Discussion episodes

Back to the 80s: Ladyhawke

The three of us are children of the 80s and like many of our generation, we love to revel in nostalgia. For us, this has meant revisiting some of our favourite fantasy films of that decade: Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Princess Bride… and now Ladyhawke.  Ladyhawke...

Disney Princes

Previously on Breaking the Glass Slipper we have covered Disney princesses. This time we thought we would turn our attention to the men. But we’re a podcast about women! So why spend an entire episode focusing on princes and other male protagonists in Disney films? ...

Islands in speculative fiction: Live from WorldCon

Much of W. B. Yeats’ poetry is inspired by the rich mythological fabric of Ireland. This is the land of the Sidhe, the banshee, the merrow. But the island itself has a character, an identity, in the geographical, historical and metaphysical sense. So, in homage to our...

Alien at 40: The making of a feminist icon

In 1979, one of the most seminal sci-fi films ever made was shown for the first time on the big screen. Ridley Scott’s Alien is a dark, disturbing and downright terrifying addition to the Hollywood Hall of Fame. 2019 marks 40 years since Alien was born (or possibly...

The importance of diversity in children’s books

Today's episode was inspired by an article that appeared on The Guardian with the headline 'Picture book bias worsens as female characters stay silent.' The piece was based on research into books published in the last year, showing that most picture books 'present a...

The problem with the chosen one

In our last episode, we had author Aliette de Bodard on to discuss the absence of mothers in speculative fiction. One explanation put forward was the focus of chosen one narratives – these stories rely on the protagonist achieving something great, against all odds,...

Representations of motherhood with Aliette de Bodard

We were inspired to speak to Aliette about representations of motherhood in speculative fiction after reading her excellent essay 'On Motherhood and Erasure'. There's no denying that mothers are demonstrably absent from most speculative fiction. Whether they died...

The enduring legacy of Shirley Jackson – with Catriona Ward

With a new film adaptation of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, and the upcoming 60th anniversary of the publication of The Haunting of Hill House, we thought it was high time we turned our attention to the wonderful Shirley...

The Princess Bride

Here at Breaking the Glass Slipper, we love the 1987 film The Princess Bride. I mean, who doesn't? It is endlessly quotable, tongue-in-cheek, and full of great characters. Unfortunately, only a couple of those characters are female and the way they're...