Series Podcast: This Way Out

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 po

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Force personnel with 15 to 18 years of service were promised for voluntarily agreeing to leave the military have been withdrawn, a majority of people in China support LGBTQ rights according to a new study released by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, pediatric gender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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 reporte

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 Monu

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 Tea

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.

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.

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 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

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” (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

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 Ou

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 victim

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 bannin

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-

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 u