FAQ
Q: Isn’t Fansplaining a podcast?
A: It was! From 2015-2024, Fansplaining was a biweekly podcast hosted by Elizabeth Minkel and Flourish Klink—over 250 episodes featuring more than 100 guests. When Flourish stepped down (to have a child and join the priesthood!), Elizabeth took the occasional written wing of Fansplaining and expanded it, publishing longreads about fan culture once a month. Now, the scope has expanded even more, with 1-2 articles per week and a small editorial team.
Q: So is the podcast totally over?
A: Not completely. We always put out special episodes for Patreon supporters, and now that we’ve switched to a paywall model, subscribers in our “Benefactor” tier and above will get access to all past and future special episodes, which we’re hoping to put out monthly going forward. (“We” is our editorial team and special guests—including Flourish from time to time!) There’s also a good chance we’ll produce more podcasts in the future, perhaps in a format other than “two people talking.” As always, any podcast we put out will have an accompanying full transcript at the time of publication.
Q: That’s great for people who prefer reading over listening—but I like to listen rather than read. Will you still have audio versions of the stories?
A: Yes! If you’re new to Fansplaining, this is something we started experimenting with when we were transitioning to a written publication—specifically, the article’s author reading the piece aloud—and we heard from so many folks that they really appreciated it, so we’re absolutely going to continue that. The thing that will change is we won’t be publishing the audio in the Fansplaining podcast feed, since the articles will be behind the paywall. There are integrations that let you create subscriber-only audio that we’ll experiment with (it will probably require us to move the podcast onto a different host), but in the short term, you’ll have to listen/download directly on the article page.
Q: Speaking of paywalls…you didn’t have one before. Why now?
A: Like a lot of podcasts, our Patreon mostly covered our hosting and other software costs, with a small amount leftover for our labor. This is a full publication featuring writing from professional journalists, academics, and other experts, and we need to compensate them for their work (we’d like to pay even more than our current rate, and hope to be able to in the future). You probably saw beloved small/medium-sized publications fold in the past decade as social media platforms suppressed posts with links and ad revenue plummeted; worker-owned, subscriber-funded publications are one of the only realistic models for non-corporate media today.
Q: Will I be able to access anything for free?
A: Yes! The entire podcast archive—including full transcripts—will be totally in front of the paywall, no log-in required. (The audio for those episodes is available all over the web via various podcatchers, so we want to make sure the transcripts are equally accessible.) Past articles will also be free to read, but you’ll need to create a free Fansplaining account to see them; like a lot of indie pubs, we’re implementing what 404 Media dubbed a “freewall” to try and stop AI scrapers from gobbling up our stuff. Once you have a free account, you’ll be able to read the whole archive of written pieces as well as a few new pieces before you hit the paywall.
Q: I can’t afford to subscribe at your current rates. Will you ever lower your prices?
A: We’ll absolutely have periodic sales and drives to try and convert free subscribers over to paid ones. Additionally, we offer an “underresourced” rate for folks with lower incomes, students, people who are unemployed or precariously employed, etc. Email us at info@fansplaining.com!
Q: I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum: I have a whole lot of cash to burn and I love supporting independent journalism about fan culture. How can I help you?
A: You can subscribe at one of our higher tiers, of course! We also welcome one-off donations of any size. If you’re looking to sponsor or invest in this project in any capacity, we’d love to hear from you: again, info@fansplaining.com. The more we’re able to bring in, revenue-wise, the more we can publish—imagine if we put out new stuff five days a week!
Q: I’m a journalist or fan writer and would like to send you a pitch. Are you open to pitches?
A: We will be very soon—we’re just getting the new site up and running, and then we’ll share a pitch email and guidance about what we’re looking for. We recommend familiarizing yourself with our archives (podcast and written) to see what we’ve published in the past. We don’t want “fandom 101” stuff, and having even a vague sense of what we’ve covered will help you figure out gaps we might want to fill, or how you can take a particular conversation to the next level.
Q: You’ve said the types of stuff you’ll publish is going to expand, too. What does that mean?
A: First and foremost: criticism! The book space in particular is BLEAK these days, with so few outlets publishing any book writing at all beyond round-ups of titles. We know fans love the long tail, and don’t see why critics can only write about a book, film, or show during a small window around its release, as is the norm at a lot of outlets. We’re also hoping to publish more first-person essays, as well other forms entirely (we’re interested in comics in particular). We will not be pivoting to video, but we’re pretty sure fandom specifically still loves the written word.
Q: I have [thoughts, feelings, questions] about [my account, your coverage, fandom in general]. How do I get in touch?
A: Once again, info@fansplaining.com. :-) You can also reach any individual editor at [firstname]@fansplaining.com.