Outward: Slate's LGBTQ podcast

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 p...

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 A...

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 fai...

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. Hosted on Acast....

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

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...

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. Ho...

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 ar...

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...

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 que...

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...

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 d...

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...

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...

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 abo...

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,...

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 LGB...

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 por...

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

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 b...

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 qu...

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...

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 thei...

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 me...

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...