This is Part 1 of our special Halloween series: Monsters as Mirrors

What if our monsters say more about us than them?

In this episode, Kristin and Laura explore how monsters are a social mirror...a way for powerful systems to project fear, control bodies, and avoid accountability. From witches to AI, we unpack how "the monster" is used to enforce social boundaries, uphold hierarchies, and distract from systemic rot.

We dive into:

• Why power needs monsters

• The psychology of disgust, projection, and containment

• The “gendered monster” (hello, feminazi, hysteric, witch)

• The monstering of trans people in today’s culture wars

• Immigration panic as moral drama

• Why it’s not AI we should fear, but who’s controlling it

• Monster narratives in Harry Potter, Stranger Things, Beauty & the Beast, and more

This is a funny, furious, psychologically rich dive into how systems displace blame, turn people into problems, and manufacture fear to maintain control.