Thirst Aid Kit
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''Thirst Aid Kit'' is a podcast about celebrity lust and sexual desire hosted by journalist
Bim Adewunmi Bim Adewunmi is a British writer and journalist. She is a producer for ''This American Life'' and previously worked as a culture writer at BuzzFeed and ''The Guardian''. She co-hosted the podcast ''Thirst Aid Kit'' with writer Nichole Perkins ( ...
and writer Nichole Perkins. The podcast premiered on November 1, 2017, and the finale episode aired on September 17, 2020. It was officially produced by BuzzFeed until January 2019 and was picked up by '' Slate'' in September 2019. ''Thirst Aid Kit'' was named to "best podcast" lists by ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' and ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
''.


History


Development

Adewunmi and Perkins worked together at BuzzFeed and mutually enjoyed discussing pop culture and their celebrity sexual interests. This encouraged them to pitch the idea of a podcast about celebrity crushes to BuzzFeed executives. The purpose of ''Thirst Aid Kit'' (''TAK'') is to openly discuss celebrities they find attractive and do so in an unabashed manner. According to Perkins, "It's really important to give women a space to show what we are interested in and what women want." They also use ''TAK'' to highlight people whose work may be well known, but their face is less familiar, such as director
Ryan Coogler Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...
. The name ''Thirst Aid Kit'' refers to the slang meaning of the word thirst, which refers to sexual desire. They refer to their fan base as "thirst buckets."


Production

The first episode premiered on November 1, 2017, as a production of BuzzFeed. The show is produced by Keisha "TK" Dutes. On January 25, 2019, it was announced that BuzzFeed would no longer produce the podcast and the hosts are currently looking for a new sponsor. One day prior, BuzzFeed announced company-wide layoffs which eliminated 15% of their staff. In August 2019, it was announced that '' Slate'' had picked up the podcast. It relaunched through the company on September 26. Adewunmi and Perkins chose to partner with ''Slate'' because they "came to
he pair He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
knowledgeable about the podcast." On September 17, 2020, the ''Thirst Aid Kit'' Twitter stated that the weekly podcast had ended and the episode released that day was the finale. The hosts also noted that they had decided to end the podcast mutually. In another tweet the account stated that live events and movie nights could take place in the future.


BFI series dispute

In February 2020,
BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
announced a forthcoming series called Thirst: Female Desire on Screen that had similar artwork to the ''TAK'' logo and a similar description. Journalist Musa Okwonga and Twitter users accused BFI of stealing the concept.


Format

Each episode typically focuses on a single celebrity who the hosts find sexually attractive. The podcast begins and ends with either host reading an original short passage of fan fiction, which they call a
drabble A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words in length."Winners ...
. The short reading features the focal "thirst object" in an intimate, and sometimes sexual, situation with the writer. Next, they explain what makes the actor desirable. Finally, they dissect the actor's persona in the context of Hollywood and society at large.


Guests

''Thirst Aid Kit'' sometimes features an interview with the person who the episode is about, such as
Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, including lead roles in the television series ''Daredevil'' (201 ...
and
Rahul Kohli Rahul Kohli (born 13 November 1985) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti in ''iZombie (TV series), iZombie'' (2015–19), Owen Sharma in ''The Haunting of Bly Manor'' (2020), and Sheriff Hassan ...
. On January 28, 2018, the hosts had a phone interview with Chris Evans, who was on the set of '' Avengers: Infinity War''. Evans made comments about not perceiving himself as "hot," which were picked up by media outlets such as '' E!'', ''W'', and ''
InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only f ...
''.


Other media

''TAK'' also hosts live events such as "Thirsty Movie Nights." They hosted a live interview with
Daniel Dae Kim Daniel Dae Kim (born Kim Dae-hyun ( ko, 김대현); August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in ''Lost'', Chin Ho Kelly in '' Hawaii Five-0'', Gavin Park in ''Angel'', and Johnny Gat in the '' Saints Ro ...
at 2020 Sundance.


Reception

The podcast received positive reception. In an article on feminist podcast recommendations,
Evette Dionne Evette Dionne is an American culture writer. Her young adult debut ''Lifting As We Climb'' (Viking) was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Dionne was editor-in-chief of ''Bitch'' from 2018 until 2021. Ear ...
of ''Bitch'' said of the show, "Whether it's reading delicious fan fiction, a staple at the beginning of most episodes, or offering thirst recommendations, ''Thirst Aid Kit'' is incredibly entertaining." Becca James of
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
wrote that the show "is as much about the laughs as it is about the lust. Numerous times throughout the podcast, the hosts banter wittily, but it's the concluding fanfic wars that lend themselves to uproarious laughter." In a similarly positive review, Marnie Shure of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' wrote, "Giggle-inducing and surprisingly moving, ''Thirst Aid Kit'' has been an essential addition to the BuzzFeed network of podcasts." Sydney Scott of ''Essence'' noted that the hosts' "warmth and banter" is a positive feature of the show. Byshera Williams wrote in a positive review for ''
Bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...
'', "By addressing the work that each man has created, discussing representation in film, asking why there are not more black women in romantic comedies, and writing fanfic, they weaponize their thirst for good." The show was also recommended by Mashable and ''Vanity Fair''.


Accolades

*Best Fan Community, ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' (2018) * Best Podcasts of 2018, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' * The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now, ''Time'' (2018)


References


External links

* *''{{URL, https://slate.com/podcasts/thirst-aid-kit, Thirst Aid Kit'' on Slate.com Audio podcasts Sexuality and society Sexual fantasies Fan fiction 2017 podcast debuts 2020 podcast endings BuzzFeed American podcasts Feminist podcasts