Queering Reality with Ilana Masad

In this episode of Queering Reality, we’re joined by Ilana Masad to talk about her novel Beings, a haunting, genre-bending exploration of identity, memory, and the stories we’re told about ourselves. We dive into how the narrative of UFO abduction parallels experiences of alienation from dominant norms, and how the figure of the “alien” can be read as a powerful metaphor for queer embodiment and existing beyond normative frameworks. We also explore the role of the Archivist, who disrupts traditional historical authority and linear storytelling, opening space for fractured, marginalized, and speculative truths. From queerness and estrangement to archives, power, and possibility, this conversation moves across worlds—both familiar and strange.