Late in 88

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains subject matter that some listeners may find triggering. If you or someone you love is struggling please contact the Canadian suicide crisis help line at 988, or kidshelpphone.ca anytime, day or night. Internationally please contact your local crisis assistance centre.

In this series finale of Late in ’88, Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda take listeners on an emotional road trip through the landscapes of their youth. They revisit their high school, meet present‑day students who inherit a very different culture, and wander through Confederation Park where they once held vigil for their late friend Steve. A quest for the “last ’90s food court” leads them from Brentwood to North Hill Mall, where ginger beef, fortune cookies, Buffy, and Xena become portals into queer identity, media, and survival in conservative 1990s Alberta.

Bronwin returns to their former “gilded cage” in Hawkwood, confronting memories of domestic violence, boom‑and‑bust family dreams, and the terrifying openness of having nowhere safe to run. A quiet moment with a bumblebee becomes an unexpected symbol of self worth, softness, and healing.

Elinor, meanwhile, uncovers how early grief and the loss of her best friend carved deep fears of abandonment and shaped the way she shows up in friendships today. Together, in parking lots and mall food courts, the two co‑hosts reflect on making this podcast, the armor they thought they’d already shed, and the radical tenderness of being fully witnessed by a friend.

They graduate from this season as wingmates, inviting listeners to honour their own inner teens, tell their stories, and keep queer histories alive, one shared memory at a time.

Episode Resources:

Get Help: Family Violence Helplines and Services [resources]

Prairie Sky Equine Assisted Therapy - Positive Pathways [youth program]

The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives [historical collection]

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

https://latein88.com/

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*Content Warning* This episode of Late in 88 explores domestic violence, sexual violence, medical trauma, homophobic and transphobic harassment, and teenage substance use, listener discretion is advised.

In this episode of Late ’88, Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda reconnect with musician, producer, and author Rae Spoon, a trailblazing Canadian trans icon and Bronwin’s former gas-station co-worker. Together, they revisit the “very gay gas bar” at the end of the C-train line, and the makeshift sanctuaries of parked cars and late-night conversations that helped them endure a deeply conservative environment.

Rae shares candidly about coming out as queer and then trans in the late ’90s, facing constant street harassment and gendered violence, and navigating a rigidly binary medical system that forced trans people through harmful hoops just to access care. Bronwyn and Ellie open up about their own histories of trauma, threats of corrective violence, disassociation, and the long path toward embracing queer and non-binary identities. Together, they reflect on the power of first love, chosen family, and visibility.

Episode Resources:

Gender Failure by Rae Spoon and Ivan Coyote [book]

Assigned Country Singer At Birth by Rae Spoon [music]

RaeSpoon.ca [artist website]

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

https://latein88.com/

https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@late.in.88

In this episode of Late ’88, Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda reconnect with Professor Tanya Callahan of the University of Calgary to revisit Alberta’s high school sexual education curriculum of the ’90s—especially the Career and Life Management (CALM) course. They discuss how Catholic and public schools handled (or erased) topics like homosexuality, gender identity, and safe queer sex.

Tanya reflects on her time as a Catholic school teacher, the overt heterosexism and homophobia in teacher training, and the quiet forms of resistance practiced by “heroic educators” who risked their jobs to support queer students. The conversation traces the fear-based approach to sex ed, the near-total silence around the AIDS crisis, and the emergence of Gay–Straight Alliances (QSAs/GSAs) in the early 2000s as literal lifelines for queer youth.

Elinor’s niece Izzy, a queer Grade 12 student currently enrolled in a small Alberta Catholic school, joins the episode. Izzy shares what it’s like to be “the resident queer educator” for her peers, navigating unofficial support from teachers who quietly defy school board rules, and finding freedom and “vibes” in nature, music, and chosen community.

This episode weaves past and present to show how much has changed—and how much hasn’t—while making a powerful case for education, solidarity, and ongoing resistance in the fight against homophobia, transphobia, and fascism in our schools.

Episode Resources:

Homophobia in the Hallways: Heterosexism and Transphobia in Canadian Catholic Schools, by Dr. Tonya Callaghan [book]

Every Teacher Project: On LGBTQ-Inclusive Education in Canada’s K-12 Schools Final Report by/par: Égale Canada [report]

How to Create a Safe Classroom for LGBTQ+ Students: For Educators [video]

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

https://latein88.com/

https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@late.in.88

In this episode of Late in ’88, Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda sit down with Tegan Quin of iconic alternative band Tegan and Sara to time-travel back to their shared high school years in late-’90s Calgary. Tegan talks about writing the memoir High School, uncovering secret journals that revealed just how differently the sisters experienced queerness, ambition, and teenage chaos.

Together, they unpack what it meant to grow up queer and gender nonconforming in conservative Calgary: unstructured days on transit, drugs and rave culture, the safety of moving in packs, and the sharp class divides between neighborhoods and schools. It’s a tender look at identity and the myth of the gay high school experience - and how those years shaped one of Canada’s most iconic musical careers.

