Who Runs the World? Fanfiction Writers!

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KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Fan fiction, where fans reimagine their favorite characters in new – often steamy – stories, is reshaping mainstream literature, television and film. This year alone, three novels spun from fan-written romances between Harry Potter characters have hit national bestseller lists. And on the popular fanfic site Archive of Our Own, you’ll find everything from Star Wars-inspired romances to a zombie apocalypse featuring the Car Talk guys. We’re tracing how communities of queer, female, and frequently thirsty fans became a force too big for publishers and Hollywood executives to ignore. Guests: E. Alex Jung, features writer, Vulture and New York Magazine Candice Lim, writer, producer and former co-host, Slate's ICYMI podcast Domee Shi, film director and creative vice president, Pixar; her films include "Turning Red," "Elio" and the animated short film "Bao" Disclaimer: Suicide and suicidal ideation comes up in conversation during this podcast episode. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from Landmark College, offering executive function support and social coaching for neurodivergent individuals at the Bay Area Success Center. Learn more at landmark.edu slash success center.
0:15.9	Hey, I'm Morgan Sugg from KQED's Internet Culture podcast, Close All Tabs, and we're bringing the web to the stage.
0:22.5	On Thursday, March 5th, I'm hosting Chronically Online, a PowerPoint party at KQED.
0:27.0	It'll be a fun night of internet deep dives, niche rabbit holes, and chaotic slide decks, featuring Internet Culture Researcher, Aidan Walker, journalist Candace Lim, and a few brave audience members.
0:37.1	If you can't be with us in person,
0:38.5	we will be live streaming, but we would love to see you IRL. So join us on March 5th. Get tickets at
0:43.8	kkwed.org slash live. That's kkwed.org slash live. From KQED. Welcome to Forum. I'm
0:53.1	Mina Kim. If you think you've never encountered fan fiction,
0:56.7	you're probably wrong. Fifty Shades of Gray originated from Twilight fan fiction. And these days,
1:02.5	stories by fans reimagining their favorite characters, like enemies becoming lovers,
1:08.1	think Draco and Hermione, or the weak becoming powerful, can be found in
1:13.0	many a bookstore and on streaming platforms.
1:16.1	This hour, we look at what's behind fanfiction's rise, and what effect you think the
1:21.4	mainstreaming and monetization of niche fan-originated stories will have on the community?
1:27.2	Joining me is Candace Lim, writer, producer, and former co-host of Slavis. of niche fan-originated stories we'll have on the community.
1:31.8	Joining me is Candace Lim, writer, producer, and former co-host of Slates.
1:36.1	In case you missed it, I see Y-M-I podcast about internet, culture.
1:43.0	And actually, it turns out, do not have that connection established at the moment, So I will give that a pause and introduce
1:44.6	Domi She, Director and Creative Vice President at Pixar. You might know her from her animated short
1:51.1	film, Bow, which won an Academy Award. And she was nominated for two other Academy Awards
1:56.8	for her animated feature films Turning Red and Elio. Domi, welcome to Forum.
2:03.0	It's great to be here.
	...

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