Feast of Fun : Gay Talk Show

Disney fans were thrilled last week to learn 19 year old singer Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Today the merman of the Ethel variety, the hilarious Matt Brown, joins us to dive into the hashtag #NotMyAriel and how Hans Christian Andersen, the Little Mermaid’s original author, wrote it as a personal grisly queer tale of the fish that got away.

In the spirit of making a political statement, and shocking the squares, Joan Jett Blakk, backed by Queer Nation, launched her bid to become President of United States with the catchy slogan “Lick Bush in ’92.” Today Terence Alan Smith, the artist behind the drag personage of Joan Jett Blakk joins us to talk about her election bid and how 27 years later she’s back making a big splash. Will she run again in 2020?

Today we take a look at Pride at 50, from our own shenanigans at the Chicago Pride Parade to World Pride in NYC. Also joining us is Jake Tolan from The Reclaim Pride Coalition, which successfully organized the Queer Liberation March, which marched against the exploitation of our communities for profit and against corporate and state pinkwashing

With the 50th anniversary of Stonewall just gays away, everyone’s ready to party like it’s 1969, so gather your rhinestone covered bricks because there is going to be a queer reckoning! Today Peaches Christ joins us to take a look at Pride 50 and the new interest in drag from the early 90s, from TV shows like Pose, HBO’s Wig Documentary and Ms Blakk for President now playing at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago.

We fell in love with queer punk actor Molly Brennan for the many different roles she plays in Ms Blakk for President– the true story of drag queen Joan Jett Blakk’s bid to become the President of the United States. Lick Bush in ‘92! Honey! Today the unsinkable Molly Brennan joins us to talk about the many roles she plays in Ms Blakk for President and some of her other career highlights.

Musician Caleb De Casper knew from a very young age he wanted to be a glam rocker after seeing Little Richard’s appearance on Sesame Street singing “Rubber Ducky." As a young performance artist, Caleb made quite a statement eating raw cow hearts with blood pouring out of his eyes. Today, Caleb de Casper stops by the home studio during his first ever tour to play songs from his new album titled “De Casper” which includes his hit single “Good Boy.”

The TV show Pose stars an unprecedented cast of queer and trans actors of color playing characters challenged by poverty, racism and the AIDS crisis while putting on outrageous balls but just how much does it reflect the life and times of the people who lived through it? Today, Vivacious, club legend and RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar joins us to take a look at Pose and how Madonna’s Vogue impacted queer performers of color in New York City.

It’s kind of an awesome when a major celebrity like Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross comes out and lets everyone know in a roundabout way that her husband has been munching at her back door. a Today comedian Matt Brown joins talk about the pleasures and perils of putting your mouth where the sun don’t shine.

Since no one really issues you a gay card, there’s nothing to revoke when your fabulous new life doesn’t conform to other people’s view of who you’re supposed to be. Today, comedian Shannon Noll joins us to talk about their new web series, Just Call Me Ripley – the story of a directionless bagel shop employee figuring out where they fit in the wild rainbow prism world of gender and sexual expression.

Gilbert Baker, the designer of the rainbow pride flag, considered the flag an unfinished work of political art and encouraged others to design their own versions, like the Leather or Trans Pride Flags, so he never copyrighted the design. Today designer Daniel Quasar joins us to talk about creating the Progress Pride Flag- how it went viral overnight and why it resonated with people all around the world.

With the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Stonewall Riots underway, it’s tempting to romanticize the watershed moment as a time when folks all over the world suddenly came out of the closet to let their freak flag fly freely. Today Matthew Riemer joins us to take a look at a photographic history of queer liberation as seen in his new book “We Are Everywhere” about the enduring struggle for queer rights and the need to come together as a community to celebrate.

A lot has happened in the 50 years since the Stonewall Riots when it seemed the only people who courted the gay dollar were mafia controlled bars. Since then, the public has grown to embrace queer rights and now big business is looking to cash in like never before. Today we’re taking a look at how LGBT folks have been the target of marketing campaigns, the corporatization of Pride and pink washing to hide a business’ evil deeds.

A massive two venue exhibition and book, “Art after Stonewall,” takes a look at the art, artists and activists that engaged with LGBTQ+ politics to unapologetically portray same-sex and trans desire while shattering the gender binary. Today the show’s curator, art historian Jonathan Weinberg joins us to marvel at the amazing artists who changed the world in the two decades after Stonewall.

IML, the International Mr. Leather Contest and Conference just wrapped up in Chicago where thousands of kinky folks gathered to build community and choose a new Mr. International Leather. Today, puppeteer and internal family systems practitioner Mark Saltzman joins us to chat about IML and to continue our look at “Velvet Rage,” Alan Downs’ seminal book for overcoming the pain of growing up gay in a straight man’s world.

On Cooking with Drag Queens, the fresh and fruity Erika Klash dressed up as a strawberry to pay tribute to Strawberry Shortcut, the short film by Tom Rubnitz starring Lady Bunny who experiences severe dessert distress. Today Erika Klash, the outlandish drag queen who looks like she jumped out of a Japanese anime film, joins us to chat about the latest episode of Cooking with Drag Queens.