It Is Complicated

A very short update - recorded in one take and un-editedby Dr J - so it makes some sense. 1) We are still here2) We appreciate our listeners3) We are planning a move to SubStack - we'll be doing that in coming weeksWe will record episodes possibly talking about the break (or not) - and publish the backlog - see you soon.

In this special episode of It Is Complicated, we remember Suzanne Osten, who died on the 24th October 2024 This interview was recorded a year ago, we are releasing it now as a tribute to her. We do have a backlog of episodes, this one felt important to put out first. Josephine met Suzanne in 2005 after Suzanne saw one of her performances and invited her to be in an opera, even though neither of them had experience in being in, or directing an opera. Suzanne’s adventurous spirit and willingness to try new things left a lasting impression on Josephine, and you can hear in the conversation how Suzanne was a force of nature—creative, chaotic, and always up for a challenge. This episode celebrates Suzanne’s incredible impact on the art world and her lasting friendship with those who knew her.Suzanne Osten’s IMDB page https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0652305/Transcript (from zoom) for this episode IIC Episde 62Our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicated

Dr J, Josephine and CN Lester discuss their multi-hyphenate, portfolio working lives. Even for those with salaried jobs, there is always the side gig (or two or three) and projects. Performers, academics, scientists, consultants, photographers, authors - there is not a single role that defines them.This was recorded in March 2023 - since then - Josephine's book is available at Where it all started Novel , and CN Lester short story is out in the anthology Furies: Stories of the Wicked, Wild and Untamed - Dr J is still writing their first book proposalhttps://whereitallstartednovel.com/https://burleyfisherbooks.com/products/9780349017167

This episode comes with a content warning - it is dark! Some of the darker places ended up on the cutting room floor, and it is still dark. Be safe when you listen to this.An apology to Brianna Ghey and her family. Dr J managed to mispronounce their surname all the way through. We picked this up in the final edit. In this episode we tackle the level of transphobia that is now so entrenched in our society that people with privilege can make a jibe about it within parliament. We talk about the impact of this upon us personally, and as a group. We do our best to bring our usual sense, humour and compassion to this conversation. We approach the impacts and arrive at a resolution.It is by advocacy for ourselves and others like us, that we can get through this.We also end up with an usual Breathtaking rant from Dr J - who has a Billy Joel obsession going on right now, as well the Muppets - Tenderly!Muppets - Dr Teeth & the electric mayhem - TenderlyWe have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 60 TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicated - your subscriptions help us pay our guests for their timeGive us feedback - get in touch on Patreon as social media is a trash fire - we’d love to connect with you - or leave us a rating or a review on your favourite podcast platform

In the fifth in our Queer Voices series we talk with Samantha Béart, actor, currently known for playing Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3. We talked about how games and performances and performing in and for games, allowed us to explore, examine and find ourselves.We get into the ways games have allowed us to understand the world and ourselves, the joy of the “Fuck around and Find out” nature of some games, how trauma can be understood within a game. How games can take us deeper and into places we didn’t expect allowing us to explore and have positive experiences. There are some gigantic nerd theory moments.Links we talk about:Where it all started: https://whereitallstartednovel.com/Paragraph 175 - film about homosexuality in German controlled regions in WW2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragraph_175_(film)The Ukie census of the Games Industry - https://ukie.org.uk/UK-games-industry-census-2020Karlach isn't a good girl blog post - https://www.tumblr.com/sailorgundam308/731617898834034688/karlach-isnt-a-good-girlFrom Queer to Eternity podcast - https://play.acast.com/s/from-queer-to-eternity/samanthabeart - which is almost 'Part 1' of this conversationWe have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 59 TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - get in touch on Patreon as social media is a trash fire - we’d love to connect with you about routine.

In the fourth in our Queer Voices series we talk with Laura Kate Dale, games journalist, author, and accessibility consultant. We started on how some of our narratives are routed in negativity, and how that can be turned into talking about Joy and Euphoria, small or large.This leads into us talking about how the little things can fight back against the system every day, challenging how we see our own lives. We can overlook the small joys, taking them for granted, ignoring the heart sing moments. We can be proud of ourselves in the small moments and in the big moments, and we have our narratives that are outside of the normative view of the world.Our special interests this week are trains, train data, weddings and Baldurs Gate 3. Find Laura Kate Dale here: https://laurakbuzz.com/Get Stories of Autistic Joy here: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/stories-of-autistic-joy-laura-kate-dale/7460206?ean=9781839978098 in the UK and https://us.jkp.com/products/stories-of-autistic-joy for other countriesWe have a transcript for this episode - IIC Episode 58 TranscriptOur Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/itiscomplicatedGive us feedback - get in touch on Patreon as social media is a trash fire - we’d love to connect with you about routine.