This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine

“It is the woman who has to speak, and it’s not only the woman Anaïs who has to speak, but I who have to speak for many women.” So says the Cuban-French essayist and novelist in this 1966 reading from the first volume of “The Diary of Anais Nin,” presented in commemoration of Women’s History Month by poet Steven Reigns, Chair of the Anaïs Nin Foundation (produced by Brian DeShazor).

Warm remembrances for the March birthdays of Alexandra Billings, the first female transgender actor to portray “Mama Rose” in “Gypsy,” and gay playwright Tennessee Williams, recalling his first meeting with Marlon Brando (courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives). More queer milestones include the birthday of ACT-UP, its Bisexual Health Awareness Month, and International Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31st (a Rainbow Rewind written by Sheri Lunn and produced by co-host Brian DeShazor).

And in NewsWrap: India’s anti-trans proposal sparks protests, New South Wales acts to stop dating app ambushes, Olympics “sex testing” plan outrages human rights advocates, Trump’s new visa rules call neutral “X” passports “gender fraud,” California and New York lead U.S. states fighting Health and Human Services for trans kids’ care, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and John Dyer V (News Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor).

All this on the March 23, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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In a genre-bending story about a quest to conquer evil and save the world, the young-adult characters of Kestral Gaian’s “The Boy From Elsewhere” take a trek through the multiverse where nothing is quite what it seems. The poet, playwright, essayist, composer and author discusses the importance of queer visibility in young adult fiction in a conversation with This Way Out’s David Hunt.

And in NewsWrap: Senegal’s National Assembly almost unanimously passes a bill to double the punishments for same-sex sexual activity, a Kenyan court convicts two assailants in a gay assault and extortion case, a U.S. federal appeals court issues a precedent-setting ruling against Medicaid-funded gender-affirming surgery, a Kansas judge refuses to block the invalidation of transgender people’s government identification and the ban their use of public bathrooms, the New Hampshire House passes extreme trans bathroom ban, Trump demands Congress add anti-trans laws to the SAVE America voter suppression bill, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ret and Michael Taylor Gray (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the March 16, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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Anti-LGBTQI hate crimes are on the rise in Australia. In New South Wales nearly 200 violent incidents have been reported since 2023, many involving men lured by gay dating apps (Michael Brown reports from Sydney).

Plus: we announce the passing of This Way Out Co-founder and Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon.

And in NewWrap: Russian repression strikes again with the designation of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Coming Out as an “extremist organization,” “deviant culture” is how a new Deputy Minister in Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government wants to refer to LGBT people, Maryland parents who sued their local school district over LGBTQ-themed storybooks are now one and a half million dollars richer, the international music, art and cultural festival KOLFEST is being targeted by Kyrgyzstan officials based on its alleged promotion of LGBTQ life, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the March 9, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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Extended Podcast Edition: Gender and Love Along the Nile with Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell

Award-winning Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell of Lost Treasures of Egypt explores diverse expressions of love, gender, and identity woven into the civilizations of the ancient Nile in conversation with Brian DeShazor.

This is a special podcast extended interview with Dr. Colleen Darnell, an award-winning Egyptologist trained at Yale University and vintage fashion enthusiast. Colleen is a world expert on ancient Egyptian culture and daily life, co-author of Tutankhamun’s Armies and Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth with her husband Dr. John Darnell. Brian discovered her in National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Egypt. In this conversation, Brian explores with her gender, love, and identities of the Nile’s ancient civilizations (with music by MASHROU’ LEILA, LOREENA McKENNIT and Ancient Egypt by SEMION KRIVENKO-ADAMOV, the latter licensed under an attribution-noncommercial-noderivitives 4/0 international license.

Check out Colleen's live Zoom classes on hieroglyphics and special lectures at www.colleendarnell.com —follow her on IG @vintage_egyptologist

for all things Ancient Egypt and don’t forget the fabulous fashion!

Award-winning Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell of Lost Treasures of Egypt explores diverse expressions of love, gender, and identity woven into the civilizations of the ancient Nile in conversation with Brian DeShazor.

And in NewWrap: Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise face life in prison in Uganda for kissing “in broad daylight,” increasing the penalty for what it calls “unnatural acts” in Senegal is the goal of a bill introduced by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, the gay dating apps Grindr and Blued are now blocked in Malaysia, the drug trials that provided transgender minors in the United Kingdom with the only way to get puberty blockers have been paused, two Kansas trans men are filing suit to stop the state from revoking all government documents that reflect corrected gender identities, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the March 2, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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Against a backdrop of violent anti-semitic and anti-indigenous attacks and the relaxation of police restraints in response to them, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras organizers are faced with twin controversies: the withdrawal of the Jewish group Dayenu from the event and demands for the expulsion of the New South Wales Police contingent. Veteran activist Ken Davis explains the situation (Barry McKay reports).

New Yorkers defy the Trump administration and replace the rainbow flag the government “disappeared” from the Stonewall National Monument (Paul DeRienzo of WBAI reports).

A Black History Month Rainbow Rewind honors Langston Hughes (produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor).

And in NewWrap: the European Parliament approves a resolution specifically calling for “the full recognition of trans women as women,” HIV-positive enlistees are once again banned from serving in the U.S. military, intersex children are now protected from undergoing unnecessary medical procedures without their informed consent in the Australian state of Victoria, Kansans can now sue if they’re upset after sharing a bathroom with a trans person, U.S. Olympic women’s ice hockey team captain Hilary Knight leads her team to gold and plans to lead speed skater Brittany Bowe to the altar, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Nico Raquel and Ret (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the February 23, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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Was Donald Trump’s personal antipathy towards Don Lemon the real reason behind the gay African American journalist’s arrest? Lemon made a surprise appearance at the Human Rights Campaign’s New York City gala, then spoke out for the First Amendment after his initial court appearance.

The pioneering work on sexual liberation of Anais Nin and notable February dates in LGBTQ+ history in the Rainbow Rewind (produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor).

And in NewWrap: cohabitating same-gender couples in the Philippines can now be recognized as joint owners of property that they acquire during their relationship, trans people in the U.K. can use bathrooms and changing rooms that match their gender identity – except in the workplace, public school officials in the U.K. are being directed to notify parents if their child’s behavior suggests that they are questioning their gender identity, New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte for the second time vetoes a bill to require trans students to use sex-segregated school bathrooms and changing facilities that match their gender assigned at birth, embattled U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s fiery five-hour joust with minority Democrats culminated in an explosive confrontation with Vermont’s lesbian Congress member Becca Balint, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Sarah Montague and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the February 16, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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A 1963 conversation with one of the queer pillars of the Harlem Renaissance features Langston Hughes reading his short story, “Thank You, Ma’am” (interviewed by Eve Corey, produced by Brian DeShazor).

Alice Walker’s birthday and notable LGBTQ February events are celebrated in the “Rainbow Rewind.”

And in NewsWrap: the first case against a gay man for violating Uganda’s so-called “Kill the Gays” law is dismissed after the damage has already been done, transgender female athletes receiving hormone therapy have no physical advantage over their cisgender counterparts according to new research, fewer transgender people were murdered around the world between October 2024 and September 2025 with the numbers still alarming, a Christian teacher is fighting a losing battle against the Montgomery County Maryland Public School District’s policy on using the chosen names and pronouns of her trans and nonbinary students, a record number of proud LGBTQ athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics, thousands hit the streets of Melbourne on February 1st for the 31st annual Midsumma Pride March, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the February 9, 2026 edition of This Way Out!

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An indigiqueer Creating Change keynoter calls for radical inclusion; the E.U.’s rights council urges all member states to ban conversion therapy, Russia declares ILGA “undesirable”, Budapest’s mayor is officially charged with criminally allowing last year’s LGBTQ Pride march, Missouri’s top court upholds the state’s ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, and an expelled trans Space Force colonel announces her U.S. congressional run.

Those stories and more this week when you choose “This Way Out”.

Credits: Hosted this week by Lucia Chappelle and produced with Greg Gordon. “NewsWrap” reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Ava Davis and produced by Brian DeShazor. Jenn Deerinwater feature produced by Greg Gordon with thanks to Cathy Renna and The National LGBTQ Task Force. Theme music: Kim Wilson. Additional music: Paul Simon; Ty Defoe.

In our 38th year satisfying your weekly minimum requirement of LGBTQ news and culture!

Zach Wahls for U.S. Senate

It didn’t take long after his historic 2011 appearance before the Iowa state legislature to testify about his two-mom family for 19-year-old Zach Wahls to take his place as a senator in that body. Now he’s running to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate (produced by Greg Gordon, archival interview by Steve Pride).

A bouquet of January birthdays and ONE early movement legal victory are remembered in the Rainbow Rewind (produced by Brian DeShazor and Sheri Lunn).

And in NewsWrap: federal guidance on workplace harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity is eliminated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. House Democrats claim victory over a raft of anti-transgender riders to major funding bills for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Labor, right-wing Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk upholds West Texas A&M University’s ban on campus drag shows, financial woes force the closure of the organization that produces Tucson, Arizona’s annual Pride event, the two heartthrobs of the wildly popular TV series “Heated Rivalry” will carry the flame in the Winter Olympics Torch Relay, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor).

All this on the January, 26 2026 edition of This Way Out!

Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.