Outbeat News In Depth

Marriage equality heads back to the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 28, 2015.  On this edition of Outbeat News In Depth, we introduce you to the real people who are putting their lives and their relationships before the highest court in the nation.  We also take an in depth look at how attitudes about marriage have changed and hear from legal experts about their predictions for how t...

In May of 2010, we aired a story about homophobia in law enforcement. Almost 5 years have gone by and while we would like to think things have improved, a recent investigation by the San Francisco Police Department involving 10 of its own, suggests maybe not.  In this Outbeat Extra we revisited some of the interviews we did 5 years ago and hear from some new officers working in local agencies toda...

This is part 2 of our series on PrEP and the use of the drug Truvada as a strategy to prevent the spread of HIV.  This month, we look at how PrEP is being used here in the North Bay.  Meghan Murphy, program director at Face To Face, and Dr. Michelle Davey, the HIV Medical Director for West County Health Centers, talk about the North Bay attitudes and use of Truvada and what is required in order to...

This month we started a two-part series to explore a new “little blue pill.”  But you aren’t likely to see ads for this one on television during a football game.  This blue pill is used as a  Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis , or PrEP, as the latest way to fight the spread of HIV.  The drug is called Truvada and it’s being taken by men who have sex with men and who are HIV negative...

It’s a new year and that means resolutions!  Last month we reported on Outbeat News that many LGBT couples don’t do enough planning for retirement, so we are beginning our first show in 2015 with a discussion about some resolutions you can make to plan for your retirement in a way that will give you the kind of stability and quality of life you and your partner deserve.  Our good frien...

Robbie Rogers always knew he was gay, but what he heard in church and in the locker room kept him hiding deep in the closet.  But in 2013, it all changed when Robbie came out and became the first out gay man to play on a U.S. professional sports team.  Robbie visited Santa Rosa this month to talk with teens at Santa Rosa High School about his story and his new book, “Coming Out To Play.&#822...

If you haven’t visited San Francisco’s Castro District lately, you’re in for a big surprise.  San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener joined us to talk about the sidewalk expansion project he lead.  The project included extending sidewalks on Castro from Market St. to 19th Street, adding trees, and an extensive GLBT history walk featuring plaques from many famous people. We’l...

This month we traveled to Denver, Colorado for the 2014 Matthew Shepard Foundation Honors event.  It was 16 years ago this month that Matthew Shepard, then 21 years old, was abducted from a bar, tied to a fence, viciously beaten, and left to die.  His death started an international discussion about hate and LGBT rights.  11 years later, federal hate crimes legislation was expanded to include sexua...

This month we focused on various aspects of social responsibility and social justice.  Our first guest was Johnny Skandros, one of the two founders of the popular gay dating app SCRUFF, who shared with us their new “Benevolads” program.  SCRUFF is donating 1 million dollars a year in free advertising on their app to local LGBT non-profit organizations.  The goal of this program is to h...

On this special Outbeat Extra, we talked with Shane Windmeyer, the executive director of Campus Pride, the nations leading LGBT advocacy organization supporting college and university students and staff.  Shane shared some advice for LGBT students who are heading off to college this month, perhaps leaving home for the first time.  He also talked about Camp Pride, the only national leadership train...

This summer marks 50 years since President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.  The pursuit of civil rights for LGBT people continues today at a pace faster than any other civil rights movement in history.  This month we talked with two campions for LGBT civil rights, two straight allies, who have come together from opposite sides of the political spectrum to focus on bringing ma...

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men between the ages of 13 and 24 increased by a staggering 132.5 percent between 2001 and 2011, But the annual diagnosis rate for the general American population dropped by a third over the same time period. We’ve learned a lot since HIV was first identified, and we are learning m...

This month we celebrate Fathers Day and Gay Pride month here in the Bay Area and our first guest is a dad with much to be proud of!  Benjamin Hobson shared his coming out story with the world in a YouTube video he made.  He talked with us about how he overcame a problem with alcohol and came out as a gay man all at the same time.  Here is the video with his coming out story he published. httpv://w...

Outbeat Radio News will bring you coverage from this year’s World Pride celebration happening in Toronto, Canada.  We’ll have regular updates on our Facebook and Twitter feed as well as coverage on the Outbeat News segment airing on Sunday June 29 at 8PM PST and only on KRCB Radio. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scclMN9WAnU#t=94 Click Here To Learn More About World Pride 2014 Update J...

Pride 2014 celebrations here in the North Bay start next month and we have all of the details you need right here.  Stephen Zollman talks about how he jumped in to put this year’s Sonoma County Pride celebration together with support from the Guerneville Chamber of Commerce.  Ian Stanley joined us to talk about the plans for Napa Valley Pride – a two-week celebration that will include...

Immigration Equality is a non-profit organization based in New York that is helping LGBT people who are fleeing their home country because of oppressive laws such as those recently passed in Russia and Uganda.  Legal Director Aaron Morris joined us to talk about the work he and his staff are doing that is literally saving lives.  He explained the process of gaining asylum here in the United States...

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to speak at Travis Air Force Base to their new LGBT Alliance.  Just a few years ago, under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a group like this never would have existed.  This month, active duty members of the Air Force and members of the LGBT Alliance join us to talk about life in the military being out in this post DADT world.  These men and...

It was ten years ago this month that then San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome declared that California’s marriage law, that limited marriage to opposite sex couples, unconstitutional and ordered the City Clerk to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.  It began a 9 year battle challenging a California Supreme Court decision and a voter initiative called Proposition 8 that ended up at the...

The LGBT civil rights movement in the United States is moving quickly in a positive direction, but the tide of change in other parts of the world, such as Russia, Nigeria, and Uganda is moving just as quickly in the opposite direction.  This month we talked with our Washington DC correspondent, Ryan Olson, an LGBT activist who is doing a lot of work in Africa with HIV prevention.  He talked with u...

A new LGBT political group is forming in Napa and Solano County.  Craig Scott, Judith Learner, Andy Pembrook, and David Crumrine joined us to talk about this new civic organization modeled after the Stonewall Democrats.  This group is calling themselves the Bayard Rustin LGBT Political Club.  Craig told us how this group hopes to unite the LGBT communities in both Napa and Solano County by providi...

This month our good friend Kinna Crocker and her colleague, Tate Birnie joined us to talk about a case they handled here in Sonoma County with two women who got married just a week before the Supreme Court ruled on Prop 8.  They married early, because one of the women was dying.  Kinna and Tate talked about the favorable ruling they got for the surviving spouse.  We also celebrated marriage equali...

PFLAG, the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, is the nation’s oldest LGBT ally organization with over 200,000 members in 350 chapters.  The Napa FPLAG chapter has been revived this year by Rosemarie Vertullo.  Rosemarie joined us this month along with board members Earle Craigie and Casey McConnell-Leon.  They talked about their mission and hopes for bringing together not only parents...

It was 15 years ago this October that Matthew Shepard was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming in one of the most notorious hate crimes in our nations history.  But who was Matthew Shepard, or as his friends knew him, “Matt Shepard.”  After a decade and a half, a group of Matt’s friends have come together to share their memories of the friend they lost in a new documentary, “Matt S...

Over 37,000 same-sex couples are likely to get married here in California over the next three years. This means a great deal of new activity for those involved in the wedding business. A group of local businesses is forming a collaborative specifically to support same-sex couples looking for a planned wedding event. Stephanie Cole and Sarah Drake of Cole Drake Events joined us to talk about their...

Now that same-sex marriage has been restored in California, what’s next in our fight for LGBT rights?  This month the relatively new executive director of Equality California, John O’Connor, joined us to talk about how he has helped to revitalize this organization and what issues they are now addressing.  John talked about the work they are doing to support the safe school legislation,...