This week, Kris and Tara sit down with Salem West and John Copenhaver, editors of the queer crime fiction anthology, Crime Ink: Iconic. The hook for this collection is pretty damn cool, since the stories draw inspiration from queer icons throughout history.

The last time Salem and John were on the podcast, they discussed the urgent threat of LGBTQ book bans. Now, they’re here to sound the alarm about the need for more visibility of queer crime writers and their stories. We should all be listening.

Note: In the opening, Tara says this is a bonus episode, but life got in the way of our recording schedule, so we're running this as a regular episode.

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It’s back-to-school season and illness is in the air! Kris returns from her deathbed with tales of the flu (definitely NOT a recommendation) and Tara encounters her first COVID romance (which is a recommendation).

Kris lays out tips for eBay seller success and Tara discusses her reaction to James Dobson’s death as an ex-Evangelical (TL;DR: fuck that guy).

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Giant Little Ones (2018)

Kris’s official recommendation this week is Giant Little Ones (2018). It's a film about two high school boys who are teenage royalty and adored by the girls, whose lives are changed during an epic 17th birthday party. According to Kris, this story is full of drama, reminding her of how awful those teenage years are. There is some violence against gay people in this movie, but Kris still thinks the quality and the story are worth the discomfort if you’re able.

From Tara: Make or Break by E. J. Noyes

Tara’s official recommendation this week is Make or Break by E. J. Noyes. It's a sapphic romance novel that takes place on the set of a police drama between one of the leading actors and the key makeup artist. They've each had a crush on the other for years, but never knew if their crushes were returned. Tara says this one is a gentle romance with excellent character arcs.

Works/People Discussed

• K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025)
• Alone (History Channel)
• Alone Australia (SBS)
• Hightown (STARZ)
• Hostage (Netflix)
• Great Canadian Baking Show (CBC)
• Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)
• Forever Theirs by Anna Stone (Mistress, book 3)
• Guarded Desires by Anna Stone (Mistress, book 4)
• Sweet, Spicy, Delicate by Allison Ashton
• Who We Could Be by Chelsea M. Cameron

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Basement daddies? Going down the reality hole? What sort of podcast have you stumbled along? Luckily Kris and Tara, are here to educate and enlighten.

This week, Kris recounts her most recent card show, while Tara sighs wistfully at the memory of a week’s staycation before heading back to work.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: The Old Guard 2 (2025)

Kris’s official recommendation this week is The Old Guard 2 (2025), starring Kris’s wife from another timeline, Charlize Theron. Andy leads a group of do-gooder immortal mercenaries known as the Old Guard while processing her grief from losing her love 500 years ago, when shitheads dumped her in the sea. But the love survived and is back for revenge on Andy for giving up on finding her (to be fair, though, she put in a solid half-millennium). Kris and Tara also share their thoughts on immortality. Good? Bad? You decide!

From Tara: Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey

Tara’s official recommendation this week is Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey. It's a cozy sapphic romance set in a Vermont university. A bubbly new professor returns to her alma mater to teach, only to learn that her undergrad advisor and former crush is still hot, but super grumpy. A charm offensive ensues, and so does a beautiful story. Tara loved this one!

Works/People Discussed

• About Last Night (1986)
• The Perfect Match (Netflix)
• Alone Australia (SBS)
• My Life with the Walter Boys (Netflix)
• Wednesday (Netflix)
• Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE (Netflix)
• Date Everything! (Sassy Chap Games)
• Tangled Vows by Anna Stone (Mistress Book 1)
• Ensnared Hearts by Anna Stone (Mistress Book 2)

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What do you think of when you hear the phrase "skinny pancakes"? Kris returns from GCLS with stories to tell, including an answer to that question. In this strange in-between time of summer, when shows have ended and not started up again, Kris has been watching movies and Tara has been reading a book about crypto.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: The Hunting Wives (Netflix)

Kris’s official recommendation this week is the new Netflix series, The Hunting Wives. It's a show about a woman who moves down south for her husband’s new job and lands in the orbit of a tight inner circle of housewives who keep deadly secrets. Kris loved it.

From Tara: Relationship Material by Rachel Spangler

Tara’s official recommendation this week is Relationship Material by Rachel Spangler. It's a romance between Robin, a psychologist and one of the side characters from Informed Consent, and Sawyer, who's best friends with Robin's boss and is nonbinary. Both are thrill seekers and neither are looking for commitment, and they have to decide what to do when very real feelings develop.

Works/People Discussed

• Jamie Rose's GCLS Speech
• ReadOUT Festival
• Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
• Fantastic Four (2025)
• Jeopardy! (NBC)
• RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (Paramount+)
• Date Everything! (Sassy Chap Games)
• Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux
• Incendiant by Virginia Black

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The GCLS conference has come and gone, but this was recorded before that, so Kris shares her plans for the con.

