Elizabeth Minkel

Freeway Exit - Eileen David , 2023.

American , b. 1952 -

Our latest is live! ✨ Maria Temming reports on the worlds of fictional constructed language (aka conglang) speakers. For fans gathering around Na'vi, Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki, or High Valyrian, it's about more than a connection to canon—it's about community.

Conlang aficionados will also note that the definition of a “useful” language depends on who you want to communicate with. Sometimes, that’s a friend with a different native language, or the people who live in a country you want to visit; other times, it’s the people in your fandom. That doesn’t just make a conlang useful. “Once it starts to have real speakers,” Mikaelon says, “in a way, it becomes a real language too.”

Patio - Carmen Montero , 2024.

Spanish , b. 1970 -

Our Vampire Lestat episode 6 recap is live! 🩸✨ @hellotailor breaks down the first chronological episode of the season: "Blessedly," she writes, it's essentially "an extended conversation between our two lead characters."

For most of this season, Lestat has spent every waking hour with his band and entourage (whom he keeps at arm’s length) or with Gabriella (a bottomless source of emotional exhaustion). Meanwhile, Louis has been lonely in a different way, attempting to pursue a healthy relationship with Lemuel (who mostly remains offscreen) before embroiling himself in a toxic situation with Regina. With a few months’ distance from episode 5, Louis and Lestat are now in the right headspace to spend an entire night together as companions, tacitly confirming that every other relationship in their lives is secondary. 

Shimmer - Jeanne Rosier Smith , 2026.

American , b. 1966 -