Sounds Fake but Okay

Sounds Fake but Okay is a weekly comedy podcast that focuses on asexuality and aromanticism. The podcast is hosted by University of Michigan alumni Sarah Costello and Kayla Kaszyca. Each Sunday, Costello and Kaszyca "talk about all things to do with love, relationships, sexuality, and pretty much anything else they just don't understand."^[2]

Sounds Fake but Okay
Presentation
Hosted by	Sarah Costello Kayla Kaszyca
Genre	Comedy Society & Culture
Language	English
Updates	Weekly on Sundays
Length	50–70 minutes
Production
No. of episodes	240^[1]
Publication
Original release	July 31, 2017
Related
Website	www.soundsfakepod.com

Original logo of the podcast from its launch to the end of July 2021

In November 2020, it was honored with the 2020 Discover Pods Award for "Best LGBTQ+ Culture Podcast".^[3]

History

Costello and Kaszyca met when they were randomly placed as roommates at the University of Michigan. The pair immediately hit it off and became best friends. They did not discuss sexuality during their freshman year; neither Costello nor Kaszyca had fully figured out their identities yet. The summer after their freshman year, Costello came out as aromantic asexual through a Tumblr post which Kaszyca subsequently saw.^[4]

After this, the pair discussed sexuality regularly. As Costello had never dated, she had many questions for Kaszyca about how relationships and dating worked. The conversations that resulted from questions like "why would you date someone?" and "what is the appeal of kissing someone?" became the inspiration for the podcast.^[5]

Over the course of the podcast, Kaszyca realized that she was demisexual. Though she had begun to question her sexuality during her junior year of college, she did not come to terms with it until later. In episode 19 of the podcast, titled "Accepting Your Sexuality",^[6] Kaszyca explained how the podcast and Costello had helped her discover new things about herself.^[4]

Format and structure

Sounds Fake but Okay is released weekly on Sundays at 14:00 UTC (10:00am Eastern) and episodes are about one hour long. The topics covered in each episode are inspired by conversations and experiences that the hosts share.^[4] Topics range from those serious, such as asexual people's place in the queer community, to lighthearted, such as discussions of fandom or pop culture.^[2] The episodes are typically casual, with Costello and Kaszyca frequently going off on tangents or switching topics mid-episode.^[5] They announced during their first episode back from their hiatus that they would be taking breaks in the winter and summer.^[7]

Though the show generally only features Costello and Kaszyca, they are occasionally joined by guests. Guests have included people the hosts met at school,^[8] members of Costello's family (both her sister^[9] and her mother^[10]), and other creators and activists in the asexual and aromantic communities. In episode 117, they were joined by Yasmin Benoit, a notable aro-ace activist and model.^[11] They subsequently removed this episode from their playlists at the request of Yasmin.

Media and events

• In December 2018, the podcast was featured in the annual Sex Issue published by The Michigan Daily.^[4]
• In June 2019, Costello and Kaszyca appeared on the Star Wars podcast Friends of the Force: A Star Wars Podcast. The group discussed the Eleven-Thirty Eight article "The Asexual Awakens – An Interpretation of the Journey to Adulthood," and Costello put forth her headcanon that Luke Skywalker and Rey of Star Wars are aro-ace.^[12]
• In October 2019, the podcast was featured in a series of interview blogs written by the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) for Asexual Awareness Week.^[13]
• In October 2019, Costello and Kaszyca gave a talk titled "Creating While Asexual" at the University of Michigan Spectrum Center.^[14]
• In February 2020, Costello was featured in a series of interview blogs written by the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) for Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week.^[15]
• In February 2020, the podcast was featured alongside the aro-ace podcast A OK in an Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week article by them.^[5]
• In May 2020, Costello and Kaszyca hosted a livestream fundraiser to raise money for the World Health Organization/United Nations COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. They were joined on the livestream by YouTuber Emi Salida, members of the Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy (AUREA), blogger Rose Sinclair, YouTuber Daniel Walker, comedian Eliott Simpson, podcaster Courtney Lang, activist Yasmin Benoit, and AVEN founder David Jay.^[16] Ultimately, $4,111 was raised for the cause.^[17]
• In September 2020, Costello and Kaszyca were panelists at the UK Asexuality Conference 2020 Edition. Costello spoke on the Aro Aces panel while Kaszyca spoke on the Romantic Relationships and Grey-Asexulaity & Demisexuality panels.^[18]
• In January 2021, Costello and Kaszyca were guests on the podcast Queery, discussing aspec identities, getting excluded from the queer community, and their private and public instances of coming out.^[19]
• In March 2024, the Michigan magazine Between the Lines published a front page article about Costello and Kaszyca and the creation of the podcast in the March issue of the magazine.^[20]

Book

On December 8, 2020, the show's official Twitter account announced that Costello and Kaszyca would be releasing a book, focusing on "the aspec lens, asexual relationships, and how the aspec mindset can apply to every aspect of your life."^[21]

On February 21, 2023, the book Sounds Fake but Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else was published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.^[22]

Awards and recognitions

• In November 2020, Costello and Kaszyca, along with their podcast, were honored the 2020 Discover Pods Award for "Best LGBTQ+ Culture Podcast".^[3]

• In April 2023, Cosmopolitan recognized the podcast as one of the "14 best podcasts of 2023".^[23]

References

1. "Sounds Fake But Okay – Episodes". Sounds Fake But Okay. from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
2. "About" June 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Sounds Fake But Okay. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
3. Goldberg, Kevin (November 9, 2020). "Announcing the winners of the 2020 Discover Pods Awards". Awards.discoverpods.com. from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
4. Francisco, Miriam (December 4, 2018). "'Sounds fake, but okay': Navigating asexuality on campus". The Michigan Daily. from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
5. Kim, Michelle (July 18, 2019). "These Podcasts Are Paving the Way for Aromantic and Asexual Representation" December 1, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. Them. Condé Nast. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
6. "Ep 19: Accepting Your Sexuality – Sounds Fake But Okay". Soundsfakepod.buzzsprout.com. from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
7. "Episode 212: We're Back!". Sounds Fake But Okay Podcast. April 21, 2022. from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
8. "Ep 6: Awkward Flirting feat. A Friend – Sounds Fake But Okay". Soundsfakepod.buzzsprout.com. from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
9. "Ep 43: Living Up To LGBTQIA+ Stereotypes feat. Sarah's Sister – Sounds Fake But Okay". Soundsfakepod.buzzsprout.com. from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
10. "Ep 66: Parenting Queer Kids feat. Sarah's MOM – Sounds Fake But Okay". Soundsfakepod.buzzsprout.com. from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
11. "Ep 117: An Interview with Yasmin Benoit – Sounds Fake But Okay". Soundsfakepod.buzzsprout.com. from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
12. "Asexuality & Relationships in Star Wars (with Sounds Fake But Okay Podcast) by Friends of the Force: A Star Wars Podcast". Anchor.fm. from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
13. "AAW Interview – Sounds Fake But Okay Podcast". Avent.wordpress.com. October 26, 2019. from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
14. "Sounds Fake But Okay | Happening @ Michigan". Events.umich.edu. October 21, 2019. from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
15. "Aro-spec Awareness Week Interview #5 – Sounds Fake but Okay". Avent.wordpress.com. February 20, 2020. from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
16. "6 Feet of SpACE: An Aro / Ace COVID-19 Relief Fundraiser". from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022 – via YouTube.
17. "Tiltify – Made for Fundraisers". Tiltify.com. from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
18. "UK Asexuality Conference 2020". Sites.google.com. from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
19. "EP. 175 — Sarah Costello & Kayla Kaszyca". Earwolf. January 24, 2021. from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
20. Erin Hug (March 7, 2024). "Why Two Friends From Ann Arbor Created a Podcast About Asexuality" (PDF). Between the Lines. Vol. 3210. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
21. "We have some NEWS ..." Sounds Fake But Okay/Twitter. December 8, 2020. from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
22. Costello, Sarah; Kaszyca, Kayla (February 21, 2023). Sounds Fake But Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1839970016. from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
23. "The 14 Best Podcasts of 2023 If You're in the Market for a New Listen". cosmopolitan.com. April 6, 2023. from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

External links

• Official website