The Queer Family Podcast – LGBTQ Families & Queer Parenting Stories

As we gear up for the launch of Season 20 this September, we're sharing some favorite past episodes that continue to resonate—because queer family-building is never just a one-time story. Originally aired in Season 14, this episode features Emme Reynolds, a transgender parent of two in a newly blended family. Emme brings honesty, vulnerability, and wisdom to the conversation as she shares her...

While we gear up for Season 20 (September 1st!), I’m sharing something special — an episode swap with the fabulous podcast Cruising. They’re featuring one of my episodes on their feed, and I’m thrilled to bring one of theirs to you. This one’s a beautiful slice of queer history, love, and resilience. Juanita Pierre and Leslie Martinez opened New Orleans' first Black-owned lesbian bar, Les Pier...

🎉 BONUS REPLAY: Flipping the Script on Foster Adoption As we gear up for the launch of Season 20 this September (!!!), I’m revisiting some of my favorite episodes from past seasons. These stories continue to resonate, inspire, and remind us why queer family visibility matters—every single day. Originally aired in Season 13, this heartfelt and eye-opening episode features Ed Center, a husband, fat...

🎉 BONUS EPISODE DROP! 🎉 As I get ready to launch Season 20 of The Queer Family Podcast this September(!), I’m sharing a few guest appearances that I think deserve a spot in this feed. This week, I joined Dr. Kelsey Duncan on The Fertility Confidence Podcast to talk candidly about queer fertility, intentional parenthood, donor selection, and the legal complexities that queer families face. If you...

🎉 Bonus Episode Drop! 🎉 While we gear up for Season 20 of The Queer Family Podcast , we're sharing this powerful conversation Jaimie had as a guest on the No Guilt Mom podcast! We talked all things queer family building, parenting with purpose, standing up (loudly) for what’s right—and yes, even voiceover work and musical theater. Enjoy this bonus episode while you wait for what's coming...

🎉 Bonus Episode Drop! 🎉 While Jaimie gears up for Season 20 of The Queer Family Podcast—launching this August!—she's sharing this bonus episode from her recent guest appearance on the No One Told Us podcast. It’s a beautiful conversation about queer parenting, representation, and the honest, hilarious chaos of raising kids while gay. Enjoy this sneak peek into what’s to come next season! Epi...

Haven and Koy's journey to parenthood included IVF, IUIs, anonymous and known donors, multiple moves, and ultimately foster care—where they met and adopted their 6-year-old son, River. In this final episode of our Pride Extravaganza, they open up to our host, Jaimie Kelton, about what it’s really like navigating foster-to-adopt as queer parents, how loss and resilience shaped their parenting j...

Can cis men be lactation consultants? Can trans folks chestfeed ? Can someone who had top surgery still make milk? YES, YES, and YES. In this eye-opening Pride Extravaganza episode, Jaimie sits down with Jacob Engelsman , a cisgender queer man, lactation consultant, and author of Lactation for the Rest of Us , a groundbreaking guide designed specifically for queer and trans families. Together, the...

Jaimie and her wife Anne share a heartfelt update on Anne's breast cancer journey, including the challenges of chemotherapy, unexpected back surgery, and the support from their community. They discuss upcoming medical procedures and the emotional toll of their experiences. Photographer Suzanne Fiore joins the conversation to offer discounted sessions for queer families, highlighting the import...

Peggy Gillespie returns to The Queer Family Podcast with even more stories, accolades, and queer advocacy badassery. Peggy Gillespie, co-founder of Family Diversity Projects and creator of Love Makes a Family and Authentic Selves , is back for our Pride Extravaganza—and she has not slowed down. Since her first appearance on the show, Peggy has been honored by Family Equality, hugged by Katie Couri...

Darra Gordon, the new CEO of Family Equality, joins host Jaimie to share her wild, beautiful, and intentional journey to queer parenthood—while simultaneously leading in LGBTQ+ advocacy. In a conversation filled with laughs, wisdom, and the occasional tween meltdown tangent, Dara opens up about trying to conceive at the same time as her wife, choosing donors (yes, plural), navigating unexpected ch...

Kyle Casey Chu (@pandadulce) is a drag performer, author, filmmaker, and one of the founding queens of Drag Story Hour—and in this powerful Pride Extravaganza episode, Kyle joins host Jaimie Kelton to talk about the art and activism that’s helping queer youth thrive. Kyle opens up about growing up in San Francisco with his autistic twin brother, coming out in middle school, and how queer joy, drag...

Brian Crano and David Joseph Craig are husbands, dads, filmmakers—and now the creators of a new dark comedy based on their real journey to queer parenthood. In this powerful and delightfully funny Pride Extravaganza episode, they sit down with host Jaimie Kelton to share how their long, complicated path to adoption—complete with a scam, soul-searching, and spreadsheets—turned into “I Don’t Underst...

Darren Graham (@therealdarrengraham), a single gay dad by choice and content creator, shares his beautiful and powerful journey to fatherhood. Originally from St. Vincent, Darren opens up to host Jaimie Kelton about his path through trauma, coming into his queerness, and eventually adopting his son as a solo parent. He also shares how parenting has become a space of healing and intention, and why...

It’s Pride Extravaganza, y’all! 🌈 To kick off this month-long celebration of queer family goodness, Jaimie sits down with Brian Rosenberg, longtime advocate, dad of three, and founder of Gays With Kids and GWK Academy. From navigating HIV and homophobia in the '80s to building a beautiful family through adoption and surrogacy, Brian shares his powerful story with honesty, humor, and heart. He...

This joyful, visibility-filled throwback deserves another listen. Originally aired during our 2023 Pride Extravaganza, this episode features Brian and Alec Mazelin, a gay couple raising their daughter and showing up online as their fabulous, authentic selves. Their story of love, intentional family building, and unapologetic visibility is exactly what we need right now. 🎙️ “The more we show up, th...

This Pride Month warm-up replay is a must-listen. Peggy Gillespie—author, queer parent, and co-director of Family Diversity Projects —has been celebrating LGBTQIA+ families and underrepresented voices for decades. In this episode (originally part of our Pride Extravaganza ), she shares how her work has helped shift hearts and minds across the country—including the very communities where our identi...

Casey and Sarah share their beautiful, uniquely queer family-building journey—featuring a known donor (Sarah’s brother!), a nonbinary pregnancy, chestfeeding after top surgery, and building a milk-sharing network. Plus, we dive into Sarah’s breast cancer diagnosis and how their love and resilience are carrying them through. Full of heart, humor, and radical queer joy. 🌈 Through all the twists and...

Kim and Katie walk us through their ultra-intentional path to queer family building: from meeting online and moving in together lesbian-fast, to getting certified as foster parents just in case, to navigating a heartbreaking late miscarriage after IUI in a clinic, to finding success through home insemination—and thawing donor sperm under a boob. As we dive deeper, the episode unpacks the layered c...

What happens when your best friend offers to help you make a baby? Jaimie sits down with Kait and Sophie—two queer folks trying to build their family—and their longtime friend (and now known donor!) Oliver. Together, they open up about the winding road that led them to one another, how a heartfelt email changed everything, and the love, planning, and community it takes to make a family—queer style...

Two mamas. Two wombs. One donor. In this episode, Ana and Becky share their epic journey of building a family through simultaneous reciprocal IVF —yes, they were both pregnant at the same time. From pandemic sperm shortages to second-parent adoption logistics, this is a deeply lesbian, wildly honest, and beautifully queer tale of love, planning, and two babies born just five weeks apart. This is a...

Jaimie sits down with Jacob and Riley, a T4T (trans-for-trans) couple redefining what it means to be a modern family. From co-parenting with Jacob’s platonic best friend to conceiving their son using nothing but love, timing, and a little queer magic (yes, really!), this episode is a beautiful, affirming deep-dive into queer love, chosen family, and intentional parenthood. They open up about stopp...

Jaimie sits down with Liam—a Scottish-born, England-based gay dad—who shares the winding road he and his husband took to adopt their daughter through the UK’s foster-to-adopt system. From intense evaluations to surprise newborn pick-up calls, this story is filled with love, bureaucracy, and a whole lot of intention. You’ll hear how growing up under Section 28 shaped Liam’s identity, how he and his...

Caitlyn , one half of @ 2ladiesand2babies on social media joins Jaimie to talk all things queer parenting, social media, and the ongoing fight for LGBTQIA+ visibility. From hilarious parenting fails to the not-so-funny rise of online hate, they dive into how social media has shifted for queer creators in today's political climate. They also discuss second-parent adoption, why legal protection...

Marie Newman isn’t just an advocate—she’s a fighter. As a former Congresswoman from Illinois, she took on big fights for LGBTQ+ rights, healthcare equity, gun reform, and more . But her mission became personal when her daughter came out as transgender, propelling her even deeper into the fight for equality. In this episode, Marie shares her unexpected path to Congress , the struggles of passing me...