Free the Squee

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Do you like to peel back the obvious and examine all the layers of your favorite characters and stories from all types of media? So do we! Join us, Drs. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet, a couple of nerdy, queer psychologists, as we put all things pop culture on the therapy couch, explore the joy of storytelling and Free The Squee! Dropping whenever we get a a free hour in our schedules.

Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet


    • Apr 3, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 40m AVG DURATION
    • 17 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Free the Squee

    16: Kyle MacLachlan Under the Christmas Tree

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2025 30:23


    It’s Squee time again! Join us for an episode jam packed with joy. We’ll walk you through our adventures at the 35th Gallifrey One Convention, including our interviews with classic Who companions Frazier Hines, Wendy Padbury and Katy Manning! We get into some personal Dune history for Heather (you won’t believe how close Heather got to Muad’Dib!) and a very brief referendum on Tom Bombadil. There’s a splash of psychology too, listeners, so if you’ve ever wondered what to call it when you word-ramble into the wilderness, take a listen! Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    15: Gearing Up for Gally

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2025 5:40


    Get ready, fellow nerds! We’re gearing up for Gallifrey One with a mini-episode! Heather and Stacy are brimming with Squee for this year’s convention. We’ll be interviewing companions, bringing valentines and stickers…and Stacy is SO READY for ribbons! Hear all the details in our pre-Gally episode! Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    14: What's In The Box?!?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2025 34:21


    FTS offers another “first”- this time a live unboxing version of Tell and Tell. It might be bigger on the inside…We tempt and tease each other with our current favorite TV (Bad Sisters and Silo), and take a trip into Tangent Town to discuss our culturage heritage when we’re supposed to be discussing nerd food. Please note: The wildly divergent content of this episode and our inability to stay on topic in no way reflects how our brains work. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    silo fts tangent town
    13: Nice and Close with Our Face Huggers

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2024 39:23


    Welcome to our 13th episode! We dish about how we got here (from podcast engagement to podcast marriage) and thank some folks who helped us along the way. We had a celebrity sighting and perhaps a bit too much familiarity with ALIEN: Romulus swag from the Comic Con 2024 panel. Heather brings a serious and timely topic to the pod - how to use your senses to stay grounded when things feel really big and scary. Join us for some solid squee and some solid psychology. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    12: Science, Psychology and Mutants

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2024 52:25


    It’s our 1st anniversary, the spawn have launched and the Squee is back! Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    11: Yeah Right, Vogue Contacted You

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2024 68:59


    Get ready Squee Fans, we’ve got a lot of happy ground to cover! Heather and Stacy get into Bridgerton (sex and costumes!), queer women’s voices, like Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan, and then bring it all together for our favorite episode of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor thus far…ROGUE! In fact, we’ve got a wee timey-wimey adventure of our own right in the episode. There is so much squee, we recommend listening alllll the way to the end of the episode. ;) Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    10: I'm Chewing Glass About It

    Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2024 23:07


    9: Permission to Squee (Especially in Sweden)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2024 54:06


    Strap in, friends! We’ve got so much to talk about this month, including Cowboy Carter, embracing our fandom selves — past and present, revisiting the 80’s, Heather’s first in the wild fan encounter, and Stacy’s first-time guesting on another podcast. (We’re a poly podcast.) Mostly, we’ve got a lot of squeeing going on. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    8: You Can Ship a Ship Ship

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2024 58:35


    Stacy and Heather revisit a previous squee: The Taylor Swift Eras Tour, and talk about an up and coming new squee, Aliette de Bodard’s The Red Scholar’s Wake. Speaking of squee, it’s time to debrief Gally! There’s a lot to unpack about the world’s largest and longest running Doctor Who Con (and a rather long ribbon roll to boot!) In honor of cherry blossom season we spend some time with Japanese culture. Our Tell and Tell this episode is all about tea and remarkable Japanese tableware. We touch on customs and meaning making, and why it might be okay to spend $200 on a tea cup. Then we take on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Academy Award Winner Godzilla Minus One, (and maybe a giant flying turtle) in our chat about intergenerational trauma, and what monsters might mean in media. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    7: One Ribbon Isn't Enough

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2024 54:37


    This episode is bigger on the inside as Heather and Stacy talk the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate in the 2023 Doctor Who Specials, Ncuti Gatwa as the Flirty Doctor (you heard it here first, people!), anticipating Free The Squee’s first appearance at the Gallifrey One Convention, and Heather’s Ode to Verity Podcast. But first, it’s time to get a little serious about cultural gaffs, friendship and making amends. Let’s get going- we’ve got a lot of ground to cover and we left our TARDIS at home. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    6: Vampires Are Worth Shin Splints

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2024 39:14


    Hello there fellow nerds, and welcome to our first episode of 2024. Stacy and Heather are joined by the fabulous and brilliant Mikayla, aka Younger Spawn, for some fangirling over Percy Jackson! But before we get there, we talk about Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Dolly Parton and her new album, Rockstar. We chat collabs, what it means to cover vs. re-tell a song, and how much voice and context can change meaning. Then, there might be some squeeing over NOLA and a certain vampire. Storytelling weaves this episode together: perspective, meaning making, connection, and how stories become part of who we are. Enjoy! Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet with Mikayla (Younger Spawn).

    5: "Your Zayde Is a Level 20 Archdruid?!?"

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2023 82:23


    Director Annette Wiestra from The Smooch Podcast joins us to discuss the nerdiest Hanukkah movie ever- Round and Round. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet with Annette Wierstra.

    hanukkah archdruid annette wierstra
    4: Target Fangirls and the Uterati

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2023 34:37


    What happens when two segments of a fandom collide? Join us for Heather’s adventures in Target to find out! Then keep listening as Stacy and Heather try to answer the question: where are all the menopausal stories in pop culture? Not just menopause, but what’s up with the complete absence of women’s experience of their bodies at all? It’s an episode full of questions! Where is the face cream? Where have all the hormones gone? Who are the Uterati? Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    3: Horror is a Trench (Not a Bucket)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2023 45:05


    It’s spooky season! Heather and Stacy talk all things horror (sometimes with explicit language, eek!) including why humans might like a good jump scare. With special love for the Flanaverse (All Hail Kate Siegel!) and a nod to Freddy down on Elm Street, let’s get into what scares us and what brings us together. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    2: Let's Give Them Something To Talk About

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2023 33:08


    Heather and Stacy introduce their new opening segment, Content and Process. (Which is what? Exactly?) What’s it like to see yourself or your hometown on TV? When does representation matter and why? And how do we talk about it allllll without interrupting the flow? Let’s get into it, people! Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    1: Just Open The Damn Door

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2023 23:19


    Welcome to our first official Squee! We’re keeping it short and sweet in our debut episode. Stacy puts San Diego Comic-Con on the couch, wondering if the single unlocked door opening morning indicates an ADHD diagnosis or if the Con is just stuck in perpetual adolescence. Heather dishes about attending a summer concert by little known singer/song-writer, Taylor Swift. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

    0: Free the Squee!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2023 8:42


    Do you like to peel back the obvious and examine all the layers of your favorite characters and stories from all types of media? So do we! Join us, Drs. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet, a couple of nerdy, queer psychologists, as we put all things pop culture on the therapy couch, explore the joy of storytelling and Free The Squee! Dropping whenever we get a a free hour in our schedules. First episode coming August, 2023. Stacy Watnick and Heather Berberet.

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