In This Broadcast

There’s glitter in the machine

In this gleefully subversive kickoff to Season 2, Dany and Claire dive into the long, strange history of queerness, identity, and peasant revolts with a simple guiding principle: “Be Gay, Do Crime.” Beginning with a crash course in Marxism and Critical Queer Theory, they explore how class struggle and socially constructed identities intertwine, and how systems of power depend on those identities staying rigid, legible, and obedient.

From there, we travel to festival season in medieval Europe, where sanctioned chaos temporarily overturned the social order and opened a dangerous window for dissent. During these moments when peasants mocked kings, fools became bishops, and gender roles could be flipped or blurred, rebels discovered that performance itself could be a weapon. Queerness, disguise, and gender inversion weren’t just cultural curiosities; they were tactical tools used to challenge authority and demand economic justice.

Understanding this history reframes modern protest as part of a long, defiantly queer lineage of resistance — proof that rebellion has always had a flair for the dramatic. So if you’ve ever felt like the world is on fire and the vibes are revolutionary, congratulations: you’re participating in a very old tradition.