This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine

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/

Laws are being passed — and thugs are being deployed — attempting to shut down drag shows around the world. That’s the news making the headlines, but the backstage news is that drag performers are organizing in protest to protect their art. Qommittee Board President Blaq Dinamyte also talks about being a king in a predominantly drag queen world. (Part Two of a four-part Pride Month series produced by Daniel Huecias.) And in NewsWrap: Sao Paulo, Brazil’s LGBTQ Pride celebration brings hundreds of thousands of people to downtown for what may be the largest of its kind in the world, the 25th Seoul Queer Culture Festival is capped by a Parade despite government obstruction, Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wears a rainbow shirt to join more than 200,000 celebrating LGBTQ Pride in Bangkok, queer-supportive former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum becomes the country’s first woman and first Jewish president, a Missouri trans man wins 4.7 million dollars in damages for being denied access to school bathrooms and changing rooms that matched his gender identity, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania sets the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever drag queen story time, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the June 10, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

One frightening mid-May night in San Diego, California, LGBTQ+ venues Pecs Bar, The Rail, Number One on Fifth Avenue and Rich’s were the targets of a pellet gun shooting spree. Rich’s employee Eddie Reynoso vividly recounts the disturbing incident that led to his being struck in the eye with a gel pellet. As publisher of the LGBTQ San Diego County News and the founder and executive director of the Equality Business Alliance, Reynono talks about queer life in San Diego and the need to remain vigilant in the aftermath of violence. (Part One of a four-part Pride Month series produced by Daniel Huecias.) And in NewsWrap: private clinics and practitioners in the United Kingdom are being added to the National Health Service ban on dispensing puberty blockers to patients under the age of 18, adults who help minors leave Tennessee to access gender-affirming care or abortions can now go to jail, a U.S. federal judge rules that New Hampshire’s restrictions on classroom discussions involving LGBTQ people or race violate free speech rights, U.S. National Park Service employees can continue celebrating LGBTQ Pride in uniform this year, an Idaho drag queen wins more than a million dollars in a defamation lawsuit against a rabidly right-wing blogger, Karla Sofía Gascón becomes the first trans woman to win the Best Actress trophy at the Cannes Film Festival, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the June 3, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Forty-five years ago the shocking verdict in the murder of gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and ally Mayor George Moscone sent the queer community and its journalists into the streets, where they were destined for a historic confrontation with police. Dr. Tanya D. Zuk of the Department of Media Arts at the University of North Texas reflects on the significance of White Night. And in NewsWrap: the death of transgender Argentinian Sofia Fernández in police custody originally called a suicide is now a case of murder by asphyxiation with 10 officers under arrest, the U.S. Supreme Court declines the case of religious parents who object to their Maryland school district’s support for trans and gender-nonconforming students, Colorado’s Republican Party accuses Democrats of attempting “to turn more kids trans” and urges parents to take their children out of public school, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry is expected to sign a “don’t say gay” bill, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signs a ban on banning books for ideological reasons, Asher HaVon becomes the first queer winner on "The Voice,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Kalyn Hardman and Marco Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the May 27, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Three short films — “Making Men” (Belgium, Zimbabwe), “Papi” (USA) and “Love Taps” (USA) — add a queer perspective as the New York African Film Festival explores the intersection of historical and contemporary people on the continent and among the diaspora, under the theme “Convergence in Time” (John Dyer V reports). We open the lesbian and gay wedding album 20 years after the first same-gender couples in the U.S. legally march down the aisle in Massachusetts, and see where some of the key players are now. And in NewsWrap: Peru’s rightwing President Dina Boluarte signs a declaration defining what it calls “transsexualism” and “other gender identity disorders” as mental illnesses, the Tory government circulates a draft document that would bar British public school teachers from discussing “the concept of gender identity,” Liechtenstein’s parliament approves a bill to open marriage to same-gender couples, warnings of potential terrorist violence at upcoming June Pride month celebrations are issued by three U.S. security agencies, plaintiff religious parents in Maryland’s Montgomery County lose another ruling in their bid to keep their children out of classes with LGBTQ-related content, Georgia transgender deputy Anna Lange’s anti-discrimination claim is costing the county Sheriff’s Office many times more than her gender-affirming care would, the Long Island Roller Rebels team up with the New York Civil Liberties Union to defeat Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s executive order to ban transgender girls and women from competing in gender appropriate sports, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by David Hunt and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the May 20, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Broadway’s 2023-24 season is full of LGBTQ-related plays and musicals. Gay USA’s Andy Humm and guest co-host Merryn Johns offer their thoughts on the hits, the misses and the queer Tony nominees; we add some examples from the shows “Suffs,” “Prayer for the French Republic,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Water for Elephants” and “Lempicka” to their astute reviews. Plus: comedian Dana Goldberg’s wise words about pronouns. And in NewsWrap: the Czech Constitutional Court overturns sex reassignment surgery and sterilization prerequisites for legal gender changes, thousands protest across France and Belgium an attempt in the French Senate to restrict pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, Tel Aviv’s renowned LGBTQ Pride Parade is canceled in favor of a hope and freedom rally due to the ongoing Gaza war, the Boy Scouts of America re-brands itself with the more inclusive name “Scouting America,” South Carolina’s Republican Governor Henry McMaster is expected to sign a bill denying puberty blockers and hormone therapies to trans people under 18, Mississippi’s Republican legislative majority defines gender as the sex assigned at birth for bathroom admittance, Rhode Island is poised to protect medical professionals who provide gender-affirming healthcare and abortion services, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor-Gray and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the May 13, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The world’s best-known memoirist whose the long series of books about his horrible and hilarious life began with “Running with Scissors” and “Dry.” Augusten Burroughs talks about writing, living and queering the memoir form. (Interviewed by Steve Pride.) And in NewsWrap: the United Methodist Church ends its 40-year ban on queer clergy and opens its doors to same-gender weddings, a Mombassa court orders a halt to anti-queer protests and incitement to violence by groups opposed to LGBTQ equality, Queensland expands its Anti-Discrimination Act to cover gender diversity and decriminalizes sex work, a U.S. appeals court rules that state-funded healthcare plans must include coverage for gender-affirming treatments and surgeries, the Biden administration reinstates protections from the denial of care based on sexual orientation or gender identity under the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updates its regulations to better protect transgender workers from harassment and discrimination, two Mississippi anti-trans rights bills die of Republican infighting in the state legislature, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the May 6, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

New Hampshire high school high jump champion Maelle Jacques’s testimony (questioned by state Senator Stephen Woodcock) helps stop a trans sports exclusion bill at the committee level in the state Senate. Australian DJ James “Breko” Brechney lit up the town with a 2020 Vivid Sydney event re-imagined for the COVID lockdown (interviewed by William Brougham). Plus: the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus each paid online tributes to first responders, frontline healthcare personnel and other essential workers. And in NewsWrap: the High Court of Dominica overturns has colonial era laws to de-criminalize same-gender sex, the Iraqi Parliament outlaws queer and trans identity, pediatric gender-affirming care in Scotland and Wales is halted by the Cass Review from England’s NHS, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott wants to purge all transgender and gender non-conforming public school teachers, Maine’s Governor Janet Mills defies far-right Christian nationalists to declare her state to be an abortion and gender care sanctuary, the 30th Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade draws 15,000 people to the streets of Shibuya Ward proclaiming “Don’t give up until we make change,” Nymphia Wind is the first East Asian and first Taiwanese winner of the original “RuPaul’s Drag Race” series, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Daniel Huecias and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 29, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Award-winning documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman talk about finding the stories of those who were swept up when Germany went from being a homosexual haven to a horrific Nazi hell (interviewed by Steve Pride). Contains material some listeners may find disturbing. Passionate voices filled the Nebraska Capitol building over a second attempt to sideline trans student athletes, and most persuasive argument against the ban came from married gay dad and state Senator John Fredrickson. And in NewsWrap: England’s National Health Service calls the medical evidence supporting pediatric gender-affirming healthcare “remarkably weak” in The Cass Review, Uganda activists will appeal the Constitutional Court’s ruling that upheld the “Anti-Homosexuality Act” to the Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court allows Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans young people to take effect, West Virginia’s law excluding transgender athletes from competing in school sports is struck down by a federal appeals court, bills to restrict the rights of transgender people are vetoed by the governors of Kansas and Arizona, the cartoon character Bluey has a friend with two mommies, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 22, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Back in the days when we liked Ike and loved Lucy, Ann Bannon’s “Odd Girl Out” and the other pulp novels in the “Beebo Brinker Chronicles” gave pre-Stonewall lesbians some reading that mattered (interviewed by Steve Pride). And in NewsWrap: Germany passes a Self-Determination Act to make it easier for trans people to legally change gender, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith publishes a document on “Infinite Dignity” that compares gender affirmation treatment to human trafficking and war, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics establishes rules to exclude trans students from sports at smaller U.S. colleges, Idaho’s legislature ends its session with three more bills to restrict the human rights of trans people, a U.S. district court judge in Florida allows a math teacher to tell her students to use her preferred pronouns, far-right homophobes protest outdoor clothing company The North Face’s support of the Brave Trails camp for queer youth, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by David Hunt and Lucia Chappelle (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 15, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Somewhere between Radio Hall of Famer Barry “Dr. Demento” Hansen and Billie “Glinda” Burke, queer activist and audio producer David Fradkin found “Nurse Pimento” and her pop culture novelty treasures in the late 1970s. Featuring: Carroll O’Connor, Jack Lemon and Joe E. Brown, Groucho Marx, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Noel Coward, Sandy Dennis and George Segal, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks; music by Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Judy Garland, Perry Como, Edie Gorme, Tommy Smothers and Martin Mull. “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Emma’s Revolution reminds us what life “From a (Social) Distance” was like. And in NewsWrap: Uganda’s Constitutional Court declines to nullify the “Kill the Gays” Anti-Homosexuality Act in its entirety, the owner of Orenburg, Russia’s queer-friendly Pose nightclub is now in jail with two staffers being held on charges of “extremism,” the United Nations Human Rights Council specifically addresses the rights of intersex people for the first time, Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers refuses to deny trans student the right to compete in high school sports based on their gender identity, Florida Republican state Representative Fabiбn Basabe sues Miami Pride for disinviting him due to his hypocritical record and need for massive police protection, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Michael Taylor Gray (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 8, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Sounds of the LGBTQ movement during the first six months of This Way Out’s existence — the program that debuted on April 1, 1988 — and how those historic sounds continue to echo in the issues facing queer communities today. And in NewsWrap: a landslide vote sends Thailand’s marriage equality bill from the lower House of Parliament to the Senate, nine men convicted on suspicious sodomy charges by a Houthi court in Yemen will be crucified or stoned to death, trans patients under the age of 18 in Wyoming can no longer get gender-affirming healthcare, P-FLAG’s confidential information about Texas member families with transgender children are still protected from state Attorney General Ken Paxton, Dutch trans darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven’s back-to-back victories over both men and women in the same week ignite a firestorm, a “Drag Queen Story Hour” at the Lancaster, Pennsylvania Public Library is canceled due to a bomb threat that forces a neighborhood evacuation, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 1, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The United Methodist Church is preparing for its first General Conference following the departure of congregations unable to accept LGBTQ equality, and an impassioned 2019 speech by now-Rev. J.J. Warren helped set the agenda for the future. Comedian and television talk-star Rosie O”Donnell eloped to the city of San Francisco 20 years ago this month, when gay and lesbian couples were getting married under a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom. Plus: Ireland’s out Prime Minister Leo Varadkar unexpectedly resigns! And in NewsWrap: Israeli lesbian co-mothers can now be listed on their children’s birth certificates, Italian lesbian moms beat the effort by Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s government to erase them from their children’s birth certificates, two staff members of a queer Russian nightspot are facing charges of “extremism” for hosting a drag show, Alabama bans diversity/equity/inclusion programs and trans people’s access to appropriate bathrooms in public schools and universities, New South Wales bans conversion therapy for both minors and adults, Australian Senator Penny Wong weds her long-time partner Sophie Allouache and footballer Josh Cavallo proposes to his boyfriend on the pitch, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 25, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Texas state Representative James Talarico makes a social media name for himself in a bare-knuckled defense against Christian Nationalism, with an “other side of the Bible” style reminiscent of 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. Months later there’s no news about 76 Nigerians busted at an alleged “gay wedding,” and a decade later we recall the "Global Day of Action" protesting the passage of the country’s “Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act” (Kelly Cogswell and Harriet Hirshorn report from New York City). 