Reading Drag Race

We made it! It's the end of the season. Join Conde Nasty and Hersula the Sea Bitch as one more season finally draws to a close. We laugh. We cry. We drink margaritas. The queens face off in a Britney Spears-themed lip sync battle before [SPOILER] is crowned the new queen. It's been a long and lovely season, and we'll see you all for All Stars 6!

Please close your tray tables and put your tucks in the upright and locked position as Glamazonian Airways Flight 13 is beginning its descent into the finale. But before we can crown a new winner, we have to put the final four through some very familiar paces. Music video? Check. Tic Tacs? Check. Tearful messages to our younger selves? Check and double check.  Join Hersula, Conde Nasty, and guest Valkyrie to assess the top four queens, the season as a whole, and whatever the hell else they feel like.

Recording for the first time in person for over a year, Hersula and Conde Nasty are here to whittle down the top five into a final four and generally readjust to speaking to each other face to face. Like this season, it's a long journey.

Hersula and Conde Nasty, joined by special guest Tara, are all over the map this week. With topics ranging from why Tamisha Iman is still right to armchair psychoanalysis, nothing is off limits (or coherent). And then we try our hands at gently roasting the gurls, something this week's contestants should have considered trying.

It's time for the queens to sell themselves in a vaguely defined product challenge. (At least it's not a soup can you wear like a barrel in a 1930s cartoon.) This week Conde Nasty and Hersula are joined by recurring BFF Buffy Cummers to assess the commercials and watch the queens claw their way through another runway, this time dressed as BEASTS. Which queen will be sent back to the wilds of working a gay bar on a Tuesday night for tips? Listen and find out...  

It's the makeover challenge, and since it isn't safe to bring in a group of unsuspecting civilians, they queens are making over each other! Join Conde Nasty and Hersula to judge the queens, and later, we'll bust out the Ouija board and scare up Clara the Cow to see what she thought of Tina Burner deciding today was the day to try a new color scheme.

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Snatch Game! BFF Valkyrie joins Conde Nasty and Hersula to break down all the truly questionable decisions the queens made on this year's panel. Then the queens try to fascinate the judges with their fashion on the runway, and one queen is left without a leg to stand on.

Oblivia is back, and they. have. opinions. Join them and Conde Nasty and Hersula to attend the only musical still running right now. That's right, it's the Rusical! After the curtain falls on their tribute to social media, the gurls brighten up the runway in dazzling array of yellow looks. And, yes, Michelle. It was yellow.

No matter how chaotic and uncertain the world may be, there remains this unchanging constant: most improv performances are kind of awkward to sit through. Join Conde Nasty and Hersula as they politely watch the girls try their best before stringing together some beaded eleganza on the runway.

Conde Nasty and Hersula welcome back Buffy Cummers to break down this week's episode that sees the girls dance through a disco documentary and walk the runway serving their takes on the eternal classic, the Little Black Dress.  More importantly, this episode serves as a long, detailed, and entirely deserved love letter to one Tamisha Iman. Until we meet again in All Stars...

Conde Nasty and Hersula barely survived this week in which they had to form opinions on THIRTY-SIX looks. Fortunately, recurring guest Valkyrie is back to help manage the load. Now if we could only get the image of that baby mini challenge to stop haunting our nightmares...

Special guest host Oblivia joins Hersula and Conde Nasty for the first episode of the season to eliminate a queen for real and not just for the fun of psychologically traumatizing them. This week sees the dolls celebrating the holidays with their very own Hallmark romcom before steaming down the the runway serving trains, trains for days. One of the queens better hope the bus is still running, because their train has come to its final destination.

Has 2021 not quite washed the aftertaste of 2020 out of your mouth yet? Then slip into a new episode of Drag Race and let your cares melt away in a warm bath of no eliminations, the welcome return of Nicole Byer, and literally one of the most beautiful gowns ever seen by mortal man. Conde Nasty and Hersula are here to break down another three runways' worth of looks and to get to know the queens really well before they finally start sending them home. So it hurts more. Like it should.

