God is Gay

Behind Back Doors


Listen Later

Episode 11: How a bookstore operating by a straight Jewish couple became a safe haven for gay pornography during the HIV crisis. These allies took on the LAPD, the FBI, and the United States President!


Source material:


  • ​Held, R. S. (n.d.). Loving our neighbor. Hadar Institute. https://www.hadar.org/torah-tefillah/resources/loving-our-neighbor


  • ​History. Circus of Books. (n.d.). https://circusofbooks.com/pages/history


  • ​Los Angeles Times. (2020, April 21). Review: What was a nice jewish couple doing in a business like this?. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-04-21/circus-of-books-review-netflix-lgbtq


  • ​Scheinerman, R. (2025, March 14). The seven genders in the Talmud. My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-eight-genders-in-the-talmud/


  • ​Wikimedia Foundation. (2026a, March 22). Circus of Books. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_of_Books


  • ​Wikimedia Foundation. (2026b, April 2). Chi Chi LaRue. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Chi_LaRue
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

God is GayBy Asher O’Briant