Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) goes viral by exposing U.S. House Republicans’ gender hypocrisy while questioning National Women’s Law Center president and CEO Fatima Goss Graves in a subcommittee hearing.

Trans jazz band leader Billy Tipton’s career spanned from the 1930s to the 70s, and the music continues with The Tiptons Sax Quartet (produced by Steve Sims).

And in NewsWrap: the European Court of Human Rights finds that Poland’s refusal to legally recognize lesbian and gay couples violates the European Convention on Human Rights, the United States Supreme Court rejects an appeal to review Washington state legislation that bans “conversion therapy” for minors, loopholes in a proposed conversion therapy ban in the Australian state of Tasmania get a “thumbs down” from activists, Argentina’s newly inaugurated right-wing President Javier Milei pulls the plug on the Women, Gender and Diversity Ministry, police in Yekateringburg raid a popular queer venue while Russian censors coral “My Little Pony," plus Pope Francis okays same-gender blessings and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor). 

All this on the December 18, 2023 edition of This Way Out!

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AOC Fights Transphobia & Tipton Double-Time

With two queer daughters in homophobic Kenya, Mary Mumbi talks about spreading the word about tolerance and fairness to other parents and families, using her influence to create safe spaces in an increasingly hostile environment (interviewed by Diana Wanyonyi, part two of two, from wingsradio.org).

And in NewsWrap: French President Emmanuel Macron promotes two gay men to the positions of Prime and Foreign Ministers, Taiwan elects LGBTQ-supportive Vice President Lai Ching-te to the presidency, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces that a marriage equality bill will go to Parliament, Vietnamese women’s national football team member Tran Thi Thu makes history by marrying her girlfriend in a public wedding ceremony, a U.S. appeals court allows Alabama’s pediatric trans healthcare ban to go forward, the classics and reference books removed by a Florida school district for “sexual content” include several dictionaries, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor). 

All this on the January 15, 2024 edition of This Way Out!

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Kenyan Mother Bears Queer Children’s Burden (Pt. 2)

U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) is the first Black lesbian to ever serve in Congress’ upper chamber. Appointed to fill the seat of the legendary Senator Dianne Feinstein, the life-long labor and community organizer devoted her maiden speech to the upcoming generations of political activists.

And in NewsWrap: a report by Human Rights Watch finds Meta and other social media companies complicit in the persecution and arrests of queer people in the Middle East and North Africa, Texas activists go to the United Nations to seek relief from laws that target LGBTQ people, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban doubles down on homophobia as the EU withholds funds, Ohio trans adults and trans children’s families flee lawmakers’ restrictions on gender-affirming care and student athletes, a California judge blocks a rule forcing trans cops to out themselves, U.S. Gen Z-ers are more queer than Republican, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Alan Tijamo (produced by Brian DeShazor). 

All this on the January 29, 2024 edition of This Way Out!

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First Black Lesbian U.S. Senator Praises Youth

The pressure for marriage equality had been building for years when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom hit the release valve just ahead of Valentine’s Day, 2004. An archival report featuring Newsom, President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, S.F. Recorder-Assessor Mabel Teng, S.F. Supervisor Tom Ammiano, attorney Clyde Wadsworth, S.F. Chief Deputy District Attorney Therese Stewart and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

And in NewsWrap: Russians are now being convicted of “extremism” for petty violations like wearing rainbow earrings, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announces planned anti-trans policies on Twitter/X, Idaho’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors is blocked again by a federal appeals court, trans people in Utah can now use bathrooms and locker rooms based only on their birth certificate gender, Florida will no longer allow trans people to change gender markers on their driver’s licenses, Switzerland gets is first gay male yodeling club, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Kalyn Hardman (produced by Brian DeShazor). 

All this on the February 5, 2024 edition of This Way Out!

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San Francisco’s 2004 Equality Valentine

The late ballplayer Billy Bean talked about his intentions when he was first named Major League Baseball’s gay Ambassador for Inclusion in 2014 (interviewed by Chrisanne Eastwood and Wenzel Jones), and his success is proven by the response to last week’s homophobic incident involving Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran.

Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas are known for being literary mavens, and for Toklas’ mastery of French cooking. In this rare Pacifica Radio Archives selection from a Verve record, Ms. Toklas herself reads the most popular recipe from The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, and tells the story behind its publication.

And in NewsWrap: the U.S. Supreme Court denies an emergency request from the Department of Justice to enforce its queer-inclusive interpretation of “Title IX” bias protections, Pope Francis joins with LGBTQ activists from Uganda and Ghana in condemning anti-queer legislation in both nations, Team LGBTQ would have finished in 7th among nations for the most medals at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, gay British Olympic diver Tom Daley is retires after winning another Silver medal, Kim Coco Iwamoto will be the first out transgender candidate to win election to state office in Hawai’i, gay Chilean flamingoes Curtis and Arthur give birth to their new chick at South West England’s Paignton Zoo in Devon, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor with technical assistance by Daniel Huecias). 

All this on the August 19, 2024 edition of This Way Out!

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Legacies: Billy Bean & Alice B. Toklas

The Democratic National Convention confirmed the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz to top the Party’s ticket in the presidential election campaign at an enthusiastic gathering basking in the glow of the Republicans’ dreaded diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to Harris and Walz, highlights from queers and allies include Senator LaPhonza Butler (CA), Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Attorney General Dana Nessel (MI), Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Oprah Winfrey, former First Lady Michelle Obama, state Representative Malcom Kenyatta (PA), Governors Jared Polis (CO), Phil Murphy (NJ) and Kathy Holcomb (NY), and Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson.

And in NewsWrap: a lesbian co-mother gets one brief visit with one of her two children due to a historic Beijing court ruling before her estranged wife again denies her any contact, hundreds of people march with LGBTQ Pride through the streets of Kathmandu in an event coinciding with Nepal’s memorial festival of Gai Jatra, a federal district court finally puts an end to the U.S. military’s ban on enlisting asymptomatic HIV+ recruits, the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns their three-judge panel’s ruling that Houston County, Texas had violated transgender Sheriff’s Deputy Anna Lange’s civil rights when it denied her gender-affirming surgery under its employee health plan, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton orders the Department of Public Safety to flatly deny all applications to change driver’s license or state ID gender markers, Visit Florida virtually tells queer tourists to go where the sun don’t shine by removing the pages on its website that promoted LGBTQ+ attractions, dumpsters at Florida’s New College are found filled with books from its shuttered Gender and Diversity Program, gay dad gentoo penguin Sphen leaves his Magic behind, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Elena Botkin-Levy and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor). 

All this on the August 26, 2024 edition of This Way Out!

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Diversity-Driven Democrats Dance to Equality

Activist-author Urvashi Vaid’s gender politics may have been ahead of her time, but her nibling, poet-comedian Alok Vaid-Menon, finds contemporary resonance in recordings of her from This Way Out’s archives (part 2 of 2, produced by Brian DeShazor).

And in NewsWrap: the European Court of Justice orders all 27 E.U. states to recognize a person’s legal gender transition secured in any other member state, Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signs a “no promo homo” Protection of Family Values and Minors law after President Salome Zourabichvili refuses, detained gay Chechen men are forced to fight in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa will not allow bishops to approve blessing same-gender couples, California Governor Gavin Newsom signs a bill to protect state-funded public libraries from book bans, families attending an LGBTQ Pride event in small town of Grove City, Ohio are unfazed by a dozen armed Nazis spewing hate, and more international LGBTQ news reported  by Tanya Kane-Parry and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor). 

All this on the October 7, 2024 edition of This Way Out!

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NOTE TO RADIO STATIONS: Beginning in October, 2024, the weekly program uploaded to SoundCloud will include a pitch for This Way Out/Overnight Productions (Inc.). Stations can download a pitch-free version from radio4all.net or Pacifica’s AudioPort.Org. For more information,  contact Brian@ThisWayOut.org.

Vaid Squared - Alok to the Power of Urvashi

This “audio scrapbook” of the first national LGBT march and rally in the U.S. capital on October 14, 1979, produced by “This Way Out” Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon and Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, illuminates the problems and the passion of the first demonstration of its kind. As rich with the music and culture of the period as it is with the politics, the hour traces the event from the initial planning conference and some activists’ heartfelt and sometimes humorous cross-country trip to D.C. on a “Freedom Train” to the big day itself, and its coverage (or lack thereof) in the conventional media.

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Produced by Greg Gordon and Lucia Chappelle. 

Music by Blue Dot Sessions (Jazzberry).

The National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights Radio Documentary in FULL

Classic appearances by two giants in the world of poetry regardless of gender or orientation, reading from their work and responding to their audience, brought together by the magic of recording tape (!) and the courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives (produced by Brian DeShazor).

And in NewsWrap:  transgender former High Court judge Dr. Victoria McCloud will take the U.K. Supreme Court definition of the word “woman” to the European Court of Human Rights, the sports world in the U.K. feels the Supreme Court’s trans-exclusive definition of “woman” and “sex,” a phalanx of congressional Democrats introduce a new version of the Equality Act to add sexual orientation and gender identity to U.S. civil rights law, a case that could determine whether private businesses must offer coverage for PrEP in their employee insurance policies gets a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department releases a 400-page report on pediatric gender dysphoria that recommends conversion therapy under a different name, Poland says goodbye to its last remaining “LGBT Free Zone” when local authorities in the small town of Łańcut vote for repeal, a group of Maryland parents take their demand to opt their children out of LGBT-themed lessons to the U.S. Supreme Court, Jill “I Kissed a Girl” Sobule goes out with a vice presidential satirical song, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the May 5, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Poetic Duet: Adrienne Rich and Audre Lorde

This Way Out’s own collection of programs dating back to 1988 is already becoming a valuable tool for LGBTQ+ researchers and educators, even as the extensive process of data sorting and cataloging is getting underway. Project lead and Overnight Productions (Inc,) CEO Brian DeShazor discusses the next steps and the importance of preserving original materials with University of North Texas queer media professor Dr. Tanya D. Zuk.

And in NewsWrap:  most queer Catholic groups greet Pope Leo XIV with cautious optimism, the U.S. Supreme Court lifts injunctions to allow the Trump administration’s wholesale discharge of transgender service members to go forward, Governor Janet Mills stops the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s threats to de-fund school lunches due to Maine’s inclusion of trans student athletes, Pennsylvania State Police and other officers storm Pittsburgh’s venerable P Town bar during a star-studded drag show for a “compliance check,” and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and John Dyer V (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the May 12, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Audio Archive Saves Queer History

The Texas state House held a hearing on a bill that LGBTQ+ activists say would undermine education by eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies from public schools. State Representative Ron Reynolds, Equality Texas Communications Director Johnathan Gooch, Mandy Garcia of Texas AFT and a representative of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) have a plan of action (reported by Lucia Chappelle).

Where is Andry Hernandez Romero? U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) is demanding that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem provide proof that the gay Venezuelan make-up artist abducted to a prison in El Salvador is still alive (Lucia Chappelle reports).

And in NewsWrap:  a nonbinary Brazilian can identify as gender neutral on their official government documents thanks to a historic decision by the Superior Court of Justice, the organizers of Pride in London, Birmingham Pride, Brighton Pride and Manchester Pride cite the lack of sufficient support for transgender people as the reason for banning political parties from participating in this year’s parades, mass discharges of transgender service members from the U.S. armed forces are underway, Tennessee’s transgender teachers and students can now be deadnamed and have their preferred pronouns ignored by school officials with no recourse, Florida’s ban on drag shows is struck down by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the May 19, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Texas v. DEI & Garcia v. Noem

As Trump-phobia stokes concert homophobia across the U.S. during Pride season, RuPaul's Drag Race favorite Thorgy Thor weaves classical music into her unique performance style (interviewed by Brian DeShazor).

And in NewsWrap: a lesbian couple in Italy can both be legally recognized as the mothers of a child they conceived via in vitro fertilization thanks to a historic Constitutional Court ruling, Moscow's Tagansky District Court levys heavy fines on tech giant Apple for violating laws banning the “promotion” of “non-traditional sexual relations,” a federal judge tries to sidestep a U.S. Supreme Court decision that bans workplace bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Iowa’s ban on the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in public schools up to the sixth grade can only be applied to mandatory classroom education, U.S. President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will take gender-affirming healthcare from thousands of transgender people, a new monument to honor the queer victims of the Holocaust in the Paris public gardens near Bastille Plaza, a 55-by-35-foot transgender pride flag was unfurled on the famed El Capitan site in California’s Yosemite National Park, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by David Hunt and Nathalie Munoz (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the May 26, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Drag Queen Violinist Thorgy Thor

The rich history of LGBTQ+ eateries and the role they’ve played in encouraging community is served up by Erik Piepenburg in his new book, “Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights and Last Call Disco Fries at America’s Gay Restaurants” (interviewed by David Hunt).

And in NewsWrap: more than 70 members of the European Parliament plan to defy the Orbán-backed ban on Budapest Pride, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s guidance based on a recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling allows male cops to strip-search transgender women suspects, a U.S. immigration judge dismisses the asylum case of the illegally remanded gay Venezuelan makeup artist Andry Hernández Romero, a district judge orders that a gay Guatemalan man be returned to the U.S., the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ upcoming “no more drag queens” season features plenty of men in dresses, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Marcos Najera (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the June 2, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Erik Piepenburg’s “Dining Out”

The U.S. Navy launched a fleet replenishment oiler in honor of assassinated San Francisco Supervisor and Navy vet Harvey Milk in 2021, but a new administration finds the gay icon not “reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities.” Milk’s nephew Stuart and then-Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro spoke about the significance of the USNS Harvey Milk, and Human Rights Campaign National Press Secretary Brandon Wolf reacts to the order to rename the ship (produced by Lucia Chappelle).

And in NewsWrap: a heterosexual Ohio woman’s U.S. Supreme Court workplace discrimination win is based on the double-standard for evidence that members of majority groups need to provide rather than the merits of her case, Puerto Rico’s nonbinary and gender non-conforming people should be able to revise their birth certificates with an “X” gender marker according to the U.S. territory’s Supreme Court, anti-LGBTQ Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expected to sign a “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would ban school Gay-Straight Alliance advocacy groups, groundbreaking gay author Edmund White dies at the age of 85, the city of Missoula, Montana defies the state government by adopting the banned Pride flag as its official flag, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by David Hunt and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the June 9, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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The Scrubbing of the USNS Harvey Milk

In the aftermath of the Elon Musk chainsaw gutting the United States Agency for International Development, LGBTQ+ people around the world were robbed of more than a hundred programs geared to promote their health, safety and human rights. UCLA Law School’s Williams Institute senior fellow and director of international programs Ari Shaw worries that the days of U.S. leadership on global queer rights are over (interviewed by David Hunt).

And in NewsWrap: the Czech Republic’s sterilization pre-requisite for a transgender or nonbinary person seeking to change their legal gender is condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, researchers find young bisexual women leading the way in the surging numbers of Australians over the age of 15 who openly identify as “L-G-B-plus,” World Pride 2025 climaxes with a joyous parade and a defiant International March on Washington for Freedom, Tel Aviv’s LGBTQ Pride is canceled in expectation of retaliation for Israel’s airstrikes against Iran, 52 U.S. Congressional Democrats demand proof of life for renditioned gay Venezuelan make-up artist Andry José Hernández Romero, U.S. Air Force veteran Gina Ortiz Jones becomes the first out LGBTQ candidate to be elected Mayor of San Antonio, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the June 16, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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USAID Cuts Cripple Global Queer Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on pediatric gender affirming health care with a decision that lowered the bar for establishing its constitutionality and that imperils the rights of young trans patients in the 20 other states with similar laws — all despite the opposition of every major U.S. medical association. Brad Sears, Distinguished Senior Scholar of the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, unpacks the ruling (interviewed by David Hunt).

And in NewsWrap: most Australian gay and bisexual men and transgender women who have sex with men will finally be able to donate blood without a three-month-celibacy requirement, funding for suicide prevention programs targeting LGBTQ young people is being eliminated by the Trump administration, a federal judge continues to block the U.S. State Department from denying the option of an “X” gender marker on U.S. passports, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance breaks the record for most blocked accounts on Bluesky in only two days after a transphobic post in support of the Supreme Court’s Skrmetti ruling, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Ava Davis and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the June 23, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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U.S. Supreme Court v. Trans Kids’ Health Care

During this terrible time of queer and trans erasure, finding a moment to laugh can be another form of protest - especially when the source of the laughter is from an all trans male comedy troupe called Big Dad Energy. The ringmaster behind the group is actor/astrologer/comedian Marval A Rex, whose conversation about its origins after their recent West Hollywood Pride performance at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theater takes a surprising “star turn” (interviewed by Jason Jenn).

And in NewsWrap: Hungarians turn out by the hundreds of thousands in defiance of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to march in Budapest’s LGBTQ Pride Parade, 75 men and a woman are arrested in a raid on a “gay party” in Indonesia, India’s transgender women are “legally entitled” to recognition as women according to a landmark ruling issued by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, the U.S. Supreme Court allows parents to “shield” their public-school children from LGBTQ-inclusive material that does not align with their faiths, another U.S. top court ruling upholds key provisions of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurance companies to cover the pre-exposure prophylaxis medication known as PrEP, a “guerrilla theatre” Pride Month concert organized by queer-supportive U.S. senators reoccupies the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and Nathalie Munoz (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the June 30, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Marval A Rex’s Big Dad Energy

Extended interview with actor/astrologer/comedian Marval A Rex, the ringmaster of an all trans male comedy troupe called Big Dad Energy. The conversation is an extended version of This Way Out Radio Episode 1944 about Big Dad Energy's origins after their recent West Hollywood Pride performance at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theater - and takes a surprising “star turn” (interviewed by Jason Jenn). Please note there is the use of adult language in both interview and audio excerpts from Marval's on stage routine.

Podcast Extended Interview: Marval A Rex's Big Dad Energy

On the eve of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s vote on whether to renew the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Fabiana Leibl of the International Service for Human Rights, trans activist Best Chitsangupong, Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights senior fellow Jessica Stern; and scholar-activist Ignacio Saiz discuss the significance of the position and its chances of passage (interviewed by David Hunt).

And in NewsWrap: as many as 50+ are arrested in Istanbul for defying Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ban on Pride events, at least 30 more women are detained during an apparent second wave in China's continuing crackdown on “danmei” gay male erotica, the U.S. Congress sends the slash-and-burn Budget Reconciliation Bill to be signed by President Donald Trump, two U.S. Supreme Court rulings threaten the rights of transgender people in four states, trans school sports bans will be on the U.S. Supreme Court’s docket next session, Australia’s National Men’s Field Hockey Kookaburras Team took to the pitch wearing rainbow socks to support a gay teammate during Pride month, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by John Dyer V and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the July 7, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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U.N.’s Crucial Queer Rights Vote

While Harvard University faces off with the Trump administration over its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, director Diego Garcia Blum of its John F. Kennedy School of Government Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program counts its first year accomplishments (interviewed by David Hunt).

And in NewsWrap: same-gender couples in Hong Kong who have legal recognition from abroad could get health-related spousal rights under a new government proposal, Pope Leo XIV is expected to maintain his predecessor’s policy of allowing priests to bless same-gender couples, more than 100 transgender inmates in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison are missing and presumed dead following Israeli airstrikes, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein vetoes bills targeting the rights of transgender people and DEI programs, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court narrowly votes to affirm the state’s ban on conversion therapy, the erasure of bisexuals follows the disappearance of trans people from the Stonewall National Monument and other queer-related U.S. National Park Service websites, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Nathalie Munoz (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the July 14, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Harvard’s Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program

Just how far is it from book bans to bonfires? PEN America’s Los Angeles Director Allison Lee tracks the alarming censorship trend across the U.S. and how to stand up against it (interviewed by Jason Jenn).

And in NewsWrap: a gay male Ukrainian couple wins recognition as a legal family in a Kyiv district court, the Church of England votes to stop teaching prospective clergy that so-called “homosexual practice” is “especially dishonourable,” Puerto Rico now bans hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care for trans patients under the age of 21 and criminalizes medical providers, New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte vetoes two specifically anti-queer measures and three more culture war bills, a federal judge forces the Trump administration to restore 6.2 million dollars in federal funding to nine queer and HIV organizations, lesbian comedian and former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell refuses to be cowed by Trump’s empty threat to revoke her citizenship, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlien and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the July 21, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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PEN: Mightier Than the Book Bans

Banned books across the USA have risen dramatically in the past three years.  We present here an extended interview with Allison Lee, Managing Director of PEN American Los Angeles from This Way Out Radio Episode 1947 (interviewed by Jason Jenn).  This is part one of two reports about banned books inspired by a special reading event called homo-centric: BANNED CAMP that took place during West Hollywood's 2025 WeHo Arts Pride Festival.   

Podcast Extended Interview with Allison Lee of PEN America Los Angeles on Banned Book

PEN America (see last week’s This Way Out) teams up with queer Los Angeles writers for readings from some of the most targeted works threatened by the rise in book bans (correspondent/participant Jason Jenn interviews organizer Hank Henderson and author Abdi Nazemian). 

And in NewsWrap: police in the Malaysian state of Kelantan are investigating themselves after raiding an official HIV/AIDS prevention event they thought was a “gay sex party,” a ruling striking down two statutes that criminalize Hong Kong’s trans people for using sex-segregated public facilities is suspended for a year to allow for the government to respond, a nonbinary U.S. citizen can temporarily stay in Canada after a judge delays their removal proceedings, gay Venezuelan makeup artist Andry José Hernández Romero is back in his hometown while his advocates continue to seek a safe place, Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis tries to get the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn marriage equality in her ongoing appeal of the court-ordered damages from a lawsuit by the gay couple whose marriage license she denied, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and Michael LeBeau (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the July 28, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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“homo-centric: BANNED Camp”

A special Podcast Extended Edition of Episode 1948 | homo-centric: BANNED Camp. PEN America teams up with queer Los Angeles writers for readings from some of the most targeted works threatened by the rise in book bans (correspondent /participant Jason Jenn interviews organizer Hank Henderson and author Abdi Nazemian). Followed by readings from the event by poet Steven Reigns reading from Maya Angelou's  ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ and Jason Jenn reading from ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ by Jesse Andrews. 

Podcast Extended Edition homo-centric: BANNED Camp

In more than three decades as a proud transgender activist, Jamison Green has moved from making history to writing it as one of the authors and editors of a new book, “A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States, From Margins to Mainstream” — an important contribution to the discussion during these times of growing intolerance (interviewed by David Hunt).

Belgium’s DJ Mistiek brings out “I Became Me,” a new queer anthem honoring the trans experience.

And in NewsWrap: the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court rules the laws prohibiting same-gender sex in Saint Lucia unconstitutional, Cuba’s trans people can now legally change their gender on official government documents without the previously required surgery, close to 100,000 people fill the streets of London to stand for “Existence and Resistance” at the Trans+ Pride March, Berlin’s Christopher Street Day Parade brings out thousands of dancing celebrants, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony is questioned by police as a suspected organizer of the banned LGBTQ Pride Parade, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Melanie Keller (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the August 4, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Jamison Green and the History of Trans Medicine

In more than three decades as a proud transgender activist, Jamison Green has moved from making history to writing it as one of the authors and editors of a new book, “A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States, From Margins to Mainstream” — an important contribution to the discussion during these times of growing intolerance (interviewed by David Hunt) and presented here in a 20-minute extended version of the 14-minute This Way Out Radio feature for episode 1949.

Podcast Extended Edition with Jamison Green and A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States

Fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean has been difficult, but the winds of progress are blowing strong in Saint Lucia. ECADE, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality, just won its fourth court victory since 2022 over long prison sentences for same-sex intimacy. Executive Director Kenita Placide talks about the legal tempest sweeping across the islands (interviewed by David Hunt).

And in NewsWrap: the early retirement benefits transgender U.S. Air Force personnel with 15 to 18 years of service were promised for voluntarily agreeing to leave the military have been withdrawn, a majority of people in China support LGBTQ rights according to a new study released by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, pediatric gender affirming healthcare will be illegal in New Hampshire under a law signed by Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte, Massachusetts’ existing protections for transgender and reproductive healthcare are enhanced under legislation signed by lesbian Democratic Governor Maura Healey, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supports the denial of a preliminary injunction to prevent Oklahoma’s ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare from being enforced while its constitutionality is litigated, Bishop of Monmouth Cherry Vann is voted the Church in Wales' first female and first out Archbishop, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Nathalie Munoz and Allan Tijamo (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the August 11, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Sex Law Victory in St. Lucia

Every month at AKBAR, a small neighborhood LGBTQ+ bar on the east side of Los Angeles, queer artists of all kinds find a place to play in a unique cabaret. Executive Director Travis Wood, Creative Director Ian MacKinnon, and performers Lore Randolph (aka Fleur The Tease) and Ari (aka Odious Ari) celebrate 13 years of Planet Queer — with a nod to the late playwright Robert Patrick (produced by Brian DeShazor).

And in NewsWrap: a pair of Indonesian college students caught hugging and kissing in a public restroom is set to receive 80 lashes for same-gender sex, Moroccan feminist and human rights activist Ibtissame Lachgar is under arrest for an anti-Islam post in which she wore a t-shirt that reads “Allah is lesbian,” Kathmandu LGBTQ Pride blends with Nepal’s traditional Gai Jatra festival with hundreds of queer celebrants and allies, Arkansas’ pediatric trans care ban is the second such law to be upheld by a U.S. federal appeals court, a school district in Virginia is standing by its trans-positive bathroom policy in defiance of the Trump administration’s order to abandon it, a Minnesota biracial cisgender lesbian teen fights back after a restaurant employees indecent toilet test, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Lucia Chappelle (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the August 18, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Planet Queer Turns 13

As the world turns away from traditional news sources, gay journalist Enrique Anarte is building trust — and an audience — on social media (interviewed by David Hunt).

And in NewsWrap: the United Kingdom’s first transgender judge Victoria McCloud is taking her country’s Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of “woman” to the European Court of Human Rights, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must immediately release gay Jamaican refugee Rickardo Anthony Kelly by order of a federal district court judge, a student-sponsored charitable drag show on the campus West Texas A&M University was unconstitutionally banned  according to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, books found to be “suspect” under Florida’s expanded “Don’t Say Gay” law will be returning to classroom and school library shelves by order of a U.S. federal judge, local officials in more than two dozen Florida cities have been ordered to remove their LGBTQ Pride rainbow crosswalks, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Sarah Montague and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the August 25, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Queer News in TikTok Times

On her journey from Kansas to Oz and back, Jennifer Knapp’s spiritual rock and roll harmonizes “Christian” and “lesbian" with the unifying power of music (interviewed by David Hunt).

And in NewsWrap: a court in Kenya orders lawmakers to protect the rights of transgender people for the first time on the African continent, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis is cheered as a hero for resigning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with other CDC leaders protesting HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s policies,  outspoken Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker goes on offense announcing a statewide LGBTQ legal hotline, a U.S, federal judge closes the door on a lawsuit by disgruntled members of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority’s trans-inclusive stand, former AFL West Coast Eagles defender Mitch Brown comes out bisexual, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the September 1, 2025 edition of This Way Out!

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Jennifer Knapp: Lesbian-Christian Singer-Songwriter

For a quarter of a century, the unfettered voices of LGBT people have been broadcast around the world on "This Way Out."  The award-winning internationally is distributed weekly on over 200 local community radio and online stations around the world (carriage list at thiswayout.org), can be heard via podcast (thiswayout.org and iTunes) and direct satellite (World Radio Network) and is available on CD by subscription.

With only modest funding from foundations, Overnight Productions, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization) has remained true to its commitment to provide this high-quality LGBT programming to a global audience -- and to offer the program free of charge. 

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