The Gaily Show

The 2025 Chicago Journalist of the Year, Jake Wittich, joins us for a special episode of Unpack This For Me. While you know him as a featured contributor to The Gaily Show (bi-weekly on Wednesdays), we take this opportunity for him to unpack how he goes about his work. What does it mean to be a queer journalist when the federal government is dominated by MAGA and using that power to attack the LGBTQ community in blue cities? By sharing his story, we learn more about what it takes to produce quality journalism in a time when the federal government is pumping out dozens of fake news stories and conspiracy theories by the hour.

Windy City Times has been the voice of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community since 1985. This year marks the news outlet’s 40th anniversary of uplifting queer stories, reporting with Pride and chronicling LGBTQ+ history. Visit WindyCityTimes.com/newsletters to sign up for the publication’s weekly LGBTQ+ news updates.

Jake Wittich is managing editor of Windy City Times, where he reports in-depth stories on Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community and oversees the publication’s growing newsletter operation. And the Chicago Journalist’s Association named him Journalist of the Year 2025.   

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, Gay Literature, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast

Joe Reberkenny, White House Correspondent for the Washington Blade shares about his exclusive interview with the expelled Congressman who was convicted of wire fraud and identity theft. And then George Santos was pardoned by Trump.

And, Arlington Texas has voted to remove protections for its LGBTQ residents. We break down the story.

Plus, we will take a look at local news from across the continent, including:

Alberta Canada is importing anti-trans legislation from the American South

Trans People in Kentucky Are on Edge. Some Are Arming Up.

City of Erie earns perfect score of 100 on Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Municipal Equality Index

Since 1969, The Washington Blade has been the nation’s independent source for fearless reporting earning the paper the moniker “the newspaper of record for the LGBTQ+ community.” Read their award-winning journalism at more than 100 locations throughout the DC region and online at washingtonblade.com. Read all of Joe’s reporting here: https://www.washingtonblade.com/author/joe-reberkenny/

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover news, politics, books, theatre, movies, and more in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, Texas, and beyond! Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow

Minnesota-based Gender Justice has scored a victory for incarcerated transgender people in Hennepin County (MN). Lead attorney Sara Jane Baldwin discusses the case of how the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office wrongly classified a transgender man impacting his status and unit assignment.

Gender Justice is a Minnesota-based legal and advocacy organization. Learn more about their work here: https://www.genderjustice.us/about-us/

Plus, we take a look at the latest LGBTQ headlines from across the country, including:

LGBTQ rights in Arlington, Texas.

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, Gay Literature, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast

This week, MAGA will debate how much your healthcare will cost in 2026. Their plan to make your healthcare premiums more affordable is not going great.

Chris Armstrong is running in the 2026 Democratic Primary for the 7th Congressional District in Wisconsin. He joins us to talk about what he will do as Wisconsin’s newest Representative in Congress if Wisconsinites send him to Congress in 2026. Learn more about Chris Armstrong’s campaign here: https://www.armstrongforwisconsin.com. Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/armstrong4wi.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Armstrong-for-Congress/61574862583432/

Plus, we take a look at the latest LGBTQ headlines from across the country, including: transgender healthcare wins in court and Congress, Instagram deleting queer-inclusive accounts, new LGBTQ senior housing, and the University of Oklahoma suspending pro-science instructors.

And finally the latest episode of Heated Rivalry dropped on HBO Max last night. We take a look at the gay hockey drama and give our thoughts on whether you should check it out. New episodes of Heated Rivalry drop every Sunday on HBO Max.

Get your tickets to the final film of the 2025 Queer Gaze series! Watch Saving Face on December 14 at 2pm at the Emagine Willow Creek Theatre. Tickets: www.emagine-entertainment.com/queer-gaze

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, Gay Literature, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast

Queer Word is a phenomenal weekly e-newsletter that introduces you to queer history and culture one word at a time. It also includes headlines about queer joy and queer rage. It’s a newsletter I personally read every week and recommend! Subscribe here: https://queer-word.beehiiv.com

Queer Word is written by K Anderson, who also hosted the Lost Spaces podcast.

Lost Spaces was a conversation based podcast where every week K Anderson spoke to a different person about a lost queer space from their past, what they got up to there, and how it helped to shape the person they’ve become. Check it out here: https://lostspacespodcast.com

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, Gay Literature, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast

The Trump administration has announced they are targeting the Minnesota Somali community. We’re going to break down what we know 24 hours into his announcement.

Plus, 2025 Chicago Journalist of the Year and Managing Editor of Windy City Times Jake Wittich will be here with his award winning reporting. Today: Chicago has officially declared the mpox outbreak over. Plus, is a rainbow wave of LGBTQ candidates coming in 2026? Jake will break it down for us. 

Windy City Times has been the voice of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community since 1985. This year marks the news outlet’s 40th anniversary of uplifting queer stories, reporting with Pride and chronicling LGBTQ+ history. Visit WindyCityTimes.com/newsletters to sign up for the publication’s weekly LGBTQ+ news updates.

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, Gay Literature, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast

What is the K Economy? It’s basically economists admitting we’re living in an economy where the rich keep getting richer and the rest of us? Not so much. Then we have a round up of the crucial LGBTQ headlines. And it’s a mini-election day in America. We check in on the races.

Plus, Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 has a new exhibition on the Joffrey Ballet. Per their website, the exhibition features “rare film from the original performance of the groundbreaking ballet Astarte and Anna Sokolow’s Opus 65, as well as costumes, props, pointe shoes, posters, correspondence, and other ephemera from the company and Robert Joffrey’s life.” The exhibition ends Dec. 20, 2025! So don’t wait!

Overview: https://wrightwood659.org/exhibitions/the-joffrey-ballet-in-the-u-s/#exhibition-overview

Tickets: https://tickets.wrightwood659.org/events?_gl=1*ehf0d1*_gcl_au*MTI3NTExODg4MS4xNzYxMTc5OTk0

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, Gay Literature, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast

The Trump administration has refused to recognize World Aids Day. We break it down. Also what is the global state of affairs when it comes to HIV? Then Dr. Samuel Clowes Huneke joins to examine the EU’s marriage equality court case from last week. Then we get into a deep dive about AI: how it’s used in universities and how it can lead to cognitive decline, depression, and harm the environment,

Dr. Samuel Clowes Huneke is an award-winning associate professor of history at George Mason University. A historian of modern Germany, he is the author of numerous books and articles, including States of Liberation: Gay Men between Dictatorship and Democracy in Cold War Germany and A Queer Theory of the State. You can buy his books and learn more about his research at his website: samuel clowes huneke dot com. 

Buy A Queer Theory of State: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9783982389462

But States of Liberation: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781487542146

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, Gay Literature, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast

For last Friday’s episode, can we update it to this? I got the wrong pronouns for one of our guests. Sorry for the extra work.

Ever looked at a rock and thought…I should climb that? Dustin Modrow is the President and Secretary of Out Climb Queer Climbing. They share how you can start your queer climbing adventures! Connect with Out Climb here: https://outclimb.gay

THEN! Playwright and poet Erik Fuhrer joins us to talk about their recent book Gellar Studies and their forthcoming book My Buffed Up Life. We’re finally talking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sarah Michelle Gellar!

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, Gay Literature, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast

Do you know how much money state economies lose when LGBTQ people leave your state? We’re going to look at new data from Missouri.

Plus, Joe Reberkenny is back with new reporting on another lawsuit against Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation, and new data on the American violence against transgender people.

Joe Reberkenny is the White House Correspondent for the Washington Blade. He is a graduate of American University where he studied Broadcast Journalism and Political Science with a focus on gender, race, and politics. He covers LGBTQ issues and political news with a particular passion for exploring queer history in the nation’s capital. Read all of his reporting here: https://www.washingtonblade.com/author/joe-reberkenny/

Since 1969, The Washington Blade has been the nation’s independent source for fearless reporting earning the paper the moniker “the newspaper of record for the LGBTQ+ community.” Read their award-winning journalism at more than 100 locations throughout the DC region and online at washingtonblade.com.

The Gaily Show is the only daily LGBTQ radio news and talk show in the U.S. Watch us on YouTube daily at 2pm. Catch us on the radio at 2pm CST on AM950 Radio (Minneapolis) or at 5am CST on WCPT 820 (Chicago). We cover LGBT news, LGBT politics, LGBT books, and LGBT movies in Minnesota, Chicago, Washington DC, and Texas. Follow us on Bluesky: @thegailyshow.org #thegailyshow #lgbtnews #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqpodcast