Today, we bring back George's conversation with the legendary author Sapphire. Her 1996 novel Push was adapted into the 2009 movie Precious, which won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. Sapphire talks about what it's like to have her book banned, the authors who inspired her, and how art can heal trauma.

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Sean Coleman joins George on the podcast to talk about how ballroom and incarceration shaped his life, why he wanted to change the non-profit sector and start Destination Tomorrow, and opening the first city-funded shelter for transgender homeless people. 

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George is joined by Bishop Joseph William Tolton, who discusses the history of white Christian Nationalism in America, how this anti-democratic and anti-Black movement has spread around the world, and how to fight against it.

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George is joined by storyteller and community organizer Charlene A. Carruthers. Charlene talks about how growing up in Chicago shaped her organizing, about occupying the Chicago police headquarters in 2020, doing her work through a Black queer feminist lens, and why telling stories is central to being an activist.  

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George is joined by actor Greg Mathis Jr., who shares what it was like to work in DC for 10 years, trying to pass the Affordable Care Act, before switching careers to entertainment. Greg tells George about his latest role in the movie "Fighting to Be Me," which tells the story of transgender gang leader Dwen Curry. 

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George is joined by Dana A. Williams, Dean of the Graduate School at Howard University and author of a new book "Toni at Random," about Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison's overlooked career as the first Black woman editor at Penguin Random House. Dana tells George about Toni's vision for editing and publishing Black authors, and how African-American literature helps make sense of the American experience as a whole.

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George is joined by the hosts of the HIGHKEY podcast, RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Yvie Oddly and culture critic Ryan Mitchell. Together, they discuss reactions to the Charlie Kirk shooting, the difference between empathy and apathy, the NFL's LGBTQ+ 'branding', why local politics matters, and whether we should bring back cursive writing?!  

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George is joined by Emmy-nominated director, writer and producer Nathan Hale Williams. Nathan tells George about growing up in Chicago, becoming a producer and director, what he thinks the role of the artist is today and how his upcoming film will talk about HIV in a totally new way. And him and George reflect on the experience of working together on the dramatic reading of All Boys Aren't Blue. 

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Today, we return to one of our favorite conversations, with iconic comedian, drag queen and author, Bob the Drag Queen. 

Bob tells George to discuss his new novel Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, losing his mother right before filming the Emmy award-winning reality show Traitors, and why we need more class solidarity. This episode's Queer Artist Spotlight is on "Queen of the Underground", one of Bob's two original songs that come with the audio version of his new book. 

This episode was edited and scored by Mitra Kaboli.

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George is joined by Shahem Mclaurin, licensed therapist and social worker, with over 800K followers online. Shahem tells George about his story: how he never wanted to become a therapist until he learned how broken our mental care system is, and what white supremacy does to our mental health. 

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