Free the Squee
Hosted by Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet
Do you like to peel back the obvious and examine all the layers of your favorite characters and stories from all types of media? So do we! Join us, Drs. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet, a couple of nerdy, queer psychologists, as we put all things pop culture on the therapy couch, explore the joy of storytelling and Free The Squee! Dropping whenever we get a a free hour in our schedules.
8 You Can Ship a Ship Ship
Stacy and Heather revisit a previous squee: The Taylor Swift Eras Tour, and talk about an up and coming new squee, Aliette de Bodard’s The Red Scholar’s Wake. Speaking of squee, it’s time to debrief Gally! There’s a lot to unpack about the world’s largest and longest running Doctor Who Con (and a rather long ribbon roll to boot!) In honor of cherry blossom season we spend some time with Japanese culture. Our Tell and Tell this episode is all about tea and remarkable Japanese tableware. We touch on customs and meaning making, and why it might be okay to spend $200 on a tea cup. Then we take on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Academy Award Winner Godzilla Minus One, (and maybe a giant flying turtle) in our chat about intergenerational trauma, and what monsters might mean in media.
Previous Episodes
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February 14, 2024 Cultural Gaffs, 2023 Doctor Who Specials, and Gallifrey One-here we come!7 One Ribbon Isn’t Enough
This episode is bigger on the inside as Heather and Stacy talk the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate in the 2023 Doctor Who Specials, Ncuti Gatwa as the Flirty Doctor (you heard it here first, people!), anticipating Free The Squee’s first appearance at the Gallifrey One Convention, and Heather’s Ode to Verity Podcast. But first, it’s time to get a little serious about cultural gaffs, friendship and making amends. Let’s get going- we’ve got a lot of ground to cover and we left our TARDIS at home.
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February 5, 2024 Rock n’ Roll Dolly, Lestat’s staircase, and Percy’s blue cake.
6 Vampires Are Worth Shin Splints
Hello there fellow nerds, and welcome to our first episode of 2024. Stacy and Heather are joined by the fabulous and brilliant Mikayla, aka Younger Spawn, for some fangirling over Percy Jackson! But before we get there, we talk about Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Dolly Parton and her new album, Rockstar. We chat collabs, what it means to cover vs. re-tell a song, and how much voice and context can change meaning. Then, there might be some squeeing over NOLA and a certain vampire.
Storytelling weaves this episode together: perspective, meaning making, connection, and how stories become part of who we are. Enjoy!
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December 24, 2023 Episode 5-A Special Holiday Double Edition
5 “Your Zayde Is a Level 20 Archdruid?!?”
Happy Holidays, fellow nerds! Join Heather and Stacy, and our special guest Annette Wierstra! Annette is the Director of Agents of Smooch, another Incomparable Podcast, and we can’t think of anyone better to go round and round with us as we review Round and Round, Hallmark Channel’s latest Hannukah movie! Join us as we schmooze about time loops and tradition, the twists, the turns, and the magic dreidel!
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November 22, 2023 What happens when fandoms collide?
4 Target Fangirls and the Uterati
What happens when two segments of a fandom collide? Join us for Heather’s adventures in Target to find out! Then keep listening as Stacy and Heather try to answer the question: where are all the menopausal stories in pop culture? Not just menopause, but what’s up with the complete absence of women’s experience of their bodies at all? It’s an episode full of questions! Where is the face cream? Where have all the hormones gone? Who are the Uterati?
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October 23, 2023 What is horror and why do we like it? (Well, Stacy LOVES it. Heather is mostly confused by it.) Plus, a deep dive into the Flanaverse.
3 Horror is a Trench (Not a Bucket)
It’s spooky season! Heather and Stacy talk all things horror (sometimes with explicit language, eek!) including why humans might like a good jump scare. With special love for the Flanaverse (All Hail Kate Siegel!) and a nod to Freddy down on Elm Street, let’s get into what scares us and what brings us together.
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October 5, 2023 Coming out: representation or requirement? Finishing sentences: affinity or interruption?
2 Let’s Give Them Something To Talk About
Heather and Stacy introduce their new opening segment, Content and Process. (Which is what? Exactly?) What’s it like to see yourself or your hometown on TV? When does representation matter and why? And how do we talk about it allllll without interrupting the flow? Let’s get into it, people!
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August 31, 2023 SDCC on The Couch & the summer of Taylor
1 Just Open The Damn Door
Welcome to our first official Squee! We’re keeping it short and sweet in our debut episode. Stacy puts San Diego Comic-Con on the couch, wondering if the single unlocked door opening morning indicates an ADHD diagnosis or if the Con is just stuck in perpetual adolescence. Heather dishes about attending a summer concert by little known singer/song-writer, Taylor Swift.
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July 19, 2023
0 Free the Squee!
Do you like to peel back the obvious and examine all the layers of your favorite characters and stories from all types of media? So do we! Join us, Drs. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet, a couple of nerdy, queer psychologists, as we put all things pop culture on the therapy couch, explore the joy of storytelling and Free The Squee! Dropping whenever we get a a free hour in our schedules. First episode coming August, 2023.