Series Podcast: This Way Out

As Trump-phobia stokes concert homophobia across the U.S. during Pride season, RuPaul's Drag Race favorite Thorgy Thor weaves classical music into her unique performance style (interviewed by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: a lesbian couple in Italy can both be legally recognized as the mothers of a child they conceived via in vitro fertilization thanks to a historic Constitutional Court ruling, Moscow's Tagansky District Court levys heavy fines on tech giant Apple for violating laws banning the “promotion” of “non-traditional sexual relations,” a federal judge tries to sidestep a U.S. Supreme Court decision that bans workplace bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Iowa's ban on the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in public schools up to the sixth grade can only be applied to mandatory classroom education, U.S. President Donald Trump's “big, beautiful bill” will take gender-affirming healthcare from thousands of transgender people, a new monument to honor the queer victims of the Holocaust in the Paris public gardens near Bastille Plaza, a 55-by-35-foot transgender pride flag was unfurled on the famed El Capitan site in California's Yosemite National Park, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by David Hunt and Nathalie Munoz (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the May 26, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The Texas state House held a hearing on a bill that LGBTQ+ activists say would undermine education by eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies from public schools. State Representative Ron Reynolds, Equality Texas Communications Director Johnathan Gooch, Mandy Garcia of Texas AFT and a representative of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) have a plan of action (reported by Lucia Chappelle). Where is Andry Hernandez Romero? U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) is demanding that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem provide proof that the gay Venezuelan make-up artist abducted to a prison in El Salvador is still alive (Lucia Chappelle reports). And in NewsWrap: a nonbinary Brazilian can identify as gender neutral on their official government documents thanks to a historic decision by the Superior Court of Justice, the organizers of Pride in London, Birmingham Pride, Brighton Pride and Manchester Pride cite the lack of sufficient support for transgender people as the reason for banning political parties from participating in this year's parades, mass discharges of transgender service members from the U.S. armed forces are underway, Tennessee's transgender teachers and students can now be deadnamed and have their preferred pronouns ignored by school officials with no recourse, Florida's ban on drag shows is struck down by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the May 19, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

This Way Out's own collection of programs dating back to 1988 is already becoming a valuable tool for LGBTQ+ researchers and educators, even as the extensive process of data sorting and cataloging is getting underway. Project lead and Overnight Productions (Inc,) CEO Brian DeShazor discusses the next steps and the importance of preserving original materials with University of North Texas queer media professor Dr. Tanya D. Zuk. And in NewsWrap: most queer Catholic groups greet Pope Leo XIV with cautious optimism, the U.S. Supreme Court lifts injunctions to allow the Trump administration's wholesale discharge of transgender service members to go forward, Governor Janet Mills stops the U.S. Department of Agriculture's threats to de-fund school lunches due to Maine's inclusion of trans student athletes, Pennsylvania State Police and other officers storm Pittsburgh's venerable P Town bar during a star-studded drag show for a “compliance check,” and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the May 12, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Classic appearances by two giants in the world of poetry regardless of gender or orientation, reading from their work and responding to their audience, brought together by the magic of recording tape (!) and the courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives (produced by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: transgender former High Court judge Dr. Victoria McCloud will take the U.K. Supreme Court definition of the word “woman” to the European Court of Human Rights, the sports world in the U.K. feels the Supreme Court's trans-exclusive definition of “woman” and “sex,” a phalanx of congressional Democrats introduce a new version of the Equality Act to add sexual orientation and gender identity to U.S. civil rights law, a case that could determine whether private businesses must offer coverage for PrEP in their employee insurance policies gets a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department releases a 400-page report on pediatric gender dysphoria that recommends conversion therapy under a different name, Poland says goodbye to its last remaining “LGBT Free Zone” when local authorities in the small town of Łańcut vote for repeal, a group of Maryland parents take their demand to opt their children out of LGBT-themed lessons to the U.S. Supreme Court, Jill “I Kissed a Girl” Sobule goes out with a vice presidential satirical song, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the May 5, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Oppressive governments like the Trump administration may try to erase queer identities and histories, but California Naturalist and educator Jason “Journeyman” Wise reveals how science is recognizing that the rigid, patriarchal, binary view of the natural world is no match for the true fluid, diverse and interdependent reality (interviewed by Jason Jenn). And in NewsWrap: hundreds of thousands of protesters filled the streets of London and other cities to denounce the U.K. Supreme Court‘s trans-exclusive definition of “woman,” the deceased Roman Catholic Pope Francis changed the tenor of the Church's relationship with the LGBTQ+ community, the Trump administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow its ban on transgender military service to continue while its constitutionality is being challenged, federal judge enjoins Trump administration order demanding that passport and visa applicants be limited to only male or female gender markers, the Mississippi Supreme Court tells a transgender teenage boy he must wait until he turns 21 to legally change his name to reflect his gender identity, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and Nathalie Munoz (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 28, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Decades of LGBTQ+ organizing in Australia are captured in the memoir of Peter De Waal, and the spirit of his book launching at the site of the early movement's first meetings is captured by Sydney correspondent Barry McKay. And in NewsWrap: the United Kingdom's Supreme Court rejects the Scottish government's argument that transgender women should have full access to women's services, gender dysphoria is no longer covered by U.S. laws banning discrimination against people with disabilities, a transgender Green Party candidate for the Norwegian parliament believes her country should offer asylum to trans people from the U.S., the parliament dominated by Hungary's authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán bans LGBTQ Pride events, the authoritarian-leaning administration of would-be U.S. President Donald Trump defunds the museum devoted to Black queer rights activist Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Lucia Chappelle (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 21, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Biracial, binational, queer human right activist Jason Jones began his lawsuit against Trinidad and Tobago's British colonial ban on same-gender sex in 2017. It was struck down in 2018, but an appeals court recently overturned that ruling and reinstated the law. Jones has one more chance to appeal that decision (interviewed by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: transgender professional player Harriet Haynes sues the English Blackball Pool Federation to let her compete in the appropriate gender category, Redmond Sullivan is no longer a member of the Wagner College Iconic Fencing Club after a cisgender opponent refuses to play her, the Trump administration freezes Maine's federal education funding because of the state's trans-inclusive policies, queer-themed titles top the American Library Association's list of most banned books for the fourth consecutive year, the White House refuses to respond to journalists who use preferred pronouns, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Ret and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 14, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Even at the National Historic Landmark dedicated to a queer civil rights activist, legal scholar, author and Episcopal priest, the Trump administration is rewriting U.S. history. Executive Director Angela Thorpe Mason of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina is fighting to keep the legacy alive (produced by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: Greek men whether gay or straight won't be able to access surrogacy services under a law being proposed to parliament, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office declares The Elton John AIDS Foundation “undesirable” because of its support for queer rights, a new law goes into effect making “conversion therapy” against the law in New South Wales, anti-queer hate speech is now illegal in the Australian state of Victoria, an injunction puts a law forcing Montana trans people to use sex-segregated facilities according to their birth certificate gender on temporary hold, Utah is the first U.S. state to ban LGBTQ Pride flags at all public schools and government buildings, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 7, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Infamous U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) didn't know what she was getting into when she defamed the drag artist with a doctorate Professor Lil Miss Hot Mess, but gay Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) had the skillful sarcasm to shut her down (Lauren Schmitt reports). lIllinois Governor JB Pritzker's fiery address lights up the Human Rights Campaign's annual Los Angeles dinner with a call to move the movement into the streets. And in NewsWrap: same-gender sex is outlawed again by Trinidad and Tobago's Court of Appeal, six European countries warn their transgender and nonbinary citizens to beware of traveling to a Trump-ruled United States, U.S. officials pull the funding for research projects from seven Australian universities as the Trump administration's war on “wokeness” spreads, a preliminary injunction by District of Columbia Court Judge Ana Reyes continues to halt the Trump administration's ban on transgender military service, Judge Benjamin H. Settle of the Western District of Washington state adds his injunction to Judge Reyes' while New Jersey's District Judge Christine P. O'Hearn saves two more trans airmen from expulsion, Texas A&M University's embattled “Draggieland” show takes the prize for persistence, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Ret (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 31, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

While transgender members of the U.S. military wait on tinder hooks for the courts to rule on President Donald Trump's order to expel them, Col. Bree Fram of the Space Force refuses to give up her frontline post. The courageous trans soldier, a descendant of a family with a history of valiant service, shares her story. Note: Fram spoke in her personal capacity and her views do not necessarily reflect those of the Defense Department or the United States Government. (interviewed by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: thousands of Hungarians hit the streets of Budapest in protest after Parliament passes a ban on LGBTQ Pride marches, a pause in the Trump administration's plan to expel all transgender service members remains in effect as the war rages in the courtroom, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is phasing out treatment for gender dysphoria, shareholders of the Walt Disney Company vote against a proposal to eliminate DEI policies, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Sarah Montague and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 24, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Transgender philosophy professor Talia Mae Bettcher (“Beyond Personhood: An Essay in Trans Philosophy”) confronts a world that oppression has turned upside down, and has some bold suggestions for radical, liberating action to stop trans erasure (interviewed by Tanya Kane-Parry). And in NewsWrap: the U.S. Department of the Navy puts its plans to expel Navy and Marine Corps personnel with a history of gender dysphoria into high gear, transgender Representative Zooey Zephyr eloquently convinces the Montana state House that drag performances are not inherently sexual, a licensed Colorado counselor's free speech complaint against the state ban on conversion therapy goes to the U.S. Supreme Court, a new poll commissioned by a queer advocacy group shows that Australians highly oppose transgender people being scapegoated for political purposes, an insult to transgender U.S. Congressmember Sarah McBride and her ally's defense blow up a House Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by David Hunt and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 17, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

In the cycle between LGBTQ+ inclusion and exile, you can see the same signposts in either direction. Whether the queer community is on the rise or whether rights are being extinguished step by step, three bellwether issues are “no promo homo” laws, military service and marriage equality. Current news and archival reports from March 2000 illustrate the point. And in NewsWrap: Ghana's horrific anti-queer bill is being reintroduced by ten member of Parliament, Germany's government is cautioning its transgender and nonbinary citizens about traveling to the United States, Lesotho's government and leading queer advocacy group deny U.S, President Donald Trump's accusation that they received $8 million in LGBTQ+ aid, Trump's State of The Union address goes on to condemn nonexistent transgender mice and “wokeness,” a bill to ban trans women and girls from competing in federally funded school and college female sports fails in the U.S. Senate, more than 11,000 people took over Oxford Street in Sydney's queer Darlinghurst neighborhood for the Australian city's 47th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by David Hunt and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 10, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

As the Trump administration erases the T and Q in LGBTQ from government websites and publications — even the signage outside the Stonewall National Monument — New York college student Eli Butler seeks to counter the hate of far-right politicians and media outlets by exploring the hidden history and the joy of transmasculine community building (interviewed by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: two young men in the Indonesian province of Aceh are publicly beaten with a cane for having gay sex, British law does not recognize “nonbinary” as a gender according to the United Kingdom Court of Appeal, Iowa's transgender people are no longer protected from discrimination, a federal judge rules that key provisions of Trump's executive order targeting federal agencies and federally funded DEI programs in higher education and the private sector are “impermissibly vague,” a second Trump order to move transgender women in U.S. women's prisons to men's prisons is blocked, the U.S. Supreme Court lets Tennessee's virtual ban on drag performances stand, the “reverse discrimination” case of a straight, white, cisgender woman is heard by the U.S. top court, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 3, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Sixty years ago this month, days before the assassination of Malcolm X and weeks ahead of “Bloody Sunday” on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the University of Cambridge's historic debate society hosted a face-off between Black gay author, activist and public intellectual James Baldwin and conservative founder of The National Review William F. Buckley, Jr. Baldwin's presentation is read by multidisciplinary performing artist Paul Outlaw (produced by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the world's first out gay imam is killed in broad daylight on the streets of the South African city of Gqeberha, 30 young children and adults are traumatized after the invasion into an Auckland, New Zealand drag king story time by some 50 far-right Christians, a federal judge says the claim that trans pronoun use undermines U.S. troop effectiveness is “frankly ridiculous,” the Republican majority in the Kansas legislature overrides the veto of a ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, Maine Governor Janet Mills and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker stand up to Trump's anti-trans trolling, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts postpones a WorldPride show featuring the Washington. D.C. Gay Men's Chorus before Trump takes over, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 24, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles had a brief, shining romance with progressive candidates that began in the 70s, but in the 90s AIDS brought about the demise of the first LGBTQ political action committee in the United States (Part 2 of 2 produced by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: Indonesian authorities arrest 56 men during a raid at a private gathering they label a “gay sex party” in a Jakarta hotel, Argentina's far-right President Javier Milei signs a decree banning gender-affirming healthcare for trans and nonbinary patients under 18, U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to ban transgender treatments for young patients by decree is blocked by two court rulings, transgender and nonbinary people sue the U.S. State Department to demand it continue offering the “X” gender marker for passports and other federal government documents, hundreds protest the National Park Service's removal of the “T,” “Q” and plus sign from LGBTQ+ on the official website of the Stonewall National Monument, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and Michael Taylor Gray (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 17, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The first major confrontation between queer and conservative powerhouses in the U.S. launched the country's first official LGBTQ political action committee, the Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles. This Way Out's David Hunt looks for strategy lessons from the early days of “checkbook activism” (Part 1 of 2). And in NewsWrap: U.S. President Donald Trump bans trans girls and women from competing in female sports at federally funded schools and universities, the National Collegiate Athletic Association announces that it will comply with the executive ordered trans sports ban, all references to transgender people are disappearing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, the Trump regime has ordered all federal employees to remove the pronouns from their email signatures, seven families with transgender or nonbinary children are the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the executive order ban on gender affirming healthcare for patients younger than 19, quite a few openly LGBTQ performers and several outspoken allies took home trophies at the 67th annual Grammy Awards, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Ava Davis and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 10, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Transgender journalist Erin Reed is a respected independent voice with a large following on social media. She met with a group trans people and allies to review the growing list of anti-trans executive orders coming out of the Trump White House (produced by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: gender-affirming healthcare for Australia's trans and gender-diverse young people is under review, U.S. President Donald Trump “has blood on his hands” after a blitz of anti-transgender executive orders, the Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal take on Trump's new ban on service in the U.S. military by transgender and gender-diverse enlistees, the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear LGBTQ-related children's stories that offend some Maryland parents' religious beliefs, Minnesota's Twin Cities Pride receives double the amount of major donor Target Stores' contribution when it parts ways with the retailer that's abandoning DEI policies, Costo shareholders reject a right-wing sponsored bid to dump its inclusivity initiatives, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 3, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Memories of the havoc created and the massive response engendered by the recently deceased “orange juice queen” Anita Bryant can inspire a new generation to meet vicious attacks with creative resistance (produced by Brian DeShazor with This Way Out reports preserved in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting). And in NewsWrap: Ghana's in-coming President John Mahama announces that the anti-queer “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values” bill is “effectively dead,” a decades-long struggle to bring marriage equality to Thailand ends with wedding bells for more than a thousand gay and lesbian couples who registered their marriages the first day the law took effect, United States President Donald Trump's inaugural salvo against human and civil rights puts transgender people near the top of his target list, Trump then rescinds President Joe Biden's support for trans rights in federal agencies and the military, former senator from “Don't Say Gay” Florida Marco Rubio is sworn in as Secretary of State and bans U.S. embassies from displaying LGBTQ Pride or Black Lives Matter flags, LGBTQ youth crisis hotlines report a dramatic rise in calls since Trump's election, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C. the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde makes Donald Trump squirm at the traditional inaugural prayer service in the National Cathedral, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Wendy Natividad and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the January 27, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Filmmaker-writer-activist Marlon Riggs challenged popular — even progressive — culture when his video documentary depicting Black gay men with their “Tongues Untied” was banned by television stations across the U.S. (interviewed by Joey Flyer and Mike Alcolay). Lakhiyia means “home,” and Lakhiyia's work in revolutionary creativity offers an opportunity for listeners to bring out their own “sermons you wish you'd heard,” like “Duckwalk to Freedom” — and you can participate @lakhiyia on Instagram, HOMEplxce.com and thiswayout.org! (interviewed by Lucia Chappelle). And in NewsWrap: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declares 2025 “The Year of the Family” that doesn't include queers, more U.S.-based trans-national companies are obeying in advance to restrict or totally abandon workplace diversity programs, the Boards of Apple and Costco are bucking the anti-DEI trend, U.S. federal protections from bias in education based on sexual orientation or gender identity are struck down by a federal court in Kentucky, a bill that denies federal funding to schools that allow transgender students to compete in girls' and women's sports was passed by the U.S. House, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Sarah Montague and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the January 20, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Before the dawn of the computer age brought Alan Turing's work its rightful recognition, before the honors that were to come, we recognized his legacy and his tragic life in November of 1988. There are memorials and movies now, but then his World War II code-breaking triumph and his contributions to the development of of artificial intelligence was all but unknown (produced by Hugh Young and presented by Barry Empson). And in NewsWrap: Liechtenstein rings in 2025 with its first legal gay and lesbian marriages, Lithuania's Constitutional Court strikes down its “no promo homo” law, the government of China jails three writers of the online “danmei” genre of gay male romance and sex stories, travel agent arrested in raids on Moscow gay nightspots found dead in prison, veterans booted from the U.S. military under anti-queer policies win a class action lawsuit against the Defense Department to get their discharges upgraded, , and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the January 13, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The world's first Drag Laureate, appointed by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, talks about drag culture and onslaught of persecution in the U.S. and around the world. Included are excerpts from Drollinger's stand-up routine at his trans-friendly nightspot Oasis, and inspirational words from “Sexitude,” the self-affirming dance class he leads. Interviewed by Eric Jansen of “Out in the Bay” (outinthebay.org). NewsWrap returns next week. All this on the January 6, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Some of the people making LGBTQ news in 2024 including Taiwan's LGBTQ-supportive incoming president Lai Ching-te, trans-supportive Missouri Rabbi Daniel Bogard, anti-LGBTQ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Philadelphia's Guinness World Record-breaking Drag Queen Story Time, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's pro-insurrectionist wife Martha Ann, Thailand's pro-marriage equality lawmakers, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman, predictably hostile national convention Republicans, Democrats nominating Kamala Harris for president, Australian officials on sexual orientation and gender identity questions in the 2026 Census, U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Tennessee's ban on pediatric gender-affirming health care, and the “queenly” Sir Elton John. NewsWrap returns next week. All this on the December 30, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Lies about transgender and nonbinary youth are the basis for the fountain of new laws making it increasingly difficult to access lifesaving pediatric gender-affirming healthcare. While the lies and the laws get most of the attention, TransFamily Support Services founder Kathie Moehlig helps the targeted kids and their families navigate the nightmare (interviewed by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: Ghana's version of a “no promo homo” law withstands Supreme Court challenges on grounds that they are premature, third Japanese appellate court rules that denying same-gender couples' access to civil marriage is unconstitutional, the Australian Bureau of Statistics gleans initial estimates about the LGBTQ+ community from the results of four recent health surveys, the U.S. Senate approves a bill that bans access to gender-affirming healthcare for the children of military families, a policy that would prevent Montana trans people from changing the gender marker on their government documents is blocked by a judge pending litigation, Sir Elton John gladly accepts a new title from Stephen Colbert, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by David Hunt and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the December 23, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Experienced analysts like former Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund legal director David Brown (interviewed by David Hunt) are praising progressive U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown-Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan for their questioning of Tennessee Solicitor General Matthew Rice about his state's ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, but the trans man of the hour is the American Civil Liberties Union's Chase Strangio, who became the first transgender attorney to argue a case before the nation's top court. And in NewsWrap: the United Kingdom's temporary ban on puberty blockers for transgender young people will remain in force “indefinitely,” U.K. military veterans who were booted from the armed forces for being queer are now eligible for compensation, the U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a challenge to a Wisconsin school district's pro-trans policies, Montana's Supreme Court backs a temporary injunction blocking the enforcement of a state ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, the opening of Warsaw's QueerMuzeum far exceeded organizers' expectations, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the December 16, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Jimmy and Megan have no doubt that the gender identity of one of their three kids is unfolding differently. What they're not sure about is whether it's safe to raise their kids in the home they love. (Produced by David Hunt in Raleigh, North Carolina) And in NewsWrap: the United States Supreme Court hears a constitutional challenge to Tennessee's ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, seven are arrested in raids on three queer-welcoming Moscow nightspots “to combat LGBT propaganda,” Walmart abandons its DEI policies and will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, more than two dozen trans activists including whistleblower Chelsea Manning are busted in a U.S. Capitol bathroom protest at the same time as a Montana House committee gives Rep. Zoey Zephyr a pass, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the December 9, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Called the world's largest LGBTQ museum, Qtopia Sydney opened its Queer Centre of History and Culture in February. A tour of the new facility reveals efforts to keep history alive while respecting the feelings of the ones who lived it, its inclusion of women and how it handles the AIDS years. Featuring Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore, Qtopia CEO Greg Fisher, Director and ex-pro rugby player Ian Roberts, Senior Curator George Savoulis, Lead Curator Dr, Liz Bradshaw, Board Chair Elaine Czulkowski, underground celebrity Barry “Troughman” Charles and First Nations multi-disciplinary artist Nadeena Dixon. (Produced by Barry McKay) NewsWrap returns next week. All this on the December 2, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

The killer who stalked Los Angeles gay bars in the early 80s slipped away twice (for reasons explained by Deputy D.A. Dino Fulgoni), but investigating officer Mike Thies wouldn't give up. Years later, lesbian policy manager Madeline Brancel rediscovered the life of her gay great-uncle, who was one of the victims (Part 2 of 2, produced by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: protections for women and the rights of queer people are among the stumbling blocks to finalizing a deal at the U.N.'s COP29 climate conference, the Parliament of Vanuatu amends its Marriage Act to bans marriage equality, a three-judge panel of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifts the barrier on implementing Indiana's ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, black gay actor Jussie Smollett's 2019 conviction for staging a racist and anti-queer hate crime attack on himself is overturned on a technicality, U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson appeases South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace with a policy to restrict use of sex-segregated Capitol facilities based only on birth certificate gender, encouraging words for first-time voters from comedian Wanda Sykes, and more international LGBTQ news reported by Ava David and Michael Taylor Gray (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the November 25, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

A series of murders centering on the Los Angeles gay men's bar scene leads investigating officer Mike Thies to join forces with the community for an unprecedented search for the killer. (Part 1 of 2, produced by David Hunt) And in NewsWrap: Russian orphans will not be finding new homes in countries where gender transitioning is available, Uzbekistan's ruling National Revival Party's government is drafting a measure to outlaw the discussion of LGBTQ subjects, a bill to prevent Ohio's transgender students from using the appropriate bathroom at school awaits Republican Governor Mike DeWine's signature, iconic lesbian feminist “Bastard Out of Carolina” author Dorothy Allison dies at the age of 75, the first out queer contingents will march in the Staten Island St. Patrick's Day Parade, and more international LGBTQ news reported by Sarah Montague and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the November 18, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

The U.S. elections were a wake-up call for the “woke,” yet even though the overall results spell danger, there are a number of queer bright spots to celebrate. With commentary by Andy Humm and Ann Northrop of GayUSA, our coverage includes homophobic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, trans U.S. Congressmember-elect Sarah McBride (Delaware), lesbian Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, lesbian U.S Congressmember Angie Craig (Minnesota), Native American lesbian U.S Congressmember Sharice Davids, gay U.S Congressmember Eric Sorensen, Rocky Mountain Equality Deputy Director Bruce Parker, former U.S, Senator and MSNBC analyst Claire McCaskill and U.S. Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris. And in NewsWrap: Mali's ruling military junta sends a law banning gay male sex to the president for his approval, a previously dismissed lawsuit challenging Connecticut's transgender-supportive statutes for school sports is going forward again, diversity-equity-inclusion programs crash at global plane-maker Boeing, controversial trans woman darts star Noa-Lynn van Leuven is facing three-time champion Michael van Gerwen in the first round of the Grand Slam of Darts, the MUBI streaming service is cancelling its international film festival in Istanbul after authorities block a screening of the film “Queer,” and more international LGBTQ news reported by Sarah Montague and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the November 11, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

While the world waits on pins and needles to find out who will win the grand prize in the U.S. elections, there are notable queer campaigns that link to the same themes and could be significant in the big picture, such as the marriage equality Proposition 3 in California, and the Sen. Tammy Baldwin reelection campaign in the all-important state of Wisconsin. The specter of the conservative manifesto Project 2025 creates even more pressure. Psychologists S. Lee Tepper and Dr. Jonathan Mattias Lassiter help people handle the election anxiety. And in NewsWrap: Tel Aviv is taken off the list of potential hosts for a future ILGA World Conference, a second Japanese High Court has ruled that the federal government's resistance to marriage equality is unconstitutional, more than one in 10 Australian teenagers identify as queer in a University of Sydney survey, Dr. Hector Granados is the second gender-affirming healthcare physician taken to court by rabidly anti-queer Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, ACLU's AIDS/HIV project co-director Chase Strangio will be the first out transgender attorney to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and more international LGBTQ news reported by Michael LeBeau and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the November 4, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

This “audio scrapbook” of the first national LGBT march and rally in the U.S. capital on October 14, 1979, produced by “This Way Out” Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon and Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, illuminates the problems and the passion of the first demonstration of its kind. As rich with the music and culture of the period as it is with the politics, the hour traces the event from the initial planning conference and some activists' heartfelt and sometimes humorous cross-country trip to D.C. on a “Freedom Train” to the big day itself, and its coverage (or lack thereof) in the conventional media. To help us continue to pursue the stories of significance in our community, consider joining our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate. Produced by Greg Gordon and Lucia Chappelle. Music by Blue Dot Sessions (Jazzberry).

There's a reason why October is LGBTQ History Month. The community historically laid claim to it with a 1979 event in the U.S. capitol. Just ten years after Stonewall and long before the age of acronyms, the massive October 1979 march and rally for LGBTQ rights surpassed all expectations — for good and for ill. Excerpts from an hour-long radio documentary that you can stream at thiswayout.org. And in NewsWrap: Poland's coalition government introduces civil unions legislation, Saskatchewan's Parliament votes to require parental consent “when a student requests that their preferred name, gender identity, and/or gender expression to be used” at school, 97 percent of transgender and nonbinary young people receiving gender-affirming health care in a JAMA Pediatrics study are “highly satisfied,” U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign ads deride Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris' support for transgender rights, and more international LGBTQ news reported by Melanie Keller and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the October 28, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: The weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will soon include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

