Outward: Slate's LGBTQ podcast

Beyond Gay Marriage

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:31:55 GMT

Our friends at Selects bring you this documentary from 2010 looking at the debate among LGBTQ folks in San Francisco around the fight for gay marriage and the cost of that fight borne by other parts of the broader community.

The Selects Podcast is a free, twice-monthly show that is bringing you unearthed audio works that we’ve found buried in web archives, radio streams, and early podcasts. It’s hosted by Mitra Kaboli, whose work you may have heard on Welcome to Provincetown and The Heart.

In addition to the free podcast, there’s a whole collection with exclusive shows and robust show notes looking at the history of these works and how they fit into the bigger audio landscape.

The Selects Podcast aims to preserve work that is being lost to digital time - these are award-winning documentaries made by some of the best in the medium, but they are getting lost in web archives and defunct podcast feeds. Listening helps give these works a new life, something that can help make the audio industry more sustainable.

Learn more about Selects at https://selects.supportingcast.fm/

Beyond Gay Marriage was hosted and produced by Lisa Dettmer and co-produced bt Elena Botkin-Levy. Financial support was provided by Astraea Foundation and Making Contact at the National Radio Project. Lisa Dettmer is a radio producer with the feminist radio show "Women’s Magazine" at KPFA Radio in Berkeley, California, which can be heard at kpfa.org/program/womens-magazine.

Learn more about Selects at https://selects.supportingcast.fm/

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A Postlude for 'When We All Get to Heaven'

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 08:00:00 GMT

As When We All Get to Heaven wraps up, Christina sits down with series host Lynne Gerber and producer Siri Colom. They discuss how the church has changed, the value of fleeting queer spaces, and what a decade or more spent working on this story has meant to—and taught—them.

Get more Outward with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Outward and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Outward show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/outwardplus for access wherever you listen.

Produced by Palace Shaw and Merritt Jacob.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10: AIDS Isn’t Over | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 08:00:00 GMT

In the final episode of When We All Get to Heaven, we catch up on what’s happened in the many years between the emergence of effective treatment for AIDS in the late ‘90s and the fall of 2025, when we recorded this episode. We linger on a moment back in June 1999, when Jim was still pastor and called on the church to remember that AIDS wasn’t over. Because—advances notwithstanding—it still isn’t over.

For more on Gilbert Baker and the history of the rainbow flag see the Gilbert Baker Foundation.

For more on Prep see San Francisco AIDS Foundation, What is PrEP?

“The Path that Ends AIDS: 2023 UNAIDS Global Update” outlines a possible end to the AIDS epidemic.

The story of Jacob’s Ladder is in the book of Genesis chapter 28, verses 10-19.

The text for “This is the Day that God Has Made” is biblical with music by Leon C. Roberts.

“We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” is a traditional hymn.

“This Little Light of Mine” – text traditional, music by Penelope Gneisen

“Song of the Soul” is by Cris Williamson and was sung by her at MCC San Francisco on April 24, 2000.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-10.

When We All Get to Heaven is produced by Eureka Street Productions. It is co-created by Lynne Gerber, Siri Colom, and Ariana Nedelman. Our story editor is Sayre Quevedo. Our sound designer is David Herman. Our managing producer is Krissy Clark. Tim Dillinger is our consulting producer and Betsy Towner Levine is our fact-checker. We had additional story editing help from Sarah Ventre, Arwen Nicks, Allison Behringer, and Krissy Clark. For a complete list of credits, please visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/credits.

This project received generous support from individual donors, the Henry Luce Foundation (www.hluce.org), the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (www.CalHum.org).

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

The music for this episode is from the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco’s archive. It was performed by MCC-SF’s musicians and members with Bob Crocker and Jack Hoggatt-St.John as music directors. Additional music is by Domestic BGM.

Thanks to Dr. Judy Auerbach of the University of California at San Francisco.

Thanks to Sue Fulton for permission to use “This Little Light of Mine.”

Thanks to Cris Williamson for permission to use “Song of the Soul.”

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Some links to good groups:

The Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco – the congregation’s current website.

Metropolitan Community Churches – the denomination of which MCC San Francisco is a part.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation – a place to seek information about HIV.

POZ Magazine – a place to learn everything else about HIV (information included).

Save AIDS Research – their recent, epic 24 hours to Save Research conference with all the latest HIV research is available on YouTube through this site.

LGBTQ Religious Archives Network – the place to get lost in LGBTQ+ religious history.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9: AIDS Energy | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 08:00:00 GMT

In 1996 everything changed. With the introduction of antiretroviral medications called the “AIDS cocktail,” people started getting better – some dramatically – and surviving AIDS became a real possibility. In the wake of these changes, MCC found itself taking stock of what they lost to AIDS and using what they learned to address larger social issues– from medical marijuana to homelessness. Sometimes these political stances felt heroic and a way to use that collective energy, and other times it made the church very unpopular with the changing Castro neighborhood.

“Freedom is Coming” is by Anders Nyberg.

“All Things New” is by Rory Cooney.

“Blessed Assurance” is by Franny Crosby.

“Gloria (Angels We Have Heard on High” is a traditional Christmas hymn.

“The Potter’s House” is by V. Michael McKay.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-9.

Production credits:

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

Special thanks to Tom Ammiano, Tommi Avicolli-Mecca, Stuart Gaffney, John Lewis, Dr. Jen Reck, Matt Sharp, and Dana Van Gorder for their help with this episode.

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Some links to good groups

Lyric Center for LGBTQQ+ Youth

The Ali Forney Center

The Trevor Project’s 2022 report on LGBTQ youth and homelessness

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8: Conversion | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 08:00:00 GMT

In 1995 Rev. Jim Mitulski became HIV positive -- what's known as seroconversion. It was 14 years into the epidemic and people knew what HIV/AIDS was, how you got it, and how you could prevent it. And when Jim got sick, he got very sick. What was it like to become ill so publicly? How would the church and the community respond? And what could Jim possibly preach about on his first Sunday back?

“My Soul Doth Magnify” is from Camille Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio, Op. 12, 1858.

“The 23rd Psalm (Dedicated to My Mother)” is by Bobby McFerrin.

The biblical story of the death of the prophet Elijah is in Second Kings, chapter 2.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-8.

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

Thanks to Ed Wolf and Frank DePelisi for talking us through the issues around HIV status and sero-sorting in the mid-1990s.

And thanks to Bobby McFerrin and Linda Goldstein for use of “The 23rd Psalm (Dedicated to My Mother).” You can see McFerrin conducting his VOCAbuLarieS singers singing the piece here.

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Some links to good groups:

National Resource Center on HIV and Aging – resources for older adults living with HIV.

Surviving Voices – an oral history documentary project on how different communities have experienced HIV and AIDS. The most recent focuses on lifelong and long-term HIV survivors.

Let’s Kick Ass – AIDS Survivors Syndrome – support for long-term HIV survivors.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7: Dress Rehearsals | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Scott and Bruce were the hottest couple in church. Scott, a hula dancer, seemed destined for Bruce, the hunky “lumbersexual,” and the church delighted when they got together. Their brief love affair sparkled before Bruce got sick and died. Their story is one of multiple “dress rehearsals”– when friends, family and lovers went through AIDS with their loved ones wondering who would be next and sometimes knowing it might be you.

You can see Scott perform in a 1992 InterPlay piece called “God, Sex and Power” here. He’s the one with the bandaids on his knees.

Singing Positive is a two-part documentary film about the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) and its experience with AIDS that spans 15 years. The first film, which featured Scott, was produced in 1992 and is hard to find online. The second film, produced in 2009, saw the filmmakers return to SFGMC to explore the impact of AIDS on the chorus over time. The 2009 film, with clips of Scott from the first film, is here. And you can watch some amazing SFGMC performances on their YouTube channel here.

Scott was a member of Hālau Nā Kamalei o Līlīlehua (here’s a recent video) under the direction of Kumu Hula Robert Uluwehi Cazimero. When he moved to San Francisco, Scott supported his hula brother, Patrick Makuakāne's hula school Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu. Patrick's recent work includes Māhū, a production by and with trans hula performers.

On the MCC in Hawai’i, see the Queer Histories of Hawai’i’s story here.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-7 .

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

“Spirit of the Living God” is by Daniel Iverson.

“In the Garden,” also known as “I Come to the Garden Alone” is by C. Austin Miles. It’s the favorite hymn of many a Christain mother, aunt, and grandmother. The soloist is Juliette Galuteria, Scott Galuteria and Brickwood Galuteria’s mother

“God Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary” is by Randy Scruggs and John Thompson.

Special thanks to the friends and experts who helped us think through this episode.

Frank DeLuca

William Salit and Stan Stone
Dr. Rachel Gross
Dr. Christopher Cantwell

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Some links to good groups:

The Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center – reducing the harm and fighting the stigma of HIV in Hawai’i.

International EMS and Firefighter Pride Alliance – courage over adversity.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interlude: Tired of Dying | When We All Get to Heaven

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 08:00:00 GMT

The Sunday after Magic Johnson announced his HIV-status, Jim Mitulski preached a sermon on being tired of people dying. We’re sharing it as an interlude, a pause, and an immersion into one moment in AIDS’ bleak midwinter.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/interlude.

In the sermon Rev. Mitulski refers to ARC. That means AIDS-Related Complex, a diagnostic category meant to indicate an earlier stage of HIV infection than AIDS. It was common in the period to hear references to both AIDS and ARC.

“Old Devil Time” is by Pete Seeger. The AIDS verses are by MCC San Francisco congregant Paul Francis.

You can see Magic Johnson's press release, announcing his HIV status here.

The biblical passage Rev. Mitulski is preaching on is John 11:1-44.

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Some links to good groups:

AIDS Healthcare Foundation – provides medical care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventative care for people at risk for contracting it.

The Magic Johnson Foundation – founded to address HIV/AIDS. Expanded to include education and community engagement.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation – a place to seek information about HIV.

POZ Magazine – a place to learn everything else about HIV (information included).
Save AIDS Research – their recent, epic 24 hours to Save Research conference with all the latest HIV research is available on YouTube through this site.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6: Attacked | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:00:00 GMT

San Francisco’s gay/lesbian community in the 1980s wasn’t just facing an AIDS crisis, they also struggled against ongoing anti-gay violence. In 1989, in the midst of a campaign to legally establish anti-gay violence as a hate crime, MCC San Francisco made headlines when their AIDS minister was attacked in her home. The city, the police department, and the LGBTQ community rallied around the church and the minister. And when they finally solved the puzzle of who did it, the answer shocked the church.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-6.

The voices from the service after the first attack include

Rev. Troy Perry, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches – “If you come for one of us, you come for all of us.”
Kevin Calegari, Dignity San Francisco – “Somebody by the name of Jesus…”
Harry Britt, San Francisco City Supervisor – “It hurts to be reminded of the power of evil.”
Gayle Orr-Smith, representative of the Mayor’s Office – “I am moved when I hear you say you are an angry people.”
Rev. Duane Wilkerson, United Methodist Church – “But in the event that doubt has crept into your mind…”
Rev. Troy Perry, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches – “And to the enemies who are attacking us…”

“The Call” is by George Herber with music by Vaughan Williams. The soloist is Bob Crocker.

“Nearer My God to Thee” is by Sarah Flowers Abrams.

Some links to good groups

Community United Against Violence – still working for safe communities for queer people.

National Alliance on Mental Illness LGBTQI Information Page

The Shanti Project - is a pioneering nonprofit that builds human connections to reduce isolation, enhance health and well-being, and improve quality of life. It innovated enduring models of attentive companionship to people facing the end of life through their work during the height of the AIDS crisis.

The Trevor Project – the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention non-profit organization for LGBTQ+ young people.

Production credits:

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

Special thanks to Kelsy Pacha, Dr. Janis Whitlock, and Dr. Mary Hunt for consulting with us about this episode.

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5: Healing Without a Cure | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 08:00:00 GMT

When Rev. Ron Russell Coons got diagnosed with AIDS he thought a lot about what healing meant when death was certain. He pursued it in his strained and broken family relationships and he preached about it from the pulpit. Though he knew, without a doubt, that he would die from AIDS, Ron claimed that he believed in and had experienced healing. What does healing mean when everybody knows it can’t mean survival? Maybe healing is one’s biological family and queer kin showing up and reaching for connection across those fractures.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-5.

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” is by James Milton Black.

“Give Me Jesus” is a traditional spiritual arrangement by Charles Ivey. The soloist is Maria Barnet.

“It is Well with My Soul,” also known as “When Peace, Like a River,” is by Horatio Spafford.

Thanks to

Ron’s family for speaking with us on and off the record. We know this was a stretch and we appreciate it.

Dr. Joseph Marchal, for helping us understand Ron’s “We Have AIDS” sermon and the biblical text it was based on. It’ll be a great special episode one day.
Steve Russell for sharing his memories of Ron and his brother, Chuck Russell Coons.
Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4: Friends in the Fire | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 07:00:00 GMT

As MCC grew as a denomination, they tried to figure out if and how to relate to other churches. Would any befriend a queer church? And if so, would that friendship help other churches shift their perspective on homosexuality? These questions got harder as AIDS numbers grew—it made people more afraid yet friendship more vital. But sometimes friendship emerges in the most unlikely of places. Like when a children’s choir visited an AIDS ward in San Francisco and sang for an MCC member there. That connection started a partnership between their churches that changed them both.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-4.

Production credits:

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

“Who Kept Us” is by Dr. Margaret Douroux.

“The Wicked Shall Cease” is by Jessy Dixon.

“Jesus is Here Right Now” is by Leon Roberts.

“Child of God” and “Walk Together Children” are traditional African American spirituals.

Special thanks to

Mary Clover Obrzut, Stephen’s sister, for insights into his life and for so much great audio.
Dr. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes for telling us about Stephen’s time at Union Baptist and connecting us with folks there.
Alfred Williams for helping us get connected to Double Rock.
Dr. April Parker and Mardy Coates for facilitating the use of “Who Kept Us.”
And to the folks at Double Rock Baptist Church, past and present, especially the beloved Minister of Music.

