Keeping It Queer
“We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.” Stand-up comedian Navin Noronha is joined by Farhad Karkaria, who also hosts GayBCD . Having started in 2017, this show has seen India’s social tapestry change from pre-to-post 377.
Navin and Farhad discuss straight prides, queer group therapy, gay pageants and adolescent crushes. Often they have guests on board to bring out personal experiences. In a stand-out episode of season 3, Anish Gawande, director of Dara Shikoh Fellowship, divulges what it is like to climb up the political ladder in India as an openly gay man. Each episode contains a Culture Vulture segment, where they chat about queerness in pop culture. What are your favourite gay relationships on TV?
Episode length: 50 minutes, on average
Available on: Spotify, Apple, IVM Podcasts
Making Gay History
Podcast host Eric Marcus is an American journalist who has written many books on homosexuality and the gay rights movement, including the inspiration behind this podcast, Making Gay History . Sit back and listen to intimate portraits of well-known as well as long-forgotten witnesses to the gay rights movement. Eric’s narration of their stories is inter-cut with archival interviews. In the past few weeks, the show has been revisiting its archives. As we talk #BlackLivesMatter, the latest episode is about Bayard Rustin, an out and proud black gay man on the forefronts of the Civil Rights Movement.
Episode length: 25 minutes, on average
Available on: Spotify, Apple, Stitcher
Queering Desi
As this podcast will tell you, it is impossible to put one label on diverse queer experiences. QueeringDesi takes itself seriously, leaning more on the arts and advocacy. New York-based host Priya Arora gets guests belonging to the South Indian diaspora from across the world and encourages them to examine their careers and the culture clash, with their queer glasses on. Previous guests include pastry chefs, physicians, choreographers and drag queens.
Episode length: 40 minutes, on average
Available on: Spotify, Apple, Stitcher, Saavn
StraightioLab
Alright, enough of introspection. Imagine a world where being queer is the mainstream, and ‘straight life’ is under the microscope. That’s what StraightioLab does, with hosts George Civeris and Sam Taggart. The duo gets down to banter with guests, claiming to ‘unpack a topic’ — in quotes, because they don’t get around to actually doing that until they are well into the episode. But then their chit-chat peppered with an ample dose of giggles and sniggers, is so comfortingly friendly, you don’t really mind that. Having started post physical distancing, the podcast dissects straight bars, gender reveal parties, gyms and football with the enthusiasm of a tourist in a new city.
Episode length: 70 minutes, on average
Available on: Spotify, Apple, Stitcher
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