How does your first time at a gay bar compare with the experiences of others? Come cruising with curator Art Smith through his growing online collection of those stories — and you can add yours to thousands of others, like the one told by Daniel M. Jaffe (produced by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: going abroad to have a surrogacy baby is now a crime in Italy, Moscow police raid two downtown clubs popular with the queer community and arrest 50 on Coming Out Day, a groundbreaking New South Wales law establishes rights for transgender people and strengthens existing protections for sexual minority communities, the dishonorable discharges of 820 U.S. veterans kicked out of the military for being queer under Don't Ask/Don't Tell and other policies are being upgraded, Dr. May Lau of Dallas, Texas is being sued by anti-queer state Attorney General Ken Paxton for providing hormones to her pediatric transgender patients, U.S. Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris handily handles heckler, and more international LGBTQ news reported by Joe Boehnlein and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the October 21, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning in October, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Author and journalist Nico Lang's new book “American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era” tells the stories of eight trans and nonbinary teenagers from across the United States, highlighting their triumphs and struggles (interviewed by Daniel Huecias). And in NewsWrap: about one in 20 Kiwis came out in New Zealand's first Census to count LGBTQIA+ people, the Toyota Motor Corporation is latest company in the U.S. backpedaling on its DEI policies and withdrawing support from queer events, Colorado rightwing Christian baker Jack Phillips loses a state Supreme Court appeal in another Masterpiece Cakeshop anti-LGBTQ bias lawsuit, Arkansas Christian nationalist Republican politician Jason Rupert says the queer movement is “of the devil,” U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris touts her pro-queer credentials and warns about the tenuous status of LGBTQ rights on a presidential campaign visit with Howard Stern, and more international LGBTQ news reported by John Dyer V and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the October 14, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning in October, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Activist-author Urvashi Vaid's gender politics may have been ahead of her time, but her nibling, poet-comedian Alok Vaid-Menon, finds contemporary resonance in recordings of her from This Way Out's archives (part 2 of 2, produced by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the European Court of Justice orders all 27 E.U. states to recognize a person's legal gender transition secured in any other member state, Georgia's Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signs a “no promo homo” Protection of Family Values and Minors law after President Salome Zourabichvili refuses, detained gay Chechen men are forced to fight in Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa will not allow bishops to approve blessing same-gender couples, California Governor Gavin Newsom signs a bill to protect state-funded public libraries from book bans, families attending an LGBTQ Pride event in small town of Grove City, Ohio are unfazed by a dozen armed Nazis spewing hate, and more international LGBTQ news reported by Tanya Kane-Parry and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the October 7, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning in October, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, actor and author of “Beyond the Gender Binary” Alok Vaid-Menon critiques the LGBTQ+ movement's myopia around intersectional politics, and, thanks to This Way Out's archives, discovers that their perspective echoes their Aunt Urvashi Vaid's analysis of “Virtual Equality” in the 1990s (Part 1, interviewed by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn's royal assent officially redefines marriage as a legal union of two individuals, the Duma gives initial approval to a ban on the adoption of Russian children to countries that allow gender-affirming healthcare and marriage equality, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues the federal government to avoid training prospective foster families to support a child's potential LGBTQ+ identity, free expression advocate PEN America finds that the number of books banned in U.S. public schools tripled during the 2023-2024 academic year, the FBI's annual Crime in the Nation report reveals that one-in-five of the exploding number of hate crimes in the U.S. were motivated by anti-queer animus, a study in the journal Nature Human Behavior based on The Trevor Project's new peer-reviewed research proves the link between anti-transgender legislation and youth suicides, and more international LGBTQ news reported by David Hunt and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 30, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning October 1, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

At the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner, a keynote address by Democratic vice presidential nominee, coach and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz recounts his own track record as an LGBTQ ally, which is as long and cutting-edge as that of his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris. And in NewsWrap: Georgia's Parliament passes a package of bills modeled on Russia's infamous “no promo homo law,” Kharkiv's “auto Pride” links equality and Ukrainian victory in a motorcade through the city, Taiwan will recognize the marriages of its queer citizens to mainland Chinese spouses, one of the men convicted of murdering gay student Matthew Shepard in 1998 loses a bid to commute the rest of his two consecutive life sentences after 25 years in prison, the Denver-based Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a law banning conversion therapy for minors in the state of Colorado, Kentucky's governor issues an Executive Order banning conversion therapy on minors, Paige Johnson becomes the first out transgender person elected to public office in the Australian state of New South Wales, and more international LGBTQ news reported by Tanya Kane-Parry and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 23, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning October 1, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to Soundcloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

The bold, brash and bawdy life and artistry of Sophie Tucker is captured in a risqué and raucous one-woman cabaret show written and performed by Laural Meade (interviewed by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the largest LGBTQ Pride March in Serbia's history had several thousand people marching through the capital of Belgrade in defiance of violent threats, an accusation of theft in the midst of a contentious break-up gets two gay male Zimbabweans arrested for sodomy, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is refining questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for its 2026 Census, New South Wales has produced a study on puberty blockers for transgender young people that contradicts the U.K.'s controversial Cass Report, U.S.-based corporations Molson/Coors Brewing Company and toolmaking Stanley Black and Decker bow to right-wing pressure to abandon their workplace DEI programs, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 16, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning October 1, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to Soundcloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Drag may be under fire today by the enforcers of “family values,” but not so back in the early 1900s according to scholar and historian Andrew L. Erdman, author of “Beautiful: The story of Julian Eltinge, America's Greatest Female Impersonator” (interviewed by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: openly gay Malcolm Bishop's appointment as Lord Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tonga draws immediate calls for his removal, Iran's government summons Australian Ambassador Ian McConville for a post celebrating Australia's “Wear It Purple Day” for queer youth. six major U.S. publishers sue Florida for its book ban policy, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will now “annotate” trans Mormons' membership records like child pornographers and church embezzlers, Virginia's Sweet Briar College changes its admissions policy to exclude trans and non-binary applicants, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 9, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/ NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning October 1, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to Soundcloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica's AudioPort.Org. For more information, contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

