Emsolation
Em Rusciano
Join multi-media maven Em Rusciano—writer, singer, comedian, producer, podcast princess, and disability advocate—and her best friend of 30 years, award-winning screenwriter Michael Lucas (Offspring, Party Tricks, Rosehaven, The Newsreader), each week for an unpredictable mix of deeply personal anecdotes, obsessive pop culture dissections, and truly unhinged movie and TV reviews. If you’re after a show full of humour, heart, and hot takes, we’ve got good news for you!We should also warn you: Emsolation isn’t just a podcast—it’s a community. A place where listeners feel seen, heard, and thoroughly entertained.Welcome to the family! We’re so happy you’re here. You’re now an official Emsolator.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 30, 2024 • 48min
The Emsolation Wicked Movie Special w/ Joel Creasey
It’s an Emsolation first, Em’s long term friend and fellow comedian, Joel Creasey, has finally been invited on the pod. The occasion? The upcoming Wicked movie premiere in Sydney, where they’ll both be seeing the film AND interviewing the stars as part of the Australian press tour. If you’re a regular of the pod, you’ll already know of Em’s deep love for the Wicked musical, Joel shares that love, in fact, he’s pretty sure he’s seen the musical around 300 times. Together we’ll get an update on Joel’s recent proposal from his partner Jack, then it’s on to the business of all things Wicked. Prepare yourself for a deep dive into everything they’ve hyper focussed over, from when Joel first saw Wicked and the impact it had on him, to the behind the scenes goss from the cast and crew. Joel even tries to prove his love of Elphaba in a game with Em trying to name all the peeps that have played the role on Broadway. It’s the perfect taster in the lead up to the release of the movie, so settle in for all things Elphaba and Glinda and Wicked inside your ears. Then in our Sealed Section, on our premium service Emsolation Extra, Em & Michael offer up final thoughts & make their predictions for the US election, plus we chat new Lady Gaga music & the upcoming ‘Wicked’ movie premiere & press junket. Sign up to listen, or watch it for under $3 a week at emsolation.supercast.com and don’t forget you can watch this episode in full maximalist colour on our YouTube channel athttps://www.youtube.com/@emsolationpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 23, 2024 • 40min
Lidia Thorpe, the US Election & Agatha All Along
It’s role reversal time as Em steps into the ep fresh from chairing a staff meeting, while Michael turns up unhinged, unslept and agitated, huzzah! We find out why Michael is feeling such to begin. Then it's on to Lidia Thorpe’s confrontation with King Charles and why we think it was an inspiring and refreshing thing to witness. We follow that with more US politics chat, from Trump dancing at a Town hall for 35 minutes, to Elon Musk giving away a million dollars to right wing registered voters in US swing states, there’s a lot of horrifying updates to cover. Finally, Em is officially adopting ‘Agatha All Along’ as her personality and she’s mad keen to convince Michael to get over his Marvel aversion, and dive right in. We also get some astrology, manifestation and curse chat, plus the lowdown on Elio’s demands for Chellas upcoming birthday party, and Em’s MRI is approaching, so the hair extensions are about to be removed. . Then in our Sealed Section, on our premium service Emsolation Extra, Em’s convinced that Hollywood actor and all round nice guy, Andrew Garfield is secretly a f-boy and she’s got all the evidence to prove it. Sign up to listen, or watch it for under $3 a week at emsolation.supercast.com and don’t forget you can watch this episode in full maximalist colour on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@emsolationpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 16, 2024 • 35min
On All Fours
The invite to end all invites has landed in Em’s inbox and it is confirmed, Em is off to the Australian premiere of the new ‘Wicked’ movie in Sydney. She’s also hitting up the press junket and hoping she gets to chat with her actual hero Cynthia Erivo, as well as Ariana Grande and Jeff Goldblum. Inside you’ll get to hear Em’s plan of attack, plus outfit explains for both her interview and red carpet appearance and so much more. Then, as society slowly comes around to the idea that middle age women are an untapped resource worth catering to, we’ve found two new things targeted at women over 40 worthy of your attention. The first is a full review of the new Netflix movie ‘Lonely Planet’ where Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth have a passionate affair whilst on a writer's retreat. Then it’s onto the new book ‘All Fours’ from Miranda July, which is part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic and domestic life of a 45-year-old female artist. I mean, what could there possibly be in this book that Em might connect with? Everyone who’s anyone has recommended ‘All Fours' to Em, and having finally read it she’s now recommending it to everyone too, from perimenopausal peeps to your partner, this book is worth your time. Then in our Sealed Section, on our premium service Emsolation Extra, Em and Michael ‘Okay, Stop’ the trailer for Nicole Kidman’s upcoming movie ‘Babygirl’, and the upcoming Martha Stewart doco ‘Martha’. Sign up to listen or watch it for under $3 a week at emsolation.supercast.com and don’t forget you can watch this episode in full maximalist colour on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@emsolationpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 9, 2024 • 1h 8min
