Babbling On

Welcome back, Babbles. It’s been a while. Today we’re joined by artist and filmmaker Willow Hamilton to discuss one of the great subjects. Do the work. THINK. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

What can be said…. we recorded a live episode during CSD Weekend in Berlin at the prestigious Refuge Worldwide Studios. Gay porn was discussed. Phoebe Oathout, the great writer and academic, was on the mic to offer her nuanced opinions about Colby Keller and TwinkTrade. Enjoy, Babbles! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back, Babbles, to part two of our cerebral unpacking of Beyoncé’s B’Day, championed by Merlot as B’s strongest collective body of work. Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments. Little Mrs. Hilton is going to Europe for a month so this will be our finale before a brief summer hiatus, where I will hopefully be recording some great material for your eyes while abroad. Au revoir for now, and toodalicious! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today we are joined by fabulous musician, actress, model, and socialite Merlot, one of THE downtown It Girls of the twenty-first century, to discuss Beyoncé’s 2006 decadent and daring project, B’Day. Enjoy! And go read Piss Magazine. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today we study the most important film of the twenty-first century: 2006’s comedy masterpiece The Pink Panther, co-headlined by Steve Martin and Beyoncé Knowles. Underground New York City DJ and tall twink Mixed Greens joins the scene to study the sacred scrolls. Enjoy! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Mayhem part two with Jacob is here. Do not have fear. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Lady Gaga. Mayhem. Amor-oo-na-na. Jacob. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

The world is filled with something: places. In today’s episode, we unpack what those are: why they’re here, where they’re from, and which ones to book through AirBnB. Enjoy. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

When two boys, two girls, one boy and one girl, one they and one boy, one girl and one them, three blind mice, or four all-seeing turnips come together, we have that special word: romance. Today we’re joined by actress, feeler, and mystic thinker Kathy Dorn to discuss that great mystery, and the book genre that booms on its loiny legs. Enjoy it. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Heyy. OK so I’m just going to get ahead of the curve (curb?) — ahead of the curve and say that over the course of this episode I at one point say Miley is in my top five musical artists of all time when what I actually meant to say was I think she’s in my top five pop vocalists. So. I went back to try and edit it and I couldn’t find it. I’m joined today by my old college bestie Carol Ullman, who is also an incredible filmmaker, playwright, director, writer, and legend. We recorded this episode outdoors in the sunny streets of Los Angeles, and you can barely tell! Miley Miley Miley Cyrus. Can’t get enough of that one! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Well, here’s quite a kitten. For the first time EVER, Babbling On is leaving New York City for stranger tides. We’ve brought our equipment to sunny (cold and rainy) LA to talk shop with some of the most articulate and hilarious voices within driving distance of the Pacific. Today, comedian, scholar, and real estate agent Danielle Shvartsman stops by our traveling studio to dish on the City of Angels, in a new type of episode that has earned the distinction of Volume One, since we’re sure there are many more takes to come regarding the great city where John Travolta once said those immortal words: Adele Dazeem. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Please welcome to the stage the legendary curators of the iconic THNK1994 Museum, Viviana Olen and Matt Harkins. These two legends have put on exhibits about Kim Cattrall scatting, Real Housewives pointing fingers, the Olsen twins smoking, and so many more important historic events that require museum placards for full understanding. Today, they unpack skincare, Marshalls, Princess Diana’s private chef’s YouTube, and so much more. Enjoy! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

HBO’s Girls premiered 13 years ago today, randomly… which leads us to speak of the craftsperson who created it all, Mrs. Lena Dunham. One of the great girls of all time, writer, songstress, actress, and thinker Misha Lambert, joins the podcast to unpack the woman who changed… everything… Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today we’re joined by superstarlet Missy McIntosh to talk about the Jo Bros. Missy has an upcoming show, Hello, Piece of Glass at Union Hall April 28 that you can buy tickets for here. She’s fabulous as all hell and boy does she know a thing or two about The Jonas Brothers, you just wait, you. So anyway The Jonas Brothers are some of the more amazing artists of our time. They really did the damn work. And now here we are. Comment “orchard” if you read this far. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Music makes the people come together. Yeah. What more can be said? Part two of Sander’s grand survey of the life and legacy of Madonna, for your nerve. Enjoy little Babbles. Comment with your top three Mayhem tracks at your earliest convenience, please. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Morning Babbles, and welcome to an important dissection of the life and times of Mrs. Madge Madonna Mommy. We’ve been reticent to discuss the pop star due to allegiances forged in 2008 when Lady Gaga gave birth to us, but today we’re joined by an open-minded scholar to reflect on the decades-long artistry of Madonna. Enjoy the show! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Four walls, a roof, a window, a door. These are traditional features of a house. But is a house a home? Is a chair still a chair even if no one is sitting there? What color should you paint your cabinets? These are questions we will be debating with person-who-lives-in-a-home, Tatiana Perez. Let us swing from the chandelier as we do so. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Miranda had a hairy bush. Charlotte had explosive diarrhea. Samantha had some fabulous guacamole. And Carrie? Well, Carrie got left at the damn altar. This is the Sex and the City movie, and it pulls no punches. Big, big things happen here, and we’ve brought on well-regarded grad student Martha May Whovier to discuss the matter at hand. In today’s trying times, we hope this episode can offer you a brief respite from the hellscape of our crumbling planet. F*ck the president, f*ck this government, f*ck! Trans people deserve respect and dignity and the right to exist by the way! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

One fine day a man named Michael Cunningham won a Pulitzer Prize. This was, of course, for his novel The Hours, which charts a day in the life of three women: acclaimed British writer Virginia Woolf, depressed suburban housewife Laura something, and New York lesbian Clarissa something. Today, we’re joined by celebrated actor Cole Doman to talk about the seminal text and it’s film adaptation by Stephen Daldry, who cast Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore in one of the great movies ever made. Let’s dive in, shall we? Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Have you ever seen a film called The Witch? Yes? Oh, so you’re smart. No? Oh, so you need to get a life. Maybe you’ve seen The Lighthouse. This is where Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe do a dom/sub thing in a cold, wet (and, yes, titular) lighthouse. Or maybe you saw The Northman and had a sexual experience with Alexander Skarsgard playing a Norwegian Hamlet (admittedly, who hasn’t?). Ohh, I remember now. You saw Nosferatu over Christmas and now things are awkward between you and your uncle. Yes, that’s what it was. Well, have we got a treat for you then! Beloved playwright/ film director/ superstar Sam Max graces the podcast today for a stimulating conversation about Eggs, four ways. Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads these little blurbs to accompany the podcast episodes. If you do, text me the word “pomegranite” - wait, how do you spell pomegranate? Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Do you smell that? It smells like… freesias? Rosebuds? Ah, yes. Muddled toadstool!Today we’re talking with the olfactory orthodontist herself, Mary Claire, foremost fragrance fairy to the frou frou. Time to pour in that netty pot to clear your sinuses, because you’re going to need your nostrils at maximum efficiency as you embark on this nasal odyssey for the ages. Sit back, sniff sniff, and enjoy: Fragrances. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Mournful Valentine’s Day to all of you! The worst day of the year is nearly upon us, and what better way to stew in hatred, spite, jealousy, and self-loathing than to watch Jonathan Demme’s 1991 horror masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs… or, better yet, listen to your beloved podcast host wax transetic with her beautiful cisgender friend Natalie “The Critic” Price. Blood, guts, and a whole lotta queer representation: that’s how we’re spending Valentine’s Day. “Unproblematic, blessed and collecting that bag, hunty!” - Hannibal Lecter. “Move over, boys, there’s a girlie putting on the pants these days, b***h!” - Clarice Starling. “Who got the good tucking panties plug?” - Buffalo Bill. Let’s skewer this holiday, queenaliciouses. Enjoy, or, rather, don’t. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

My biological Mom, the woman whose uterus I emerged from nineteen years ago (if you’re confused I’m actually not talking about Lady Gaga at the moment), graces Babbling On the podcast today. We had a really beautiful conversation about trauma, faith, creativity, perseverance, books, and so much more (the general topic was life advice). I just wanted to take a special moment to shout her out once more, formally: Mom, you are the most courageous, brilliant, beautiful, strong, kind, loving, incredible person in the world and I love you so much. She has restored my faith in the world more times than I can count. I loff you so much Mama! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

“Excuse me, ma’am? Can you please put your hands up and make them touch? It’s Artpop day at Babbling On Institutes, you see, and so we’re going to need to see you naked lover, and to peek underneath the covers.”Oh my, my apologies, I don’t know who that woman speaking just now was, but rest assured she has been apprehended. Anyway, Hilton here, now, and today we’re talking about Lady Gaga’s fourth studio album, Artpop, and the global cultural shift it caused. We’re joined by one of the great minds of this (and any) generation, the music scholar, lawyer, and Classics reader AJ Jordan. Babble! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

We’ve all heard of the months — those twelve twee twerps we must slog through to put another year under our belts. But has anyone ever dared to think about what these months might be like on an individual basis? Is January the same personality as July — does November have the same hobbies as April? One way to find out: we called in resident timekeeper Gay Alec Cohen, known colloquially as Gay Choreographer, to kick off our third timer’s club series and give us the rundown on which month is which. Enjoy, and remember: babble. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

By the end of this four-hour-and-two-minute course in Awards Season knowledge, you will have: a solid foundation in the must-see films of the year and their basic loglines; a battle-ready knowledge of the frontrunners in each of the major awards categories at this year’s Oscars; a can-do attitude and an open heart; a newfound appreciation for Best Supporting Actress Jonathan Bailey. Enjoy part two of our awards conversation with veteran cultural critic Michael Cuby now. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Happy season 2 of Babbling On, dear little Babbles. We hope your year is off to a swimming start, and boy oh boy do we have a delightful New Year’s surprise for you: the one and only cultural phenomenon, editor-at-large for Them and all-around celebrated intellectual Michael Cuby is on the airwaves, talking about our favorite topic of all time, Awards Season. Please enjoy this deep dive into the year in film, and be sure to gag properly. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Which Christmas movie is the best one… it’s time we tried to figure that out, isn’t it? You’ll notice some woefully ignorant omissions here: It’s A Wonderful Life, Meet Me In St. Louis (never seen)… but actually, now that I think about it, we pretty much covered the other important ones. Dig in for a highbrow conversation with veteran film critic Natalie Price to find out our winner. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today we’re joined by celebrated New York City gallerist Sammy Kapp, co-founder of the Kapp Kapp gallery in Tribeca, for a discussion about two inextricably related spheres of culture: art and pop. No, this isn’t an episode about the Lady Gaga album Artpop (stay tuned) but it is an episode that explores Gagatian circles as well as Gagosian circles. Listen on for more. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Can I just guess that you’re probably in severe debt at the moment? Yesterday was Cyber Monday. The other day was Black Friday. Not that all of us participate in these corporate sacrificial monstrosities, but I did happen to buy a hoodie from Abercrombie and a pan from somewhere and now, more than ever, I need to know: how do you make money? Well-known successful person Merce joins us to explain insider tips and tricks for creating income, both passive and active. Enjoy! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Ever felt trapped when it comes time to baste that turkey? Scared when someone asks you to pass the green bean? Unsure what to do when you need creamy mashed potatoes? Don’t worry, buster, this year we’ve got you covered. Holiday cooking is made simple with Lesbian Food Account at the wheel. Just don’t expect the car not to fly off of a cliff. Let’s make some stuffing and be merry! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Sul sul! Today I’m joined by energetically-attuned scholar of life and the arts, the legendary mind of Mrs. Nick Kraus, to discuss the most important topic of all: The Sims franchise. One of the best-selling video games franchises in history, this game captivated all the best people for about four years’ of our respective lives, and today we examine the history, the gameplay, the culture, and the stories behind The Sims, specifically focusing in on The Sims 2. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today, which happens to be Election Day in America, is a Tuesday, which also means it’s Babbling On Day. Since we probably won’t know the election results until at least tomorrow, we’re proceeding with the podcast business as usual, and 2 hours spent discussing the Nora Ephron classic You’ve Got Mail seems like a better use of one’s time than doom scrolling, so why don’t you hop on over to the polls and soundtrack your vote with nearly two hours and 15 minutes of Ephronian discussion with two-time Emmy nominee Mr. Amanda Carzoli. Enjoy! We love you Meg Ryan. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today we are joined by New York City’s premiere drag queen, the one and only Mrs. Izzabella Uncut. She’s everything, first of all, and secondly we would like to draw your attention towards the film Cruel Intentions, in which Ryan Philippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar basically reinvent what it means to be a human. Let’s do this! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today we’re joined by Mall Goth author and Like A Virgin podcast host Rose Dommu for an exceptionally important conversation around Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Hermione, Snape, McGonagall… Expelliarmus m’dear. This is perhaps our most important episode yet and we here at the Babbling On Institute wish you all a happy Transfiguration exam. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Hey, sweetheart. Happy Tuesday. If you haven’t already listened to part one of our Solar Power conversation, I encourage you to do so. And if you have, come join me and preeminent Lordalian scholar Chase Porter to round out our chat about every track on Lorde’s third studio album, Solar Power. C’est la vie. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Hey, it’s Hilton. Today’s topic couldn’t be more important - Solar Power, the third studio album from New Zealand mastermind Lorde. Let’s just dive in, shall we? Chase is the most preeminent Lordatian scholar working today, and there’s so much to cover. Don’t worry, we’re touching on the whole career of the damn lady, but we will be specifically focusing on her sun-drenched weed album, for reasons that will become clear… in time. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

You asked, we delivered. Our coverage of Keira Knightley’s magical ouevre is back. Oh, honey, yes, it is back. The coverage returns with Knightlatian scholar Professor Isa James Braun, who reveals her college thesis statement about our favorite actress and provides important insight into the collective work of one of history’s most influential trailblazers. Listen now for that conversation. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today we dive into the filmography of the living legend, the starlet, the beautiful and talented and chameleonic, emotionally true keeper of the keys, Mrs. Keira Christina Knightley. I speak with premiere Knightlesian scholar Isa Braun for more on this story. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

“California.” “California.” “California.” While those sentences may look exactly the same, I was actually referencing three different songs there. Can you guess which ones? Listen to this episode, with celebrated music critic and filmmaker Sohrob Nayebaziz, for more on this crucial story about a long-wondered-about subgenre of the music industry. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Well, we’re back to finish out our coverage of The Twilight Saga. Films covered in part two, starring the indomitable nocturnal scholar Natalie Price, include Eclipse, Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Breaking Dawn Part 2. And so it goes. Another episode joins your eardrums. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Ladies and gentlebots, today is the day you have all been waiting for. It’s the day that we begin that fateful discussion about Twilight. Don’t be confused by the episode title - we will be discussing all five films in The Twilight Saga. Today’s episode covers the first two, and we’re joined by the indomitable Natalie Price, a true smart cookie and supermodel, not to mention hilarious as the living hells. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Ballet. Tap. Jazz. Rhythmic. There are different ways to dance. And not everyone is comfortable with wiggling on a floor. Not everyone is. Luckily, today we have Gay Choreographer, a notable gay guy also named Alec Cohen, to talk shop. What do we do with our arms and faces while cutting a rug? What do we do. He will tell us, fear not. And don’t miss his upcoming dance class on September 5 in the little town of New York City! Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

The day was October 5, 2018. The event was A Star Is Born hitting theaters. The key players were Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. The tale was as old as time. The audience members were the one who were gagging upon the circumstances. The history was forever changed. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Well, you asked, we listened: today Babbling On discusses one of the most important, universal topics: food. To do so responsibly, we’ve brought in Lesbian Food Account’s matron saint, Mrs. Hayley Wanda Yates, for an in-depth talk about food. What is it? How do you make it? Can it taste good? Can it taste bad? How do you afford to buy it and how do cleverly steal it? Let’s find out. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Today I wanted to try something different. I’ll be reading two essays in today’s episode. One is The Ache, a Substack I wrote a year ago, and the other is Three Sisters, which you can also read below.Three SistersJuly 24It’s my little sister’s birthday.My little sister who loves frogs, who called herself Ribbit as she smeared chocolate across her face and hopped around in our inflatable bounce house, the bounce house infested with mold because we turned on a hose inside of it, that melted and warped into a twisted deflated pancake during the fire.My little sister who has golden hair and rosy cheeks and an unvanquishable smile, who giggles with me at the facial expressions of turtles on posters for indie Colorado-based alt-rock bands and wears pink dresses with me and is my everything. She wants to travel the world after she graduates college, she wants to see Australia and Hawaii and all the other important places for young women to see (she’s already been to the Rainforest Cafe). Growing up she would waddle through the room like a little crab, pinching her fingers and mewling the word “crabs” over and over again. We would watch knockoff versions of classic movies that my dad burned from CDs at the library — I don’t know why he couldn’t just burn the regular movies — I forget exactly what they were called, but there was, like, a B-version Aladdin, where the Genie was just a purple businessman, the movie might have been called Alan. There was a freaky little show called Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch with a disturbed middle-aged spider that vaguely seemed like a sex offender. He made faces like this:Side note: it has since come to my attention that the one and only Kristin Davis, better known by her stage name as Charlotte York, voices the eponymous Madame Spider.We watched this movie called Pete’s a Pizza where this naked little boy was baked alive inside pizza dough. Lexi watched all of these strange programs with delight, the same way she approaches all new concepts in her life: with enthusiasm, with courage, with beauty and levity and joy. I’m nine years older than her. For a long time I was a teenager and she a toddler. And now, it feels as if we’re the same age, perhaps because I’m stunted, perhaps because she’s wise beyond the dazzling solar glow of her beautiful youth. She’s my best friend and I love her so, so much. She’s grown into such an unstoppable, brilliant young woman who can do anything she wants to. Happy birthday Lex. It’s the anniversary of my Dad’s death.He took his life one year ago, on her birthday. Have things changed since then? To think of it — completely. I’ve traveled, seen the entirety of the world outside of Brooklyn (Berlin and Los Angeles). I’ve spent hours on the phone with airline customer service, I’ve ridden motorcycles (electric scooters) with my arms wrapped around a man’s waist in Rome, I’ve worn lace doilies as neckerchiefs in Venice, I’ve stormed out of moving Ubers when called out on my b******t, I’ve vomited green between my legs while still seated on a toilet in Mexico, shitting; I’ve been kicked out of an Indian restaurant in London, I’ve been warmly invited into a gang bang in London immediately following said restaurant eviction (I’ve politely declined, instead choosing the path of reading No Country For Old Men (read: checking Sniffies for better options)); I’ve written multiple drafts of a screenplay, begun a book, moved into a new home, hung drawings on my walls, had a threesome where one of the guys had braces… I’ve been fired, hired, lonely, surrounded by love.I’ve isolated, become so self-absorbed I’ve neglected the world around me. How interesting to realize only three years into a personal blog that one is thinking of one’s own insular problems far too often. I’ve watched all of my friends as if through the concave glass of a snow globe, partying and dancing on the other side, a viscous liquid enveloping them in raves, my tantrums the method to shake it all up, to watch little white confettis settle down around their painted figurines. Or perhaps it was I inside the snowglobe, staring out, my hands pressed against the curve of my cage, screaming yet making no noise beyond my Hallmark orb. A snowglobe in summer. How neat. I’d leaned on my dad’s death as a get-out-of-jail free card, I’d let such a traumatic event excuse myself from checking in on anyone else, instead choosing to bask in the miserable fetid water inside the inflatable Shrek 2-themed kiddie pool of my mind. There’s a life out there waiting for me to embrace it back. There are people who care about me who are waiting for me to break the glass of the snow globe and get free, to spin out with the gushing liquid and the little confettis and stand up, dry off, mind the shattered glass, and be part of things again. I learned that, I felt that, I saw that on a beautiful night in August. August 3It’s my little sister’s wedding day. Not the same sister who turned 21. The one whose name is shared with the coldest season, the one who I grew up beside, just a year above her in school, the one who grinned out at the masses with me as we dazzled the hallways of Milwaukee Montessori School. The one who bit me on the back when I stole her phone charger. The sister who feels like a big sister, in many ways, the one with the husband now, and the house and the dog and the Denver stickers on her water bottle. She’s the sister who I used to shuttle back and forth between my Mom’s and Dad’s with, the only one who shares those memories, of the boat on the lake in the tornado, of the enormous rager Dad threw for Lexi when she turned two, when the cops came and the beer kegs were so ubiquitous and the cigar smoke so pungent and the bikini contest so flamboyant that we hid away in the overheated leather seats of some unlocked car down the road, waiting for the pandemonium to pass. She’s the sister who I wrote A Violent Romance with — that’s the play we created that was composed of a series of vignettes, where in each scene we played a new husband and wife, and in each scene one murdered the other in ways most gruesome; a stiletto heel employed as a stabbing mechanism remains the fondest method in my heart. She’s the sister who I visited in Copenhagen, who took the mysterious edibles under the moonlight of Tivoli theme park with me, the sister I shivered in silence beside in a pizza restaurant as the THC coursed through our systems, the sister I turned to and wondered in amazement how lucky I was to be sisters with someone so cool and kind and warm and smart and curious and adventurous. Winnie’s the sister I pranced around with in wedding dresses our mom sewed for us as little kids. She’s the sister I drove through Zion National Park with, where the car ran on fumes and I screamed that we were going to die and she was right to assure me we would make it to the next gas station just fine. She’s the one who broke up with her boyfriend while he was with us on a family trip to Arizona, the boyfriend who proceeded to stay in our AirBnB for another three days post-breakup. She’s the sister who helped me dress up our little siblings to do photoshoots on our Dad’s roof in Jersey City, she’s the one who brought us all together in Colorado, the one who got married this past weekend, the one who found true love and is so cute with her husband, Jeff. She’s one of three points in the triangle that make up that original trio: my mom and her and I. My mom — the most resilient, beautiful, welcoming, non-judgemental, incredible woman in the world. My sister’s wedding was a dream come true. I wore a pink dress and took photos with her and her bridesmaids. We threw our bouquets in the air while Winnie bobbed up and down in a chair held above the dance floor, reaching for Jeff, smiling at the fun of it all but failing to conceal the fear in her eyes that the chair might be dropped to the floor. Lexi and I giggled at everyone and everything. I sat in my mom’s lap after almost sitting down in Winnie’s brunette friend’s lap who wore a similar floor-length pink gown (my Mom’s was better). I love my Mom so much. I love my brothers so much. I love myself, and my friends, and turning points and second and third chances and redemption and forgiveness and dancing to Kesha and “We Found Love” and spilling red wine on my nice film camera and taking off the pretty pointed-toe shoes that burnt my toes in exchange for fugly sandals, I love being told I should have painted my toenails, I love the Colorado sky at night and the smell of the road after a Buena Vista thunderstorm and I love the river we plunged into and the subsequent post-plunge clogging of my ear, I love writing and I love not writing and I love sharing too many private details and I love regretting that decision and I love each day and I love cliché. I love the way the sunlight dappled through the trees with eyeballs on their trunks in the courtyard of my sister’s wedding ceremony. I love the white bow on the back of her dress. I love the family I have. I love my sisters.  Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

So… Trans. That lovely little thing. On today’s episode we talk to the one and only pop sensation Mel 4Ever about just that, and so much more, including but not limited to death, sex, grief, farts, and the secret to the universe. Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, that stuff is like crack to me. But this conversation is perhaps even more important in the societal journey of battling bigotry and defeating transphobia. Let us join hands, then, and step into the abyss. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

There’s two periods in the history of the planet. No, sweetheart, nothing to do with Jesus Christ’s crucifixion or the dinosaurs dying or anything like that (Catholicism is sick). No, no, none of that, although the marker of time in question does have to do with death, or, rather, our predisposition to dying. I’m talking of course about the release of Lana Del Rey’s seminal debut album, Born to Die, perhaps the most important cultural release since the seventh Harry Potter came out. No, this changed everything, and today we bring seasoned Lanatian scholar Callie to the podcast to dissect the masterpiece track by track. Enjoy, Little Babblers. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

We all know Peyton Dix to be one of those legendary hot and funny bisexuals. But did you know we were RAs together in college and that she’s a true psychopath? At last, we’ve put her on the record without any question as a Nickelback stan. And that path led us both to reveal which songs have been unfairly maligned by the public and are actually really good. Playlist attached. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe

Oh, I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You, listening to The Daily, think you chose what podcasts go in your ears. When actually, podcasts were created by two gay guys in this room, one of them named beautiful Drew Anderson, from a pile of stuff. Get full access to Babbling On at hiltondresden.substack.com/subscribe