Episode Resources:

Tegan and Sara Foundation [organization]

High School, a memoir by Tegan and Sara [book]

Tegan and Sara [band]

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

⁠https://latein88.com/⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/⁠ 

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In this episode of "Late in '88," hosts Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda reconnect with Courtney, a classmate from their high school in Calgary, Alberta. Courtney shares her unique upbringing with two gay dads and the challenges of navigating her identity during high school. The conversation touches on tmany high school memories but also, the impact of media on their perceptions of coming out. The hosts reflect once again on their parallel paths and overlapping friend groups that still seemed to somehow keep them at a distance from each other.

https://latein88.com/

https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@late.in.88

Episode Resources:

“The Coming Out Handbook” by The Trevor Project [website]

Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens [book]

The Queer Family Podcast

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains subject matter that some listeners may find triggering. If you or someone you love is struggling please contact the Canadian suicide crisis help line at 988, or kidshelpphone.ca anytime, day or night. Internationally please contact your local crisis assistance centre.

Hosts Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda discuss the typical queer story of coming out, that was anything but typical. Bronwin recounts their experience coming out in high school, feeling like “the only gay in the village”, and the influence of representation in the media through a high profile lesbian coming out story. They also touch on a galvinizing moment in Bronwin’s life and character, when their best friend's ex-boyfriend pulled a gun on them. Together, Bronwin and Elinor reflect on the normalization of violence and the challenges of navigating relationships and sexuality in a volitile world.

https://latein88.com/

https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@late.in.88

Episode Resources:

“The Coming Out Handbook” by The Trevor Project [website]

Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens [book]

YOUth Ending Violence - Battered Women’s Support Services [website]

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

Hosts Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda get back on the couch with clinical psychologist Dr. Kate to unpack the chaos, beauty, and heartbreak of graduating high school in 1998. Together they explore what’s really happening in the brain and body of teenagers. Alongside Dr. Kate’s insights, you’ll hear raw personal stories about navigating domestic violence, chronic depression, and the homophobia present in rural cowboy culture. The trio reflect on attachment, grief, and how teen coping strategies follow us into adulthood. Join us for a journey in ‘repairing’ your inner teenager. 

https://latein88.com/

https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@late.in.88

Episode Resources:

Jamie Windust: “Support for Trans People isn’t Radical, its Urgent” [video]

It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living - Edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller [book]

Joel Burns - “A Message to Gay Teens: It Gets Better” [video]

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains subject matter that some listeners may find triggering around self harm and teenage substance abuse. If you or someone you love is struggling please contact the Canadian suicide crisis help line at 988, or kidshelpphone.ca anytime, day or night. Internationally please contact your local crisis assistance centre.

The episode explores the impact of a best friend's cancer diagnosis and death of a high school classmate on host Elinor Svoboda in 1998. Along with co-host Bronwin Parks, they recount Steve's two-year battle with a rare eye tumor, the fundraising efforts, and the emotional toll on their classmates. The conversation also touches on the lack of mental health support during that era, the challenges of teenage grief, and the importance of understanding and supporting teenagers' complex emotions.

https://latein88.com/

https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@late.in.88

Episode Resources:

Calgary Outlink

LGBT Youthline

Kidshelpphone.ca

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

Hosts Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda bring back queer historian Kevin Allen to highlight significant advancements in queer history between 1980s into the 90s, touching on the AIDS crisis, the first Pride parade in 1990, and the Delwyn and Vreen case, which ruled against discrimination based on sexual orientation. The conversation also touches on cultural backlash, the emergence of queer community spaces, and the impact of AIDS on societal attitudes and activism.

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https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/ 

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Find out more about Kevin Allen and his work:

https://calgarygayhistory.ca/author/calgarygayhistory/ 

https://www.instagram.com/yycgayhistory/ 

Episode Resources:

Queer Legends: an oral history podcast

Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930-1985 by Valerie Korinek [book]

The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives [resources]

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains subject matter that some listeners may find triggering around self harm and teenage substance abuse. If you or someone you love is struggling please contact the Canadian suicide crisis help line at 988, or kidshelpphone.ca anytime, day or night. Internationally please contact your local crisis assistance centre.

Late in 88 returns for a new season, jumping a decade to 1998, the senior high school year of hosts Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda. In this episode, Bronwin and Elinor dive into their teenage world, from goth cowboys to grunge skaters. Bronwin discusses their experiences with coming out and living a double life in a rural setting. Elinor shares her struggles with anxiety, gender identity, and the impact of a close friend's cancer diagnosis. They share their places of joy: horses, nature, art, friends and of course, a good party. Like in their grade school days, Bronwin and Elinor were not friends in high school, they finish the episode asking the question: what if they would have been? 

https://latein88.com/

https://www.instagram.com/late.in.88/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@late.in.88

Episode Resources:

Fyrefly Institute, University of Alberta [organization] 

Trans 101, the basics [video] 

Queer Family Podcast [podcast]

For a complete list of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and resources visit: ⁠https://latein88.com/resources/

Distributed by Women in Media Network

https://www.womeninmedia.network/