Morally Straight

In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I turned over the hosting chair to Sam Aronson, a friend and leader of Scouting's recent LGBTQ+ programming at national events.

Why it matters: I spent more than 5 years bringing this book to life. I discovered so many things that surprised me, and found the history of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the BSA to be incredibly relevant to the state of LGBTQ+ rights today.

In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I’m talking to Greg Bourke. He's a Scouter from Louisville who played an important role advocating for the inclusion of gay adults in the BSA.

He’s also the author of the an excellent book, “⁠Gay, Catholic, and American: My Legal Battle for Marriage Equality and Inclusion,⁠” where he recounts both his activism in the BSA and historic role as one of the named plaintiffs in the landmark United States Supreme Court decision Obergefell vs. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.

In my conversation with Bourke, we talked about:

In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I’m talking to Justin Bickford. Bickford is an Eagle Scout and Scouter from Florida who became an early and key volunteer with Scouts for Equality in 2012.

Why it matters: Bickford poured countless hours into SFE during the early days. He helped the organization get off the ground and manage its communications, and was in the room when the BSA voted to its policy banning gay youth in 2013.

In my conversation with Bickford, we talked about:

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In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I’m talking to Pascal Tessier. During a whirlwind few years of his teenage life, Tessier became a key spokesman for gay inclusion in the Boy Scouts of America.

Why it matters: Despite coming from a inclusive troop in the Washington, D.C., area, Tessier partnered with Scouts for Equality to advocate for an end to the BSA’s ban on gay youth in 2013. Just months after that policy ended, Tessier became an eagle scout, and helped usher in the later policy change for gay adults in 2015.

In my conversation with Tessier, we talked about:

In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I’m talking to Cheryl Katon. She grew up in Scouting in the 1970s and 80s, and went on to spend her entire career working for the BSA.

Why it matters: Katon wasn’t just any Scouting professional. In every council where she worked, she was an outspoken advocate for queer and, especially, trans people like herself. By the time she changed careers in 2021, she helped top BSA leaders navigate crucial policy changes that changed opened the doors to LGBTQ scouts.

In my conversation with Katon, we talked about:

* How she came to understand her gender identity as a teenager

* Her experience implementing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”-style policies on the council level before gay members were officially allowed

* Why she decided to leave professional Scouting

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In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I’m talking to Brian Knappenberger, the director of the recent Netflix documentary “Scouts Honor,” which tells the story of the Boy Scouts of America's decadeslong cover-up of sexual abuse cases.

We talked about the BSA’s many failures in leadership on this issue, and how the organization’s decision to ban LGBTQ+ members was not only a distraction—but compounded the problem of sexual abuse in the ranks.

In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I’m talking to Alison Batey. Even if you don’t think you know Batey, you surely are familiar with her work. She’s the founder of the LGBTQ+ Scouts and Allies group on Facebook, a 2,000-member community dedicated to making Scouting a better place for queer and trans kids.

But that’s not all Batey did during her time working for the Boy Scouts of America. In this episode, we talked about her many LGBTQ+ inclusion projects, the barriers she faced bringing some of them to life, and the impact she hopes to continue having as a Scouting volunteer.

In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I talked to Ry Andresen, whose story of being denied the eagle scout rank lit up headlines (and TV screens) around the country during the campaign for gay inclusion in the Boy Scouts of America.

We talked about how Andresen got involved with Scouting, their experience with bullying in the program, and what motivated them to become an activist for inclusion.

In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I’m talking to Sam Aronson, a good friend of mine, and a Scouting volunteer who has now led the creation of LGBTQ+ affinity spaces at three national events, most recently at this summer’s National Jamboree. 

We talked about what Sam saw during his two weeks at the event, how scouts interacted with the space, and what the work meant to Sam personally as a gay man and longtime scouter.

If you’re not already familiar with the affinity spaces, check out my posts about the 2021 National Council of Chiefs, the 2022 National Order of the Arrow Conference, and this year’s National Jamboree.

In this episode of the Morally Straight Podcast, I’m talking to Cate Readling and Mary Anderson, two scouters and moms from Chicago.

We talked about what inspired them to get involved in the campaign for gay inclusion, and how their Scouts for Equality chapter in Chicago became a model for organizing across the country.

P.S. If you’d rather get these episodes directly in your podcast feed, you can! Find Morally Straight on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and PocketCasts. And if you want to learn more about this story, you can pre-order the Morally Straight book here.