This Week In Fandom History (V. Arrow, Emily Jaye)
Explore every episode of This Week In Fandom History
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Sep 2024 | September 14-15, 1974: The First Fest for Beatles Fans | 00:58:38 | |
Come together, right now! This week, Emily and V head back to the extremely seventies 1970s to look at a fandom currently having a resurgence on Tumblr: The Beatles. V has actually been to "The Fest," as groovy kids call it, and wrote a paper on Beatlemania that got published a zillion years ago to boot, so she chimes in about what this fandom is like from ground level while Emily marvels at the guts of The Fest's founder, Mark Lapidos, and how very accessible people were in 1974. Then we end with a tangent on the importance of internet safety? It's a thing. Be safe on the internet, kids, and remember that she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah! Sources V's article republished at AO3 Beatlemania: The "Screamers" And Other Tales of Fandom by Dorian Lynskey Diagnosing Beatlemania by John McMillian Beatlemania: A Sexually Defiant Subculture? by Barbara Ehrenreich, et al. This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 07 Apr 2024 | April 2, 1956: As the World Turns Premieres on CBS | 00:46:33 | |
It wasn't me... it was... my evil twin brother! This week, V and Emily look at a somewhat different kind of fandom by delving into the long, long history of As The World Turns, a daytime soap opera that ran for over 50 years. ATWT made television history in 2007 when they featured the first M/M kiss, and first positively-portrayed M/M relationship, on American daytime television, but of course, Luke/Noah were not without drama. Melodrama. This star-studded episode features green-card marriages, murder attempts, doctor-blackmailing, Meg Ryan, and Spanish prisons. What more could you want from your stories? Links Follow This Week in Fandom History on Tumblr at http://thisweekinfandomhistory.tumblr.com! 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 the Tumblr link above. Please remember to rate the show 5 stars on your listening platform of choice! | |||
| 16 Mar 2025 | March 2, 2012: The Onceler Becomes Tumblr Sexyman Supreme | 00:52:35 | |
How bad can he be? This week, Emily and V peek through their fingers at their MOST REQUESTED TOPIC EVER: how The Onceler, from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, became Tumblr's #1 Sexyman in 2012. Not other 2012 villains like Loki or Moriarty or Cato The Hunger Games. No. The Onceler. The animated Onceler. And you know what? After this episode, we kind of understand what was going on with all the Onceler love, and we're 100% in support of it. Did you have your very own Onceler? Tell us on our Tumblr! Sources Quinn Clark for Buzzfeed This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 22 Jan 2023 | January 24, 2016: One Direction Fans Discuss "Conchobar" | 01:19:23 | |
Congrats to the proud papa! Back in 2016, One Direction's Louis Tomlinson became a father (fact) and 1D fans everywhere decided that the baby's name was Conchobar (rumor). This week, V tells Emily the story of a fandom she was actually in, and may have had an accidental hand in turning into a shitshow, as the sordid saga of Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson shipping baffles Emily to her core. When does RPF (real-person fanfiction) turn from a hobby into a damaging force? Why did actual celebrity news sources pander to "Larries"? And how much fault actually lies at V's very sorry feet? | |||
| 21 Oct 2024 | October 18-19, 2019: The First Ineffable Con, Plus We Talk About Neil Gaiman (TW Sexual Assault [Not Detailed]) | 00:59:25 | |
Apocalypse now? This week, V and Emily start out the episode by talking about the super-cool annual convention that Good Omens fans created and host as part of The Ineffable Society: the Ineffable Con, going strong since 2019. Then, we have to delve into the allegations against Good Omens co-author and showrunner Neil Gaiman, former Tumblr everyman and (alleged) total sleazebag. Looking at the Gaiman situation through the lens of, "how are fans reacting, and how are fans treating each other's reactions?" makes us feel a little better than looking too deeply at him as a person. The episode closes out with a reminder that the fannish world moves fast -- when we put this on our calendar, it was supposed to just be a happy episode about awesome Good Omens fans, you know? Sigh. Sources This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 15 Oct 2024 | October 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs Publishes Tarzan of the Apes, Invents the Franchise | 00:55:40 | |
*insert Tarzan yell here* This week, Emily and V explore a totally new-to-them fandom thanks to requester pandaimitator: Tarzan of the Apes. And frankly, it's crazy that we haven't heard about everything this old-timey fandom created that we still use and do today. Fan clubs! Conventions! Fan campaigns! Fanfiction! The Pizza Hut Book-It model of consumerism! The concept of the franchise itself! While the source material does not stand up to modern sensibilities — at all, and we're not defending it; it's super racist — the actions of the early fandom, and of Edgar Rice Burroughs' author-incorporation, are totally worth talking about in the scope of fandom history. We would be a different place without them. Sources Tarzan Forever by John Taliaferro Tarzan: Jungle King of Popular Culture by David Lemmo This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 19 Mar 2025 | Minisode #007 | 00:26:40 | |
What was the most shocking character death you’ve witnessed, and how did it make an impact on you?In 2025, TWIFH is starting something new… minisodes! These will be released on Wednesdays as a li'l sneak preview of the topic for the upcoming full-length episode on Sunday. Huge thank-you to all of the wonderful listeners who sent in replies for these minisodes!
Check http://www.thisweekinfandomhistory.com to see the current minisode question and send us your response! | |||
| 22 May 2023 | May 20, 2000: The One With Sitcom Fandoms | 01:00:15 | |
We'll be there for you! This week, Emily and V take a trip back to a very different era: the time of Must-See TV. Once upon a time, television shows were written by full-time, on-set writers' rooms (SUPPORT THE WGA STRIKE) and sitcoms were filmed before a live studio audience. And people loved them. But sitcoms have never had a huge presence in transformative works fandom, despite their immense popularity. Why is that? How can the whole country ship a thing and there still be no fic for it? | |||
| 21 Apr 2024 | April 15, 1912: The RMS Titanic Sinks (And 85 Years Later There's a Huge Fandom About It) | 01:08:11 | |
Iceberg right ahead! This week, V and Emily plumb the depths of the entire world's massive Titanic fandom and its accompanying "Leomania." James Cameron's Titanic was impossible to ignore in 1998 -- from the cinema to some weird video store in Utah, from middle school dances to the Oval Office, from the pages of Vanity Fair to the wilderness of GeoCities, Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt-Bukater were inescapable. So grab your Jewel of the Sea knockoff necklace, polish off your Céline Dion CD, and rewind VHS1 of your two-tape box set. Are you ready to go back to Titanic? | |||
| 14 Jun 2023 | June 17, 2009: The Great Trigger Warning Debate of 2009 | 01:30:21 | |
Warn when appropriate! This week, Emily and V trek back to the wild, tagless world of LiveJournal in 2009, and the Great Trigger Warning Debate. When does a warning constitute a spoiler? Can you over-warn? Are people who ask for warnings just whiners? These questions have apparently been eternal and we will never see the end of them. In this instance, Panic! at the Disco and bandom were the eye of the #tw storm. What are your thoughts on tagging? Do you ever read darkfic? | |||
| 20 Jun 2023 | June 19, 2022: OTW Election Drama Digs Up the 227 Incident | 01:20:40 | |
Oil of Olay?! This week, V and Emily take a short trip through fandom history to 2022, when the most controversial OTW elections to date* announced its candidate roster. The controversy turned out less to be about the OTW than about the 227 Incident that got AO3 banned in China -- and holy moly, was it an incident. Your cohosts do not speak Mandarin, so apologies for ALL of the pronunciations in this episode. Have you ever had RPF drama in one of your fandoms? Have you ever bought a product because of the celeb who repped it? * This episode was recorded two months ago, before the whistleblowing of the OTW's abuses of its volunteers, lack of TOS/COC framework, and absolute skirting of legality with regard to CSAM. The opinions expressed in this episode with regard to the OTW do not necessarily hold true today, the date of release. * | |||