A gay Christian activist-author who started out as the closeted ghostwriter for some of the most powerful televangelists in the U.S. came out in 1994 with the book “Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America.” Mel White could hardly have been more prescient about the religious right politics that would lead to the MAGA movement and Christian Nationalism (original interview by Ian Masters, thanks to the Pacifica Radio Archives). And in NewsWrap: the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2026 Census will consider including a question about sexual orientation, the U.S. Census Bureau is developing better ways to include sexual orientation and gender identity, four more U.S. corporations are abandoning their commitments to DEI programs and support for the queer community, Aetna will be the first U.S. insurance company to extend fertility treatment coverage to LGBTQ people, the privacy rights of transgender public school students get the backing of New Hampshire's Supreme Court, Austin, Texas Brewtorium Brewery and Kitchen is responding to violent threats with a “fruity” Big Gay Beer, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the September 2, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The Democratic National Convention confirmed the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz to top the Party's ticket in the presidential election campaign at an enthusiastic gathering basking in the glow of the Republicans' dreaded diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to Harris and Walz, highlights from queers and allies include Senator LaPhonza Butler (CA), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Attorney General Dana Nessel (MI), Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Oprah Winfrey, former First Lady Michelle Obama, state Representative Malcom Kenyatta (PA), Governors Jared Polis (CO), Phil Murphy (NJ) and Kathy Holcomb (NY), and Saturday Night Live's Kenan Thompson. And in NewsWrap: a lesbian co-mother gets one brief visit with one of her two children due to a historic Beijing court ruling before her estranged wife again denies her any contact, hundreds of people march with LGBTQ Pride through the streets of Kathmandu in an event coinciding with Nepal's memorial festival of Gai Jatra, a federal district court finally puts an end to the U.S. military's ban on enlisting asymptomatic HIV+ recruits, the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns their three-judge panel's ruling that Houston County, Texas had violated transgender Sheriff's Deputy Anna Lange's civil rights when it denied her gender-affirming surgery under its employee health plan, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton orders the Department of Public Safety to flatly deny all applications to change driver's license or state ID gender markers, Visit Florida virtually tells queer tourists to go where the sun don't shine by removing the pages on its website that promoted LGBTQ+ attractions, dumpsters at Florida's New College are found filled with books from its shuttered Gender and Diversity Program, gay dad gentoo penguin Sphen leaves his Magic behind, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the August 26, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The late ballplayer Billy Bean talked about his intentions when he was first named Major League Baseball's gay Ambassador for Inclusion in 2014 (interviewed by Chrisanne Eastwood and Wenzel Jones), and his success is proven by the response to last week's homophobic incident involving Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas are known for being literary mavens, and for Toklas' mastery of French cooking. In this rare Pacifica Radio Archives selection from a Verve record, Ms. Toklas herself reads the most popular recipe from The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, and tells the story behind its publication. And in NewsWrap: the U.S. Supreme Court denies an emergency request from the Department of Justice to enforce its queer-inclusive interpretation of “Title IX” bias protections, Pope Francis joins with LGBTQ activists from Uganda and Ghana in condemning anti-queer legislation in both nations, Team LGBTQ would have finished in 7th among nations for the most medals at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, gay British Olympic diver Tom Daley is retires after winning another Silver medal, Kim Coco Iwamoto will be the first out transgender candidate to win election to state office in Hawai'i, gay Chilean flamingoes Curtis and Arthur give birth to their new chick at South West England's Paignton Zoo in Devon, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor with technical assistance by Daniel Huecias).  All this on the August 19, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris chooses Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, whose pro-LGBTQ+ track record includes early support for marriage equality and the repeal of “Don't Ask. Don't Tell,” and making his state a sanctuary for transgender people. And in NewsWrap: Sofia's streets fill with protesters when Bulgaria's Parliament passes a “no promo homo” law, Argentina's far-right President Javier Milei closes the sexual orientation and gender identity bias fighting National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, Utah is the first U.S. state to require the removal of specific books from school library shelves, 23 Republican U.S. senators demand that the NCAA ban all trans women and girls from female school sports, Major League Baseball gay Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean dies at the age of 60, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the August 12, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Right-wing politicians and pundits scream, but most students, faculty and staff believe that college and university diversity, equity and inclusion programs create an environment that's welcoming for everyone. Assistant vice president Renee Wells of Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina sees how DEI improves all of campus life. (David Hunt reports) And in NewsWrap: U.K.'s ban on puberty blockers for pediatric gender-affirming healthcare passes legal muster according to a High Court judge, London Trans+ Pride breaks records with its sixth annual procession, a Nepali law student and human rights activist can change her legal gender to “female” without having to undergo gender-affirming surgery, protections for LGBTQ students in the U.S. are affirmed one day and stripped the next, Nebraska's Supreme Court allows the ban on trans patients under the age of 19 from getting gender-affirming healthcare, transgender Christian IT specialist Ellenor Zinski is suing Jerry Falwell's infamous Liberty University for discrimination, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the August 5, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Berlin-based writer, curator, and activist Federico Hewson has spent decades examining the intricate relationship between human beings and flowers and the symbolic interpretations of flowers. His latest initiative further explores that connection by pairing flowers with artistic renderings of queer activists around the world who were tragically murdered for their activism. Hewson shares his personal motivations, shedding light on the emotional resonance and historical importance driving his exploration of the intersection between flowers and queer activism. He also talks about Berlin's thriving queer art scene and his ongoing efforts to commemorate, honor, and showcase the stories of diverse queer activists (Interviewed by Jason Jenn). And in NewsWrap: a lawsuit challenging Ghana's ban on same-gender sex is dismissed by the Supreme Court, the government of Namibia is appealing a High Court decision that struck down laws criminalizing same-gender sex, Christopher Street Day Parade in Cologne, Germany is hailed as the largest parade in the city's history, the “queer panic defense” comes off the legal table in Michigan, LGBTQ ally U.S. President Joe Biden passes the Democratic Party torch to LGBTQ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Kalyn Hardman (produced by Brian DeShazor with technical assistance by Daniel Huecias).  All this on the July 29, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

All too often, companies with pro-LGBTQ public profiles pack up their Pride Month rainbow flags and pay their queer employees harsh reality. That was the experience of trans biotech engineer Alaina Kupec, and queer psychologist Dr. Jenna Brownfield talks about how to deal with the workplace battlefield. (Part 2 of 2 produced by David Hunt.) And in NewsWrap: South Korea's Supreme Court orders the National Health Insurance Service to extend spousal coverage to same-gender partners, the cabinet of Burkina Faso's military junta agrees on legislation to ban homosexuality, the U.S. Republican National Convention re-nominates its iconic felon for president as it attacks LGBTQ people and DEI programs, U.S. farm and garden equipment maker John Deere ends its corporate support for LGBTQ causes, California's Chino Valley Unified School District sues Governor Gavin Newsom over a bill to protect trans students from being involuntarily outed, far-right figure Elon Musk's social media platform deletes more than 200 profiles associated with the hashtag ILoveGay, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor with technical assistance by Daniel Huecias).  All this on the July 22, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Recent industry studies and the personal testimonies of out queer employees reveal a disturbing trend of employers backtracking on their support for ensuring welcoming workplaces. The statistics became reality for Dr. Khôra Martel when the University of Tennessee let her go from the religious studies department after she came out as trans. (Part 1 of 2 produced by David Hunt.) And in NewsWrap: a Dutch citizen and a local trans woman lose their challenges to Malawi's criminalization of same-gender relationships, Aruba and Curaçao must immediately allow same-gender couples to marry by order of the Dutch Supreme Court, British LGBTQ activists are “cautiously optimistic” about their prospects under the newly-elected Labour government, French voters hand the burgeoning far-right and anti-queer National Rally Party a humiliating defeat in national elections, the Hiroshima High Court allows a trans woman to change her legal gender without having to undergo gender-reassignment surgery for the first time in Japan, a Missouri judge rejects “blind obedience to the attorney general's civil investigative demands” when the state seeks unredacted medical records of trans children, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Wendy Natividad (produced by Brian DeShazor with technical assistance by Daniel Huecias).  All this on the July 15, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

San Francisco Drag Laureate D'Arcy Drollinger talks about the perspective to be gained by blowing up masculine and feminine identities, and how he's creating an Oasis for the art form (Part 2 of a two-part interview with Eric Jansen of “Out In The Bay”). And in NewsWrap: more than a hundred people skirt the governor's ban on Istanbul LGBTQ Pride by crossing to the Asian side of the city, Santiago's peaceful Pride Parade is assaulted by a mob of hooded thugs, Romania's largest celebration of LGBTQ Pride brings thousands to the streets of Bucharest and spreads to several other cities, pro-Palestinian protests impact Pride events in the U.S. and Canada, the daughter of Cameroon President Paul Biya comes out and becomes an outlaw in her country, the Tennessee-based Tractor Supply Company beats its former progressive policies down with a shovel, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the July 8, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

San Francisco Drag Laureate D'Arcy Drollinger sashays through those Golden Gates with a message of fabulousness in times of “drag panic” and performance bans (Part 1 of a two-part interview with Eric Jansen of “Out In The Bay”). Families of trans kids are fleeing the U.S. south, but founder and president of GRACE: Gender Research Advisory Council and Education Alaina Kupec is using their stories to inspire change (reported by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: Budapest's successful LGBTQ Pride Parade highlights the conflict between gay U.S. Ambassador David Pressman and far right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, ten queer Hong Kong couples celebrate a legal mass wedding through a registered officiant in Utah, U.S. President Joe Biden pardons thousands of queer veterans discharged under previous discriminatory regulations, Texas' ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare is upheld by the state Supreme Court, Arkansas' Supreme Court decides to deprive driver's license applicants the right to choose X as their gender marker instead of male or female, Utah's new law Equal Opportunities Initiatives forces the closure of LGBTQ Centers and all DEI programs at state colleges, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor-Gray and Kalyn Hardman (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the July 1, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Pivotal street actions that have fueled the march toward LGBTQ liberation are included in a newly-accessible collection of This Way Out programs at americanarchive.org: Section 28 protesters converged on Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Downing Street, a Stop AIDS Now barricade blocked the Golden Gate Bridge, and a “rice-toss” in San Francisco expressed anger over the Defense of Marriage Act. Generation Z activism has been influenced by the protest culture of the past — now on digital “streets” and across intersectional lines. Pacific Pride Foundation Community Outreach Manager Levin Fetzer talks about the struggle to remain hopeful and the importance of learning from movement predecessors. (Part Four of a four-part Pride Month series produced by Daniel Huecias.) And in NewsWrap: Namibia's High Court finds the colonial-era laws against sex between men unconstitutional, Thailand is poised to become the first Southeast Asian country to open civil marriage to same-gender couples, a federal judge allows six more U.S. states to ignore the Biden administration's Title IX protections for LGBTQ students, Black lesbian White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre offers the president's greetings for Pride Month, Kyiv Pride marches again for the first time since the Russian invasion, Pope Francis' unfortunate use of the homophobic slur “frociaggine” is the target of Rome Pride pranks, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by David Hunt and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the June 24, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

It's the soundtrack that keeps a movement moving! Hear our playlist of essential pride anthems from past and present, and meet emerging queer musician and artist Caroline Kingsbury. She talks about the resurgence of LGBTQ+ music and drops her new single about chosen family and home, "Our House." (Part Three of a four-part Pride Month series produced by Daniel Huecias.) And in NewsWrap: gay Pakistani Preetam Giani's application to start a queer nightspot in Abbottabad gets him sent to a psychiatric hospital, gay Taiwanese photojournalist Lin Jai-hang is arrested by Chinese police for displaying portraits of gay men at a Nanjing City book fair, Florida's cruel restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare are struck down by a federal judge, a temporary injunction blocks the Biden administration's guidance that federal anti-bias education laws cover sexual orientation and gender expression or identity, an appeals court says a Massachusetts public school can stop a student from wearing a “There are only two genders” T-shirt, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's flag-flying wife waves her homophobic colors, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the June 17, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/