LGBTQ&A
Jeffrey Masters
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LGBTQ&A is a weekly interview podcast hosted by Jeffrey Masters. It features conversations with prominent LGBTQ+ figures from entertainment, politics, and activism. Guests have included Laverne Cox, Janelle Monáe, Pete Buttigieg, Brandi Carlile, Alok Vaid-Menon, and Angela Davis. The show was nominated for Outstanding Podcast at the GLAAD Awards.
Epizode
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Bob Mackie: From Cher to Miley, Remembering the Legendary Fashion Designer (1939-2026) 16.09.2026 29minBob Mackie, the legendary fashion designer who created costumes for everyone from Cher and Judy Garland to Elton John and Carol Burnett, died on Monday. He was 87. In our interview last year, he talks about his ongoing collaboration with Cher, the infamous Gone With The Wind curtain dress from The Carol Burnett Show, and gay life in Hollywood in the 1960s and 70s. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Consider supporting our work by joining our Substack.LGBTQ&A is hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1 -
Carmelita Tropicana: The Accidental Queen of Downtown Performance Art 01.07.2026 41minCarmelita Tropicana was created almost by accident: a made-up name, blurted out at a radio broadcast in the 1980s. But Carmelita, and the woman behind the character, Alina Troyano, went on to become one of the pillars of downtown New York theatre. Alina talks about the ongoing evolution of her iconic camp character, spoofing both masculinity and femininity in her work, and her relationship with the queer theorist José Esteban Muñoz. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work. LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Karla Jay: The Lesbian Stonewall That History Forgot 23.06.2026 43minLongtime activist Karla Jay recalls the early days of the Gay Liberation Front, the all-women's dance that ended in a mafia raid, and the Lavender Menace's 1970 takeover of the Second Congress to Unite Women that produced The Woman-Identified Woman manifesto: "A lesbian is the rage of all women condensed to the point of explosion."LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack to see photos of Karla and to learn about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Duane Michals: Jump First, Ask Questions Later (Remembering the Gay Pioneer) 16.06.2026 31min"Because I didn't learn the photo rules it was very easy for me to abandon them." The pioneering photographer Duane Michals talks about discovering his love for photography in the 1950s, not looking down on commercial work, his half-century-long relationship with his partner, and why talking about "art" makes him want to vomit. Duane died last week at the age of 94. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1[Recorded in 2024]
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Alan Shayne: At 100, Looking Back on a Gay Life in Hollywood 08.06.2026 36minAt 100 years old, Alan Shayne's life has spanned the entirety of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. He got his start acting on Broadway in the 1940s, then became a casting director (casting Barbra Streisand, Diane Keaton, Cicely Tyson, and Dustin Hoffman in many of their earliest roles) before becoming president of Warner Bros. Television. Alan did this all while living a gay life that defies simple labels. Alan's new book, And It Only Took 100 Years, is out now. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Avram Finkelstein: "Silence = Death" and the Image That Defined the AIDS Crisis 01.06.2026 53min"Silence = Death" has become the defining image of ACT UP and the AIDS crisis. Avram Finkelstein, co-creator of the Silence = Death poster and a founding member of ACT UP, takes us back to where it all began: how the image came together months before ACT UP was even formed, how the artist collective Gran Fury created the visual language of the AIDS crisis, and why he believes ACT UP was a far more radical group than history remembers.LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Barney Frank: We Are Change Agents (1940-2026) 20.05.2026 29minRep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Congressman who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for over thirty years, died at the age of 86. The first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay, Frank became one of the most consequential openly gay politicians in American history. He was instrumental in repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, passing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, and advocating for marriage equality. In our interview, we talk about his career, his legacy, and what it meant to be an openly gay lawmaker at the height of the AIDS crisis.LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1[This interview was originally recorded in April 2024.]
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Miss Major Griffin-Gracy: Was At The Forefront of Trans Liberation Since Before Stonewall (1946-2025) 14.10.2025 20minThe legendary transgender elder and activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy died yesterday. She was 78. A veteran of the Stonewall uprising, Miss Major dedicated her life to the transgender movement. She worked for multiple HIV/AIDS organizations and spent a decade at the Transgender, Gender-Variant, and Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP), which works with and advocates for trans people of color inside of prisons, jails, and detention centers in California. [This was originally recorded in February 2021.] LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Inner Voice with Jeffrey Marsh: Why "It's All My PARENTS' Fault" Is NEVER An Excuse 15.09.2025 59minPlease enjoy this episode of Inner Voice, a new podcast from Jeffrey Marsh and Zaq Latino. Jeffrey Marsh is a Zen teacher, Oprah-endorsed author, and social media phenomenon. In this episode, they speak with the hosts of Transparently Speaking about how to best parent a trans kid when the world is seemingly on fire. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work. LGBTQ&A is hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Robert Suttle: The Case for Ending HIV Criminalization 19.08.2025 37minAcross 32 states, outdated HIV criminalization laws continue to punish people living with HIV. Robert Suttle shares his story of being prosecuted in Louisiana after a former partner accused him of not disclosing his status and he explains why these laws are based on bad science. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Darryl Stephens: Noah's Arc Returns! Celebrating 20 Years of the Groundbreaking Gay TV Show 16.06.2025 24minIn 2019, almost 15 years after the beloved TV show, Noah's Arc, cemented itself into queer history, its star, Darryl Stephens, was considering shifting his focus away from acting. His subsequent roles were often met with the same response, fans expressing variations of "You'll always be Noah to me" and questions of "When's Noah going to come back?" If he couldn't do anything but remind people of Noah's Arc, Darryl thought, maybe he would do something else. "It had its impact. That's not a terrible legacy."Imagining a career focused behind-the-scenes coincided with the beginning of a new chapter in his personal life: the decision to become a parent. "And then interestingly enough, when we decided to have the kid, work picked up." The groundbreaking show returns with Noah’s Arc: The Movie on June 20th, streaming on Paramount+. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A is hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1[This conversation with Darryl was originally recorded in 2021.]
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Edmund White: Remembering the Groundbreaking Gay Writer 04.06.2025 38min“I'm at an age when writers are supposed to say finally what mattered most to them—for me, it would be thousands of sex partners." Edmund White died this week at the age of 85. Earlier this year, I got to speak with him at his home in N.Y.C. about his latest novel, "The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir", co-writing "The Joy of Gay Sex" with Dr. Charles Silverstein, and his evolving relationship to sex. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work.LGBTQ&A is hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Susan Stryker: Trump's War on Transgender People, A Historian's View 26.04.2025 44minWhy is the world so threatened by the existence of trans people? Historian Susan Stryker joins us to break it all down. She talks about how she's thinking about the onslaught of attacks targeting the trans community, her time with the activist group Transgender Nation, and why she views transness as "a practice of freedom". This is a part of our special series, The LGBTQ+ Elders Project. Click here to listen to our new interview with Edmund White. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work. LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Edmund White: The Loves of My Life (X-Rated) 26.02.2025 36minEdmund White talks about his groundbreaking 1982 novel, A Boy's Own Story, co-writing The Joy of Gay Sex, his evolving relationship with sex now that he's in his 80s, and his new book, The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir. This is a part of our special series, The LGBTQ+ Elders Project. Click here to listen to our recent interview with Dr. Charles Silverstein, co-author of The Joy of Gay Sex. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Click here to check out our Substack and learn more about how to support our work. LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Bob Mackie: 60+ Years of Iconic Costumes, From Cher to Miley 28.01.2025 30minThroughout his decades-long career, Bob Mackie has designed costumes and gowns for some of the most legendary names in entertainment history: Cher, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Whitney Houston, Carol Burnett, and Elton John, among many others. He joins LGBTQ&A to talk about his longtime (and still ongoing) collaboration with Cher, the infamous Gone With The Wind curtain dress from The Carol Burnett Show, and gay life in Hollywood in the 1960s and 70s. His new documentary, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion is now streaming on Prime Video. This is a part of our special series, The LGBTQ+ Elders Project. Click here to listen to our recent interview with Martha Shelly, activist and co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front.LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our Substack to help support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Randy Wicker: Marsha P. Johnson, The Mattachine Society, and Early Gay Protests 03.01.2025 32minRandy Wicker talks about joining the Mattachine Society in 1958, one of the first gay rights groups in the U.S. He also talks about leading what's considered the first pro-gay protest in the U.S., the 1966 "Sip-in" at Julius' in New York City, and sharing his home with Marsha P. Johnson. The Randy Wicker and Marsha P. Johnson Archive: https://queerserial.com/randywickerPay It No Mind - The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson directed by Michael Kasino: https://youtu.be/rjN9W2KstqE?si=gd8XQeytNkQqLnaJThis is a part of our special series, The LGBTQ+ Elders Project. Click here to listen to our recent interview with Martha Shelly, activist and co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front.LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our Substack as a paid Subscriber to help support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Mark Segal: Stonewall Lasted 365 Days 18.06.2024 28minMark Segal moved to New York City in May of 1969 and a month later found himself at The Stonewall Inn as the now-infamous police raid began."The police came in, pretended that they were doing their duty, got their pay off," he says. "The difference here was they barged in, they threw people up against the wall, they extorted money from some of the older people, they harassed the drag queens. It was pretty violent."Stonewall sparked Mark Segal's lifelong commitment to activism, which memorably included interrupting Walter Cronkite in the middle of CBS Evening News by yelling and waving a banner that read, "Gays Protest CBS Prejudice".He joins us on the podcast to look back on the last 50 years of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement and shares the secret ingredient that underlies all of his activism: a sense of humor. Click here to listen to our interview with Gay Liberation Front co-founder, Martha Shelley. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our Substack as a paid Subscriber to help support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1[The was originally recorded in November 2020]
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Laverne Cox: The Transgender Tipping Point Turns 10 11.06.2024 24minLaverne Cox talks about being on the cover of Time magazine ten years ago, the pressure she's faced as one of the most visible members of the trans community, and how the Bostock v. Clayton County Supreme Court case with Aimee Stephens impacts all LGBTQ+ people.LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our Substack as a paid Subscriber to help support our work.LGBTQ&A features interviews with the most interesting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the world. Hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1[The was originally recorded in September 2019]
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Barney Frank: The Gay Agenda, Then and Now 30.04.2024 32minRep. Barney Frank served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 2013. He talks about being one of the first members of Congress to come out, how the AIDS crisis forced Congress to act, and the current state of the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement. Plus, his "Trophy Husband", Jim Ready, drops by to say hello. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our Substack to help support our work. Click here to learn more. The book mentioned in this episode is Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington by James Kirchick. This is a part of our special series, The LGBTQ+ Elders Project. Click here to listen to our recent interview with Martha Shelly, activist and co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front. LGBTQ&A is hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
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Gigi Raven Wilbur: Talking BDSM With the Bisexual Intersex Elder 23.04.2024 29min(This interview contains explicit sexual content.) Gigi Raven Wilbur talks about learning that they were intersex in college, the transformational power of BDSM in their life, and how they're feeling living in Texas right now among the current onslaught of anti-trans legislation. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our Substack to help support our work. This is a part of our special series, The LGBTQ+ Elders Project. Click here to listen to our interview with Martha Shelly, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front. LGBTQ&A is hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1