| 01 Sep 2024 | Summer 2000-2003: Harry Potter Fandom and the Three-Year Summer | 01:18:27 | |
Icicle?! This week, Emily and V hold a sort of jazz funeral for a fandom event that shaped both of them as human people, and that cannot and should not ever happen again. The Three-Year Summer was a pivotal stretch of time for fandom culture as a whole because a) every fucking person alive was in this fandom, b) the whole point was that there was no canon and the world was wide open for the taking, and c) the Internet was young enough that you could claim ANYTHING on that shit. And we all did! And we all believed each other about it! It was amazing! It was fresh and new! And it has been tainted forever! We completely understand if you do not want to listen to an episode about Harry Potter. We get it. We'll see you next week. <3 We denounce JK Rowling and her bigotry with every fiber of our beings. Her views, words, and actions are utterly abhorrent and antithetical to everything that we value. She 100% must be deplatformed. This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 11 Jul 2023 | A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE! July 11-13, 2014: DashCon, with Special Guest Lauren Shippen! | 01:04:37 | |
Do you want an extra hour in the ball pit? This week, for the first time, V and Emily are joined by a VERY SPECIAL GUEST, Lauren Shippen of the podcast Dashboard Diaries! They discuss the convention to end all conventions, the first (and only) DashCon. From its birth on the blue hellsite to its death in a Chicagoland hotel, DashCon was truly a lesson for the ages that just because sometimes fandom can pull off amazing and inspirational feats, sometimes it... cannot. Lauren brings her expertise in all things Tumblr to TWIFH with humor and grace. Did you go to DashCon? WOULD you go to a DashCon? | |||
| 02 Oct 2024 | September 25 - October 5, 2023: Voter Fraud Upsets the AO3 Top Ships Bracket Tumblr Poll | 01:01:30 | |
What?! This week, Emily and V travel all the way back one year to look at... the dumbest thing we've ever had to cover for this show, possibly. You all remember this one: @ao3topshipsbracket pitted Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes against Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet, and things got insanely, unnecessarily, WEIRDLY nuts. We're baffled. We're a little bitter. We're mostly confused? Sources This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 01 Sep 2023 | August 31, 2009: Disney Buys Marvel Studios, And We Enter the Endgame | 01:09:34 | |
Welcome, true believers! This week, V and Emily take a turn towards becoming an economics podcast -- no, wait! Don't go away! It's still interesting and we get to be li'l haters! This week in fandom history, Disney bought Marvel, and V tells Emily all about the absolutely terrible shitbag dude who's been behind most of the worst MCU decisions (and it's NOT Feige!). Also the amount of money that Disney paid for Marvel is obscene. For better or worse, this is an event that shaped at least the next decade of fandom. What would you do with billions of dollars and a movie franchise you had final control over? | |||
| 23 Oct 2023 | October 1976: The First Slash Fic Is Released And We All Benefit | 01:00:24 | |
Live long and prosper! It's another Star Trek episode as this week, Emily and V venture into an alien cave to learn about "Shelter" by Leslie Fish and Joanne Agostino, AKA, the first Kirk/Spock slash fic. Fellas, is it gay to confess your love to your commanding officer in an alien cave and consummate your relationship with tender, tender sex? And fellas, is it problematic that Bones was also there? (Side note, apologies for the late releases of episodes this month. We're working hard to get back on track. Life happened.) | |||
| 04 Dec 2024 | November 23, 1998: It's Up To You As Nancy Drew | 00:51:36 | |
It's locked! This week, V and Emily (although V hardly gives Emily a chance to get a word in edgewise) delve into the 94-year history of the Nancy Drew fandom. From a congressional hearing about whether Nancy is Bad For The Children in the '50s to a woman in the '30s who made her living traveling from town to town to evangelize against the girl sleuth, Nancy Drew is an OG fandom with big "fuck you purity culture" vibes. Also, she once jumped a shark in a jetski and solved a mystery by tap-dancing with some cats. Do you love Nancy Drew even half as much as V does? Would you want to be a Girl Detective? Sources Nancy Drew, Girl Sleuth by Melanie Rehak This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 07 Feb 2024 | February 10, 2021: Charisma Carpenter Calls Out Joss Whedon | 01:13:25 | |
CUT! This week, Emily and V go back in time for a retrospective of truly despicable actions and quotes by a truly despicable man, Joss Whedon, whom fandom-at-large gave far too many passes for far too long. From killing off Cordelia Chase to punish Charisma Carpenter to outright racism against Ray Fisher, Joss Whedon's career is as full of people to whom he was joyfully cruel as it is full of nerdcore heavy hitters. Can you really separate art from the artist? What is the line beyond which art just isn't worth it? | |||
| 19 Feb 2023 | February 19, 2007: Tumblr Founded | 01:39:44 | |
All hail the blue hellsite! This week, V and Emily talk the timeline of fandom's transition onto Tumblr and why the heck we're all still there. From corporate takeovers that lost millions to the Very Special Episode that was November 5, 2020, Tumblr is an indelible part of fannish history because it's a platform that's lasted so long and been home to so many of us. Why? How? | |||
| 02 Dec 2023 | December 7, 2002: "Tongues Battling for Dominance" First Used... Maybe? | 01:13:41 | |
NSFW! No, but really, this episode is extremely NSFW. And not child-safe. If you ignore that warning, it's on you. This week, V and Emily take a trip back to a contested date in fandom history: the first usage of "tongues battling for dominance." Since there's debate about the origin of that term, they decide to go whole-hog (double entendre intended) and talk about all kinds of fanfic terminology. Especially the kind used in... smut. | |||
| 22 Jan 2024 | January 20, 2015: Parse Drops (TW F-Slur, Homophobic Violence) | 00:58:54 | |
Helloooooo, internet land! This week, Emily and V were treated to a primer on the OMG Check Please! fandom by listener and friend-of-the-pod korechthonia, and Emily explains the divide between the pro-Parse and anti-Parse sides of the otherwise sweet and peaceful fandom. Plus, she tells V about growing up on a boys' hockey team herself and losing a tooth on the ice! Also, inextricable from OMGCP's sweet tale of gay hockey players in love is the sad, homophobic truth of the NHL, so we had to dig into that as well. But mostly: cute hockey comic about love and pies. WERE YOU PART OF THE KENT PARSON DISCOURSE OF 2016 OR WERE YOU NORMAL? If you would like to suggest an event in fandom history and/or give us a fandom primer, get in touch on our Tumblr! You can support this podcast and also get in touch with us on Patreon. | |||
| 05 May 2024 | May 3, 1991: Dallas Closes Out Its Final Season | 01:00:52 | |
Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer! This week, Emily and V head West to Texas and back in time to the 1980s to visit with the most melodramatic family in television history: the Ewings. As a cultural phenomenon that helped define the decade, Dallas... has surprisingly few (surviving?) fanworks. But thanks to one teenage fan nigh twenty years after the Ewings bid South Fork adieu, Emily and V get to learn about the JR/Sue Ellen ship (and reminisce about Web 1.0 fansites). Plus... who shot JR? Sources | |||
| 05 Feb 2025 | Minisode #004 | 00:11:03 | |
If you could save one TV show from cancellation, what would it be — and what would you send to the network to save it?In 2025, TWIFH is starting something new... minisodes! These will be released on Wednesdays as a li'l sneak preview of the topic for the upcoming full-length episode on Sunday. Huge thank-you to all of the wonderful listeners who sent in replies for this minisode! Additionally, thank you to everyone who has been kind and patient with us as we had to take an unexpected break due to bereavement.
