Listen Up Girl

Today on Listen Up Girl, Zach Randles-Friedman covers a historic ruling from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which unanimously struck down Trinidad and Tobago’s colonial-era laws against same-sex conduct. It’s the first time the court has ruled on whether laws like this are constitutional, and the decision could reach other Commonwealth countries.

Then: OutVote, the LGBTQ+ youth group that registered more than 6,000 new voters in swing districts in Iowa, Michigan, and North Carolina before last week’s midterms. Queer journalism pioneer Tracy Baim lays out her plan to keep LGBTQ+ media alive. And Jonathan Bailey and Bill Nighy are cast as real-life partners Bill Hayes and Oliver Sacks in Dominic Cooke’s Insomniac City.

New episodes every weekday. Follow the show and find more at listenupgirl.com.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on Listen Up Girl, Zach Randles-Friedman covers the Supreme Court's order throwing out a 10th Circuit ruling that protected trans women in jail from strip searches by male officers, sending Darlene Griffith's case back for another look. In Florida, Republican Marshall Rawson wins House District 10 despite reports linking him to posts calling for LGBTQ+ people to be executed and to the 2017 Charlottesville rally. In Tasmania, the University of Tasmania shuts down queer Palawa/Pakana artist Cody Gangell-Smith's debut solo show after one day. In Perth, the Pink Rabbit Club returns to the City of Perth with a scaled-back plan after the council rejected the LGBTQIA+ venue in July. Flesh wins season eight of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, the show's last season on British broadcast TV before it moves to streaming. And pro beach volleyball player Alex Ukkelberg comes out as gay.

Daily LGBTQ+ news, in about 11 minutes.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on Listen Up Girl, Zach Randles-Friedman covers a post-midterm White House shake-up: Stephen Miller, founder of America First Legal, takes over as chief of staff, while Harmeet Dhillon resigns as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Maggie Ellis becomes the first woman and first out LGBTQ+ person elected to lead the Texas Supreme Court, and Navy SEAL veteran Brett Jones becomes Alabama's first openly gay sheriff. South Korea apologizes for a youth counseling manual that called homosexuality a form of delinquency. In Fiji, a government official pushes to write a same-sex marriage ban into the new constitution ahead of a December 9 referendum. West Hollywood creates a domestic partnership registry for polyamorous families, 41 years after its first same-sex registry. And Alanis Morissette comes out as pansexual on the Handsome podcast.

A White House Shake-Up — Stephen Miller, founder of America First Legal, becomes White House chief of staff on November 9 after Susie Wiles' exit. Harmeet Dhillon resigns from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division after about 18 months, during which roughly 300 lawyers were pushed out, 36 Illinois school districts were investigated over LGBTQ+ classroom content, and a Kansas school district was sued over student transitions. Rep. Robert Garcia says Oversight Democrats will investigate Miller.

Firsts in Texas and Alabama — Maggie Ellis defeats Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock to become the first woman and first out LGBTQ+ person elected to lead the Texas Supreme Court, and the first out LGBTQ+ person elected statewide in Texas. Four Democrats won seats on the court, which remains 5-4 Republican. In Madison County, Alabama, former Navy SEAL Brett Jones unseats two-term Sheriff Kevin Turner to become the state's first openly gay sheriff.

South Korea Apologizes — The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family apologizes for a youth counseling manual that listed homosexuality as a "delinquency-related issue" alongside sexual violence, theft, and drug abuse. The language, in editions from 2019 and 2025, is being removed.

Fiji's Marriage Fight — Apostles Fellowship International, led by Assistant Health Minister Penioni Ravunawa, proposes a constitutional definition of marriage as one man and one woman ahead of Fiji's December 9 constitutional referendum. The draft still bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

West Hollywood Does It Again — The City Council votes 5-0 to create a registry for multi-partner domestic relationships, with hospital and jail visitation rights and some tenant protections. West Hollywood created the nation's first same-sex domestic partnership registry in 1985.

Alanis Morissette Comes Out — On the Handsome podcast with Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Mae Martin, Alanis Morissette says, "I'm pansexual."

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on Listen Up Girl: Scott Wiener wins Nancy Pelosi's seat and becomes the first openly gay person to represent San Francisco in Congress, Cait Conley flips New York's 17th District, Janelle Sarauw becomes the U.S. Virgin Islands' first out delegate to Congress, and Amanda Gonzalez is set to become Colorado's first out secretary of state. In Germany, more than half of this year's 299 Pride marches were attacked or disrupted, and physical assaults on marchers nearly quintupled. The Beijing Queer Film Festival is cancelled the night before opening after weeks of police pressure. A Tokyo court orders a Kofu city assembly member to pay damages to Akutagawa Prize winner Li Kotomi for outing her. Senegal puts 32 people on trial on November 12 while Dakar hosts the Youth Olympics. And Greater Palm Springs Pride celebrates its 40th anniversary this weekend.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Yesterday was the rainbow wave. Today, the other side of election night: anti-trans sports measures passed in Nebraska (Measure 442) and Arizona (Prop 318), and are leading in Washington (I-638) and Colorado (Prop 134), even as Democrats swept those blue states.

