Series Podcast: This Way Out

“It is the woman who has to speak, and it’s not only the woman Anaïs who has to speak, but I who have to speak for many women.” So says the Cuban-French essayist and novelist in this 1966 reading from the first volume of “The Diary of Anais Nin,” presented in commemoration of Women’s History Month by poet Steven Reigns, Chair of the Anaïs Nin Foundation (produced by Brian DeShazor). Warm remembrances for the March birthdays of Alexandra Billings, the first female transgender actor to portray “Mama Rose” in “Gypsy,” and gay playwright Tennessee Williams, recalling his first meeting with Marlon Brando (courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives). More queer milestones include the birthday of ACT-UP, its Bisexual Health Awareness Month, and International Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31st (a Rainbow Rewind written by Sheri Lunn and produced by co-host Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: India’s anti-trans proposal sparks protests, New South Wales acts to stop dating app ambushes, Olympics “sex testing” pla

In a genre-bending story about a quest to conquer evil and save the world, the young-adult characters of Kestrel Gaian’s “The Boy From Elsewhere” take a trek through the multiverse where nothing is quite what it seems. The poet, playwright, essayist, composer and author discusses the importance of queer visibility in young adult fiction in a conversation with This Way Out’s David Hunt. And in NewsWrap: Senegal’s National Assembly almost unanimously passes a bill to double the punishments for same-sex sexual activity, a Kenyan court convicts two assailants in a gay assault and extortion case, a U.S. federal appeals court issues a precedent-setting ruling against Medicaid-funded gender-affirming surgery, a Kansas judge refuses to block the invalidation of transgender people’s government identification and the ban their use of public bathrooms, the New Hampshire House passes extreme trans bathroom ban, Trump demands Congress add anti-trans laws to the SAVE America voter suppression bill, and more international

Anti-LGBTQI hate crimes are on the rise in Australia. In New South Wales nearly 200 violent incidents have been reported since 2023, many involving men lured by gay dating apps (Michael Brown reports from Sydney). Plus: we announce the passing of This Way Out Co-founder and Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon. And in NewWrap: Russian repression strikes again with the designation of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Coming Out as an “extremist organization,” “deviant culture” is how a new Deputy Minister in Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government wants to refer to LGBT people, Maryland parents who sued their local school district over LGBTQ-themed storybooks are now one and a half million dollars richer, the international music, art and cultural festival KOLFEST is being targeted by Kyrgyzstan officials based on its alleged promotion of LGBTQ life, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 9, 2026 edition of This

Extended Podcast Edition: Gender and Love Along the Nile with Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell Award-winning Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell of Lost Treasures of Egypt explores diverse expressions of love, gender, and identity woven into the civilizations of the ancient Nile in conversation with Brian DeShazor. This is a special podcast extended interview with Dr. Colleen Darnell, an award-winning Egyptologist trained at Yale University and vintage fashion enthusiast. Colleen is a world expert on ancient Egyptian culture and daily life, co-author of Tutankhamun’s Armies and Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth with her husband Dr. John Darnell. Brian discovered her in National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Egypt. In this conversation, Brian explores with her gender, love, and identities of the Nile’s ancient civilizations (with music by MASHROU’ LEILA, LOREENA McKENNIT and Ancient Egypt by SEMION KRIVENKO-ADAMOV, the latter licensed under an attribution-noncommercial-nod

Award-winning Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell of National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Egypt explores the queer lives, love, and identities of the Nile’s ancient civilizations (interviewed by Brian DeShazor). And in NewWrap: Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise face life in prison in Uganda for kissing “in broad daylight,” increasing the penalty for what it calls “unnatural acts” in Senegal is the goal of a bill introduced by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, the gay dating apps Grindr and Blued are now blocked in Malaysia, the drug trials that provided transgender minors in the United Kingdom with the only way to get puberty blockers have been paused, two Kansas trans men are filing suit to stop the state from revoking all government documents that reflect corrected gender identities, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 2, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswa

Against a backdrop of violent anti-semitic and anti-indigenous attacks and the relaxation of police restraints in response to them, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras organizers are faced with twin controversies: the withdrawal of the Jewish group Dayenu from the event and demands for the expulsion of the New South Wales Police contingent. Veteran activist Ken Davis explains the situation (Barry McKay reports). New Yorkers defy the Trump administration and replace the rainbow flag the government “disappeared” from the Stonewall National Monument (Paul DeRienzo of WBAI reports). A Black History Month Rainbow Rewind honors Langston Hughes (produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor). And in NewWrap: the European Parliament approves a resolution specifically calling for “the full recognition of trans women as women,” HIV-positive enlistees are once again banned from serving in the U.S. military, intersex children are now protected from undergoing unnecessary medical procedures without their informed consent in

Was Donald Trump’s personal antipathy towards Don Lemon the real reason behind the gay African American journalist’s arrest? Lemon made a surprise appearance at the Human Rights Campaign’s New York City gala, then spoke out for the First Amendment after his initial court appearance. The pioneering work on sexual liberation of Anais Nin and notable February dates in LGBTQ+ history in the Rainbow Rewind (produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor). And in NewWrap: cohabitating same-gender couples in the Philippines can now be recognized as joint owners of property that they acquire during their relationship, trans people in the U.K. can use bathrooms and changing rooms that match their gender identity – except in the workplace, public school officials in the U.K. are being directed to notify parents if their child’s behavior suggests that they are questioning their gender identity, New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte for the second time vetoes a bill to require trans students to use sex-segregated

A 1963 conversation with one of the queer pillars of the Harlem Renaissance features Langston Hughes reading his short story, “Thank You, Ma’am” (interviewed by Eve Corey, produced by Brian DeShazor). Alice Walker’s birthday and notable LGBTQ February events are celebrated in the “Rainbow Rewind.” And in NewsWrap: the first case against a gay man for violating Uganda’s so-called “Kill the Gays” law is dismissed after the damage has already been done, transgender female athletes receiving hormone therapy have no physical advantage over their cisgender counterparts according to new research, fewer transgender people were murdered around the world between October 2024 and September 2025 with the numbers still alarming, a Christian teacher is fighting a losing battle against the Montgomery County Maryland Public School District’s policy on using the chosen names and pronouns of her trans and nonbinary students, a record number of proud LGBTQ athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics, thousands hit the

An indigiqueer Creating Change keynoter calls for radical inclusion; the E.U.’s rights council urges all member states to ban conversion therapy, Russia declares ILGA “undesirable”, Budapest’s mayor is officially charged with criminally allowing last year’s LGBTQ Pride march, Missouri’s top court upholds the state’s ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, and an expelled trans Space Force colonel announces her U.S. congressional run. Those stories and more this week when you choose “This Way Out”. Credits: Hosted this week by Lucia Chappelle and produced with Greg Gordon. “NewsWrap” reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Ava Davis and produced by Brian DeShazor. Jenn Deerinwater feature produced by Greg Gordon with thanks to Cathy Renna and The National LGBTQ Task Force. Theme music: Kim Wilson. Additional music: Paul Simon; Ty Defoe. In our 38th year satisfying your weekly minimum requirement of LGBTQ news and culture!

Zach Wahls for U.S. Senate It didn’t take long after his historic 2011 appearance before the Iowa state legislature to testify about his two-mom family for 19-year-old Zach Wahls to take his place as a senator in that body. Now he’s running to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate (produced by Greg Gordon, archival interview by Steve Pride). A bouquet of January birthdays and ONE early movement legal victory are remembered in the Rainbow Rewind (produced by Brian DeShazor and Sheri Lunn). And in NewsWrap: federal guidance on workplace harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity is eliminated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. House Democrats claim victory over a raft of anti-transgender riders to major funding bills for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Labor, right-wing Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk upholds West Texas A&M University’s ban on campus drag shows, financial woes force the closure of the organization that produces Tucson, Ari

Christopher Isherwood’s own stories of pre-War Berlin; remembering Renee Nicole Good; U.S. top court hears trans student sports ban cases, a new survey confirms pediatric transgender healthcare can be life-saving, Malaysian authorities shut down an empty “gay friendly” hotel, the latest Human Rights Campaign U.S. queer quality of life poll finds deterioration under Trump, and billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donates 45 million dollars to the queer youth crisis intervention and suicide prevention group The Trevor Project. All that and more this week when you discover “This Way Out”. Hosted this week by Lucia Chappelle and produced with Greg Gordon. “NewsWrap” reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Nico Raquel and produced by Brian DeShazor. Christopher Isherwood feature produced by Brian DeShazor with thanks to the Pacifica Radio Archives. Thanks also to Ann Northrup and Andy Humm of GayUSATV.org. Theme music: Kim Wilson. Additional music: Jethro Tull; Joel Grey; Bronski Beat. In our 38th y

Sophie B. Hawkins performs “Not Beating Around the Bush” (recording of her original song made exclusively for “This Way Out”) and reads an excerpt from “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf. SOPHIE B. HAWKINS is a U.S.-born singer-songwriter whose commercial success has been matched by her passionate advocacy for animal rights, and the equality of women and the queer community. In 1925, VIRGINIA WOOLF introduced the world to “MRS. DALLOWAY”, a groundbreaking novel that explores a single day in the life of an upper-class woman in post-World War I England. With its innovative stream-of-consciousness narrative, “Mrs. Dalloway” remains a landmark in modernist literature. In “NewsWrap” 106 people are roughly arrested in a late December raid on a gay nightspot in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan; ten people in France are convicted of online bullying for “maliciously” claiming that First Lady Brigitte Macron is transgender; a U.S. federal judge rules that teachers or other school officials can out trans students to

We continue our review, highlighting of some of the news and feature stories on This Way Out during 2025. [NOTE: “NewsWrap” and the “Rainbow Rewind” segments return on our week of 12 January 2026. In our 38th year satisfying your weekly minimum requirement of LGBTQ news and culture! Now more than ever, your financial support of our U.S. 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit will help keep us in ears around the world! (and we’ll acknowledge your 3-figures-or-more gift on the air if you wish.)

We continue our review of some of the news and feature stories on This Way Out during the past 12 months, including trans lawmakers defending drag and their own dignity, celebrating a venerated Aussie activist, challenging anti-queer laws in the Caribbean, marching for gender rights in the U.K., greeting a drag virtuoso violist, analyzing a major setback at the U.S. Supreme Court, and reviewing the upcoming season at what used to be the The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Those stories and more this week, when you discover “This Way Out.” [NOTE: “NewsWrap” and the “Rainbow Rewind” segments return on our week of 12 January 2026 Hosted this week by Brian DeShazor and produced by Lucia Chappelle and Greg Gordon. The 2025 Queer News and Features in Review feature was produced by Greg Gordon, with archival news and features reporters David Hunt, Melanie Keller, Tanya Kane-Parry, Michael LeBeau, Barry McKay, John Dyer V, Brian DeShazor, and Ava Davis. Theme music: Kim Wilson. Additional music: the Sydney

Twenty-twenty-five’s queerest news and feature stories in review; this week’s Rainbow Rewind remembers Frank Kameny, Ma Rainey and key late December happenings; quick-study Kazakh Senators pass a “no promo homo” bill, Trump’s vile war on trans kids escalates, Congressional Republicans criminalize trans kid caregivers, a North Carolina County disbands its library board over a trans kid picture book, and St. Petersburg, Florida counters demolished rainbow crosswalks with multi-colored bike racks... Those stories and more this week, when you choose “This Way Out.” [NOTE: “NewsWrap” and the “Rainbow Rewind” segments return on our week of 12 January 2026 program.] Credits: Hosted this week by Brian DeShazor and produced by Lucia Chappelle and Greg Gordon. “Rainbow Rewind” written and hosted by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor and produced by Brian DeShazor, with music by Ma Rainey. The 2025 Queer News and Features in Review feature was produced by Greg Gordon, with archival news reports by Wendy Natividad, David Hun

Portland, Oregon’s twice monthly live open mic performance event, Slamlandia, yields the work of three queer poets: Joshua Merritt, Evey Rothwell and Ret (produced by Brian DeShazor). Plus December birthdays including anthropologist Margaret Mead and historic queer moments from the declassification of homosexuality as a disease to the dawn of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on the Rainbow Rewind (written and produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: Kazakhstan’s so-called “LGBTQ propaganda” bill is on an indefinite hold while the Senate takes more time to study the measure, Egypt and Iran object when their World Cup teams are chosen to play in host Seattle, Washington’s “Pride Match,” Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony is being charged with allowing and participating in a banned LGBTQ Pride parade, the Arlington, Texas City Council votes to remove “sexual orientation” and “gender identity and expression” from the city’s anti-bias policies to placate the Trump administration, the official portrait o

What life is like in the newsrooms and on the beat for LGBTQ+ reporters in a time when there’s too much news to and fewer jobs, according to Los Angeles chapter co-presidents Hansen Bursic and Katie Karl of NLGJA: the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists (in a roundtable with This Way Out’s Lucia Chappelle, interviewed by Brian DeShazor). Plus the reign of a lesbian queen, two music halls, human rights milestones, Southern Hemisphere civil unions and more in The Rainbow Rewind (produced by Brian DeShazor and Sheri Lunn). And in NewsWrap: a raid on an alleged “gay male sauna sex party” in Kuala Lumpur another kind of bust when all 200 arrestees are released without charges, all 27 European Union member nations must recognize the civil marriages of same-gender couples legally performed in any other E.U. member nation under a landmark ruling by the Court of Justice, a ruling in Tokyo’s High Court contradicting four previous district court decisions in favor of marriage equality sends the issue to Japan’s Supreme

Poet Steven Reigns’ memorial memoir chronicling his profound six-year friendship with Michael Church who died of AIDS in 2000 (“Outliving Michael,” Moon Tide Press, 2025) is presented in an original sound collage with archival news reports and the friends’ favorite music (produced by Brian DeShazor). Plus United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has a message of hope for World AIDS Day, despite the disastrous combination of drastic funding cuts and official anti-gender and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination. (NewsWrap returns next week). All this on the December 1, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/

Poet Steven Reigns’ memorial memoir chronicling his profound six-year friendship with Michael Church who died of AIDS in 2000 (“Outliving Michael,” Moon Tide Press, 2025) is presented in an original sound collage with archival news reports and the friends’ favorite music (produced by Brian DeShazor). Plus United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has a message of hope for World AIDS Day, despite the disastrous combination of drastic funding cuts and official anti-gender and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination. (NewsWrap returns next week). All this on the December 1, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

As World AIDS Day 2025 approaches, the theme of community organizing versus government indifference today echoes the early years of the pandemic. Historic coverage includes AIDS patient/activists Robert Bland, Bob Cecchi and Daniel Warner, columnist Bobbi Campbell and journalist David Hunt. Plus Rainbow Rewind shout-outs to Benjamin Britten, Bayard Rustin, Bruce Vilanch and more (produced by Brian DeShazor and Sheri Lunn). And in NewsWrap: Ghana is once again poised to outlaw coming out or even advocating for LGBTQ rights, the Dominican Republic’s National Police and Armed Forces members are no longer barred from having intimate same-gender relationships, New Zealand’s underage transgender people will be denied puberty blockers as of next month, Victoria honors Transgender Day of Remembrance by becoming the first Australian state to offer free birth certificate gender marker updates, former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation intelligence specialist David Maltinsky sues charging he was fired for being “a p