Tender Subject

Frankenstein with JJ and Jake Flores!

This week on Tender Subject, we are joined by comedian Jake Flores and writer J †Johnson to talk Frankenstein. We dissect the book and the 2025 film through queer and Marxist theory and get into why the film often let us down.  
Media referenced:
Frankenstein by Mary ShelleySkin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters by J HalberstamCapitalism: A Horror Story by Jon Greenaway
J †Johnson 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.
Jake is the co-host of Pod Damn America, Why You Mad and The Preacher and The Slave. He’s also a standup! Follow him on insta for dates.
Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.

044-Jess Franco with Jane Altoids

This week on Tender Subject we are joined by Jane Altoids to dissect two Jess Franco surgery movies: The Awful Dr. Orloff (1972) and Faceless (1987). We discuss Franco as a complicated auteur, his mythology and legacy, then get into two body horror movies that bookended his career! 
Media referenced: Murderous Passions, Volume 1: The Delirious Cinema of Jesús Franco Flowers of Perversion, Volume 2: The Delerious Cinema of Jesús Francoby Steven Thrower (unfortunately vol. 1 is out of print)The Films of Jess Franco, Antonio Lázaro-Reboll and Ian OlneyJane Altoids is a celebrity, writer and podcaster. You can find her here and listen to her on Pacino Pod.Mae is co-host of the podcast Pleasers and Punishers, is a Scooby on Slayerfest98 and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.

043-Earthlings/Convenience Store Woman w/Langdon from Death/Sentence

Kayte is Joined by Langdon from Death/Sentence podcast for a discussion about Sayaka Murata's books Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman. We talk biopolitics, cannibalism both literal and figurative, trauma and living in a society. Media referenced: Gina Meyers' new book of poetry, Works and DaysBuy Earthlings and Convenience Store Woman on BookshopThe Biopolitical Body of Convenience Store Woman by Meg Horrridge
Langdon is the host of Death/Sentence and writes here!
Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!
 

042-Altered States with Gabe Pacheco

This Week, Kayte and Dave are joined by returning fave, comedian Gabe Pacheco for a deep dive into the drug fueled Ken Russell film Altered States. We talk about getting high, colonialism, the simian monster and the bliss of turning to sand with your lover. 
Media Referenced: Altered States: Visions and Divisions by Jessica Kiang
Patriarchal-Industrial Anxiety and the Return of the Repressed (Eco-critical) Simian Monster by David Christopher 
 
Gabe is the co-host of Halal Cartels. Go see Gabe perform by following him here and here!Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

041-Cuckoo with JJ and Mae!

This week Kayte and Mae are joined by writer and editor of Cul de Sac of Blood (a horror poetics journal) J †Johnson to sink our teeth into Gretchen Felker-Martin's nightmarish novel Cuckoo. We talk about the unknowable monster, the horror of the family and liken the book's desert conversion camp to the violence of ecological colonialism and memoricide. "Elements of Semitism" by Jake Romm, Parapraxis Magazine"The State Wants to Remember For You. Don't Let it" by Camelia Berry-GrassJJ 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 co-host of the podcast Pleasers and Punishers, is a Scooby on Slayerfest98 and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here.

040-Videodrome with Jake Flores

Long live the new flesh. Kayte, Dave and guest Jake Flores dig into David Cronenberg’s weirdo masterpiece, Videodrome. We talk Marshall McCluhan, techno-utopians, techno-fascists, kink and more! Media referenced: 
The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McCluhan and Quentin Fiore 
Rev Left Radio: episode on Marshall McCluhan & The Medium is the Message with Matthew Furlong. Listen here.
Videodrome: The Slithery Sense of Unreality by Gary Indiana. Read here
Jake is the co-host of Pod Damn America, Why You Mad (on hiatus but listen to the old eps!) and The Preacher and The Slave. He’s also a standup! Follow him on insta for dates.
Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

The Lure with Mae and DeVaughn

Help us come ashore, we won’t eat you, my dear. This week, we deep dive into the mermaid musical, The Lure (2015) (directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska) with our guest DeVaughn Taylor. We talk about Poland in the ‘80s, mermaid lore, trans themes, disgust and desire and so much more. 
Find DeVaughn as a co-host on Specter Cinema Club and Tainted Love and a regular on The Pod and the Pendulum
Mae is co-host of the podcast Pleasers and Punishers, is a Scooby on Slayerfest98 and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here

038-Dumplings with Gretchen Felker-Martin & Sophie Lewis!

This week, we are slurping and crunching our way through Fruit Chan’s film Dumplings with guests Gretchen Felker-Martin and Sophie Lewis! We talk about the politics of food, abortion, class in Hong Kong and Birkin bags! 
Media referenced: 
Fruit Chan's "Dumplings"—New "Diary of a Madman" in Post-Mao Global Capitalism by Lu Tonglin
Buy Gretchen’s books: Manhunt, Cuckoo and newly published Black Flame from Tor Nightfire 
Buy Sophie’s books: Full Surrogacy Now!, Abolish the Family and Enemy Feminisms
Follow Gretchen and Sophie on Patreon (I do!)
 

037-Renaissance Pain & Pleasure with Jonathan Van Dyke!

Boils and blood and side wounds, oh my! This week we are joined by artist/professor (and Kayte's MFA thesis mentor!) Jonathan Van Dyke to talk about Renaissance paintings, torture, eroticism and more. On the menu: Jesus's sexuality, saints in ecstasy, leaky artists and why so many old Christian paintings look so queer. 
About Jonathan Van Dyke:  Jonathan VanDyke is a New York City–based visual artist working at the intersection of painting and performance, with an emphasis on a queer, collaborative, and embodied practice. He is an Artist in Residence at Bard College and teaches for Pig Iron Theater and has many many shows you can read more about here! Or, follow JVD on insta!
This is probably our most research heavy episode to date so please peruse our media referenced! 
Readings:
Steinberg, Leo. The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and Modern Oblivion, University of Chicago, 1983.Jones, Amelia. "Performing the Wounded Body: Pain, Affect and the Radical Relationality of the Body", Parallax, 2009Van Dyke, Jonathan. "Hold, Still", free copy hereVan Dyke, Jonathan. "Why Do So Many Old Christian Paintings Look So Queer?", free copy here
Paintings we discussed:
Francesco Bachiacca, The Flagellation of Christ, 1512-1515, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Diego de la Cruz, The Mass of St. Gregory, 1490, oil and gold on panel, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Giovanni Bellini, Lamentation Over the Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdalen between Saint Martha and Filippo Benizi, 1510-16, oil on canvas, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice.
Marcello Fogolino, Madonna and Child enthroned with Job and St Gothard1505-1508, oil on canvas, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk!
Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

036- The Ugly Stepsister with Payton McCarty-Simas

The shoe is too small for her, the true bride waits for you. This week we dig our teeth into the bloody fairy tale of Cinderella retold as the film The Ugly Stepsister with our guest, writer/editor Payton McCarty-Simas. We talk through the rot of beauty standards, overbearing mothers and fuckboy princes through the many iterations of tale, including Angela Carter's Ashputtle and Grimm's Cinderella. Media referenced: "Cinderella" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (read for free here)"Ashputtle or The Mother's Ghost: Three Versions of One Story", American Ghosts and Old World Wonders by Angela Carter (read for free here)"Deconstructing a Disempowering Normative Identity: Angela Carter's Adaptation of the Ashputtle Story" by Per Bauhn and Fatma Fulya TepePre-Order Payton's book here!Read more of Payton's work here!Mae is also a Scooby on Slayerfest98 and makes music at eversonpoeKayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here