Thirst Aid Kit

Thirst Aid Kit is a podcast about celebrity lust and sexual desire hosted by journalist Bim Adewunmi 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
Presentation
Hosted byBim Adewunmi & Nichole Perkins
GenreFeminist, talk
FormatPodcast
Created byBim Adewunmi & Nichole Perkins
LanguageEnglish
Length45 - 90 minutes
Production
ProductionBuzzFeed (2017-2019), Slate (2019-2020)
Theme music composed byTanya Morgan
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes60+
Publication
Original releaseNovember 1, 2017 – September 17, 2020
ProviderSlate
Related showsAnother Round
Websitethirstaidkitpodcast.tumblr.com

Thirst Aid Kit was named to "best podcast" lists by Time and Entertainment Weekly.[1][2][3]

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.[4]

The purpose of Thirst Aid Kit (TAK) is to openly discuss celebrities they find attractive and do so in an unabashed manner.[3][5] According to Perkins, "It's really important to give women a space to show what we are interested in and what women want."[4][6] They also use TAK to highlight people whose work may be well known, but their face is less familiar, such as director Ryan Coogler.[7] 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."[1]

Production

The first episode premiered on November 1, 2017 as a production of BuzzFeed. The show is produced by Keisha "TK" Dutes.[1]

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.[8] One day prior, BuzzFeed announced company-wide layoffs which eliminated 15% of their staff.[9]

In August 2019, it was announced that Slate had picked up the podcast. It relaunched through the company on September 26.[1] Adewunmi and Perkins chose to partner with Slate because they "came to [the pair] knowledgeable about the podcast."[1]

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.[2] 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.[10]

BFI series dispute

In February 2020, BFI announced a forthcoming series curated by Christina Newland called Thirst: Female Desire on Screen that had similar artwork to the TAK logo and a similar description.[11] Journalist Musa Okwonga and Twitter users accused BFI of stealing the concept.[11] Perkins and Adewunmi stated that they had been called "deluded narcissists" for noting the similarities.[11] Newland denied the accusations of plagiarism and stated she had been working on the topic since October 2017 and had not heard of TAK until 2019, after which she approached Perkins twice to collaborate on her book.[11] BFI released a statement apologizing for the similarities and promised to change the series imagery "as we accept that it was too similar to their logo when coupled with the word Thirst."[12][13]

Format

Each episode typically focuses on a single celebrity who the hosts find sexually attractive.[7][14] The podcast begins and ends with either host reading an original short passage of fan fiction, which they call a drabble.[3] The short reading features the focal "thirst object" in an intimate, and sometimes sexual, situation with the writer.[3] 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 and Rahul Kohli. On January 28, 2018, the hosts had a phone interview with Chris Evans, who was on the set of Avengers: Infinity War.[4][15] Evans made comments about not perceiving himself as "hot," which were picked up by media outlets such as E!,[16] W,[17] and InStyle.[18]

Other media

TAK also hosts live events such as "Thirsty Movie Nights."[19] They hosted a live interview with Daniel Dae Kim at 2020 Sundance.[20]

Reception

The podcast received positive reception. In an article on feminist podcast recommendations, Evette Dionne 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."[21] Becca James of Vulture 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."[15] In a similarly positive review, Marnie Shure of The A.V. Club wrote, "Giggle-inducing and surprisingly moving, Thirst Aid Kit has been an essential addition to the BuzzFeed network of podcasts."[22] Sydney Scott of Essence noted that the hosts' "warmth and banter" is a positive feature of the show.[1] Byshera Williams wrote in a positive review for Bust, "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."[23]

The show was also recommended by Mashable and Vanity Fair.[24][25]

Accolades

References
  1. "Exclusive: Nichole Perkins And Bim Adewunmi's 'Thirst Aid Kit' Is Joining Slate". Essence. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  2. "https://twitter.com/thirstaidkit/status/1306586970555113472". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-09-17. External link in |title= (help)
  3. Kang, Inkoo (2018-06-18). "Thirst Aid Kit Celebrates and Examines Celebrity Lust". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  4. Kahn, Mattie (2017-11-14). "Someone Pour Me a Cold Drink, the Thirstiest Podcast on the Internet Is Here". ELLE. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  5. "Pleasure". Bitch Media. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  6. "Lusting after celebrity men in the #TimesUp era: It's complicated". Salon. 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  7. Shure, Marnie. "The love doctors of Thirst Aid Kit on why it’s important for women to lust out loud". AUX. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  8. Kit, Thirst Aid (2019-01-25). "Thirst Aid Kit's time with BuzzFeed has come to an end. Thank you to @TastyKeish @Camilalalaa @juliastmi for producing this past season. If you have the means to support @ThirstAidKit so it can live again elsewhere, please contact @bimadew and @tnwhiskeywoman. We love you!". @ThirstAidKit. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  9. "'Upsetting And Disappointing': BuzzFeed To Cut 15 Percent Of Its Workforce". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  10. "https://twitter.com/thirstaidkit/status/1306586981682614272". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-09-17. External link in |title= (help)
  11. Arts, Lanre Bakare; correspondent, culture (2020-02-17). "BFI accused of stealing concept of Thirst Aid Kit podcast". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  12. "A Crying Public Shame". Longreads. 2020-03-12. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  13. "https://twitter.com/bfi/status/1230845995396849664/photo/1". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-06-11. External link in |title= (help)
  14. "The face-fanning, lust-driven podcast Thirst Aid Kit". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  15. James, Becca. "Want to Try Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins's Thirst Aid Kit? Start Here". www.vulture.com. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  16. "Chris Evans Doesn't Think He's Hot—and for Good Reason". E! Online. 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  17. Munzenrieder, Kyle. "Chris Evans Only Person on Earth Who Doesn't Think Chris Evans is "Hot"". W Magazine. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  18. "Somehow Chris Evans Doesn't Think He's Attractive". InStyle.com. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  19. "'Thirst Aid Kit' Podcast Moves To Slate For September Return". All Access. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  20. "Thirst Aid Kit: TAK Takes Sundance | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  21. "3 Podcasts Feminists Should Listen To In December". Bitch Media. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  22. Shure, Marnie (2018-09-11). "The love doctors of Thirst Aid Kit on why it's important for women to lust out loud". The AV Club. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  23. "6 Podcasts Hosted By Black People You Should Be Listening To". bust.com. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  24. Joho, Jess. "The 27 best podcasts about feminism, equality, equity, and surviving". Mashable. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  25. Goode, Justine. "Five Feel-Good Podcasts to Help Find Your Inner Optimist". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  26. Club, The A. V. "The A.V. Club's 2018 podcast superlatives". AUX. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  27. "The best podcasts of 2018". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  28. "The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now". Time. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
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