Dr. Anna Eskamani, Florida native, and current Florida House of Representatives member for District 42 (in Orange County, as of release in July of 2026 - her term expires in November 2026), and currently running for Mayor of Orlando (election in 2027) joins me to talk about one of her favorite fandoms.

We split the episode in two. We focus first on Star Wars. Dr. Eskamani talks about how she got interested in the franchise. From the movies to TV shows, books, video games, and more. We talk about how she watched her older brother play Star Wars video games, and how she's love to revisit the Knights of the Old Republic games if she had time. We talk about the themes of Andor, meeting Diego Luna at MegaCon in Orlando, and reflect on the messages that Star Wars has. Plus we even talk about her current (and future) Star Wars tattoo's!

The theme of Star Wars leads us into talking about politics, and Dr. Eskamani's time in Florida politics. We talk about how she first got into advocacy and activism. From her work with Planned Parenthood after graduating from the University of Central Florida, to then being elected to the Florida House of Representatives and her work in that chamber. We talk about supporting local businesses, and why she's decided to run for Mayor of Orlando after working 8 years in the House (with term limits).

Throughout this episode, you'll find themes of family, passion, and of hope.

You can find Dr. Eskamani at:

https://www.instagram.com/annafororlando/

https://www.instagram.com/annaforflorida/

https://www.annafororlando.com/

https://bit.ly/m/annaforflorida

Hazel aka HazeltheWriter on social media returns to the podcast after 5 years as we get to catch up and talk about some new fandoms!

After recording 5 years ago, Hazel moved to England for some time, and has now moved back stateside. While over in England, she got interested in Live Action Roleplaying. If you're thinking of boffer style games, then you're about to learn what kind of games Hazel found herself in. First swept up into Lord of the Rings / Hobbit style games, Hazel branched off into Game of Thrones themed games. We talked about her weekend adventures, overnighting at these events, and how with the Game of Thrones stories, they were set with alternate histories so events could be changed.

While getting into these Game of Thrones LARP's, it was only fitting for Hazel to get into the series to learn more about these characters. We talked about her experience with Game of Thrones all these years later, favorite house, favorite characters, and a lot more.

Then we wrapped up by revisiting Cosplay. Hazel talks about her time cosplaying in England, doing some larger group projects, and what she's working on now and what you can expect to see from her in the future.

You can find Hazel at:

https://www.instagram.com/hazelthewriter/

https://hazelthewriter.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HazelTheWriterFB

You can listen to Hazel's original episode here:

https://talesfromthefandom.libsyn.com/episode-218-hazel-the-writer-talks-marvel-cinematic-universe-avatar-the-last-airbender-pixars-cars-and-cosplay