Making Gay History

Women can’t get AIDS—or so Michelle Lopez thought until she tested positive for HIV in 1990. Viable treatments were years away, but the undocumented immigrant from Trinidad would not be defeated. She turned her diagnosis into an opportunity to help others while she fought for her life. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources, as well as a transcri...

As a complement to our episode featuring Ann Northrop, meet Peter Staley, another seminal member of ACT UP, in this 2021 interview courtesy of the LGBTQ&A podcast, hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by The Advocate in partnership with GLAAD. Listen to the LGBTQ&A podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://w...

Fierce and unflappable, veteran journalist Ann Northrop is a natural activist. In this episode, she discusses her most dramatic ACT UP arrest, her work as an AIDS education advocate, her blue-blooded upbringing, and the lure of Angie Dickinson. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources, as well as a transcript of the episode. To learn more about lis...

Randy Boyd’s “gay agenda” was to be radically open about who he was: a gay, HIV-positive writer—not the straight professional athlete he was always assumed to be. Determined to blow up stereotypes about Black people, gay people, and people living with HIV, he had his work cut out for him.  Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources, as well as a tran...

From her home in Juneau, Alaska, Sara Boesser watched with alarm as the AIDS epidemic rolled across the lower 48 states, threatening lives and hard-won gay rights. The soft-spoken building inspector decided there was no time to waste. She became an activist and got to organizing. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources, as well as a transcript of...

Dr. Ronald Grossman treated his first AIDS patient before the disease even had a name. But with a New York City practice serving predominantly gay men, he would soon become an expert on the disease. By the time life-saving treatments became available, hundreds of his patients had died. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources, as well as a transcri...

Out gay journalist Randy Shilts desperately wanted to work for a big-city newspaper. No one wanted him. But reporting on the AIDS crisis brought him the success and fame he craved—and more than a little controversy. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources, as well as a transcript of the episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy pr...

We’re back with more stories from the AIDS crisis. Hear Eric Marcus in conversation with six people whose lives and activism were transformed by the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and beyond. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marc Thomson was just getting his footing as a young Black gay man in South East London when AIDS hit. Hear his story as he introduces us to people whose experiences have often been overlooked, including trans people, sex workers, and people of color. Listen to the entire series here or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.a...

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, MGH host Eric Marcus introduces a poignant episode about the early years of the AIDS crisis from The Log Books, an award-winning documentary podcast that tells untold stories from Britain’s LGBTQ history.  Subscribe to The Log Books wherever you get your podcasts, or visit www.thelogbooks.org. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: ht...

Being HIV+ was a virtual death sentence. So why get tested? But by 1988 there is a promising, if toxic, drug shown to extend life. Eric and Barry schedule their first test just as Eric starts work on his oral history book about the gay and lesbian civil rights movement. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. To learn more about listener data and...

“You’re doing too many stories on AIDS.” The word had come down from on high at CBS This Morning. Eric didn’t want anyone to think he was biased, but as the only out gay person on the production staff, he felt an obligation to cover the growing epidemic. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. To learn more about listener data and our privacy pra...

“I hope you both die of AIDS,” the young man in the pickup truck yells at Eric and Barry as they wait for the light to change while on a run in Central Park. By 1985, the AIDS crisis has arrived on their doorstep. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/p...

A straight drug addict. A gay waiter on a ventilator. Eric is confronted with the reality of AIDS when he volunteers for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Decades later, he speaks with his client’s widow, for whom AIDS is a daily reality. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https:/...

Even as the epidemic spreads, a rousing AIDS fundraiser at the circus, a new boyfriend, and journalism school combine to bring joy, a sense of community, and purpose into Eric’s life. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about...

“Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals,” said the New York Times headline on July 3, 1981. It was the first time Eric Marcus read about what came to be known as AIDS. Nothing for me to worry about, he decided, and turned the page. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.a...

AIDS first made national news 40 years ago. MGH host Eric Marcus was 22 at the time, a gay kid in search of love and a career in New York City. In this six-part audio memoir, Eric explores his memories of the early years of the epidemic and reconnects with people whose lives intersected with his. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-p...

In memoriam: Kay Lahusen, January 5, 1930 - May 26, 2021. Kay was a monumental figure in the LGBTQ civil rights movement. From the earliest homophile protests to gay liberation and beyond, she never stopped fighting for equality—with Barbara Gittings, her partner in life and activism, by her side. Visit our episode webpage for the episode transcript and for links to background information, archiva...

Olivia Records cofounder Meg Christian helped ignite the women’s music movement of the 1970s with lesbian classics like “Ode to a Gym Teacher.” Meet Meg, in song and conversation, in our final episode drawn from the Studs Terkel Radio Archive.  Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adch...

When Leonard Matlovich was thrown out of the Air Force for being gay, he sued for reinstatement. It was 1975 and it was the first case of its kind. Hear the LGBTQ rights pioneer—and startlingly frank one-time racist—in conversation with Studs Terkel. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...

Sparks flew when radical lesbian feminist Jill Johnston sat down for an interview with Studs Terkel in 1973. Jill had just published a controversial manifesto called “Lesbian Nation,” which advocated that women break with men entirely. It was provocative stuff—even for the usually unflappable Studs. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. Learn m...

A half-century ago, Studs Terkel interviewed three members of the homophile group Mattachine Midwest: the organization’s president, a student activist, and lesbian pulp author Valerie Taylor. Join them for a wide-ranging and laugh-filled conversation about gay liberation both personal and political. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. Learn m...

From a young age, Quentin Crisp was determined to be himself—makeup, painted nails, dramatically dyed hair, and all—even if it consigned him to a life of poverty and isolation. Hear the author, raconteur, and provocateur in a 1970 conversation with Studs Terkel before he found late-in-life fame. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. Learn more...

During a career that spanned more than three decades, Canadian female impersonator John Falk Tomkinson appeared around the globe under the stage name Les-Lee. In 1967 Studs Terkel sat down with the performer to talk about his art and upbringing, and his experiences of being “different.” Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. Learn more about you...

In 1959 Lorraine Hansberry became the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway. Soon after “A Raisin in the Sun” made history, the 28-year-old writer and activist talked to Studs Terkel about racial and gender inequity and the role of art in confronting difficult truths about our world. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. Learn m...