Feminist Book Club: The Podcast

Mariquita welcomes Sarah Knickerbocker, the host behind Eugene, Oregon's Horrible Bingo, as they discuss shifting the lens on horror to find the threads of feminism, examine how the genre uniquely showcases women's stories, and to untangle why horror fans are so frequently wonderfully queer.
For an extra bonus and to exponentially grow your TBR, check the show notes for more books recommended by Sarah.
 
Books/Resources Mentioned:
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer 
Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover
Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968-1980) by Eleanor Johnson
Other recommended books from Sarah:
It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror edited Joe Vallese
Corpses, Fools, and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema by Willow Maclay and Caden Gardner
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
Brainwyrms  by Alison Rumfitt
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Negative Space by B.R. Yeager
 
Support and follow our guest and host!
Follow Sarah Knickerbocker: Instagram // Website 
Follow Mariquita: Instagram // Threads // StoryGraph
 



Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa
 
Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

CW: Child death, Miscarriage, Infertility, Blood, Grief, Death of Parent, Dementia 
 
Marlena and Mariquita discuss Mother is Watching, the horror debut by Karma Brown. In this spoiler-free conversation, they explore how the novel uses horror to amplify everyday anxieties around motherhood, bodily autonomy, and identity. Together, they unpack the emotional stakes at the heart of the story, examining how art, obsession, and pregnancy intertwine to blur the line between psychological unease and the supernatural. Along the way, they reflect on the ways domestic life becomes a site of tension, control, and quiet terror and why this chilling read lingers long after the final page.
 
 
Books mentioned:
Mother is Watching by Karma Brown
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow Marlena: Instagram // Blog  
Follow Mariquita: Instagram // Threads // Storygraph // Bluesky
 



Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa
 
Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Casey Ballard, long time lover of feminist retellings of classic stories, interviews B.K. O'Connor about her new novel, Eve, a retelling of John Milton's Paradise Lost, that expands on the notion that eternity spent in ignorance is no life to live. Casey and Becky discuss Eve as an intellectual feminist, the bridging of cultures, and why people should still read the classics.  .
 
Books and resources mentioned:
Eve by B. K. O'Connor
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
 
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow B.K. O'Connor: Instagram // Website 
Follow Casey: Instagram


 
Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa
 
Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Nox and Shoshana talk about Reality Check, the recent documentary series that revisits America's Next Top Model. They share their experiences watching the show growing up, reflect on the broader reality TV culture of the time, and discuss how these portrayals of women's bodies shaped their perspectives. Along the way, they unpack the complicated mix of nostalgia, criticism, and cultural impact tied to both the original series and the documentary. If you've been thinking about the legacy of ANTM and what it meant to grow up with shows like it, this conversation is for you.
 
Books and resources mentioned:
RAINN - National Sexual Assault Hotline
NEDA - National Eating Disorders Association 
You Wanna Be on Top? A Memoir of Makeovers, Manipulation, and Not Becoming America's Next Top Model by Sarah Hartshorne
 
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow Nox: Instagram // TikTok // Threads
Follow Shoshana: Storygraph // Instagram // Bluesky 
 
Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa

Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.

Black History Month may be over, but our joy of reading Black literature has no expiration date! In this episode, Renee shares a new-to-her cozy mystery series featuring a Black single mom investigating mysteries around her daughter's school. Then Casey is back with her Non-Fiction Nook segment, this time highlighting books of Black resistance
 
 
Books mentioned:
It's Elementary by Elise Bryant
The Game Is Afoot by Elise Bryant
Brooding Over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance by Nikki M. Taylor 
We Refuse A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson 
 
 
 
Support and follow our host and guest!
Follow Renee: Instagram // The StoryGraph // Threads
Follow Casey: Instagram
 
Check out our online community here! 
 
This episode was edited and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
 
Original music by Amarissa
 
Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, BlueSky, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.