The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina

Summer vibes only!  Lina, Connie, and Producer Matt take Summer by storm. It’s all music, cookout food debates, beach energy, Fire Island plans, tan lines, and how you know summer has really started (hint: shirtless runners and sandals). They kick things off riffing on The Pointer Sisters, Cher, florals (groundbreaking), and the ultimate summer playlist soundtrack — from Donna Summer and the B‑52’...

Pop icon debates, queer history deep dives, and insider cultural storytelling! This week Connie and Lina are joined by writer-producer Jess Rothschild. First up, Madonna’s Confessions Two album. What do we know and what do we really want Madonna to deliver? Plus a deep dive on mother’s discography: Erotica , Bedtime Stories , Ray of Light , her stunning debut, and early classics like “Burnin’ Up”...

Buckle up. This week we’re joined by debut filmmaker Elliot Tuttle, director of Blue Film, one of the boldest queer indie films in recent memory. The film follows a cam boy hired by an anonymous client who turns out to be his disgraced former middle school teacher. It’s not comfortable and it was too scary for some LGBTQ film festivals.  This conversation goes deep, into queer loneliness, empathy...

This week on Cutting Up:  Roxy. Boy Bar. Mars. Absolute chaos. The legendary Shequida joins us to spill iconic ’90s NYC nightlife tea — from first seeing Lady Bunny at Mars to getting into The Roxy on opening night and navigating the East Village vs. big‑club wars. We get into:  ✨ Boy Bar boyfriend drama that sparked a full confrontation  ✨ Connie’s extreme corset era (and the trauma that follow...

What does it actually take to defend trans rights in 2026? This week, Connie and Lina sit down with Victoria Foster James of Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) to talk about the legal, political, and cultural fight shaping transgender equality in America.  Formed from the merger of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF),...

Connie and Lina are back with Part 2 of their conversation with Laverne Cox, and from the jump we are talking about whether trauma is necessary for strength, the political fight over trans youth and puberty blockers, and the real harm of taking kids off medication. Laverne shares how she uses her lived experience in her acting, reflects on a cut monologue in a Keanu Reeves/Cameron Diaz film, and o...

Laverne Cox is here, and she's giving us two full episodes. This is the conversation we've been waiting for! Laverne sits down to talk about 1990s New York nightlife, trans visibility, and her new memoir, Transcendent (out June 9, available for presale now).  Before the Emmy nominations and the global recognition, Laverne was on the downtown dance floors during one of the most electric e...

This week, Connie and Lina welcome Zach Miller, host of the podcast Before We Cheers, and the vibes are very New York, very cultured, and just a little chaotic (in the best way). Zach describes Before We Cheers as “the emotional truths we tell before the toast.” The show was inspired by writing his best friend’s wedding speech, that vulnerable, unfiltered moment before everyone raises their glass....

What was New York nightlife really like before phones, influencers, and bottle service? This week on The Cutting Up, we sit down with East Village legend DJ Gant Johnson to relive the chaos, glamour, and dance-floor magic of 80s and 90s NYC club culture. We’re talking: 🔥 Crowbar Tuesdays  🔥 Boy Bar  🔥 Salon Wednesdays (1993–1999)  🔥 Pat Fields era fashion  🔥 Sugar Babies, the legendary Monday...

Peppermint joins The Cutting Up , and the gloves are OFF. The icon, activist, and 2026 NYC Pride Grand Marshal comes through for what starts as a springtime kiki, and ends up being one of our most honest, most necessary conversations yet. From shouting out Sinners to going all the way in on Caitlyn Jenner's cheerleading for Trump, travel bans hitting the community, celebrity non-apologies, th...

This week on The Cutting Up, Connie and Lina are welcoming our brother-in-chaos and Pride royalty himself, David Correa. Shall we start with outfits and an I Love Lucy tangent? Yes, we shall. David and Lina go way back—all the way to 2016, when he booked her as the resident DJ for NYC Pride’s Pride Island, a year that honestly shifted everything in terms of diversity, visibility, and who gets to t...

Okay, first of all… yes. The camera betrayed us last time. But like true legends, we came back hotter. On this episode, we welcome back the incomparable Alvaro, an artist, fashion insider, South Bronx original. And this time the cameras stayed ON. Not only is his art all over our “studio,” but he literally presented Connie with a gorgeous original portrait. Because we keep company with icons only....

This week we are joined by producer Matthew Breen (who also doubles as HR, Sugar). We all spiral from the iconic Justin-Britney denim lewk into a full jukebox of memories. It’s all about MUSIC. The albums that raised us, the songs that cracked us open, the disco divas who built community, the house tracks that baptized us on dance floors, and the very specific art of a “seal the deal” sexy playlis...

