Talk Out Loud - Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex LGBT LGBTQ Stories

On this episode of Talk Out Loud we are joined by the talented Michael D. Cohen from Nickelodeon's hit sit-coms Henry Danger and Danger Force where he plays the genius, Schwoz Schwartz. Michael shares how a degree in molecular biology gave him a different understanding of how everything works while pursuing his dreams at all costs. All the while, he was fully living authentically to get there!

Sophie Santos is a tv writer and comedian behind The Lesbian Agenda Show and we are diving into her hilarious and heartfelt memoir, The One You Want to Marry (And Other Identities I’ve Had). 

Sophie is the only child of a perpetually transferring Filipino, Spanish, US Army officer and a spitfire nurse, she spent her early years starting over again and again―and accumulating her fair share of anxieties. 

This led her to creating a life that she realized was not the one that she truly wanted. In her memoir she shares just how she found her way while using her brilliant wit and remarkable sense of humor!

Max Harwood and Lauren Patel star in the film adaptation of the award-winning hit musical from London’s West End, Everybody’s Talking About Jaime.

Inspired by true events,  the film tells the story of Jamie New, played by Max Harwood, a teenager in a blue-collar English town with a dream of life on stage. While his classmates plan their livelihoods after graduation, Jamie contemplates revealing his secret career ambition. He wants to a fabulous and proud drag queen.

His best friend Pritti played by Lauren Patel and his loving mom shower him with endless support.  Local drag legend, Miss Loco Chanelle, played by Richard E. Grant, mentors him toward his debut stage performance.

But it’s not all rainbows for Jamie. His deadbeat dad, an uninspired career advisor, and some ignorant school kids, attempt to rain on his sensational aspirations. With rousing and colorful musical numbers, Jamie and his community inspire one another to be more accepting. They come together to see the value in facing adversity and stepping out of the darkness into the spotlight.  

Alexandra Grey is an actress, musician, and screenwriter. Alexandra lost her mom at a young age and grew up in Chicago in seven different foster homes. Her relationship with God sustained her over the years through some tough times. She knew that she had a story to tell as a black trans woman and had to keep going. 

Holding on to the wise words of a friend, she took a leap of faith. With little money in her pocket, she moved to Los Angeles, to pursue her dream. Navigating her way through the Hollywood network, she eventually broke through and began working as an actress. 

Through hard work, determination, and much faith, Alexandra has been able to play important roles. This includes Lucy Hicks Anderson in the HBO Documentary, Equal, and Stonewall activist Marsha P. Johnson in Comedy Central’s, Drunk History. You can also find her helping to solve the case as Parker Phillips in the fifth season of the CBS action-adventure series MacGyver. 

From a young age, Justin Mikita has had a love for performing. His passion got him accepted into UCLA’s theater program. That experience did not go as planned which led to him switching majors and becoming an attorney.

While studying he would meet his husband to be, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Their work would parallel one another. Jesse changed hearts and minds playing a gay man on ABC’s hit show, Modern Family. Justin worked diligently on the legal front to help overturn California’s controversial Prop 8 and achieve marriage equality across the country.  

Justin's activism has also come through his organization, Tie the Knot, and with the film, Welcome to Chechnya. Today because of their and countless other's work they get to celebrate their first Father’s Day this weekend with their son Beckett that they welcomed during the pandemic. 

River Gallo is a GLAAD award-winning Salvadoran-American filmmaker, actor, writer, model, and intersex activist. Growing up in New Jersey, River experienced the concept of hiding your true self at times for survival purposes. Particularly as a child of immigrants, living in a predominantly white area. They also had to hide their non-consensual operation as an intersex teen. 

Beginning to find themselves in the arts, River’s dream led them to NYU and eventually to USC. This is where their thesis would become the first-ever intersex short film, Ponyboi. In creating the film they came to find that they were not alone.

Today, River is working to create representation and understanding of intersex people through film, television, and theatre. They are working on making Ponyboi a full-length feature with Ezra Miller and with interACT to fight for intersex human rights.

Mack made history when he went undefeated to win the Texas State women's wrestling championship in 2018.  He identifies as male but as a result of a ruling by Texas' University Interscholastic League, he was required to compete with the team aligned with the sex stated on his birth certificate.  He now amplifies his story to help create understanding and dialogue for the next generation of athletes. 

Today Mack shares about his personal spiritual journey since high school in self-acceptance, learning noble universal life truths, and healthy boundaries. We also learn why he was inspired to change majors in college from exercise science to psychology focusing on human development and social change in the world.

Just in time for Pride month, Changing the Game, the Hulu Original Documentary, debuts following Mack and two other high school transgender athletes all at different stages of their athletic seasons, personal lives, and their unique paths as transgender teens.

Photo Credit: Ben O'Neil 

Excited to announce a special pride series featuring influential members of the LGBTQIA+ community.  Every Wednesday in June, we will be releasing a new episode. The guest lineup will include Mack Beggs who is a noted athlete featured in the upcoming Hulu Original Documentary about transgender athletes "Changing the Game";  River Gallo writer, co-director, actor in the film Ponyboi and an intersex rights activist; Justin Mikita, producer and activist, co-founder of Tie the Knot; and Alexandra Grey, actress, and recent OUT Magazine cover star.

Dr. Kristin Beasley, better known as Dr. B., by her clients is a clinical psychologist.  She is the Founder of Leave a Lifeprint Coaching and Consulting and the host of the podcast, Delusional Optimism. Her passion is empowering people to heal trauma and build resilience specifically when it comes to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Today she shares about navigating her own childhood trauma, coming out after being married to a man for 20 years, and what life is like today.

Harma Hartouni is a self-made entrepreneur, proud husband, father, and survivor. Born in the U.S. and raised in Iran, Harma learned at a young age that he needed to rely on himself. After surviving a tragic accident, came with it the opportunity to move to the United States. Once arriving in LA he began to embrace the gay man that he was and live from the inside out. This would lead him to become a successful business owner and create a family of his own. Harma has embraced the challenges that he has faced and used that tenacity to continue to move his life forward. He talks about his life story in his new book, Getting Back Up: A Story of Resilience, Self-Acceptance & Success. And today, we are just scratching the surface of his journey.