These Two LGBTQ+ Podcast Debuts Are Required Listening

These Two LGBTQ+ Podcast Debuts Are Required Listening

In the future, everyone will have a podcast. Newborns will be handed a Social Security card and a microphone, and if you don't release at least 10 episodes per year, you will be fined.

This is the world we seem to be heading toward. And yet, of the over 850,000 podcasts that are currently active, there are still disproportionately few hosted by queer or trans people. To help you cut through the clutter, here are two new ones that deserve your attention.

TransLash with Imara Jones

"Trans people telling our own stories will save our lives," says Imara Jones. The activist and journalist whose work has won Emmy and Peabody Awards is the creator of TransLash, a multimedia platform dedicated to telling the stories of trans people, especially trans people of color, during this time of intense social backlash.

In the debut episode of the TransLash podcast, Jones talks to Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins about what a Biden-Harris victory in November could potentially mean for trans people and how the Democratic Party should be responding to the recent uprisings around racial justice and police brutality.

In the weekly segment called "Trans Joy," Jones brings in Jordyn Jay, the founder of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts Collective, to talk about the crucial space Black femmes occupy in the arts.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.

Business Curious

With the darkness that colors so much of the news coverage of LGBTQ+ people, it becomes even more vital to highlight and celebrate positive examples of those in our community making real differences in the world. Business Curious, hosted by entrepreneur Scott Shigeoka, showcases queer and trans folks across the U.S. who are running and growing small businesses. "It's their resiliency and innovation that makes them one of the most impactful citizens in our communities and economy," Shigeoka says. "But running a successful small business can be one of the toughest things in the world to accomplish." Each episode explores these challenges and triumphs, and also serves as a guide for anyone in the community hoping to start their own.

In the first season (out now), listeners are introduced to NiK Kacy of NiK Kacy Footwear, Ava Pipitone of Host Home Inc. and Suyana Technologies, Nick Yeast of the Nick Ricardo Collection, and Suhaly Bautista-Carolina of Moon Mother Apothecary.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.

Bonus! LGBTQ&A

In partnership with GLAAD, The Advocate's interview podcast has featured Laverne Cox, Pete Buttigieg, Roxane Gay, Kate Bornstein, Trixie Mattel, and Shea Coulee. Each interview gets beyond transition and coming-out stories to get to know each person, their accomplishments, and how they got to where they are today.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.