Living Queer

In the Season 1 finale of Living Queer , Carly Terkiel and Jessie Wang reflect on friendship, chosen family, and the relationships that make queer life possible. Across the season, we’ve explored resilience, stewardship, belonging, and power. This final conversation brings those threads together through kinship: the ways we find each other, care for one another, and build lives that feel whole and...

In this episode of Living Queer , Erwin de Leon speaks with James Lewis, director and screenwriter of the documentary Out Laws , about the global criminalization of homosexuality and its roots in colonialism. Through the stories of activists challenging these laws in court, James explores how history continues to shape the present. The conversation examines the politics of queer existence, the wea...

In this episode of Living Queer , Erwin de Leon speaks with Odell Mays, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist, nonprofit leader, and founding board member of the American LGBTQ+ Museum. With more than three decades of leadership across some of New York’s most influential LGBTQ+ institutions, Odell reflects on the experiences that shaped his commitment to community, service, and movement building....

What does it mean to fight for LGBTQ+ rights through families and the law? In this episode of Living Queer , Erwin de Leon speaks with Andrea Rivas, lawyer, activist, and founder of Asociación Familias Diversas de Argentina (AFDA), about building a movement that centers families, community, and access to justice. Together they discuss Argentina’s pioneering LGBTQ+ rights movement, the role of stra...

What does it mean to be both a scientist and unapologetically queer? In this episode of Living Queer , Erwin de Leon speaks with Harvey Kennedy-Pitt, founder of Unstukk and global public health practitioner, about power, queer identity, and the evolving nature of activism. Their conversation explores LGBTQ+ health equity, anti-trans backlash in the U.S. and U.K., minority stress, and why activism...

What does queer advocacy look like beyond Western contexts—and what can the global movement learn from it? In this episode of Living Queer , Erwin de Leon welcomes Enkhmaa Enkbold, Executive Director of the LGBT Center of Mongolia, the country’s first LGBTQ+ human rights organization, for a powerful conversation on global queer advocacy, safety, and solidarity Enkhmaa reflects on Mongolia’s legal...

What does it mean to create art in a world shaped by social media, capitalism, and increasing attacks on trans life? In this episode of Living Queer , host Erwin de Leon is joined by writer, dancer, and creative producer Benedict Nguyen, author of the bestselling novel Hot Girls with Balls . Benedict discusses the idea of “freelance flailing,” the realities of creative labor under capitalism, and...

What role do the arts play in shaping a more just and truthful society? In this episode of Living Queer , host Erwin de Leon is joined by arts leader, composer, dramaturg, and advocate Lee Bynum for a wide-ranging conversation on equity, representation, and queer leadership in the arts. Lee reflects on decades of work across theater, classical music, and academia, examining why diversity onstage m...

What if the experiences that made growing up queer difficult are also the source of our greatest strengths? In this episode of Living Queer , Erwin de Leon welcomes Andrew Gelwicks—celebrity fashion stylist, writer, and author of The Queer Advantage —for a thoughtful conversation on identity, resilience, and growth. Andrew reflects on growing up in Ohio, finding his way to New York’s fashion world...