Outward: Slate's LGBTQ podcast

This Pride month, many LGBTQ people are grappling with complicated feelings. Anti-gay and anti-trans political attacks are becoming all too common, Pride celebrations are being banned or canceled in some parts of the United States, and many of us are wondering how to put this in perspective. Hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder wrestle with some of that complexity as they work through their feelings about corporate Pride. If rainbow capitalism never mattered in the first place, why does this year’s backtracking feel bad? Then they are joined by writer Delilah Friedler to discuss her piece “Tennessee Belongs to Trans People, Too,” which is part of Slate’s “Not Quite Pride” package. They end the show, as always, with some new additions to the Gay Agenda.Items discussed in the show:J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell become the first nonbinary acting award winners at the Tony Awards“The Dirty Secret of Corporate Pride,” by Christina Cauterucci“Tennessee Belongs to Trans People, Too,” by Delilah FriedlerSlate’s “Not Quite Pride” package of storiesGay AgendaBryan: Casa Susana, a documentary airing on PBS’s American Experience Jules: Chasing Chasing Amy, a documentary film by Sav RodgersChristina: Dykette, a novel by Jenny Fran DavisThis podcast was edited by Emily Charash and produced by June Thomas.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.This Pride Month, make an impact by helping Macy’s and The Trevor Project on their mission to fund life-saving suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, to celebrate Pride, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of Outward. On Saturdays, we'll be sharing some great LGBTQ content from around the Slate podcast network.Today, it’s an interview from The Waves, Slate’s show about feminism and gender. In October 2022, Slate audience engagement editor Sol Werthan spoke with trans rights activist and author Paisley Currah about his book Sex Is as Sex Does, and why the state cares about gender.The Waves episode was produced by Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In celebration of Pride month, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of the Outward podcast. This week, host Christina Cauterucci talks to two people who recently visited every lesbian bar in the United States: Krista Burton, author of the newly published book Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America, and Naomi Gordon-Loebl, a writer and sommelier. They discuss the purpose of lesbian bars, trends in dyke-bar decor, and whether lesbian bars are still sexy.Items discussed in the show:Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America, by Krista BurtonThe Lesbian Bar Project’s list of U.S. barsGay AgendaKrista: Tom Ford Tuscan LeatherNaomi: Wear something that makes you feel spicy, like perhaps a leather harness or a Father Figure T-shirt by Tanner SheaThis podcast was edited by Emily Charash and produced by June Thomas.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, to celebrate Pride, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of Outward. You’ll still get the biggie on June 21, with Pride and Provocations, the Gay Agenda, and all the usual fun, but we’re going to provide fresh rainbow goodness every Wednesday.On Saturdays, we'll also be sharing some great LGBTQ content from around the Slate podcast network.Today, it’s an interview from Working, Slate’s show about the creative process. Back in November 2022, June Thomas spoke with Harper Bliss, a prolific author of lesbian romance novels. They talked about the secrets of Bliss' productivity and the joys of writing queer love stories.The Working episode was produced by Cameron Drews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In celebration of Pride month, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of the Outward podcast. This week, host Bryan Lowder talks to Slate contributor John Culhane about his new book More Than Marriage: Forming Families After Marriage Equality. In the book, Culhane explores legal arrangements other than marriage that could protect people’s relationships and finances. While we might once have decried these options as consolation prizes, contracts such as designated beneficiary agreements offer exciting possibilities for queer and other nontraditional families.We'd love to hear about your Pride plans in this challenging year. Please send a voice memo, along with feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.Items discussed in the show:More Than Marriage: Forming Families After Marriage Equality, by John C. CulhaneGay AgendaJohn: Support your local drag performers.This podcast was produced by June Thomas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Outward explores utopian fiction and dystopian reality TV. First, Bryan and Christina are joined by author Theodore McCombs to discuss Uranians, his new collection of speculative stories, which uses queer difference and divestment from the normal as an engine to drive five fascinating tales. Then they’re joined by producer June Thomas to discuss The Ultimatum: Queer Love, Netflix’s latest take on the dating show, which follows a cast of queer women and nonbinary folks as they try to decide who they will marry. Finally, the hosts add some new items to the gay agenda.Items discussed in the show:The CBC report on Patricia Ginn of the WindSistersUranians: Stories, by Theodore McCombsMore on Karl Heinrich Ulrich’s take on the UranianThe Ultimatum: Queer Love on NetflixJune on the queerness of portrait galleriesGay AgendaJune: The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in EdinburghBryan: That! Feels Good!, by Jessie WareChristina: “Radical Desire: Making On Our Backs Magazine,” from Cornell University LibraryThis podcast was produced by June Thomas.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spring is in the air, and the Outward hosts are gay like tulips and queer like allergies! First, they discuss a new animated version of the beloved Frog and Toad series of children’s books, which premieres on Apple TV+ on April 28. Then they welcome Daniel M. Lavery to the pod. Danny was Slate’s own Dear Prudence for many years, and now a Dear Prudence book is here to grace our bookshelves. Danny shares his philosophy of advice-giving, talks about what it was like to transition in the public eye, and offers his take on a reader question current Prudie Jenée Desmond-Harris answered a few weeks ago.Items discussed in the show:Jules and the Framing Agnes team at the GLAAD AwardsOutward’s December 2022 discussion of Framing Agnes with actress Jen RichardsLMN’s scheduleSomerville, Massachusetts, extends protections to polyamorous families“Frog and Toad: An Amphibious Celebration of Same-Sex Love,” by Colin Stokes in the New Yorker“How Frog and Toad Author Arnold Lobel Explored Gay Intimacy in His Work,” by J. Bryan Lowder in Slate“This Is a Terrible Way to Commemorate a Major Civil Rights Victory,” by June Thomas in SlateDear Prudence: Liberating Lessons From Slate.com’s Beloved Advice Column, by Daniel M. LaveryJenée Desmond-Harris answered the question we put to Danny at the end of this Dear Prudence columnThe Big Mood, Little Mood With Daniel M. Lavery podcastThe Dear Prudence podcastGay AgendaChristina: Mae Martin’s new Netflix special, SAPJules: “Conservatives Are Turing to a 150-Year-Old Obscenity Law to Outlaw Abortion,” by Melissa Gira Grant in the New RepublicBryan: Erick Adame’s Daily Weather Report (more background from the New York Times)This podcast was produced by June Thomas.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder explore two parts of the queer world heavily associated with the 1970s: PFLAG and “The Lesbian.” First, they mark the 50th anniversary of PFLAG with a discussion of how the relationship between parents, parenthood, and queer people has changed over the last five decades, how it hasn’t, and what all that means in this dangerous era of “parental rights.” Then, they’re joined by Mairead Sullivan, a scholar and author of the newish book Lesbian Death, a fascinating analysis of the cultural association between the figure of The Lesbian and, well, death. Why is The Lesbian and her bed, her spaces, her very identity, always dying? Who’s killing her? Sullivan helps the hosts sort it out.Items discussed in the show:Lesbian Death by Mairead SullivanGallup’s latest count of LGBT people in the U.S.Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s 1977 photo in drag.Gay AgendaChristina: The novel Confidence by Rafael FrumkinJGP: Pedro Pascal’s InstagramBL: Nico Lang’s @QueerNewsDaily; Julia Serano on “transgenderism”; and Christina on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ love of high heels.This podcast was produced by Morgan Givens.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.Make an impact this Women’s History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love is in the air this month, so hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder turn their attention to some very queer questions of love. First, they discuss a new Spanish film, Petit Mal, which explores the intimate drama and everyday feelings of three women in a throuple. Then they consider what is arguably the hardest kind of love: loving yourself in the wake of great loss or pain. Recent years have seen a huge growth in the applications of psychedelic drugs as a treatment strategy for PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more. Although psychedelics are becoming more popular with everyone, a lot of queer and trans people have pre-existing relationships with some of these substances, both in recreational and therapeutic contexts. The hosts are joined by Dr. Alex Belser, the leading researcher into queer people’s relationship with psychedelics, to discuss what these drugs might offer—and get back from—queers.Items discussed in the show:“Gay Bars and Hookup Apps”: The February 2021 episode of Outward that focused on Lex and other dating apps for womenThe official trailer for Petit MalQueering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine, edited by Alex Belser, Clancy Cavnar, and Beatriz C. Labate“Does the Queer Scene Have a Ketamine Problem?” by Delilah Friedler in Rolling Stone“10 Calls to Action: Toward an LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychedelic Therapy,” by Alex BelserGay AgendaChristina: Aftersun, written and directed by Charlotte WellsBryan: The legacy of Charles Silverstein, who died on Jan. 30, 2023Jules: Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals, by Saidiya V. HartmanThis podcast was produced by June Thomas.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com.Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy’s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, hosts Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder take an in-depth look at the latest fixation of the far right: drag, an art form as old as gender itself, which has brought generations of queer people together. In the first segment, the hosts consider why conservatives are now trying to regulate drag shows out of existence and armed hate groups are showing up at drag events to threaten and intimidate performers and audiences. Then they are joined by Lil Miss Hot Mess, who in addition to performing with Drag Story Hour, has taken an academic interest in what children take away from drag events.Items discussed in the show: The beautiful lullaby version of “Titanium” in M3GAN. M.J. Rodriguez’s gorgeous 2023 Golden Globes dress Drag Story Hour Diane di Prima’s poem “Rant” Lil Miss Hot Mess’ clap-back video to Marco Rubio’s attack ad Gay Agenda Jules: Any DJ set by Honey Dijon. (Here’s one to start with.) Bryan: Cleanse your social media feeds, and introduce some cozy vibes with Isaac Mizrahi’s Instagram feed. Christina: “The ‘Golden Gays’ Return to the Stage in the Philippines,” by Hannah Reyes Morales in the New York Times This podcast was produced by June Thomas.Please send feedback, topic ideas, and advice questions to outwardpodcast@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices