“Off the Chart” L Word podcast, Episode Four: Letting Go

“C’mon loosen up lesbians… You want to celebrate the snatch, venerate the vagina, praise the pussy!” — Billie Blaikie

Dana Fairbanks, you will always be our sunshine. Season 3 of The L Word was a literal matter of life and death, as Dana succumbs to breast cancer in the saddest story arc of the series, while Max begins his new life as a trans man. In our recap, we talk about the show’s hit-and-miss portrayal of Max’s transition and his uneasy integration into the clique—warning, it gets TERFy. We mourn the untimely and unexpected death of one of the series’ most sympathetic characters. We get hot over Carmen’s steamy striptease and bothered by Shane’s wedding day betrayal. And we say willkommen, welcome, bienvenue to guest star Alan Cumming!

Subscribe

Episode notes and extras:

Featuring:

Rachel Giese @rachelagiese
Erica Lenti @ericalenti
Eternity Martis @eternitymartis
Michelle Turingan @chelleturingan

With guests:
Kam Burns, journalist at Wired @kamcburns
Kathy Tu, co-host of the Nancy podcast from WNYC @_kathytu

Producer and editor: Corey Misquita @coreymisquita
Senior producer: Rachel Matlow @rachelmatlow
Executive producer: Rachel Giese
Music: KidKulit

Chelle Turingan is a video journalist and filmmaker based in Toronto, ON. Their work has appeared in Maclean’sChatelaine, and Today’s Parent. They are also co-director / producer / editor of Xtra’s documentary film, Small Town Pride.

Erica Lenti

Erica Lenti is a deputy editor at Chatelaine and a former editor at Xtra.

Eternity Martis is an award-winning journalist and editor who has worked at CBC, CTV and Xtra Magazine. She is the author of the bestselling 2020 memoir They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up, the course developer/instructor of "Reporting on Race: Black Communities in the Media" at Ryerson University and UBC's 2021 Journalist-in-Residence.

Rachel Giese is a deputy national editor at The Globe and Mail and the former director of editorial at Xtra. She lives in Toronto and is an English speaker.

Keep Reading

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17, Episode 6 power ranking: Wet and wild

12 queens, 36 looks—let’s get to power ranking!

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17, Episode 6 recap: Under the Sea

Down where it’s wetter, down where drag’s better, take it from me
Side-by-side images of the Haus of Decline icon and Alex Hood. Hood wears black and has chin-length wavy hair.

Meet the trans artist behind one of the internet’s favourite webcomics

Haus of Decline marries irreverent humour and bodily autonomy for hundreds of thousands of fans

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17, Episode 5 power ranking: Repertory players

Which queens secured themselves a new contract for RDR Live?