Intrigue! Espionage! Lamé! Last weeks winners (plus Elliott with 2 Ts) have to go from daytime to nighttime in the season's first mini-challenge before writing, directing, producing, choreographing, lighting, editing, and catering their performance to a Ru number. Finally, they shimmer across the main stage in their best lamé looks. Join Conde Nasty, Hersula, and special guest That Gurl to wade through the many looks and lip syncs.

Happy Ru Year! It's 2021 and what better way to forget the shitshow of 2020 than by launching a new year with a new season of drag race? But Ru has a new batch of challenges in store for our queens, leaving more than one contestant gagged and/or gooped. Though, to be fair, it's probably not the first time some of the queens have been fucked in a loading dock.

The weather outside (and frankly, everything else) is frightful, but an inclusive queer romcom with an all-star cast is delightful! Join Hersula, Conde Nasty, and guest Valkyrie as they break down Hulu's contribution to the holiday canon, Happiest Season. Come for the familiar family drama, stay for Aubrey Plaza's raging sexual allure. Afterwards, Hersula and Conde Nasty take a deep dive into an unexpected subject: video games. Both of them discovered PS4's Ghost of Tsushima during pandemic and the combination of beautiful landscapes, gorgeous costumes, and emotional resonant storytelling has them shook. Have a safe and happy holiday,  if you live in Georgia, go vote, and see you all for not just one but two seasons of Drag Race dropping next month!

Conde Nasty, Hersula, and BFF Buffy Cummers light some candles, join hands, and form a circle around a bonfire to celebrate Halloween and three other equally ancient autumn celebrations: their birthdays! They break down their favorite horror movies before diving into Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor.And let's not forget the scariest thing of all: the possibility of your vote not being counted. Go to vote.org to find out how to register and cast your ballot. Now.

Hey, look at that! A season of All Stars finally got it right and didn't let shenanigans get in the way of crowning the correct queen! Conde Nasty, Hersula, and recurring guest Buffy Cummers were all drunk, sleep deprived or both for this, so it's going to be ride. Enjoy, and see you next season!   And though it's not Pride Month anymore, the work continues and still needs your help. Brave Space Alliance (https://www.bravespacealliance.org/) is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago. They were the leaders of the protests that took place in lieu of the parade in Chicago last week, and they still deserve your time, your attention, and, if possible, your money.

It's the final four! The queens take to a slightly smaller stage in the form of a comedy club where they have to make the judges laugh to secure a spot in the top three. Later, the girls will all give their interpretation of a really nebulously defined runway challenge.   Lastly, as I'm sure all the fandom has heard by now, Chi Chi DeVayne was hospitalized this week with possible kidney failure. Because 2020 can't stop being so fucking extra. And because even if you have health insurance, getting sick a financially devestating event in this country, we wanted to not only send her all our love, but hopefully some more tangible support.   Venmo: @Zavion-Davenport Cashapp: $ZavionDavenport PayPal: chichikdevayne@gmail.com

It's down to the top five and to celebrate, Mama Ru is having everyone over for a good old fashioned family BBQ in her backyard. The girls come over dressed as long lost Charles family relations before hitting the runway in looks made the backyard materials. Conde Nasty and Hersula are joined by new friend Tara this week to critique the looks and to learn that India Ferrah didn't need to be picked up by Mimi Imfurst to cast a long shadow... Pride may only be a month long, but being a good ally is an all year activity. Brave Space Alliance (https://www.bravespacealliance.org/) is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago. They were the leaders of the protests that took place in lieu of the parade in Chicago last month, and they still deserve your time, your attention, and, if possible, your money.

It's the most important of all the Drag Race holidays: SNATCH GAME! They decided to stick with Snatch Game of Love for the All Stars season, and we are happy to report that it went much, much better this time around! After trying for a love connection, the girls dance down the runway serving prom queen fantasies, or at least some of them do. Hersula and Conde Nasty welcome returning guest Valkyrie for her unique and insightful brand of judgmental critique. And though it's not Pride Month anymore, the work continues and still needs your help. Brave Space Alliance (https://www.bravespacealliance.org/) is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago. They were the leaders of the protests that took place in lieu of the parade in Chicago last week, and they still deserve your time, your attention, and, if possible, your money.    

Last week's improv challenge was a such a smashing success, they apparently couldn't wait to do another one! This time, our dolls have to perform as scandal-plagued celebrities hounded by the paparazzi. Then the gurls stomp the runway, literally, in some camouflage-inspired couture. Watch Conde Nasty, Hersula, and special guest That Gurl be extra-judgmental bitches this week, because the quarantine is clearly getting to us all! It's also the weekend of what would have been the Pride Parade, and the world is rightfully spending it focusing on the injustice that continues to be faced by Black and queer communities, and we want to use this space to help highlight and amplify the people doing the work to make the world a better place. Brave Space Alliance (https://www.bravespacealliance.org/) is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago. They were the leaders of the protests that took place in lieu of the parade in Chicago this weekend, and you should give them your time, your attention, and, if possible, your money.

The quarantine is clearly getting to the girls because Conde Nasty, Hersula, and bestie Buffy Cummers are all over the place this week. But what they lack in focus, they more than make up for by being enthusiastic and right. Join them as they break down all the queens runway looks, break down exactly which acts of public sex the CDC says are socially responsible, and just generally break down.

Conde Nasty and Hersula, with socially-distanced friend Dandelion, are back for another episode of "Just Give Shea the Fucking Crown Already"...I mean "All Stars Season 5." At the top of this week's show, we are resharing the audio of Shea Coulee at a protest in Boystown this weekend. It's an important message and everyone should listen to it. The last three weeks have seen some progress that would have felt impossible three weeks ago, but the fight is by no means over. The people and organizations doing that work still need your time, your support, and your money. https://www.blacklivesmatterchicago.com/

As one season ends, another begins. It's still early, but I don't think I'm exaggerating when I suggest that this crop of queens has a good chance of rivaling All Stars 2. Before we dive into the episode, Conde Nasty and Hersula, along with returning bestie Oblivia, take a moment to talk about the difficult but important time we are all living through. 

In light of the ongoing protests in response to police violence against black people, and in light of it being the beginning of Pride Month, a commemoration of another riot against police brutality, instead of my usual pun-filled episode description, I'm using this space to share two things. First is a list of links to just a few of the resources that need our help right now. A lot of these are local to Chicago since that is where we are and could get the most info, but leave links to other organizations in the comments. Black Lives Matter Chicago - https://www.blacklivesmatterchicago.com/ George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd Chicago Community Bond Fund - https://chicagobond.org/ Campaign Zero - https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ Ujimaa Medics - https://umedics.org/ The second thing I am sharing is a link of a parade of cars driving by the home of this season's winner to celebrate her win. It's beautiful and joyous to watch, and it's important to remember that taking your happiness where you can find it and celebrating your well earned victories where you can is its own act of defiance. https://twitter.com/LynKream/status/1266893306421788672?s=20

Conde Nasty and Hersula are visited by the ghosts of Drag Race Past (complete with Crystal Methyd serving Ebeneezer Scrooge realness) in a charming reunion episode. Then we buckle up for a deep dive into HBO docuseries "We're Here" and even Hersula's shriveled, black heart is forced to experience a genuine emotion.

It's time to narrow our final four to a final three, and to do so, the girls will stage a Las Vegas show before coming down the main stage one last time in their eleganza extravaganza. It's a tight race and these talented bunch of queens will not make it easy on the judges. Just remember that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas (because no one can leave their houses yet.)

After last week's double shantay, the race remains locked at six queens (well...five queens and one formless void the editors keep having to cut around). To help separate the tops from the bottoms, Ru turns to perennial favorite: PUPPETS! Then the dolls have to perform in a one-drag queen show and serve purple eleganza on the runway, aided by none other than WHOOPI FUCKING GOLDBERG! I'm sorry, I normally try to avoid all caps on the internet, but I think you have to agree, in this case it's entirely justified. Join Conde Nasty and Hersula with recurring BFF Valkyrie for another round of strong opinions and stronger cocktails!

Conde Nasty and Hersula are back with another episode as the field narrows and the race tightens. It's perennial classic, the makeover over challenge. The queens are tasked with making over a group of six very happy female Drag Race superfans. Remembering to carve out time for a quick therapy session where they help their partners get their grooves back, the girls have to get ready to walk the runway while showing off their family resemblance. And as an aside that will make sense once you've watched the episode, if anyone knows the number for the Sesame Street PD, please leave it in a comment. We need to report a robbery.

It's election season again (isn't it always now?) and that means it's time to put the dolls through a presidential debate and time to send Conde Nasty and Hersula's blood pressure through the roof because we realize we are already living in a bizarre parody of American politics. Later, the girls parade down the runway in their best patriotic lewks, and guests judges Rachel Bloom and Jeff Goldblum delight and arouse, respectively.

We may not be able to leave our homes, but that doesn't mean the dolls are safe from us and our opinions. Conde Nasty and Hersula are joined by not one, but two guests in besties Valkyrie and Buffy Cummers. Four queens and at least that many bottles of wine are on hand to break down another episode and give us all something to do to hold madness at bay for another day. This week, the queens have to market a product as part of their Goop-inspired lifestyle brand, and walk down the aisle in a Black Wedding-themed runway before Ru decides which queen will have a conscious uncoupling from the competition.

The girls are here to honor the one, the only, the legend Madonna. In her honor, we are all doing the podcast in British accents. (Just kidding!) Conde Nasty and Hersula and joined by longtime friend, first time guest Cora Tine through the magic of a Google Hangout to watch the latest Unauthorized Rusical. And we'll say this: These dolls learned their lesson. There was not a single kimono in sight.

The snow glows white on the runway tonight, not a heel print to be seen. It's a kingdom of isolation, and it looks like we're the queens. Conde Nasty, Hersula, That Gurl, and Buffy Cummers are here to Let It Go and Let You Have It because it's Snatch Game!!! Witness the highs...the lows..the Vanjie. Later the queens skate across the runway in a (shamelessly branded cross-promotion brought to you by the overlords at the Disney Corporation) Frozen-themed challenge.

Season 12 has the worst luck. First Sherry Pie's...well...all of that. And now, the show has the most hilariously ill-timed challenge in the form of an acting challenge set in a hospital. After disinfecting themselves, the ladies swan across the runway in their best caped costumes. Conde Nasty and Hersula are joined by bestie Oblivia to discuss the episode, the season, and whatever else they want. 

It's another bonus episode to give you more content to enjoy from wherever you are riding out whatever else 2020 has to throw at us. Conde Nasty and Hersula sat down to knock out a couple of shows in their Netflix cues, and have a gay old time talking about The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and AJ and the Queen. We recorded this back in the middle of February, so the biggest problem we were facing was the neverending Democratic primary. (What? Editing takes time and we all have day jobs.) Netlfix had not announced it was not renewing AJ and the Queen yet. It was a more innocent time for us all. 

Nothing can keep Hersula and Conde Nasty down. Not the impending end of civilization and not having to assess 36 entire looks this week. With BFF and recurring guest judge Buffy Cummers, they assess the highs and the lows, the tops and the bottoms. Like the princesses they are, these bitches are going to the ball!

We're all stuck at home, but the queens are all stuck trying to improv their way through one of the weakest improv challenges seen in a mini-challenge, and that's saying something. Conde Nasty and Hersula are joined by bestie That Gurl Down the Street to talk about the season to date and whatever the hell else they want.

Six more girls sashay into the work room to be put through their paces in a Spring/Fall Runway and a girl group number before stomping the main stage in their tulle inspired looks. Conde Nasty and Hersula are rejoined by their squirrelfriend Valkyrie to finish out the season premier, including dealing with finding out one of the queens really meant it when she said "You don't know me."

It's back, and it was actually gone long enough this time for us to miss it! And, gurl, it was good! Half the queen stomp into the work room to make their mark on a new season. Join Conde Nasty, Hersula and special guest Valkyrie as they scrutinize the looks, decide who is the prettiest boy out of drag, and help Hersula learn that fashion queens are people, too.

We finally got the break between seasons we've been asking for, but we just couldn't stay away. Conde Nasty, Hersula, and BFF Buffy Cummers got together to watch the Trixie Mattel documentary, Moving Parts. We felt all the feelings and fell a little deeper in love with one of our favorite dolls. We even manage to stay on topic for about 2/3 of the podcast, which is really a personal and professional best. But seriously, go buy Moving Parts on your streaming platform of choice. You'll be glad you did, and that girl has earned you $15.

We've come to the end of the season, and Conde Nasty, Hersula, and recurring guest and friend of the pod, Buffy Cummers have a brief, concise discussion about three queens and who won the crown. Just kidding. The finale of a decidedly very good season of Drag Race turned into a fucking symposium on drag, Drag Race, self-effacing British cultural norms, drug use in the queer community, and foundation tips for pasty girls. What we lack in focus, we more than make up for with delightful banter and being right about everything. So, condragulations [SPOILER] and see you gurls next season (which should be any second now).

It's makeover time and the gurls have to turn their sisters and mothers into stunning queens. Join Conde Nasty and Hersula as they discover the only thing more terrifying than processing their own mommy issues is watching Baga Chipz process hers.

Hi, it's Conde Nasty and Hersula, and we're your weather girls, and have we got news for you. It's the first over-produced episode of the season! Squirrelfriend of the podcast, Buffy Cummers joins us again to break down the episode and enjoy ogling the Brit Crew.

The queens take a trip to the library and then have to form dueling girl groups before trotting the runway in looks inspired by a day at the races. Hersula and Conde Nasty are joined again by squirrelfriend Val Kyrie to put the queens through their paces. And not to brag or anything, but we managed to get this episode out on time this week!

Gay Christmas came early this year. It's Snatch Game, hunties! Conde Nasty and Hersula had some very high expectation for these queens and they were not disappointed. At least until some of the runway looks.

Conde Nasty and Hersula are back, back, back again! A delightful season continues as the queens exchange their dimes for tuppence to scrape together looks from the back of Raven's car. 

That Gurl and Hersula are Double Ho Agents this week as the queens have to serve Bond Girl realness after serving tea in a BBC period drama. 

Welcome back! Conde Nasty, Hersula, and That Gurl have skipped to the other side of the pond for a new season of Drag Race. We meet the Queens and see them lose their heads in a mini-challenge dedicated to the many wives of Henry VIII, and on the main stage, they pay their respects to the one queen older than Michelle Visage, HRH Elizabeth II.  Remember to rate and review us on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow us on Instagram @readingdragracepodcast and follow That Gurl to get all her readings @thatgurldownthestreet.

You didn't think we'd stay away until the next season, did you? Conde Nasty and Hersula get some of their best squirrelfriends, Buffy Cummers and Willow Hosenberg, over for an afternoon of catching up, getting day drunk, and reminiscing about Season 5. We can proudly say that we almost largely stay on topic. 

Here we are at the end of another season. Join Hersula, Conde Nasty, That Gurl, and guest Jessica Feltcher as we break down the final episode, take a look back at Season 11, and most importantly, read the fuck out of the straight girls who acted a fool at the bar during the finale.