman      

We are joined by Donovan and Audrey from Radio Free Tote Bag to talk about the Netflix Zombie show, Santa Clarita Diet! We talk about the origins of zombies, the Capitalist hoard and what to do if your partner is undead.  Some readings Kayte references: On the Frontlines of the Zombie War in the Congo: Digital Technology, the Trade in Conflict Minerals, and Zombificationby Jeffrey W. Mantz from Monster Culture in the 21st Century: A Reader A Zombie Manifesto: The Nonhuman Condition in the Era of Advanced Capitalism By Sarah Juliet Laura and Karen Embry

----more----Om nom nom.  Eating the Rich: why aren’t we doing it yet? This week we are Joined by Luisa Diez from Why You Mad to dish over the “Eat the Rich” movie trend. We talk Saltburn, The Menu, and Triangle of Sadness plus, Luisa has an “Eat the Rich” movie Taxonomy!  Eat the Rich: The Evolution of a Slogan By We are the Mutants https://wearethemutants.com/2020/02/13/eat-the-rich-the-evolution-of-a-slogan/ The Movie Industry’s Confused “Eat the Rich” Fantasy by Sam Adler-Bell https://www.vulture.com/2023/02/the-movie-industrys-confused-eat-the-rich-fantasy.html Selling Yourself for Pretzel Sticks: Masculine Crisis in the Dystopian Triangle of Sadness by Jess Flarity https://blindfieldjournal.com/2022/12/05/whoring-yourself-for-pretzel-sticks-masculine-crisis-in-the-dystopian-triangle-of-sadness/ Find Luisa at https://twitter.com/luisadieznuts  Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops

Leòn from The Left Page and Here Be Media joins us again to discuss season 2 of everyone's favorite queer cannibal show: Hannibal!    Find Leòn (and Frank) wherever you get your podcasts: https://linktr.ee/leftpagehbm Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social Art by Anya R. Hueing Music by @coffin_flops