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Today the accidental gay historian interviews a young, credentialed historian illuminating gay history and actively working for representation on TV and beyond. Eric Cervini has been and continues to be incredibly busy; having written a NYT Best Selling and Pulitzer Prize finalist book in 2020, writing and producing "The Book of Queer" TV series in 2022 with more still in production, and most recently starting his own book club and publishing company to spread the modern and historical stories of LGBT people everywhere. Mike and Eric talk upbringing and future plans in one of the most exciting episodes of the podcast to date. Check Eric out on https://ericcervini.com/

We're lucky this week to be joined by Barabara Pomo, staunch ally. Shaped by the loss of her older gay brother to AIDS in the late 1980s, Barbara Poma has become an integral part of the LGBTQ community. First, she bought and managed the Pulse Disco in Orlando, Fla., turning it into a multi cultural haven for queers and their families and after a tragic terrorist shooting and the deaths of 49 patrons by a hate-filled 29 y.o. man in June 2016, Barbara realized it could never be re-opened. So, she set about figuring out how to create a memorial and museum to pay appropriate tribute to those who lost their lives that night - One Pulse Foundation is the result.

Iconic photographer Stanley Stellar, 77, has been documenting queer life and male nudes since 1976. When he began, most media outlets wouldn’t even feature images of men with their clothes on. Best known for his street photography, Stanley was present and shooting during many milestones in gay history, including the Christopher Street piers, gay pride marches, the HIV epidemic, Mr. Leather competitions, etc. Listen as he traces society’s reaction to the male body and how censorship today is beginning to resemble what he experienced decades ago.

We're lucky enough to have as out guest, Lilly Ann Velez, a 39 yo Ecuadorian woman of trans experience. She explains misconceptions and describes the spectrum of trans experience, all while sharing with us the almost 30 year journey she's taken to becoming the woman she is today.

In 2010, three-time All-American collegiate wrestler Hudson Taylor slapped a gay-equality sticker on his headgear before a match, leading to an interview with OutSports, an LGBTQ media outlet. Afterwards, he heard from 2,000 mostly closeted athletes who were moved to see a straight ally standing up for them.  After that, Hudson founded Athlete Ally, which focuses on getting sports organizations to include and welcome participation by LGBTQ athletes. Today, it continues its effort to dismantle homophobia and transphobia in sports.

Khalleed Ahmed and his family fled civil war in Somalia, spent eight years in Kenyan refugee camps, and finally were given asylum in the United States. Join us as we listen to Khalleed share his journey to becoming an openly gay, Islamic, cardiac surgeon and an inspiration for others living in countries where they can't be themselves (Part 1 of 2 interviews)

Dastan Kasmamytov, a 30 y.o. Kyrgyzstani, is an LGBTQ activist and founder of Pink Summits, an LGBTQ mountaineering team attempting to scale the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. When that's completed, Dastan will become the first Kyrgyzstani citizen to accomplish this feat, which ought to greatly change the perception of LGBTQ people in an Islamic country where mountain-climbing is a national passion.

Growing up in the central Asian nation of Krygystan, Dastan Kasmamytov had no idea he’d ever become an LGBTQ activist. But, when he was outed in national media at 19 and a fatwa was issued by the Islamic religious authorities, urging their followers to stone him to death, that path became inescapable. Find Dastan @dastanik & His Pink Summits Project @pinksummits Follow Our Instagram & Twitter @bammer.co Send Your Stories to Mike@BAMMER.co Check Out Our New YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJfqFoe2tAJUsdlIMt4nvlg

Andy Tobias' journey from being the "Best Little Boy in the World" (the title of the best-selling coming out memoir he authored under a pseudonym while still in grad school in 1972) to serving as the first openly-gay Treasurer of the Democratic Party from 1999-2016 is a fascinating one. Growing up in a suburban Jewish household where he was taught that helping others was imperative, Andy has dedicated his life to political and charitable causes. He and Mike Balaban have known each other for more than 40 years. In this interview they discuss their lives, and shared values while pursuing paths of political and social activism.

Kevin Jennings grew up in a southern trailer park, son of a homophobic itinerant Baptist preacher, was the first in his family to go to college (on a full scholarship at Harvard), and took the risky step of coming out while he was a high school history teacher in 1989. He quit that job in 1994 to form what has become the leading LGBTQ anti-bullying educational organization in the country, served as Assistant Secretary for Education for Safe Schools under President Obama, and is now CEO of Lambda Legal, the leading nonprofit fighting for LGBTQ rights in the US.

Jim Fouratt has been in the right place at the right time: he co-founded the leading anti-Vietnam war group in the 60s, he was present at all four nights of the Stonewall rebellion in June 1969, and he was an assistant to legendary music producer Clive Davis at Columbia Records. Listen as he shares his recollections of those momentous experiences.

Khalleed Ahmed and his family fled civil war in Somalia, spent eight years in Kenyan refugee camps, and finally were given asylum in the United States. Join us as we listen to Khalleed share his journey to becoming an openly gay, Islamic, cardiac surgeon and an inspiration for others living in countries where they can't be themselves. (Part 2 of 2 interviews)

David Mixner has been an author, political strategist, and civil rights activist for more than a half-century. He was first involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s and later became a prominent LGBTQ rights advocate. A close confidant of President Bill Clinton in the early days of his administration, David had a falling out with Clinton when the new President backed away from his pledge to allow gays to serve in the military. Mike and David discuss his efforts on behalf of equal rights for LGBTQ people and other minorities.

Paula Harrowing, a 49 y.o. British queer activist describes what it was like coming out into London's vibrant and diverse lesbian club scene in the late 80s and 90s only to be greeted soon thereafter by the arrival of AIDs. While nursing her gay male friends who were succumbing to that disease, she noticed the paucity of health services for women and children with HIV, prompting her to found a non-profit that filled that gap and still exists today.

Michela Griffo talks about the battle for LGBTQ civil rights from the first NYC Pride March in 1970 onward, the arrival of AIDS in 1981, the formation of real gay and lesbian community after that, and where the LGBTQ movement goes from here.

Mike talks with Michela Griffo about her life as an early and active member of the National Organization for Women in the late 1960s, a link to the Stonewall era, and one of a dozen or so participants from the first Gay Pride March in NYC in 1970 who’re still with us. She joins us today to talk about the sense of community that existed then and how different things are today

Dave Kopay was the first prominent athlete to come out and the first male athlete in a major professional league to do so when he publicly disclosed he was gay in 1975. A hero to many LGBTQers for his courage, he paid a permanent price in being shut out of coaching jobs in colleges and at the pro level.

Mike interviews Joel Tucker twenty years later: one of six survivors of the horrendous Backstreet Cafe shooting in Roanoke, Va. on September 20, 2000.

Cliff Morrison talks about forming the first AIDS ward in San Francisco General Hospital in 1983, as well as, his recent involvement in the making of “5B”, an award-winning documentary about that experience (now available on Amazon).

Jacob Tobia is a gender-nonconforming Los Angeleno who’s on a roll. Three years ago, they landed a job as an executive assistant on the hit Amazon series "Transparent." Shortly after, Jacob released a New York Times best-selling memoir, "Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story," and secured an option from Showtime to develop a TV series inspired by their life. Jacob talks about their life journey and brings some clarity in understanding the complexity of sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity.