Getting Better with Jonathan Van Ness

We love a reason to be extra, and Jonathan’s new book Love That Story: Observations from a Gorgeously Queer Life goes on sale next week, so we’re dropping an extra episode to celebrate! Listen in to hear Jonathan read a chapter from the Love That Story audiobook, all about overcoming body issues and learning to love themselves.   Before you dive in, please note that in this chapter, Jonathan discusses their experiences with binge eating and food restriction. So take this episode at your own pace, or revisit it when and if it feels right for you to do so. If you’re listening before April 11, there’s still time to pre-order Love That Story–and if you do, you can download a bonus chapter of the audiobook! Visit any local independent bookseller to order the hardcover, and then go to libro.fm/lovethatstory to get the instant download.  Want to support a queer-owned bookstore with your purchase? Here are some of our faves: Women and Children First Astoria Bookshop A Room of One’s Own Also—Jonathan’s going on a book tour! There are dates in New York, LA, Chicago, Austin, and virtually. Visit jonathanvanness.com/booktour to find a stop near you. Here’s some of what’s in store: Politics & Prose with Sixth & I Posman Books with 92Y Seminary Coop with Chicago Humanities Festival Book Soup @ Zipper Hall Book People @ The Library Foundation Join the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.  Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson. Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we count down to this year’s Trans Day of Visibility, there’s a lot to be thankful for: trans creativity, resilience, community. There’s also a lot on the line for trans people and those who love them. Adri Pèrez and Chase Strangio of the ACLU join Jonathan to discuss the importance of protecting trans rights, what attacks on the trans community say about state power, and what a coordinated resistance could look like. Adri Pèrez is the policy & advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Texas, where they lead LGBTQIA+ advocacy on the Sexuality & Gender Equality team. You can follow Adri on Instagram @adriperextx and on Twitter @AdriPerezTX. Chase Strangio is Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project and a nationally recognized expert on transgender rights. You can follow Chase on Instagram and Twitter @chasestrangio. Join the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.  Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.   Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in.   Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson.   Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital.   Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.   Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What comes to mind when you think of the Himalaya? For Jonathan, it’s a whole lot of questions! This week’s guest Dr. Mona Chettri gives us a glimpse at life in the eastern Himalaya, including how political borders have shaped the region; what’s changing amidst rapid development; and what the future might hold for young residents.   Mona Chettri is a Post-Doctoral Research fellow at the Australia-India Institute, University of Western Australia. She has worked extensively on urbanisation, ethnicity, environmental politics and development in the eastern Himalayan borderlands of Sikkim, Darjeeling and east Nepal.  She is the author of Constructing Democracy: Ethnicity and Democracy in the eastern Himalaya (Amsterdam University Press, 2017) and co-editor of Development Zones in Asian Borderlands (Amsterdam University Press, 2021). Her current research focuses on the intersections between gender, labour, urbanisation and infrastructure in the Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalaya, India and Himalayan immigrant labour in Australia.    You can follow Dr. Chettri on Instagram @monagtk, on Twitter at @mona_chettri, and on Facebook at mona.gtk.   For more information on the eastern Himalaya, check out The Confluence Collective and Sikkim Project.   Join the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.  Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.   Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in.   Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson.   Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital.   Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.   Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Blah,” said Toad. “I feel down in the dumps.”    “Why?” asked Frog.    “I’m thinking about how there’s never been an episode of Getting Curious about us.”   Frog opened up his podcast feed.   Toad peered over his shoulder.   “Toad, there it is! An episode of Getting Curious with herpetologist Kelly Zamudio! All about where we live, how we interact, and why we’re so important to biodiversity.”   They pressed play—and now, they invite you to do the same.   Kelly Zamudio is an evolutionary biologist and her research focuses on the origin and maintenance of diversification in vertebrates (especially reptiles and amphibians). Her lab integrates field research in population biology, demography, and landscape/habitat change with lab research on the genetic underpinnings of population diversification, speciation, and conservation genetics. Kelly has a particular fondness for frogs and their reproductive modes. You can follow her on Twitter at @KZ_UTAustin. Her lab website is zamudiolab.org.   Keep up with the latest on frogs at AmphibiaWeb and Amphibian Species of the World.    Join the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.  Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.   Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in.   Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson.   Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital.   Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.   Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Old MacDonald had a farm—and on that farm he had rich terrain for an episode of Getting Curious. Join Professor Gabe Rosenberg and Jonathan as they explore what agricultural history has to do with our modern understandings of sex, gender, and sexuality. They cover the concept of “animal husbandry,” 4-H clubs, the story of a pig looking for love, and so much more.   