Hear amazing tales of the binary-defying civil rights activist, labor organizer, lawyer, author and first Black woman Episcopal priest the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray. In the news, marriage equality is outlawed in Senegal, there’s no port for the gay Scarlet Lady cruise ship in Egypt either, and New Hampshire and California adopt different attitudes about transgender youth while Trans and Intersex Pride Marchers in Dublin target the One Percent.

We celebrate the history and continuing activism of Dyke Marches across the U.S. with Professor Sara Angevine and voices from the streets of Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

This week on This Way Out: Emma Schulman takes to the LAPRIDE streets to hear what folks have to say about PRIDE, plus, a Rainbow Rewind featuring playwright, activist, Larry Kramer and in the news, the Supreme Courts of Nepal and Eswatini are ordering marriage equality and queer civil rights; don’t bet on trans protections in the U.K. and more…

This week on This Way Out: in the second installment of our special Pride Month collaboration with Los Angeles' Get Lit – Words Ignite, young poets respond to the voices of James Baldwin and Urvashi Vaid with original spoken-word performances that bridge generations of LGBTQ history, literature, and activism.

In a special Pride Month feature produced by Brian DeShazor, young poets from Los Angeles-based Get Lit – Words Ignite respond to the words of LGBTQ trailblazers across generations. After listening to archival recordings by James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and Quentin Crisp, the poets James Mondares, Candi aka Vonne, and Samantha Rios created original spoken-word pieces inspired by those voices and their enduring messages.

This Way Out celebrates Pride Month with a special look at the power of visibility, community, and resistance. Then, This Way Out visits Los Angeles' historic Founders Metropolitan Community Church for the unveiling of the Rainbow Liberation Steps, a permanent public art installation honoring LGBTQ+ freedom and liberation. The dedication ceremony features community leaders, activists, faith leaders, and members of the congregation reflecting on the continuing struggle for

Our Pride Season series starts with samples from our upcoming month of specials, with Los Angeles Poet Laureate Brian Sonia-Wallace and series producers Emma Shulman and Abigail DeRoberts.

Was Barney Frank a political hero, a lightning rod—or both? Following the death of the trailblazing gay former Congressmember on May 19, Lucia Chappelle explores the triumphs, tensions, and contradictions behind one of the most influential and debated LGBTQ political figures in U.S. history. Included are recollections from Andy Humm, Ann Northrop of GayUSA and journalist Karen Ocamb (Substack: LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters). Archive audio from This Way Out archives.

Ebony Joseph concludes her three-part series on the global rise of anti-LGBTQ laws with a report from activists in Nigeria and Kenya confronting criminalization, censorship, and severe funding cuts. Organizers describe how anti-LGBTQ legislation affects housing, employment, healthcare, and online safety, while warning that many so-called “family protection” bills across Africa are linked to broader international networks of authoritarian politics and religious conservatism.

In part two of her series on the global rise of anti-LGBTQ laws, This Way Out’s Ebony Joseph explores how criminalization and political hostility are creating a growing public health crisis for queer communities worldwide. Advocates say laws targeting LGBTQ people not only fuel stigma and violence, but also discourage people from seeking HIV prevention, mental health care, and other essential services.

In part one of a two-part series, This Way Out’s Ebony Joseph examines a growing global wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation—from Africa to Eastern Europe and Central Asia—where governments are increasingly criminalizing queer identity under the guise of “morality,” “tradition,” or child protection. Despite legal shifts in some regions, the piece underscores the ongoing struggle for safety, visibility, and basic rights, and the critical role of grassroots movements in pushing back

This Way Out’s Brian DeShazor talks with Out Opera and Broadway actor Zachary James about his roles in Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, Broadway, and being out on stage. In addition to his current role as Amenhotep III in the Olivier and Grammy-Award winning production of Akhnatan, he's played roles as Lurch in The Addams Family on Broadway, Abraham Lincoln in The Perfect American, Hades in the West End production of Hadestown.

National Poetry Month revisits the 1979 March on Washington with poetry from the rally stage recited by Allen Ginsberg, Paula Gunn Allen, and Audre Lorde. Audre Lorde also reads a poem to close the program from 1980 recorded at a feminist event in New York City.

This Way Out’s founding Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon is honored in “In Memoriam Part 2,” continuing a legacy that helped shape international LGBTQ radio. This tribute features voices from across his life and work, reflecting on his impact as a journalist, historian, and community storyteller (Part 2 of 2, produced by Lucia Chappelle and Brian DeShazor).

This Way Out’s founding Coordinating Producer leaves a legacy of historic LGBTQ audio that begins more than a decade before the only internationally syndicated queer radio show debuted. This memorial tribute features his exclusive 1979 interview with San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and “Diminished Capacity,” his documentary on the aftermath of Milk’s assassination, and coverage of the first LGBTQ March on Washington (Part 1 of 2, produced by Lucia Chappelle and Brian DeS

Danni Hoshino brings us a preview of her Transgender Day of Visibility single release, “Alright”! The veteran folk-rock musician surprised everyone — not least herself — when she came out as a transgender woman in 2022, just weeks before her planned wedding. Gender identity wasn’t the only thing that changed. She relocated, became Light Bird on stage, and began working on a soul-baring new album that’s expected out in June (interviewed by David Hunt).

“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).

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.

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.

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).