The Gin & Topics Podcast

Is "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat" Darin Morgan's love letter to X Files fans, or just a vicious piece of Trump hate mail? Are our memories the first site of fake news? Do we mangle the Mengele (or is it Mingle?) effect? There is a TON to unpack in Darin Morgan's season 11 ep, and we do our best, with discussion of whether it's possible to make apolitical art in a highly partisan era, whether winky self-awareness eventually loses its charm, and of course, whether Mulder and Scully should have kissed in that last scene. Join Jen and Kristin for a deep dive and find out whether maybe we all should just put the spoon down right now.

Our follow up to XF episode 3, "Plus One," puts the GIN back in Gin & Topics. Jen and Kristin pour one out for MSR (ATTHS. Twice), compliment Chris Carter for leaping corgi-like over the low, low bar he set for himself with his past few scripts, and try to figure out just how many fanfic tropes were deployed in 43 minutes. We also muse on menopause, middle-aged relationships, and Karen Konoval's phenomenal performance. This was a fun ep to squee over, though we do "put a dimmer on that afterglow" with a few continuity quibbles. We hope you'll join us!

In our review of "This", we conclude "This" is everything we've ever wanted! Suffice it to say we have recovered from last week's shock and we eagerly dive in to a recap that touches on some of the great eps of the past, including reference to "Kill Switch," "The Erelenmeyer Flask," "Pusher," "Pine Bluff Variant," "F. Emasculata," and "Red Museum." Our conversation ranges widely, but our enthusiasm for this latest ep is high.

Need a good cry after that X Files season 11 opener, "My Struggle III", Philes? We sure did. This ep will not be a recap, a review or analysis. Nope, this is a good ole post-ep emotional breakdown. So if crying and expletives are not your thing, we won't take offense if you just pass this one by. Somehow we also managed to toss in spoilers for The Last Jedi, season 3 of The Fall, and a bit of Game of Thrones, so SPOILER ALERTs abound as well. Grad some tissues and a healthy portion of gin and join us in "Our Struggle."

In our holiday break episode of the G&T podcast, Jen and Kristin play a rousing game of "Fuck/Marry/Kill" and explore the sexytime possibilities of the men of Star Trek! Join us for a discussion of Star Trek's various fuckboys (yes, we're looking at you, James Tiberius, Will Riker and Tom Paris), emo hotties (Spock during pon farr? um, yes please) and regrettable alien faces. We also give special consideration to the pluses and minuses of shape-shifting and robotic lovers like Data and Odo. Would you fuck Lor? Does "Bones" live up to his name? Listen and see if you agree!

In our discussion of The X Files upcoming season 11 (premiering Jan 3rd on FOX!), Jen and Kristin make an impassioned plea for creator Chris Carter to "Free Gilly" and give actress Gillian Anderson and her character Dana Scully the closure we all deserve. In this review of the spoilers and tidbits we've gathered over the past few months of filming, we also discuss the difference between a good cliffhanger and a bad one, argue that Skinner was an underutilized character, and whether the season should end with Scully dying (Jen, screams into the night, "noooooo!!!!" Kristin, takes a long sip of gin, "damn straight it should"). Join us for a definitely-not-spoiler-free look at all the intel we've gotten so far. And seriously, Chris, let Gilly go. (Credit to @startwreck for the episode image)

All aboard the struggle bus for X Files season 10's "My Struggle II," an episode billed as THE FINALE of an iconic and groundbreaking series which turned out to be... well, tune and find out. In this episode of our podcast, Jen and Kristin defend Monica Reyes from character assassination, try to determine if Chris Carter is an anti-vaxer, and posit that the Cigarette Smoking Man must have had one hell of a life-alert button. To make up for the bleak task of reviewing this episode, we also give details on how to enter our giveaway of two Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny signed shirts (pictured here). For more details, check out our post https://goo.gl/DHcywb or email us at ginandtopicspodcast@gmail.com

Get your cowboy hats and boots on, fans, pour yourself a stiff drink and join us for a real-time rewatch of X Files season 10 episode "Babylon," during which Jen and Kristin discover alcohol doesn't so much cloud our judgment as sharpen it. We cover such topics as whether Chris Carter has ever done mushrooms, just HOW unlikeable Agent Einstein can possibly be, how the Lumineers have been runied, and whether the airing of this episode may have caused The X Files Files podcast to go dark. Seriously, you should probably pour yourself a drink. (Ep image manip credit to @lilykakes / Tumblr)

We're back -- this time with less Gin and more Topics! In our second episode, we tackle the X Files season 10 eps "Mulder and Scully Meet the Weremonster," and "Home Again." Jen and Kristin discuss "Weremonster"s nostalgic Easter eggs, Mulder's red speedo, Scully's continual starring role in weirdos' sex fantasies, Darin Morgan's "superior" scripts, and what it means to see ourselves through the monster's eyes. Also, listen to find out why we might have to surrender our Shipper membership cards when our discussion of "Home Again" reveals why we don't really want a Mulder/Scully sex scene.

Jen and Kristin embark on podcasting with a look back at The X Files season 10's (2016) first two episodes, "My Struggle I" and "Founder's Mutation". Join us for our slightly tipsy foray into dashed hopes and favorite scenes in preparation for the upcoming X Files season 11 (yes, you read that right), airing midseason 2018 on Fox. Listen to find out which one of us made this kick-ass Season 10 Premiere Cake! (Kristin. It was Kristin. Jen isn't this talented).