The Gay Lane Podcast

Hello from the land down under! This week, we’re recapping the first part of our recent trip to Australia, where we spent several days in Sydney and Byron Bay, both in New South Wales. For the Sydney portion, we witnessed Vivid Sydney, a ravishing annual lights festival, and toured Qtopia, the largest queer cultural center and museum in the world. We had some of the best meals — and views — of the...

We’re back! After a brief podcast pause to catch up on work and life (and travel to Australia!), we’re chatting about our favorite Colorado mining town on this week’s podcast! Located in SW Colorado, Durango is a place that has been a thread through Nathan’s life, from his first visit as a toddler, to later returns as a father, a solo traveler going through divorce, and a husband on his honeymoon....

Hello and welcome to The Gay Land Podcast, where we’re celebrating queer culture in… expected places?! This week, we’re wrapping up our three-part Norwegian cruise series with a recap of our days in Rotterdam and Amsterdam — two iconic global queer destinations, known for their queer culture. And boutique condom emporiums. We dig into the seaport and architectural history of Rotterdam, discuss our...

After our last episode on our Holland America cruise on the North Sea, we’re sailing along with a deep dive into our four stops in Norway. We shopped for trolls in Nordfjordeid… Celebrated our anniversary with viking swords and petroleum in Stavanger… Road a boat by the dreamiest island homes in Lillesand… And went from the Munch Museum to butter-fried cod in Oslo. It was a week we’ll remember for...

Freshly back from a week-long Norwegian dream cruise with Holland America Line, we’re reflecting on the journey itself, and the onboard moments we loved the most. The tagline for Holland America is “Savour the Journey,” and we did precisely that. Save for a little seasickness on the first day (the North Sea is no joke!), we had a great time aboard the MS Rotterdam. On this episode, we’re focusing...

Hello and welcome to The Gay Lane Podcast! After a short break, we’re back with a catchup episode about some of our recent travels, including Matt’s trip to the second annual Adirondack Winter Pride in Lake Placid, and Nathan’s vacation with friends in Belize (which he wrote about, quite beautifully, here ). Oh and in between, we got another dog! Cooper is a 1-year-old dachshund/border terrier mix...

It’s the DominiCAN, not the DominiCAN’T. That’s what we told ourselves as we leapt off an 18-foot waterfall in the rainforest, with no waivers in sight. It capped off the craziest day of our Caribbean cruise — and frankly, our lives. On this week’s episode, we’re recapping our day in the Dominican Republic, including an insane waterfall hike, and a colorful beach day with our biggest fan. Thank yo...

“We’ve been talking about butlers a lot lately, but it’s only because we’ve had them.” Ahoy, listeners! This week, we’re setting sail on the MSC Grandiosa , cruising from Port Canaveral through the Caribbean. Buckle up, because it’s — quite literally — a bumpy ride. Along the way, we attended LGBTQ+ get-togethers onboard, clung to the deck in gale-force winds, and wined and dined in Yacht Club, th...

2026 marks the centennial of Route 66, and you better believe we’ll be celebrating ALL. YEAR. LONG. Our first stop was a road trip through northern New Mexico, chasing neon lights and service stations from Tucumcari to Santa Fe and Albuquerque — with a Turquoise Trail detour in between. Along the way, we stayed in renovated motor courts, hung out at a gay bar on Route 66, hiked the Rio Grande, and...

This week’s episode takes us south of the border, to the “Gay Capital of Mexico,” Puerto Vallarta. We spent a few days at the gorgeous Hotel Mousai, where we floated in various bodies of infinity water, and paired our steaks with our Mexican wine, with the help of a Meat Sommelier, and we didn’t know what to do with our butler. Between the pools and the hot tub movies, we spent the day exploring Z...

Happy New Year! Before the ball drops (ahem), we’re taking a stroll down memory lane, sharing our highlights of the year. We each picked five things that stood out to us, from special stops on our west coast road trip to treasured inns and parks. This was also the year that we launched The Gay Lane , and we want to thank you all for your support — for listening, subscribing, following. It’s been s...

Happy holigays! We’re halfway through December and chest-deep in Christmas movies. So let’s talk about some of our favorites! This week, we each picked three Christmas movies to discuss, from the idyllic holiday house in The Family Stone , to a very merry lesbian holiday in Carol . Some of these are comforting hate-watches, while others bring sincere joy. Along the way, I steal my brother’s girlfr...

We’re getting a little spicy on the podcast this week! On the heels of Matt’s zesty op-ed, The End of a Gayborhood Era , we wanted to delve a little deeper and talk more about why we’ve started to feel uncomfortable in traditional gay spaces, like gay bars, nightclubs, and gayborhoods. This is a big part of The Gay Lane ethos, and why we prefer to celebrate queer culture in unexpected places, so w...

After last week’s Disney World episode , we wanted to dedicate space for our time in Orlando proper. One of the more underrated — and frankly, misunderstood — cities in the U.S., Orlando is a beautiful, metropolitan, and immensely queer-friendly place, no matter how many rainbow crosswalks Ron DeSantis tries to erase. This week, we’re recapping our time in Orlando for Pride last month, which was a...

This week’s episode has it ALL! For part two of our South Dakota podcast series , we’ve got Macklemore (!), we’ve got the world’s tiniest dog (?!), we’ve got Steven Spielberg (!), and we’ve got jackalopes (!). Most importantly, we’re returning to one of Matt’s most-visited — and favorite — national parks, Badlands National Park. While the government remains shut down, parks like Badlands are large...

This week we’ve got a huge episode for you! South Dakota has long been one of Matt’s favorite places in the world. Need proof? Read his recent article about it! And just last week, we had the pleasure of visiting together for the first time. And it was everything. We stayed in Deadwood, the historic mining town-turned-vice city, home to historic saloons, brothels, gambling halls, and hotels, like...

Umm we LOVE Indy! This week, we’re wrapping up our recent two-week road trip with a pit stop in Circle City, which was really one of our favorite stops not just of that trip, but of the year. From one of the most stunning Art Deco hotels we’ve ever stayed in, to a dazzling variety of LGBTQ+-owned businesses and restaurants, not only did we have fun, but we discovered a city that is incredibly quee...

For this week’s episode, we’re recapping our wonderful whirlwind of a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan! The second largest city in the state, we were both dazzled by it. The urban hub of Michigan’s west coast, it feels much bigger — and way sleeker, and more metropolitan — than we were expecting. Notably, and importantly, it’s super LGBTQ+-friendly, with Pride flags everywhere, queer-owned businesse...

Greetings from Michigan! This week, we’re journeying to Lake Michigan, to the LGBTQ+-centric town of Saugatuck specifically, for a magical end-of-summer gaycation. Along with nearby towns of Fennville and Douglas, Saugatuck has developed a reputation as a queer destination, especially for folks in nearby-ish cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis. This was our first time, and Matt’s first...

Our mantra at The Gay Lane is “celebrating queer culture in unexpected places.” It’s heavily inspired by our home city of Oklahoma City , as well as some of our favorite places we love to visit, like Eureka Springs . One such place that really personifies that ethos is Jackson, the largest — and capital — city of Mississippi. Neither of us had ever spent much time in Mississippi, and Jackson was b...

In 1804, Lewis and Clark began their westward expedition in St. Louis, crossing the Mississippi River with a keelboat and their Newfoundland dog, Seaman. Fast-forward 221 years, and we’re doing the same thing basically, but in our case, we’re heading eastward, crossing the Mississippi in our Range Rover, with our mini dachshund, Finn. Last week, we kicked off a two-week road trip in the ultimate c...

Psst: Secret Oklahoma is HERE! This past weekend, we introduced our brand new book on a mini tour of Route 66, with signings in Tulsa and El Reno — incidentally, Nathan’s two hometowns. The reception has been amazing, and it feels especially apt to debut this book, all about the “weird, wonderful, and obscure” of Oklahoma, along its most iconic byway. This book was such a joy to write, and it’s a...

Aloha! We just got back from a whirlwind week on the Big Island of Hawai’i, and now that the jet lag has ebbed, we’re excited to recap our time in gay paradise. We stayed on the east side of the island, in the rainforests south of Hilo (the largest city on the island). It’s much quieter on that side of the island, which we always prefer, and it’s also got a gay black sand beach and a LGBTQ+ adults...

Summer isn’t over yet! When we visited Palm Springs earlier this year, we stopped into Jaco Moretti Arts , one of a gazillion gay-owned galleries in town. The artist’s new coffee table book caught our eye for the naked guy on the cover, so we obviously bought a copy. Moretti had just had a book launch party, complete with a signature cocktail, the Poolside Martini. It’s got everything you want in...

Here at The Gay Lane, we Pride ourselves on celebrating queer culture in unexpected places. But we never expected to find it on the frontier in the 1880s?! And yet, here we are, having a gay old time in rickety cabins from a bygone era. Back to the Frontier , a new reality show from Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network, tasks three families with living off the land, like 1880s homesteaders. So...