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Some links to good groups

Balm in Gilead – works to integrate public health and faith principles. It was founded by Dr. Pernessa Seale in to help Black churches address HIV/AIDS and support people and families living with AIDS.

Double Rock Baptist Church – is still worshipping and ministering in Bayview/Hunters Point. They were deeply involved in community support during the Covid-19 epidemic.

Love All People – is the ministry that introduced MCC to Margaret Douroux’s song, Who Kept Us, to MCC.

National Minority AIDS Council – works for heath equality and racial justice to end the AIDS epidemic.

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3: “A Church with AIDS” | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 07:00:00 GMT

In the late ‘80s, two MCC San Francisco ministers wrote an article called “We Are the Church Alive, the Church with AIDS.” We wanted to know how a gay/lesbian church came to call itself “a church with AIDS.” The answers lie in the years before our audio archive begins. So we started asking people. We explore two stories in what’s likely a more complicated shift. One story is about a pair of religion geeks who learned to make queer church in New York during the early years of the AIDS crisis and then came to San Francisco to lead MCCSF. And the other is how an Easter Sunday ritual made the Christian hope of life through death viscerally real.

“We Are the Church Alive, the Church with AIDS,” by Kittredge Cherry and Jamies Mitulski was published in the Christian Century on January 27, 1988.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-3.

Production credits:

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

“We See You God” is a variation on the anonymously written hymn “We See the Lord.”

The soloist in “I Lift Mine Eyes Up” is Bob Crocker. It’s by Antonin Dvorak, Biblical Songs, Op. 99, no. 9 on Psalm 121.

“Hush, Hush. Somebody’s Calling My Name” is a traditional African American spiritual.

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Some links to good groups:

The Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco – the congregation’s current website.

Metropolitan Community Churches – the denomination of which MCC San Francisco is a part.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation – a place to seek information about HIV.

POZ Magazine – a place to learn everything else about HIV (information included).

Save AIDS Research – their recent, epic 24 hours to Save Research conference with all the latest HIV research is available on YouTube through this site.
LGBTQ Religious Archives Network – the place to get lost in LGBTQ+ religious history.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2: A New Gospel for Gay Sinners | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 07:10:00 GMT

Why would an out queer person in the Gay Liberation Days of the 1970s go to church? What church would they go to? And why would they stay? In the 1960s, and ‘70s, the separation between God and gays was not as vast as it seemed. Rev. Troy Perry started the first Metropolitan Community Church in his Los Angeles living room. Tired of flying to LA every week, a Navy veteran started the second one in a San Francisco gay bar. And the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco was there for a young lesbian as she navigated spirituality, coming out, and her increasingly conservative family. When her friend got sick, she tried to be there for him. Church helped.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-2.

Production credits:

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

Thanks to

Dr. Heather White, author of Reforming Sodom: Protestants and the Rise of Gay Rights.
Scott Bloom and Trogoidia Pictures for the use of clips from the film Call Me Troy.
The Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies at the Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union for the use of an archival recording of Troy Perry’s last sermon as the minister at MCC Los Angeles.
Kirke Machem for the use of his beautiful composition, “Blow Ye, the Trumpet,” from the opera, John Brown.

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Some links to good groups:

The Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco – the congregation’s current website.

Metropolitan Community Churches – the denomination of which MCC San Francisco is a part.

San Francisco AIDS Foundation – a place to seek information about HIV.

POZ Magazine – a place to learn everything else about HIV (information included).

Save AIDS Research – their recent, epic 24 hours to Save Research conference with all the latest HIV research is available on YouTube through this site.

LGBTQ Religious Archives Network – the place to get lost in LGBTQ+ religious history.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Making ‘When We All Get to Heaven’

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 07:07:00 GMT

As Outward proudly presents the 10-episode series When We All Get to Heaven, from Eureka Street Productions, Christina and Bryan had the privilege of sitting down with series host Lynne Gerber. Lynne explains how 1,200 cassette tapes became a wealth of archival audio that infuses this series with so much vitality, joy, and shared mourning of queer churches during a devastating epidemic.

Produced by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1: Setting The Table | When We All Get to Heaven

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 07:00:00 GMT

In 1993, more than 10 years into the AIDS epidemic, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) tries to remember all they’ve lost. We think about remembering too after encountering an archive of 1,200 cassette recordings of this queer church’s services during the height of the epidemic. Whether you’re a regular church goer or would never step into one, we invite you to spend time with this LGBTQ+ San Francisco church as it struggles to reconcile sexuality and faith in the midst of an existential crisis.

For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-1.

About the montage: The worship service in this episode was on February 28, 1993. The Dyke March proclamation was written and read by Rev. Lea Brown. Rev. Karen Foster read the statement that sexual orientation does not need to be changed. Jim Mitulski recalled his hospital visit with the man who recognized him by his shape. Paul Francis told strangers at a restaurant to get ugly lovers and Eric Rofes told his mother that he was going to stay safe and keep having sex. Cleve Jones had the vision of a thousand rotting corpses, Rev. Ron Russell Coons preached that we have AIDS as a community, and Rev. Troy Perry proclaimed a revival on Eureka Street. The other people heard in the episode are either unknown or did not want to be named.

Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.

Thanks to

Paul Katz and Henry Machen for permission to use “June in San Francisco” from their fabulous 1991 musical Dirty Dreams of a Clean Cut Kid.

The estate of Leonard Bernstein for the use of “Somewhere” from West Side Story.

Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing: When We All Get to Heaven

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:21:00 GMT

When We All Get to Heaven tells the story of one of the first LGBTQ-positive churches, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF), and how it faced the personal, social, and political trials of the AIDS epidemic, including the deaths of hundreds of its members. This 10-episode series uses historical tapes rescued from the church to bring listeners into the heart of a community struggling to live while struggling with faith. The first two episodes are available here at Outward on October 15.

This show is produced by Eureka Street Productions. Our theme song, “When We All Get to Heaven,” was written by Eliza Hewitt and performed by MCC-SF’s congregation and choir.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From What Next: Trans and Shut Out in Trump’s America

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 06:00:00 GMT

Trans rights and access to health care have been under attack on the state level for years, but the second Trump administration and the Supreme Court have accelerated a chilling effect at clinics across the country.

Guest: Grace Byron, author of “The Grim State of Trans Health Care” and “The Bureaucratic Nightmares of Being Trans Under Trump” for the New Yorker.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Hit Parade: The Hidden History of Queer Pop Icons Pt. 2

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 07:00:00 GMT

Outward is going on a little summer break, in the meantime we’re leaving you with a delightfully queer episode of Slate’s Hit Parade with Chris Molanphy called Mighty Real. This is part two—catch part one in our previous episode.

Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom.

What all of these LGBTQ artists had in common was bold hitmaking—and fear of being fully out of the closet. For decades, queer acts topped the charts while cloaking their true identities and paving the way for today’s more openly queer stars.

For Pride Month, join Chris Molanphy as he traces the hidden history of queer hitmakers on the charts—including those that managed to be both out and No. 1, right up through our modern age of Lil Nas X and Chappell Roan. It’s a celebration of these artists’ quest to feel… mighty real.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Hit Parade: The Hidden History of Queer Pop Icons

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 07:00:00 GMT

Outward is going on a little summer break, in the meantime we’re leaving you with a delightfully queer episode of Slate’s Hit Parade with Chris Molanphy:

For Pride Month, join Chris Molanphy as he traces the hidden history of queer hitmakers on the charts—including those that managed to be both out and No. 1, right up through our modern age of Lil Nas X and Chappell Roan. It’s a celebration of these artists’ quest to feel… mighty real.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Archiving the Spirit of Ballroom with Michael Roberson

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Bryan is joined by theologian, activist, and ballroom historian Michael Roberson to discuss his new book, Ballroom: A History, A Movement, A Celebration. Roberson traces the rich legacy of the ballroom scene—from its origins in resistance and survival, to its role in shaping public health responses during the height of the AIDS crisis and beyond, to its ongoing significance as a spiritual and communal refuge for Black and Latinx queer and trans people.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Latest on Trans Rights in the Court and in Congress

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode of Outward, Bryan talks with Slate legal reporter Mark Joseph Stern about a federal judge’s sweeping and controversial ruling in United States v. Skrmetti, which could have massive consequences for access to gender-affirming care. Then, Christina sits down with Congresswoman Becca Balint to talk about what it means to advocate for trans rights inside a Congress where culture war rhetoric, and policy, are escalating fast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Small-Town Pride Blooms

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Bryan talks with Christina about her new piece for Slate The Conservative Wave Is Having a Very Unexpected Effect on Pride which covers the power and politics of small-town Pride. Then, in the second half, they're joined by Van Knapp, co-founder of Canyon County Pride in Idaho, to talk about building queer joy in unlikely places.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America’s Gay Restaurants with Erik Piepenburg

Wed, 28 May 2025 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Christina Cauterucci is joined by Erik Piepenburg, author of Dining Out, a new book that explores the history of gay restaurants in the United States. Piepenburg traces how restaurants have long served as essential spaces for queer people as places to gather, connect, and express themselves at a time when most public spaces were hostile or unsafe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queer Travel Writing with Alden Jones

Wed, 07 May 2025 07:00:00 GMT

Outward’s Bryan Lowder and Christina Cauterucci talk to Alden Jones, editor of the new anthology, Edge of the World. With essays from Alexander Chee, Daisy Hernández, Edmund White, and more, the collection makes clear that queer travel writing isn’t just overdue—it’s transformative.

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Iowa’s Civil Rights Crisis with Hope Giselle and Dr. David Johns

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 06:30:00 GMT

This week, Bryan Lowder is joined by Hope Giselle and Dr. David Johns to discuss Iowa’s recent decision to strip trans people of key legal protections, making it legal to discriminate based on gender identity. They explore the broader implications of this rollback, drawing parallels to the historical dismantling of rights during Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow. They discuss what this moment means for the future of trans rights and the strategies needed to organize and push back against this growing legal threat.

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How The Gay Rights Movement Became Trans- Exclusionary

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Christina Cauterucci speaks with Zein Murib, Fordham professor and author of Terms of Exclusion: Rightful Citizenship Claims and the Construction of LGBT Political Identity, about the historical roots of the marginalization of trans and bi people in the gay rights movement. Zein, who recently wrote the Slate piece "Why Are Trans People Such an Easy Political Target? " breaks down how the movement’s focus on a narrow definition of identity left trans and bi people vulnerable to political attacks.

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Planning San Francisco Pride in a Shifting Political Landscape with Suzanne Ford

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 07:00:00 GMT

Christina Cauterucci speaks with Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride, about the goals and challenges of organizing Pride this year amid the corporate retreat from LGBTQ+ issues. They discuss the current political climate, how corporate sponsorship shapes the event, and how to maintain visibility and safety without losing political urgency.

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The New Lavender Scare with Christina Cauterucci

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Christina Cauterucci and Jules Gill-Peterson discuss Christina’s latest Slate article, The New Lavender Scare, which highlights the experiences of queer and trans federal employees grappling with the threat of retaliation, job loss, and a chilling political climate.

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Renaissance Trans Theologies and History with Colby Gordon

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode of Outward, Jules Gill-Peterson sits down with Colby Gordon to talk about his new book, Glorious Bodies: Trans Theology and Renaissance Literature. Gordon digs into early modern religious texts that, instead of rejecting trans existence, actually provided ways to think about gender transformation—socially, surgically, and theologically. They explore what Shakespeare, Milton, and other writers had to say about gender, how history challenges today’s assumptions about transition, and why the right-wing war on trans people gets the past all wrong.

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Should We Get Guns?

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 07:00:00 GMT

A gun won’t make you safer, but it will pull you into America’s deep-seated obsession with armed individualism. This week, Bryan, Christina, and Jules dig into The Washington Post’s “The Trans Americans Turning to Guns for Protection” and Defector’s “Don't Buy a Gun, Even If It Comes in Rainbow” to unpack the recent interest around queer gun ownership—and why safety has never really been the point of gun culture.

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Why Love Isn’t Apolitical: Liberation and Rethinking Relationships

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Bryan Lowder sits down with activist and author Dean Spade to discuss his latest book, Love in a F*cked Up World. Together, they unpack how capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy shape our desires, the pitfalls of the “relationship escalator,” and why collective care might be the most radical love of all. From breaking free of toxic relationship scripts to reimagining intimacy beyond hierarchy and control, this conversation challenges everything we’ve been taught about love—and offers a vision for something more liberatory.

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Slapping Leather: The Untamed History of the Gay Rodeo

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 08:00:00 GMT

This week on Outward, host Christina Cauterucci talks to historian Rebecca Scofield about the new book, Slapping Leather: Queer Cowfolx at the Gay Rodeo. From rhinestone-studded chaps to the hard-won battles for inclusion, they explore how queer cowboys and cowgirls carved out space in the rodeo circuit, the gender politics at play in this community, and how the AIDS crisis shaped its trajectory. Plus, they dig into the current resurgence of cowboy aesthetics in queer culture and pop culture at large.

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The “Protect the Children” Trap: How Trump Targets Trans Rights

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Bryan Lowder sits down with journalist Nico Lang to discuss their recent article for Slate It Was Never About Protecting Kids on Trump’s Executive Order restricting gender-affirming care for minors. They examine how the administration is using “child protection” rhetoric as a cover for anti-trans policies, the real-world impact on trans youth and their families, and the history of this political strategy.

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Chase Strangio on Trump’s Anti-Trans Policies

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Bryan Lowder and Christina Cauterucci sit down with ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio to unpack the strategy behind the latest legal fights over trans healthcare, passports, and military service. They explore how the language of Trump’s executive orders are more overtly cruel than his last administration, what this progression signals policy-wise, and how we can think about the road ahead for caring and protecting each other.

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A Trans Military Member Speaks Out

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Christina Cauterucci speaks with Sasha Buchert, Counsel and Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project Director at Lambda Legal, and Geirid Morgan, a trans lieutenant commander in the Navy, about the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. Sasha walks us through Lambda Legal’s case challenging the ban and the broader constitutional implications, while Geirid shares her personal experience navigating shifting policies, coming out while in service, and the uncertainty that trans service members continue to face.

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Creating A Home for Trans Surgery Recovery

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Jules Gill-Peterson sits down with Owen Dempsey, the founder of Quest Healing House, a post-op recovery home providing safe, affordable lodging and wraparound support for transmasculine people. They discuss how Quest House, began, the urgent need for trans-led recovery spaces, and how the project has grown to meet community needs. Dempsey shares their vision for a future where no trans person has to heal alone—and why it’s so critical to talk about transition as an ongoing, years-long process.

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Breaking Down Emilia Perez: Backlash, Awards Buzz, and Corporate Pride

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Bryan, Jules, and Christina take on the troubling transphobia in Emilia Pérez, the movie that has received 13 Oscar nominations this awards season. They explore why it’s heavily nominated in this political climate. They also unpack the backlash to the film and the backlash to that backlash, exploring why some defend Emilia Pérez despite its flaws.

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Meta’s New Rules: Embracing Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Speech

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Host Christina Cauterucci sits down with WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs to unpack Meta’s alarming internal shifts, including its embrace of right-wing ideologies, the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and the policy changes that permit hate speech against gay and trans people. Together, they discuss why these changes are happening, how they align with broader political trends, and what it all signals about the future of tech, media, and LGBTQ+ rights

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Bisexual Dads, Awkward Art, and Transphobic Families: Queer Advice

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 08:00:00 GMT

This we’re diving into the delightful chaos of queer life with an advice-packed episode! Bryan, Christina, and our guest host Outward Producer Palace Shaw, tackle the perplexing world of bisexual dads navigating dating apps, strategies for dealing with transphobic relatives during family gatherings, the dos and don’ts of art-gifting etiquette, and whether to make a messy disclosure to new partners.

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Conversion Therapy and Survival with Lucas Wilson

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 08:00:00 GMT

Bryan Lowder talks with writer and scholar Lucas Wilson about his new book, Shame Sex: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy. They chat about Wilson’s experience navigating same-sex attraction while on an evangelical path, experiencing conversion therapy, and the complicated relationships he experienced along the way. He also shares powerful stories from other survivors and explores the enduring harm of these practices, offering a poignant look at resilience, shame, and healing.

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Actor Jeff Hiller on Death Sex and Money

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:00:00 GMT

This week, we’re excited to share an episode of Death, Sex & Money with Anna Sale. In this conversation, Anna talks with Jeff Hiller, the gay actor known for his role in Somebody Somewhere. Jeff shares insights on his career, navigating faith and queerness, and finding joy in adulthood.

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‘Queer’ on Screen: Luca Guadagnino’s Take on Desire, Loneliness, and Sex

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Christina Cauterucci and Bryan Lowder are joined by guest host Jeff Bloomer to discuss the new film Queer from director Luca Guadagnino based on William S. Burroughs’ groundbreaking novel of the same name. They explore the themes of desire, alienation, and the director’s approach to queer intimacy- and most importantly whether the sex scenes deliver.

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How Lesbian Artists Turned Renaissance Ruins Into Queer Spaces with Kate Thomas

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Christina Cauterucci explores the intimate connections between queer identity and the natural world with Bryn Mawr professor Kate Thomas. In this episode, we journey through the lives of Florence Blood and Princess Ghika, two enigmatic lesbians who found self-expression, love, and freedom renovating their Italian Renaissance estate at the turn of the 20th century- creating an enchanting landscape to host lesbian artists and thinkers of the time. Thomas unpacks how their landscapes reflect their identities and what they can teach us about the enduring relationship between queerness and the environment.

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Masculinity and Muscles with Michael Andor Brodeur

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Bryan Lowder chats with Michael Andor Brodeur, author of Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle, to unpack the complex intersections of fitness, masculinity, and queer identity. From the sweaty intimacy of the gym to the charged symbolism of muscle, Brodeur examines how bodies become sites of desire, power, and transformation.

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Sarah McBride’s Win and the Rise of Anti-Trans Politics

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week, the hosts come together to unpack Sarah McBride’s groundbreaking win as the first openly transgender member of Congress. While the win is historic, Bryan, Jules, and Christina dig in to unpack the limits of representational politics and what it means for this win to exist alongside the emergence of anti-trans politics, which hit their all time high during this election cycle.

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What Southern LGBTQ History Can Teach Us

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 08:00:00 GMT

In this episode, host Jules Gill-Peterson speaks with the co-founders of Invisible Histories about their groundbreaking work preserving the rich, often overlooked history of queer life in the American South. At a time when LGBTQ+ communities face growing threats, safeguarding these stories is more urgent than ever. Together, they discuss how archiving resilience, joy, and everyday lives challenges erasure and ensures these vital narratives inspire future generations.

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Now What Do We Do? Mark Joseph Stern Answers Our Post-Election Questions

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Christina Cauterucci sits down with Slate’s own Mark Joseph Stern to tackle the mounting concerns facing the LGBTQ+ community as the Trump administration takes shape. In a candid conversation, they delve into the ripple effects this shift could have on issues like abortion rights, trans healthcare, and marriage equality, reflecting on the potential setbacks that may lie ahead- and what we can do to prepare ourselves and our community.

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Gays in the Woods: History and Identity with Ben Miller

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 08:00:00 GMT

In this episode, historian Ben Miller chats with Bryan Lowder about the surprising ways white gay men have romanticized the idea of the 'primitive' in their search for utopia. Ben shares stories about key figures like Harry Hay and the radical gay activism of the 70s that centered a 'back to the land' fantasy that relied on racialized fantasies of the past. Together, they explore how these fantasies shaped identities and political movements, revealing the strange allure of these ideas and their lasting impact on queer culture today.

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Building Movements with Gender Liberation March Organizers Raquel Willis and Eliel Cruz

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 07:00:00 GMT

On September 14th 2024, thousands of people joined the Gender Liberation March in Washington D.C. to join the call to protect reproductive health, bodily autonomy, and comprehensive healthcare access. In this episode, Jules Gill-Peterson sits down with lead organizers Raquel Willis and Eliel Cruz to talk about the march and movement building during an election year. Raquel and Eliel share into their intersectional approach to organizing and how gender liberation frees us all.

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The Amicus Brief for U.S. v. Skrmetti with co-author Jules Gill Peterson

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 07:00:00 GMT

On December 4th, the Supreme Court will hear arguments for U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case that could decide the fate of gender-affirming care for trans people across the country. Outward’s own Jules Gill Peterson contributed to an amicus brief for the case, a document that provides expertise and historical context to assist the court in making it’s decision. In this episode, Bryan and Christina reunite with Jules to break down her contributions to the document and dive into the history of transition and the powerful voices of trans youth from across time.

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The WNBA’s Very Big Year: New Fandom, Renewed Homophobia? with Frankie de la Cretaz

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode long-time friend of the show and longtime WNBA fan Daisy Rosario sits down with queer sports reporter Frankie de la Cretaz to chat about the historic 2024 WNBA season. In this episode, they dig into the celebration and tension as the WNBA’s queer roots meet mainstream success. Can the league stay true to its queer community while taking on big-time sponsors and new fans?

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What Arabic LGBTQ+ Slang Tells Us with Marwan Kaabour

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode long-time friend of the show June Thomas sits down with the editor of The Queer Arab Glossary, Marwan Kaboour. The glossary is the first published collection of Arabic LGBTQ+ slang and covers a wide range of dialects across the arab world. Marwan details how he decided to organize the glossary and what the words reveal about queer culture.

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Surviving Hate and Finding Joy as a Trans Teen with Nico Lang

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 07:00:00 GMT

Outward hosts Bryan Lowder and Christina Cauterucci sit down with reporter and author Nico Lang to chat about their new book ‘American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era’. Nico’s book is a vivid and moving portrait of eight trans and nonbinary teenagers across the country, following their daily triumphs, struggles, and all that encompasses growing up trans in America today.

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Fighting for Non-Binary Inclusivity in Athletics with Cal Calamia

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Outward hosts Jules Gill-Peterson, Bryan Lowder, and Christina Cauterucci sit down with non-binary marathoner Cal Calamia to talk about their journey into competitive racing. Cal shares how they first got into running and how their experiences as a non-binary, trans-masculine athlete have shaped their advocacy. From battling outdated USADA regulations on hormone therapy to pushing for non-binary categories in major marathons, Cal gives insight into the work they do to make competitive racing gender-inclusive.

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The LGBTQ Moments and Misses at the DNC with Madeline Ducharme

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode, guest host Daisy Rosario talks to ‘What’s Next’ producer Madeline Ducharme about her experience at the DNC. They break down the queerest moments and examine the Democratic party’s queer agenda.

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Kamala Harris’ Record on Trans Rights with S.I. Rosenbaum and Josie Riesman

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Christina Cauterucci speaks to journalists S.I. Rosenbaum and Josie Riesman about their Slate article Kamala Harris’ Surprising Record on Trans Rights. From the national conference she convened to counter the “gay panic” and “trans panic” defense, to her denial of gender-affirming surgery for an incarcerated trans person, a look back on key moments in Kamala Harris’ career reveal a complicated political track record on trans rights.

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Could the Kids Online Safety Act Harm Queer Youth?

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Bryan, Jules, and Christina are joined by reporter Jasmine Mithani to talk about the Kids Online Safety Act. While protecting children from harmful material online seems like a win for everyone, some LGBTQ organizations fear that KOSA would be used to shut down LGBTQ+ content online and take away important resources for queer youth.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw

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Dating Friends and Understanding Desire with Myisha Battle

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Jules and Bryan are joined by dating coach and host of the KCRW podcast How’s Your Sex Life, Myisha Battle. Myisha covers dating friends, understanding your own desire, and making connections in the real world.

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Collecting LGBT+ History with Corey Serrant

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Jules sits down with Art Specialist Corey Serrant from Swann Auction Galleries to chat about pieces from their upcoming LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History auction and how they found the art in the first place. From an Ancient Roman bust who was an unlikely companion to famous writers to an invitation to the Weimar Republic’s hottest lesbian bar, this collection spans centuries of queer life.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw

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Olympic Legend Greg Louganis on Outliving and Outperforming Expectations

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 07:00:00 GMT

As the Olympics come to a close, we wanted to share this story from Death, Sex & Money.

During the 1988 Summer Olympics, diver Greg Louganis was competing under extreme pressure. In the preliminary round, he split his head open on the diving board, got stitched up, and decided to stay in the competition. He was also carrying a secret that only a few people knew: Six months before the Olympics began, Greg learned that he was HIV positive.

Despite those obstacles, Greg went on to win gold in both the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform events, thrilling viewers and cementing himself as one of the best divers of all time. With the 2024 Games underway, Greg joins Anna to reflect on his odds-defying victories, and he explains how Olympic training prepared him for life’s challenges outside the pool.

Podcast production by Cameron Drews.

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Is Telehealth the Answer for Gender Affirming Care? with Sohini Desai

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Jules speaks with journalist Sohini Desai about their latest article for Slate ‘Trans Health Care Is Under Attack. But Are Concierge Providers Really the Solution?’ Together they break down what these services offer and whether they can make a meaningful difference for trans people accessing healthcare across the country.

Produced by Palace Shaw

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Project 2025 with Orion Rummler

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Bryan sits down with reporter Orion Rummler to break down Project 2025, conservative 920-page policy blueprint for a second Trump term. Orion’s article ‘What is Project 2025? Here’s the Heritage Foundation’s vision for a second Trump term’ looks at the widespread impact of these ideas for women, LGBTQ+ rights, families, education and the workforce. In this episode, we focus on the impact on LGBTQ rights and the danger of turning transness from a state of being to an ‘ideology’.

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“Bathroom Bills” Return with Nico Lang

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Bryan sits down with reporter Nico Lang to break down their recent Slate article ‘Anti-Trans “Bathroom Bills” Are Making a Major Comeback. Where’s the Outrage?.They delve into the concerning return of ‘Bathroom Bills’ and unpack what’s different this time around, why it’s taking root, and the larger strategy of this legislation.

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Can you love the bigotry away? Queer Advice with Mathew Rodriguez

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMT

Bryan, Jules, and Mathew unite to tackle your questions! This week they take on what to do when kids question your gender, whether or not you have to be honest about your pronouns at work, and the billion dollar question- can you save your friends from the circus of disinformation?

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What's A Gender Doula?

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Jules talks to Gender Doula Eli Lawliet. They break down what it means to offer non-medical support to people during transition, the long history of trans support networks, and the value of ritual and spirituality during transition.

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Can Animals Be Queer?

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Bryan, Christina, and Jules reunite for a classic Outward episode! They share their prides and provocations, set the gay agenda for July, and take on the recent spate of queer animal documentaries that beg the question: Can animals really be queer?

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A History of Lesbian Fashion with Eleanor Medhurst

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Christina chats with Eleanor Medhurst, author of “Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion,” and the blog ‘Dressing Dykes’ to chat about lesbian style from around the world and across time. They dig into the gender-bending styles of the Harlem Renaissance, monocles, and how queer women used their fashions to find each other.

Click HERE to support Human Rights Campaign.

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Slow Burn: A Hotbed of Homosexuality

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 07:00:00 GMT

While the Outward team makes the most of Pride Month, we have a special treat for you, the first episode of Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs.

—

In the 1970s, San Francisco became a welcoming home for tens of thousands of new gay residents—and a modern-day Sodom for the American right. With a moral panic sweeping across the United States, a Florida orange juice spokeswoman inspired an ambitious California politician to launch his own campaign against lesbians and gays—one that would change the course of U.S. history.

(If you—or anyone you know—are in crisis, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, anytime: Dial 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.)

Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock the first five episodes of Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs. Your subscription also gets you ad-free access to all your favorite Slate podcasts, plus other member exclusive content. Join now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Subscribe” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen.

Season 9 of Slow Burn was written and produced by Christina Cauterucci. Slow Burn is produced by Kelly Jones, Joel Meyer, and Sophie Summergrad.

Josh Levin is the editorial director of Slow Burn.

Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts.

Susan Matthews is Slate’s executive editor.

Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. We had engineering help from Patrick Fort and Madeline Ducharme.

Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Ivylise Simones, based on an image of Silvana Nova and a poster designed by Larry Hermsen and the Too Much Graphics Collective.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Click HERE to support Human Rights Campaign.

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Iconic Queer Women’s Spaces with June Thomas

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 07:00:00 GMT

Jules and Bryan talk to former Outward Producer June Thomas about her new book A Place Of Our Own: Six Spaces that Shaped Queer Women’s Culture. They take us from the commune to the feminist bookstore and discuss the world-building drive of the queer community.

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Disrupting Food & Restaurant Culture with Chala June

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Jules chats with Chala June (food writer and former associate editor at Bon Appetit) about what it is to queer food, the labor politics of the food service industry, and the camp of early Food Network programming.

Click HERE to support Human Rights Campaign.

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The Trans History of the 1936 Olympics with Michael Waters

Wed, 29 May 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Bryan dives into the world of sports to talk about the often obscured queer history of the Olympics with writer Michael Waters. Michael’s new book ‘The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports’ highlights the gripping true stories of pioneering trans and intersex athletes from the 1936 Olympics.

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Behind the Scenes of ‘Gays Against Briggs’ with Christina Cauterucci

Wed, 22 May 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Christina Cauterucci returns to Outward to talk with Bryan about her experience making ‘Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs’ and diving into one of the most consequential civil rights battles in American history: the first-ever statewide vote on gay rights.

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Evolving Our Social Scripts - Queer Advice with Mathew Rodriguez

Wed, 15 May 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Bryan and Jules are joined by new contributor Mathew Rodriguez for a round of advice. They tackle who gets to use ‘they’, raising polite and inclusive kids, and help one listener navigate the aggressive gender politics of straight weddings.

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Queering the Map with Lucas LaRochelle

Wed, 08 May 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Bryan talks to Lucas LaRochelle, the creator of the online platform Queering the Map. Queering the Map is a community-generated digital archive and map of LGBTQ2IA+ experiences around the globe. They dig into the map’s beginnings, stories from the platform, and how this archive has been able to share queer joy, sorrow, and possibility across continents and in 23 languages.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

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Mary & George Brings the Historical Drama

Wed, 01 May 2024 07:00:00 GMT

Former Outward producer June Thomas joins Bryan and Jules to chat about the very gay new series from Starz, Mary and George. They talk 16th-century sex and sexuality and share their prides, provocations, and the gay agenda for May.

Read What's Fact and What's Fiction in Mary & George from Slate

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

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Queer Trademark Law with Michael Goodyear

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week, Jules and Bryan talk to Michael Goodyear about how trademark law is helping queer brands reclaim derogatory language. They dig into Dykes on Bikes and other early queer trademarks including the history of the rainbow flag we all know and love. You can read Michael’s article ‘The Surprising Result of the Supreme Court Case That Allowed Slurs in Brands’ on the Slate website.

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A History of the Gay Right with Neil J. Young

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week Bryan talks to writer Neil J. Young about his new book Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right. They dig into some of the inherent contradictions of the Gay Right and the pillars of their political strategy and reveal how central whiteness and maleness is to their politic.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

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Queer Crime Double Feature: Drive Away Dolls and Love Lies Bleeding

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT

On this week’s episode, guest hosts Daisy Rosario and Madeline Duchamp break down the new lesbian caper films Drive Away Dolls and Love Lies Bleeding. They dig into the joy of queer bars, Kristen Stewart's soft butch coming out, and the newly iconic Katie O’Brien.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

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Brontez Purnell on His New Memoir

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT

For National Poetry Month Bryan and Jules talk to multi-hyphenate writer and performer Brontez Purnell about his new book Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse. They dig into the influence of astrophysics and forgiveness on his work, and his essay on Black Gay Pornstar Gene Lamar.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

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Trace Lysette on the Hollywood Rollercoaster

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Trace Lysette (Transparent, Hustlers) talks about her critically acclaimed film Monica, with Jules. The film tells the story of a trans woman returning home after decades of estrangement from her dying mother, and was the first-ever film led by an out trans actor to debut at the Venice Film Festival. Jules talks to Trace about the layers of her performance and the rollercoaster experience of making and campaigning the film.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chase Strangio, Continued. Trans Visibility and Community

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT

This week, we’re sharing more of our interview with Trans rights activist and ACLU Lawyer Chase Strangio. In this episode, Bryand and Jules ask Chase about his recent New York Times op-ed Trans Visibility Is Nice. Safety Is Even Better. They also talk about how hyper-visibility does not equate safety, and what we all risk losing when we lose trans rights.

Email us at outwardpod@slate.com

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chase Strangio on the Anti-Trans Legislation Landscape

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT

2023 was a record-breaking year for anti-trans legislation and with over 500 bills introduced in 2024 it’s shaping up to be another critical year for statutory rights for trans people. This week, Bryan and Jules review the damage done in 2023 and look at the implications for anti-trans legislation this year with Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project.

Email us at outwardpod@slate.com

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tennessee's LGBTQ Affirming Churches

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT

In this episode Bryan speaks with Reporter Jessica Bateman about her recent Washington Post article ‘They found spiritual joy. They won’t have it taken away. That details the importance of LGBTQ-affirming churches in Tennessee and the challenges they face.

Email us at outwardpod@slate.com

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Polyamory and Other Non-monogamous Advice

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT

From 52 first dates to 8 boyfriends at once, Ashley Ray is a poly expert here to answer your relationship questions and demystify some poly terms. Today, Bryan and Ashley dive into the perils of unicorn hunters, metamour drama, and what to do with jealous feelings.

Email us at outwardpod@slate.com

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

True Detective: Night Country’s Lesbian Subtext

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Bryan is joined by Slate’s Madeline Ducharme to solve the mystery of True Detective: Night Country’s queer undertones. Together, they whip out the detective corkboard and read between the lines of Jodie Foster’s ‘mommie’-like character and Kali Reis’ cheek piercings and come up with some interesting theories.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Inherent Queerness of Poetry

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This Valentine’s Day Poet Cyrée Jarelle Johnson is joined by Outward producer Palace Shaw to share poems and chat about the inherent queerness of poetry and romance. They get into disabled approaches to sex, the trope of the queer doppelganger date, and give some advice to all the queer lovers out there.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Short History of Transmisogyny with Jules Gill-Peterson

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT

Outward’s own Jules Gill-Peterson has a new book, A Short History of Transmisogyny, that gives insight into a fascinating queer history that stretches across time and around the world. In this episode, Bryan and Jules dig deep into the origins of transmisogyny and the liberatory beauty of trans femininity

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All of Us Strangers’ Ghosts and Gays

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Jules and Bryan join Slate Editor Jeffrey Bloomer to take on the spooky and surreal of All Of Us Strangers, a new film from director Andrew Haigh. Plus, prides, provocations, and delicious new additions to the gay agenda.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your Queer Queries, Answered!

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT

Danny Lavery and Madeline Ducharme join Bryan in taking on your uniquely queer queries, like- what to do when your facial piercing helps everyone remember your name- but you can’t remember theirs. White lies about homophobia, queer kids coming out, philosophical questions, and more in this latest round of Outward advice.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Outing of Bubba Copeland

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week Bryan Lowder sits down with Evan Urquhart of Assigned Media, a news site dedicated to daily coverage of anti-trans propaganda and its effects to discuss his latest article ‘The Outing of Bubba Copeland’ for Slate. Bubba Copeland was the Mayor of Smiths Station who was outed for having an online trans-identity by a conservative news website and later that week committed suicide. Bryan and Evan discuss how this outing reflects the wave of anti-trans legislation.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Email us at outwardpodcast@slate.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raquel Willis is in Bloom

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT

This week Jules sits down with Raquel Willis, an award-winning activist and journalist whose work is dedicated Black trans liberation. Raquel’s new memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom chronicles her political and personal awakenings as a Black trans woman growing up in the south. Jules and Raquel talk grief, gender, and collective liberation.

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Email us at: outwardpodcast@slate.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prides, Provocations, and Political Scandals

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT

Jules, Bryan, and Outward regular Danny Lavery share year end Prides and Provocations. The hosts cover everything from risk-taking bottoms in government and infamous grifters to powerful organizers who are giving us hope for 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re Here, We’re Queer, Here’s Some Advice!

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Jules and Bryan are joined by advice expert Danny Lavery to talk through some relationship issues. They share their thoughts on expectations around divorce as queer people, low self-esteem, and why shaming someone over hygiene might not be a bad idea.

If you have a question or need some advice, email us: outwardpodcast@slate.com

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fellow Travelers Brings the Gay Sex and Questionable Anachronism

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT

This week, the Outward hosts discuss Fellow Travelers, a new historical drama from Showtime that takes us into gay D.C during the Lavender Scare of the 1950’s. Bryan, Christina, and Jules dive into the sex and the sexual politics of the show and answer the most important question, were people really that hot in the 1950s?

Pride and Provocations:

All the Only Ones

Your Kid is Trans. You Live in Texas. There Are No Good Options

LaundryTok with Melissa Pateras

Gay Agenda

The Risk it Takes to Bloom

Pride Flag: Birth of a Rainbow

Email us at: outwardpodcast@slate.com

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PragerU’s Transphobic Twitter Takeover

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT

On this episode, The Outward hosts break down the million-dollar takeover ad on X for Prager University’s documentary Detrans: The Dangers of Gender Affirming Care. NBC reporter Jo Yurcaba joins Bryan, Christina, and Jules to tackle the misdirections and anti-trans agenda of the documentary and take a look at the transphobic shifts on the social media platform.

Read Molly Olmstead's piece for Slate on Praeger University

Email us at: outwardpodcast@slate.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taylor Swift's Queer Fans Want to Liberate Her

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT

This week, guest host Danny Lavery talks with self-appointed lesbian pop culture expert Kira Deshler to dive into the lively queer subculture within the Taylor Swift fandom, and their quest to liberate her. From there they explore the relationship between queer fans and their often straight pop icons.

Songs mentioned:

Tim I Wish You Were Born a Girl by Of Montreal

Pink Triangle by Weezer

Johnny Are You Queer? By Josie Cotton

Email us at: outwardpodcast@slate.com

Podcast production by Palace Shaw.

Outward is sponsored by BetterHelp.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy Schneider is a Champion

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT

This week, Christina, Bryan, and Jules talk with Jeopardy! winner and trans trailblazer Amy Schneider about her bold new memoir In The Form of a Question. Amy won $1.3 million after a 40 day winning streak in 2021, the longest streak for a woman in the show’s history. In this episode, Amy talks about the decision to be herself on her historical Jeopardy! run and why it felt important to not skip the tarot, drugs, and ‘messiness’ in her new memoir.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bob the Drag Queen's Gay Barz

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Slate’s Daisy Rosario takes the reins this week for a conversation with Bob the Drag Queen, aka non-binary actor and comedian Caldwell Tidicue. They talk about Bob’s foray into hip-hop, touring with Madonna, and why Bob so often collaborates with other queer artists.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Living for the Dead Queers the Ghost-Hunting Genre

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT

The spooky season is upon us, so hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder discuss Living for the Dead, the new queer ghost-hunting reality show from the creators of Queer Eye. The show, now streaming on Hulu, is narrated by the disembodied voice of Kristen Stewart, a haunting many of us would welcome. The hosts end the show, as always, with some new additions to the Gay Agenda.

Please note, starting in November, Outward will be appearing in your feeds more often, so be sure to subscribe.

Items discussed in the show:

Trans Data Library

Living for the Dead, on Hulu

Gay Agenda

Christina: Autostraddle’s coverage of Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger’s divorce

Jules: JewishCurrents’ “Dispatches From Gaza”

Bryan: Queer witch @Riotaddams

This podcast was produced by Palace Shaw and June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mercury Stardust Helps Queer People Feel Safe and Sound at Home

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT

It’s September. Are you ready to warm up your muscles as the temperatures dip and get your apartment all cozy for the cuffing season to come? If so, Outward has you covered. First, listeners Elizabeth and Peter respond to last month’s discussion of Amazon’s film adaptation of Red, White & Royal Blue. Then the hosts talk with sports journalist Katie Barnes about their new book Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates, which tells the remarkable story of how sports have been gendered long before today’s anti-trans panic. After that, they’re joined by writer and TikTok-er extraordinaire Mercury Stardust, who is known as the “Trans Handy Ma’am” for her DIY home-repair videos. Mercury’s new book, Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair, blends stunning illustrations and emotional-processing breaks with how-to guides for making your apartment into a sanctuary. The hosts end the show, as always, with some new additions to the Gay Agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

“Bottoms Queers the High-School Comedy,” the Culture Gabfest’s discussion of the movie, with Christina

“Power Bottoms,” by Rachel Handler, on Vulture

Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates, by Katie Barnes

Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair, by Mercury Stardust

The Safe and Sound book tour

Gay Agenda

Bryan: “What Happens When You’re Almost Out of Testosterone–and You Live in Florida,” by Nico Lang

Christina: Deadloch, on Amazon Prime

Jules: People Collide, by Isle McElroy

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Red, White & Really Bad

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT

This month, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder discuss Amazon Prime’s adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s best-selling queer rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue. They also speak with intersex activist and educator Pidgeon Pagonis about their memoir Nobody Needs to Know and the campaign to end nonconsensual surgeries on intersex kids. The hosts end the show, as always, with some new additions to the Gay Agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

Red, White, & Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston

Red, White & Royal Blue on Amazon Prime

Outward’s December 2019 special episode on The Inheritance

Nobody Needs to Know: A Memoir, by Pidgeon Pagonis

Girl, Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen

Interconnect.support, a support group for intersex people

Gay Agenda

Christina: John Early: Now More Than Ever, on Max

Jules: “O’Shae Sibley Was Killed While Voguing at a Brooklyn Gas Station. Last Weekend New Yorkers Rallied to Honor His Memory,” in Vogue

Bryan: Miriam and Alan Lost in Scotland on PBS, and “Who’s Afraid of Social Contagion,” by Hugh Ryan, in the Boston Review

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Pleasures and Politics of Cruising

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT

This month, taking a cue from the sultry, sensual heat of summer, Outward examines the venerable queer practice of cruising—for sex and sex work—in public space. First, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder make eyes at Park Cruising, a new essay collection on cruising in parks, which explores the pleasures, politics, and complexities of that gay pastime. Author Marcus McCann joins the hosts to discuss those themes. Then they head down to Christopher Street with the trans women of The Stroll, a new HBO documentary streaming on Max, as they revisit a time when New York’s now-gentrified Meatpacking District was rich with a unique and affirming form of sisterhood. Co-director Kristen Lovell stops by to discuss the making of the film. The hosts end the show, as always, with some new additions to the Gay Agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

“The Real Story of 303 Creative v. Elenis,” by Mark Joseph Stern in Slate

Outward’s Times Square billboard

A provocative chant at NYC Drag March

Park Cruising: What Happens When We Wander Off the Path, by Marcus McCann

The Stroll

The Lady and the Dale

Sylvia’s Place

Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, and STAR

Gay Agenda

Christina: Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed from HBO

Jules: Hari Nef’s interviews about her role in Barbie

Bryan: Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music (see also Hugh Ryan on the show’s history)

This podcast was edited by Emily Charash and produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despair Is a Rational Response to Anti-Trans Activism

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT

In the last of our Pride month mini-episodes, host Jules Gill-Peterson is joined by Evan Urquhart, the community manager for Slate's comments section who also covers anti-trans propaganda on assignedmedia.org. They discuss Evan’s piece “Don’t Look Away From Queer Despair,” which was part of Slate’s “Not Quite Pride” package. In a galvanizing conversation, they discuss the need to resist putting on a happy face in these genuinely challenging times; the compulsion to create work that will leave breadcrumbs of hope for the next generation of queer and trans people, and supporting one another.

Items discussed in the show:

“Don’t Look Away From Queer Despair,” by Evan Urquhart

Slate’s “Not Quite Pride” package of stories

Assigned Media

This podcast was edited by Emily Charash and produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pride Special: The Trans Pharmacist Who Went Viral

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT

This month, to celebrate Pride, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of Outward. On Saturdays, we're sharing some great LGBTQ content from around the Slate podcast network.

Today, it’s an episode of What Next, Slate’s daily news show. It features a conversation between host Mary Harris and Arkansas pharmacist Gwen Herzig. Gwen is a trans woman who testified before the Arkansas general assembly, sharing her perspective as a medical professional, only to be asked about her genitalia. The What Next team wanted to know what happened after Gwen testified and how the experience felt to her.

What Next is produced by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Was Corporate Pride?

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT

This Pride month, many LGBTQ people are grappling with complicated feelings. Anti-gay and anti-trans political attacks are becoming all too common, Pride celebrations are being banned or canceled in some parts of the United States, and many of us are wondering how to put this in perspective. Hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder wrestle with some of that complexity as they work through their feelings about corporate Pride. If rainbow capitalism never mattered in the first place, why does this year’s backtracking feel bad? Then they are joined by writer Delilah Friedler to discuss her piece “Tennessee Belongs to Trans People, Too,” which is part of Slate’s “Not Quite Pride” package. They end the show, as always, with some new additions to the Gay Agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell become the first nonbinary acting award winners at the Tony Awards

“The Dirty Secret of Corporate Pride,” by Christina Cauterucci

“Tennessee Belongs to Trans People, Too,” by Delilah Friedler

Slate’s “Not Quite Pride” package of stories

Gay Agenda

Bryan: Casa Susana, a documentary airing on PBS’s American Experience

Jules: Chasing Chasing Amy, a documentary film by Sav Rodgers

Christina: Dykette, a novel by Jenny Fran Davis

This podcast was edited by Emily Charash and produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

This Pride Month, make an impact by helping Macy’s and The Trevor Project on their mission to fund life-saving suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pride Special: Why the Law Cares About Your Sex

Sat, 17 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT

This month, to celebrate Pride, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of Outward. On Saturdays, we'll be sharing some great LGBTQ content from around the Slate podcast network.

Today, it’s an interview from The Waves, Slate’s show about feminism and gender. In October 2022, Slate audience engagement editor Sol Werthan spoke with trans rights activist and author Paisley Currah about his book Sex Is as Sex Does, and why the state cares about gender.

The Waves episode was produced by Cheyna Roth.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lesbian Bars: A Love Story

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT

In celebration of Pride month, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of the Outward podcast. This week, host Christina Cauterucci talks to two people who recently visited every lesbian bar in the United States: Krista Burton, author of the newly published book Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America, and Naomi Gordon-Loebl, a writer and sommelier. They discuss the purpose of lesbian bars, trends in dyke-bar decor, and whether lesbian bars are still sexy.

Items discussed in the show:

Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America, by Krista Burton

The Lesbian Bar Project’s list of U.S. bars

Gay Agenda

Krista: Tom Ford Tuscan Leather

Naomi: Wear something that makes you feel spicy, like perhaps a leather harness or a Father Figure T-shirt by Tanner Shea

This podcast was edited by Emily Charash and produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pride Special: The Joys of Writing Queer Love Stories

Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT

This month, to celebrate Pride, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of Outward. You’ll still get the biggie on June 21, with Pride and Provocations, the Gay Agenda, and all the usual fun, but we’re going to provide fresh rainbow goodness every Wednesday.

On Saturdays, we'll also be sharing some great LGBTQ content from around the Slate podcast network.

Today, it’s an interview from Working, Slate’s show about the creative process. Back in November 2022, June Thomas spoke with Harper Bliss, a prolific author of lesbian romance novels. They talked about the secrets of Bliss' productivity and the joys of writing queer love stories.

The Working episode was produced by Cameron Drews.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pride Special: Is “I Do” Best for You?

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT

In celebration of Pride month, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of the Outward podcast. This week, host Bryan Lowder talks to Slate contributor John Culhane about his new book More Than Marriage: Forming Families After Marriage Equality. In the book, Culhane explores legal arrangements other than marriage that could protect people’s relationships and finances. While we might once have decried these options as consolation prizes, contracts such as designated beneficiary agreements offer exciting possibilities for queer and other nontraditional families.

We'd love to hear about your Pride plans in this challenging year. Please send a voice memo, along with feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Items discussed in the show:

More Than Marriage: Forming Families After Marriage Equality, by John C. Culhane

Gay Agenda

John: Support your local drag performers.

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queer Utopian Fiction and Dystopian Reality TV

Wed, 24 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT

This month, Outward explores utopian fiction and dystopian reality TV. First, Bryan and Christina are joined by author Theodore McCombs to discuss Uranians, his new collection of speculative stories, which uses queer difference and divestment from the normal as an engine to drive five fascinating tales. Then they’re joined by producer June Thomas to discuss The Ultimatum: Queer Love, Netflix’s latest take on the dating show, which follows a cast of queer women and nonbinary folks as they try to decide who they will marry. Finally, the hosts add some new items to the gay agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

The CBC report on Patricia Ginn of the WindSisters

Uranians: Stories, by Theodore McCombs

More on Karl Heinrich Ulrich’s take on the Uranian

The Ultimatum: Queer Love on Netflix

June on the queerness of portrait galleries

Gay Agenda

June: The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh

Bryan: That! Feels Good!, by Jessie Ware

Christina: “Radical Desire: Making On Our Backs Magazine,” from Cornell University Library

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are Advice Columns Intrinsically Queer?

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Spring is in the air, and the Outward hosts are gay like tulips and queer like allergies! First, they discuss a new animated version of the beloved Frog and Toad series of children’s books, which premieres on Apple TV+ on April 28. Then they welcome Daniel M. Lavery to the pod. Danny was Slate’s own Dear Prudence for many years, and now a Dear Prudence book is here to grace our bookshelves. Danny shares his philosophy of advice-giving, talks about what it was like to transition in the public eye, and offers his take on a reader question current Prudie Jenée Desmond-Harris answered a few weeks ago.

Items discussed in the show:

Jules and the Framing Agnes team at the GLAAD Awards

Outward’s December 2022 discussion of Framing Agnes with actress Jen Richards

LMN’s schedule

Somerville, Massachusetts, extends protections to polyamorous families

“Frog and Toad: An Amphibious Celebration of Same-Sex Love,” by Colin Stokes in the New Yorker

“How Frog and Toad Author Arnold Lobel Explored Gay Intimacy in His Work,” by J. Bryan Lowder in Slate

“This Is a Terrible Way to Commemorate a Major Civil Rights Victory,” by June Thomas in Slate

Dear Prudence: Liberating Lessons From Slate.com’s Beloved Advice Column, by Daniel M. Lavery

Jenée Desmond-Harris answered the question we put to Danny at the end of this Dear Prudence column

The Big Mood, Little Mood With Daniel M. Lavery podcast

The Dear Prudence podcast

Gay Agenda

Christina: Mae Martin’s new Netflix special, SAP

Jules: “Conservatives Are Turing to a 150-Year-Old Obscenity Law to Outlaw Abortion,” by Melissa Gira Grant in the New Republic

Bryan: Erick Adame’s Daily Weather Report (more background from the New York Times)

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Is Everything “Lesbian” Always Dying?

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 07:00:00 GMT

This month, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder explore two parts of the queer world heavily associated with the 1970s: PFLAG and “The Lesbian.” First, they mark the 50th anniversary of PFLAG with a discussion of how the relationship between parents, parenthood, and queer people has changed over the last five decades, how it hasn’t, and what all that means in this dangerous era of “parental rights.” Then, they’re joined by Mairead Sullivan, a scholar and author of the newish book Lesbian Death, a fascinating analysis of the cultural association between the figure of The Lesbian and, well, death. Why is The Lesbian and her bed, her spaces, her very identity, always dying? Who’s killing her? Sullivan helps the hosts sort it out.

Items discussed in the show:

Lesbian Death by Mairead Sullivan

Gallup’s latest count of LGBT people in the U.S.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s 1977 photo in drag.

Gay Agenda

Christina: The novel Confidence by Rafael Frumkin

JGP: Pedro Pascal’s Instagram

BL: Nico Lang’s @QueerNewsDaily; Julia Serano on “transgenderism”; and Christina on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ love of high heels.

This podcast was produced by Morgan Givens.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Make an impact this Women’s History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are Throuples All That Different From Couples?

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 08:00:00 GMT

Love is in the air this month, so hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder turn their attention to some very queer questions of love. First, they discuss a new Spanish film, Petit Mal, which explores the intimate drama and everyday feelings of three women in a throuple. Then they consider what is arguably the hardest kind of love: loving yourself in the wake of great loss or pain. Recent years have seen a huge growth in the applications of psychedelic drugs as a treatment strategy for PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more. Although psychedelics are becoming more popular with everyone, a lot of queer and trans people have pre-existing relationships with some of these substances, both in recreational and therapeutic contexts. The hosts are joined by Dr. Alex Belser, the leading researcher into queer people’s relationship with psychedelics, to discuss what these drugs might offer—and get back from—queers.

Items discussed in the show:

“Gay Bars and Hookup Apps”: The February 2021 episode of Outward that focused on Lex and other dating apps for women

The official trailer for Petit Mal

Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine, edited by Alex Belser, Clancy Cavnar, and Beatriz C. Labate

“Does the Queer Scene Have a Ketamine Problem?” by Delilah Friedler in Rolling Stone

“10 Calls to Action: Toward an LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychedelic Therapy,” by Alex Belser

Gay Agenda

Christina: Aftersun, written and directed by Charlotte Wells

Bryan: The legacy of Charles Silverstein, who died on Jan. 30, 2023

Jules: Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals, by Saidiya V. Hartman

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The War on Drag

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 08:00:00 GMT

This month, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder take an in-depth look at the latest fixation of the far right: drag, an art form as old as gender itself, which has brought generations of queer people together. In the first segment, the hosts consider why conservatives are now trying to regulate drag shows out of existence and armed hate groups are showing up at drag events to threaten and intimidate performers and audiences. Then they are joined by Lil Miss Hot Mess, who in addition to performing with Drag Story Hour, has taken an academic interest in what children take away from drag events.

Items discussed in the show:

The beautiful lullaby version of “Titanium” in M3GAN.
M.J. Rodriguez’s gorgeous 2023 Golden Globes dress
Drag Story Hour
Diane di Prima’s poem “Rant”
Lil Miss Hot Mess’ clap-back video to Marco Rubio’s attack ad

Gay Agenda

Jules: Any DJ set by Honey Dijon. (Here’s one to start with.)
Bryan: Cleanse your social media feeds, and introduce some cozy vibes with Isaac Mizrahi’s Instagram feed.
Christina: “The ‘Golden Gays’ Return to the Stage in the Philippines,” by Hannah Reyes Morales in the New York Times

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Can Queer People Keep Each Other Safe?

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 08:00:00 GMT

This month, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder reflect on the painful impact of anti-LGBTQ violence and dig into the new possibilities for trans storytelling and filmmaking. First, they talk through their complicated feelings about one of the responses to the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs last month: Should queer people be organizing in self-defense, or even arming ourselves for protection? Then they are joined by actress Jen Richards who portrays Barbara in Framing Agnes, a new documentary, directed by Chase Joynt, which is centered on six trans people who were interviewed and treated at a UCLA gender clinic in the 1950s. The film combines reenactments of those interviews with contemporary conversations with trans actors reflecting on how the lives of the people they portray resonate with their own lives. Our own Jules Gill-Peterson has a central role in the movie as a historian and narrator.

Items discussed in the show:

Season 2 of The White Lotus
Christina’s Slate piece, “I Think I Found Kyrsten Sinema’s Side Hustle”
Framing Agnes

Gay Agenda

Christina: shopping gay, including at The Little Gay Shop and Adam’s Nest

Jules: “Not a Transition: On Andrea Pallaoro’s Monica,” by Eva Pensis in the Los Angeles Review of Books

Bryan has created a bespoke cocktail for Outward listeners: the Cuddle Puddle

The Cuddle Puddle

2 oz rye

1 oz ginger liqueur

½ oz Fernet Branca or similar

Dash of orange bitters

Stir the ingredients for a long time over ice, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with orange peel.

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Read a New York Times Story About Trans Kids

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 08:00:00 GMT

This episode was recorded before the Nov. 19 attack on Club Q. Outward stands with our queer family in Colorado Springs.

This month, Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder discuss two major trans news stories from recent weeks. First, the New York Times’ latest article about trans kids and gender-affirming care, this time about puberty blockers and bone density, and how it plays into the ongoing, manufactured, and weaponized conservative panic about trans existence. Then they are joined by James Roesener of Concord, New Hampshire, who earlier this month became the first out trans man to be elected to a U.S. state legislature. They talk about why he ran and what he hopes to achieve. Finally, the hosts add some new items to the gay agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

The American Library Association Rainbow Round Table

The Lilly Pharmaceutical Twitter impersonation

AMC’s new version of Interview With the Vampire

World Pride 2025 in D.C.

“They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost?” by Megan Twohey and Christina Jewett in the New York Times

Michael Hobbes’ Twitter thread responding to the NYT story

“The NYT’s Big Piece on Puberty Blockers Mucked Up the Most Important Point About Them,” by Evan Urquhart, in Slate

Gay Agenda

Brian: Queer for Fear on Shudder

Christina: The Secret to Superhuman Strength, by Alison Bechdel

Jules: Gossip Girl Fanfic Novella, by Charlie Markbreiter

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Debating Queer History in Bros and at the Library of Congress

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT

Bryan Lowder is still out on book leave, but hosts Christina Cauterucci and Jules Gill-Peterson summon him back to discuss Bros, the gay rom-com of the moment. The film lingers on questions of queer history, shows what happens when a nerdy podcast guy dates a beefy gay bro, and is a fascinating meditation on what it means to be a cis gay man in a time of both progress and prosecution. (This segment lasts around 31 minutes if you want to skip ahead to avoid Bros spoilers.) Then they are joined by Meg Metcalf, an LGBTQ collections specialist at the Library of Congress, to discuss how the world’s biggest library is surfacing the plentiful LGBTQ resources that can be found in its building and in cyberspace. Finally, they add some new items to the gay agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

The Problem With Jon Stewart, “The Problem With Gender”

“Why Jon Stewart’s Humiliation of an Anti-Trans Official Is So Important,” by Evan Urquhart in Slate

A new report from the Human Rights Campaign and Bowling Green State University

“Billy Eichner’s Curious Claims About Bros,” by J. Bryan Lowder in Slate

“Was Eleanor Roosevelt a Lesbian?” by Heather Schwedel, in Slate

The Library of Congress’ Collections Policy Statement for LGBTQIA+ studies

If you have a question for Meg, or other Library of Congress librarians, go to ask.loc.gov

Chronicling America, the Library of Congress’ database of historic newspapers

Gay Agenda

Christina: The episode of NPR’s Code Switch in which Kumari Devarajan profiled comedian and playwright D’Lo, who has a role in Bros

Jules: Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist, by Cecilia Gentili

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is A League of Their Own Gratuitously Gay?

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT

This month, Bryan Lowder is away, so hosts Christina Cauterucci and Jules Gill-Peterson are joined by the podcast’s founding co-host Brandon Tensley to talk about some new representations of LGBTQ people involved in the wide world of sports. First, they debate whether the new Amazon Prime take on A League of Their Own, starring and co-created by Abbi Jacobson, might possibly be too queer. Then they discuss the making of Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story, the new Netflix documentary about a transgender pro skateboarder, with Nicola Marsh, who directed the movie, along with Giovanni Reda, and executive producer Alex Schmider. Finally, they add some new items to the gay agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

Race Deconstructed, Brandon’s newsletter at CNN

A League of Their Own, on Amazon Prime

Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story, on Netflix

Slate’s coverage of the Yummers debacle

The 2022 NLGJA Convention in Chicago

The Transgender Issue, by Shon Faye

Gay Agenda

Brandon: Listen to Rina Sawayama’s new album Hold the Girl

Jules: Follow actor, writer, model Hari Nef on Instagram

Christina: Listen to Lauren Ober’s new podcast The Loudest Girl in the World

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Viruses and Our Profoundly Unequal World

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT

This month, host Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder start the show with a Thots & Queries segment in which a listener asks about orgy etiquette. In a completely different party setting, they try to figure out what on earth is going on in the U.S. Congress, where legislators are debating marriage equality in the form of the Respect for Marriage Act. Then Northwestern University professor and journalist Steven Thrasher joins them to discuss his new book The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide. Finally, they add some new items to the gay agenda.

Items discussed in the show:

Taylor Blake and her emu friend Emmanuel

Beyoncé’s Renaissance

A shocking tweet from the official Log Cabin Republicans account

The June 29 episode of Outward in which Mark Joseph Stern considered how the Dobbs decision might affect LGBTQ rights

“Why Is There More Republican Support for Gay Marriage Than for Abortion Rights?” by Moira Donegan, in the Nation

The Viral Underclass,, by Steven Thrasher

Let the Record Show, by Sarah Schulman

“An Uprising Comes From the Viral Underclass,” by Steven Thrasher in Slate, June 12, 2020

Gay Agenda

Jules: X, by Davey Davis

Bryan: The Sandman, on Netflix

Christina: “We Failed,” by Eric Neugeboren, in the Texas Tribune

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Demystifying Monkeypox

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT

This month, Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder talk about two very different health stories. First, in the Thots & Queries segment, they respond to a listener who has questions about the ethics of moving to another country in an age of Supreme uncertainty. Then they talk with Harun Tulunay, a London-based sexual-health advocate, about his experience with monkeypox. He has been sharing his experiences with the disease, including the challenges of receiving a correct diagnosis. In New York City, the rollout of the monkeypox vaccine program was a disaster. Then they are joined by journalist Io Dodds to discuss her recent piece for the Independent: “ ‘Never Ask Permission’: How Two Trans Women Ran a Legendary Underground Surgical Clinic in a Rural Tractor Barn.” (Note, Jules was interviewed for the piece.)

Items discussed in the show:

Conjuring Kesha, on Discovery +

“ ‘Never Ask Permission’: How Two Trans Women Ran a Legendary Underground Surgical Clinic in a Rural Tractor Barn,” by Io Dodds, in the Independent

Gay Agenda

Bryan: “What Should a Queer Children’s Book Do?” by Jessica Winter in the New Yorker

Christina: The Other Two, on HBO Max

Jules: P-Valley, on Starz

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Marriage Equality in Jeopardy?

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

In the final Pride month special episode, Bryan and Christina talk with Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern. They assess what the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the case that swept away Roe v. Wade, might mean for LGBTQ rights. Should we be worried about marriage equality? Given Americans’ purported love of privacy, is there any way that the right to same-sex intimacy, protected in Lawrence v. Texas, might now come under attack? Mark helps the hosts find hope, slim though it might be, amid the cruelty of the Dobbs decision.

Items discussed in the show:

The episode of Amicus in which Dahlia Lithwick and guests discussed Dobbs (and Bruen).

Season 7 of Slow Burn, about Roe v. Wade and the history of abortion rights in America.

A special post-Dobbs episode of The Waves, with Christina and Cheyna Roth.

“The Supreme Court’s Next Target Is Marriage Equality. It Won’t Be the Last,” by Mark Joseph Stern

“The Lawlessness of the Dobbs Decision,” by Dahlia Lithwick and Neil S. Siegel.

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Promise of Pride

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

It’s story time, fam! This month, Bryan, Christina, and Jules talk about whether—and why—we still need Pride. Every Pride is someone’s first, and to get that fresh perspective, the hosts spoke with Sammie Bennett, who just celebrated for the first time in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They then talk about their own memories and feelings about the annual queer gathering.

Thanks to Alicia DeMaio for our first "Thots & Queries" segment. Here’s the them.us piece she referenced.

Items discussed in the show:

“The Battle Over Gender Therapy,” by Emily Bazelon in the New York Times Magazine

Jules’ Twitter thread

Jules’ Substack response

Postmates’ “Eat With Pride” ad campaign

Leo Herrera’s Instagram story about this campaign

Christina’s Slate story about a U-Haul truck full of Nazis who headed to a Pride celebration in Idaho.

New York City Drag March

Gay Agenda

Bryan: Buzzfeed’s roundup of “This Pride Month” memes

Christina: Kaftko

Jules: Read a banned LGBTQ book

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Fire Island the Gay Rom-Com We've Been Waiting For?

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

This month, in honor of Pride, we’re bringing you extra episodes of Outward.

This week, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder dig into the big gay movie of summer 2022: Fire Island. Directed by Andrew Ahn and written by Joel Kim Booster, who also appears in the film, Fire Island explores the magic of queer spaces like the titular enclave—along with the class and race disparities that so often beset them. The film, which also stars Bowen Yang, Margaret Cho, and Conrad Ricamora, is a gay resetting of Pride and Prejudice. Does it succeed? The hosts discuss this, and much more, in spoiler-filled detail.

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pride Month Special: A Pioneering Lesbian Photographer

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

This month, in honor of Pride, we’re going to be bringing you an Outward episode every week.

Today, it’s a segment from a 2021 episode of Working, Slate's podcast about the creative process, in which June Thomas spoke with photographer Joan E. Biren, also known as JEB. In the interview, JEB discusses the creation, funding, and printing of her groundbreaking 1979 photobook Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, which was reissued by Anthology Editions in 2021.

The Working episode was produced by Cameron Drews.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pride Month Special: Supporting Trans Youth

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT

This month, in honor of Pride, we’re going to be bringing you an Outward episode every week. You’ll still get the biggie on June 22, with Pride and Provocations, the Gay Agenda, and all the usual fun, but we’re also going to supply some shorter snacks of gay goodness every Wednesday.

We’ve got some great things lined up--interviews, coverage of the big queer summer movie, and of course reflections on Pride--but we also want to share some great LGBTQ content from around the Slate podcast network.

Today, it’s a segment from a recent episode of Mom and Dad Are Fighting, Slate’s parenting podcast. In light of the attacks on trans youth around the country, hosts Jamilah Lemieux, Zak Rosen, and Elizabeth Newcamp invited Outward’s own Jules Gill-Peterson onto the show to provide some historical context and offer advise on what people can do to support trans kids and their parents.

The Mom and Dad Are Fighting episode was produced by Rosemary Belson and Jasmine Ellis.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prisons in Queer History and Pop Culture

Wed, 18 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT

This month Bryan, Christina, and Jules explore the intersection of queer life and incarceration. How has America’s prison-loving penal system shaped our history and present, and how does that experience get channeled—or not—into the culture we make and consume? The hosts are joined by Hugh Ryan, author of the new book The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison, which uses one infamous mid-century institution in New York’s Greenwich Village to return the overlooked lives of incarcerated women and transmasculine folks to our collective story, and to make a stirring case for prison abolition as a queer issue. Then they discuss how prison shows up in pop culture—and whether they’re entirely comfortable with those fantasies.

Items discussed in the show:

Selling Sunset

Two recent articles on phalloplasty: “How Ben Got His Penis,” by Jamie Lauren Keiles in the New York Times, and “My Penis Myself,” by Gabriel Mac in New York

Original Plumbing

“Madison Cawthorn Thrusting His Naked Body on Another Man’s Face Doesn’t Tell Us Much About His ‘Gayness,’ ” by Bryan in Slate

Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men, by Jane Ward

The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison, by Hugh Ryan

When Brooklyn Was Queer, by Hugh Ryan

Huey P. Newton’s 1970 speech on the women’s liberation and gay liberation movements

Chained Heat 2

Orange Is the New Black

Gay Agenda

Christina: Great Freedom

Jules: The Vice series Transnational

Bryan: From Gay to Z: A Queer Compendium, by Justin Elizabeth Sayres

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queer Families in Kindergarten and the Multiverse

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:00:00 GMT

This month Bryan, Christina, and Jules take a break from talking about the hostile legislation queer and trans people are fighting against to talk about what they’re fighting for. Brooklyn kindergarten teacher Eliza Cutler joins the hosts to share what it looks like when teachers are free to speak about LGBTQ lives in the classroom. Then they discuss the queer family drama at the heart of the new genre-bending, multiverse-hopping film Everything Everywhere All at Once. (NOTE: If you don't want to hear spoilers for Everything Everywhere All at Once, you can jump from the 33-minute mark to the 59-minute point, but come back after you've seen the movie. You don't want to miss this conversation.)

Items discussed in the show:

Robbie Pierce’s Twitter thread about the homophobic harassment his family endured while riding Amtrak

Queers responding to homophobic legislation with … merch

The long life and sad demise of Bitch Media.

They She He Me: Free to Be, by Maya Christina Gonzalez and Matthew SG

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, by Christine Baldacchino and Isabelle Malenfant

Jacob’s New Dress, by Sarah and Ian Hoffman and Chris Cage

Introducing Teddy, by Jessica Walton and Dougal MacPherson

Pugdog, by Andrea U’Ren

“Everything Everywhere All at Once Is a Queer Masterpiece of Colossa Sincerity,” by Drew Gregory, in Autostraddle

“Everything Everywhere All at Once Is an Emotional Gut Punch About Queer Erasure, Acceptance,” by Patrick Ryan, in USA Today

“This One Stale Joke Won’t Let Everything Everywhere All at Once Be Great,” by Kyle Turner, in W

“On Being Trans and Watching Everything Everywhere All at Once,” by Linda Codega, in Gizmodo

Gay Agenda

Christina: “Sex, Love, and Art in the Suburbs,” by Garth Greenwell, in Esquire

Bryan: “This Beach in Mexico Is an L.G.B.T.Q. Haven. But Can It Last?” by Oscar Lopez and Lisette Poole, in the New York Times

Jules: Manhunt, by Gretchen Felker-Martin

This podcast was produced by June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Trans Past, Present, and Future

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 17:44:47 GMT

Bryan, Christina, and Jules respond to the anti-trans attacks coming out of state legislatures across the country, particularly in Texas, where the governor and attorney general have tried to make caring for trans kids into a form of child abuse. Jules sketches out what a trans child’s life would look and feel like over the coming years as a result of these draconian bills and administrative attacks. Then they are joined by Michael Waters to discuss his recent piece for Slate about trans pioneer Barbara Ann Richards, who went to court in 1941 to legally change her name—and succeeded.

Items discussed in the show:

Lauren Groff discusses the writing of her novel Matrix on the podcast Women Who Travel

“The GOP’s All-Out Assault on Trans People,” The Waves, March 3, 2022, featuring Jules Gill-Peterson and Evan Urquhart

“Barbara Ann Richards Designed—and Then Demanded—the Life She Deserved,” by Michael Waters

True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, by Emily Skidmore

Gay Agenda

Christina: Start your own Dyke Night!

Bryan: QueerSpace, a podcast from the National Air and Space Museum

Jules: The 2022 Lambda Literary Award nominations

This podcast was produced by Myron.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two Revivals: "No Promo Homo" and Shortbus

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 02:00:00 GMT

Christina, Bryan, and Jules discuss a proposed Florida bill that would ban all discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the state, and the 4K-restored re-release of John Cameron Mitchell’s senimal 2007 film Shortbus. The Gay Agenda includes an East Williamsburg trans enclave.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Counting Queers, Queering Sequels

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 01:30:00 GMT

Christina Cauterucci and Bryan Lowder welcome our new third co-host, Jules Gill-Peterson, and talk to author Dr. Kevin Guyan about his new book Queer Data. The crew then explores the trans storylines and general weirdness of And Just Like That, the “next chapter” in the Sex and the City universe, before adding more items to the Gay Agenda.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jingle All the Gay

Thu, 23 Dec 2021 00:30:00 GMT

Christina and Bryan discuss the finer points of new queer Christmas movies—like, how realistic is Netflix’s Single All The Way?—and why that harness joke in Lifetime’s Under The Christmas Tree was so jarring. We’re also joined by some special guests who share Prides and Provocations from the past year and explore Premonitions for 2022. We close the year with bell hooks and trans triumphs in the Gay Agenda.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who Owns Queer Aesthetics?

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 22:45:00 GMT

Christina and Bryan welcome guest host Carolyn Bergier, co-host of the podcast Dyking Out. The crew explore the ups and downs of the Amazon lesbian reality TV show Tampa Baes. They then talk about Billy Porter’s fashion beef with Harry Styles, what queer fashion and signifiers actually mean, and whether they matter anymore. And finally, queer burlesque, queer DJ sets, and butch dykes for our Gay Agenda.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pronouns and Poppers: A Queer History Party

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 19:30:00 GMT

Christina and Bryan take us into Queer History Month with thoughts on Reba McEntire and queer inclusion in historically misogynistic places. They welcome Adam Zmith, author of Deep Sniff, a book on the queer history of poppers, and writer Jude Doyle, who talks about what we missed in the recent documentary about transmasculine Black feminist icon Pauli Murray. Finally, our guests add supersmart, compelling items to this month’s Gay Agenda.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summer's Swan Songs

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 08:00:00 GMT

Christina, Bryan, and Slate Senior Managing Producer June Thomas say farewell to outgoing host Rumaan Alam, then welcome journalist Casey Newton to discuss Grindr's data security problem and its inherent potential for ruining self-esteem. They then delve into Todd Stephens' Swan Song, a beautiful new film about an old queen, his cross-town journey to find hair products fit for styling his dead client, and the closure it brings.

Items discussed in the show:

Swan Song, directed by Todd Stephens

Gay Agenda

Christina: Eric Cervini's Queer History 101

June: Olivia on the Record, by Ginny Berson

Bryan: two-room tents!

This podcast was produced by Katya Kumkova.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.

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Hot Queer Summer, Hot Queer Strippers

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 08:00:00 GMT

It’s August, and Outward is leaning into the heat. First, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan gab about the beach. Why, exactly, are queer beaches so delightful? Is there a secret geography of finding the gay beach? They then talk to GirlFlexx, a female dom stripper who performs largely for straight women in a traditionally male style -- and kills it in adoration and tips.

Items discussed on the show:

An ice cream cake you can make "in the back of your car."

The upcoming Chromatica remix album, confirmed by Lady Gaga.

Outsports.com's coverage of the Olympics.

Provincetown's citizen scientist effort to contact trace a Delta variant outbreak.

A lawyer who fought for marriage equality helped disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo discredit abuse victims.

A primer on lesbian dom strippers.

Gay Agenda

Bryan: Lindsay Morris and Ruth Padawar's photo essay about Camp I Am.

Rumaan: Colm Toibin's The Master.

Christina: The L Word: Generation Q.

This podcast was produced by Katya Kumkova.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Milestones Mourned and Celebrated

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 08:00:00 GMT

A year-and-a-half into the pandemic, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan look back at all the times we did not get to share our milestones -- good, bad, or just big -- with other queers. If a queer comes out in the forest where no one can hear them are they still queer? Yes, but perhaps less joyfully than if they had been in community. The hosts then speak with Lucia Lucas, the first female baritone to perform a principal opera role on the American stage as Don Giovanni.

Items discussed on the show:

A recent assault at Nellie's gay bar in DC draws protests.

Richard Branson wore a rainbow ribbon during his space flight.

Breakthrough COVID infections strike Provincetown.

The Sound of Identity, a documentary about Lucia Lucas's appearance as Don Giovanni.

Gay Agenda

Bryan: director's cut of Studio 54

Christina: How Twitter Can Ruin a Life by Emily VanDerWerff

Rumaan: two wistful and sexy short stories read by author Douglas Stuart on The Writer's Voice podcast.

This podcast was produced by Katya Kumkova.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julien Baker’s Quantum Queerness and Cops at Pride

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 10:00:00 GMT

It’s Pride month, which means Outward is feeling particularly festive! Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are joined by musician Julien Baker to discuss her feelings about Pride, queerness, fluidity, and ways of interpreting queer art. Then Jillian Hanlon, a trans cop in upstate New York, joins to offer her take on the recent debate over cops at Pride.

Items discussed on the show:

Skittles go gray for Pride month.

A Twitter thread about kink at Pride.

Out in the Country: Youth, Media, and Queer Visibility in Rural America, by Mary Gray

Julien Baker interview on Working

Julien Baker on the Queerology podcast

The October 2018 Outward episode that includes interviews with members of No Justice No Pride and Reclaim Pride

“A Mistep by the Organizers of Pride,” by the New York Times’ Editorial Board

“The New York Times Doesn’t Know What Pride Is For,” by J. Bryan Lowder, in Slate

Gay Agenda

Christina: Drew Gregory’s interview with Daniela Sea in Autostraddle

Bryan: Hola Papi, by John Paul Brammer

Rumaan: You are enough, queer comrades!

This podcast was produced by Margaret Kelley and June Thomas.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/outwardplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Re-Introducing The Waves

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 19:58:29 GMT

The Waves is back, and we thought Outward listeners might enjoy this week's episode about Season 3 of Master of None, which focuses on a Black lesbian relationship. But is it worth watching?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ACT UP History and Queer Portraits

Wed, 19 May 2021 16:06:49 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are joined by Sarah Schulman, whose new book Let the Record Show sets out to correct inaccurate representations of ACT UP New York, its tactics, and its philosophy of direct action in response to the AIDS epidemic. Then they discuss three collections of photographs of LGBTQ people. Who are they for, and will they be seen by the people who need them most?

Items discussed on the show:

"How to Be a Queer Person in the World Post-Quarantine," by Naveen Kumar

The section of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass that begins, "I have perceived that to be with those I like is enough.”

Let The Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-93, by Sarah Schulman

Sarah’s appearance on the June 10, 2020, episode of Outward, “ACT UP and Larry Kramer's Legacy”

The ACT UP Oral History Project

Self Evident Truths: 10,000 Portraits of Queer America, by IO Tillett Wright

Queer Love in Color, by Jamal Jordan

Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, by JEB (Joan E. Biren)

Gay Agenda

Bryan: Taylor Mac’s "Whitman in the Woods"

Christina: Call My Agent

Rumaan: Halston

This podcast was produced by Margaret Kelley.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

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Lesbians in Paris … and in Period Dramas

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 19:25:50 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are first joined by Diana Souhami, whose new book, No Modernism Without Lesbians, tells the story of Sylvia Beach, Bryher, Natalie Barney, Gertrude Stein, and the artistic community they built in Paris between the wars. Then June Thomas joins them for a discussion of the recent spate of period dramas featuring women in love. Why can’t the women in these films get a little electricity or running water?

Items discussed on the show:

Dan D’Addario on Colton Underwood’s coming out, in Variety

Daniel Schroeder on what Underwood’s coming out revealed about the Bachelor franchise, in Slate

“Transgender Childhood Is Not a ‘Trend’,“ by Jules Gill-Peterson in the New York Times

No Modernism Without Lesbians, by Diana Souhami

Saturday Night Live’s take on lesbian period dramas

Ammonite

Carol

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (and Slate Spoiler Special episode)

The World to Come

Gay Agenda

Bryan: The Lady and the Dale on HBOMax

Rumaan: Julie Mehretu’s exhibit at the Whitney Museum, and the New York Times T Magazine conversation between Mehretu and her former partner Jessica Rankin

June: The audiobook Hoosier Daddy, by Ann McMan and Salem West, and Not the Real Jupiter, by Barbara Wilson

Christina: Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, by JEB, and June’s interview with JEB on Slate’s Working podcast about the making of the book

This podcast was produced by Margaret Kelley.

Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.

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Power Dynamics and Trans Discrimination

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 14:49:29 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan discuss a New York magazine piece about fashion designer Alexander Wang, the dynamics of power and consent, and the swiftly changing norms of gay spaces. Then they’re joined by science writer Riley Black to discuss her recent Slate piece about how science might not be the best tool to argue with those who oppose trans rights.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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Gay Bars and Hookup Apps

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 16:14:20 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are first joined by June Thomas to discuss Jeremy Atherton Lin’s new book Gay Bar, their own personal histories with gay bars, and if such queer spaces have a future. Then they’re joined by Autostraddle’s Shelli Nicole to talk about the Lex app, a text-based dating app aimed at queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming people. They discuss how the app got its start, the ways it’s changed in just one year, and if queer women will ever have an app that’s just for sex.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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Detransition, Baby and #GaysOverCOVID

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 17:06:38 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan discuss the New Year’s drama in Puerta Vallarta, the Instagram account that popped up to shame gay people for traveling during COVID, and if shaming ever works as a health and safety tactic. Then they interview Torrey Peters about her new book Detransition, Baby. They talk with her about writing for a trans audience and expecting cisgender readers to keep up, why so much adult queer fiction resembles YA, and how elephants fit into it all.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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Queer Holiday Movies: Naughty or Nice?

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 11:00:00 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan speak with Ruth Coker Burks, author of the new book All the Young Men: A Memoir of Love, AIDS, and Chosen Family in the American South, about her work in the 1980s, helping Arkansans with AIDS. Then they discuss three of 2020’s bumper selection of LGBTQ holiday movies: The Christmas Setup, Happiest Season, and A New York Christmas Wedding. Should we be grateful for the gift of representation, or should we be searching for the receipt?

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Barrett, Biden, and Backwards Bryan

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 05:00:00 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan speak with Ria Tabacco Mar, the ACLU’s director of the Women’s Rights Project, about what the future for LGBTQ people looks like with president-elect Biden and an even more conservative Supreme Court. Then they discuss Uncle Frank, a film from Alan Ball about a gay man and his partner on a road trip with his niece from Manhattan to South Carolina in the 1970’s. They talk about how this differs from last month’s Boys In the Band, and the importance of remembering past queer struggles.

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. (edited)

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Caught in Gay Amber

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 19:18:34 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan look at fact and fiction in gay history. First, they examine Netflix’s recent version of The Boys in the Band in the context of the original, and how it captures a specific moment of gay life. Then they discuss the new HBO series EQUAL, which seeks to tell the stories of important figures from the history of the LGBTQ movement. They discuss how the utter modernity of interpretation and style leave the series lacking, but how useful it could be as a teaching tool and reminder of pre-Stonewall activism. Producer Daniel pops in for a short segment about the Ryan Murphy of it all.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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Being Horny Is Thorny

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 18:09:02 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan interview journalist Angela Chen about her new book, Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex. They talk about asexuality’s rise in visibility, where ace people fit in the queer community, and how asexuality can lead us to question so many of our assumptions about social constructions that depend on who your sexual partners are. Then they unpack the story of gay politician Alex Morse, whose recent congressional campaign was plagued with accusations of sexual impropriety, and what a politician’s queer sex life is allowed to look like.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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Who Is Ellen to Us?

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 17:35:00 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan talk to Slate sex-advice columnist Rich Juzwiak about the state of sex six months into the COVID-19 crisis. They discuss the sorts of questions he’s fielding, the limits of sexual creativity, and navigating casual sex during this time. Then the team digs into Ellen DeGeneres, how she fits into the history and modern landscape of queer media, and why she seems so disappointing.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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Sweat and Sorrow in the Summer

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 18:23:49 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan interview journalist David France about his new documentary Welcome to Chechnya on the atrocities happening there and the work being done by activists to liberate queer Chechens. Then they discuss the new audio documentary by Evan Roberts, “Caring for Lesbian Icon Phyllis Lyon, With Love and Deceit.” June shares how important Naya Rivera and her Glee character, Santana Lopez, were to the queer community and changing American attitudes on gay marriage. Then we close it out with the gay agenda.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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We’re Here, We’re Married, We’re Employed

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 19:26:19 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan spoke with Mark Joseph Stern about the fifth anniversary of marriage equality, the future of LGBTQ rights in the United States, and the recent Supreme Court decision about employment discrimination. Then we’ve got our live show from June 3, when Bob the Drag Queen joined the crew to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement, police violence, and the healing power of the new HBO series We’re Here.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder and Melissa Kaplan.

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ACT UP and Larry Kramer’s Legacy

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 19:29:00 GMT

In this special episode, Bryan, Christina, and Rumaan interview activist and writer Sarah Schulman about ACT UP and the legacy of Larry Kramer. They discuss how Kramer’s tactics helped and hindered the organization, the ways white gay men played an outsize role as a public face of the movement, and what lessons we should take from ACT UP’s past successes. Schulman and Jim Hubbard coordinated the ACT UP Oral History Project, and her forthcoming book is Let the Record Show: ACT UP and the Enduring Experience of AIDS.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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The Queerness of Quarantine Bubbles

Wed, 20 May 2020 19:08:53 GMT

This month, Christina admits to creating a quarantine bubble, and she talks with Bryan and Rumaan about why she felt comfortable joining her friends in this way and why our community seems better-equipped than others to figure out how to make such micro-communities work. Then they discuss two new documentaries on Netflix, A Secret Love and Circus of Books, and unpack how these films tried and failed to reckon with the depths of their subjects while still stirring some warm feelings along the way.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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Finding Life at Queer Virtual Sex Parties

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 20:38:42 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan discuss virtual sex parties during self-isolation with former Slate colleague Andrew Kahn, exploring what it’s like to see all these different screens and how distance and self-consciousness play into the experience. Then they talk about the Netflix series Tiger King, all its queer story threads, and whether it’s actually bad for the gays.

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COVID-19, AIDS, and Community

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 19:28:00 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan look at comparisons between the COVID-19 pandemic and AIDS with Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign. Then they conduct a post-mortem on Pete Buttigieg with DC lawyer and Pete supporter Brooke Clagett.

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Outward Classic: Our Queer Roots

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 16:56:28 GMT

A look back at our first episode:

On the first episode, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley—along with a smorgasbord of Slate staffers—reveal their queer roots. Does it all come down to crop tops? Then, in the debut Straight Studies segment, Slate features director Laura Bennett helps us decide if straight, cisgender people have roots too. Then Alex Barasch joins the gang to talk about his Washington Post piece, “Biology Is Not Destiny: Seeking a Scientific Explanation for Trans Identity Could Do More Harm Than Good.”

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Queer Advice

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 15:01:29 GMT

In this special bonus episode, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are joined by John Paul Brammer of the Hola Papi column to offer some sex and relationship advice. They answer listener questions about asexuality and navigating intimacy, reconciling fantasies with reality, taking the first steps into queer dating, and reconsidering why you might not identify with a community you’re already a part of.

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Pandering and Parenting

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 18:16:00 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan break down exclusively gay moments in film and television, exploring why they can feel so craven, and if there’s any way to get it right. Then they interview Richie Jackson about his new book Gay Like Me, a letter to his gay son about the importance of being gay. They discuss the significance of Harvey Fierstein, growing up gay, and why queer identities are so essential. Then we close it out with a usual update to the gay agenda, looking at good versions of exclusively gay moments.

We’ve got a Valentine’s Day advice show coming up with JP Brammer of the Hola Papi advice column, so send your questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at (929) 266-4914.

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Special Episode: The Inheritance

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 17:39:59 GMT

In this special bonus episode of Outward, Bryan and a guest panel of multigenerational gay men devote a whole hour to The Inheritance, a seven-hour, two-part play by Matthew Lopez that won many awards for its recent run in London and is currently dominating discussions on Broadway. There will be spoilers!

While it’s length, ambition, and engagement with the AIDS crisis have invited comparisons to Tony Kushner’s “gay fantasia on national themes” Angels in America, The Inheritance’s driving concern is a bit more personal: If gay men think of ourselves as a community spanning generations, what happens when a huge swath of that community is lost to plague, the survivors deeply traumatized, and younger cohorts must therefore come of age and figure out what it means to be gay in the wake of a tragedy that shapes everything around us? Borrowing a line from E.M. Forester’s Howard’s End, on which the play is based, The Inheritance desperately wants gay men to “connect” across age and loss — but is that kind of connection really possible?

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The LGBTQ Decade

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 18:55:50 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan welcome Rumaan Alam as the official third host of Outward. First, June Thomas joins the team to discuss the new L Word reboot, how it compares to the original, ways it’s stepped past it, and if any of the characters will actually become unlikeable. Then the trio go through an extended segment of prides and provocations of the decade with Andy Bowen, a consultant on queer and economic social justice issues. They tackle marriage equality, PreP, lesbian bars, and the savvy ways the LGBTQ community have navigated governmental bureaucracy. Then we close it out with a usual update to the gay agenda.

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Kids These Days

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 19:04:43 GMT

This month, Christina and Bryan are joined again by writer and Slate advice columnist Rumaan Alam to talk about children. First, the team invites Slate executive editor Allison Benedikt to talk about the ways children learn about queerness and sexuality, what we can do to teach and be an example, and how kids often pick up this stuff without us. Then they interview clinical psychologist Dr. Laura Edwards-Leeper about a recent case in Texas involving a trans child, the best routes for handling pre-adolescent trans care, and how affirming a child’s gender identity can really only help. And, of course, we’ve got our usual rounds of gay agenda and prides and provocations.

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Dolls and Democrats

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 18:08:01 GMT

This month, Christina and Bryan are joined by writer drag performer Pretty Rik E. After talking about Ellen and Big Mouth during Pride and Provocations, they jump into CNN’s LGBTQ town hall where nine different candidates discussed the queer aspects of their platforms. Then they unwrap some toys, giving Mattel’s new Creatable World dolls a spin to see what it’s like to play with a gender-neutral doll, and how it fits into a child’s gender-learning experience.

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What Makes Us Gay

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 17:39:10 GMT

This month, Christina, and Bryan, and are joined by writer Rumaan Alam. After Pride and Provocations they talk about the news about searching for the gay gene and whether the endeavor has any positive use. Then they discuss McKrae Game, the conversion therapist who recently came out as gay and the difficulties of feeling pity and pain about this news at the same time. Then they close it out with a usual round of the gay agenda.

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Fights

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 07:00:00 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Brandon look at the debates that can sometimes divide the queer family. After the usual Pride and Provocations, they dig into three fights happening in our community, including how critical we should be of queer art, authenticity of queer artists, and what we should all think about Marianne Williamson. Then we hear an interview with the late gay and lesbian rights activist Jean O’Leary, thanks to our friends at the Making Gay History podcast. We close it out with the gay agenda before saying farewell to Brandon, who is heading off to a new job at CNN.

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Icons

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 15:49:24 GMT

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Brandon immerse themselves in iconography. After a round of Pride and Provocations, we hear from a collection of queer Slate folks about who their icons are. Then the hosts explore major figures in their lives and what exactly makes an icon for different parts of the queer community. That is followed by an interview with Washington, D.C. drag king Pretty Rik E about the experience of drag and the influences straight male performers have on drag kings. And, as always, they wrap it up with a quick rundown of the gay agenda.

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Live From Joe's Pub

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 07:00:00 GMT

On June 27, 2019, the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and Brandon Tensley hosted a live show in New York City’s Joe’s Pub. They began with a World Pride-sized edition of Pride and Provocations. They were then joined by author Alexander Chee to discuss the legacies of queer activism and thought that inform his writing. Garcia and May Hong, the breakout stars of Netflix’s Tales of the City, also stopped by to talk about their connection to a series with a beloved legacy of its own. Finally, the hosts responded to questions from members of the audience. The show ends with a toast.

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Live From Slate Day

Wed, 19 Jun 2019 07:05:08 GMT

This month on Outward Bryan Lowder and Brandon Tensley join The Waves hosts June Thomas, Noreen Malone, and Nichole Perkins at our live Slate Day brunch in Manhattan. First, they discuss the exciting new teen comedy Booksmart. Next, June and Nichole interview first lady of New York City Chirlaine McCray about her history of queer activism, and her current advocacy for mental health reform and LGBTQ rights. Then, RuPaul’s Drag Race queen Miz Cracker sits down with Bryan and Brandon to discuss feminist drag and her new show American Woman.

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The “Sex Ed” Edition

Wed, 15 May 2019 07:39:00 GMT

This month on Outward hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley talk about sex. First, they invite Slate culture editor Forrest Wickman on as a straight correspondent to find out what he knows and misunderstands about queer sex, and why the word rosebud has more than one meaning. Next, Christina, Bryan and Brandon discuss how they learned about queer sex, what porn gets right and wrong, and what sorts of lessons belong in sex education. Then, they talk to journalist Anna Franks, who recently wrote about dental dams for the Atlantic, about if dental dams are useful and why they persist. Plus, June Thomas pops up in the chats here and there.

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Introducing Uncover: The Village

Wed, 01 May 2019 10:00:00 GMT

Two waves of murders, 40 years apart. Who’s killing men in Toronto’s gay community and why are they getting away with it? The latest season of Uncover from CBC Podcasts is out now: cbc.ca/uncover

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The "Scene" Edition

Wed, 17 Apr 2019 16:42:09 GMT

This month on Outward hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley discuss the queer scene. What does that word even mean? How many scenes are there? And where do we all fit in? First they’re joined by Slate’s own June Thomas to talk about the definition of scene, and how everyone found their own. Then they wade into the debate of Pete Buttigieg and why he’s such a big part of the queer conversation right now. And finally former Slatester Shirley Chan comes on to talk about the difficulty of finding bi culture, and what it one day may look like.

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Live Show Announcements!

Mon, 08 Apr 2019 17:35:47 GMT

We're so excited to announce our June live shows in New York City!

On Saturday, June 8, we will be hosting a brunch with The Waves on the High Line as a part of Slate Day, a whole day filled with Slate-related events. Come join us as we sip cocktails, have fun with guests, and relish the gayest of meals.

On Thursday, June 27, we'll be live at Joe's Pub celebrating World Pride. Come bask in the queer joy with us as we gab with guests and enjoy a cabaret performance together.

For tickets, go to Slate.com/live.

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The "Town and Country" Edition

Wed, 20 Mar 2019 15:44:00 GMT

This month on Outward hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley discuss queer experience in rural and urban environments. First they talk through their decisions to move to major cities when starting their gay lives and what drew them away from smaller locales. Next they’re joined by Hugh Ryan to discuss his book When Brooklyn Was Queer and how the urbanization of Brooklyn allowed its queer identity to blossom. Then they interview Samantha Allen about her new book Real Queer America about finding strong queer communities in red states. And they answer some advice about finding your own queer home in a smaller than average place.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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The "Queer Media" Edition

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 07:00:00 GMT

This month on Outward hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley discuss queer media. With so many queer publications either shuttering or in some state of flux, they decided to dig into our own world a bit and looking at current mainstream and independent media outlets and those from the past. They spoke with Jason Baumann of the New York Public Library about their new exhibit Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50, and the new collection The Stonewall Reader featuring queer writing from before, during and after the Stonewall riot. Then they’re joined by Autostraddle co-founder and CEO Riese Bernard to discuss the origins of her site and how it fosters such a special sense of community.

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The "Travel" Edition

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 09:00:00 GMT

This month on Outward hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley talk all about queer travel. Where do they like to go and how do they find gay experiences when they get there? Then they speak with cultural anthropologist Esther Newton about her work studying the queer community of Cherry Grove on Fire Island and the way its changed over the decades, and her new memoir My Butch Career. Slate staffer Erin Nichols explains the difficulties of going through airport security as a genderqueer person. And finally, June Thomas joins in for a fun bit of queer travel advice.

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The "Spirituality" Edition

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 08:00:00 GMT

This month on Outward hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley look for queer spirituality. Where do we find it if not in a church? First they’re joined by producer Daniel Schroeder to talk about astrology, enneagrams, and the ways they embrace queer magic. Then they interview artist Leo Herrera about his new series the FATHERS Project, a video series that seeks to answer the question, what if AIDS never existed? Then they get a call from Laura Root of Affirmation where she shares her experience reconciling her Latter Day Saints faith with her life as a gay woman. Then they tackle an advice question about sexual attraction, and as always recommend pieces for the gay agenda.

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The "Family" Edition

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 08:00:00 GMT

This month on Outward, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley explore the meaning of family. How do gay people form their own families and create spaces from those bonds of kinship? First they play a game with Slate’s June Thomas, deciding whether fictional characters are members of the queer clan; then they each discuss the types of families they’ve created. They get a call from Lillian Faderman and her wife Phyllis Irwin about the legal journey of their relationship since the 1980s, and then Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern joins the hosts to talk about the different legal options LGBTQ people have to build families together.

This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.

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The "Radicals" Edition

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 08:00:00 GMT

This month on Outward hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley find out what it means to be radical. October is Gay History month and so we’re honoring those radical queers who started to advocate for gay rights. First they’ve got a compilation of radicalization moments from important queer figures, those times the felt pulled into the fight. Thank you to the Making Gay History podcast for the use of their archival tape. Then they sit down with Angela Peoples formerly of No Justice No Pride, and Brandon Cuicchi of Reclaim Pride to discuss how Pride parades have become commercialized and what they’re doing to take them back. Finally, the gang plays the game ‘Radder Than Thou’ where they debate which of two topics are more radical.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder

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The "Orientation" Edition

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:00:00 GMT

This month on Outward hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley explore how we learn to be queer. June Thomas joins in for a quick game about queer tropes and culture before the hosts discuss what being queer and embracing queer culture means, and their first experiences establishing their queer identities. Then Slate contributor Evan Urquhart and trans activist Andy Bowen sit down with Christina to think through what it means to be a trans person. Finally, they end the show by answering an advice question about presenting as bi, and of course a round of the gay agenda.

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The "Our Queer Roots" Edition

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 10:00:00 GMT

Outward has a new monthly podcast! On the first episode, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and New America’s Brandon Tensley—along with a smorgasbord of Slate staffers—reveal their queer roots. Does it all come down to crop tops? Then, in the debut Straight Studies segment, Slate features director Laura Bennett helps us decide if straight, cisgender people have roots, too. Then Alex Barasch joins the gang to talk about his Washington Post piece, “ Biology Is Not Destiny: Seeking a Scientific Explanation for Trans Identity Could Do More Harm Than Good."

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder

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Coming Aug. 15: Outward, Slate's LGBTQ podcast!

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 16:11:48 GMT

Join hosts Christina Cauterucci, Bryan Lowder, and Brandon Tensley for Outward, Slate's new queer podcast. Every month they'll bring Pride and Provocations, interviews, and sass a-plenty.

Subscribe to get every episode. And write to us at outwardpodcast@slate.com.

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