Also today: the Supreme Court hears St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, where Catholic preschools want Colorado's public funding while turning away children of LGBTQ+ parents. The FDA gives tentative approval to Dr. Reddy's generic lenacapavir, the twice-yearly PrEP shot, at $40 a year for 120 lower-income countries. An estimated 150,000 people march at Taiwan Pride after the Commander D police raid. Thomas Bradley becomes Queensland's governor and Australia's first openly gay state governor. And Celebrity Traitors winners Sebastian Croft and Romesh Ranganathan give their £83,000 BBC prize to refugee charities, including one for LGBTQ+ refugees.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It was a blue wave, and a rainbow one. In this special election edition of Listen Up Girl, Zach Randles-Friedman breaks down the biggest LGBTQ+ wins of the 2026 midterms.

Chris Pappas becomes the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate. JD Ford, JoAnna Mendoza, Marni von Wilpert, and Jeremy Moss help flip and win House seats, while Robert Garcia lines up to chair House Oversight. Sarah McBride wins a second term, and Bentley Hudgins and Joanna Whaley make history in Georgia and Michigan. Virginia writes marriage equality into its constitution, Missouri rejects Amendment 3, Texas rejects the anti-trans ad playbook, Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history, and Maura Healey and Tina Kotek win second terms.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's Election Day, and Virginia voters decide Question 2, which would remove the state's 2006 same-sex marriage ban from its constitution. Gov. Abigail Spanberger made her closing pitch at Babes of Carytown in Richmond alongside HRC President Kelley Robinson and Equality Virginia's Narissa Rahaman.

Also today on Listen Up Girl: India's Special Intensive Revision strikes more than 130 million names from voter rolls, and activists say trans voters are hit hardest. Northern Ireland's Turing's Law scheme has granted zero pardons in eight years. Catalan prosecutors seek nearly eight years in prison for two police officers accused of torturing a gay Arab man in Barcelona. More than 150 LGBTQ+ Wikipedia editors from 30 countries meet in Montreal for Queering Wiki 2026. And the B-52s receive their Hollywood Walk of Fame star with a tribute to Ricky Wilson.

Listen Up Girl is a daily LGBTQ+ news podcast hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman. New episodes every day. 🌐 listenupgirl.com 📲 @TheRealZachRE

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on Listen Up Girl, the day before Election Day: Long Island congressional candidate Chris Gallant turns a tabloid leak of leather photos into his "Make Politics Sexy Again" campaign. Georgia librarian LaVonnia Moore files a federal lawsuit after being fired over a trans-inclusive picture book display. A new Uncloseted Media investigation finds Guy Hammond's Strength in Weakness ministry still selling programs to Canadians four years after the country banned conversion therapy. Russia's anti-LGBTQ "extremism" law starts fining people who supported it. An 18-year-old is charged after a dating app lure and group attack in an Ellisville, Missouri park. And we remember Sir Patrick Stewart, actor and lifelong LGBTQ+ ally, who died at 86.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Republicans have spent an estimated $183 million on anti-trans TV ads this midterm season, and one ad's narrator has a child endangerment conviction of her own. ICE mocks a deported Malian man's asylum claim with a "Fake & Gay" post. A young gay man in Cameroon is attacked after a dating app setup. Swiss tennis player Mika Brunold says coming out helped his game. A new 3D model lets you walk through the original 1969 Stonewall Inn. And D.C. runs its 39th High Heel Race.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Five days before the midterms, Listen Up Girl looks at what openly LGBTQ+ lawmakers could do if Democrats take the House, from Robert Garcia potentially leading the House Oversight Committee to Mark Takano on Veterans' Affairs and Tammy Baldwin on Senate appropriations.

Also today: Kansas Senate candidate and United Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton goes viral after saying politicians shouldn't bully or pick on trans people. Australia mourns Robert French, the activist and historian who helped lead the fight to decriminalize gay sex in New South Wales. The Tom of Finland Foundation lays off its staff and moves its collection out of the historic Tom House in Los Angeles. And Cheyenne Jackson launches One Job Away to help actors keep their SAG-AFTRA health insurance, after Kathy Bates helped him keep his.

Listen Up Girl is a daily LGBTQ+ news podcast hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman. New episodes every day. 🌐 listenupgirl.com 📲 @TheRealZachRE

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.