LGBTQ&A

Joan Jett Blakk (a.k.a. Terence Alan Smith) talks about her historic 1992 presidential campaign, why the AIDS crisis influenced her run, and what it was like to be an out gay teenager in the '70s.  "They still ask the same questions that they asked in the '90s. 'Drag queens run for president in America?' I'm like, 'Well, they told us anybody could run for president. An...

Duane Michals has never followed the rules. The pioneering photographer, now 92 years old, says, "Because I didn't learn the photo rules it was very easy for me to abandon them. You're either defined by the medium...well, I redefined the medium." Duane talks about discovering his love for photography in the 1950s, not looking down on commercial work, his half-century-long relatio...

Hi! We're coming back! On February 27th! And we're continuing our special series, The LGBTQ+ Elders Project . I can't wait for you to hear it. For more info, come check out our Substack . Do you know an amazing elder and want to hear from them on the show? Come find me on Substack or social media ( @jeffmasters1 ) and let me know. I'd love to hear all about them. Ok, I'm off to...

When Amy Ray first started playing music with her Indigo Girls bandmate, Emily Saliers, her "head felt like it was going to explode". She remembers thinking, "This is amazing. Not, we sound amazing. But this feels amazing. It was always about, This feels amazing." They've been playing together for over 35 years now and it's their music that the queer community (and Gret...

Darcelle XV (Walter Cole), the world's oldest drag queen , died on March 23, 2023. She was 92. Since 1967 , Darcelle has been performing and running the Portland drag venue, Darcelle XV Showplace, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. I had the opportunity to speak with Darcelle and her friend and collaborator, Poison Waters (Kevin Cook) a few weeks before her de...

Dr. Charles Silverstein died this week at the age of 87. Best known for making the 1973 presentation before the American Psychiatric Association that led to the removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’s list of mental illnesses , he was also a co-author of the landmark book The Joy of Gay Sex . More than simply a sex manual with graphic drawings (though there was plenty...

Shatzi Weisberger died this week at the age of 92. A lifelong activist, Shatzi was a fixture at marches and protests here in NYC and was affectionately known as The People’s Bubbie. "I was a political lesbian for many years. I just loved being around lesbians...one of my earlier demonstrations was here in New York City and we did a die-in along with other people lying on the ground. And I started...

"I totally support the politics of coming out, but at the same time, I'm critical of the assumption that one's identity has to be the major driving force that determines one's politics."  For the final episode of our season, Angela Davis joins us to talk about how to keep pushing movements forward, why her incarceration was crucial in shaping her political journey, and why we...

"Prior to Hadestown, I played The Magical Negro. I have no regrets about that. But all the while...and this is going to sound corny, but it's true. All the while I was saying, 'Why doesn't someone cast me for my mind? For my intellect? Am I really just another pretty face?' And it came together in Hadestown." André De Shields talks about the five decades he's spent wo...

Please welcome to the stage, Miss Memory Lane! Colton Hayne s talks about the barriers that queer actors still face in Hollywood, why he went back into the closet while acting on hit shows like Teen Wolf and Arrow , and his new memoir, Miss Memory Lane . LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by The Advocate magazine, in partnership with GLAAD. A condensed transcript of each week's...

Gloria Allen is a legendary figure in Chicago's trans community. The 76-year-old joins us to talk about coming out as trans in the 1960s, why her family's support was so transformational, and the extraordinary impact that her charm school had on LGBTQ+ youth in Chicago. Mama Gloria , a new documentary by Luchina Fisher, is now streaming on PBS . LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produce...

The history-making politician shares every inspiring, heartbreaking, and drunken moment that led her to become the first openly trans person to serve in a state legislature in the United States. Danica Roem's new memoir, Burn The Page , is out now.  Kate Kelly (who you also hear from in the episode) and Danica co-authored this recent piece in Teen Vogue about why the Equal Rights Amendment is...

Janelle Monáe (!!!) joins us to talk about her journey to becoming a queer icon, new music, and her debut book, The Memory Librarian . “One of the main points that’s super important is about the threat of censorship, memory censorship. Because as we know, memories are essentially our stories that we tell ourselves to survive.” LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by The Advocate m...

Grab your best friend and give them the tightest possible hug: this episode is a celebration of platonic queer intimacy. R. Eric Thomas joins us to talk about being married to a pastor (it's fun!), the importance of queer community (also fun!), and his new YA novel, Kings of B'more .  LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by The Advocate magazine, in partnership with...

As of today, a Black lesbian is now the voice and face of the United States government. Karine Jean-Pierre, the newest White House press secretary, joins us to talk about why there is a place for all of us in politics, no matter what you might think of as the typical background or narrative for a politician. If a queer woman of color who immigrated to the U.S. as a kid could make it in politics, s...

With his crucial new book, historian Hugh Ryan restores The Women's House of Detention to its rightful place in LGBTQ+ history. "It was one of the Village’s most famous landmarks: a meeting place for locals and a must-see site for adventurous tourists. And for tens of thousands of arrested women and transmasculine people from every corner of the city, the House of D was a nexus, drawing the t...

Don Bachardy talks about the 33-years he spent with Christopher Isherwood (author of A Single Man and The Berlin Stories , which became the musical, Cabaret) and what it was like being an out gay couple in the 50s and 60s. Born in 1934, Don has gone on to become of the most respected portrait artists of our time.  This is part of our new LGBTQ+ Elders Project. Click here to listen to our rece...

Spoiler alert: You are going to die. Shatzi Weisberger works with people to dismantle their fears and worries around dying, helping them to approach their deaths with intentionality. A lifelong activist and former nurse, Shatzi was born in 1930. This is part of our new LGBTQ+ Elders Project. Click here to listen to our recent interview with the 87-year-old trans elder, Barbara Satin.  LGBTQ&a...

"When I was in the pool, HIV/AIDS didn't exist. That was a sanctuary for me. It was a place that I could go to, really to seek refuge from the stress of the HIV diagnosis." Four-time Olympic gold medal winner, Greg Louganis joins us to talk about his infamous concussion at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, sharing his HIV status with the world in 1995, and what life's been like since retiring from divin...

Alexandra Billings is redefining what is possible for our community. Before making a name for herself in the Chicago theatre scene and landing her breakout role in the TV show, Transparent, Alexandra was a showgirl and sex worker struggling with addiction. "I ate, I breathed oxygen, I had sex, and I did drugs, all with great, reckless abandon." There is zero precedent for Alexandra's remarkable ca...

After being discovered at a casting for Italian Vogue, Tracey "Africa" Norman's modeling career skyrocketed. In 1975, she memorably appeared as the face on a box of Clairol hair dye sold in drugstores across the U.S. In the middle of this formidable rise, Tracey was outed while on a shoot for Essence magazine. "And that's the day my career ended," she says. "Because the next day I called my agency...

Jamison Green has spent his career fighting to make the healthcare world a safer, more accessible place for transgender people. He talks about the seeming invisibility of trans men, gives the best explanation I've ever heard for why people feel threatened by gender nonconformity, and talks about coming into his bisexuality in his 50s. Jamison is the former president of the World Professional Assoc...

Ruthie Berman shares her epic, decades-long love story with her wife, Connie Kurtz. She talks about how they fell in love in the 1970s, successfully sued the New York City Board of Education for domestic partner benefits in 1988, and reflects on how much has and hasn't changed for LGBTQ+ people since she came out 50 years ago. "I deserve better in my golden years than what I have now. The world su...

When Torch Song Trilogy opened on Broadway in 1982, Harvey Fierstein became the first and, at the time, only out gay leading man on Broadway. He made further history by winning the Tony Award for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play for Torch Song Trilogy. One year later he won a third Tony Award for La Cage aux Folles and 20 years after that he won a fourth for playing Edna Turnblad Hairspray. Harv...

Tanya Asapansa-Johnson Walker talks about serving in the military in the '80s before Don't Ask, Don't Tell, survival sex work, living with HIV, and the immense barriers she's faced trying to access gender-affirming health care in the U.S. This is part of our new LGBTQ+ Elders Project. You can listen to our interview with the 87-year-old, Barbara Satin here. A condensed transcript of each week's in...