Breaking the Glass Slipper: Women in science fiction, fantasy, and horror

Breaking the Glass Slipper: Women in science fiction, fantasy, and horror


Latest Episodes

Exploring Jewish folklore – with Ariel Kaplan
July 27, 2023

Folklore and fairy tales can sometimes be inextricably bound up with religion. In the Grimms own collection of fairy tales, the Devil turns up and so do angels. The Peasant in Heaven as well as Th

The singing bone – with Lucy Holland & Charlotte Bond
July 13, 2023

For this weeks episode, Lucy and Charlotte thought theyd take the opportunity to talk about something they have a passion for: folklore. In particular, the ballad of the Singing Bone, which is Aarne

The AI apocalypse with Emma Mieko Candon
June 29, 2023

Its a standard rule of writing that if you want your protagonist to look heroic and competent, youve got to get a powerful and menacing antagonist. In the past, writers have used AI as an overwhelmi

Politics and tropes in fantasy with Andrea Stewart
June 15, 2023

I went a little bit left-field with the introduction to this episode, but I was weirdly excited by the fact that there was a major event in politics on the day Id planned to discuss politics on the p

Embracing rage in speculative fiction with Kritika H. Rao
June 01, 2023

In this episode, I am really excited to talk about a book I was invited to read last year. The premise drew me in immediately the last of humanity fighting to exist above an inhospitable earth the

The realities of colonialism – with C.L. Clark
May 18, 2023

Speculative fiction is no stranger to exploring issues of colonialism, particularly in science fiction, from first contact stories to wars over territories. While many such stories are extremely black

After the end – with Cassandra Khaw
May 04, 2023

Horror works best when its relatable. The best protagonists in a horror story are those that are just like us: theyre sensible, trying to scrape by, possibly raise families, and make the most of lif

Away with the fairies – with Heather Fawcett
April 20, 2023

Fairies and fairy stories have fascinated us for centuries. They have been present in British art and literature certainly from the 1600s, with the earliest mention being dated as the 13thcentury.Bu

The women of Arthurian legends with Juliet E. McKenna
April 06, 2023

The Arthurian legends are named for one man, but the tales associated with the legend involve an extensive cast: Merlin, Nimue, Guinevere, Lancelot, Uther, the Lady of the Lake, Ygraine, and many more

The myth of a fair society – with Lavanya Lakshminarayan
March 23, 2023

We all know the classic line from Animal Farm: All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. As much as we might want, and strive for, a wholly equal world, it is an unlikely r