The Stuff of Life
CW // discussion of stroke symptomsEm has never been afraid to roll around in the dark stuff of life, today we are coming in dry, so grab your ankles Australia, because this story isn’t anything you could anticipate and there’s a lot to process. Em is joining us this week with an update from an incident that happened to her over the weekend which culminated in Em making frantic calls from the side of the road and her husband Scott calling an ambulance to come and help her. Having typed out over 1000 words at 1am last night so she could unpack the incident, Em will read it all out as is, so we get her full train of thought and feels on the moment as she relives it. We follow that up by chatting to our special guest, Sydney based actor, writer, producer and director Xavier Coy, who worked with Michael as a writer on ‘5 Bedrooms’. Xavier has just finished writing his new book which is a deeply personal and insightful look into the complexities of living with bipolar disorder called ‘Living With Bipolar’. It’s a beautifully illustrated book designed to challenge stereotypes around bipolar disorder and provide a clearer understanding of this widely misunderstood mental health condition. Together Em and Michael will chat with Xavier about how the book came about, what has happened for him since his diagnosis and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 2, 2024 • 1h 5min
Hairdo Hell, Katy Perry & the AFL Lunch, Emmy Noms, Will & Harper
An internally rearranged Michael joins us, having survived a bout of runny egg based food poisoning he’s risen from near death to help Em work through a hair extensions update, the hair witches have been in touch and the sensory nightmare is being addressed. We get a full review of Katy Perry’s AFL Grand Final appearance, with added commentary from Michael’s mum, plus there’s a side quest into Pesto the adorable giant baby penguin the internet is obsessing over. Then we need to get the lowdown on all the high fives and other blokey bloke things that Em witnessed whilst attending an AFL Lunch the day before the Grand Final. We teased it last week, but never got around to talking about Michael’s TV series ‘The Newsreader’ being up for an International Emmy, and what exactly that means for him, and if Em will be joining him in New York in November. Finally Em and Michael have both seen ‘Will & Harper’, a new Netflix doco following comedian Will Ferrell, who embarks on a cross-country road trip with his close friend of 30 years after they come out as a trans woman. Joining them to review the doco and offer their own insight is friend and director of Em’s ‘Outgrown’ show, trans comedian Anna Piper Scott. Then in the Sealed Section, on our premium service Emsolation Extra, Em and her eldest daughter Marchella discuss why she can’t appear as Menopausia in Em’s upcoming Arena Spectacular, her adventures on her overseas holiday, plus they try and keep a straight face while playing the Newsreader Game together. Sign up to listen or watch it for under $2 a week at emsolation.supercast.com and don’t forget you can watch this episode in full maximalist colour on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@emsolationpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 25, 2024 • 37min
Em’s Mid-Life Crisis, F1 Update, Diddy & Oprah’s Kamala Special
Em is a youthful long haired 45 year old woman who is not coping with the clusterfluff of perimenopause. Especially after announcing her decision to create her very own perimenopause podcast revealed just how many women are clinging on for dear life and how little support, info or help is out there. So there’s that to discuss, plus Em is basically in full mid-life crisis mode, so we also need to talk though the pain and sensory nightmare of having hair extensions added and what else she has planned for her crisis era. Then it’s onto a much needed update on the F1 so that Michael understands why Daniel Ricciardo looks like he’s being pushed out of Red Bull and why that might be a good thing. We follow that with a topic that Em has been secretly deep diving on for almost all of 2024. Now that Michael’s invested too and the news is starting to reveal more, it's time to start talking about the shocking revelations around the indictment and arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs. There's so much to unpack, but we attempt to bring you up to speed on where things are at currently. We also wanna chat about Oprah’s special with Presidential candidate Kamala Harris and the bizarre guestlist of celebs like Bryan Cranston, J’Lo, Meryl Streep, Chris Rock and more. Finally we just wanna talk about Em’s seamless new hair extensions again and remind you that you can now watch the podcast on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@emsolationpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 18, 2024 • 58min
We’ve Got a LOT To Talk About
It’s been a moment since Em and Michael have been in the studio together, so naturally we have a LOT to cover. We also asked you what you wanted to hear from us too. So we begin with a full explain of Em’s outfit from Michael and an announcement that you’ll now need to watch the podcast on our YouTube channel, linked here . After that it's onto a full debrief on the Outgrown show at the Palais, with some behind the scenes on changes being added to Em’s upcoming Arena Spectacular on December 7. Then it’s onto chucking Dave Grohl in the bin over his recent indiscretions, followed by a swift move into their reaction to the recent debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and how Em and Michael aren’t in agreement over if it went well for Kamala or not. There’s also a drop in on Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish endorsing Kamala, which slides into Em and Michael’s viewing of the 2024 VMA’s. Covering everything from Katy Perry’s performance and the awkward cutaways to her husband Orlando Bloom, to Chappell Roan’s Joan of Arc appearance and their discovery of Benson Boone via his backflips and the fact that he is a sing-ger. Then there’s the Emmy Awards, where ‘The Bear’ wins multiple comedy awards, while not actually being a comedy, while actual comedy, and one of Em’s all time faves ‘Hacks’ wins, plus we got a ‘Schitts Creek’ reunion onstage and Em found herself swooning over Joshua Jackson. We also cover off J’Lo’s divorce era dressing on Insta and her and Ben being spotted together and Elio becoming obsessed with magic, but refusing to dress up at all. Finally, Em and Michael attempt a brand new game where they try to read weird news headlines they’ve never seen without laughing, prepare for maximum fails on that front and much more laughing than you’d expect, huzzah! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 11, 2024 • 42min
In Conversation with Abbie Chatfield Part 2
Okay, Em and Abbie are back to give you even more of their fabulous chat. Obviously if you haven't already listened to part one of Em’s conversation with Abbie, please do. In part two we begin with Abbie answering Em’s question on what she wants to do next with her career. That folds effortlessly into the realities of trying to sell a live show in a cost of living crisis, from Abbie’s partner Adam, aka Keith, giving her a reality check, to Em’s assurance that you should never associate your self esteem with your ticket sales. Em also reveals how much her career changed when she put faith in her own ability and audience of supporters, and stepped away from relying on corporate media too. There’s also a fascinating discussion on the need to slot women into certain categories, the freedom that comes when you let go of being accepted by the people you think you need to be accepted by, and how Abbie would like to be perceived by the general public. We also talk about the horrors of dating for Gen Z women right now, from the gamification of dating that’s come with dating apps, to how soft boys have weaponized therapy talk to gaslight women. There’s also great advice for parents of teenage girls and we talk about Abbie and Em’s live tours and how both shows actually help different generations of families connect with one another just by attending. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 5, 2024 • 40min
In Conversation with Abbie Chatfield Part 1
This is glorious and we just know you’re gonna eat it up! Obviously with Abbie Chatfield hosting her second season of ‘FBoy Island’ on Binge, we wanna get that chat out the way, but first Em has questions about Abbie’s new man and why she calls him Keith. After we’ve got all the goss on the new partnership it’s onto ‘FBoy Island’, at the time of recording Em had only seen the first 2 episodes but she had LOTS of notes that she’d scribbled down while watching, all of them required answers. There’s the men’s eyebrows, the attacking of Crocs, the audacity of straight white men, was one of the women a former Bachelor and how come they don’t say “F-Off’ instead of “F-Bye” to be covered off. Once we get all of those questions out of the way, along with some exclusive behind the scenes goss from Abbie and check-ins with the Binge PR person Chelsea, it’s onto what Abbie wants to do next. After making sure Abbie and her new boyfriend Adam are making good choices, with added positive sex chat and some bedroom toy discussions, and a deep dive into how neurodivergent women like her and Abbie over-explain and give away so much of their lives, then face clapback from people online and in the media for doing so. You can hear Part 2 straight after this in our Sealed Section, on our premium service Emsolation Extra. Sign up now to start listening or watching at emsolation.supercast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 28, 2024 • 52min
The Marriage Diaries - Michael & Adrian Edition
It’s the episode that die hard Emsolators have clearly been waiting on, because after we put out the call for questions, we received almost 100 of them in less than 24 hours. Ahead of her sold out show at the Palais this Friday, Em is on throat rest so Michael Lucas steps into the hosting chair with his husband Adrian so they can answer all your relationship questions. First though there’s breaking Lady Gaga news, along with a very intriguing conspiracy theory to be floated as well from our Seahorse of Hope, Michael. Then it’s on to SOME of the nearly 100 questions you were all dying to get answers to. Together Michael and Adrian will answer everything from what have they both learnt from Em and Scott's marriage, through to their first impressions of each other's mums. We also find out their ideal place to live, would they ever work together creatively, who proposed and how did it happen? They even attempt to give advice for straight couples and Adrian reveals what it’s like to be married to Em as well as Michael. It’s everything you never knew you needed and then some, it’s also quite possibly the gayest episode we’ve ever delivered, so pretty much standard right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices