Best Podcasts to Listen to While You Celebrate Pride Month This Year
This blog post was written for EarBuds Podcast Collective’s blog by Shane McClelland
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Each Sunday night, we put out an email newsletter that contains a theme and 5 podcast episodes on that theme, and each week is curated by a different person. Our line to curate is a long one, and because of that, sometimes creators approach us with an idea for a newsletter topic and we encourage them to write it as a blog post. That way, we can release it while it’s relevant. We really wanted to highlight Shane’s picks for Pride month podcasts!
To listen, just click on the links below. You’ll be brought to another page where you can hit “play,” and listen away. Learn more about Shane’s favorite Pride-related podcasts below…
Pride! Listen to these podcast to learn more.
For members of the LGBTQ+ community, June is typically celebrated as Pride month. It’s a time to celebrate what we’ve done as a community, to highlight the work that’s left to be done, and to be visibly out. Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic, many Pride celebrations have been canceled or moved later in the year. Since many folks won’t be able to celebrate and engage with community, I thought it would be fun to bring the community to folks’ ears through podcasts.
It is also important for me to pause here, and say that this article was written in mid-May, prior to much of what has transpired over the last couple of weeks.
EarBuds Podcast Collective celebrates Pride with podcasts!
I would now be remiss to not clearly and explicitly acknowledge the profound impact of Black Lives Matter. Since the killing of George Floyd (and countless more Black folks around the U.S. who’ve fallen victim to police brutality and other radicalized killings), we’ve seen an increase in awareness surrounding Black issues. Now’s the time for us to activate and come together to make real, lasting change. Minority communities must stand together in solidarity. I find this to be especially true for the LGBTQ+ community and the Black community. It’s important to remember, and as you’ll learn more about this in some of the podcast episodes below, that Stonewall — a flashpoint, and the start of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement -- was, in and of itself, a riot. It was a riot started by a diverse cast of characters, and especially, Marsha P. Johnson. Marsha was a black, trans woman.
LGBTQ+ people, specifically trans members of the community, as well as people of color within this community, still today, face a disproportionate amount of violence and bigotry at the hands of police and other perpetrators. There cannot exist true equality until we are all wholly protected and free to live our lives.
With that said, first up, a few LGBTQ+ history podcasts
For any of those wondering - yes, you’ll learn why Pride is celebrated in June. You’ll also learn all the fascinating civil rights history of the LGBTQ community and so much more.
Making Gay History
Making Gay History podcast
Making Gay History is an unexpected gem. A lot of history podcasts can be a little dry and dense. But the host of this one, Eric Marcus, actually recorded all of his interviews back in 1992! It’s a wonderful trove of oral history, told by the people creating it.
History is Gay
History is Gay podcast
History is Gay is hosted by Gretchen Jones and Leigh Pfeffer. Jones and Pfeffer are self-described queer nerds that use their combined powers to examine the overlooked and under-appreciated people from unexplored corners of history. “Because history has never been as straight as you think.”
Your Queer Story
Your Queer Story podcast
Your Queer Story is hosted by Paul Hobbs and Evan Jones. Together they discuss the history of the LGBTQ+ community, and the people and events that shaped society.
The power of community… and podcasts.
Next, a broad selection of LGBTQ podcasts that focus on community. The sense of community has been extremely important to LGBTQ folks throughout history. It’s more than just friends, it’s chosen family. These shows feature everything from friends chatting, to current stories, and pop culture.
Nancy
Nancy from WNYC Studios
Nancy explores what it means to be LGBTQ in a changing world. Hosted by best friends Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, it’s provocative stories and frank conversations about the LGBTQ+ experience.
Strange Fruit
Strange Fruit podcast
In this weekly podcast, Strange Fruit, hosted by Jaison Gardner and Dr. Kaila Story, they talk race, gender, and LGBTQ issues, from politics to pop culture.
Gayish
Gayish podcast
Gayish is shockingly a gay podcast, hosted by two gays, Mike Johnson and Kyle Getz. They chat and explore different topics; everything from gay stereotypes to the hanky code and handjobs, to breakups and depression.
Hoodrat to Headwrap: A Decolonized Podcast
Hoodrat to Headwrap: A Decolonized Podcast
Hosted by Ericka Hart and Ebony Donnely, Hoodrat to Headwrap: A Decolonized Podcast promises to give you advice on game, dismantling white supremacy, and to “kiki in the cosmos somewhere between radical hood epistemological black queer love ethics, pop culture, house plants and a sea of books.”
LGBTQ&A
LGBTQ&A Podcast
LGBTQ&A is an interview style podcast with fabulous guests. Hosted by Jeffrey Masters, guests have included Laverne Cox, Roxane Gay, Pete Buttigieg, and Trixie Mattel.
The Sewers of Paris
Sewers of Paris podcast
The Sewers of Paris is a podcast that explores how entertainment has changed the lives of queer people. Each week a guest chats and shares with host, Matt Baume, often revealing personal stories about how a book, movie, or music, changed their life.
Homoground
Homoground podcast
Homoground is a queer music radio podcast. It was created to “bring exposure & access to non- mainstream bands, especially those in isolated communities.” It’s fantastic, and you might just find a new artist to love.
One From the Vaults
One From the Vaults
One From the Vaults is a history podcast that explains how the history of trans people is threaded throughout the history of our world. The stories are fascinating.
A Gay and A NonGay
A Gay and A NonGay podcast
A Gay and A Nongay is the U.K.’s #1 LGBTQ podcast. It’s hosted by two friends, James Barr (gay) and Dan Hudson (nongay). They explore social issues - homophobia, coming out, mental health, and friendship.
Finally, a lot of folks refer to October as second Pride or gay Christmas. There’s plenty of reasons why, and even explanations in these spookier themed shows below…
The Q Files
The Q Files podcast
The Q Files is a paranormal podcast about the highly strange and weirdly unknown. Your hosts, Shane and Lori, were the creators of the hit web-series Queer Ghost Hunters, and take you on bi-weekly supernatural adventures exploring the people, places, and phenomena, outside popular consciousness. The first episode answers the question, “Why is Halloween so queer?” (And yeah, this was a shameless plug of my podcast.)
American Hysteria
American Hysteria podcast
American Hysteria is a podcast that “analyzes how issues of race, gender, sexuality, and class have informed our beliefs from the Puritans to the present.” The show takes a deeper look at all kinds of fantastical thinking and includes everything from Rednecks, to suburban culture, to video games.
Buffering the Vampire Slayer
Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcast
Buffering the Vampire Slayer is two friends, Jenny Owen Youngs, and Kristin Russo, chatting and dissecting every installment of the show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
And That’s Why We Drink
And That’s Why We Drink podcast hosts
And That’s Why We Drink is a comedy true crime and paranormal podcast, hosted by friends Christine Schiefer and Em Schulz. Every week they laughingly share chilling ghost stories and terrifyingly true crimes.
Dead for Filth
Dead for Filth podcast
Dead for Filth explore the super queer legacies of horror movies. The host, Michael Varrati, is joined each week by TV, film, stage icons.
This blog post was written by Shane McClelland. McClelland is an attorney, author, and creator. He spends his time thinking of big adventures and investigating the strange for his podcast, The Q Files. He resides in the historic German Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio with his boyfriend, two dogs, and at least one paranormal entity.
What is EarBuds Podcast Collective?
We are a podcast recommendation engine. We send a weekly email newsletter that contains a theme and 5 podcast episodes on that theme. And each week is curated by a different person. Anyone can curate a list! We also produce a weekly podcast episode that accompanies each newsletter wherein we share our podcast recommendations, descriptions of each episode, the voice of that week’s curator, podcast industry news from Inside Podcasting, and so much more.
Make sure to check out our newsletter recommendation archive here. We’ve been running EarBuds since February 2017 and have over 175 podcasts in our archive.