2014 was the last year that queer contingents were completely banned from the huge St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Boston and New York City (Kelly Cogswell reports from New York City). And in NewsWrap: England’s National Health Service cuts off access to puberty blockers for transgender minors, a Uganda appeals court upholds the denial of legal recognition for the queer advocacy group Sexual Minorities Uganda, two more Japanese district courts declare the denial of civil marriage to same-gender couples unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court will not intervene to help queer-supportive West Texas A&M University students hold a drag fundraiser for suicide prevention, gender-variant drivers licenses are no longer an option in Kansas and Arkansas, the settlement of a challenge to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law allows some “gay saying,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 18, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Take a tour of Sydney’s new Queer Centre of History and Culture, with a special look at its inclusion of women and how it handles the AIDS years (part 2 of 2 produced by Barry McKay). Featuring Aunty Nadeena Dixon, Dr. Liz Bradshaw, Greg Fisher, Ian Roberts and Elaine Czulkowski. And in NewsWrap: international pressure makes Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo think twice about signing the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill,” Serbian queer activists and allies protest the victimization of a young gay man and a bisexual woman during a police raid, U.S. President Joe Biden gives unequivocal support to LGBTQ and other marginalized communities in his State of the Union address, U.S. federal judge in North Dakota allows providers and employer-controlled health plans to cite religion as an excuse to refuse gender-affirming treatment, P-FLAG wins a temporary injunction to stop Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from rifling through its files for information about member families with transgender children, a bill in the Republican-dominated Missouri legislature would turn teachers who support transgender students into registered sex offenders, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 11, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Qtopia Sydney opens its Queer Centre of History and Culture, the world’s largest LGBTQ museum, is located in the former police station where the arrestees of Australia’s Stonewall were abused (part 1 of 2 produced by Barry McKay). And in NewsWrap: Ghana’s legislature passes the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill” that would criminalize coming out or being an ally, a compromise bill to let registered queer partners adopt each other’s children passes the Czech Parliament’s lower house when marriage equality fails, an appeals court lifts an injunction that was keeping pediatric gender-affirming healthcare available in Indiana, the American Psychological Association condemns all state bans on gender-affirming healthcare for minors, New South Wales police officers will march in this year’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras despite the controversy over a cop who killed his ex-boyfriend, Washington lawmakers pass the “Stripper’s Bill of Rights” to repeal antiquated “lewd conduct” statutes, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by David Hunt and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Lucia Chappelle). All this on the March 4, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Curtis Chin’s family owned the famed Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine in Detroit, and growing up gay in the 1980s he discovered a world of diversity in the restaurant’s clientele. He’s interviewed by Dennis Hensley of “Dennis Anyone? A podcast about making things up and making things happen” (dennisanyone.net). And in NewsWrap: Canada’s terrorism assessment agency says anti-queer groups present an “extreme threat” of violence, Russian security forces step up their “unlawful propaganda” raids on LGBTQ venues, Tennessee allows authorized officials to use their religious beliefs to opt-out of performing same-gender wedding ceremonies, a bill to guarantee marriage equality in Virginia awaits governor’s signature, Montana repeats its unconstitutional rules to prevent trans people from updating their birth certificate gender markers, Washington state LGBTQ and stripper activists ally to repeal “lewd conduct” regulations and improve the entertainers’ working conditions, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and Allan Tijamo (produced by Lucia Chappelle). All this on the February 26, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Renowned playwright Edward Albee talks about life, sex and the theater (interviewed in 2009 by Dixie Treichel and John Townsend of KFAI-Minneapolis/St. Paul’s Fresh Fruit). Irish drag queen Panti Bliss (a.k.a. Rory O’Neill) responded brilliantly when calling out homophobic journalists and religionists drew criticism from both sides (a 2014 speech at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre). And in NewsWrap: Greece becomes the 37th country where same-gender couples can get married, Nepal’s Anju Devi Shrestha and Suprita Gurung become the first officially registered married lesbian couple in South Asia, a St. Vincent and the Grenadines High Court justice rejects two challenges to the nation’s sodomy laws, a Japanese trans man can change the gender marker on his official documents without undergoing surgical sterilization, a top host on state-run Polish television apologizes for years of anti-queer rhetoric, a sexy Seville Jesus riles Spanish traditionalists, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Brian DeShazor (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 19, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Looking back at actor/writer/producer Elliot Page’s coming out speech — the first time — a tribute to queer youth at the Human Rights Campaign's 2014 "Time to Thrive" conference. Prolific science fiction writer Ray Bradbury branched out into several genres, including a lesser-known play with a gay twist (interviewed by Chris Wilson). And in NewsWrap: Yemen’s Houthi rebels sentence 13 to death for engaging in same-gender sex, Britain’s Parliament hears for the first time exclusively from transgender people about the challenges they face, Mumbai Pride returns better than ever after a four-year COVID hiatus, Oklahoma lawmaker plans to replace Pride with “patriotism,” Seattle queer bar raids reminiscent of Stonewall prompt a review of antiquated Washington state “lewd conduct” rules, Tennessee town and South Dakota agency pay heavy fines for anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and Daniel Huecias (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 12, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The pressure for marriage equality had been building for years when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom hit the release valve just ahead of Valentine’s Day, 2004. An archival report featuring Newsom, President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, S.F. Recorder-Assessor Mabel Teng, S.F. Supervisor Tom Ammiano, attorney Clyde Wadsworth, S.F. Chief Deputy District Attorney Therese Stewart and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. And in NewsWrap: Russians are now being convicted of “extremism” for petty violations like wearing rainbow earrings, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announces planned anti-trans policies on Twitter/X, Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors is blocked again by a federal appeals court, trans people in Utah can now use bathrooms and locker rooms based only on their birth certificate gender, Florida will no longer allow trans people to change gender markers on their driver’s licenses, Switzerland gets is first gay male yodeling club, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Kalyn Hardman (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 5, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) is the first Black lesbian to ever serve in Congress’ upper chamber. Appointed to fill the seat of the legendary Senator Dianne Feinstein, the life-long labor and community organizer devoted her maiden speech to the upcoming generations of political activists. And in NewsWrap: a report by Human Rights Watch finds Meta and other social media companies complicit in the persecution and arrests of queer people in the Middle East and North Africa, Texas activists go to the United Nations to seek relief from laws that target LGBTQ people, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban doubles down on homophobia as the EU withholds funds, Ohio trans adults and trans children’s families flee lawmakers’ restrictions on gender-affirming care and student athletes, a California judge blocks a rule forcing trans cops to out themselves, U.S. Gen Z-ers are more queer than Republican, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Alan Tijamo (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the January 29, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) started organizing globally in 1978, and in 2004 its 22nd World Conference was held in Manila — the first event of its kind in Asia. One major issue on the table was Brazil’s United Nations resolution against sexual orientation discrimination, which finally passed the UN Human Rights Council ten years later. (Michael Schemer interviews attendee Uma Kali Shakti, both of Sydney, Australia.) The biggest queer news story out of Egypt in 2001 was the raid on The Queen Boat, a well-known gay venue in Cairo. Twenty-eight-year old Mazin was one of 23 men arrested for “debauchery” who served time in prison (interviewed by Jonathan Groubert of Radio Netherlands). And in NewsWrap: the United States Supreme Court declines to review an appeals court’s decision to allow a transgender student to use the bathrooms that match his gender identity, U.S. state legislatures have spawned a record number of deeply alarming anti-queer bills, Missouri legislators debate eight anti-trans bills while the rabbi dad of a trans boy testifies to the truth, Idaho House struggles to define what they want to censor, appeals court upholds injunction against Texas book ban, Taiwan elects its first queer to the the Legislative Yuan, Irish Cabinet Minister Jack Chambers comes out, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the January 22, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

With two queer daughters in homophobic Kenya, Mary Mumbi talks about spreading the word about tolerance and fairness to other parents and families, using her influence to create safe spaces in an increasingly hostile environment (interviewed by Diana Wanyonyi, part two of two, from wingsradio.org). And in NewsWrap: French President Emmanuel Macron promotes two gay men to the positions of Prime and Foreign Ministers, Taiwan elects LGBTQ-supportive Vice President Lai Ching-te to the presidency, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces that a marriage equality bill will go to Parliament, Vietnamese women’s national football team member Tran Thi Thu makes history by marrying her girlfriend in a public wedding ceremony, a U.S. appeals court allows Alabama’s pediatric trans healthcare ban to go forward, the classics and reference books removed by a Florida school district for “sexual content” include several dictionaries, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the January 15, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

After coming to terms with one daughter’s sexuality, a Mombasa mom becomes a community confidante and an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights (interviewed by Diana Wanyonyi, part one of two, from wingsradio.org). And in NewsWrap: Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye says all LGBTQ people should be rounded up and stoned to death, a landmark decision of Israel’s High Court of Justice opens adoption to same-gender couples, Estonia begins accepting marriage license applications from gay and lesbian couples, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine vetoes a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors and protects it from override with an executive order banning (practically nonexistant) pediatric gender-affirming surgery, federal judges temporarily halt enforcement of Idaho’s trans healthcare ban for minors and Iowa’s book ban, Massachusetts sues neo-Nazis for disrupting “Drag Queen Story Hours,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by David Hunt and Nico Raquel (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the January 8, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Celebrate the fifth anniversaries of Australia’s first gay and lesbian legally married couples with a look back down their long road to marriage equality. From the 2004 “heterosexuals only” amendment to the Marriage Act to the 2017 postal survey on the issue and, finally, the legalization of same-gender marriages, Sydney correspondent Barry McKay covered the key developments. Included are former Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull; Senators Penny Wong, Sarah Hanson-Young, George Brandis and Dean Smith; MPs Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek; former High Court Justice Michael Kirby; journalists Karl Stevanovic and David Koch; right wing activist Lyle Shelton; LGBTQ+ activists Jo Ball, Tiernan Brady and Alex Greenwich; entertainer Magda Szubanski and swimmer Ian Thorpe. NewsWrap will return next week. All this on the January 1, 2024 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned state laws against non-commercial private consensual adult same-gender sex reverberates today in the pivotal decisions on reproductive rights, as well as the Courts own ethical scandals. Our flashback report features “Lawrence v. Texas” lead attorney Ruth Harlow of Lambda Legal and litigants John Lawrence and Tyron Garner, Dallas Gay & Lesbian Alliance President Roger Wedell, Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, Robert Knight of the Culture and Family Institute, Revs. Rob Schenck and Jerry Falwell, Sr. of the National Clergy Council, Kate Kendall of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Jennifer Pizer of Lambda Legal, San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Dallas attorney Mitchell Katine, Houston activist Ray Hill and San Diego queer columnist Rex Wockner. NewsWrap will return the week of January 8th. All this on the December 25, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) goes viral by exposing U.S. House Republicans’ gender hypocrisy while questioning National Women’s Law Center president and CEO Fatima Goss Graves in a subcommittee hearing. Trans jazz band leader Billy Tipton’s career spanned from the 1930s to the 70s, and the music continues with The Tiptons Sax Quartet (produced by Steve Sims). And in NewsWrap: the European Court of Human Rights finds that Poland’s refusal to legally recognize lesbian and gay couples violates the European Convention on Human Rights, the United States Supreme Court rejects an appeal to review Washington state legislation that bans “conversion therapy” for minors, loopholes in a proposed conversion therapy ban in the Australian state of Tasmania get a “thumbs down” from activists, Argentina’s newly inaugurated right-wing President Javier Milei pulls the plug on the Women, Gender and Diversity Ministry, police in Yekateringburg raid a popular queer venue while Russian censors coral “My Little Pony," plus Pope Francis okays same-gender blessings and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the December 18, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

In the Texas state legislature, Christian Democratic Representative James Talarico gave a biblically-based rebuke against a Republican Christian nationalist bill to post the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms — and it went viral. The repeal of the U.K.’s notorious “no promo homo” Section 28 and the opening of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King made mid-December 2003 a joyous season for world-renowned actor Sir Ian McKellen. He greeted the news at an LGBTQ gathering at Premiere House in Wellington, New Zealand (recorded by Hugh Young of Access Radio’s GayBC). And in NewsWrap: Uganda’s infamous Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 faces a quadruple challenge in the nation’s Constitutional Court, Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill loses the first round of its fight for approval from the British government, Jordanian queer activists forced to flee from government persecution, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers vetoes a Republican bill to ban pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, Florida defends school board book bans as the government’s right to control libraries, Bucks County, Pennsylvania voters celebrate rescuing their school board from right-wing extremists, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor-Gray and Kalyn Hardman (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the December 11, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Cody Connor is fighting for his trans daughter in the face of Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin’s “model policies” for schools. Writer/director Emile Gaudreault’s 2003 comedy remains a cross-cultural favorite (interviewed by John Frame in Brisbane). Plus, can exorcism save Illinois from marriage equality? And in NewsWrap: The Thai Cabinet approves an amendment to the Civil Code to open marriage to gay and lesbian couples, Nepal finally registers its first same-gender couple since the Supreme Court order in July, Russia’s Supreme Court outlaws the non-existent “international public LGBT movement,” Florida’s Republican lawmakers are bent on expanding “Don’t Say Gay” to clamp down on queer advocacy, Iowa’s book ban faces two separate lawsuits, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the December 4, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

A spoken-word production featuring works by members of QueerWise, a Los Angeles-based, multi-generational writing and performance group. Living in the moment while facing the future, they tackle hard-to-relive histories and magical memories, present-day dangers and hopeful omens. The cast includes Gordon Blitz, Marie Cartier, Lucia Chappelle, Antonia Garcia-Orozco, Christine Papalexis, Jim Pentecost, Robin Podolsky and David Trudell. Robin Podolsky is the head writer, and the group is led by actor-activist-playwright Michael Kearns. Produced for This Way Out by Lucia Chappelle. (NewsWrap returns next week.) All this on the November 27, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Private notes between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas are the literature of love in “Precious Baby Always Shines” (commentary by Janet Mason). The funny, sophisticated, and slightly ribald 1931 film “Girls About Town” takes us on a festive cultural sojourn in search of vintage queer gold (commentary by John Dyer V). And in NewsWrap: the Church of England will “experiment” with special services to bless queer partners for a trial period, activists are not buying the official explanation of the shocking death of non-binary Mexican judge Jesús Ociel Baena, Asia’s first Gay Games leaps all of the official hurdles that China could lay before its Hong Kong hosts, the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to grant an emergency request to overturn an injunction against Florida’s ban on family-friendly drag shows, One Million Moms protest Macy’s “non-binary and transgender extravaganza” Thanksgiving Day Parade, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Elena Botkin-Levy (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the November 20, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Two flashback reports in which we covered major high court rulings that led to marriage equality: one in the Canadian province of Ontario, and one 20 years ago this week in the US state of Massachusetts. Featuring Canadian litigant Michael Leshner; Mary Bonauto of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders; Massachusetts plaintiffs Gloria Bailey and Linda Davies, Mike Horgan and Hillary and Julie Goodridge; Massachusetts Republican Governor Mitt Romney; Democratic Massachusetts State Representative Phil Travis; Massachusetts U.S. Congressman Barney Frank.(Reporters: Heather Kitching, Greg Gordon) And in NewsWrap: Latvia’s Parliament creates civil unions for same-gender couples with fewer rights than their heterosexual counterparts, more than a million people celebrate Pride in Buenos Aires demanding anti-bias protections and a comprehensive trans law, the director of Budapest’s Hungarian National Museum was fired this week for allowing young people to see the inclusive World Press Photo Exhibit, a U.S. federal judge has upheld a Florida law that bars transgender girls and women from competing in female sports, another “Rainbow Wave” of local electoral victories buoys Democratic wins in U.S. off-year elections, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the November 13, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

The U.S. Episcopal Church and by extension the worldwide Anglican Communion was rocked by the selection of the first out gay bishop twenty years ago this week. We’ll take you back to the victorious consecration ceremony for the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore Center in Durham, November 2, 2003. And in NewsWrap: Jamaica’s Supreme Court leaves the nation stuck with its British colonial-era anti-queer sex laws, Hungary’s far-right government bars youth from the World Press Photo Exhibition because of five pictures of elderly queers, Taiwan’s Vice President Lai Ching-te joins an estimated 180,000 celebrants at the Taipei Pride March, Johannesburg Pride dedicates their parade to LGBTQ+ Ugandans and all Africans who “cannot march for themselves,” the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals puts Idaho’s school bathroom bill on hold again, new Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson is a far right white Christian nationalist with a wealth of anti-queer skeletons in his closet, gay U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg dares House Speaker Johnson to come home with him for dinner, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the November 6, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

A unique program for LGBTQ seniors led by West Hollywood, California’s first Poet Laureate Steven Reigns uses poetry as a tool to capture their life experiences and create a live performance piece. Reigns discusses the workshop’s process and goals, and participants Alicia Arbio, Hank Henderson, Ingrid Paulina Rodas, Louise Moore, Nick Paul and Terry Anglin are featured (produced by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the Nigerian government’s anti-LGBTQ crackdown escalates with the arrest of 76 people at an alleged “gay wedding,” South Korea’s Constitutional Court upholds the Military Criminal Act’s ban on gay sex between service members, Austria plans to compensate gay men who were unjustly prosecuted for adult homosexual acts, relatively obscure Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana is elected Speaker of the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives with a homophobic and misogynistic track record, “Libs of TikTok” social media influencer Chaya Raichik added to the Anti-Defamation League’s “Glossary of Extremism,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Kalyn Hardman (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the October 30, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

