This week on Outward, host Christina Cauterucci talks to historian Rebecca Scofield about the new book, Slapping Leather: Queer Cowfolx at the Gay Rodeo. From rhinestone-studded chaps to the hard-won battles for inclusion, they explore how queer cowboys and cowgirls carved out space in the rodeo circuit, the gender politics at play in this community, and how the AIDS crisis shaped its trajectory. Plus, they dig into the current resurgence of cowboy aesthetics in queer culture and pop culture at ...
Mar 05, 2025•43 min
A survey of people incarcerated in California found that 20 percent of women in for homicide had killed their abusive partners. How have self-defense laws failed women in abusive relationships—and how can they be reformed to save lives? Guest: Rachel Louise Snyder, journalist, author of No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us, and professor at American University. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your othe...
Mar 03, 2025•37 min
On this week’s show, we preview the Oscars and Trump’s demolition throughout renowned institutions of art. Isaac Butler — author of The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act and host of the new Criterion Channel series, The Craft of Acting — sits in for Stephen Metcalf. First, the hosts discuss I’m Still Here and the continued addition of non-English speaking films getting some of the biggest Oscar buzz. Then we tackle the latest Trump shakeups at the National Endowment for the Arts a...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 13 min
Bryan Lowder sits down with journalist Nico Lang to discuss their recent article for Slate It Was Never About Protecting Kids on Trump’s Executive Order restricting gender-affirming care for minors. They examine how the administration is using “child protection” rhetoric as a cover for anti-trans policies, the real-world impact on trans youth and their families, and the history of this political strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 26, 2025•40 min
In this episode, Bryan Lowder and Christina Cauterucci sit down with ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio to unpack the strategy behind the latest legal fights over trans healthcare, passports, and military service. They explore how the language of Trump’s executive orders are more overtly cruel than his last administration, what this progression signals policy-wise, and how we can think about the road ahead for caring and protecting each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...
Feb 19, 2025•50 min
Six and a half years ago, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, we asked our listeners how they think about manhood–how to be, what’s hard, where they feel lost. Fast forward to 2025, and the norms and trends around manhood are even more varied and complicated. So we thought it would be a good time to revisit the stories from 2018 and provide updates on some of the men we heard from. If you are a man, or are raising a man, or love a man, and want to share more about what you’re noticing about mixe...
Feb 18, 2025•50 min
A survey of people incarcerated in California found that 20 percent of women in for homicide had killed their abusive partners. How have self-defense laws failed women in abusive relationships—and how can they be reformed to save lives? Guest: Rachel Louise Snyder, journalist, author of No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us, and professor at American University. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your othe...
Feb 18, 2025•31 min
In this episode, Christina Cauterucci speaks with Sasha Buchert, Counsel and Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project Director at Lambda Legal, and Geirid Morgan, a trans Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, about the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. Sasha walks us through Lambda Legal’s case challenging the ban and the broader constitutional implications, while Geirid shares her personal experience navigating shifting policies, coming out while in service, ...
Feb 12, 2025•35 min
On this week’s show, the hosts discuss Max’s new medical drama The Pitt – a show that we legally can’t call an ER reboot but does have Noah Wyle donning scrubs and handling the next bodily emergency yet again. Our regular hosts also discuss an article from the Intelligencer, The Cruel Kids’ Table about how young Republicans now feel empowered to bring cruelty back into public discourse. Finally, we welcome LA Film Critic Amy Nicholson to discuss the Oscar-nominated film September 5 about the hos...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 8 min
This week, Jules Gill-Peterson sits down with Owen Dempsey, the founder of Quest Healing House, a post-op recovery home providing safe, affordable lodging and wraparound support for transmasculine people. They discuss how Quest House, began, the urgent need for trans-led recovery spaces, and how the project has grown to meet community needs. Dempsey shares their vision for a future where no trans person has to heal alone—and why it’s so critical to talk about transition as an ongoing, years-long...
Feb 05, 2025•46 min
Trump and his allies in the House’s flurry of anti-trans legislation and executive orders will soon run into both the law and the reality that our institutions like the military really rely on trans people. Guests: Major Alivia Stehlik, Director of Holistic Health and Fitness for the 101st Airborne Division. Kate Sosin, LGBTQ+ reporter at The 19th. Want more What Next? Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to What Next and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe direct...
Feb 03, 2025•35 min
On this week’s show, Dan Kois sits in for Dana Stevens. First, the hosts discuss One of Them Days, a new buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA that’s quickly becoming a critical darling — and a box office success. Then, they dive into Asura, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Netflix show that’s about the dynamics between three sisters and is “totally uninterested in the rhythms of a TV show.” Finally, it’s time to explore the “manosphere.” The trio dissected a deftly reported package fro...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Bryan, Jules, and Christina take on the troubling transphobia in Emilia Pérez, the movie that has received 13 Oscar nominations this awards season. They explore why it’s heavily nominated in this political climate. They also unpack the backlash to the film and the backlash to that backlash, exploring why some defend Emilia Pérez despite its flaws. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 29, 2025•44 min
Comedian Gary Gulman is used to dealing with bullies. He grew up with older brothers, who he describes as "aggressive" and “unenlightened,” and he’s witnessed plenty of unkind behavior from his peers in the New York City comedy scene. This is all despite being, in his words, “very, very sensitive.” This week, Gary talks about managing that sensitivity, standing up for his principles, and becoming more secure in who he is as a comedian and a man. Podcast production by Andrew Dunn. Death, Sex & Mo...
Jan 28, 2025•51 min
Host Christina Cauterucci sits down with WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs to unpack Meta’s alarming internal shifts, including its embrace of right-wing ideologies, the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, and the policy changes that permit hate speech against gay and trans people. Together, they discuss why these changes are happening, how they align with broader political trends, and what it all signals about the future of tech, media, and LGBTQ+ rights Learn more abo...
Jan 22, 2025•35 min
Connie is feeling compelled to get involved in her local community, but she’s never even attended a PTA meeting. On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin enlists Eric Liu of Citizen University to explain how busy parents, introverts, and first-timers like Connie can test the waters of civic engagement in the Trump 2.0 era—without getting sucked under. Eric is the author of You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen. If you liked this episode, check out our ...
Jan 21, 2025•48 min
Babygirl, the new erotic thriller starring Nicole Kidman, features an age-gap romance and a power imbalance. But according to the filmmaker Halina Reijn, it’s more about “what part of us is civilized…and what part of us is still driven by primal forces.” It’s also extremely entertaining, sexy, and dryly hilarious. This week, Halina Reijn talks about why she wrote the movie, her decision to move away from a very successful and decades-long acting career, and her mission to get us all talking more...
Jan 21, 2025•58 min
On this week’s show, Slate staff writer Nadira Goffe sits in for Stephen. First, the panel explores Babygirl and its kinks. The latest feature from Dutch writer-director Halina Reijn stars Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson, and is fascinated by sex (mostly, as a concept.) Then, the three puzzle over Nickel Boys and the film’s audacious use of first-person point-of-view in filmmaker RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Nickel Boys. Finally, what does a ...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 18 min
The storage container is a stealthy star of the modern home. It’s something we use to organize more of our stuff than ever before, and also something other people use to organize their stuff for our viewing pleasure. Its role as a source of soothing, satisfying, potentially viral clicks is new, but storage container innovations are not – something we had occasion to remember when Tupperware, the company, recently filed for bankruptcy. Tupperware was the original container craze. In today’s episo...
Jan 15, 2025•46 min
Guest Prudie Anna Sale – host of Slate’s Death, Sex & Money – is joined by illustrator and author JP Brammer. Together, they answer letters about a mom who can’t understand her kid’s gender identity, a painting causing unexpected jealousy, setting the record straight after a bad break up, and how to make things work at a job after it took a long time to find one. Want more Dear Prudence? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening ac...
Jan 10, 2025•46 min
Bryan Lowder talks with writer and scholar Lucas Wilson about his new book, Shame Sex: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy. They chat about Wilson’s experience navigating same-sex attraction while on an evangelical path, experiencing conversion therapy, and the complicated relationships he experienced along the way. He also shares powerful stories from other survivors and explores the enduring harm of these practices, offering a poignant look at resilience, shame, and healing. Learn more ab...
Jan 08, 2025•45 min
Before the 2024 election, Maureen and Jayna had hoped to attend a historic inauguration for Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C. But when Donald Trump won the presidency, the lesbian couple scrapped their trip—and booked a fact-finding mission to Portugal instead. On this episode of How To!, they talk with co-host Carvell Wallace about their plans to leave the U.S.—and start a new life somewhere they’ll feel safer. And, Jen Barnett of Expatsi offers up advice about Portugal and other LGBTQ+ friendl...
Jan 07, 2025•46 min
On this episode: Lucy sits down with actress and author Mandy Gonzalez for a wide-ranging conversation about parenting, building a creative mom group, and enduring cancer treatment with your head held high. Mandy also answers questions from our own budding Broadway stars. Lucy also shares a quick update about her mom's cancer journey - and Care & Feeding's production schedule in the new year. Join us on Facebook and email us at [email protected] to ask us new questions, tell us what yo...
Jan 06, 2025•34 min
This week, Christina Cauterucci and Bryan Lowder are joined by guest host Jeff Bloomer to discuss the new film Queer from director Luca Guadagnino based on William S. Burroughs’ groundbreaking novel of the same name. They explore the themes of desire, alienation, and the director’s approach to queer intimacy- and most importantly whether the sex scenes deliver. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 18, 2024•43 min
This week, Christina Cauterucci explores the intimate connections between queer identity and the natural world with Bryn Mawr professor Kate Thomas. In this episode, we journey through the lives of Florence Blood and Princess Ghika, two enigmatic lesbians who found self-expression, love, and freedom renovating their Italian Renaissance estate at the turn of the 20th century- creating an enchanting landscape to host lesbian artists and thinkers of the time. Thomas unpacks how their landscapes ref...
Dec 11, 2024•35 min
On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Impersonal Foul writer Madeline Hill and Power Plays journalist Lindsay Gibbs to cover the biggest moments of sports that happened online this year. From witnessing historic moments at the Paris Olympics, to the phenomenon that was women’s basketball, the internet has a way of picking up the little moments you don’t see in a stadium and making major waves about them. Today, they’ll take a look back at the harrowing, nail-biting and historic stories th...
Dec 07, 2024•50 min
This week, Bryan Lowder chats with Michael Andor Brodeur, author of Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle, to unpack the complex intersections of fitness, masculinity, and queer identity. From the sweaty intimacy of the gym to the charged symbolism of muscle, Brodeur examines how bodies become sites of desire, power, and transformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 04, 2024•42 min
When actor and performer Jeff Hiller first tried improv comedy, he was instantly amazing at it. Jeff is an excellent listener. He’s also accommodating, flexible, and undeniably hilarious. This week on the show, Jeff discusses his role on the critically acclaimed HBO series Somebody, Somewhere and the personal quirks and qualities that have made him such a funny and talented performer. Mentioned in the episode: -Jeff’s conversation with his husband Neil on the podcast She’s a Talker. -Anna’s inte...
Dec 03, 2024•58 min
When it comes to gender affirming care for teenagers, parents’ rights no longer matter. Doctors’ opinions no longer matter. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in United States. v Skrmetti, challenging Tennessee’s ban on healthcare for trans kids, and upending half a century of gender protection doctrine. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, who will also be the first openly trans lawyer to argue at SCOTUS when he argues, alongsi...
Nov 30, 2024•53 min
More than half the population will experience menopause if they’re fortunate enough to age. Yet so much of this full-body transformation remains a mystery. Journalist and filmmaker Tamsen Fadal is out to change that. Her new documentary The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause premiered on PBS earlier this year. In it, her team interviews patients and health experts worldwide about the lack of research into this important stage of life. On this week’s episode of Well, Now Kavita and Maya...
Nov 27, 2024•39 min
