The killer who stalked Los Angeles gay bars in the early 80s slipped away twice (for reasons explained by Deputy D.A. Dino Fulgoni), but investigating officer Mike Thies wouldn’t give up. Years later, lesbian policy manager Madeline Brancel rediscovered the life of her gay great-uncle, who was one of the victims (Part 2 of 2, produced by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: protections for women and the rights of queer people are among the stumbling blocks to finalizing a deal at the U.N.’s COP29 climate conference, the Parliament of Vanuatu amends its Marriage Act to bans marriage equality, a three ..read more

A series of murders centering on the Los Angeles gay men’s bar scene leads investigating officer Mike Thies to join forces with the community for an unprecedented search for the killer. (Part 1 of 2, produced by David Hunt) And in NewsWrap: Russian orphans will not be finding new homes in countries where gender transitioning is available, Uzbekistan’s ruling National Revival Party’s government is drafting a measure to outlaw the discussion of LGBTQ subjects, a bill to prevent Ohio’s transgender students from using the appropriate bathroom at school awaits Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s sign ..read more

The U.S. elections were a wake-up call for the “woke,” yet even though the overall results spell danger, there are a number of queer bright spots to celebrate. With commentary by Andy Humm and Ann Northrop of GayUSA, our coverage includes homophobic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, trans U.S. Congressmember-elect Sarah McBride (Delaware), lesbian Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, lesbian U.S Congressmember Angie Craig (Minnesota), Native American lesbian U.S Congressmember Sharice Davids, gay U.S Congressmember Eric Sorensen, Rocky Mountain Equality Deputy Director Bruce Parker, f ..read more

While the world waits on pins and needles to find out who will win the grand prize in the U.S. elections, there are notable queer campaigns that link to the same themes and could be significant in the big picture, such as the marriage equality Proposition 3 in California, and the Sen. Tammy Baldwin reelection campaign in the all-important state of Wisconsin. The specter of the conservative manifesto Project 2025 creates even more pressure. Psychologists S. Lee Tepper and Dr. Jonathan Mattias Lassiter help people handle the election anxiety. And in NewsWrap: Tel Aviv is taken off the list of po ..read more

This “audio scrapbook” of the first national LGBT march and rally in the U.S. capital on October 14, 1979, produced by “This Way Out” Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon and Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, illuminates the problems and the passion of the first demonstration of its kind. As rich with the music and culture of the period as it is with the politics, the hour traces the event from the initial planning conference and some activists’ heartfelt and sometimes humorous cross-country trip to D.C. on a “Freedom Train” to the big day itself, and its coverage (or lack thereof) in the conve ..read more

There’s a reason why October is LGBTQ History Month. The community historically laid claim to it with a 1979 event in the U.S. capitol. Just ten years after Stonewall and long before the age of acronyms, the massive October 1979 march and rally for LGBTQ rights surpassed all expectations — for good and for ill. Excerpts from an hour-long radio documentary that you can stream at thiswayout.org. And in NewsWrap: Poland’s coalition government introduces civil unions legislation, Saskatchewan’s Parliament votes to require parental consent “when a student requests that their preferred name, gender ..read more

How does your first time at a gay bar compare with the experiences of others? Come cruising with curator Art Smith through his growing online collection of those stories — and you can add yours to thousands of others, like the one told by Daniel M. Jaffe (produced by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: going abroad to have a surrogacy baby is now a crime in Italy, Moscow police raid two downtown clubs popular with the queer community and arrest 50 on Coming Out Day, a groundbreaking New South Wales law establishes rights for transgender people and strengthens existing protections for sexual minority ..read more

Author and journalist Nico Lang’s new book “American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era” tells the stories of eight trans and nonbinary teenagers from across the United States, highlighting their triumphs and struggles (interviewed by Daniel Huecias). And in NewsWrap: about one in 20 Kiwis came out in New Zealand’s first Census to count LGBTQIA+ people, the Toyota Motor Corporation is latest company in the U.S. backpedaling on its DEI policies and withdrawing support from queer events, Colorado rightwing Christian baker Jack Phillips loses a state Su ..read more

Activist-author Urvashi Vaid’s gender politics may have been ahead of her time, but her nibling, poet-comedian Alok Vaid-Menon, finds contemporary resonance in recordings of her from This Way Out’s archives (part 2 of 2, produced by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the European Court of Justice orders all 27 E.U. states to recognize a person’s legal gender transition secured in any other member state, Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signs a “no promo homo” Protection of Family Values and Minors law after President Salome Zourabichvili refuses, detained gay Chechen men are forc ..read more

The bold, brash and bawdy life and artistry of Sophie Tucker is captured in a risqué and raucous one-woman cabaret show written and performed by Laural Meade (interviewed by Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the largest LGBTQ Pride March in Serbia’s history had several thousand people marching through the capital of Belgrade in defiance of violent threats, an accusation of theft in the midst of a contentious break-up gets two gay male Zimbabweans arrested for sodomy, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is refining questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for its 2026 Census, New ..read more