About this episode
In our first video, we look at creators who honed their media criticism skills in fandom spaces. Please join Gavia Baker-Whitelaw and Elizabeth Minkel, co-creators of The Rec Center newsletter, in a wide-ranging discussion about how they got started, where it has led them, and what they’ve learned about internet culture and policy along the way.
Watch the Episode on YouTube
Become an EFF Member
For over 35 years, EFF members have empowered attorneys, activists, and technologists to defend civil liberties and human rights online for everyone.
Tech should be a tool for the people, and we need you in this fight.
About Gavia Baker-Whitelaw
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw is a freelance critic and entertainment journalist with 10 years of experience covering geek culture, TV, and film. Previously a staff writer at the Daily Dot, she has written for Wired, TV Guide, Empire Magazine, and others.
She also co-hosts the movie podcast Overinvested, co-edits the Hugo-shortlisted fandom newsletter The Rec Center, and contributes to BBC radio as a film commentator.
About Elizabeth Minkel
Elizabeth Minkel is a journalist, editor, and consultant who focuses on digital technologies and fan culture. She’s written for WIRED, Atlas Obscura, The New Yorker, The Guardian, the New Statesman, and many other outlets. She’s the co-host and editor of the long-running Fansplaining podcast and companion publication, and she co-curates “The Rec Center,” a weekly newsletter featuring fandom articles, fanart, and fanfiction recs that was a finalist for a Hugo Award in 2020. She has a Master’s degree in the digital humanities from University College London, where she wrote her dissertation on book fandoms online, and she currently lives in Brooklyn with her cat, Orlando.
This interview was originally published in December 2024. No changes have been made
