By Anna Saldinger

Podcasts are a powerful medium that have increasing sway over the way that many people understand the world. In this new era, there’s an increasing presence of powerful queer podcasting and representation, and this presence becomes a public window into queer life and experience. Here’s a sampling of shows that explore our history, our place in the political landscape, and our stories.

Nancy, WNYC: Nancy is a podcast focusing on queer lives, stories, and issues, hosted by Kathy Tu and Tobin Low. Kathy and Tobin are at once bubbly and vulnerable, and they include their own raw stories as well as the ones that they report. Try out this early episode, where Kathy grapples with her queer identity and her relationship with her hair: "Fear of Being Butch."

UnErased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America: This series documents the history of conversion therapy through in-depth and beautifully told stories- including one episode that covers the removal of homosexuality from the DSM. There’s also a condensed run of the series on WNYC’s Radiolab.

LGBTQ&A With Jeffrey Masters: This interview podcast is thoughtful, in-depth, complex, and wide-spanning. It’s the queer equivalent of WNYC’s Death, Sex, and Money, hosted by Anna Sale, in its thoughtfulness and humanity (which is also worth checking out, here’s an episode with queer actress Lena Waithe). I suggest beginning with Masters’ interview with Tre’vell Anderson, which focuses on the complexity of critiquing and covering queer media.

Getting Curious: Jonathan Van Ness, of Netflix Queer Eye reboot fame, hosts a podcast where he interviews various people to learn about things that he’s curious about. The content is not always explicitly queer, but Jonathan brings his flamboyant energy as well as his intellect and curiosity to everything he does. To start, try his recent interview with author Jodi Picoult.

The Bi Cast: The Bi Cast is a short interview podcast co-hosted by Lynnette McFadzen, Elizabeth M. Mechem, and Amy Leibowitz Mitchell that focuses on the Bi+ community (and features a very catchy theme song). One episode to check out is a conversation with Charlie Mathers of Gay Star News and her Bi Manifesto.

Brown’n Out: Brown’n Out consists of interviews with LGBTQ+ people of color living and working in Vermont. The interviews cover the guests’ life stories, art, experiences as Vermonters, and insights. Recently, they interviewed Noa Coffey-Moore, a Black Queer Trans Non-binary Femme* writer, community educator, and multimedia artist.

Anna Saldinger is a radio journalism student at Bennington College and SpeakOUT winter intern. (She/her pronouns)

Hello! My name is Anna Saldinger (she/her), and I’m interning with SpeakOUT Boston through mid-February. I’m a senior at Bennington College, and I study radio production, journalism, media theory, and literature. When I’m not making radio, I’m thinking about queer theory and the intersection of the personal and the political. As part of my work for SpeakOUT this winter, I’ll be writing a series of blog posts exploring different facets of queer life that draw both on research and personal experience.

Queer slam poetry has a rich history in the greater Boston area, and continues to be an electric form of storytelling and expression around the country and the world. Here’s a slam sampler that includes queer poets to check out -- both local and national -- and spoken word organizations and events for youth and adults in the area.

Poets

In 2018, Porsha Olayiwola was named Boston’s Poet Laureate, a position akin to a “literary ambassador” that carries a four-year term. She is a self-described “black, poet, queer-dyke, hip-hop feminist, and womanist.” Olayiwola is the Artistic Director of MassLeap, a literary non-profit organization in Massachusetts serving youth artists; a nationally recognized slam poetry champion; and co-founder of The House Slam. Until recently, it was based at The Haley House Bakery and Cafe, but the space is on hiatus, so follow House Slam on Facebook for updated info about future activities. Information about her work and workshops is available at her website, linked above. Check out Unnamed and Angry Black Woman.

Emanuel Xavier is a poet, author, and gay rights activist and youth advocate. Xavier has survived homelessness, abandonment, addiction, and violence, and he speaks candidly about these experiences in his work. He was invited to speak at the United Nation in 2015, and has published many collections of poetry. Check out Justice Poetry Reading.

Kit Yan is a renowned poet, screenwriter, lyricist, and creator of Queer Heartache, a one-person slam show about the different forms of systematic oppression enacted upon queer people. His work also explores his intersectional identity as a trans Asian American from Hawaii. Yan describes his work as “a dreamspace where queer and transgender folx can time travel in order to witness, remember, and heal our herstories. I hold writing as a spaceship into the borderless ancestral past, the puzzle pieces of an imagined queertureverse, and a lifeline back onto this earth.” Check out SHE and Speaking English (from Queer Heartache).

Oompa is an acclaimed Boston-born poet, rapper, and educator. Click here to view some of her work.

You may already be familiar with the iconic queer slam poet Andrea Gibson, but now, as always, is a fabulous time to explore their work. Gibson’s poetry is intricate, their most recent book is Lord of the Butterflies, which is newly published in 2018. A Letter to My Dog: Exploring the Human Condition. This reading is overlayed over Gibson performing the poem as well as footage of their dog, Squash. Also, check out Living Proof.

Boston Spoken Word Organizations and Events

MassLEAP:The Massachusetts Literary Education and Performance Collective (MassLEAP) is a Boston-based collective dedicated to holding artistic space for youth through spoken word. They work with schools and organizations, offer internships, and host the Louder Than A Bomb Boston Youth Poetry Festival each April.

Boston Pulse: Boston Pulse is an offshoot of Indy Pulse- an organization that offers slam poetry programs in middle and high schools.

The Cantab Open Mic: The Cantab open mic is a two-hour segment at the beginning of the Boston Poetry Slam weekly show with an open sign-up list. The Boston Poetry Slam encourages an eclectic variety of acts on their website, including a “sixth grade diary entry, stump speech, political diatribe, [or] nonsense verse.” While not a specifically LGBTQ space, Cantab has been a springboard for many queer poets. On March 13, 2019, genderqueer trans womxn torrin.a greathouse will be the featured poet at the weekly show. For more information about torrin.a greathouse and their upcoming performance, click here.

FEMS: The Feminine Empowerment Movement is a grassroots organization dedicated to radical accessibility and holding space for the voices of femme poets. They host slam tournaments as well as monthly open mics at the Lucy Parsons Center in Jamaica Plain. The events are open to all, but the mic is reserved for femme identifying people. This year, FEMS Festival and Tournament will be held October 18th-20th, 2019. To learn more about the tournaments and their work in general, visit their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Queer Podcast Round-up

Queer Slam Poetry Round-up