Girl Talk

Mariah: If you gave me a bunch of fancy cheeses, I’m there. I’m not asking any questions.
In this episode, we chat about Coraline! Our focus is primarily on the 2009 film, but we also discuss the book, published in 2002. Topics include motherhood, fatherhood, childhood, girlhood, gender roles, domesticity, homes & haunted houses, dolls, and what to do when your literary heroes turn out to be monsters.
What whimsical hobby does “other” you practice? What would the other mother use to lure you into her trap? Let us know at unwellfans@gmail.com
Sources:
“There Is No Safe Word.” Vulture, January 2025.
Almeida, Danielle. “‘It Can Cry, It Can Speak, It Can Pee’: Modality Values and Playing Affordances in Contemporary Baby Dolls’ Discourse.” Ilha Do Desterro [Florianópolis], vol. 71, no. 3, September 2018, pp. 143–60.
Dederer, Claire. Monsters : A Fan’s Dilemma. First edition., Alfred A. Knopf, 2023.
French, Dawn, et al. Coraline. Alliance Films, 2009.
Forman-Brunell, Miriam. Made to Play House : Dolls and the Commercialization of American Girlhood, 1830-1930. Yale University Press, 1993.
Gaiman, Neil, and Dave McKean. Coraline. 1st ed., HarperCollins, 2002.
Jaime Segura San Miguel. “Monomyth, Mirrors, and Maddening Mothers—Otherized Female Identity in Coraline.” Hypercultura (București. Online), vol. 13, June 2025, pp. 1–12.
Palkovich, Einat Natalie. “The ‘Mother’ of All Schemas: Creating Cognitive Dissonance in Children’s Fantasy Literature Using the Mother Figure.” Children’s Literature in Education [Dordrecht], vol. 46, no. 2, June 2015, pp. 175–89.
Content note: In this episode we discuss spiders, rats, mice, child abuse and neglect,and sexual violence.
Music: Clown - Sakura Girl https://soundcloud.com/sakuragirl_official
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/sakura-girl/clown
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Transcription available upon request. Email us at unwellfans@gmail.com

Season 1: Episode 3: The Hunger Games
Mariah: If I was ever actually in the Hunger Games, I’m steppin’ off my plate before that first 30 seconds is up and blowing myself up.
In this episode, we focus on The Hunger Games! We’ll chat about both the 2008 novel, and the 2012 film. Topics include love triangles, relationships, masculinity, state violence & dictatorships, internalized misogyny, femininity, and adaptations.
What’s your favourite possible shipping name for characters within this series? Let us know at unwellfans@gmail.com
Sources:
“Jennifer Lawrence Says She Was ‘pressured to Lose Weight’ for Hunger Games Role; Jennifer Lawrence Has Spoken out about Feeling Pressured into Weight Loss Whilst Filming The Hunger Games Trilogy in Her Breakout Role as Katniss.” Daily Mirror (London, England), December 8, 2022.
“Suzanne Collins Talks About ‘The Hunger Games,’ the Books and the Movies.” The New York Times (Digital Edition) [New York], October 18, 2018.
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic Press, 2008.
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. Scholastic Press, 2009.
Collins, Suzanne. Mockingjay. Scholastic Press, 2010.
Collins, Suzanne. Sunrise on the Reaping. Scholastic Press, 2025.
Holmes, Anna. “White Until Proven Black: Imagining Race in Hunger Games.” The New Yorker. March 30, 2012.
Kincaid, James R. Erotic Innocence: The Culture of Child Molesting. Duke University Press, 1998.
McGregor, Hannah, & Marcelle Kosman. “Hunger Games x Frames of War” Material Girls. August 5, 2025.
Ross, Gary, et al. The Hunger Games. Alliance Films.; Lions Gate. 2012.
Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. Between Men : English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire. Columbia University Press, 1985.
Content note: In this episode we discuss child death, suicide, violence, and abuse.
Music: Clown - Sakura Girl https://soundcloud.com/sakuragirl_official
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/sakura-girl/clown
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/jkNyf6ejiYQ
Transcription available upon request. Email us at unwellfans@gmail.com

Veronica: This was a targeted attack on Millennial women.
In this episode we discuss Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film Barbie. Topics include the patriarchy, gender roles, matriarchy, feminism, femininity, masculinity, and gender essentialism.
Which Barbie would you be?! Let us know at unwellfans@gmail.com
Sources:
“Barbie’s ‘pornographic’ Origin Story, as Told by Historians.” Washingtonpost.Com, May 25, 2023.
Adekaiyero, Ayomikun. “'Barbie' reportedly had a $150 million marketing budget — more than the movie's actual budget” Business Insider. Jul 24, 2023.
Bakhtin, M. M., et al. Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics. University of Minnesota Press, 1984.
Beauvoir, Simone de, et al. The Second Sex. Vintage, 2011.
Gerwig, Greta, et al. Barbie. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., 2023.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “Ryan Gosling Addresses His Viral Ken Picture and Paints Jimmy’s Fingernail Pink (Extended)” Youtube. 22 Jul 2022
Content note: In this episode we discuss sexism, gender essentialism, and transphobia. Early on, we say season one will have ten episodes. It ended up having eight. Sorry for the confusion!
Music: Clown - Sakura Girl https://soundcloud.com/sakuragirl_official
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/sakura-girl/clown
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/jkNyf6ejiYQ
Transcription available upon request. Email us at unwellfans@gmail.com

Veronica: I promise - it’s not as boring as it sounds.
In this introductory episode we (shocker) introduce listeners to ourselves and the show. We’ll talk a little about why we were interested in creating this show and what sorts of topics we hope to cover.
What sorts of topics should we cover? Let us know at unwellfans@gmail.com
Music: Clown - Sakura Girl https://soundcloud.com/sakuragirl_official
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/sakura-girl/clown
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/jkNyf6ejiYQ
Transcription available upon request. Email us at unwellfans@gmail.com