Queer Colombian Salvadoran Alejandro Varela is one of my favorite living writers. His work weaves together comedy and tragedy as if it was the easiest thing in the world. His first novel, The Town of Babylon, is about growing up queer and brown in a place where neither is possible. His second book, The People Who Report More Stress, begins with a short story about gay hookups at the U.N. I had the honor of interviewing him in mid-October when he was in Philly to promote his new book, Middle Spoon. We nerd out about the craft of writing, explore how his public health background shapes the way he sees the world, and discuss how white supremacy leaves immigrants of color blaming themselves for failing to achieve the American Dream.

Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia.

Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

Charles A. Bush is a Black queer writer from West Philadelphia. In this interview, we dive deep into their first book, Every Variable of Us, a love story between two high school girls, one Black and one Indian American. Listen in to find out how much of the story is based on Charles' real life. It's much more than I expected. Find Charles at @Charles_A_Bush on Instagram and TikTok and @CharlesBush10 on X.

Trigger warning for discussion of domestic violence.

Read the interview at scribd.com/artactivistnia.

Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

Bangladeshi Irish novelist Adiba Jaigirdar writes love stories with queer brown girls as protagonists. In this interview, we discuss risk-taking in the publishing industry, racism in Ireland, and do deep dives into three of her novels. We discuss the interracial (Brazilian-Bengali) relationship in The Henna Wars (2020), the interfaith (Hindu-Muslim) relationship Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating (2021), and representing fatphobia without depressing the audience in The Dos and Donuts of Love (2023).

Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia. Photo by Aleksandria Rudenko. Transcription by Amirah Mizrahi.

Gay Iranian author Abdi Nazemian joins Nia to drop some intergenerational wisdom. We dive deep into his queer young adult novels: Desert Echoes, about addiction and grief; Only This Beautiful Moment, about three generations (two queer) of an Iranian family; and Like A Love Story, about coming of age at the height of the AIDS epidemic. In the process, he explains what it was like growing up in the '80s, why he's grateful to an ex for forcing him out of the closet, and how Madonna saved his life. Transcript available here.

Lamya H., the author of Hijab Butch Blues (she/they) is a bit of an enigma. In the memoir (and this interview), she never reveals which South Asian country she was born in or which Middle Eastern country she grew up in, and Lamya H. is a pen name. However, the book is not sparse on details when it comes to their experiences of racism, sexism, homophobia, and Islamophobia, or in chronicling their attempts to find and/or build progressive queer Muslim community in the U.S. after moving here for college. In this interview, we discuss her love of sports, the power of interracial Muslim friendships, and passages from the Quran around which she structured her story.

Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

Comedian Tan Hoang discusses moving from Vietnam to the Philly suburbs at age 9, transitioning at acting school, and how training as an actor made her a better stand-up. She also tells stories of hosting Pride events in small towns, being recognized when she's out with her mom, and being a "peacocky-ass kid" and an aspiring rock star in a dying genre. If you live near Philly, catch her at Tattooed Momedy on the last Tuesday of every month!

Photo by Casey O'Donnell. Transcript available at scribd.com/artactivistnia thanks to transcriber Amirah Mizrahi!

Jonny Garza Villa (they/them), author of three young adult novels, discusses growing up queer and Mexican in a small Texas town, how getting into astrology helped them develop characters, and how pettiness can serve as inspiration. This is a deep dive into their books Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun (2021), Ander + Santi Were Here (2023), and Canto Contigo (2024), with a teaser for their forthcoming adult novel Futbolista at the end.

Transcript available at scribd.com/artactivistnia thanks to transcriber Amirah Mizrahi!

Growing up, reading and writing were things that made Sonora Reyes feel "dumb" in school. So how did they get from there to writing the Lamba Literary Award-winning, National Book Award-nominated Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School? In this interview, Sonora discusses healing their relationship to writing through fanfiction, growing up with a combination of brown pride and gay shame, and receiving an autism diagnosis later in life. Listen to the interview at qtpocart.libsyn.com. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

Read the transcript here. Support the podcast here.

A panel featuring four of Nia King's favorite artists: Sawyer Lovett, Joe Hatton, Vo Vo, and Cristy C. Road. Zines played a crucial role in reducing social isolation for many of us, whether we were one of the only punks of color in our scene (Nia in Boston, Joe in the Dakotas, and Vo in Sydney, Australia), or the only gay in our rural Virginia town (Sawyer). Cristy C. Road discusses growing up in Miami's predominantly Black and brown punk scene and using zines to process heartbreak and trauma.

Other important zinesters that received shout-outs (or should have include):

• Mimi Thi Nguyen
• Jackie Wang
• Lauren Jade Martin
• Suzy X
• Osa Atoe
• Adee Roberson
• Lawrence Lindell
• Breena Nuñez
• Ajuan Mance
• the Queer Zine Archive Project
• Jenna Freedman/the Barnard Zine Library
• this list truly never ends.

Shout out to Amirah Mizrahi for the transcription and Maliha Ahmed for running tech.

We Want the Airwaves celebrates 10 years with a panel featuring six of the artists from Queer & Trans Artists of Color, Volume Three: Anthony J. Williams, Kamal Al-Soylaylee, Joamette Gil, Venus Kii Thomas, Qwo-Li Driskill, and Osa Atoe! (This is the first part of a two-part episode, so you will only hear Ant, Kamal, and Jo on it.) This panel is co-hosted by Maliha Ahmed, co-editor of Queer & Trans Artists of Color, Volume Three, and sponsored by the Aydelotte Foundation, Black Studies, Film & Media Studies, and the Libraries at Swarthmore College. Art by Gabriela Riveros and Dan Nosheny. Tune back in next month for part two!

Read the transcript here.

Support the podcast here.