Gabriel N. Rosenberg is Associate Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies and History at Duke University, where he studies how gender, race, and sexuality have shaped the history of the modern food system.    His first book, The 4-H Harvest: Sexuality and the State in Rural America, was a gendered history of the iconic rural youth organization, and he is currently writing a book about the interconnections between livestock breeding and the emergence of the human eugenics movement. He writes frequently for The New Republic and has held research fellowships at the National Humanities Center, Yale University, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, and the American Philosophical Society.   You can follow him on Twitter @gnrosenberg and subscribe to his Substack newsletter “The Strong Paw of Reason” at bearistotle.substack.com.   Join the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.    Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.   Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in.   Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook.   Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson.   Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital.   Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.   Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode’s dedicated to our main squeeze: olive oil. Professor Selina Wang joins Jonathan to discuss olive oil varieties, processing, and fraud—yes, fraud! Plus, Jonathan gets clarity on why they can’t bear to eat an olive but can’t get enough of olive oil. Prof. Selina Wang is an Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension at the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis. Her mission-oriented research and teaching focuses are food quality and purity; fruit and vegetable processing; and food sustainability.  You can follow her on Twitter @SelinaWangPhd and Instagram @profselinawang, and keep up with her work at selinawang.com. Her lab is on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube @UCFoodQuality. Want to keep up with all things olive oil? Professor Wang recommends reading the Olive Oil Times. Join in on the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.  Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson. Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do you get when a biological anthropologist studying hair and a hairstylist compare notes? A stunning new episode of Getting Curious. Join Dr. Tina Lasisi and Jonathan as they explore the evolutionary history of human hair, measuring hair variation, and the twists and turns of Jonathan’s hair school textbook. Tina Lasisi is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Biological Anthropology. Her research is on the evolution and genetics of human variation in pigmentation and scalp hair. She also works on science communication and education. You can follow Tina on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @tinalasisi. Her website is www.tinalasisi.com, and you can explore more of her work at linktr.ee/tinalasisi. Want to support other Black Biological Anthropologists? Dr. Lasisi recommends following @BlackinBioAnth on Twitter and Instagram, and @rockstaranthro on Instagram. Join in on the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.  Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson. Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, Jonathan’s in the guest seat! You submitted your questions for Jonathan on social media—and we have answers. We’re talking Getting Curious the podcast and Netflix series, self-care, gymnastics, gardening, and so much more. And for those of you who wondered when Jonathan’s husband Mark would make his podcast debut? We’ve got an answer for that, too. Join in on the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.    Keep up with our very special guest host Mark Peacock on Instagram @marklondon.   Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson. Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever read a headline that seems just plausible enough—when you realize it’s fake? This week, Dr. Nadia Brashier joins Jonathan to discuss how our brains process misinformation, why even one exposure to a falsehood can increase our odds of believing it, and what we can do to debunk fake news. Dr. Nadia Brashier is an Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. She studies why people fall for fake news and how we can intervene. You can follow Dr. Brashier on Twitter @nadiabrashier and read more about her research at nadiabrashier.com.   Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.    Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook.   Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson. Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIN; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Prue Week on Getting Curious! On the Great British Baking Show (aka the Great British Bake Off), it’s clear that Prue Leith has excellent taste. But what’s Prue up to when she’s not judging crème pat, frangipane, and the occasional soggy bottom? This week, Prue and Jonathan dish on how Prue developed her palette, their shared love of gardening, and what’s on their creative plates this year.    Dame Prue Leith, DBE, DL is a businesswoman, journalist, novelist, cookery writer and broadcaster. Her restaurant, Leith’s, had a Michelin Star, she is a past winner of the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year and has been a Director on many boards, including British Rail and Belmond Ltd. She chaired The School Food Trust tasked with improving school meals and an education company turning round failing schools. She was the instigator of the Fourth Plinth contemporary sculpture project in Trafalgar square and is currently a judge on the Great British Baking Show, and Advisor to the government’s Review of Hospital Food. She likes salmon fishing, gardening and home life.   You can follow Prue on Instagram and Twitter @PrueLeith, and at PrueLeith.com.   Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.   Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.   Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in.   Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices