The Gaily Show

It’s the third Friday of the month as John welcomes in author and critic Ilana Masad for her reviews and recommendations!

Ilana Masad is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and criticism. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, NPR, The Atlantic, StoryQuartlerly, Catapult, Buzzfeed, Joyland, The Account, and many more. She is the author of the novel All My Mother’s Lovers and the forthcoming Beings.

Masad holds a PhD in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has taught a wide variety of creative writing and literature courses, and also provides editorial services to authors.

Luke Schleusner, CEO of Out in National Security, joins John to discuss LGBT issues as it relates to our military servicemembers and other national security personnel.

At the bottom of the hour, the chair of the Minnesota DFL Party Richard Carlbom will join us. We’ll talk about the midterms, Minnesota as a trans refuge state, and his reflections on leading the very successful Minnesota United For All Families campaign. Up first: the cast of the all-male and super queer production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Bryce Baxter, Jonathan Edwards, David Michaeli, Richard Rigmaiden, Leo Rossmiller, and Kashif Shakti. Get your tickets here: https://www.dreammpls.com/tickets

Broadcasting live from Golden Valley Pride, John Parker and Jim Pounds soak up the gorgeous Minnesota weather to celebrate the vibrant local LGBTQ+ community. They sit down with Pride Magic owner Chaz Raditz to unpack the personal, evolving meaning of Pride while calling out corporate pinkwashing from fair-weather sponsors. To cap it all off, they dive into the latest political news, celebrating the removal of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center and stressing the crucial need to vote in the upcoming elections.

Gregory A. Kompes’s new book Busker is out now. He joins us to discuss! Plus, Zia Varajon is here to chat about her new book Love, Your Trans Big Sister: Advice on the Transfeminine Journey

Get your copy of Busker: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798950241017. 

Get your copy of Love, Your Trans Big Sister: Advice on the Transfeminine Journey: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9798295583995 

Connect with Gregory: https://kompes.com and https://thewriterworkshop.com

Connect with Zia: https://ziavarajon.com and https://www.instagram.com/tsziaaa

 In a special 2026 Election episode, we sit down with Minnesota’s Secretary of State Steve Simon who joins us for the full hour to discuss voting rights, protecting voter data, and how MN is planning for the 2026 midterms. 

Register to vote: https://sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/register-to-vote/  

Find out what’s on your ballot: https://sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/whats-on-my-ballot/ 

Vote on Election Day: https://sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/election-day-voting/ 

Other ways to vote (mail in, absentee, etc): https://sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/other-ways-to-vote/

Rep. Nancy Mace Crashed and Burned in the South Carolina Governor primary. The US Department of Justice will not be seeking the death penalty for Vance Luther Boelter. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Pride Problem: He made big promises, but is he keeping them? And Surprise Surprise: Inflation is way up.

Another primary day in America and we look at key races that will have big impacts in 2026. Plus, MAGA can’t stand Pride month, so they’ve come up with “Nuclear Family Month” instead. It’s weird considering that the states with the highest divorce rates and single parent households seem to be MAGA states.