Queerly Popular

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. Today's episode is about the 2021 book The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver. The book is about a non-binary person whose older brother dies suddenly and how they deal with it. This book is much different than other things I have talked about so far. There is very little joy in the book, but it is very good and well worth reading. There is a suicide attempt and self harm in the book, so if those bother you, please be careful. I would highly recommend this book. Our next episode will be on May 21st and will be about the book Scraps by Matthew Francis. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected].

Welcome to this week's episode of Queerly Popular. Today's episode is about the book Dawn: God's United Reich by D Alexander. The book is about two boys who live in under a theocratic regime in a dystopian version of the United States who meet and fall in love. The book is quite a lovely book and is also the first book in a series. I do have a couple of issues with the book that I talk about, but for the most part I think it was a very lovely book and I think you'll really enjoy it.  Our next episode will be on May 7th and will be about the book The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected].

Welcome back to Queerly Popular! Today, we will be talking about the 2023 book The Unlikely Heir by Jax Calder. This book came out around the same time as Red, White, and Royal Blue (movie) and when I was really getting into royal romance books. It's about an American becoming Prince of Wales and falling in love with the British Prime Minister. It's a lot of fun to read. The book does have a lot of tropes, but that makes it no less enjoyable. However, it does make it feel like we've talked about the characters before, which makes for an interesting talk about the characters. I highly recommend the book and really hope you take the time to read and enjoy it.  Our next episode will be on April 23rd and will be about the book Dawn: God's United Reich by D Alexander. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected].

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. Today's episode is about the 2025 movie Twinless. Dylan O'Brien plays Roman, a man who recently lost his twin brother. He meets Dennis at a support groups for people who have lost their twins. The movie is about how their relationship develops over time. It is a dark, psychological movie with some great physical comedy. It's not my normal sort of movie, but it is a fun one. Please don't forget that we are in the midst of the Trans Rights Readathon, where people are asked to read books by and about trans and non-binary people. I have talked about a few books by and about trans or non-people on the podcastand there are plenty of awesome books you can read to support the trans community. Our next episode will be on April 9th and will be about the book The Unlikely Heir by Jax Calder. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the 2025 Netflix show Boots starring Miles Heizer. The show is based off of the book The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White. The show is about a young gay man, Cameron Cope, who goes into Marine basic training in the summer of 1990. It's not a romance or a coming out story, but the story of someone who is trying to get by in a space where they can't be out. It's a great show, but not one that really caught my interest. Our next episode, on March 19th, will be about the movie Twinless starring Dylan O'Brien. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the movie Wicked: For Good, which is the second act of the play Wicked. The movie is great and the music is good, but there weren't the bangers that there were in the first movie. I did really enjoy the movie though, especially watching Glinda finally grow a backbone. It's well worth the time to watch. I had hoped to have a couple of videos of a couple of great scenes, but I couldn't find any videos of just the scenes, only of recaps or edits. Sorry about that. We'll be back on March 5th with an episode about the show Boots. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Hello and welcome back to season 5 of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to be talking about the movie I Wish You All The Best starring Corey Fogelmanis, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Alexandria Daddario, Cole Sprouse, and Lena Dunham and written, directed, and produced by Tommy Dorfman. I do really like this movie, but I also have complicated feelings due to the number of changes that Tommy made to the book. I spend most of the episode talking about the differences and my feelings about those differences. Overall, I can say that I loved that the movie stuck close to the heart of the books, but am not fond of the number of changes that were made, particularly the fundamental changes that were made (2 in particular were baffling and annoying) to the story. But before that, I talk about what we will be talking about during the first half of the season and why I will not be reviewing Plainclothes. I also talk a little about the journey I had to take to watch IWATB because it was not showing anywhere near me. Our next episode, on February 19, will be about Wicked: For Good. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to the season finale of season 4 of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the 2021 Netflix film Single All the Way. The movie stars Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, Luke MacFarlane, Kathy Najimy, Jennifer Coolidge, and Barry Bostwick. It is quite the fun film and it is also a holiday rom-com filled with rom-com tropes. I highly recommend this film if you enjoy holiday rom-coms. The fact that the three romantic leads are all queer really helped the film out.  We will be back in February with season 5! The schedule will come out in January, but I know we will be talking about I Wish You All The Best (film), Twinless, Wicked: For Good, and Boots. We'll probably talk about Heated Rivalry at some point, but I'm not sure when.  As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected].

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we'll be talking about the 2019 Netflix movie Let It Snow. This movie is a fun and fluffy Christmas teen rom-com filled with stereotypes and tropes, but don't let that discourage you from watching and enjoying it. Is it original? Nope, but it is fun and relaxing, so enjoy it for what it is. It also has a bunch of actors who were sort of big at the time, listen to find out which of them I knew instantly and which it took me a bit longer to recognize.  We will be back on December 18th when we will talk about the Netflix movie SIngle All the Way. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected].

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today we are talking about the 2025 book Icing On the Cake by Christopher J. Brice. It is quite the fun romance book about a grumpy librarian and a hockey star on a college campus. As a warning, this book talks frequently and explicitly about sex, penises, butts, kinks, and admiration for those (and other) body parts. This episode will also make frequent references to those things, so if that bothers you, please listen carefully. The book is lovely and really enjoyable, so I hope the frank discussions of sex won't dissuade you from reading the book. It does appear to be the first book in a potential series, so I am waiting to hear more about that. We will be back on December 4th when we will talk about the Netflix movie Let It Snow. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected].

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the 1996 movie Beautiful Thing. The movie is about two teens in London who fall in love. It is a lovely and fun film with a great soundtrack that consists mostly of music from Mama Cass and the Mamas & Papas. The film is very much a product of its time, which is not a bad thing. That being said, there are definitely elements of the movie that would still be a part of movies that are made today. In the episode artwork, you will see Jamie and Ste (left to right). I talk about why I used this photo in the episode. We will be back on November 13th when we will talk about the book Icing on the Cake. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected].

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the book Paris Daillencourt Is About To Crumble, which is a book about a man (Paris) with generalized anxiety disorder (diagnosed late in the book) who is taking part in a baking competition and meets Tariq Hassan. It's a fun book, but not one of my favorites. I enjoy the characters and definitely feel for Paris, but it's not a book I'm returning to over and over again. We start by talking about the structure of the book before getting into the story. I also spend some time talking about how Tariq did (and did not) handle Paris' anxiety well over the course of the book. This book is part of a series, but each book seems to be a standalone book and I haven't read any others, so I can't tell you anything about them. We will be back on October 30th when we will talk about the movie Beautiful Thing. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to be talking about the 2025 book The Haunting Between Us by Paul Michael Winters, the author of Together in a Broken World, which we talked about in June. This book is a YA romance about 2 boys and a haunted house. It also has horror/suspense aspects to it, but at its heart it is a romance between 2 boys. I found the book to be quite fun and quite enjoyable. Even if you don't particularly like horror or suspense, I think you will enjoy the book. Our next episode will be on October 16 and will be about the book Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the 2024 book Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa. Most Ardently is a remix of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen where Elizabeth Bennet is now a trans boy named Oliver. I quite love this book and have realized it will be one of my books I listen to quite often, an honor shared with Red, White, and Royal Blue, I Wish You All The Best, and The Sky Blues. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It got me interested enough to choose to listen to the audiobook (a version read by Rosamund Pike) of Pride & Prejudice after reading the book left me bored to tears. Our next episode will be out on October 2 and will be about the book The Haunting Between Us by Paul Michael Winters (author of Together in a Broken World, which we talked about on June 5th). As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the 2023 book A Tale of Two Princes by Eric Geron. The book is about twin princes who are separated at birth. It's a very fun book that is slightly reminiscent of Gossip Girl (the original, not the reboot!). One potential issue: the connection to the internet kept going in and out while I was recording, so there may be some issues with the audio. Our next episode will be on September 18th and will be about the book Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa. It's part of a series of books that are remixes of classics. This remix is based off of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the dystopian duology All That's Left In the World and The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J. Brown. These books follow Andrew and Jamie as they survive in a post-pandemic America, I found these books quite enjoyable, particularly because I enjoy dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games and Maze Runner. If you enjoy these type of books, I think you'll really love these. And if anyone has any suggestions for other queer dystopian books, please let me know. Our next episode on September 4 will be about the book The Tale of Two Princes. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. Today, we are going to talk about the Eating Out movie series. The series is 5 movies that came out between 2004 and 2011. They are fun movies to watch, but there is not a whole lot of substance to any of them. Something to keep in mind is that the movies are meant for adults and have a lot of nudity (including full frontal nudity in every movie) and language. Before we talk about the movies, I talk about why I do not like the phrase "guilty pleasure" and why these movies are as close to being a "guilty pleasure" as far as I am concerned. Our next episode will be about the books All That's Left of Us and The Only Light Left Burning, a dystopian duology. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the 2018 book Cinderella Boy by Kristina Meister. And in something new, I am also going to talk about the audiobook read by David M. Nadalini because I had some issues with the reading. I also see it was the only audiobook he did, and I thank God for that. Listen to the podcast to hear what my issues were. The book is about a 16-year old, Declan, who is gender-fluid and sometimes dresses up as "Layla". Layla meets Carter Aadensen and they fall for each other. Layla leaves and Carter searches for her. Meanwhile, the administration at the school Carter and Declan go to shows tremendous bigotry and they fight back. It really is a fun story and I think you'll really enjoy it. After today, we will be on break until early August. Keep an eye out on our social media platforms for what we will be looking at this fall and when we will be back. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the 2024 book Together In A Broken World by Paul Michael Winters. This is a dystopian YA romance set in the US in the not too distant future after society has collapsed and a virus has started running rampant around the world. It is about 2 teenagers, Zach and Aiden, who meet in a small town in Montana and travel together to Seattle where Aiden is headed to deliver a silver box and Zach is going to look for his family. I love this genre, so I really got into this book. If you enjoy this genre, I also recommend All That's Left In The World and The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J. Brown. I will be talking about these soon, probably this fall, but maybe near the beginning of next season. Our next episode comes out on June 19 and is about the book Cinderella Boy. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the 2018 movie "Reach" starring Garrett Clayton and Jordan Doww. As much as I like both Jordan and Garrett, I cannot say that I particularly liked this film. While the acting was good, the story itself was not great. It felt like they were trying to cram a bunch of tropes together and it left way too many plot points dangling or questions unanswered. It was an ok film, but not one I feel like I could particularly recommend. If you watch it and enjoy it, I would honestly love to hear about why and would be delighted to have you one here to see if you can change my mind about the movie (it has happened before). I also talk about the rest of the first half of the season and some thoughts about future topics on the show. Our next episode comes out on June 5 and is about the book "Together In a Broken World". As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the 2024 book The Last Boyfriends Rules For Revenge by Matthew Hubbard. It is a book about 3 high schoolers who start off trying to get revenge on their ex-boyfriends and end up fighting against an oppressive system set up by their homophobic school superintendent. It is a very fun book and is well worth reading. That being said, I do spend quite a bit of time on a few things that annoy me because this book happens to have a few things which are common to teen dramas that seriously irk me. Listen to get all the details. I also spend some time talking about the ending and why I think the book ended the way it was. I do hope everyone gives this book a read because it really is a great book. It just happens to push a few of my buttons. Our next episode will be on June 22 and will be about the 2018 movie Reach which stars Garrett Clayton and Jordan Doww.  As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected]. Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the books The Darkness Outisde Us (2021) and The Brightness Between Us (2024) by Eliot Schrefer. They are a duology that is a mix of science fiction, romance, and dystopian fiction. I find them both to be fascinating books and well worth the read. But before we talk about the books, I talk for a few minutes about the announcement about the future of Heartstopper and a couple of mistakes I made in the episode about Babylon 5. Because of these, the episode is a touch longer than normal. Our next episode on May 8 will be about the book The Last Boyfriend's Rules for Revenge. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are having a special episode which will air on both Queer PoliFaith and Queerly Popular. We are talking about the 1993-1998 sci-fi series, Babylon 5. It was an awesome series, one of the best in my opinion, and very different from Star Trek, which was in its heyday during this time. I love both, but I believe that Babylon 5 is better. We start off with by placing Babylon 5 within the context of its time in relation to Star Trek and the various shows and movies that aired while Babylon 5 was on. I talk about the plot in general and spend most of the episode showing how it is relevant and parallels current events in the United States. Here are some scenes from the show I mentioned: Sinclair Shows Off Various Earth Belief Systems A Nightwatch Meeting (the relevant part starts at 1:00, if the link doesn't go there automatically) Delenn Defends Babylon 5 ISN Is Back On the Air Garibaldi Confronts Lochley Our next episode will be on April 24th and will be about the books The Darkness Outside Us & The Brightness Between Us. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the 2024 film Wicked, Part One. It is based off of the first half of the 2003 musical which is based off of a 1995 book that tells the story of how Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. We start with a talk about the background of the film and musical. We then move to the characters and plot. We then talk about the queer themes present in the movie and how the movie speaks to the situation we find ourselves in today. Here are my favorite songs (I'll be honest, it's most of them): What Is This Feeling Dancing Through Life Popular The Wizard and I Defying Gravity Our next episode will be on April 3 and will be about Babylon 5. This episode will be a joint episode for this show and Queer PoliFaith, so it will focus on the plot and characters and how it relates to our current political time. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. It's my birthday, so I am talking about two of my favorite movies growing up: Escape To Witch Mountain (1975) and Return From Witch Mountain (1978). I also talk about the books of the same name (1968 and 1978) and how the books differ from the movies. I do have a deep love of both movies, but particularly of Return From Witch Mountain which I watched all the time when I was younger. I do also talk a little about subsequent movies, neither of the ones I saw which held a candle to the originals (saw 2 out of 3). You can watch them on Disney+ or you can get them on Amazon or Google Play streaming and you may be able to find them on DVD or BluRay. As I mention in the episode, Ike Eisenmann was the first guy I remember feeling any attraction to, so I have a picture of him in the scene that had me attracted to him as the art for the episode. He is the shirtless teen. Christopher Lee (Dr. Victor Gannon) is on his right and Bette Davis (Letha Wedge) is on his left. Our next episode on March 20 will be about Wicked, Part One. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to this week's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, I am talking with my friend Caitlin about asexuality in Heartstopper. In other words, we're talking about Isaac's journey and her thoughts about that journey. We also talk a little bit about Agatha All Along. During the episode, we mainly end up looking at various scenes of the show that highlight Isaac and his journey. Here are those clips. These clips are from the YouTube account FandomVids, which is an account that has videos of various characters and ships from various tv shows. They break everything down into playlists based on character/ship, so there are a couple in here labelled "Narlie" because that is the only place I could locate any season 3 video clips on their site. You'll need to search through to find the Isaac scene, but it's all there. I will see if I can get the clip to start at the right moment, but I've never tried that before, so no promises. James and Isaac Kiss (Heartstopper 206) Isaac Goes to the Art Exhibit (Heartstopper2x07) Charlie and Isaac Confide in Each Other (Heartstopper 3x01) Isaac and Tao Make Up with Each Other, Nick Reassures Isaac He Isn't Alone (Heartstopper 3x03) Fireworks and Midnight Kisses (Heartstopper 3x05) Our next episode will be on March 6 (my birthday!) and will be about the books and movies Escape to Witch Mountain and Return From Witch Mountain. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to season 4 of Queerly Popular! We're starting the season off with an episode about the MCU series on Disney+, Agatha All Along. Before we get into the show, I talk a little about some different things I am doing this season. Then, I talk about why I stopped watching things in the MCU and why I watch this show. Then we talk about the episodes and my thoughts about the characters and how queerness is present in it. Here are some of the clips I talked about: Teen Uses His Magic Wiccan Flies In Ballad of the Witches' Road (Sacred Chant Version) Ballad of the Witches' Road (Cover Version) Ballad of the Witches' Road (Live Version) Our next episode will be on February 20 and will be a conversation with my friend Caitlin about asexuality in Heartstopper. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular) or Bluesky (@queerlypopular.bsky.social). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to the season finale of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the 2020 Lifetime holiday film The Christmas Setup. 2020 was a pretty big year for queer films because it had several major networks/streamers release holiday films with queer main characters, which I talk about near the end of the podcast. It was also taped during the beginning of the pandemic, which shows in the reduced number of characters present. The movie stars a married couple (Ben Lewis and Blake Lee) who remeet after not seeing each other for years and are pushed together by Hugo's (Ben Lewis) mom played by Fran Drescher. In addition to talking about the plot and characters, I also talk about how refreshing it is to have a romance film without a whole lot of drama. It's not a classic, but it is fun and refreshing and I appreciate it for coming out when it did. We will be back with the new season on February 6, 2025. Please be sure to pay attention to social media because I will be posting an announcement there about the schedule for the first half of 2025.  As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we're going to talk about the 2009 film, Make the Yuletide Gay. It is a movie that is very much a product of its time and is definitely dated in some fairly obvious ways. That said, it is a fun movie and one that is worth watching. I start off with some thoughts about the necessity of telling coming out stories, while also making sure we are telling the stories of people who are already out. I think both are needed at this time. I also talk about a couple aspects of the movie that annoy me. And watch the video below for what I think is the greatest scene in the movie. The Coming Out Scene Our next episode will be coming out either the 12th or the 19th and will be about the movie The Christmas Setup. Look for an announcement on the podcast's social media pages. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the 2023 film Bottoms. This film has the distinction of being the first (and possibly only) piece of pop culture that will be featured on here that I did not like. While I do not hate the movie the way I do Brokeback Mountain and Call My By Your Name, the humor and violence in the movie is not something I like. But, I can see why people do enjoy it and there were parts that I enjoyed, so here we are. I start off explaining (in more detail) why I am doing this film before talking about the plot and then the characters. Mostly a fairly normal episode. Here are a few YouTube videos to enjoy: Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler Isabel Confronts Jeff and the Egging/TPing of Jeff's House (to the tune of Total Eclipse of the Heart) The Final Fight Scene Jeff being Jeff and having 0 Braincells Our next episode will be on December 5th and will be about the movie Make the Yuletide Gay. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the 2016 film Fair Haven. It is a relatively short movie at 90 minutes and is overall a decent film. I am not fond of the ending for reasons discussed in the podcast. Listen to get the details. Overall, the movie is not one of my favorites, but it is not a bad movie either. Next week, we will be talking about the movie Bottoms with Nicholas Galitizine. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. Today's very long episode is all about Heartstopper season 3. This episode is 1 hour and 53 minutes long, which is by far the longest episode I have done to date. I enjoyed making it and hope you enjoy listening to it. This is a very heavy season and the episode talks about mental health issues, self harm, transphobia, and other things that may be triggering. Please listen with care. Here are a few video clips you may enjoy. I am sure you can find others: The Last Scene of the Season Nick and Aunt Diane Have a Talk Nick Convinces Charlie to Get Help  Nick and Charlie say I Love You Nick and Tao at the Halloween Party My Written Review of Season 3 Our next episode, on November 7, will be about the movie Fair Haven. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we will be talking about the 2014 TV movie Boys (Jongen in Dutch). The movie was first broadcast on Dutch TV and does have English subtitles. This is a short episode. That's because the movie is fun and enjoyable, but it is a story that has been told quite often, and this version doesn't bring a whole lot new to the table. That said, it is not a bad film, just one that can be enjoyed and then is rather quickly forgotten. The movie itself is also short (77 minutes), so there's not a ton to say about the movie itself. After the movie, I talk a little about the two review episodes of Heartstopper that have been on this podcast and my written reviews which can be read here. I do this because our next episode, on the 24th, will be about Heartstopper season 3 and I fully expect it to be at least 90 minutes. It might very well be 105-120 minutes. I'm obviously not sure yet (it won't be recorded until the 21st or 22nd), but based on the numbers, that is my suspicion. Listen for more about that. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. Today, we are going to talk about the 2006 film The Curiosity of Chance. It's a fun, fluffy film that is about a out, gay high school boy in a school in Europe in the 1980s.  There is some humor that is dated, so know that. My main issue is that the movie feels like it's a fluffy movie trying to be serious and it doesn't quite work. But if you just watch it and enjoy it for what it is, I think it will be a fun experience. Our next episode, on October 10, will be about the movie Boys. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. Today, we are talking about The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. They came out in 2001 and 2004 and starred Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. The movies are about Mia Thermopolis, a 15-year old San Franciscan, who finds out she is the princess of a small European country called Genovia. The movies are based off of characters from a series of books by Meg Cabot (which I haven't read). After going through the plot (relatively briefly), I talk about a couple of issues I have with the movies, although both are more with the way people at the time (and to a certain extent now) do things than the movies themselves. I also talk about why I consider Mia's story to be a trans story and read a post I wrote about the topic. Here are some fun scenes from the movies: Princess Diaries Mia's Makeover (I hate that this is done, but the scene is fun) Mia's First Dinner Party Mia's Speech Accepting Being a Princess (her "coming out" so to speak) Princess Diaries 2 Julie Andrews and Raven-Symone sing Mia Has Orphans Join Her in the Parade Some Wedding Looks Mia Looking at Potential Suitors Mia's Coronation Our next episode, on September 26, will be about the movie The Curiousity of Chance. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to this week's episode of Queerly Popular. Today we are talking about the 2024 movie Ganymede starring Jordan Doww and Pablo Castelblanco, directed by Colby Holt and Sam Probst and written by Colby Holt. I start the episode explaining why I watched this movie (which is very different from other movies I watch) and then talk about the plot. After that, most of the rest of the episode is spent talking about how my upbringing was similar to what Lee (Jordan's character) went through and how I identify so much with the character. This part (and the plot description) may be triggering for some people, so if you think it might be for you, please take care of yourself and stop as frequently as needed. Our next episode is about Princess Diaries and Princess Diaries 2 and why I consider Princess Diaries to be a trans story. Jordan's YouTube Ganymede Trailer Landslide Cover Waving Through a Window Ganymede on Amazon Prime Ganymede is also available on Google TV. Not sure what other streaming services though. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, I am sharing a great conversation I had with my friend Mycroft Masada about Star Trek. We focus a lot on queer coded characters, but we also touch on a lot of other things that show how Star Trek was always "woke". We do focus exclusively on DS9, Next Generation, Voyager, and the Original Series because that is what we have seen. Neither of us has seen any of the newer series. We do briefly mention some queer characters, but we don't talk about them. If you want to come on to talk specifically about those characters, please let me know. This is also a longer than normal episode at almost 82 minutes. I think you'll enjoy the entire thing, I know I did. If you want to see the meme Mycroft talks about (Kor and Jadzia), click here. Mycroft is on Twitter (@mycroft_masada) and Instagram (@mycroft_masada). They are also on Facebook as is Westminster Flabby. Please give them a follow. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the 2024 book My Fair Brady, which is a riff off of the musical My Fair Lady, the movie She's All That, and other such stories.  The book is about a high school senior, Wade Westmore, who is dumped by his boyfriend on Valentine's Day (justifiably, I might add), loses the leading role in the musical to his ex, and is having trouble getting into his dream school, NYU. He (for various reasons) decides to help shy sophomore Elijah Brady become more popular. The book is about the hijinks that ensue, particularly after Reese (the ex) promposes to Brady in front of the whole cast and crew of the musical, including Wade. The book is a whole lot of fun to read and is told from dual perspectives, which is very interesting. Wade and Elijah both narrate chapters, so you get insights into both of them. Give this books a read, I really think you'll love it. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are talking about the movie Handsome Devil. But before we talk about the movie, I spend some time talking about Nicholas Galitizine's other movies and tv shows and some basic thoughts about them. Handsome Devil is a 2016 film about Ned (Fionn O'Shea), a student who is out of place and bullied in the boarding school he attends and his new roommate Conor (Nicholas Galitizine). They end up becoming friends before they betray each other. It's a good movie, but not one I am going to watch over and over. Listen to hear more about why. Also, here is the link to Nicholas' song Comfort on Spotify We are trying to get it to 10 million streams by June 24, so please listen on repeat if you can. Thanks! As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to Queerly Popular! This week, we will be talking about the 2024 film The Idea of You starring Nicholas Galitizine and Anne Hathaway. The movie is a cis-het romance about a 40-year old divorced mother who meets a 24-year old pop star and how their relationship develops. Before I talk about the film and characters, I explain why this is a queer film and included here. The episode clocks in at close to 70 minutes, so it is a bit longer than most episodes. Below are links to some great scenes and songs from the movie: Hayes and Solene dancing in the NY hotel room The meet cute Guard Down Music Video Taste Lyric Video Dance Before We Walk Lyric Video My August Moon Spotify Playlist- This has all the singles and The Idea of You album in order of release, so there are so me songs on multiple times or even a few times in a row. My The Idea of You Spotify Playlist- All of the songs from the movie in the order they appeared. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to this week's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we're talking about the 2021 book Playing the Palace. It is about an American Associate Event Architect (Carter Ogden) who meets the Crown Prince of England (Prince Edgar), their romance, and the issues they have.  I did definitely enjoy the book, even though it suffered from 2 major issues. Most characters were stereotypes and not as fleshed out as they should have been and the romance between Carter and Edgar seemed to be super rushed and not as earned as it could have been. That being said, it was a fun book and well worth reading. It just won't enter the pantheon of classics the way Red, White, and Royal Blue has. Here's the promised link to My Thoughts About the Red, White, & Royal Blue Sequel. I know I've been altering the schedule a lot recently and I apologize for that, but it's been for a good reason. On June 6, we'll be back and talking about the movie The Idea of You. and on June 20, we'll talk about the movie Handsome Devil before we take a break until August 1st. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to this week's episode of Queerly Popular! This week we'll be talking about the 2022 book The Feeling of Falling In Love by Mason Deaver. It is their third book and is, in all honesty, a fairly typical romance. The main difference being that the main character is a trans guy and the love interest is a queer, non-binary individual. But other than that, it hits all the tropes you could want. And honestly, I don't mind. I start off by (again) explaining why tropes don't bother me, then talk about an odd difference between the book and the audio book. Then we look at the characters a bit before getting to the plot. Finally, we look a little deeper into Neil and Wyatt and why they act the way they do. Although not my favorite of Mason's books (I Wish You All the Best holds that distinction by a long shot), the book is fun and enjoyable and I highly encourage you to read it. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to this week's episode of Queerly Popular. Today, we are talking about the 2020 book Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye. The book is about a high school boy who asks out the most popular guy in high school; who agreed to date the first person who asks him out each week; and how they come to realize that they really like each other. For the most part, I really enjoyed the book. I had a bit of an issue with Bryson being too perfect and with the ending leaving too many dangling threads, but I still really enjoyed the book. There is a bit of controversy because it is alleged that the author plagarized from a Manga called Seven Days. I talk about that briefly too. I will say that this is not my favorite book, but I did appreciate the way he handled religious parents, children being outed, and other such issues with tenderness, care, and respect. Just know that there is some heavy storylines that could potentially be triggering, so be careful. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.  

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today we are going to talk about the Netflix show Young Royals which is about a Swedish prince who meets and falls in love with a commoner at an elite boarding school. The show premiered in 2021 and the finale aired on March 18, 2024. Warning, this is one of the longer episodes at almost 80 minutes, so be prepared for that. And if you haven't seen the third season, don't listen because I do talk about that season. I talk about the plot, keeping that part as simple as possible (you try summarizing 3 seasons in 20 minutes and see how you do!). Then I make a couple of general observations, talk about the 5 main characters, and then end with a few more observations about the show in general and not the plot or characters. I think you'll really enjoy this show.  Simon's Song Wille's Song Here is a link to a TikTok I made after I saw a tweet from someone which absolutely spoiled the ending of the show. The tweet came out 1 hour after the finale aired, which meant they watched it right away and spoiled the ending for people, like me, who hadn't had the chance to watch yet. Don't do this please. Be better and respectful of other people. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the 2021 book The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun. The book is about a contestant and a producer on a reality dating show who meet and fall in love. There is a lot of talk in the book about mental health issues including anxiety, OCD, and depression. There is also good representation of different sexualities. There are also a couple of characters who appear to be non-binary (both characters use "they" pronouns), but that is never specifically revealed. So I talk about the plot, the characters, and my intense dislike of reality tv. I found the structure of the chapters to be particularly interesting. They were written from a 3rd person limited perspective. Listen for more on that. I definitely recommend the book, it's fun, if predictable, and I appreciated how Alison talked about mental health so well. Next week, we will talk about all three seasons of the show Young Royals.  As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Due to Holy Week, our schedule has been slightly altered. Please listen to find out more.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. Today, we're going to talk about the 2022 book Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky. It's a lovely book about Wren Roland, a young man who has never been kissed, and his feelings for his friend (and almost kiss) Derick Haverford. The book is about their relationship and how they try and save a local landmark from Derick's dad. I love this book and highly recommend that you read it if you like queer romances like I do. I really appreciate the way Janovsky explores coming out in different ways. Our next episode, on April 4, will be about the book The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun. As a bonus, here's a link to a clip from the movie I Wish You All the Best. It is being screened at SXSW this week and I really hope it gets picked up for distribution so that we can watch it. As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome to today's episode of Queerly Popular. Today we will be talking about the film Hidden Kisses. Before I get into anything else, I made a mistake last episode. I thought this was a German language film, but it is a French film. Sorry about the error. Hidden Kisses is a movie about 2 boys who are caught kissing and what happens to them because of this. The film is basically evenly divided between Nathan's story and Louis' story. The stories parallel each other in certain ways and also massively diverge in others. The movie does not have a happy ending per se, but it isn't as sad as others. There is sadness there, but there is also a sense of hope and community and family and love right around the corner. We will be back with an episode on March 14. I am not sure what the topic will be right now. I am hoping it will be a conversation with Brian G, Murphy about queerness in early 00s tv, but it might not be. It depends on what goes on with his schedule. Pay attention to our social media platforms for more information.  As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

On today's episode of Queerly Popular, we are talking about the 2022 book Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch, author of The Sky Blues which I previously talked about. Blaine for the Win is a book about a high school junior who is dumped by his boyfriend on their anniversary because he is not a Serious Guy (TM). So he decides to run for senior class president in order to get his ex-boyfriend back. In the process, he runs against his exes new boyfriend. Can we just say "Awkward!" I really love this book and Robbie does an excellent job creating characters who are fun and engaging. It's formulaic, true, but it's formulaic in that good way that allows you to relax and enjoy the journey rather than constantly worrying about what is going to happen next. I highly reccomend reading this book. On the 29th, we will be talking about the movie Hidden Kisses, which is a German language film.  As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.

Welcome back to season 3 of Queerly Popular! Today, we are going to talk about the 2023 book The Borrow A Boyfriend Club by Page Powars. The book is about a trans boy in high school who joins a club which he thinks is about cars and sports in order to prove to people that he is a "real boy". It ends up being a club where people can borrow the members as boyfriends and wacky hijinks ensue as Noah tries to join. The book is absolutely adorable and all sorts of fun. If you are trans, it is also highly relatable, particularly when it comes to Noah's obsession with proving that he is a "real boy". There is a lot of fun and romance and heartbreak and laughs, this is a rom-com after all. I highly recommend you read it! As always, please rate and review the podcast on whatever platform you listen to it on. You can follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, or Threads (@queerlypopular). You can also send questions or comments to [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.