It’s a birthday episode and we are celebrating all month, Sugar and we’re setting intentions. Connie and Lena kick things off with a mystical little “circle of three” blessing before summoning the icon, the legend, the voice you definitely know — Kevin Aviance — for the ultimate backstage Kiki. We get into why our work is political (yes, even the glam), how assimilation has dulled parts of LGBTQ+...

This week on The Cutting Up, Connie and I are kiki‑ing in Washington Heights like it’s a downtown séance — and our guest? Only a living, breathing piece of NYC nightlife history: the one and only Joey Arias. Yes. That Joey Arias. Performance art legend. Mugler muse. Warhol era mischief-maker. Billie Holiday channeler. Downtown royalty. We kick off doing what we do best: manifesting peace on earth,...

Baby… this episode? A whole mood. Wilson Cruz dropped into The Cutting Up and we started where all important conversations start: backstage glam. Because if we’re going to talk about surviving late-stage capitalism and political chaos, we’re at least doing it moisturized. But don’t get it twisted — the kiki got real. We talked about what it means to trust timing in a career that’s feast‑or‑famine....

This week’s kiki starts creamy… but quickly turns into a full-blown “the first time I…” chaos! . Yes, we open with creamsicles, Charlie perfume, and a head-to-toe cream moment (because aesthetics matter). But the real meat of this episode? Our firsts. We play a rapid-fire game of: First crush First best friend First heartbreak First album that changed our personality First celebrity crush (problem...

Oooh Sugar, we are back and bring you a peek “backstage” - it’s  unfiltered, off-the-rails and spiritually protected, okay?? Because why did we start the episode spraying “Go Away Evil” like we were cleansing demons… and almost took ourselves out in the process. I nearly gagged. Connie was no help. Pure chaos from the jump. Then we get into these MEN… Listen, we are not here to be fetishized. We a...

Hey Sugar, we’re back! 💋 This week on The Cutting Up , Connie and I start with a cute little backstage kiki — you know, just casually spiraling from Diane Freis dresses and YSL fantasy to vintage perfume memories and our retro TV crushes. As one does. But then… the energy shifts. I start talking about listening to that inner voice (because mine does not whisper, she announces), grounding in natur...

🚩 If he says “I don’t really give compliments…” baby, that’s your cue. 🚩 This week on The Cutting Up , we’ve got outfit breakdowns, supermodel nostalgia, and mental Versace campaigns. But then we unpack our prophetic dreams and talk about men who should’ve been sent packing. We get into red flags we ignored, love bombing, men who order for you at dinner like we’re on Mad Men, and that very speci...

Okay Sugar, it’s Valentine’s Day and we are serving opinions and giggles. This episode is basically a heart‑shaped box of chaos. First up, dating apps that test my patience, then subway crushes that live rent‑free in our minds. What are the romantic gestures that actually matter? And why honesty in relationships is non‑negotiable , even when it’s awkward. We answer your questions, overshare a bit...

On this episode of The Cutting Up , we went full cosmic with David Odyssey from Heavenly Bodies. Honey, that’s a crossover! And it felt magical, grounding, and just plain fun. We started out reminiscing (yes, The B‑52s DID come up 💃) before diving into what was really in the air: astrology, tarot, and the energetic shifts happening both collectively and personally right now. David led us through...

This week on the pod, Connie and I are doing what we do best: talking fashion, reliving auditions we absolutely should have booked, and unpacking the absolute circus that is today’s news cycle. We get into door‑knocker earrings (obviously), guilty pleasures, iconic roles, and the very real gymnastics trans actors have to do just to exist in Hollywood. We’re joined by the fabulous Matthew Breen, wh...

Okay Sugar, strap in! This episode of The Cutting Up is serving beauty, history, and a whole lot of truth. This week, when the gong rashes, guess who it is… the iconic Bradley Miller—makeup artist, educator, and all‑around force—and she sits down for a kiki that starts with nostalgic movie obsessions and legendary lipstick moments, and quickly turns into something deeper, but no less fabulous. Bra...

We were already in full kiki mode, but once fitness icon Kacy Duke stepped into the chat? Baby. It became a juicy, feel-good, soul-stirring conversation about fitness, confidence, and loving the skin you’re in, no matter the season. We talked about how our bodies survived the pandemic, laughed about our favorite throwback ’80s workout queens, and confessed what fitness really looks like for us the...