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Material Girls
Sapphic x Radical Feminism
In this episode, Hannah and Marcelle delve into the word "sapphic" and consider the rising popularity of the term's use as it relates to the legacy of radical feminism and lesbian feminism. They begin by talking about their own feelings around labels, sexuality, and the limits of using words to define ourselves. Marcelle offers a guess at what (and how) "sapphic" means in 2025, and Hannah gives an overview of its current colloquial use as a complement, an alternative, and a reaction, in particular, to the term "lesbian." And then it's history time baby! Hannah gets into the the radical feminist movement of the 60s and the various modern feminisms that emerged simultaneously and in the decades following. She then offers a thesis that frames queer feminism's complicated relationship to its own history as one part of sapphic's entrance into the zeitgeist, all while suggesting we take a more nuanced look at the past and resist the temptation to reduce previous movements to their most imperfect parts.
To learn more about Material Girls, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca. We'll be back in two weeks with a Material Concerns episode, but until then, go check out all the other content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease! Patreon is how we produce the show and pay our team! Thanks again to all of you who have already made the leap to join us there!
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Material Girls is a show that aims to make sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.
*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both. Materialist critique is really interested in the question of why a particular cultural work or practice emerged at a particular moment.
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Heated Rivalry x Canadiana with John Batt
01:09:32|Definitively our most Canadian conversation yet!In this episode of Material Girls, we once again take a look at Heated Rivalry — this time focusing on the Canadian-ness of the show. We were joined in February by sister of the pod, Hope Rehak, to think through the show's popularity as it relates to puritanism. This time around, we brought in John Batt (he/him), the brilliant mind behind the Instagram account @canada.gov.ca,* to help us think through the show as CanCon (Canadian content).Together, Marcelle, Hannah and John consider what it means for something "to be Canadian." They broach the myth of Canadian culture as a monolith and do a historical deep dive on The Massey Commission to get a better sense of how CanCon became institutionalized as a nationalist endeavor. If you like Canada Corner™ you'll love this episode about Canadiana with Canadian treasure, John Batt."This is a great episode for someone who recently got into hockey." - Gaby Iori, someone who recently got into hockey*If you don't know it already, go follow the account for curated stories from the obscure and often bizarre side of Canadian history and culture!Related ListeningHeated Rivalry x The Puritanical Eye with Hope RehakBook 4, Episode 2: The Nation State (from Witch, Please podcast)Trade Movies Podcast (clip mentioned by John Batt)Works Cited“Canadian Content.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Feb 8, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content#:~:text=Current%20Canadian%20content%20percentages%20are,multicultural%20formats%20have%20lower%20percentages).“Canadiana.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Mar 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadiana.Litt, Paul. 1992. The Muses, the Masses, and the Massey Commission. University of Toronto Press.Morrison, Catherine. 2026. “Culture Minister Says Hockey Romance Heated Rivalry Is a Cancon Triumph.” CBC. January 15, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/heated-rivalry-cancon-triumph-9.7046368.“Peak Hockey Romance, Brought to You by Canadian Taxpayers.” 2023. Turbotax. 2023. https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/heated-rivalry-canadian-culture-funding?srsltid=AfmBOopyhhXtfaL9EN-cTEedVftFvXbkfs1oCdrNbNbWI_U1xD9embi3.Support Material GirlsTo learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!). Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more! Need a last minute gift for a friend or family member? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Pitty Party Preview: 8:00 PM
30:25|Welcome back to Pitty Party! For the full episode head to Patreon.com/ohwitchplease!Gaby, Marcelle, and Zoe dig into the penultimate episode of season 2! In addition to discussing what’s going on with Dr. al-Hashimi and Robby’s relationship with Duke, they also spend some time debating different types of Canadian beers and consider who working at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center would be most likely to get you your SSRIs in a timely manner.See you next week for the FINALE!!! Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Material Concerns: Stolen Perfume & Ziplining Pt. I
34:33|Welcome back to Material Concerns! We talk perfumes, vapes and taking risks. Head to patreon.com/ohwitchplease now to join a tier that works for your budget and you will get PART II!Happy listening! We'll be back next week with a regular format episode!Subscribe to Hannah's new newsletter here: https://hannahs-haunts-and-hobbies.ghost.io/Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Pitty Party Preview: 7:00 PM
19:27|Welcome back to Pitty Party!Yes, the first five minutes of this episode are devoted to discussing hockey, and not even the gay kind! Sorry if you're not into that.Once we move past that, Gaby, Marcelle, and Zoe dig into Dr. Mohan's terrible hour, Robby's continued downward spiral, and the much-needed arrival of the hot shift (aka the night shift).We’ll be back next week to talk all about season 2, episode 14, 8:00 PM. Do we think there are gonna be beers in the park this season?? It's not looking likely.Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Witch, Please Drop-In: Episode 1: Sorting Ceremony
01:03:49|Feast your magic-loving ears on THIS! Today we are doing something very exciting. We are re-publishing the first-ever episode of the original run of Witch, Please. Back in 2015, Hannah and Marcelle were just two hot young things working in academia living in a world a bit different from the one we’re in today… and they decided to create a podcast about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Many of our listeners joined us while that show was on air — but a good number of you arrived after the fact! These episodes have been available to the public through our main Material Girls feed, but starting this month, we are transferring them to our Patreon page. If you’re a regular listener of the original run, not to fear, the episodes are still available for free and now without ads over on Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Please enjoy this jump back in time to Valentine’s Day 2015 when Hannah and Marcelle began their joint podcasting journey. Here’s what you should know before listening to the OG run: We used language then that we don’t use now. We think it’s important to learn in public and to stay accountable to past errors in judgment or ignorances so if you hear something you don’t like in the original run, we understand and we hope you find our more recent episodes are held to a higher standard of care and intention. We edited these episodes ourselves. If you’re like, “hey why does this sound worse than current episodes,” that’s because our reboot and the shows that followed involve the labor of a producer and a sound engineer who we pay through Patreon.We have transcripts for our reboot seasons! If you’d like a transcript of an original run episode, email us at ohwitchplease@gmail.com with the subject line: TRANSCRIPTION REQUEST. We’ll aim to get you what you’ve requested within 4 weeks.Head over to our WP OG Run chat on Patreon if you'd like to discuss with other listeners!
Pitty Party Preview: 6:00 PM
09:03|Welcome back to Pitty Party!NOTE: This episode discusses a storyline involving self-harm starting around the 29 minute mark. We wrap up the specifics around 33:33 and move into the rest of the conversation between Santos and Whitaker for the rest of the segment.Gaby and Marcelle both have colds in this episode, but they get over it enough to talk with Zoe about the Big Fight between Mom and Dad (Dana and Robby), the way the hospital admin is handling Langdon’s drug diversion, and Santos’ mental health (as well as the Santos and Whitaker siblingism).We’ll be back next week to talk all about season 2, episode 13, 7:00 PM. Only three more episodes and then, to quote Dana Evans, Pit(t)y Party’s over. <3ANOTHER NOTE: We know that Monica is actually a clerk and not a charge nurse! Misspeak on our part. Also, if you work in healthcare and have any insight into the drug diversion storyline (i.e. why it seems to be so unknown that Langdon diverted drugs from his workplace), let us know! Is it common to assume providers who divert drugs do it from elsewhere? We don’t know and would like to learn! XoMusic Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Material Concerns: The Soft Episode Pt. I
31:32|Welcome back to Material Concerns!!! We keep this episode soft! Listen to find out what we mean by that! Head to patreon.com/ohwitchplease now to join a tier that works for your budget and you will get PART II!!!!!!Happy listening! We'll be back next week with a regular format episode!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.
Pitty Party Preview: 5:00 PM
11:27|Welcome back to Pitty Party!Zoe, Gaby, and Marcelle jump right into discussing a really heavy episode and dig into this week’s ICE storyline, the long-awaited Langdon and Santos confrontation, and Mel’s relationship with her sister. They also touch on a few new patients and the several items belonging to Chekov that seem to be returning…We’ll be back next week to talk all about season 2, episode 12, 6:00 PM. Only four episodes left! To listen to the full episode, head to patreon.com/ohwitchplease now!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Oscars x Symbolic Capital
57:59|Did you watch The Oscars? Did you formerly watch The Oscars but don't anymore? Do you only consume The Oscars via clips on social media? Well guess what? No matter how you answered, you're not alone! In this week's episode, Hannah and Marcelle talk about the changing zeitgeisty-ness of the Academy Awards through a deep dive on the awards' early days, its legacy and what we might make of the show's move to Youtube starting 2029.Drawing on theorist Robert Boucault's new book, Oscar Bait: The Academy Awards & Cultural Prestige, Hannah helps us understand the complex ways the Oscars navigate various forms of capital in the field of filmmaking. We talk elitism, cultural capital, symbolic capital and capital intraconversion!Happy listening!Related ListeningBook 4, Episode 8: Magical Capital (from Witch, Please Reboot)Dopamine x Health Capitalism with Jesse MeadowsBarbie x Petro-CapitalismWorks CitedBaragona, Louis. “How the Oscars has changed over the past 92 years.” Business Insider 23 April 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/oscars-over-the-years-2018-3. Boucault, Robert. Oscar Bait: The Academy Awards & Cultural Prestige. New York: Routledge, 2026. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.4324/9781003597605. Feinberg, Scott. “Oscars’ TV Ratings Headache Turns Into a Migraine.” The Hollywood Reporter 2 March 2022. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-tv-ratings-live-telecast-1235102498/. Feinberg, Scott, and Alex Weprin. “Oscars Bolts From ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029.” The Hollywood Reporter 17 December 2025. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/oscars-bolt-from-abc-to-youtube-starting-in-2029-1236453188/. Rao, Sonia. “Why do the Oscars Matter?” The Washington Post 16 April 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/04/16/oscars-academy-award-significance/ Richardson, Kalia. “A Decade After #OscarsSoWhite, Can Hollywood Do Better?” Rolling Stone 2 March 2025. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/oscars-so-white-10-years-1235276085/.Thomson, David. “The House That Mr. Mayer Built: Inside the Union-Busting Birth of the Academy Awards.” Vanity Fair 21 February 2014. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/02/secret-oscar-history.Support Material GirlsTo learn more about the show, head to our Instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Or check out our website ohwitchplease.ca (you can also find transcripts here!). Want to support the podcast and our tiny, hard-working team? Check out all the content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. Bonus episodes, bloopers, merch, watch-alongs, and more! Need a last minute gift for a friend or family member? You can gift a Patreon subscription at this link: https://www.patreon.com/ohwitchplease/gift!Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”.