About Us

Fansplaining is a weekly media outlet devoted to savvy writing about fans and fan culture.

Fandom history goes back decades (or, depending how you define it, centuries); fan practices and norms influence every corner of cultural creation today. Fans and non-fans alike deserve writing that goes beyond the hot fandom of the moment, or the latest blow-up on a social media platform. Fandom is made up of a vast array of overlapping subcultures—and today, it underpins mass culture. 

To understand the world, you have to understand fandom.

We wants to move the conversation around fandom forward by publishing smart, nuanced fandom journalism, spearheaded by experienced writers and editors—who also happen to be longtime fans. One longread a week, featuring reporting, criticism, analysis, and more, all by, for, and about fandom.

If you’re interested in this kind of writing, the best way to support us is by becoming a paid subscriber. You can also give us a one-off donation. If you’re potentially interested in becoming a larger investor in the project, please email info@fansplaining.com.

The Podcast

Flourish Klink and Elizabeth Minkel first met on a panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015—and afterwards, Flourish hunted Elizabeth down and demanded they start a podcast together. :-) 9 years and more than 250 episodes later, Flourish and Elizabeth interviewed a huge array of academics, entertainment industry professionals, journalists, technologists, and fellow fans, trying to draw connections across the various groups that think deeply about fan culture.

The main podcast ended when Flourish stepped down in 2024 (to have a baby and become a priest!), but continues on in special episodes for higher-tier subscribers—some of which will feature Flourish! (They can’t stay away.)

The Editors

Elizabeth Minkel spent two decades lurking in fandom—and the past decade talking about it as much as she could. A writer, editor, and consultant, her fandom journalism has been published by WIRED, Atlas Obscura, The Guardian, The New Yorker, the New Statesman, and many other outlets. She has a master’s degree in the digital humanities from University College London, where she studied book fans and social media. She also curates the Hugo-finalist fandom newsletter “The Rec Center” with Gavia Baker-Whitelaw. She lives in Brooklyn with her cat, Orlando. Find her on Bluesky or Tumblr.

Aja Romano is a veteran journalist and critic, well known as an internet culture and fandom expert. As a staff reporter for the Daily Dot, they held the world’s first and possibly only official title of “fandom reporter” before going on to spend a decade as a staff culture writer for Vox. A 2019 fellow of the National Critics Institute, Aja is a frequent media guest and con panelist. They co-wrote the Audio Verse-nominated fannish audio drama Kaleidotrope, and they have a tiny newsletter dedicated to Wang Yibo. (Oh, and they co-created the Big Bang fic challenge. You’re welcome.) Find them on Bluesky.

Lin Codega is a writer, author, and award-winning entertainment journalist who has written about science fiction and fantasy media for nearly ten years. In 2024, they co-founded the tabletop roleplaying game news site Rascal News, and they were previously a staff writer for io9. They were the writer’s assistant for Season 3 of The Vampire Lestat/Interview with the Vampire. Their debut novel, Motheater, was published in 2025, and their next novel, Pasha the Storm, is out this summer. They currently live in Los Angeles with their dog, Zigzag. Find them on Bluesky, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Fansplaining Emeritus

Flourish Klink started reading X-files fanfic more than 25 years ago and hasn’t come up for air since. They co-founded FictionAlley.org and helped run the HPEF Harry Potter conferences for years, and every once in a while, writing some fanfic. They also earned a master’s degree studying fan culture with Dr. Henry Jenkins at MIT. For ten years, they worked in the entertainment industry, explaining fans to the Powers That Be; they eventually followed a call to the priesthood, and now serve a parish in the Episcopal Church. They live in New York City with their family. Find them at flourishklink.com.

Our logos throughout the site are by Maia Kobabe! ✨

Our DMCA Agent is Heidi Tandy, Esq. Reach her at (305) 329-7021, HTandy@shutts.com, or at:

South Biscayne Blvd., Ste. 4100,
Miami, FL 33131

The original Fansplaining podcast is released under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license.