A collaborative of Indigenous and settler researchers is studying the intersections of Indigeneity, gender, sexual orientation and geography in a “dry lab” — a laboratory that does its work on computers rather than with beakers or Bunsen burners. Co-founder Harlan Pruden says the goal is to combine good relations and indigenous ways of knowing (produced by Lauren Schmitt). And in NewsWrap: India’s Supreme Court defers to Parliament to enact marriage equality legislation, Nepalese lower courts refuse to register the marriage of a queer couple despite the Supreme Court’s provisional marriage order, a Japanese family court slams the surgery pre-requisite for transgender ID change, Poland’s far right “LGBTQ-Free” party fails to win enough seats in Parliament to form a new government, Saskatchewan’s decision to prohibit students from changing their names or pronouns at school parental consent drives a human rights commissioner to quit, U.S. federal judges take action on injunctions against Idaho’s anti-trans bathroom law and Montana’s drag show ban, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Sarah Montague and Michael Taylor-Gray (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the October 23, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

In the aftermath of her son Matthew’s infamous murder in 1998, Judy Shepard and her surviving family take on the campaign to pass hate crimes legislation, and establish a foundation to support queer youth (interviewed by Eric Jansen of “Out in the Bay Radio”). And in NewsWrap: Bulgaria’s Supreme Court clears punk music star Milena Slavova of discrimination charges for her viral homophobic social media post, failed anti-queer French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour is fined for denigrating lesbian mothers, Spokane, Washington’s Odyssey Youth Movement is vandalized four times in less than a month, the Public Library in Madison, Alabama pulls a picture book from its children’s section because the author’s last name is Gay, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a lower court’s block of Florida’s unconstitutional ban on family-friendly drag shows, the Parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales hosts its own Drag Storytime, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the October 16, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard, we rebroadcast our coverage of the 1998 hate crime that sparked an international outcry. The report features University of Wyoming Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Association President Jim Osborne, Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer and state Representative Michael Massey, Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center Executive Director Lorri Jean, Human Rights Campaign legal counselor Tony Varona, gay Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, comedian Ellen DeGeneres, Shepard’s friend Walter Bouden and parents Dennis and Judy Shepard, plus music by Melissa Etheridge and Blackberri. And in NewsWrap: a Mauritian activist wins his Supreme Court challenge to the colonial-era law against sex between men, the organization Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities says the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade still refuses to grant it legal recognition, fanatical Christian bikers try to blockade a peaceful pro-LGBTQ march in Beirut, 14 supposedly queer-positive U.S. schools receive bomb threats within a week of being targeted by the far-right Libs of TikTok account, Tennessee gets its first out transgender elected official as Olivia Hill is sworn in as a member of the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County, black lesbian Laphonza Butler takes the seat of the late California Senator Diane Feinstein, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the October 9, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Skott Freedman’s 2003 anthology “Bi the People” boosted the audibility of bisexual musicians, including Jill Sobule and Leigh Fischer (interviewed by JD Doyle). Irish folksinger Brian Kennedy turned being outed into an opportunity to be a model of transparency (interviewed by John Frame). And in NewsWrap: Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” law sparks vigilante violence, cross-dressing Iraqi social media star Noor BM is shot dead, the U.S. Congress ignores Boebert’s pointless anti-trans bile, Trump’s desperate Republican rivals play anti-trans cards, an appeals court unblocks Kentucky and Tennessee pediatric gender-affirming healthcare bans, a Florida school district won’t let students “read gay,” and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Allan Tijamo and Elena Botkin-Levy (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the October 2, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

Twenty years ago this month, the marriage equality storyline in Canada was poised at a frustrating turning point (reported by Heather Kitching). The world’s largest folk festival has for two decades included queer events, including Gay Sunday (reported by Agnes Kruger). And in NewsWrap: U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the U.N. General Assembly on the Universal Convention on Human Rights, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes an embarrassing mistake confusing U.N. development summit banners with LGBTQ rainbow flags, “The Nigerian 69” who were arrested for a “same-sex wedding” are released on bail, a Hong Kong court orders the legal recognition of both lesbian moms on their baby’s birth certificate, Kim Kyu-jin is hailed as South Korea’s first open lesbian to give birth, the U.S. military announces an initiative to upgrade the status of queer service members who were discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the U.S. federal judge who tried to ban the abortion pill launches an unhinged attack on family-friendly drag shows, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Maarcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the September 25, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/