American Vampire

American Vampire is a podcast about the Twilight Saga, created by Sid Branca and Briana Finegan. We are interested in thinking critically about the Twilight series with a focus on trauma narratives, issues of gender and class, and American national identity. We are equally interested in yelling excitedly about our genuine enjoyment of this goofy franchise.

Episode 15 - Aging Several Decades (Checking In After Our Hiatus) 09/11/2022

Episode 15 - Aging Several Decades (Checking In After Our Hiatus) Multiple years, catastrophes, genders, and Twilight re-contextualizations later, Briana and Sid return to American Vampire! This episode is a little check-in, assessing where we're at and how we're thinking about this material now, and acknowledging simply how much time has passed since last we spoke about the Twilight Saga. We'll resume our usual chapter-by-chapter format (where we left off in reading Eclipse) in the next episode. Sorry for kind of weird audio quality on this one, the next episode (already recorded!) should be better. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/24339492

Episode 14 - Calvinist Love Bombing (Eclipse, Chapters 8-9) 05/31/2022

Episode 14 - Calvinist Love Bombing (Eclipse, Chapters 8-9) We are finally releasing an episode we recorded in *2019*, the part two of a long episode on Chapters 7-9 of Eclipse. (Content note: discussion of child abuse and SA as related to these chapters.) Briana and Sid drink rosé and discuss Edward being terrible, Bella being h*rné, and the absolute nightmare of Stephenie's concept of "imprinting" and the book's relationship to moral relativism. We'll be back with *newly recorded* episodes soon! /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/23281124

Episode 13 - Grindhouse: Vampire Bride (Eclipse, Chapter 7) 12/20/2019

Episode 13 - Grindhouse: Vampire Bride (Eclipse, Chapter 7) American Vampire presents Grindhouse: Vampire Bride, aka ROSALIE'S REVENGE. We legit spent so much time talking specifically about the conversation between Rosalie and Bella in Chapter 7 of Eclipse that I had to split the Chapters 7-9 episode into two parts. Content note: discussion of sexual assault. Topics include how our bitter queen Rosalie came to resent capitalism, the aging body in romance, and how this chapter feels like it's living in a Tarantino/Rodriguez cinematic universe instead of Twilight. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/12486140

Episode 12 - Dumpster™ Brand Trash Fire (Eclipse, Chapters 4-6) 08/02/2019

Episode 12 - Dumpster™ Brand Trash Fire (Eclipse, Chapters 4-6) We're finally back (sorry!!!) with chapters 4-6 of Eclipse, which can really only be described as a Dumpster™ fire. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/10746749

Episode 11 - Stay Gold, Jacob Black (Eclipse, Preface - Chapter 3) 01/23/2019

Episode 11 - Stay Gold, Jacob Black (Eclipse, Preface - Chapter 3) Briana and Sid begin the third Twilight book, Eclipse, discussing the preface through the end of Chapter 3. Wuthering Heights haunts this text in a confusing way! Other topics include how Edward's behavior escalates to straight-up horror movie antagonist, Jacob inspires some Twilight/The Outsiders crossover fiction, and Stephenie showcases her passion for graphic design. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/8368097

Episode 10 - Heathcliff Heathcliff, Grave Robbing Entrepreneur (Wuthering Heights) 12/26/2018

Episode 10 - Heathcliff Heathcliff, Grave Robbing Entrepreneur (Wuthering Heights) Holiday season ghost-adjacent content! As Wuthering Heights is referenced repeatedly in Eclipse, Sid and Briana briefly tackle the 1847 novel by Emily Brontë. Topics include how everyone in this book probably has tuberculosis, Heathcliff's ethnic ambiguity and... extracurricular activities, and how Kate Bush may have exaggerated just how much ghost content Wuthering Heights truly contains. (Apologies for the poor sound quality, I used the wrong mic input like a chump!! And happy holidays y'all!!) /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/8045504

Episode 9 - Vampire Suff(e)rage (New Moon, Chapters 23 - Epilogue) 11/19/2018

Episode 9 - Vampire Suff(e)rage (New Moon, Chapters 23 - Epilogue) We are finally back! After some international and ontological adventures, Briana and Sid return to American Vampire to discuss the final chapters of New Moon (23 to Epilogue). /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/7616888

Episode 8 - How to Get Blood Out of White Leather (New Moon, Chapters 19-22) 06/25/2018

Episode 8 - How to Get Blood Out of White Leather (New Moon, Chapters 19-22) After a brief hiatus, American Vampire has returned from its hellish slumber to cover Chapters 19 to 22 of New Moon. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/6739216

Episode 7 - Third Eye Blind Jumper dot mp3 (New Moon, Chapters 13-18) 04/05/2018

Episode 7 - Third Eye Blind Jumper dot mp3 (New Moon, Chapters 13-18) In this episode Briana and Sid discuss the (gibbous?) third quarter of New Moon, from Chapter 13 through the end of Chapter 18. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/6450234

Episode 6 - Some White Bullsh*t (New Moon, Chapters 7-12) 03/08/2018

Episode 6 - Some White Bullsh*t (New Moon, Chapters 7-12) In this episode Briana and Sid discuss the Jacob-oriented second quarter of New Moon, from Chapter 7 through the end of Chapter 12. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/6344635

Episode 5 - When Vampires Ghost (New Moon, Chapters 1-6) 01/31/2018

Episode 5 - When Vampires Ghost (New Moon, Chapters 1-6) It's 2018, and Sid finally stopped laying prone on the forest floor long enough to edit this! /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/6210165

Episode 4 - Team Alice (Twilight, Chapter 17-Epilogue) 01/04/2018

Episode 4 - Team Alice (Twilight, Chapter 17-Epilogue) In this episode Briana and Sid discuss the plot-packed final third of "Twilight", Chapter 17 through to the end. Topics include how Alice is by far the best vampire, how this whole plot arc low key sounds like a cover-up for domestic violence, and the Cullens' radical vampire animal liberation cult vibes. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/6115700

Episode 3 - Bella Swan Talks to Cacti ("Twilight" Chapters 9-16) 12/13/2017

Episode 3 - Bella Swan Talks to Cacti ("Twilight" Chapters 9-16) In this episode Briana and Sid discuss the middle third of "Twilight", Chapters 9 through 16. Topics include musings on what Bella's life in Phoenix was like, what the unique powers of the Twilight vampires have to do with American Christianity, and the ol' Lloyd Dobler problem of the thin line between "this is romantic" and "I'm calling the cops". /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/6040369

Episode 2 - Wholesome Teens ("Twilight" Chapters 1-8) 12/01/2017

Episode 2 - Wholesome Teens ("Twilight" Chapters 1-8) Buckle in, friends. It's time to bite into this sucker. Briana and Sid discuss Chapters 1 through 8 of the eponymous first book of the Twilight Saga. Topics include the surprising importance of sports to the Twilight universe, why we suspect Bella Swan already has PTSD, and how much Mike sucks. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/6000137

Episode 1 - The Golden Hour (Before Twilight) 10/31/2017

Episode 1 - The Golden Hour (Before Twilight) Before Briana Finegan (Noted Twilight expert) guides Sid Branca (Noted Goth) through the rollercoaster of emotion that is reading the Twilight Saga books for the first time, they have a pre-reading discussion. This episode covers their existing relationships to this franchise, their goals for this podcast, and why it's called American Vampire. /episode/index/show/americanvampire/id/5896977

American Vampire

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