Outward: Slate's LGBTQ podcast

It’s August, and Outward is leaning into the heat. First, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan gab about the beach. Why, exactly, are queer beaches so delightful? Is there a secret geography of finding the gay beach? They then talk to GirlFlexx, a female dom stripper who performs largely for straight women in a traditionally male style -- and kills it in adoration and tips.Items discussed on the show:An ice cream cake you can make "in the back of your car."The upcoming Chromatica remix album, confirmed by Lady Gaga.Outsports.com's coverage of the Olympics.Provincetown's citizen scientist effort to contact trace a Delta variant outbreak.A lawyer who fought for marriage equality helped disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo discredit abuse victims.A primer on lesbian dom strippers.Gay AgendaBryan: Lindsay Morris and Ruth Padawar's photo essay about Camp I Am.Rumaan: Colm Toibin's The Master.Christina: The L Word: Generation Q.This podcast was produced by Katya Kumkova.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A year-and-a-half into the pandemic, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan look back at all the times we did not get to share our milestones -- good, bad, or just big -- with other queers. If a queer comes out in the forest where no one can hear them are they still queer? Yes, but perhaps less joyfully than if they had been in community. The hosts then speak with Lucia Lucas, the first female baritone to perform a principal opera role on the American stage as Don Giovanni.Items discussed on the show:A recent assault at Nellie's gay bar in DC draws protests.Richard Branson wore a rainbow ribbon during his space flight.Breakthrough COVID infections strike Provincetown.The Sound of Identity, a documentary about Lucia Lucas's appearance as Don Giovanni.Gay AgendaBryan: director's cut of Studio 54Christina: How Twitter Can Ruin a Life by Emily VanDerWerffRumaan: two wistful and sexy short stories read by author Douglas Stuart on The Writer's Voice podcast.This podcast was produced by Katya Kumkova.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Pride month, which means Outward is feeling particularly festive! Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are joined by musician Julien Baker to discuss her feelings about Pride, queerness, fluidity, and ways of interpreting queer art. Then Jillian Hanlon, a trans cop in upstate New York, joins to offer her take on the recent debate over cops at Pride.Items discussed on the show:Skittles go gray for Pride month.A Twitter thread about kink at Pride.Out in the Country: Youth, Media, and Queer Visibility in Rural America, by Mary GrayJulien Baker interview on WorkingJulien Baker on the Queerology podcastThe October 2018 Outward episode that includes interviews with members of No Justice No Pride and Reclaim Pride“A Mistep by the Organizers of Pride,” by the New York Times’ Editorial Board“The New York Times Doesn’t Know What Pride Is For,” by J. Bryan Lowder, in SlateGay AgendaChristina: Drew Gregory’s interview with Daniela Sea in AutostraddleBryan: Hola Papi, by John Paul BrammerRumaan: You are enough, queer comrades! This podcast was produced by Margaret Kelley and June Thomas.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/outwardplus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Waves is back, and we thought Outward listeners might enjoy this week's episode about Season 3 of Master of None, which focuses on a Black lesbian relationship. But is it worth watching? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are joined by Sarah Schulman, whose new book Let the Record Show sets out to correct inaccurate representations of ACT UP New York, its tactics, and its philosophy of direct action in response to the AIDS epidemic. Then they discuss three collections of photographs of LGBTQ people. Who are they for, and will they be seen by the people who need them most?Items discussed on the show: "How to Be a Queer Person in the World Post-Quarantine," by Naveen KumarThe section of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass that begins, "I have perceived that to be with those I like is enough.”Let The Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-93, by Sarah Schulman Sarah’s appearance on the June 10, 2020, episode of Outward, “ACT UP and Larry Kramer's Legacy”The ACT UP Oral History ProjectSelf Evident Truths: 10,000 Portraits of Queer America, by IO Tillett WrightQueer Love in Color, by Jamal Jordan Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, by JEB (Joan E. Biren)Gay AgendaBryan: Taylor Mac’s "Whitman in the Woods" Christina: Call My Agent Rumaan: HalstonThis podcast was produced by Margaret Kelley.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are first joined by Diana Souhami, whose new book, No Modernism Without Lesbians, tells the story of Sylvia Beach, Bryher, Natalie Barney, Gertrude Stein, and the artistic community they built in Paris between the wars. Then June Thomas joins them for a discussion of the recent spate of period dramas featuring women in love. Why can’t the women in these films get a little electricity or running water?Items discussed on the show: Dan D’Addario on Colton Underwood’s coming out, in VarietyDaniel Schroeder on what Underwood’s coming out revealed about the Bachelor franchise, in Slate“Transgender Childhood Is Not a ‘Trend’,“ by Jules Gill-Peterson in the New York Times No Modernism Without Lesbians, by Diana SouhamiSaturday Night Live’s take on lesbian period dramasAmmoniteCarolPortrait of a Lady on Fire (and Slate Spoiler Special episode)The World to ComeGay AgendaBryan: The Lady and the Dale on HBOMaxRumaan: Julie Mehretu’s exhibit at the Whitney Museum, and the New York Times T Magazine conversation between Mehretu and her former partner Jessica RankinJune: The audiobook Hoosier Daddy, by Ann McMan and Salem West, and Not the Real Jupiter, by Barbara WilsonChristina: Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, by JEB, and June’s interview with JEB on Slate’s Working podcast about the making of the bookThis podcast was produced by Margaret Kelley.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan discuss a New York magazine piece about fashion designer Alexander Wang, the dynamics of power and consent, and the swiftly changing norms of gay spaces. Then they’re joined by science writer Riley Black to discuss her recent Slate piece about how science might not be the best tool to argue with those who oppose trans rights.This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan are first joined by June Thomas to discuss Jeremy Atherton Lin’s new book Gay Bar, their own personal histories with gay bars, and if such queer spaces have a future. Then they’re joined by Autostraddle’s Shelli Nicole to talk about the Lex app, a text-based dating app aimed at queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming people. They discuss how the app got its start, the ways it’s changed in just one year, and if queer women will ever have an app that’s just for sex.  This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan discuss the New Year’s drama in Puerta Vallarta, the Instagram account that popped up to shame gay people for traveling during COVID, and if shaming ever works as a health and safety tactic. Then they interview Torrey Peters about her new book Detransition, Baby. They talk with her about writing for a trans audience and expecting cisgender readers to keep up, why so much adult queer fiction resembles YA, and how elephants fit into it all.This podcast was produced by Daniel Schroeder.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Christina, Bryan, and Rumaan speak with Ruth Coker Burks, author of the new book All the Young Men: A Memoir of Love, AIDS, and Chosen Family in the American South, about her work in the 1980s, helping Arkansans with AIDS. Then they discuss three of 2020’s bumper selection of LGBTQ holiday movies: The Christmas Setup, Happiest Season, and A New York Christmas Wedding. Should we be grateful for the gift of representation, or should we be searching for the receipt?Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices