A Glimmer Into Glitterjaw: Turning Audio Into Action Part II
A spotlight on Glitterjaw’s response to erasure and censorship of queer voices in media. Plus, our monthly podcast roundup!
At the risk of opening this month’s recap with a statement that’s both cliché and a massive understatement: a lot has happened in 2025! And as a proudly (and loudly) queer and proudly (and loudly) social justice oriented podcast collective, our shows often take on these moments as they come, discussing real-world events as they happen.
That’s why, for this month’s recap, we wanted to take a moment to look back and highlight a series that we’re all very proud of: Falling With Style’s “Special Presentation,” which ran from March 2025 through June 2025.
As a Pixar marathon podcast, Derek and Doug were, in their own words, excited to cover Pixar’s first original animated series Win or Lose, as they discussed in their “Special Presentation: Introduction" episode. That was until news broke that Disney had removed a transgender storyline from the show, saying in a statement that “when it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”
In the aforementioned introduction to the series, Doug addressed this, and Disney’s track record (or lack thereof) with queer representation head on, saying “Win or Lose is just one of the, now, many casualties of Disney’s cowardice in allowing representation to exist in their properties, specifically in regards to queer and trans identities.”
Of course, hosting a show dedicated to a specific studio left Falling with Style stuck. Once news broke, both hosts knew they did not want to give the Win or Lose any space on their feed. But to not cover it didn’t feel like the right answer either.
“After four years of being so excited for this show to come out, [I thought] this is such a bummer, I don’t even want to talk about this show,” Doug said. “But I don’t want to just not talk about it. I want to talk about it, but I also don’t want to give it attention by covering every episode.”
And so, instead of covering the show, Derek and Doug decided to offer “counter programming” through with their “Special Presentation” series, offering listeners a selection of non-Pixar movies and TV aimed at younger audiences and families featuring clear, unafraid, and unambiguous depictions of queerness.
The series covered a wide range of media, inviting guests to share their experiences with each of the selected films and shows. Doug’s Novel Gaming co-host Katie stopped by to discuss the fantastically queer and beautifully animated Nimona (2023) to kick off the series. Then, Cass from Distant Echoes: A Star Wars Podcast discovered a new favorite film in Satoshi Kon’s holiday masterpiece Tokyo Godfathers, joining Derek and Doug to discuss the film’s lead trans character. Flying solo, Derek and Doug took on Power Rangers: Dino Fury & Cosmic Fury, discussing the entire history of queerness in Power Rangers—including how it reckoned with its early years of on-set homophobia and became a GLAAD award-winner decades later.
In April, Marquis The Honey Bear joined to dissect the stop-motion horror collab between Jordan Peele and Henry Selick, Wendell & Wild. Featuring both a diverse cast that includes Raul, a trans boy whose art saves the day, and a complex anti-capitalist plot, Wendell & Wild offers viewers a smorgasbord of real-world topics rarely seen in animation. And finally, to close out their series, author, showrunner, and now member of the Glitterjaw Collective, Hamish Steele introduced Derek and Doug to Flee, an amazing animated documentary detailing the journey of Amin, a gay man and refugee to Denmark from Afghanistan.
Hamish also took the opportunity to talk specifically about his experience including queer characters and stories when creating for younger audiences, particularly with regards to his animated series, Dead End: Paranormal Park.
You can listen to the complete “Special Presentation” miniseries on the Falling With Style feed. And in spite of it not seeming timely to highlight a series from several months ago on our monthly round-up, it is.
Disney once again made waves in September, cancelling Jimmy Kimmel Live! in response to authoritarian demands. In reaction, many Disney vacationers cancelled their plans to spend money at the entertainment behemoth’s theme parks and resorts and many, many more Disney+ subscribers cancelled their subscriptions, calling on the company to reverse course. Predictably, when the company’s bottom line was threatened, they folded almost immediately, reinstating Jimmy Kimmel a week later.
And while the corporation quickly un-cancelled Kimmel, it’s important to remember that this is not the first time the company has pulled content to appease those in power and appeal to bigots. In the case of Win or Lose, the company exercised control over the studio to silence a trans storyline, and in the process, Chanel Stewart, the very actor who brought the character of Kai to life. Stewart, a trans actress, said in an interview with Deadline earlier this year:
“I was very disheartened. From the moment I got the script, I was excited to share my journey to help empower other trans youth. I knew this would be a very important conversation. Trans stories matter, and they deserve to be heard.”
In the case of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, people came together and decided to affect the company in one of the most meaningful ways they could: they stopped spending money on their product and stopped watching.
It’s important to remember this lesson and its application as we move forward. Disney, and other large media corporations, will do this again. Whether it’s catering to pressure from artificially amplified far-right voices like Elon Musk or Libs of TikTok or it’s catering to the demands of the current authoritarian regime when they feel threatened, events like this will happen again. And future targets may not have the gravity of a Jimmy Kimmel.
In those moments, it’s still important to show up, like the folks who banded together and decided against spending money on a corporation too cowardly to do the right thing. And, like Doug and Derek showed with their “Special Presentation” series, when the too cowardly corporation decides to self-censor and silence queer voices, you can—and should—turn your anger into action by seeking out and lifting up queer voices, stories, and creators.
Speaking of…
Episodes happening around Glitterjaw
Super Mario Moment arrived at the finale of season one, with Izzi Rae aka Izzi8Bit, animation, pixel art and game development superstar joining Hamish to discuss one of the greatest games ever made—Super Mario World! Before that, Russ from Kaiju ComicCast broke down the underrated and underplayed Wario Land: Shake It! And to kick off September, Daniel Barnes (Danny8Bit) and Hamish talked all about the 1994 remake/sequel to the original Donkey Kong Arcade game!
Novel Gaming! took to the Sea as they discussed Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s The Siren, the Song, and the Spy, the follow up to 2020’s The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea. Later in the month, Katie and Doug traded in their sails for flashlights as they took on the psychological action thriller Alan Wake Remastered (2021). And of course, the Novel Gaming Crew made sure to check in on things they’re playing, reading, watching and thinking about, including Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set, Crowd Control on Dropout.tv, Hollow Knight, and so much more!
Plus, be sure stop by the Novel Gaming YouTube channel for Doug and Katie’s latest video “Talking about Date Everything (2025)”.
Fear Coded unfurled their sails for their Lost at Sea-tember series, covering all the horrors of the briny deep. The crew took to the deck of Ghost Ship at the start of the month, but quickly sailed to fairer waters as they played Return of The Obra Dinn the following week. Guest Andrew Corns from The Revisionist’s Almanac joined to discuss The Lighthouse before the Fearful Crew read the novel Whalefall. And to round out the month, Cass Proffitt from Distant Echoes stopped by as the crew headed where they wouldn’t need eyes to see: a podcast episode discussing Event Horizon (1997).
Gimmicks returned with a new season and immediately…jumped the shark? That’s right, to kick off September, Derek and David discussed one of the most infamous episodes in TV history—Happy Days: “Hollywood, Part 3,” aka “The One Where Fonzie Waterskiis Over A Shark.” To follow it up, the duo released a bonus episode covering TV episodes that did the opposite of jumping the shark and “grew the beard.” And they wrapped up September by covering a silent episode focused on a deaf character—Only Murders in the Building’s “The Boy From 6B.”
Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge lawyered up in their discussion of Radical Entertainment's attempt at a Crazy Taxi clone that's so close to the original...it results in a lawsuit! Guest Chris Cummins (Archie Comics, Sci-Fi Explosion) hopped in the HOV lane with the Carvallo boys as they drove down memory lane, discussing this fantastic entry along with other gaming topics like…the strange Dreamcast pet simulator Seaman?
Distant Echoes: A Star Wars Podcast took to the airwaves weekly this month as they continued their series “Hindsight is 20/20: Looking Back at Star Wars: Visions!” From the overly-reliant-on-references “The Twins” to the stellar “The Village Bride,” and “T0-B1,” Cass and Tommy are punching it through their second time covering this wonderful series.
And to close off their coverage, they’ll be joining Novel Gaming’s Katie and Doug for a crossover book club episode, discussing Emma Meiko Candon’s Visions tie-in novel Ronin! The episode will drop at the end of October, so If you want to read-along, now’s your chance!
Walloping Websnappers! twipped up a couple of campy supervillains this month, beginning with Spider-Man’s (1981) “The Unfathomable Professor Gizmo.” Then, Derek and Doug returned to their coverage of Season 2 of The Spectacular Spider-Man, covering the Human Development arc with Venom as the big bad. To cap off the month, Chris Cummins (Archie Comics, Sci-Fi Explosion) joined to revisit the classic Amazing Friends episode where Dr. Doom accidentally imbues a lonely down-on-his-luck man named Mr. Frump with infinite god-like powers and absolute chaos ensues. The episode is surreal, bonkers, and very gay!
The Q Division cracked open the files for one of their toughest cases yet, the film that almost brought down the franchise: 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun. With the help of special agent, award-winning composer and Bond super-fan Michael Llewelyn Barker, Chels and Gavin looked ahead to where the franchise is going, discussed Christopher Lee's delicious villain turn, and examined whether the film deserves its disastrous reputation.
Skreeonk! returned to the queen, Mother Mothra, as they swooped in to cover 2003’s Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S, talking all about the movie’s swerve into fantasy and reverence for the original Mothra film. But before that, Derek and Doug were joined by Chris Cummins (Archie Comics, Sci-Fi Explosion) for a fun and surprisingly important part of Godzilla’s history filled with loveable cuttlefish, crab, and turtle kaiju—1970’s Space Amoeba!
The Mixed Reviews took no prisoners as they covered the career of a three time Oscar nominee and occasional scandal maker! Gavin and Louie invite all Urban Cowboys to make sure their Terms of Endearment are up to date, because September’s episode is Made in Heaven. Take a Leap of Faith along with The Mixed Reviews as they discuss A Dangerous Woman—Debra Winger!
Plus, Mixed Reviews Patreon members were treated to a quick update from Gavin on the New York Film Festival, who in addition to co-hosting The Mixed Reviews and Q Division, is the lead video editor for the Festival!
