Rated Lgbt Radio

There is a hot, summertime celebration of queer voices at five venues across L.A. July 19 to July 28, 2024 More than 50 narrative and documentary short and feature films will be screened during Queer Rhapsody, a celebration of LGBTQIA+ voices in partnership with five iconic venues across L.A. Organized by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the series creates joyful, communal, and brave spaces for radical engagement among film fans, arts leaders and queer culture workers at a volatile time when identities and communities are under fire.  Today we talk about that roster of films with the Creative Director/Senior Programmer Martine Joelle McDonald .. Queer Rhapsody opens July 19th with a sneak peek screening at the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum in Westwood of the documentary, Second Nature,  Narrated by Elliot Page, the film follows trans trailblazer evolutionary biologist Dr. Joan Roughgarden as she meets groundbreaking scientists exploring the 1500+ animal species that engage in same-sex s

Pandora Boxx was drag before it reached anywhere close to the popularity it has today. Pandora had interviewed RuPaul years before Drag Race even aired and when it did, knew she was destined to be on the show. She sent in a video for season 2, and the rest, they say, is history. She won the title of Miss Congeniality in the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, clearly the fan favorite.  She subsequently returned for the first and sixth seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. Boxx has also appeared in all three seasons of the show’s spin-off series, RuPaul’s Drag U. Her new dance album ia called BOXX, and is her most personal work ever.  It’s fun and quirky, and while most of her previous releases were a tad on the dirty side, BOXX is totally PG. It releases on July 15th, and she will be performing the soon-to-be hit single DANCE at Drag Con LA on July 19th. You do not have to wait, however-- we will be premiering DANCE on our show today! With co-host Brody Levesque  

The Personal Stories Project and the Dot.Gay internet domain are in the midst of Pride month promotion powered by George Takei’s social media team.! This initiative will collect stories from LGBTQ people and then broadcast them out through George Takei's powerful social media influence. Charles Chan Massey and Sara Christie founded The Personal Stories Project in 2012 to promote activism, advocacy and support for the LGBT community and allies through the sharing of personal stories.Dot Gay  gives 20% of all new .gay registration revenue (not just profit!) is donated to LGBTQ+ organizations to help address key issues facing these communities. This is an unprecedented, industry-leading commitment that means continual donations over time. George Takei's message on social media read: "“Happy Pride Month, folks! For many, including myself, Pride is a time to express ourselves proudly. I know it’s not an easy time for everyone. But there’s strength in telling your story, which is why I am asking you what your sto

RuPaul has elevated dozens of drag queens into public prominence, but none are as legendary and impactful as OG queen and performer Latrice Royale. She joins us today and we will be showcasing two of her soulful ballads that demonstrate that not only is she fabulous, but she is also a vocal performer to be reckoned with. She originally captured the hearts of the world and earned the title of Miss Congeniality on Season 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and then went on to appear in other incarnations of the franchise, including multiple guest appearances on the show, RuPaul’s Drag U and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Seasons 1 & 4, and represented RuPaul’s Drag Race on Celebrity Family Feud. She is now winning acclaim as a star in the upcoming season of HBO’s Emmy-winning unscripted series We’re Here on HBO and Max.  On June 30th, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles will present the 2024 GALA at the Pasadena Convention Center immediately following the 3:00 p.m. matinee their final concert of the season, SOLID GOLD: Ar

In the new film Concerto for Abigail,  Samantha Porter is a world-renowned jazz pianist. At the age of 40-something, she is diagnosed with progressive hearing loss which will soon end in total deafness. How can she go on when hearing the music and composing is her life, and soon she won't hear it? Superfan Abigail McCarthy comes to the Empire Club to listen to Samantha and her trio. As the music unfolds, the thoughts of a relationship begin to take hold. Soon, a love affair brings much-needed joy into Samantha's life. How can she go on? Abigail just may be the answer. Today we talk to the film's director/writer/producer Jan Miller Corran. President of Three Women in a Box Productions, Jan is a writer, producer, filmmaker and playwright. She's produced and/or written over twenty films including Snapshots (2018), Along Came Wanda (2021), as well as the film we will be discussing today,Concerto for Abigail . She produced the renowned film I'll See You in My Dreams and others. She's co-written numerous screenpla

Called "this year's rising star to watch" is Chinese-American queer actor Terry Hu (pronouns they/them) who stands out as a love interest on Max’s drama series “The Girls on the Bus”and in Hulu’s comedy film “Prom Dates”. Terry has previously made headlines for playing the first live-action non-binary character in a hit Disney movie franchise “Zombies 3,” and has previously been seen on Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever.” Terry  is a first-generation Chinese-American queer actor from New Jersey. Terry was always told that there wouldn't be any roles for them in Hollywood and was encouraged to focus on school instead. While they did take this advice, eventually getting a Neuroscience degree from UCLA and getting into the top Physical Therapy schools in the nation, they ultimately took a leap of faith and turned down grad school to pursue their childhood dream of acting.  Fortunately, this leap paid off. Within a year, they won ABC's nationwide Digital Talent Competition and received their first Netflix lead role

You wouldn't think it a "defiant act" but in today's environment, it almost is. In a world where LGBTQ supportive material in schools is under attack comes a new book My Guncle and Me by author Jonathan Merritt. The book celebrates individuality and inclusivity, reminding young readers that they are unique, seen, and celebrated for who they are. The main character, Henry Higgleston struggles with being deemed an oddball by other kids at school. When his fabulous gay uncle arrives for a weekend with his French bulldog, Jimmy Chew, in tow, Guncle is on a mission to teach Henry that it’s what makes us different that actually makes us special. Illustrated by Joanna Carillo and endorsed by New York Times bestselling authors Kate Bowler, Shauna Niequist, and Marianne Williamson, MY GUNCLE AND ME is a joyful story of self-acceptance and self-love that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt different. We have Jonathan with us today! He is an award-winning columnist and commentator on politics, spirituality, and

Recently named one of the 2024 "25 Screenwriters to Watch" by Austin Film Festival and MovieMaker Magazine, G. S. Foxwood is our guest today. We will talk about his new film Wild Eyed and Wicked.  Written by G.S. and Executive Produced by Elizabeth Foxwood and their company New Mythology Productions, His previous, award-winning short films, Ten Shots (2020), Ghosts & Fashion (2019), and Lara (2018) screened at over twenty film festivals in the US and around the world. "Wild Eyed and Wicked"  follows Lily Pierce in her attempt to strike back at the medieval creature that’s haunted her family for generations. In order to do so, she must reconnect with her estranged father, Gregory, a disgraced history professor, and learn how to draw upon a time of steel and blade when armor-clad knights rode out and dueled monsters to the death. Her girlfriend Willow is along for the ride with love and support. The film will be released across North America on June 11, 2024 on TVOD/Digital and cable On Demand, with furth

Singapore pop singing sensation Wils is releasing his final single, Dancing Lights, today.  “My journey in music is complete,” the singer-songwriter confirms.  “It has been a heartening ten-year ride that has taught me to live fearlessly as my authentic true self and I am ready to now follow the ‘Dancing Lights’ to wherever they lead me.” The song is an uplifting dance track that explores moodier, more subdued hues than past releases from Wils. Built around vocal effects and vintage synths, it’s an understated sound that sets the atmosphere of a young man coming to terms with life’s inevitable highs and lows. Along with the single, the video directed by Stro and filmed at various locations in Los Angeles including Matador Beach and City Walk, captures the essence of grief as a person emerges from the dark hole of depression into the final stage of acceptance.  “I’m incredibly proud of the video,” Wils says.  “It reflects on the beautiful times I shared with my friend and reminds me that even through the pain

Incisive. Vibrant. Dramatic. Anne Stott is a singer/songwriter of cinematic alt rock, an actor and apolitical rabble rouser. Her “bad girl to the good girls and good girl to the bad girls” energy infuses her music and live performances with an edgy compassion while her elastic style embraces eighties pop and nineties grunge infused with modern moody atmosphere. Her second album LOVE NEVER DIES peaked at #19 on the Relix Magazine radio chart  and SHE Magazine called her “a bewitching cross between Joni Mitchell and… Chrissie Hynde.”  Anne will be releasing her Climate Change track "Water To Blood” produced by legendary NYC producer Barb Morrison (Blondie, Rufus Wainwright) on April 19th to coincide with Earth Day. Her album ‘Born Under A Full Moon” comes out later this Summer/Fall. (Also produced by Barb Morrison). We will play Water for you today!   With co-host Brody Levesque

David Archuleta is hotter than ever. His new hit single Hell Together debuted in the iTunes top 10, He won the GLAAD Media Award for “Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist” 2024 . His latest songs are award-winning, he kicked off 2024 as the telecast opening performer at the 2024 Tournament of Roses Parade, and he is on the verge of releasing a memoir. In 2008, more than 30 million television viewers fell in love with him; with his angelic voice, bashful sweetness and megawatt smile, over 44 million votes made him the first runner-up in Season 7 of American Idol - and a star at age 16. Shortly after “Idol,” David’s first single, “Crush,” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track sold more than 2 million digital copies to become double platinum. Three months later, his self-titled album, David Archuleta, sold more than 900,000 copies worldwide.  He has a faithful social media following (3.5 million Facebook followers, 1.1 million on Twitter, and over 1 million followers on Tik Tok. 2023 quick

Tom Goss is live with us today! We will be talking about his latest album Remember What it Feels Like and playing the first two releases! The album is an expansive 15-track collection of happy and light-hearted pop songs punctuated by beautiful ballads and raucous rock. Featured artists include comedian and musician Deven Green, hip hop diva Maya La Maya, wry chanteuse Anne Reburn and Goss's longtime collaborator de ROCHE. Tom has been singing for more than 15 years, creating a large and varied body of work (nine albums, five EPs, 40 music videos) that tracks his development both as a man and as an artist. He has transformed the facts of his life—a troubled teen and college wrestler; a student studying to become a priest; touring the country as a gay singer-songwriter; falling in love and getting married; the heartbreak of infidelity and the challenges of an open marriage; and, now, being conned by a lover with a secret life—into songs of remarkable range, strength, and beauty. His songs have been featured o

Our guest today is Australian journalist/filmmaker Jordan Bryon, a trans man, who embeds with a Taliban unit, as they retake control of Afghanistan. Jordan shares the spotlight today with co-director Monica Villamizar, as they discuss the making of the intense documentary Transition.  In the film, Jordan gains incredible access to a Taliban unit during the fall of Afghanistan. The countryʼs transition coincides with his own physical transformation as a trans man. While he and his local videographer, Teddy, embed with the Taliban. From rural Australia, Jordan conceals his physiology and is accepted as a man. However, if the Taliban were to find out, he and Teddy would likely be in grave danger, Jordan struggles with the moral and ethical dilemmas that come with his unique situation. The film follows Jordan’s journey, as he paradoxically gains more freedom as he transitions, while deftly chronicling the increasing oppression of women as the Taliban transitions to power. Jordan is a recipient of two BAFTAs, tw

The critically acclaimed drama "TOLL”  from rising star filmmaker Carolina Markowicz (“Charcoal,” “The Orphan”) premiers in the US this week! As a filmmaker, Carolina focuses on work that is in tune with the current political climate. The things that have happened in Brazil recently have been unimaginable to the filmmaker in many ways.  Brazil is a very conservative and homophobic society, where a minister of human rights, now a senator, stated that kids shouldn’t play with Frozen dolls because the character of Elsa was a lesbian. In the film TOLL, the main character, a toll booth attendant, realizes she can use her job to raise some extra money illegally. But this is only for a so-called noble cause: to send her son to an expensive gay conversion workshop led by a renowned foreign priest. The film is is a drama permeated with dark, irreverent humor.  We talk to Carolina today, along with film star Maeve Jinkings, about the film. She has written and directed 6 short films, which were selected for more than

The award winning documentary Much Ado About Dying has its US theatrical premiere March 15! Today we talk to filmmaker Simon Chambers. When Simon Chambers received an email from his elderly gay uncle — “I think I may be dying” — he took it as a summons. His Uncle David, a retired actor living alone in a cluttered, mouse-infested London house, was being dramatic. But a documentary film was born. For the next five years, Simon both cared for and documented  Uncle David, through all his performative exuberance (acting out passages of Shakespeare), swings from boisterous humor to short temper, and physical/mental challenges.  Simon is present for it all and the film captures the impact on him as the gay nephew potentially witnessing his own future.  Best Directing, International Competition at the 2022 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Award winner, Simon taught disadvantaged teenagers in London for 14 years before turning his hand to films.  In 2006, with his first feature ‘Every Good Marriage

Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old non-binary student from Oklahoma, tragically died on February 8, 2024, after three girls beat him up in a restroom on Campus. .Nex had been experiencing bullying for over a year due to their gender identity. This alleged bullying reportedly began soon after a law was passed in Oklahoma requiring students to use bathrooms corresponding to their birth certificates and an anti-trans culture emerging in Oklahoma thanks to the involvement of Libs of TikTok in the school system there. Today we talk about what it is like to be an LGBTQ youth in the state of Oklahoma, and the effects of the death of Nex Benedict. We will be talking to Travis, a youth in the school system, with Scotty Hernandez, the president of PFLAG Oklahoma, and LGBTQ youth advocate, Lance Preston, founder and executive director of Rainbow Youth Project USA, and with Kris Williams, a queer youth advocate working through the Diversity Center of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City..  Scotty is also a real estate agent who serves a

Joe Jarvis of Joe.My.God. (and our guest last week!) called it "Yelp for the queer-led revolution."  It is the new  Everywhere is Queer app based on the Everywhere is Queer LGBTQ directory that launched and became popular in 2022.  Joe describes it as providing "on-the-go discoverability to users and LGBTQ-owned businesses around the world, although the majority of spots exist in the continental U.S. It’s simple to navigate, consistently updated, and, most importantly, a living, digital document of Queer community."  When users make a profile and log on, they discover a green marker-filled map. The app finds LGBTQ-owned spaces for them. It features dozens of business categories and can filter them by zip code or neighborhood. You can also browse online-only businesses and organize listings that you've favorited.  Today our guest is Everything is Queer founder Charlie Sprinkman. Growing up in Wisconsin, and now a resident of Oregon, Charlie started this adventure by traveling in 41 of the 50 states. During t

Today we talk to two powerful LGBTQ activists,, advocates, and writers.  We have Joe Jarvis, one of the most popular and award-winning LGBTQ bloggers on the planet with the outspoken Joe.My.God blog and website. Joe spoke about his 19th year "in business" last April:  "We’re at 138,342 posts over 19 years, the last 15 of which have been without a full day off, although posting on weekends is usually at a slower rate. As I’ve said on this day every year, whether I am insanely committed or am insane and should be committed – that is entirely your call.” Today Jow, and we, are celebrating our other guest Carl Siciliano, and Carl's new upcoming book Making Room. Named a White House Champion of Change by Barak Obama, Carl is a nationally recognized advocate and provider for homeless LGBT youth. He has been dedicated to this population since 1994. His career began by helping manage shelters, soup kitchens, and residential programs for homeless individuals in New York, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut1. In 2002, C

The AP dubbed them the Transgender Power Couple. Journalist Erin Reed was formerly the digital director of The American Independent. She currently writes for the Los Angeles Blade and Harpers Bazaar.. She is a researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker. Her fiance is Zooey Zephyr, member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 100th district.  Zephyr was a vocal opponent of multiple anti-LGBT bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. During a floor debate on April 18, 2023, Zephyr admonished those who supported Senate Bill 99, which prohibits gender-affirming medical and surgical care for minors. She first commented, "If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed."  When this remark triggered an objection from Repub

Lie With Me is a stunningly beautiful, bittersweet love story. It will soon be available on major platforms in the United States. The film is about a writer coming terms with the love of his life, that he had lost years before. Upon agreeing to be the brand ambassador for a famous cognac celebrating their bicentennial, novelist Stéphane Belcourt returns to his hometown for the first time in many years. Once there, he meets his first love’s son, Lucas. Memories come rushing back to him:irrepressible attraction, bodies becoming one in the heat of desire, a passion that can never be revealed... His first love’s name was Thomas. They were 17. Today we talk with filmmaker and director Olivier Peyon. Olivier is a French screenwriter, and film director.,  He has made several short films including “Jingle Bells” (1997) which was selected for the 54th Venice Film Festival. In addition to making documentaries for French television. He directed his first feature film, “Les petites Vacances” in 2017. His second featur