006: Nancy: Podcast Reccs from Sara A.

In the early days of the pandemic, when we all needed our friends and were looking for comfort and normalcy, one of my favorite podcasts decided to call it quits. THE NERVE! So now all I can do is listen to their catalogue and wish the show was still putting out new episodes. 

In “Nancy” hosts Tobin Low and Kathy Tu explore queer stories, histories, and futures; this podcast was very queer and very good. It got into so many different topics in ways that felt genuine and like they were owned and told by the people they happened to or the people telling them, in the ways they wanted to be told. Sometimes it seems like queer stories are sanitized or are made “comfortable” for straight audiences, and there was none of that in “Nancy.”

Tobin and Kathy’s personal lives, more specifically their relationships with their parents, are highlighted. Both are first generation Asian-Americans, so they talk about their queer identity and their Asian identity, and how they are at times at odds with, and other times in line with, each other. They speak with other first-generation queer folks and it’s so important to hear about these people’s experiences. Kathy has conversations with her mom, who hasn’t really accepted her queerness, and it’s so intimate and hard and frustrating, but also loving and just so rife with regular family dynamics outside of their added cultural, gender, and sexual differences. 

While Tobin and Kathy’s stories make appearances, the bulk of the episodes are about other people, and they are as personal, in-depth, and interesting as the hosts. I really loved this podcast and I think you will too. They may have, rudely, left us when we needed them the most, they left behind a great body of work. 

‍