Joe and Conrad kick off a new theme on 'HIV and AIDS' with a look at the earliest text to discuss the disease: An Early Frost from 1985.

NBC's made-for-TV film is something of a marvel considering advertisers wouldn't touch it. Thankfully audiences, awards bodies and an all-star cast had no problem!

Plus: Aidan Quinn's lead performance, the lack of intimacy between Michael and his partner Peter, and how the film may be more about straight people than queer people...

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After six films, Conrad and Joe wrap up our 'Sex Work and Pornography' theme by revisiting common threads and themes, our favourite discoveries, and the titles we'd most recommend to listeners.

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Conrad and Joe wrap up our theme with Camille Vidal-Naquet's 2018 film Sauvage ('Wild'), a purportedly "judgement-free" documentary-style, gritty depiction of 'Sex Work and Pornography.' The trauma porn narrative, however, feels pretty moralistic to us!

Plus: comparisons to 2024's Baby; Félix Maritaud's "brave" central performance; Léo and Ahd's interesting relationship; and a tease of why Félix and Claude's romance doesn't work.

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Conrad and Joe hit pause on 'Sex Work and Pornography' to discuss one of 2025's biggest queer films: Harry Lighton's Pillion (2025).

It may surprise you to discover that we're ambivalent about the film! We don't entirely understand its reception as a romance, especially given how disaffecting (and possibly abusive) the central relationship is.

Plus: adaptation changes from Adam Mars-Jones's novella Box Hill; fantastic lead performances; Conrad's theatrical experience; and the moments of comedy that work

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The second to last entry in our 'Sex Work and Pornography' theme is Brazilian director Marcelo Caetano's Baby (2024) about a newly released convict who is introduced to a life of sex work by an older man.

From cruising spots to the intersection of sex & drugs, this beautiful film features a great debut performance by João Pedro Mariano as the title character. But there are a few elements, such as the contrived last act conflict, that don't entirely work for us.

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Conrad and Joe check out Sebastian, the sophomore effort of Mikko Mäkelä (see previous episode on A Moment in the Reeds) which concerns a writer, Max (Ruaridh Mollica), who uses his sex work as fodder for his "fiction" writing.

It's an intriguing concept, though the film occasionally loses focus on what it wants to explore.

Plus: Conrad's displeasure at the film's end, a third act tonal shift, and debate about how self-aware the film is about what a gay film can and can't focus on.

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The next entry in our 'Sex Work and Pornography' theme is Gregg Araki's masterful 2005 adaptation of Scott Heim's devastating novel Mysterious Skin.

Starring a grown-up Joseph Gordon Levitt and a pre-Oscar winning director Brady Corbet, the film examines two very different responses to childhood sexual abuse (C/W).

Plus: praising Michelle Trachtenberg, the strategic way Araki worked with the child actors, and why Neil's storyline is more intriguing than Brian's.

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It's a Conrad pick as our theme on 'Sex Work and Pornography' continues with Robin Campillo’s genre hybrid, Eastern Boys (2013).

The film tackles several uncomfortable subjects, including a significant age gap between client and sex worker, an incredibly tense home invasion-style "party" and a challenging protagonist in Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin).

Plus: shifting genres, a dialogue-free opening, and the moment Joe had to jump ahead because he couldn't stand the tension.

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