Check http://www.thisweekinfandomhistory.com to see the current minisode question and send us your response! | |||
| 20 Nov 2023 | November 17, 2004: The Winter Soldier Makes His First Appearance | 01:15:15 | |
Who the hell is Bucky? Well, this week, V and Emily just have a breezy totally chill chat about exactly that question -- who is this most wet and pathetic of scrungly little meow-meows, and why does he drive fandom so absolutely, singularly insane? What makes Bucky Barnes the most blorbo? Does the MCU know what to do with him? Will Thunderbolts make V tear her own face off?!?! Ahem. The story of Bucky Barnes is one of fannish love from beginning to... the end of the line... and for this holiday week episode, we just had a good time talking about him. Join us, won't you? | |||
| 02 Mar 2025 | February 15-17, 2013: FaberryCon East (Plus, T.G.I.Femslash!) | 00:45:55 | |
Thank god it's femslash! This week, Emily and V discuss the absolutely pie-in-the-sky delightful FaberryCon, a long-running convention dedicated to Quinn Fabray/Rachel Berry in the Glee fandom, a noncanonical femslash ship. Then, even more delightfully, after the end of Glee, the conventioneers transformed the experience into @tgifemslash, a multi-fandom, ship-neutral, femslash convention OF DREAMS that is still ongoing! We take a look at the absolute pinnacle of con panel planning, cute vidshows, and why a small, niche audience is almost always better than trying to please everyone. Have you ever been to, or hosted, a ship-centric con? Let us know on our Tumblr! Sources This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 26 Feb 2023 | March 2013: The Flower Crown Meme (TW Body Horror, Gore) | 01:02:17 | |
This is my design! And it's a halo of flowers 'round the head of my blorbo. This week, Emily and V take a harrowing look at the history of the flower crown meme and its biggest proponent: Hannibal fandom. From the comedic sensibilities of 'fannibals' to the whimsy, or lack thereof, of Bryan Fuller shows, this was a topic that... was scary. Tell me, Will, will V ever be able to get into bed normally again? And what the heck does Harry Styles have to do with all of this? TRIGGER WARNINGS: Body horror, Hannibal-typical gore | |||
| 04 Jul 2023 | July 1, 2005: Percy Jackson Takes Fandom By (Lightning) Storm | 01:19:36 | |
Troubled kids, unite! This week, V and Emily -- well, okay, this week, V basically recaps the Percy Jackson series for Emily, because eighteen years ago this week, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was released and fandom got a new fave (good riddance to a certain magical wizarding school). However, V and Emily do have some words for Rick about his complete inability to understand children's ages when creating, say, love triangles, or cool guys. Are you in the PJO fandom? Which Greek god is your parent? | |||
| 28 Jul 2024 | July 16, 2010: Inception Incepts Fandom with Arthur/Eames | 01:07:27 | |
Dream a little bigger, darlings. This week, Emily and V go deeper and deeper into the mindscape of fandom in 2010, when Inception became an unlikely juggernaut fandom-that-ate-fandom because of two minor (as in tertiary) characters played by internet boyfriends Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon Levitt. They talk that iconic ending, reasons this weird movie resonated with people so hard, and how fandom itself was in a time of transition in 2010, which left its mental landscape wide open for Christopher Nolan to plant a little thought-seed in there. Were you an Arthur/Eames shipper? How do you think the movie really ended? This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 30 Jun 2024 | June 2016: Bubble Pop! Zine Party Rocks D.C. | 00:47:12 | |
Bubble, bubble, bubble pop! This week, V and Emily explore the highs of fandom and lows of the kpop trainee system as they look at one of the coolest fanworks ever made, possibly: the guerilla zine Bubble Pop! Spearheaded by one Washington D.C. kpop fan who wanted to know who the other kpop fans of her city were, Bubble Pop! was the coolest (and most fun-sounding) party of this week in fandom history. V also tells Emily a lot of things about kpop that Emily does not enjoy at all. This episode was very helpfully aided by one of our lovely patrons, ArcticEllie! Thanks, Ellie! Sources This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 01 Dec 2024 | November 11, 2005: The Scarlet Witch Sparks 19 Years of Fannish Debate | 00:57:36 | |
No more mutants! This week, Emily and V look at an event that had seismic effects both in-universe in its franchise and out-universe, in the real world: Marvel Comics' M-Day. The events depicted in the House of M event would go on to drive much of the forward motion of X-Men for the next 15 years and spawned whole swaths of the Marvel universe (including Agatha All Along!). And of course, any swing that wild is going to spark... a lot of Reddit posts. Thank you to listener @raineday for the request! Do you X-Men? What do you think of Wanda Maximoff? Sources M-Day This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 05 Mar 2023 | March 8, 2016: #LGBTFansDeserveBetter and the Spring Slaughter | 01:10:31 | |
We're not gonna take it anymore! This week, Emily and V delve into righteous -- and rightful -- fannish anger at the constant, demoralizing, dehumanizing deaths of lesbian characters on television, and the straw that broke the fandom camel's back: the death of Lexa on The 100. Fans turned their heartbreak and rage over yet another dead WLW into a truly amazing, awe-inspiring call to action. Do you know how many dead WLW there were on TV in the season surrounding Lexa's murder? Do you want to cry your face off with your co-hosts this week? | |||
| 15 Dec 2024 | December 11, 2010: Fancake Opens with "Amnesia" ft. Interview with Jerakeen! | 00:56:42 | |
Holy shit, two cakes! This week, V and Emily poke around over on Dreamwidth and its potentially coolest rec comm: Fancake. Its founder and former longtime mod (9 years of work!) @jerakeenc did a really thoughtful interview with V about the inspiration for the community, things they've learned over the long course of modding a panfandom comm, and tips for starting and maintaining a positive social space on the internet. Plus, Emily and V wrestle with hanahaki disease and swoon over a good tagging system. Sources Ad Swaps & Other Business This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 07 May 2023 | May 2000: A Xena Fandom War Births "Born For War" | 01:02:15 | |
Alalaes! This week, V and Emily head back to the brand-new days of the internet and Xena: Warrior Princess fandom, where fandom wank has always been fandom wank. Although Xena/Gabrielle is a femslash fandom juggernaut, we're venturing into the world of Xena/Ares shipping and the close-knit community of people who a) hated Gabrielle and b) eventually all kind of hated each other. This was a masterclass in early-internet rarepair shipping and a nostalgic reminder of the era of single-author fic websites, messageboards, and e-mail groups. Don't do a Gab Drag, come along for the ride! Were you a Xenite? (Or, are you still?) | |||
| 06 Jun 2023 | June 2001: Cassandra Claire Sends Shockwaves Through Harry Potter Fandom | 01:15:20 | |
Draco Veritas? This week, V and Emily dig into just one of many messy threads in one of fandom's most famous wankfests: the drama of Cassandra Claire and her Harry Potter fic, The Draco Trilogy. When this fic was yanked from Fanfiction.net for allegations of plagiarism, reverberations echoed through fandom in ways that we're still feeling today -- from Fiction Alley all the way to Freeform. This is an episode in which we're pretty unrepentent li'l haters. Did you read the Draco Trilogy? Have you ever interacted with Cassandra Claire? | |||
| 23 Jun 2024 | June 19-20, 1982: The Con of Wrath | 00:55:04 | |
Beam us up! This week, Emily and V were expecting a disaster of epic proportions and bad feelings all around, but instead we got a surprisingly delightful and warm story of fandom community spirit saving a very bad situation. We both cry in this episode. It's fine. It's just Star Trek fans being great, okay?! Have you ever met a new friend at a convention? What would you do with a suitcase full of fanfiction? This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 03 Mar 2024 | February-March 2009: Racefail '09 Continues, with Guest bossymarmalade | 01:03:23 | |
No pithy exclamation this week, folks, we're jumping right into the actual episode description: This week, V and Emily are joined by Maggie @bossymarmalade, who was one of the key meta-writers during this unfortunate fandom (and wider writing world) event. "Racefail '09" is the moniker for a lengthy discussion on LiveJournal in 2009 about the role of race in fandom and the SF/F community, from heinous depictions of POC in SF/F titles to the way POC always seem to die first in fan-favorite TV shows to the lack of representation of fans of color at conventions, and more. Maggie very graciously agreed to be on TWIFH as a primary source for what it was like "on the ground" during this touchstone fandom imbroglio, and we are so grateful that she was willing to look back at this turbulent and often painful time with us. Were you a writer or follower of Racefail '09 on LJ? What do you think its legacy is in fandom today? FanHistory Wiki's Racefail Timeline Avalon's Willow's Racefail Timeline | |||
| 08 Dec 2024 | 1924: The Centennial Special! | 01:17:19 | |
The bees' knees! This week, for the ONE HUNDREDTH EPISODE, V and Emily take a trip back 100 years to look at four fandoms that ruled the year of 1924: George Gershwin's jazz, Harold Lloyd's romantic comedies, Little Orphan Annie's laughs, and Babe Ruth's colossal clout. From the amazing breadth of the Gershwin brothers' catalog to the hilarity of what passed for celebrity gossip in Photoplay, from the plight of a little Orphant to the Bambino's birthday party shenanigans, we're celebrating 100 years of fannish passion and what it really means to be a legend that never dies. Sources Girl Shy This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 24 Nov 2024 | November 9, 2010: Blaine Anderson Warbles "Teenage Dream" | 00:53:29 | |
The Warblers are like rockstars here! This week, Emily and V look at the juggernaut slash ship to come out of Glee: Kurt Hummel/Blaine Anderson, AKA Klaine, which was born in the space of three glorious musical minutes this week in fandom history in 2010, when Blaine (Darren Criss) serenaded Kurt and the rest of Dalton Academy's student body with an accappella rendition of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" and hearts around the world exploded into confetti and tiny birds. We also discuss the logistics of using slushies as a weapon for an INORDINATE length of time. Were you a Klaine shipper? What did YOU miss on Glee? Sources This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 18 Dec 2024 | December 1998 - December 2011: The Hanson Advent Calendar | 00:57:27 | |
Oh my god. This week, Emily and V discovered the existence of the single most galaxy-brain brilliant fanfiction of all time. No spoilers, but you WILL NOT predict ANY facet of this story. Also, we delve into the extremely long and impressive (and sometimes hilarious, because the '90s) history of Hanson fanfiction, AKA Hanfic. The Wayback Machine really earned its $2 donation this week, folks, because it turned up some pure gold. Sources Christmas Time on Fanlore Fannish Promotion Hurricane Helene devastated Asheville, North Carolina and other areas. It is the deadliest mainland hurricane since Hurricane Katrina, and an estimated $53 billion dollars will be needed for North Carolina to recover. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games home is in Appalachia; additionally, The Hunger Games movie was filmed in Asheville. To help support relief to those affected in the area, a fundraiser was created by those in the Fandom. This fundraiser entails a PDF zine of more than 30 plus pieces of fanart and fanfiction totaling over 330 pages of work. Those who donate to an approved charity toward relief from Hurricane Helene will receive this exclusive collection. A list of charities can be found on the fundraiser’s tumblr, @fandomsunited4hr. Approved charities include Mountain Projects, Homeward Bound, Asheville Habitat, and more. Send an email to fuhrgames74@gmail.com with proof of donation and you’ll receive over 30 exclusive fanworks from creators including V, @katnissdoesnotfollowback, @kald-dal-art and more. This collection is only available through January 04, 2024. This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 19 Mar 2023 | March 2014: Into the TriadVerse | 00:56:12 | |
Good mornin'! (Good mornin'!) This week, Emily and V dive deep into Multiamory March with a look at the 2014 invention of the TriadVerse, which is like A/B/O minus the A and O. With deep and evolving lore, a fest week, and an evolution into Multiamory March itself, the TriadVerse used ships like the eternal Don/Cosmo/Kathy from Singin' in the Rain to enchant both of our intrepid cohosts. Have you ever heard of the TriadVerse? What's your fave OT3? | |||
| 29 Dec 2024 | December 30-31, 2019: John Boyega Is Attacked by Reylos (Again) | 01:17:58 | |
Twitter is a mistake... This week, Emily and V delve into the sordid, racist behavior of Reylos (Rey/Kylo Ren shippers) towards John Boyega (Finn) in the wake of Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker, and how they weaponized their white femininity to excuse their actions. This is a tough, emotional topic, but the episode also explores just why Star Wars makes people so uniquely insane, possible reasons Disney fumbled TROS so badly, and that Kelly Marie Tran is an absolute treasure. Plus, an interlude about the terrible ending of The Baby-Sitters' Club canon. This episode would not be possible without the work of Stitch at Stitch's Media Mix for preserving tweets, Instagram comments, and videos related to the treatment of John, so special thank-you to Stitch. Sources John's Response Video This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 10 Nov 2023 | October 29, 2002: The Firefly Immediate Assistance Campaign Takes Flight | 01:05:11 | |
They attempted the impossible, and that makes them mighty! This week, Emily and V jump into the Firefly 'verse, and the Whedonverse at large, to take a look at the 2002 Firefly Immediate Assistance Campaign. They look at all of the odds stacked against Firefly by the Fox Network, and how so many of those marketing woes made the show catnip for fandom. Plus, the Jossification of scifi in the 2000s, silliness about Nathan Fillion and Jewel Staite, and why Firefly (gulp) might not hold up in 2023. Are you a Firefly fan? What are your Whedon thoughts? | |||
| 18 Feb 2024 | February 2009: Twilight Fandom Stays Wide Awake | 01:26:13 | |
Badwards and cookies and unicorns, oh my! This week, V and Emily head to Forks and dive off the cliff into the world of Twihards, Twank, and one very special gazebo as they look at the first Twilight superfic and, arguably, the one with the biggest impact on the fandom: Wide Awake by angstgoddess003. Is this fic the reason that 50 Shades of Grey exists? Kind of. Is it ridiculous? Absolutely. But did V gobble up every cookie-themed chapter? Hell yeah! Learn about a Cassandra Clare-level wank with us and -- unlike the Cullen vamps -- burst into flames of rage at E.L. James' grossness. Were you a Twihard (or perhaps a Twimom)? Do you suffer from insomnia that can only be cured by the beautiful bad boy next door?? | |||
| 15 Jan 2023 | January 1967: The First Star Trek Zine Is Distributed | 01:01:34 | |
Long live Strekdom and may it always prosper! This week, Emily and V are heading to the original frontier of fannish culture: Star Trek fan clubs of the 1960's. It's super emotional, and the women who created the groundwork of everything we love today deserve our utmost respect for their sheer ballsiness and bananas love of Leonard Nimoy. Join us as we learn about Vulcanalia, discuss ditto machines, and basically write RPF about how much we love the OG fangirls of yore. Have you paid your membership dues? Did you remember your Tupperware of snacks? | |||
| 10 Sep 2023 | September 5, 2007: The Organization for Transformative Works is Filed as a Nonprofit (TW Racism, TW CSAM, TW Antisemitism) | 01:27:30 | |
All hail (but thoughtfully)! This week, Emily's fluffy episode praising the OTW took a slight detour as this summer revealed some very ugly spots on the underbelly of the Org we all love, support, and depend on. She and V talk through their feelings about some of the things we've all learned about the OTW that are less than utopian in an episode that is... pretty fucking heavy, actually. But we still DO LOVE AND SUPPORT THE OTW AND AO3, AND SO SHOULD YOU. There are just cracks in the foundation that *must* be patched to protect fan culture and fannish lives. NOTE: We recorded this episode in July 2023, and some of the issues mentioned may have evolved or been solved since recording. Neither of us are Volunteers with the Org, but we support Volunteers and the aims of the OTW. Please support the OTW with your dollars and use the opportunity that being a donor gives you to VOTE to help create a Board that aligns with fannish ideals and protection for Volunteers. | |||
| 19 Aug 2023 | August 15, 2013: "Crazy About 1D" Airs on Channel 4 & Pathologizes Fandom | 01:04:30 | |
Protect teenage girls at all costs! This week -- because it IS still this week, we got it in under the wire! -- V and Emily return to the scorched earth battleground of One Direction fandom, but this time, the missiles were launched by the national media of Great Britain. After an offensive, heinous "documentary" about One Direction fans aired on shock-doc specialist Channel 4, even fandoms dedicated to hating 1D (like Justin Bieber fans) backed up Directioners in trying to reclaim their dignity. Yes, it's another episode where V has big feelings about letting teenage girls love stuff messily, but this time we've got QUOTES and SOURCES and DOCTORAL THESIS ABSTRACTS to back up the rage. Do you think mainstream media can ever accurately portray fandom? Have you respected the fourth wall today? | |||
| 12 Jan 2024 | January 7, 2014: The JohnLock Conspiracy Begins | 01:41:01 | |
Oh, boy. This week, Emily and V dig into yet another cult of personality and banana-bonkers conspiracy theory within fandom: BBC Sherlock's The JohnLock Conspiracy, or TJLC. From the totally normal metas dissecting why curtains are blue on the show to totally abhorrent doxxing at a convention, this episode has everything. Gay tea. Secret BBC vaults. Un... aired... specials. Were you a BBClock fan? (Given that Johnlock is the #2 ship on AO3, some of you must be!) Did you TJLC? | |||
| 16 Jun 2024 | June 10, 2016: Voltron: Legendary Defender Premieres & June 10, 2017: #shoegate | 01:01:44 | |
See ya later, pala-dudes! This week, V and Emily hit a double-header in the Voltron: Legendary Defender fandom (thanks to two requesters and V's VLD primer pal, Fran!). First, V attempts to explain what the show is about and why it launched on Netflix with a built-in fandom. And then... oh, boy. You know how our ending stinger is "well-behaved fandoms rarely make history"? Well, this fandom is VERY POORLY BEHAVED and therefore, have made history. That's for sure... Not really a TW, but just be aware that this episode is heavy on discussions of purity culture, particularly with regard to shipping age gaps. This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 14 Jan 2024 | January 2014: The Crack Van Closes Up Shop | 00:52:55 | |
Hey kids, you want some recs? This week, V and Emily go back to LiveJournal to explore a mainstay of 2000s-era fandom: the rec blog, The Crack Van. They discuss the problems with convergence culture, changing multifandom and multishipping norms, and the eternal question -- where are the rec blogs of today? | |||
| 11 Aug 2024 | July 20 - August 2, 2016: Cipher Hunt! | 00:46:06 | |
Buy gold...! This week, Emily and V look at one of the coolest fan experiences that they've ever heard about: Gravity Falls fandom's Cipher Hunt. To both celebrate and mourn the end of the series, writer Alex Hirsch created an international scavenger hunt for the fandom, and OUR LOVELY PATRON HOLLY played a pivotal role in connecting fans across the world! Plus, a look at the messages between Alex Hirsch and the absolute fucking goons of Disney Channel's S&P department. Sources This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 27 Nov 2024 | November 2021: NoCoVember | 01:00:25 | |
Time to catch the boat of losers! This week, V and Emily encounter not one, not two, not three, but SO MANY areas of fandom that we've never covered on the show, nor encountered in our elderly lives, as we cover the Total Drama fandom and its juggernaut ship, Noah/Cody AKA NoCo. From anime terminology and Wattpad novels to TikTok stitches and Roblox's existence, we are out of our depth this week. A HUGE thank you to lovely Patron @cavewomania AKA @tylejandro for helping V understand this fandom and ship! Have you ever participated in fandom on a Web 3.0 platform? Sources Fanlore This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 29 May 2023 | May 29, 2007: Strikethrough | 01:35:50 | |
It's a big one, y'all! This week, V and Emily rage their way through the anniversary of Strikethrough, or a mass censorship event on LiveJournal that destroyed huge swaths of fannish history for no fucking reason. Or rather, because a Christian special-interest group that hates queer people said that things were icky and LJ caved. If you haven't heard of Strikethrough or need a refresher on why archives that aren't beholden to advertisers are essential to the survival of fandom and fanfiction, come take a ride with us and let your blood pressure hit the roof. Were any of your fandoms a victim of Strikethrough? | |||
| 15 May 2023 | May 2007: FanLib Tries To Commercialize Fic and Everyone Has Big Feelings | 01:03:10 | |
Read the fine print! This week, Emily dug deep into why exactly we need an Archive Of Our Own and tells V all about FanLib, a short-lived for-profit, idea-mining fanfiction site partnered with TPTB of several semi-fannish TV shows. The idea? Get fans to write episodes for you for no pay, then profit because the episodes are "what fans wanted to see happen." Needless to say, fandom had a lot of feelings about FanLib and then the FanLib founders had a lot of feelings about those feelings. Did you ever enter a sanctioned fanfiction contest? Where did you read fic in the pre-AO3 world? | |||
| 23 Apr 2023 | April 26, 2019: Avengers: Endgame Reminds Us That Fandom Can Lose | 01:20:53 | |
Avengers... Assemble! This week, a COVID-ravaged V and hardier Emily discuss a fannish, and mainstream, event they know all too well: the release of "the most ambitious crossover event in history," Avengers: Endgame. While living in a fandom bubble can make it feel like "the audience" wants one thing, big blockbusters like Endgame remind us all too harshly that fandom is still just a bunch of weirdo outliers, and as far as studios are concerned, "the audience" wants something that is -- often -- the opposite of what fandom wants. Does the thought of Steve's ending also fill you with unbridled rage? What blockbuster movie left you with a hole in your soul? | |||
| 02 Oct 2023 | September 26, 1975: Rocky Horror Picture Show Premieres | 00:50:41 | |
It's just a jump to the left, and a step to the ri-i-i-ght... into fandom history! This week, thanks to a timely fan suggestion from Tumblr, V and Emily delve into the surprisingly adorable and totes emosh world of Rocky Horror Picture Show fandom. With tons of recollections from in-person fans of the '70s and '80s, this OG cosplay fandom surprised and delighted us with its creative, devoted following and super fun sense of camaraderie. Have you done a midnight showing? What movie would you "Rocky Horrorize"? | |||
| 13 Apr 2025 | March 28, 2010: The Indie Twific Award Winners Announced | 01:04:10 | |
AU/AH/OOC! This week, V and Emily fall down an Internet rabbithole to the wild and weird world of Twilight fanfiction in 2010, where contests, rec blogs, and awards reigned supreme. Specifically, the rabbithole of the Lazy Yet Discerning Ficster blog led straight to the Indie Twific Awards, where undersung Twilight fics in quirky and delightful categories were given laurels by readers and a judging panel of BNAs. There's so much going on. It's all wonderful. Also, V recounts the single most insane plot-twist she's ever encountered in anything, fic or otherwise, and it's a doozy. Join us, won't you? Sources The Indie Twific Awards on Wayback This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 10 Nov 2024 | October 2011: Project Girl Wonder Honors DC's Stephanie Brown | 00:57:16 | |
Argh, DC... This week, V and Emily take another frustrating look at how DC Comics just loves to kill off Robins, this time with added explicit misogyny toward the fanbase as well as the character they've doomed to the gallows. On the bright side, V got an amazing primer from listener katieiscunning, who loves the character of Spoiler AKA Robin AKA Batgirl AKA Stephanie Brown, and made V and Emily love her, too! Plus, author Mary Borsellino began a comics accountability website known as Project Girl Wonder in reaction to Steph's awful death, and fans have been taking DC to task for their sexism ever since. Are you a DC girlie or a Marvel gal? Sources Listener katieiscunning -- thank you!! This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 11 Feb 2024 | February 21, 2021: Sexy Times With WangXian Is Suspended From AO3 (Add Tags Here) | 00:56:00 | |
The Author would like to tell you all to suck it! This week, V and Emily scroll way, way, way back to 2021, when every single fucking page of AO3 was blighted by the tagslist on the one, the only: Sexy Times With WangXian. You know it. You hate it. And it led to archive-wide changes in tag limits and a discussion about tagging etiquette (and those terrible multifandom short-fic works that take up your whole screen. You know the ones). Were you in STWWX's direct fire? | |||
| 31 Oct 2024 | October 21, 1994: Scully Is Abducted! | 00:56:25 | |
Scullay!!! This week, Emily and V head back to a happy happenstance in 1994 as the birth of Gillian Anderson's real-life baby changes the fictional life of Dana Scully forever, in more ways than one. By changing the scope of Scully's life, the lore of The X-Files grew and expanded into something network TV had never seen before. Plus, we love how much Gillian and David Duchovny love each other, and we're both terrified IRL about Eugene Tooms possibly hiding in V's A/C vents. Sources Shitty things that happened to Dana Scully during “The X-Files,” Liz Shannon Miller Classic Moments: Dana Scully's Abduction The weirdest promo shoot you will see today, or any day. This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 22 Aug 2023 | August 1975: The August Party Becomes the First Fan Con | 01:07:16 | |
Live long and prosper! (Again!) This week, it's another Star Trek deep dive as Emily tells V the heartwarming, weep-inducing tale of the August Party, the first Star Trek fan con. With the cutest quotes and reminiscences in the world, and a wealth of people being NERDS to boot, this is a delightful event in fannish history and one we're glad to have gotten to learn about! Have you ever attended a fan con (as opposed to a commercial con)? Did you go to the August Party?? | |||
| 31 Dec 2023 | ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: The Batshit Saga of Andy Thanfiction, Part II (TW Gaslighting, Abuse, Murder, Gun Violence, Suicide, Mental Illness) | 01:30:17 | |
Happy one year of TWIFH! To celebrate the end of our first year and to give you a huge chunk o' podcast to get through New Year's Eve, this week V and Emily are holding their breaths and taking a deep dive into the strange, insidious, bananapants crazytown world of Andrew Blake AKA Jordan Wood AKA Amy Player AKA Victoria Bitter AKA VoyagerBabe AKA strwriter AKA thanfiction and his many, many crimes in the fandomspace (and outside of the fandomspace, too). Because this story deals with many heavy topics and is incredibly long and harrowing, we have split this episode into two parts. PART I covers the first ten years of Andy thanfiction's cult of personality and Munchausen by Internet, and deals with the following sensitive topics: gaslighting, intimate partner abuse, emotional abuse, suicide attempts, fraud, mental illness, Munchausen by Internet, financial abuse, and brainwashing tactics. PART II covers the second ten years of Andy thanfiction's cult of personality and downward spiral, and deals with the following sensitive topics: gaslighting, emotional abuse, Munchausen by Internet, suicide, murder (gun violence), gendered violence, intimate partner violence, unhealthy weight loss, mental illness, disassociation, financial abuse, and fraud. Sources: Andy Blake: A Timeline by @theteablogger | |||
| 16 Aug 2023 | BONUS! This Place In Fandom History: LIVE @ FanExpo Chicago '23 | 00:39:08 | |
Helloooo, Chicago! This very special bonus episode was recorded LIVE at FanExpo Chicago '23 on the Creator Stage, and we're so excited to get to share it with you all! To celebrate and thank FXC for inviting us to perform, we decided to honor the Windy City and give a brief overview of a few fannish events in a fandom that owes it all to the Chi: due South. The heartwarming tale of a Canadian Mountie, a deaf wolfdog, some ghosts, and two gentlemen named Ray, due South is one of the hardiest fandoms of the '90s and boy, howdy, was its drama nutty, eh? From the Religious War of '96 to the still-ongoing Ray Wars, due South fans have seen, said, and done it all. And we salute them here, at the first episode we've gotten to record in the same room. Enjoy! (The normal episode for this week is coming soon! COVID is delaying its release, boo.) | |||
| 26 May 2024 | May 23, 2001: Die, Seven, Die! + What Was Usenet? | 00:51:38 | |
NET.SPACE! This week, Emily and V surf their way to the earliest days of being able to connect with other human beings in cyberspace, and also, once again bow to the king of fandoms that takes place in actual space. First, Emily explains the pure haterade that was the Die, Seven, Die! Challenge after the series finale of Star Trek: Voyager. (Also, we looked up how to pronounce "Chakotay.") Then, to give some context for this unconstrained summer hatefest of fun, we look into what, exactly, Usenet was, and why Alice was the fucking best. Did you Usenet? Were you a September nuisance? This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 12 Feb 2025 | February 2, 2024: #CoDay | 00:47:10 | |
He's a special li'l guy! This week, V and Emily look at a very recent event in fandom history, Star Wars: The Clone Wars' fannish holiday celebrating their main man, almost everyone's favorite clone, Cody. Since his clone identification number is CC-2224, a mysterious yet enterprising fan saw the date 2/2/24 approaching and ran with it, creating a delightful celebration of all things fannish and all things Cody. Cody is so popular and beloved, in fact, that this episode's event was requested by not one, not two, but THREE listeners: Elismor, soundssimpleright, and an anonymous request. And having researched it? Yeah, it's delightful as hell. Are you a Clone Wars fan? Who's your favorite clone? Sources Fanlore This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 03 Jun 2024 | June 1, 2015: The Marion Zimmer Bradley & Walter Breen Episode (TW: CSA, Rape, Incest, Total Institutional Failure) | 01:02:47 | |
No quippy exclamation this week, because V and Emily delve into probably the worst, most shameful, most infuriating, just awful pair of people ever to be associated with fandom history: scifi authors and fucking monsters Marion Zimmer Bradley and Walter Breen. This is not a lighthearted episode in any way. Please heed the trigger warnings and take care of yourself if you choose to listen. History is not always fun and celebratory and silly Star Trek holidays. Sometimes it's going, "This horrible, ugly thing is part of our architectural foundation. Now what?" TW: CSA, rape, incest, total institutional failure to safeguard minors. Sources Marion Zimmer Bradley's Child Abuse MZB Gave Us New Perspectives, All Right 1960s Fan History Outline, Chapter 8 Vonda N. McIntyre: Darkover Landfall Reviewed (1974) The Guardian comments section (2014) Tor.com Yanks MZB Birthday Tribute Elizabeth Waters Deposition (1997) The Great Breen Boondoggle on Fancyclopedia This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 22 Dec 2024 | December 1997: Kielle Founds the CBFFAs | 00:50:44 | |
To us, our X-people! This week, V and Emily try desperately to understand the X-Men-specific fic genre of Subreality, created by Kielle, a huge community builder who passed too soon. We look at many of Kielle's amazingly impressive undertakings in '90s and early '00s X-Men fandom, including the creation of Subreality and the Subreality Cafe, her website the Comic Fan-Fiction Authors Network (CFAN), the Comic Book Fan-Fiction Awards (CBFFAs), the Scratching Post, and, also, just how damn much she was beloved by her fellow X-Men fans. Special thanks go out to Nevanna, our lovely Patreon donor who requested this episode and agreed to have her brain picked by V, and to X-Men fandom veterans and friends of Kielle, Rossi and Dex, who also agreed to be interviewed by V and gently corrected her about Subreality (and what a "fictive" is). Sources CBFFAs on Fanlore This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 27 Nov 2023 | December 1973: The World Meets Mary Sue | 01:02:08 | |
Let teenage girls make bad art, GODDAMMIT! This week, Emily and V beat a familiar drum as they recount the unfortunate invention of Mary Sue: she's beautiful, she's smart, she's the best pilot in the Galaxy, and all your faves are in love with her. And so what?! Who does it really harm to let girls have a power fantasy?! God forbid women do anything. And by anything, we mean write self-insert Mary Sue fanfiction about Captain Kirk and Spock and Bones all falling in love with her. She deserves it. You deserve it. We all deserve a little treat. Have you ever been accused of writing a Mary Sue? How did it affect you? | |||
| 04 Aug 2024 | July 22-23, 2017: The Supergirl Musical Homophobia Scandal | 00:56:37 | |
Up, up, and... oh no. This week, V and Emily look at yet another fandom whose femslash juggernaut OTP got dealt an unfair hand by TPTB, in looking at the fallout of the Supergirl Season 2 Musical Recap from San Diego ComicCon 2017. So much rage. So much disappointment. So much annoyance. Why can't femslashers have nice things?! This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 30 Mar 2025 | March 16, 2014: Wizard Rock Goes Down in Flames (TW Sexual Assault, Coercive Control, Emotional Abuse, Neil Gaiman Discussion) | 00:55:11 | |
Yuck... This week, Emily and V tackle a requested topic and look at the downfall of wrock, AKA Wizard Rock, aka music about Harry Potter made by semi-pro musicians in the 2000s and early 2010s. Much of the wrock genre was caught up in the blizzard of allegations that made up YouTube Abuse in 2014, the pre-MeToo movement that aimed to take vloggers who preyed on their fans to account. In particular, we look at the total shitheads who made up the band Ministry of Magic. As an extra content warning, if you miss it in the episode title: we discuss Neil Gaiman in this episode -- not in graphic detail, but just, be aware. Sources This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 31 Jul 2023 | August 2005: The First-Ever Big Bang Explodes the Fanfiction Universe | 00:41:37 | |
Bazinga! Just kidding. Not that kind of big bang (thank goodness). No, this week, Emily and V are talking about the origin of a fanfiction staple: the big bang challenge. Today, it's hard to throw a rock without hitting a fandom feverishly in the midst of a big bang. But in August 2005, the concept was new, novel-length, and named for Draco's passion for Harry. Have you ever participated in a big bang challenge? What's the longest fic you've ever written? | |||
| 15 Jul 2024 | July 4: Merry Stevemas! | 01:00:24 | |
We can do this all day! This week, Emily surprises V with an episode all about her blorbo, Steve Rogers (Captain America). It's a loosey-goosey chat about their baby blorbo boy, from his origin as the creation of two Jewish men who wanted a golem to punch Hitler in the face to their own origin stories as Steve fangirls. Plus, a rundown on AO3's top ten Steve ships! Note: There were some technical issues with the recording on this episode, so there are a few places where the audio goes a bit fuzzy. It might sound better without headphones. This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 25 Sep 2023 | September 18, 2008: Castiel First Appears on Supernatural and Destiel is Born | 01:03:12 | |
TEARFULLY: We love you. STOICALLY: This week's episode is about the introduction of Castiel and the birth of Destiel (plus the 2007 WGA strike). | |||
| 23 Mar 2025 | March 16, 1982: Earthshock Rocks Doctor Who Fandom | 00:58:55 | |
To the TARDIS! This week, V and Emily tackle a requested episode about a deeply controversial Doctor Who episode: Earthshock, which aired in 1982, featuring the Fifth Doctor. This episode killed off -- 40-year-old spoilers -- child companion Adric, and we're still seeing the effects of that choice in the writing of the show today. Although as far as it actually affected the Doctor or his other companions... well, that's up for debate. Compared to New Who companion deaths like those of Clara and Bill, Adric's was handled... uh. Well. They made some choices. Who was your favorite Doctor Who companion? Sources This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 10 Nov 2023 | November 8, 2010: The Omegaverse Is Born | 01:04:36 | |
Chomp! This week, V and Emily get deep into them guts of the omegaverse to take a long, hard look at where it came from, why it spread so quickly throughout fandom-at-large, and how it's been adapted differently in Western versus Eastern fandoms. With Emily as a noted omegaverse Li'l Hater and V as a noted Buzzfeed-approved omegaverse aficionado, all perspectives are represented (from Alpha to omega, one might say) on this heated journey. Do you omegaverse? What was the first fandom where you encountered it? | |||
| 01 Jan 2023 | January 4, 2005: LiveJournal Sold to SixApart | 01:04:55 | |
Happy New Year! It's the first week of January, and V and Emily are exploring the effects of LiveJournal's sale to SixApart Media on January 4, 2005. Fandom is an eternal wanderer, forever losing its homes on the internet. Was this sale the harbinger of things to come? How did updates to LJ's terms of use affect fandom and fanfiction? Will fandom ever find a forever-home online? | |||
| 26 Sep 2024 | September 16, 2012: The Bullshit Tweet | 01:03:51 | |
#*@%$(*! This week, V and Emily head back to the event that caused the Great Schism Of One Direction Fandom: The Bullshit Tweet. V has an epiphany about her longest-ever fic and one of her big OTPs of the early 2010s, and Emily feels a lot of empathy for both Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson in the face of all the, well, bullshit thrown at them for years. Plus, Zayn Malik has common sense about emus. Have you ever been in a fandom that got its wrist slapped by the object of its affection (or its creator)? Sources Everything I Need I Get From You by Kaitlyn Tiffany VICE: The "No Homo" Fantasy That Is One Direction This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 28 Jan 2024 | January 29, 1996: Threshold Day! | 00:46:00 | |
PEPPERONI! This week, V and Emily go completely off the rails as they join in on the annual Star Trek holiday of Threshold Day. This is the silliest episode we have ever done and likely will ever do. Get ready for salamanders! Polls! Crabs! Daddy issues! If you've never celebrated Threshold Day, just... get ready. With thanks to @hollie47, @vanilkaplays, @fictionalred, @forfuckssakejim, @myenterpriseisparked, @spacelizardswhopassedthreshold, @wanderingwriter87, @ohmyoverland, and Star Trek fandom as a whole. Also, the salamander babies. | |||
| 05 Mar 2025 | Minisode #005 + Minisode #006 | 00:08:34 | |
How would you celebrate a holiday all about your blorbo? + What is the biggest contribution you’ve made to your fandom? Anything counts, including being a kudos-leaver and headcanon-cheerleader!In 2025, TWIFH is starting something new… minisodes! These will be released on Wednesdays as a li'l sneak preview of the topic for the upcoming full-length episode on Sunday. Huge thank-you to all of the wonderful listeners who sent in replies for this minisode. Additionally, thank you to everyone who has been kind and patient with us as we had to take an unexpected break due to bereavement.
Check http://www.thisweekinfandomhistory.com to see the current minisode question and send us your response! | |||
| 19 Dec 2023 | December 2015: Miraculous Ladybug Premieres in the USA to Fannish Joy | 00:50:17 | |
Bonjour! This week, Emily and V look into another fandom neither of them knows much about: Miraculous Ladybug, one of Tumblr's biggest fandoms of 2023. They look into the premise and basic plot of the show, its adorable OTP love square (with only two people), and the long and much-anticipatory road to its premiere in America. Just what makes this show such fandom bait? Do you Miraculous Ladybug? | |||
| 31 Dec 2023 | ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: The Batshit Saga of Andy Thanfiction, Part I (TW Gaslighting, Abuse, Suicide Attempt, Fraud, Mental Illness) | 01:41:12 | |
Happy one year of TWIFH! To celebrate the end of our first year and to give you a huge chunk o' podcast to get through New Year's Eve, this week V and Emily are holding their breaths and taking a deep dive into the strange, insidious, bananapants crazytown world of Andrew Blake AKA Jordan Wood AKA Amy Player AKA Victoria Bitter AKA VoyagerBabe AKA strwriter AKA thanfiction and his many, many crimes in the fandomspace (and outside of the fandomspace, too). Because this story deals with many heavy topics and is incredibly long and harrowing, we have split this episode into two parts. PART I covers the first ten years of Andy thanfiction's cult of personality and Munchausen by Internet, and deals with the following sensitive topics: gaslighting, intimate partner abuse, emotional abuse, suicide attempts, fraud, mental illness, Munchausen by Internet, financial abuse, and brainwashing tactics. PART II covers the second ten years of Andy thanfiction's cult of personality and downward spiral, and deals with the following sensitive topics: gaslighting, emotional abuse, Munchausen by Internet, suicide, murder (gun violence), gendered violence, intimate partner violence, unhealthy weight loss, mental illness, disassociation, financial abuse, and fraud. Sources: Andy Blake: A Timeline by @theteablogger | |||
| 15 Jan 2025 | Minisode #003 | 00:09:21 | |
What is your favorite collectible or piece of fannish merch that you own?In 2025, TWIFH is starting something new... minisodes! These will be released on Wednesdays as a li'l sneak preview of the topic for the upcoming full-length episode on Sunday. Huge thank-you to all of the wonderful listeners who sent in replies for this minisode! Check out our tumblr to see some photos of the submitted merch, too!
Check http://www.thisweekinfandomhistory.com to see the current minisode question and send us your response! | |||
| 09 Mar 2025 | February 28, 1986: Pretty In Pink Proves the Brat Pack Possess Power | 01:06:13 | |
That's not a name, that's a major appliance! This week, V and Emily use the release of iconic teen film "Pretty In Pink" as an excuse to look at the influence of the Brat Pack on film, fandom, and film fandom since 1985. "Pretty In Pink" is a part of why Star Wars IX has the chopped-up feel it does; the Brat Pack themselves changed the nature of how fans and celebrities were meant to relate to one another. And, of course, the VCRification (it's a word) of movie-watching feeds right into the issues with direct-to-streaming fan culture today. What's your favorite Brat Pack film? Are you a brain... an athlete... a basketcase... a princess... or a criminal? Tell us on our Tumblr! Sources You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried, Susannah Gora This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 09 Feb 2025 | January 24, 1996: The NATPE 7 Strike Las Vegas | 01:01:18 | |
Get in position! This week, Emily and V look at one of the most impressive fan campaigns that we've ever covered on the show, and we also got to revisit one of our favorite fandoms to cover: Forever Knight. When FK was canceled mid-season in 1996, the fandom scrambled to cover all bases and make sure USA Network knew that these vampires needed their day in the sun. So to speak. What ensued was a bold takeover of the NATPE (National Association of Television Program Executives, aka TPTB's bosses' bosses) conference in Las Vegas. The tale is delightful. Those seven ladies were seven Nick Furies, only with a deep love for Canadian vampire cops. Have you ever been part of a fannish campaign to save a show? Let us know! Sources The NATPE 7 Homepage This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 09 Jun 2024 | June 5-6, 1832—Present: Barricade Day Makes Les Amies de Les Mis Fandom Cry | 00:52:10 | |
And I can hear them now! This week, Emily and V pre-emptively apologize for their French accents and inability to pronounce "Enjolras" as we look at the Les Mis fandom holiday of Barricade Day. While the real event was an unmitigated tragedy, and it was also an unmitigated tragedy in the book, musical, and movie adaptations, Barricade Day is a wholesome fandom holiday for Les Mis fans to gather and write, draw, sing, and hope for a happier ending for their beloved Amis de l'ABCs. We love it. This is also a very silly and loosey-goosey episode to make up for the total bummer of last week. It is not... misérable, one might say. This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 13 May 2024 | May 3, 2021: Dracula Daily Delivers the First Message From Our Friend Jonathan | 01:03:40 | |
Paprika! This week, Emily and V head back to 2021 -- but mostly 2022, carte blanche -- to look at the phenomenon of Dracula Daily and its explosion of popularity on Tumblr. We also head to 1992 to look at the worst movie of all time, Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring extremely beautiful people who were all in extremely different movies all at once. And then we traipse to 1897 to look at the original novel of Dracula and its extremely weird creation by a very strange l'il guy, Bram Stoker. Plus, bats! Bats everywhere! Also, Jack the Ripper! Also, you may note that this is actually a date from last week (in fandom history). And um. So is... so is the next episode. V messed up the spreadsheet a little bit and we didn't notice until we'd recorded three episodes in a row that happened on either May 3 or May 4. ...It won't happen again, probably.
| |||
| 26 Jun 2023 | June 25, 2011: "Let's Get Gay Married!" Commentfic Meme Launched | 00:48:07 | |
I do! This week, Emily and V talk commentfic and comment memes back in the LJ days because the "Let's Get Gay Married!" Commentfic Meme started this week in fandom history as a celebration of marriage equality passing into law in New York state. Plus, a rundown on what commentfic and comment memes were like since they've mostly gone the way of the dinosaur -- largely extinct -- and they were a magical time in fannish collaboration. Did you participate in commentfic or comment memes? And how did you celebrate marriage equality? | |||
| 05 Feb 2023 | February 1983: Groundhog Day Stories Published, Helping Create Slash As We Know It | 00:56:33 | |
All hail Punxatawney Phil! This week, Emily and V go back to the rad 1980s and learn about a fandom they'd never considered before: Starsky & Hutch. It turns out these two slashable dudes helped to forge fandom as we know it today, and the publication of the fic "February 2nd" by Alexis Rogers is a big part of why we all love it when a blond man and a brunet man who are a sunshine one and a grumpy one bone down. Have you considered how to trade slash zines when they were "obscene material"? And will you do your part to launch TWIFH's hip new meme? | |||
| 08 Jan 2025 | Minisode #002 + Patreon Preview! | 00:23:10 | |
What is the silliest celebrity feud you've ever followed or had investment in?In 2025, TWIFH is starting something new... minisodes! These will be released on Wednesdays as a li'l sneak preview of the topic for the upcoming full-length episode on Sunday. Huge thank-you to all of the wonderful listeners who sent in replies for this minisode! Show Notes Agents of SHIELD/Agent Carter Dubsmash War
Check http://www.thisweekinfandomhistory.com to see the current minisode question and send us your response! | |||
| 17 Mar 2024 | March 1988: The Killing Joke Is Released | 00:56:03 | |
Do you want to know how he got these scars? This week, Emily and V take a trip to Gotham City to look back at Alan Moore's Batman magnum opus, The Killing Joke. While it garnered tons of accolades for its darkness, grittiness, violence, and portrayal of The Joker's semi-definitive backstory, The Killing Joke has also received a lot of (totally warranted) criticism for its darkness... grittiness... violence... and misogyny. The history and continued legacy of what happened to Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke is complex, dark, and hard to reconcile. Oracle was a badass character who represented a deeply underserved portion of the DC Comics audience; however, Gail Simone kind of had a point that it was metatextually misogyny keeping Babs in her chair. DC's choice(s) surrounding Barbara have no easy answers. However, your intrepid hosts do find a light in the dark-grim-grittiness of Gotham as they discover (create) its worst strip mall and the heroic citizens who brave its potholes... | |||
| 13 Mar 2023 | March 2009: Fandom March Madness Launches on LiveJournal | 01:14:12 | |
Are you ready for some... fandom voting and bracket statistics? This week, V and Emily head back to 2009 for a cherished fandom free-for-all throwdown, Fandom March Madness. This event revealed a lot of ugly fandom traits of misogyny, White Feminism, racism, and just plain bad taste, even as it brought people from across the fandomsphere together for a week of cheering on their faves and having fun. We can still learn from the lessons taught in ye olde Fandom March Madness, but we -- perhaps optimistically -- think that it would shake out quite differently in 2023. Who did you vote for in FMM? And who would win a cage match, Leslie Knope or Peggy Carter? | |||
| 01 Jan 2025 | Minisode #001 | 00:19:10 | |
Which fictional character would you go to battle for -- especially against their canon writer(s)?Happy New Year! In 2025, TWIFH is starting something new... minisodes! These will be released on Wednesdays as a li'l sneak preview of the topic for the upcoming full-length episode on Sunday. Huge thank-you to all of the wonderful listeners who sent in replies for this very first minisode!
Check http://www.thisweekinfandomhistory.com to see the current minisode question and send us your response! | |||
| 06 Oct 2024 | October 2-16, 2010: WAR Thirteen, In Memory of Susan M. Garrett | 00:45:34 | |
Get out your tissues, listeners! (Seriously.) This week, V and Emily split the episode in two parts: first, the very silly attempt to understand how the Forever Knight fandom went to WAR! for the thirteenth time in 2010. Second, a look into the fannish life and ongoing impact of Forever Knight BNF Susan M. Garrett, who seems like she was a completely awesome fangirl, writer, and person. V and Emily both weep like babies in this episode because sometimes, the fans who make history ARE well-behaved, and they rock, and we love to learn about and remember them. Sources FanDominion.com's Obituary for Susan M. Garrett Farewell, Dear Fen: In Memorium This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
| 16 Apr 2023 | April 1979: "Bunkies" Introduces Everyone's Favorite Trope | 01:17:31 | |
There was only one bed! Everyone knows it, everyone loves it, and this week, Emily and V go back to the '70s to discuss the story that birthed it: "Bunkies," starring Han/Luke. Star Wars fandom was already Star Wars fandom by 1979, and the gals delve deep into all of that mess. Were you ever deeply insulted by being called a "Luke Lover"? Have you read the best open letter of all time (to George Lucas, of course)? | |||
| 12 Feb 2023 | February 2013: Femslash February Founded | 01:03:12 | |
Happy Femslash February! This week, V and Emily go back ten years to the introduction of an annual fandom holiday: Femslash February. Whether you're devout or just dipping your toes into the spiritual waters of femslash celebration, this episode goes hard on preaching the gospel of all things F/F. Why should dudes get all the attention? Also, just how shameful is the filthy tangent in the middle of the ep? | |||
| 07 Nov 2023 | October 16, 2019: Yahoo! Groups Purge Announced | 01:00:22 | |
Another week, another purge... this week, Emily and V take a stroll back to Yahoo! Groups for a crash course on what they were, how they worked, and why they mattered. The episode takes a surprisingly sad turn as they consider how draining it is to constantly report on purges of huge portions of fannish history and what it really means when a company axes a huge repository of people's hard work, creativity, and passion. Then of course it gets a bit silly again at the end. Join us -- group pun! -- won't you? | |||
| 13 Nov 2023 | November 2003: The First Yuletide Exchange Opens | 01:00:04 | |
Baaa, says the Yuletide Goat! This week, Emily and V celebrate 20 years of fannish Yuletide, the biggest fic exchange there ever was for the tiniest fandoms there could ever be. V, newly freed from Yuletide Jail, chimes in with on-the-ground experience while Emily gives the stats and facts as someone who's never heard of Yuletide before now. Featured are Yuletide's greatest hits: Folgercest, Wait Wait Don't Eat Me, and Re: The Snake Portion Of Your Defense, plus Anthony Bourdain and a whole mess of oceanic fears. Do you Yuletide? What did you request this year? | |||
| 21 Jul 2024 | July 10-11, 2023: The OTW Suffers a DDoS Attack | 00:54:50 | |
ATTACK! This week, V tells Emily about the 2023 DDoS attacks against the OTW, particularly AO3, and how amazing the SysAdmin volunteers defended the servers and got the sites back online. Plus, how fandom reacted to A Very Bad 24 Hours In Fandom History -- because there was ANOTHER dumb/bad event happening over on Tumblr, too! -- and perhaps the greatest fanfiction of all time. | |||
| 29 Jan 2023 | January-February 2010: Help_Haiti Auction... And Its Aftermath | 01:21:16 | |
Get out your pocketbooks! This week, V and Emily go back to one of fandom's highest highs and a pretty low low as they discuss the 2010 Help_Haiti charity auction... and the infamous J2 Haiti Fic. After the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, fandom came together for one of its largest charity auctions ever, raising an unprecedented amount of money for aid on the ground. Unfortunately, nice things can't stay nice, and the same devastating loss of life was later used as fodder for J2 to fall in very white-boy love. Where is the line between inspiration and exploitation? | |||
| 07 Nov 2023 | October 26, 2017: The Hamilton Cannibal Mermaid HIVliving Wank | 00:58:29 | |
What an amazing bowl of word salad! Yes, those words are all in the right order, and this week, V and Emily explain how, why, and who the culprits were in this fandom wank of epic proportions. It's got everything. Cannibal mermaids. Chinese-Pakistani sex trafficking survivors. Politician RPF writers. Lin... Manuel... Miranda. This is truly one of the fannish implosions of all time. Were you involved in Hamilton fandom? Did you read either of the fics in this tale? | |||
| 05 Jan 2025 | January 1994: H.E.A.T. Sets Out to Avenge Green Lantern | 00:54:57 | |
In brightest day, in blackest night...! This week, V and Emily look at a demographic that we haven't covered too much on TWIFH: fanboys. And this week, it's the fanboys who are behaving badly, as once AGAIN we head over to DC Comics in the early 1990s for some straight-up bullshit. This time, it's all grand and it's all green as an "Emerald Twilight" descends over Coast City and hoo, boy, were the results -- both in-universe and in the real world -- terrible. Nothing says "I'm a fan of this thing" like declaring that you're going to attack real people over the fate of a fictional character, amirite? Also, if you need to know the current prices of laminating machines, we've got you covered. (As would a laminating machine.) Sources H.E.A.T.'s Tripod Website This Week In Fandom History is a fandom-centric podcast that tells you… what happened this week in fandom history!
| |||
