Episode 78: (Part 1) Zero Stars, Nul Points: June Thomas on Failure, Cynicism, and Eurovision

Links to June’s Newsletter! https://buttondown.com/WhereAre — June Thomas — Book A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women’s Culture Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/s?k=A+Place+of+Our+Own+June+Thomas Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=A+Place+of+Our+Own+June+Thomas — Podcasts by June Thomas Working (Slate) https://slate.com/podcasts/working The Waves (Slate) https://slate.com/podcasts/the-waves Outward (Slate LGBTQ podcast) https://slate.com/podcasts/outward Culture Gabfest (June as contributor / alum) https://slate.com/podcasts/culture-gabfest — Eurovision Songs Discussed in This Episode Jemini – “Cry Baby” (United Kingdom, 2003) Placement: 26th of 26 — 0 points YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTV8GUwzRjw Go-Jo – “Milkshake Man” (Australia, 2025) Placement: 11th of 16 in Semi-Final 2 — televote only — did not qualify YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lSsijRZmrs Jendrik – “I Don’t Feel Hate” (Germany, 2021) Placement: 25th of 26 — 3 points YouTube (music video — song begins ~1:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydgxZnHFLi4 Jeangu Macrooy – “Birth of a New Age” (Netherlands, 2021) Placement: 23rd of 26 — 11 points YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Fag4yajxk Olly Alexander – “Dizzy” (United Kingdom, 2024) Grand Final placement: 24th of 26 Points: 46 (Jury 46 / Televote 0) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4lu8pVGHlA Remember Monday – “What the Hell Just Happened?” (United Kingdom, 2025) Placement: 19th of 26 Jury: 88 — Televote: 0 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfeSxNubBQE — Guardian Review Referenced Lucy Mangan — All’s Fair review — “Kim Kardashian’s divorce drama is fascinatingly, existentially terrible” The Guardian — 4 Nov 2025 https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/nov/04/alls-fair-review-kim-kardashian-divorce-drama-is-fascinatingly-existentially-terrible — Other Guardian context discussed Zero-star review roundup reference (Guardian feature) https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/nov/05/the-guardian-has-only-ever-published-15-zero-star-reviews-here-they-all-are Commentary on star-rating / zero-star precedent (related debate) https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/06/one-to-zero-star-reviews — Article June Mentioned — Olivia Nuzzi memoir discourse Slate — review of “American Canto” https://slate.com/culture/2025/12/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-donald-trump-ryan-lizza-book.html — Optional background links for listeners Jeangu Macrooy — Birth of a New Age (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_of_a_New_Age Olly Alexander — Eurovision 2024 entry overview https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest_2024 — Show page & archive https://eurovisionsongcontext.fireside.fm —