We commemorate the birthday of the renowned gay Irish writer Oscar Wilde with an excerpt from the play he was writing in October, 1891 — a scene from a production directed for Pacifica Radio by a “pre-Spock” Leonard Nimoy (hear the complete performance at thiswayout.org, presented by Brian DeShazor). Plus: The “Rainbow Rewind” recalls the end of the picket line, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’s” demise, and no room at the National Council of Churches.

The late historian Allan Bérubé documented in Coming Out Under Fire (1990) how queer soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have always been a vital part of military readiness. He revealed in a 1983 talk that the first queer news source in the United States was published at an airfield in the deep South more than 80 years ago (produced by David Hunt).

In the cycle between LGBTQ+ inclusion and exile, you can see the same signposts in either direction. Whether the queer community is on the r