On June 1st, I was interviewed on ABC Radio National’s program Stop Everything, which bills itself as “a savvy, critical look at pop culture and what’s in the zeitgeist.” The program was discussing the emergence of “Thai BL” (or series wai/Y as they are known in Thai).

You can access and listen to the program here!

Below is the blurb for the segment on which I appeared. Due to time constraints (the first guest went overtime… which is totally fine as her discussion was also really fasacinating and important) I wasn’t able to discuss the spread of this media into the Philippines.

Thai “boys love” series are making waves across Asia and beyond. Aimed at female audiences, they’re also empowering the queer community with depictions of young male same-sex relationships. Producer Kim Jirik tells us how he fell in love with the genre, and introduces us to some international fans, plus “Together With Me” stars Max Nattapol Diloknawarit and Tul Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai, and Thammasat University’s Poowin Bunyavejchewin, who says the series have had a big impact on Thai society. Macquarie University Japanese studies lecturer Dr Thomas Baudinette explains “boys love” links to manga, and why the series have taken off in the Philippines.