PODCAST · health
Estradiol Illusions
by Ian Thomas Malone
Entertainment & LGBTQ Issues show hosted by Ian Thomas Malone (@ianthomasmalone)
Episodes
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The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe for their only stop-motion Easter special. A loose sequel to Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, the Easter version is pretty much running on fumes right from the start. Did you ever wonder why we eat jelly beans and wear nice clothes for Easter? Have...
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Frosty's Winter Wonderland
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe for the first Frosty sequel, Frosty's Winter Wonderland. Essentially just a riff on Bride of Frankenstein, the special has next to no plot. Jack Frost makes his first Rankin/Bass appearance, decidedly at odds with his next two appearances in…
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Cricket on the Hearth
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe with the Cricket on the Hearth. One of the earliest specials in their canon, Cricket is a bit of a mess. The animation is somewhat solid, but the characters are a bunch of morons and the music is awful. What else is new? This special is pretty…
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Frosty the Snowman
We're back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe. Ian covers the classic Frosty the Snowman, the most normal of the hand-drawn animated holiday specials. Ian unpacks Professor Hinkle's villainy, and the beauty of Frosty's existential musings. Hinkle's tracking abilities don't make a lot of sense,...
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The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold
Ever wonder what a St. Patrick's Day special would look like if it suddenly became a Christmas show? The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold is easily the worst stop-motion Rankin/Bass Christmas special, twenty-four minutes of nonsense with practically no redeeming qualities. Ian does not recommend this...
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Our Christmas coverage begins! Ian revisits the 1964 special Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer for an episode that's more stylistically in line with our Rankin/Bass episodes than the first one we did in 2020. Ian still has a lot of complex feelings about this special, namely it's Axis of Awful…
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Mad Monster Party?
We are back, not only with our first episode of the year, but in our beloved Rankin/Bass cinematic universe. ITM covers the bizarre Halloween film Mad Monster Party?which features plenty of classic monsters, an horror icon Boris Karloff himself. Did Mad Monster Party? succeed where Universal's…
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The Snowman
Our holiday coverage continues with an ITM personal favorite, and not just because she bore a resemblance to the boy as a young child. The Snowman is a beautifully animated special that tugs at all the right heartstrings. Ian unpacks her relationship to the special and its themes. Note: Ian…
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Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe! Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July is in many ways a prototype to the Avengers-style team-up modern audiences are used to, a convergence of beloved heroes such as Rudolph, Frosty, Big Ben, Jack Frost, and Mickey Rooney's Santa. It is also a...
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Miracle on 34th Street
It’s time for holiday coverage! ITM takes a look at the 1947 classic Miracle on 34th Street and its 1994 remake. While the remake boasts an impressive cast, it's hard to top the magic of the original. ITM examines the peculiarities of the beloved film, particularly its preoccupation with ethical...
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Vote Kamala Harris & 2024 Senate Analysis
It's that time again! ITM makes her appeal for you to fill out a ballot. The stakes are too high, something we're used to hearing, but the threat of another four years of Trump is simply unfathomable for our country. Too many people's rights are on the line. The Senate map is very tough for...
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Pride, Surgery, Relationships, Stress
ITM has a bunch of updates, including a lip implant removal procedure that kept her away from the microphone during Pride Month. It's been a stressful time for many LGBTQ people. Ian shares her own struggles with stress, and talks about her new relationship. It's a weird time to be LGBTQ in the...
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Madame Web
Her web connects us all! Or does? Absolutely not. Ian is joined by Ed Carroll for a discussion on Sony's Spider-Man Universe's latest disaster. Ian and Ed break down the odd narrative decisions, like the bargain bin Terminator chase to the odd application of clairvoyance powers to the puzzling...
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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Ian has a lot of feelings about The Phantom Menace on its 25th birthday. She already wrote an article about the film a few years ago, so naturally her only recourse was to make a podcast film about it. Why do we care about a children's movie that somehow straddles the line mediocre and…
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Staying the Course
Five year Estradiol Illusions anniversary! Ian talks about what she's been up to this year, mostly writing and trying to get over yet another breakup. Life is a tricky game. Best to keep a stiff upper lip and get on with things. Thank you to everyone who's listened to the show over the past...
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The Long Game
ITM just celebrated a three-month anniversary of her new relationship. She's really excited to be in love again. So excited, in fact, that she recorded a whole episode on how her emotions represent the culmination of her whole transgender journey, even years removed from the end of her medical...
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The Little Drummer Boy Book II
Did The Little Drummer Boy need a sequel? Absolutely not. Is Book II worth watching? Ian unpacks the short film's surprisingly strong anti-capitalist message. For a special that's running on fumes, Aaron's second act is one of the better lesser-tier Rankin/Bass specials. EI's coverage of the...
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The Small One
We are continuing our holiday coverage with the 1978 Disney special The Small One, a quietly powerful short little film. A favorite of Ian's from an early age, she gets a little emotional talking about the narrative toward the end of the episode. For all the fun we have joking about all the…
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’Twas the Night Before Christmas
We're back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe, covering the 1974 animated special 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Santa is really angry about an op-ed penned in the local paper by a young mouse who dared not to live his life in service to the altar of faith. The town government is pretty...
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U-Haul
ITM offers a passionate defense of the LGBTQ sensation known as U-Haul. Is it a bad idea to rush into emotional entanglements that make you feel like you're floating on the moon? Hey, if you find something that makes you happy in this modern landscape, roll with it. Life's too short to deny...
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The Deep End
ITM has had quite the eventful stretch. With someone new in her life, Ian unpacks the nerves and calming effects of being thrown into The Deep End. As scared as she feels, the idea of having something worth feeling anything about is cause enough for celebration. The deep end isn't such a scary...
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Effort
ITM had a magical date last night with a woman. A major recurring theme of this show over the past two years has been ITM's fleeting connection to her bisexuality. Ian unpacks her date and the value of bringing your best, earnest effort to new connections, to throw yourself out there in our vast...
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Discretion
We're back! ITM delivers a case against one of her least favorite elements of LGBTQ life, that thing called discretion. A lot of people used to wish that gay people could keep things in the bedroom or the pesky closet. ITM doesn't think that suits an adorable transsexual, and she'd like the era…
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The Flash
Against all odds, The Flash movie was finally released. In spite of Ezra Miller's best efforts to shelf the film with their awful behavior, Warner Bros. opted against the Batgirl treatment and set this trainwreck loose in the wild. Ian is joined by friend of the show Ed Carroll for a post-mortem…
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Trans Fetishization
Ian unpacks a question that she was asked by a Grindr date last week. Is there anything wrong with going out with guys who fetishize trans women? Like many trans femmes, ITM is not a fan of being objectified, but she tries her best to unpack the reality of how trans people are seen in this vast...
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Trans Optimism
Pride is upon us! It's a pretty shitty time to be a trans person in America. Ian muddles through a deconstruction of the idea of optimism, trying her best to piece together something resembling a life in this chaotic timeline.
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The Mister Rogers Test
Ian returns with a foolish story of how she used to rate suitor's prospects by whether they stayed to watch Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with her in bed the morning after. There's not much point to the episode besides this story that's already been spoiled. She thinks listening to the whole story...
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Transgender: Year Nine
Estradiol Illusions celebrates its fourth anniversary... a month late. Ian takes a look at trans life nearly a decade in, from the mistakes of her youth to the current heavily anti-trans climate here in the US. She's not really sure why this show has grown in popularity, but she's grateful to…
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The Gender of Our Discontent
ITM spends some time with one of her least favorite subjects, her own gender. Not quite feeling like a woman these days, Ian doesn't really know what that means. Her gender is probably just tired, or hormonal, or hungry. Maybe all three.
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A Charlie Brown Christmas
Our holiday coverage concludes with a merger of our pop culture and personal programming. A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the most perfect holiday specials in existence, but it'll also occupy an odd place in Ian's life. Ian talks about how she watched this special mere minutes before a...
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The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
Continuing our Rankin/Bass holiday coverage with what might be their most normal special of them all. Despite its unwieldy title, The First Christmas actually tells a relatively cohesive story, albeit a fairly mundane narrative about a young shepherd who regains his sight through the magic of a...
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Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
Have you ever watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and wondered if all the bullying might be better with a firmer helping of Jesus? That's basically Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, a shorter ripoff of Rudolph with a truncated plot and fewer compelling characters. One of the more...
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Jack Frost
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe with a special that’s mostly Christmas adjacent. Jack Frost mostly identifies, for whatever reason, as a Groundhog Day special. Despite its incredibly annoying narrator, Jack Frost stands out as one of the most cohesive holiday specials in the...
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Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe for another December full of overanalyzing bizarre children's television. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is a fairly straightforward (at least by Rankin/Bass standards) origin story, albeit one that spends a bit too much time explaining every…
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Ghosting
We're back with an episode on a controversial relationship practice that ITM happens to love. The Irish Goodbye of dating gets a bad rap, but life is not a journey that always requires closure. People come and go in each other's lives all the time, not necessarily for reasons that take things…
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She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Grab your gamma radiation and your law degree, we're doing a whole episode on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Ian dives into what she referred to as the MCU's best TV series, examining the mash-up of Ally McBeal with Marvel's established formula. Ian also examines the state of the broader MCU TV...
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Vote Blue & 2022 Senate Analysis
Another election season is upon us. The Senate hangs in the balance, a 50/50 split that will come down to just a few states. Republicans have put forth morally bankrupt morons such as Herschel Walker and Dr. Crudité Oz for their candidates, threatening to further sully the already rancid cesspool...
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Kevin Jacobs, Big Brother Canada 10
On the eve of Big Brother 24, we are absolutely delighted to welcome Kevin Jacobs, winner of Big Brother Canada 10, to the show. Kevin played a subtlety dominant in the BBCAN house, shaping the trajectory of the game without ever besting a Head of Household competition, becoming the first winner…
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Transgender Storytime: Use It or Lose It
Another vagina-themed episode! ITM talks about the current state of her downstairs equipment since her service on the Tinder front lines. Things on the home front are looking in tip top shape, validating her semi-problematic assertion that the best gender affirmation comes through others, coming...
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Bisexual Erasure
It's Pride Month, which comes with the obligatory discourse on kink at Pride (absolutely, which we covered in last year's episode on Bloodsisters), cops at Pride (absolutely not, ACAB for life), and the concept known as "bi-erasure." As a person who uses gay, straight, and bi all interchangeably,...
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Transgender Storytime: The Gauntlet
ITM continues her dating & sexuality commentary with an episode on The Gauntlet, her rubric for deciding whether to go out with a potential suitor. Often deemed a person with unattainable standards, ITM feels it's all pretty basic stuff like not being a creep, overly sexual, or assuming that a...
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A Requiem for ”How Are You?”
ITM loves Tinder, a dream come true for a liberated transsexual as the dawn of hot girl summer lies ahead. Tinder is full of beautiful people of many genders, but it's also a place where boring fuckboys come for their pound of flesh. Ian unpacks the most tedious opening of them all, the "how are...
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Jay Northcott, Big Brother Canada 10
We are delighted to welcome Jay Northcott to discuss their time in the Big Brother Canada house. Jay is a nonbinary theatre director and drag performer based in Toronto, who made quite the impression ahead of their week two eviction, setting the stage for the epic week three house flip that shook...
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Downton Abbey: A New Era
We're back at Downton for an episode on the new film Downton Abbey: A New Era. Ian was unfortunately not a big fan of the movie, with its excessive subplots and bizarre adventure to the south of France, though she did enjoy the plot set at Downton and the newcomers. Ian does her best to untangle...
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Transgender Storytime: Pesky Bisexuality
An episode all about Ian's jumbled-up bisexuality, colloquially known as the leg hair spectrum (masculine of Ian's not too feminine center). Ian talks about what bisexuality means to her, how no one else can define your own sexuality, and how it's perfectly okay to "pick sides" in the sexuality...
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Tinder While Trans: Standards
An episode all about dating apps! ITM shares her experiences as a single trans woman, navigating the complex webs of cis men, polyamory, T4T, and all the other fun stuff Los Angeles has to offer. Whatever you're looking for, it's important to make sure you're holding yourself, and your potential...
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Kyle Moore, Big Brother Canada 10
We are absolutely delighted to welcome Kyle Moore to the show. Kyle's Head of Household reign in week three of Big Brother Canada 10 will go down as one of the most exciting in BB history, a botched backdoor attempt on Josh Nash that resulted in an epic house flip. Kyle found himself evicted by…
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The Job of Songs
We are delighted to welcome Lila Schmitz to talk about her new documentary The Job of Songs, a delightful film centered on the music scene in Doolin, Ireland. Ian & Lila talk about the power of music in communities, mental health, travel culture, open communication, and so much more! Lots of...
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Transgender Storytime: What’s in a Name?
The day has finally arrived. ITM the bisexual is learning more and more that she's probably more like ITM the heterosexual. Yuck. Boys are gross, and most of them tend not to want to date trans women named Ian Thomas. Again, yuck, but here we are. Ian does her best to unpack the mess that is her...
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Grab your porgs and your blue milk! The Last Jedi is a bit of a polarizing film, to say the least. Rian Johnson brought plenty of fascinating ideas to the sequel trilogy's middle entry, its best by a mile. Ian talks about what she liked about the film, what she would have changed, and the...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Estradiol Illusions have?
Estradiol Illusions currently has 200 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Estradiol Illusions about?
Entertainment & LGBTQ Issues show hosted by Ian Thomas Malone (@ianthomasmalone)
How often does Estradiol Illusions release new episodes?
Estradiol Illusions publishes regularly with 200 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Estradiol Illusions?
You can listen to Estradiol Illusions on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Estradiol Illusions?
Estradiol Illusions is created and hosted by Ian Thomas Malone.
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