Fringe Review

“The Others” by Adrianna Randall is a rehearsed podcast put together through a series of real-life interviews with members of the queer community.  This podcast sheds a necessary light on how trans and non-binary people have reacted to the current administration’s executive order declaring that the United States will only recognize two sexes: male and female. The scope of this project is massive as Randall combines interviews from many community members to weave together the conversation had between our hosts Sage and Sam, and their podcast guest Jordan.

We spend much of the runtime learning the intricacies of each cast member’s gender, covering pronouns we’re used to hearing such as “he, she, and they” but also learning about the agender pronoun “it”. This important project widens our understanding of gender and how different people are “othered” by the society at large. The strong ensemble cast of Kip Manson, Christoph David Cording, and Nat Weber work off each other and flow together seamlessly spinning a conversation that feels naturalistic yet still presentational enough for a podcast setting.

The multimedia dimension of the show includes advertising and sponsors, just as you would hear on any podcast.  Ads for local businesses run by members of the queer community break up the conversation which can, at times, turn contentious. Ultimately “The Others” is an important and underheard conversation of understanding and hope that everyone can learn from and resonate with.