Never the Last Love Letter is the previously untold story of a relatively small community's reaction to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 90s. There are many books, movies, and documentaries telling the perspective of NYC, LA and San Francisco. Santa Cruz stood up in unique ways and laid the groundwork not only for an enormous force during the crisis but also for a vibrant queer community today. My guests are the film's co-directors, Taylor Boone and Terez Kilpatrick, and its lead narrator, Nic L...
Dec 23, 2025•57 min•Ep. 507
The world-renowned Children's Theatre Company's current hit is Dr. Seuss's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! Playing a key role is Janely Rodriguez, the company's first Latin actor, and a proud non-binary artist. In the classic tale, a miserly and miserable, ever-so-cantankerous Grinch has observed the despicable Christmas joy of the Whos with disdain, from a distance, for decades. In response, he plots the greatest heist imaginable. Janely openly discusses being an activist, an out artist, childr...
Dec 11, 2025•57 min•Ep. 506
Beloved singer and Judy Garland "impersonator" Debbie Wileman talks to me today about ringing in the holiday season with A Christmas Garland . This sparkling new album imagines the Christmas record Judy herself never got to make. Mixing nostalgia, warmth, and Debbie’s uncanny embodiment of Garland’s voice and heart, the album blends classic and contemporary Christmas songs with glamorous orchestral arrangements; all delivered through the unmistakable lens of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icon...
Dec 04, 2025•59 min•Ep. 505
Here with me today, androgynous and non-binary black artist Jourdan Frost discusses the release of their new single, “ Can We Pretend” , a mid-tempo pop ballad that blends the lush sonics of Top 40 pop with the sweeping nostalgia of classic rock! DJs and promoters discovered Jourdan singing in Jacksonville’s LGBT clubs and last year they signed with Velvet Code’s So Fierce Music Label. At its heart, “Can We Pretend” carries a message everyone can relate with. It reminds listeners that hopeless r...
Nov 20, 2025•51 min•Ep. 504
Stewart Taylor’s funk and R&B inspired debut single Mess Your Hair Up dropped worldwide in 2019. Following its release, the song was featured on Logo’s NewNowNext and Queerty.com’s Top 10 songs of the Summer. In addition to writing for himself, Stewart Taylor has penned songs for Romanian pop star Antonia, SB19’s Josh Cullen, rising US pop artist Ceranda, and JuJu Bee, Mo Heart, and Manila Luzon of Rupaul’s Drag Race. Today we talk about his new single, and video, EMILIO, a bilingual pop ant...
Nov 13, 2025•59 min•Ep. 503
Jason Mitchell Kahn, the expert on spectacular LGBTQ weddings is live with me today to talk about his new book ” We Do: An Inclusive Guide When a Traditional Wedding Won’t Cut It” . Jason is acclaimed wedding planner featured in Vogue, New York Times, and PEOPLE. Kahn has been listed as one of the Best Wedding Planners of the Year in Brides magazine hailed as “Broadway’s Wedding Planner” by Playbill, and even planned a wedding for Mariah Carey’s nephew. While we had a few technical difficulties ...
Oct 30, 2025•58 min•Ep. 502
Bobby Newberry, the acclaimed choreographer-turned-singer, makes a heartfelt return with his most intimate release yet-Feelin’. The radiant new single is a tribute to his late husband, TJ, who passed away following a battle with cancer. Today I talk to Bobby about his work with the industry's superstars, his music and his beautiful love story.
Oct 16, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 501
The film Mama Gloria by Luchina Fisher, the Emmy-award winning director, is on its way to becoming an LGBTQ Classic . The GLAAD-nominated documentary offers an intimate portrait of the late Gloria “Mama” Allen (1945–2022), a trailblazing Black transgender elder from Chicago. This heartfelt and hopeful film follows Gloria as she reflects on a life lived authentically — from her coming-of-age in Chicago’s pre–Stonewall drag ball culture to founding a self-funded “charm school” for young transgende...
Oct 09, 2025•59 min•Ep. 500
Following sold-out performances and rave reviews across the country in 2025, The Golden Girls are back and better than ever with a stage show that’s more exciting than a trip to the Rusty Anchor. Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue is headed on a US Fall Tour in 2025. Today, I have a rousing conversation with Vince Kelley, one of the show's originators and the show's Blanche. We talk about the enormous love that propels the show forward, the humor, and the creativity. Vince has over 30 years of pe...
Oct 02, 2025•58 min•Ep. 499
Spencer Cohen's award-winning comedy THE COMPATRIOTS is now available on all major platforms in the US and Canada. A nuanced portrayal of immigration, friendship, and LGBTQIA+ experiences, THE COMPATRIOTS follows Javi (Rafael Silva), an undocumented immigrant facing deportation, who unexpectedly reunites with his estranged best friend Hunter (Denis Shepherd), a vivacious bachelor seeking deeper connections. Together, they embark on a heartfelt journey to prevent Javi's expulsion from the only co...
Sep 25, 2025•59 min•Ep. 498
Bear World Magazine, the world’s leading lifestyle publication for the global bear community, recently launched Bear World TV : a vibrant new video platform delivering weekly doses of news, entertainment, and culture created specifically for and by the bear community. Today I get to chat with two of its talented stars and content creators, Marquis The Honey Bear and Ravi Roth. Marquis The Honey Bear is an LA based Stand Up Comedian, Northwest Emmy nominated producer, actor/model, podcast host an...
Sep 18, 2025•58 min•Ep. 497
Jordan Maye has followed up her debut album, CREATION OF JORDAN MAYE, with an infectious rock anthem, TEAR IT DOWN. I talk to Jordan today about her gender identity journey and musical achievements. Her path to songwriting wasn’t some overnight revelation. It was a slow-burn devotion, bouncing between piano, guitar, and voice lessons, quietly sharpening the tools she’d later use to craft her own sound. The result is a new talent with a gorgeous and commanding voice that not only has a personal s...
Sep 04, 2025•53 min•Ep. 496
Widely named as the "Actress to Watch". Emiliana Jasper, is my guest today. Her performance in the new psychological thriller film MIA has garnered rave reviews. Today we talk about her film and theater accomplishments, the nuances of the film MIA and navigating the show business world as a young talented lesbian actor. MIA follows Aaron, a man unraveling as he becomes convinced that a young woman named Emma (Emiliana Jasper) is his long-missing daughter, Mia. Emma, however, insists she’s never ...
Aug 14, 2025•42 min•Ep. 495
Luca Evans, Producer of QUEERING PRECEDENT, is my guest! The podcast series looks at the legal and political landscape through the eyes of LGBTQ+ elders. Its episodes feature California’s first transgender judge Victoria Kolakowski, the “Beyoncé of Bottom Surgery” Dr. Marci Bowers, transgender and two-spirit activist Marcus Arana, intersex advocates Anne and Suegee Tamar-Mattis, TransLatin@ President and CEO Bamby Salcedo, and Stonewall veteran Christy Henderson-Jenkins. Episode topics include t...
Aug 07, 2025•59 min•Ep. 494
Director/producer Mikaela Shwer and film star Cadilina join me for an in-depth discussion of the new documentary THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT- including new exclusive details of Cadilina’s experience beyond what is seen in the film. The film centers on rampant abuse in the Troubled Teen Industry, an unregulated network of for-profit institutions claiming to fix wayward teenagers. Decades later, the kids are fighting back. Filmed over nine years, ”The Kids Are Not Alright” is an intimate portrait of ...
Aug 01, 2025•58 min•Ep. 493
Blond Jesus (aka Garrett Miller) is back on the new music trail with his ventures in the rock and pop world, and we had him live in house to talk about the new FRINGE OF FAME album that is lighting up Spotify on 83 playlists. We also talk about his hit single WHITE KNIGHT and the short film it inspired. That film is blazing across film festivals and we discuss not only its major wins, but what if felt like to be in the audience greeted by standing ovations.
Jul 24, 2025•59 min•Ep. 492
Bill Hulseman is a writer, ritual designer, and former educator who is challenging what it means to belong. In his debut book, “six to carry the casket and one to say the mass,” Bill explores queer identity, Catholicism, family, and personal agency with unflinching honesty. Today we discuss birth order trauma, Pride, or how “nerding out to Madonna” led to him making the pop icon an academic subject!
Jul 10, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 491
As the new film "T" has its premiere on June 20th, I sat down with filmmaker Lane Michael Stanley and film star, Mel Glickman. Filmed over lead actor Mel Glickman’s real-life first year taking testosterone, T is a fictionalized, never-before-seen journey of transmasculine discovery, authentically portraying the moving struggles and joys encountered in friendships, family, and romantic relationships. Lane Michael Stanley (he/they) is an award winning, transgender writer and director making commun...
Jun 19, 2025•59 min•Ep. 490
Today’s conversation is about a bold new chapter in queer cinema! We talk to the new CinePride Film Festival's Arisce Wanzer. CinePride, debuts in September in Los Angeles. The four-day event promises to be a transformative celebration of authentic and diverse queer narratives, highlighting stories that challenge, inspire, and showcase the profound impact of LGBTQIA+ voices in cinema. Filmmaker, or film lover, Arisce is here with all the details today! We also talk about Arisce's own amazing jou...
Jun 12, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 489
My guest is the very talented, acclaimed nonbinary actor, writer, producer, and activist Vico Ortiz, a renowned drag king. Vico is debuting their original solo show RISE OF A KING in NYC and LA. In the show, Vico takes audiences on a whimsical, astrological, gender-bending journey through their childhood, using drag as a tool to both untether and re-root themselves.
Jun 05, 2025•59 min•Ep. 488
My guest today is the former YouTube star and rising talent Presley Alexander, who is making waves with a breakout role in the highly anticipated Amazon/MGM’s The Accountant 2 , starring Ben Affleck . Presley's journey in the industry began at the young age of 7, launching the YouTube channel ActOutGames, where they gained national recognition for candid, intelligent videos on science, LGBTQ+ identity, and mental health. They came out publicly at 11, becoming a celebrated Gen-Z voice for queer y...
May 29, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 487
Fresh from its film festival and theatrical run accolades, the popular film THROUPLE will soon premier on straming services. I talked in depth with the talented Michael Doshier about the film's intimacies. The film follows a lonely gay singer-songwriter as he navigates the messy terrains of modern desire, friendship, and unconventional love. When he unexpectedly becomes romantically entangled with a married couple, he’s forced to reevaluate the relationship he desires.
May 22, 2025•51 min•Ep. 486
My guest, Caitlin Starling, is a nationally bestselling author known for her genre-hopping horror novels, including The Luminous Dead , The Death of Jane Lawrence , Last to Leave the Room , and The Starving Saints . THE STARVING SAINTS is an atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror with a sapphic twist. It follows three women—a sad lady knight desperate for purpose, a paranoid ex-nun chasing forbidden knowledge, and a rageful servant torn between survival and revenge—trapped in a besieged, sta...
May 15, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 485
Roy Blakey was a legend in multiple artistic niches. In the Ice Skating Performance world, he was their "Spirit Leader". In the world of photography, celebrating male nudity, he was known as "the grandfather of gay photography." While he chronicled and impacted the world, he especially did so to his niece, filmmaker Keri Pickett. She, and the exceptional Dawn Mikkelson (and previous guest to our show) have been working on the new upcoming film UNCLE ROY. "As her 93-year-old uncle Roy develops li...
May 08, 2025•59 min•Ep. 484
Joining me today for a lively conversation is Spencer Stevenson, who stars alongside Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls, Parenthood), Spencer plays “Elliot,” the eccentric and stylish social media team member at a boutique New York ad agency. Known for his quirky personality, six-inch heels, and carefree attitude, Elliot brings humor and heart to the series, which explores the chaos that ensues when Gen Z employees suddenly take over the agency’s C-suite. Manage Share...
May 03, 2025•57 min•Ep. 483
Actress Janine Evans had a birthday wish - a great celebration of transgender people and the allies who love them. With the backing of Laura Bishop at the theatrical artist collective the 418 Project, and Topher Steele of Center for Spiritual Living, that wish became a vision, and became an event. That event is now a happening: The Emerald Ball in Santa Cruz California with music, fashion, and everything OZ. The team is on the podcast today with all the details!
Apr 24, 2025•59 min•Ep. 482
A great conversation with Smashby, the fearless gender-blending artist who has thrilled Euro and Pride audiences for the past few years. We talk about his new music, and song, FIRST RODEO , which departs into infectious country music territory. A rising star in the LGBTQ+ music scene, Smashby has always been unapologetically himself. Growing up, he endured relentless teasing from classmates who mocked his looks, voice, and mannerisms. From our conversation today, you can se that whether on the d...
Apr 17, 2025•57 min•Ep. 481
Trans author Rainie Oet (she/her), here with me today, is the author of the picture books Robin’s Worlds and Monster Seek (Astra). She has been awarded the Shirley Jackson Prize in Fiction. We talk about her fantastic new book GLITCH GIRL! Poetic and lyrical, the book takes the reader through the adventures of a 5th- 7th grader and their internal self-discovery and reactions to challenges. Her journey of self-discovery is further challenged as she begins to question whether her name and assigned...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 480
Singer/songwriter Mike Maimone's music and life story are defined by resilience, passion, and authenticity. Since launching his label, 8eat8 Records, in 2008, he has released 56 projects and contributed to numerous others, including playing keyboards on Company of Thieves’ Running From a Gamble, produced by Rob Schnapf, and Jon Walker of Panic! At the Disco’s Crazy Dream EP. On top of being a prolific recording artist, Mike has averaged over 100 tour dates per year since 2005. His latest release...
Apr 03, 2025•59 min•Ep. 479
Long time former Mayor and City Council Member Jeff Comerchero and his co-author E.J. Radford have written a new dual memoir detailing not only their lives, but the unique circumstances that led to a friendship that never should have happened. We talked to them and heard their story! Comerchero is a 77-year-old staunch Republican, far to the right on most political, cultural, and social issues. In stark contrast, Radford is a 25-year-old barber with tattoos over most of their body, including a h...
Mar 20, 2025•41 min•Ep. 478
