Feminist Frequency Radio

A.C. and Kat are back from their first semester at Shiz University for winter break, and we just had to talk about Jon M. Chu's blockbuster Broadway adaptation of Wicked: Part One. Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the story before the story we all know from The Wizard of Oz, this is a tale that was originally published as a novel by Gregory Maguire in 1995. On its face it's a movie about accepting yourself when you don't...

Kat's fighting a vicious cold, and only had enough raspy voice left to record a bonus mini episode with AC this week. We caught up on all of the random movies and TV Kat watched while traveling or coughing on the couch, from Hit Man and Trap to Love Again and Hot Frosty. AC shared what movies he rewatches annually on Thanksgiving, and yes—The Silence of the Lambs is first on his list. Plus, we talk about AC's new publication with C...

Luke Perry biographer Margaret Wappler joined us for a conversation about her hybrid memoir profiling the '90s heartthrob, and the impact Perry had on viewers from 90210 to Riverdale. We dug into Fran Rubel Kuzui's 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starring Perry alongside Kristy Swanson and Donald Sutherland. We particularly loved the comedic swings of supporting cast members Paul Reubens and David Arquette. Overall, we think th...

Writer and musician Tara Giancaspro joins Kat and A.C. for a rootin' tootin' rip-roarin' review of Colin Higgins' 1982 movie musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. We get lost in the fun and charm of the music, dancing, and wigs! We delight in the beauty of Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds! And we get caught up in a discussion of whether a movie like this could be made today, with its light-hearted treatment of sex workers bein...

Anita Sarkeesian returns to the podcast this week to discuss Coralie Fargeat's buzzy body horror film The Substance, starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. Anita gives the movie 5 out of 5 stars, but she, Kat, and A.C. all find something uniquely different to love about it. After an electrifying in-theater experience, we couldn't stop thinking about its storytelling on the panopticon of the patriarchal gaze. Not to mention its g...

Film critic and podcast host Alonso Duralde previously joined us for a discussion about 1950s Hollywood, and it was such a treat to have him return to the show. He recently published the film history compendium Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance in Film, so what better film for us to watch together than William Wyler's 1961 opus of lesbian shame, The Children's Hour, starring Audrey Hepburn and...

We were so excited to welcome author and journalist Emma Specter to the show, that we asked them if we could talk about their favorite movie. Join us as we traverse journalism onscreen in James L. Brooks' 1987 film Broadcast News, starring Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Albert Brooks. We also ask Emma about the process of writing her reported memoir, More, Please, and what she might say about elements of the movie "as a private ci...

Kat and A.C. are starving for a blockbuster to make them feel something, as if the movies are actually, finally back. So, they saw Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters, and unfortunately—they’re still hungry. Listen in as they hypothesize about what Glenn Powell’s character was doing in the years before the events of this film took place (while Anthony Ramos’ was “working for the military” and Daisy Edgar-Jones’ was Being A City Girl). Could...

Kat and A.C. ~*witnessed*~ the fifth installment in George Miller’s apocalypse epic, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and… we found it completely unnecessary. We know that movies about women are not by default inherently feminist (Anita tweeted about this specifically related to Fury Road back in 2015), but it’s always a bummer when we’re more invested in the male characters in a movie centered around a female protagonist. Then, we played a...

Who’s in the mood for a little June Gloom? We finally watched John Frankenheimer’s 1966 film Seconds, starring Rock Hudson, in a feature segment we’re calling “Retro Featurism.” Kat and A.C. wonder what its Frankenstein-esque plotline in which viewers could find gay or trans messaging, says about the current moment where stories like Poor Things and Severance (and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s upcoming The Bride) are resonating with audience...

In this week’s episode, Kat holds court on the movie that seemed uniquely designed just for her (which she ultimately found fairly disappointing): The Fall Guy. Directed by longtime stunt performer David Leitch and starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, A.C. and Kat predominantly found the movie… “cute.” Which is fine! But Kat was really hoping for a lot more about the love of stunts, all things considered. Then, A.C. debuts a new,...

Join Kat and A.C. for a discussion of Monkey Man, the directorial debut of star Dev Patel. We talk about action movie tropes, what happens when actors get to make their first feature behind the camera, and the “internet boyfriend”-ification of British boys in the 2010s. Plus, the return of our ill-advised celebrity guessing game entitled, “What’s Wrong With Me?”

Find Kat:

• twitter.com/kat_ex_machina
• letterboxd.com/katexmachina

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Join Kat and A.C. for a discussion of one of their most hotly anticipated movies of 2024, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. The FFR hosts were mixed on their reactions, but both saw opportunities where it could have ascended to greater heights than it ultimately did—in particular with the underwritten female character in the middle of the film’s central love triangle. While we love the c...

This week, we’re releasing the first bonus episode of the season on the main feed so that everyone can get a teaser of the new format of extra content typically reserved exclusively for our supporters on Patreon! In this bonus episode, we’re discussing Pedro Almodóvar’s short film Strange Way of Life starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke.

Discussed in this episode: Former FFR guest Inkoo Kang’s podcast “All About Almodóvar.”

Find Kat...

And we’re back! For the first episode of our first season as an independent podcast following the sunset of the Feminist Frequency nonprofit organization, we thought we’d discuss one of the most exciting new independent films we’ve seen: Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker. Join Feminist Frequency Radio co-hosts Kat Spada and A.C. Lamberty as they talk about the movie’s unconventional crowdsourced production, what it gets so right about...

FFR Season Preview: Anyone But You with new co-host A.C. Lamberty

Feminist Frequency Radio is coming back for its first new season as an independent podcast following the sunset of the FF organization after an incredible 15 years. Kat Spada is thrilled to be re-joined by new co-host A.C. Lamberty, who joined Kat last year for FFR's indulgent "Machos: Fully Loaded" limited series.

In this week's episode we're catching up on Feminist F...

We’re wrapping up this season of FFR just as we started it, with Anita Sarkeesian returning for an episode where she and host Kat Spada talk about a classic movie they both love and could watch over and over. But while this season’s first episode featured Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing, this week we’re focusing on a more unconventional romantic leading man—but one that has nevertheless stood the test of time—Nicolas Cage opposite ...

Feminist Frequency Radio is celebrating the holidays with the creepy Christmas classic, 1984’s Gremlins. Joining Kat is this episode’s special guest: actor, comedian, and dancer Oscar Montoya.

Links Mentioned:

• Gremlins 2 sketch from Key & Peele: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x01l_jMhjVM
• La Más Draga: https://www.youtube.com/@LAMASDRAGAOFICIAL
• 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s: https://www.theringer.com/60-songs-that-explain-the-90s
• T...