We hear the tale (tail?) of a new kitty entering Kris’s domain. Everybody give it up for Mangy Kitty! Wait, we're getting an update. The cat has a new name and it’s… oh. Oh dear. Really? You’ll have to listen to find out more.

Kris and Tara also do a final debrief of their (very strong) feelings about the ending of The Ultimatum: Queer Love.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Woman on Fire (2016)

Kris’s official recommendation this week is the 2016 documentary Woman on Fire, which tells the story of New York City’s first transgender firefighter. Kris says it's very informative about the trans experience and strongly recommends it as a starting point to educate yourself if you’re looking for more information.

From Tara: Date Everything! (Sassy Chap Games)

Tara’s official recommendation this week is Date Everything! It's a dating sim game where, after being let go from your customer service job, you receive a mysterious gift of glasses that allow you to date everything in your home. Everything becomes a person. The bed, the ceiling, the toilet, the blender, and 96 other things. Everything is there for you to date, befriend, or hate. Tara loved this game, playing it like it was her job and ended up laughing until she cried.

Works/People Discussed

• Destination X (NBC)
• Building the Band (Netflix)
• Jeopardy! (NBC)
• The Ultimatum: Queer Love (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (Paramount+)
• Autocracy Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum
• When DC Met Iowa by Lee Winter
• Toni and Addie Go Viral by Melissa Marr

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Kris returns from Vegas, poorer in money but rich in experiences, which she is here to share. Later, the pair deep dive into the latest season of The Ultimatum: Queer Love. As of the time of recording, the final episodes had not been released, so these are very in-process thoughts.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Sally (2025)

Kris’s official recommendation this week is the documentary Sally (2025), which explores the life of the first female astronaut, Sally Ride, including her accomplishments and the revelation about her sexuality after her death. Kris described this as a powerful documentary, emotional and informative, and she thinks she and Sally would have been great friends.

From Tara: A Rare Find by Joanna Lowell

Tara’s official recommendation this week is A Rare Find by Joanna Lowell, an enemies-to-lovers queer romance set in the Regency period. It features a young woman who wishes to be taken seriously as an anthropologist and ventures to find an old Viking burial ground she believes to be on her property.

Works/People Discussed

• FUBAR (Netflix)
• Alone (The History Channel)
• Alone: Australia (SBS)
• My Mom Jayne (2025)
• The Ultimatum: Queer Love (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars (Paramount+)
• KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
• The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna
• This is Who I Am by Harper Bliss

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In this week’s episode, Tara talks about their experience at a local queer art market while Kris brainstorms ways to make money to finance her upcoming trip to Vegas. We learn about a pretty fullproof way to kidnap Kris and she shares more cat stories.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Incendiant by Virginia Black

Kris’s official recommendation this week is Incendiant by Virginia Black. A follow-up to Consecrated Ground (which you do not have to read to check out this book), it takes place in a world of vampires, witches and monsters lurking behind the scenes of our regular world. Kris loved it.

From Tara: Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare

Tara’s official recommendation this week is the hard-to-describe but utterly charming Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare. A hair stylist gets stood up on a spur-of-the-moment date only to discover that the woman she’s texting is from another point in the multiverse, five months in the past. With her friends behind her, she plots with her crush via text so that her multiversal version can get together with the girl of her dreams.

Works/People Discussed

• SASS - Sapphic Action Support Squad Facebook Group
• Sapphics with the T merch
• The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
• The Traitors (Peacock)
• 28 Days Later (2002)
• 28 Weeks Later (2007)
• 28 Years Later (2025)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars (Paramount+)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
• Consecrated Ground by Virginia Black
• The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron

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This week, Tara discovers that all the fanfiction she's been reading lately has completely thrown off her ability to determine what is and is not a long book. Kris talks about her first time interacting with AI. This turns out to be Tara’s activation phrase and leads to a longer conversation about AI, how it’s coming for our jobs, and what we need to keep in mind when using it.

And, of course, they bring recommendations.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: On Swift Horses (2024)

Kris’s official recommendation this week is On Swift Horses, a romantic drama film that revolves around a woman and her relationship with her husband’s brother. Kris described their relationship as one of those "few times in a life" things that wake a person up to who they really are, challenging them to move past themselves.

From Tara: Di-Curious by Erin Branch

Tara’s official recommendation this week is Di-Curious by Erin Branch, a book steeped in the TTRPG space (that’s table-top roleplaying games for all you cooler kids). It's about one woman’s journey to rebuild her career after a mishap puts her into the crosshairs of an old friend she'd unwittingly hurt. Sparks fly! Tara described this as a cozy, thoughtful, and lovely read.

Works/People Discussed

• SASS - Sapphic Action Support Squad Facebook Group
• Ed Zitron
• The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna
• Queer Liberation Library
• The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC)
• Sirens (Netflix)
• Jeopardy! (NBC)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars (Paramount+)
• Principle Decisions by Thea Belmont
• Boss of Her by Anna Stone

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