Making Gay History

AIDS first made national news 40 years ago. MGH host Eric Marcus was 22 at the time, a gay kid in search of love and a career in New York City. In this six-part audio memoir, Eric explores his memories of the early years of the epidemic and reconnects with people whose lives intersected with his. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In memoriam: Kay Lahusen, January 5, 1930 - May 26, 2021. Kay was a monumental figure in the LGBTQ civil rights movement. From the earliest homophile protests to gay liberation and beyond, she never stopped fighting for equality—with Barbara Gittings, her partner in life and activism, by her side. Visit our episode webpage for the episode transcript and for links to background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Olivia Records cofounder Meg Christian helped ignite the women’s music movement of the 1970s with lesbian classics like “Ode to a Gym Teacher.” Meet Meg, in song and conversation, in our final episode drawn from the Studs Terkel Radio Archive.  Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Leonard Matlovich was thrown out of the Air Force for being gay, he sued for reinstatement. It was 1975 and it was the first case of its kind. Hear the LGBTQ rights pioneer—and startlingly frank one-time racist—in conversation with Studs Terkel. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sparks flew when radical lesbian feminist Jill Johnston sat down for an interview with Studs Terkel in 1973. Jill had just published a controversial manifesto called “Lesbian Nation,” which advocated that women break with men entirely. It was provocative stuff—even for the usually unflappable Studs. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A half-century ago, Studs Terkel interviewed three members of the homophile group Mattachine Midwest: the organization’s president, a student activist, and lesbian pulp author Valerie Taylor. Join them for a wide-ranging and laugh-filled conversation about gay liberation both personal and political. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From a young age, Quentin Crisp was determined to be himself—makeup, painted nails, dramatically dyed hair, and all—even if it consigned him to a life of poverty and isolation. Hear the author, raconteur, and provocateur in a 1970 conversation with Studs Terkel before he found late-in-life fame. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canadian female impersonator John Falk Tomkinson appeared around the globe under the stage name Les-Lee for over three decades. In 1967 Studs Terkel interviewed the performer to talk about his art and upbringing, and his experiences of being “different.”   Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1959 Lorraine Hansberry became the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway. Soon after "A Raisin in the Sun" made history, the 28-year-old writer and activist talked to Studs Terkel about racial and gender inequity and the role of art in confronting difficult truths about our world. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Author Christopher Isherwood left England for Germany in 1929. His stories about his years there inspired the musical "Cabaret," which shaped the image of decadent interwar Berlin in the popular imagination. But as he told Studs Terkel in this 1977 interview, to him, Berlin meant, above all, boys. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Making Gay History is back! Join us as we mine the Studs Terkel Radio Archive in Chicago for stories from our proud LGBTQ past to bring you eight intimate conversations conducted between 1959 and 1981 by the legendary oral historian. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When high schooler Larah Helayne heard MGH’s episode with Jean O’Leary, it changed the course of her life. Plans to become a nun gave way for a new role as an LGBTQ trailblazer. In this season finale, we celebrate the history-makers who came before and those who follow in their footsteps. Visit the webpages for our season two episodes with Jean O'Leary—part 1 and part 2—for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive MGH bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MGH is Eric Marcus’s first love. But he also co-produces Those Who Were There. Have a listen to this episode featuring Leon Bass. He faced racism growing up in 1930s Philadelphia, in the Army during WWII, and discovered its ultimate endpoint at a German concentration camp. Subscribe to Those Who Were There: Voices from the Holocaust wherever you get your podcasts, or visit thosewhowerethere.org.  ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Making Gay History stands with the countless Americans protesting systemic racism and the deaths of Black and brown people at the hands of the police. And we draw inspiration from civil rights heroes like Bayard Rustin, an out and proud Black gay man who dedicated his life to fighting injustice. Visit our season four episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

June 25, 1935 - May 27, 2020. In the early ’80s, author and playwright Larry Kramer was one of the first people to sound the alarm about AIDS. He became one of the loudest voices in the fight against the epidemic, calling an indifferent world to account. Visit our season three episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Perry Watkins was drafted in 1968, he assumed the Army would reject him for being gay. They didn’t. When they got rid of him after 15 years of service, he fought back. As we face the systemic inequalities Covid-19 has once again laid bare, an enraging tale of prejudice, triumph, and tragedy. Visit our season three episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1939 Joyce Hunter was born into a world so hostile it’s a wonder she wasn’t crushed. Instead, the challenges and brutality she faced proved to be the launchpad for an expansive life of pioneering activism and accomplishment. A guiding light in tough times. Visit our season two episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In late 1955, the police of Boise, Idaho, started a sweeping investigation into an alleged “homosexual underground.” Fearing arrest, Morris Foote fled town, not to return till 20 years later. A story of Pride from the U.S. heartland to remind us that what unites us transcends red/blue state divides. Visit our season two episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, Ellen DeGeneres needs no introduction. But as she explained in a 2001 MGH interview, her very public 1997 coming out took a dramatic professional and personal toll. When life goes off the rails, there’s no knowing what the future holds. We’re challenged to push ahead to fight for better days. Visit our season three episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When did you make gay history? Join host Eric Marcus, pioneering photojournalist Kay Lahusen, and a group of LGBTQ history-making elders for their monthly retirement community dinner. Happy memories from the recent pre-pandemic past. To see photos from the dinner, visit the webpage of our original season three bonus episode. To hear our two episodes featuring Kay Lahusen and her partner, Barbara Gittings, go here and here. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices