Outward is going on a little summer break, in the meantime we’re leaving you with a delightfully queer episode of Slate’s Hit Parade with Chris Molanphy:

Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom.

What all of these LGBTQ artists had in common was bold hitmaking—and fear of being fully out of the closet. For decades, queer acts topped the charts while cloaking their true identities and paving the way for today’s more openly queer stars.

For Pride Month, join Chris Molanphy as he traces the hidden history of queer hitmakers on the charts—including those that managed to be both out and No. 1, right up through our modern age of Lil Nas X and Chappell Roan. It’s a celebration of these artists’ quest to feel… mighty real.

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When Kendrick Lamar took the Super Bowl halftime stage in 2025 and had the stadium chanting along to “Not Like Us”, it was clear: diss tracks had gone stratospheric.

The Kendrick vs. Drake beef echoes legendary rap rivalries like Biggie vs. Tupac and Jay Z vs. Nas—but diss tracks stretch back through a century of American pop, long before hip-hop, all the way to the days of Tin Pan Alley. From Eddie Cantor and James Brown, to John Lennon and Carly Simon, to Kool Moe Dee and Lauryn Hill, artists have been turning personal grudges into hits for over a century.

Step this way and join Chris Molanphy as he traces the history of answer records, diss tracks and rap beefs that shaped the charts and the culture.

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This week, Bryan is joined by theologian, activist, and ballroom historian Michael Roberson to discuss his new book, Ballroom: A History, A Movement, A Celebration. Roberson traces the rich legacy of the ballroom scene—from its origins in resistance and survival, to its role in shaping public health responses during the height of the AIDS crisis and beyond, to its ongoing significance as a spiritual and communal refuge for Black and Latinx queer and trans people. 

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A federal force—often defying local governance—coming to take people away without due process has happened before. What lessons can be drawn from parallels between a law that led to the Civil War and what’s happening today with Trump’s hardline immigration enforcement?

Guest: Jamelle Bouie, columnist at the New York Times

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom.

What all of these LGBTQ artists had in common was bold hitmaking—and fear of being fully out of the closet. For decades, queer acts topped the charts while cloaking their true identities and paving the way for today’s more openly queer stars.

For Pride Month, join Chris Molanphy as he traces the hidden history of queer hitmakers on the charts—including those that managed to be both out and No. 1, right up through our modern age of Lil Nas X and Chappell Roan. It’s a celebration of these artists’ quest to feel… mighty real.

Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, bonus episodes of "The Bridge," and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom.

What all of these LGBTQ artists had in common was bold hitmaking—and fear of being fully out of the closet. For decades, queer acts topped the charts while cloaking their true identities and paving the way for today’s more openly queer stars.

For Pride Month, join Chris Molanphy as he traces the hidden history of queer hitmakers on the charts—including those that managed to be both out and No. 1, right up through our modern age of Lil Nas X and Chappell Roan. It’s a celebration of these artists’ quest to feel… mighty real.

Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, bonus episodes of "The Bridge," and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of Nevermind, Nirvana’s genre-defining breakthrough, is a familiar one. Less well known is the saga of Billboard’s Modern Rock chart—and how college-rock staples of the 1980s like R.E.M. and The Cure gave way to heavier, more commercially dominant groups of the ‘90s like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins. What sparked the grungification of the charts? How did Modern Rock become the new Top 40? And how did the Seattle sound pave the way for post-grunge bands like Sublime, Third Eye Blind, and even Creed?

Join Chris Molanphy as he explores alternative rock’s evolution from the cutting edge to the middle of the road.

Podcast production by Olivia Briley and Kevin Bendis

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Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim are joined by Slate staff writer Molly Olmstead to talk all things Pope Leo XIV, who made the internet go wild following a highly-covered conclave, strong Chicago ties, and a digital footprint that keeps unfurling. But another reason the Pope has seemed more exposed than ever before is because for some groups online, it’s becoming trendy to be Catholic. They break down the first days of our new pope and how recent converts are creating a new Catholic culture that not all Catholics are happy about.

This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay.

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The story of Nevermind, Nirvana’s genre-defining breakthrough, is a familiar one. Less well known is the saga of Billboard’s Modern Rock chart—and how college-rock staples of the 1980s like R.E.M. and The Cure gave way to heavier, more commercially dominant groups of the ‘90s like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins. What sparked the grungification of the charts? How did Modern Rock become the new Top 40? And how did the Seattle sound pave the way for post-grunge bands like Sublime, Third Eye Blind, and even Creed?

Join Chris Molanphy as he explores alternative rock’s evolution from the cutting edge to the middle of the road.

Podcast production by Olivia Briley and Kevin Bendis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been nearly a decade since Rihanna released a studio album—and fans and critics alike have wondered when, if ever, a follow-up to 2016’s Anti might arrive. Which is ironic, because in her heyday, Rihanna was the most productive hitmaker on the charts.

Churning out at least one album a year in the late aughts and early ‘10s,  Rihanna’s approach to the charts was closer to early Motown or the Beatles than Beyoncé or Taylor. The result: the Barbadian pop deity scored more No. 1s than any 21st century artist, from “SOS” and “Umbrella” through “Diamonds” and “Work.” 

Join Chris Molanphy as he traces Rihanna’s journey from tropical tyro to commanding chart queen and explores how she found hits at a boundless pace.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

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