Cruising | Queer History and Culture

Sarah Gabrielli, Rachel Karp, and Jennifer McGinity
Cruising | Queer History and Culture

Conversations about lesbian bars, sapphic spaces, and beyond! Not sure where to start? You don’t have to listen in order! Pick your favorite city, space, or LGBTQ+ icon and dive in.  Season 1 follows creators Sarah Gabrielli, Rachel Karp, and Jen McGinity on their 2021 cross-country road trip to every lesbian bar in the U.S., sharing the stories of the humans that run these spaces and the humans that call them a home.  Season 2 features 14 more spaces, chronicling the current lesbian bar resurgence AND taking you back in time to lesbian bars of decades past. In Season 3, host Sarah Gabrielli sits down with history-making lesbians and LGBTQ+ folks to discuss all kinds of queer spaces - from bookstores, to farms, to peace encampments and more! New episodes air every other Tuesday.

  1. 27 MAY

    Angela Denise Davis on ZAMI NOBLA and moving through the world as a Black, blind, lesbian.

    This week, we sit down with Angela Denise Davis, the creative director and podcast host for ZAMI NOBLA - the National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging. She's also a scholar, organizer, minister, and Ukulele instructor. ZAMI NOBLA, founded in 2011 by Angela's partner Mary Anne Adams, is the leading advocacy organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbians over 40. Angela breaks down her experiences with aging and vision loss, her 10 months of training with the National Federation of the Blind, and coming to terms with her queerness as a Christian minister.  Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ - Learn more about ⁠ZAMI NOBLA⁠ -Follow ZAMI NOBLA on⁠ Instagram⁠ -Listen to ⁠the ZAMI NOBLA Podcast ⁠ -Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Olivia Travel -Discover Olivia at ⁠⁠⁠Olivia.com⁠⁠⁠ and save $100 on your next trip when you use promo code CRUISING -⁠⁠⁠Support Cruising here⁠⁠⁠! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small but mighty team of three: Sarah Gabrielli (host/story producer/audio engineer), Rachel Karp (story producer/social media manager), and Jen McGinity (line producer/resident road-trip driver). Theme song is by ⁠⁠⁠Joey Freeman⁠⁠⁠. Cover art is by Nikki Ligos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 6m
  2. 13 MAY

    I'm Baby and Denise Gaylord on Dyke Drag

    For the first time, we feature two interviews - two dykes, from two different generations - on the same concept: Dyke Drag. First, we'll hear from I'm Baby, a Brooklyn drag performer who started an event they call "Dyke Drag" which brings gender-diverse drag to sapphic spaces around the city. In Act 2, we meet Denise Gaylord, a local Ptown lesbian who ran an annual brunch also called "Dyke Drag" back in the 90s. Tune in to find out how, together, they brought Dyke Drag back to Ptown! Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ - Follow I'm Baby and Dyke Drag on Instagram -Order Denise's original Dyke Drag Brunch book! -Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Olivia Travel -Discover Olivia at ⁠⁠Olivia.com⁠⁠ and save $100 on your next trip when you use promo code CRUISING -⁠⁠Support Cruising here⁠⁠! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small but mighty team of three: Sarah Gabrielli (host/story producer/audio engineer), Rachel Karp (story producer/social media manager), and Jen McGinity (line producer/resident road-trip driver). Theme song is by ⁠⁠Joey Freeman⁠⁠. Cover art is by Nikki Ligos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min
  3. 29 APR

    Robin Tyler on the fight for marriage equality, and getting arrested for 'female impersonation'

    Robin Tyler is a history-making activist and stand-up comic, that's been on the scene since moving to New York City in the 1960's. Robin is a treasure trove of punchlines and queer history. She shares some of her most famous stories - like making a name for herself as a female impersonator, calling for 3 Marches on Washington, being the first out gay comic on national television, and successfully suing the state of California for the right to marry her late partner, Diane. Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠TikTok⁠, and ⁠Facebook⁠ -Check out ⁠Robin's website⁠ to learn more about her comedy and activism! -Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Olivia Travel -Discover Olivia at ⁠Olivia.com⁠ and save $100 on your next trip when you use promo code CRUISING -⁠Support Cruising here⁠! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small but mighty team of three: Sarah Gabrielli (host/story producer/audio engineer), Rachel Karp (story producer/social media manager), and Jen McGinity (line producer/resident road-trip driver). Theme song is by ⁠Joey Freeman⁠. Cover art is by Nikki Ligos. Logo is by ⁠Finley Martin⁠. ⁠Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    44 min
  4. 15 APR

    Activist Sue Say on the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Encampment, organizing in prisons, and annoying the police as best you can

    The Greenham Common Women’s Peace Encampment was an anti-nuke encampment outside of a US military base in England, that women (and loads of lesbians) occupied from 1981 all the way through 2000. Fed up with male-on-male violence, and society's expectations on women, Sue Say joined the protest in its very beginnings as an 18-year-old. There, every day was exciting, for better or for worse. Greenham women were evicted from their camps and terrorized by police every morning, they rebuilt every day, and by the end of the night found new creative ways to peacefully disrupt the military base next to them. Sue talks all about living in an anarchist society, overcoming her fear of arrest, and Greenham’s 80/20 breakdown of lesbians to non-lesbians. You’ll also get some additional insights from another Greenham woman, Oak Chezar, who lived at Greenham from 1985-1988.  Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook -Follow Sue on Instagram -Check out Oak’s book about her time at Greenham -Learn more about Greenham Common through Greenham Women Everywhere -Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Olivia Travel -Discover Olivia at Olivia.com and save $100 on your next trip when you use promo code CRUISING -Support Cruising here! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small but mighty team of three: Sarah Gabrielli (host/story producer/audio engineer), Rachel Karp (story producer/social media manager), and Jen McGinity (line producer/resident road-trip driver). Theme song is by Joey Freeman. Cover art is by Nikki Ligos. Logo is by Finley Martin. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 16m
  5. 1 APR

    Valery Hughes on nursing in NYC hospitals during the AIDS epidemic, and falling in love in the on-call room

    Valery Hughes is a retired nurse who spent her career working in HIV/AIDS care and research. She coauthored Nurses On The Inside: Stories Of The HIV/AIDS Epidemic In NYC with her colleague, Ellen Matzer, after working together in designated AIDS units for many years. Valery takes us behind the scenes of some of the city's busiest hospitals - from crossing paths with her first AIDS case in 1979, to all of the stigma around the disease, and the patients that touched her most. We also hear how Valery met her wife Mary working at Roosevelt Hospital (now Mt. Sinai), the other queer women they worked with, and how they all hung out at the original Cubby Hole (now Henrietta's) after-hours.  Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook Follow Valery's book "Nurses on the Inside" -Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Olivia Travel -Discover Olivia at Olivia.com and save $100 on your next trip when you use promo code CRUISING -Support Cruising here! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small but mighty team of three: Sarah Gabrielli (host/story producer/audio engineer), Rachel Karp (story producer/social media manager), and Jen McGinity (line producer/resident road-trip driver). Theme song is by Joey Freeman. Cover art is by Nikki Ligos. Logo is by Finley Martin. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 hr
  6. 18 MAR

    Comedian Kristen Becker on Summer of Sass, touring the Deep South, and getting stabbed in the chest

    Kristen Becker is a standup comedian and activist based out of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Becker also has a long history of touring, living, and organizing in the Deep South. In 2006, she founded the "Dykes of Hazard," an all-lesbian comedy group that toured the Deep South for a decade. In 2014, Becker testified before the Louisiana State Legislature in support of the Louisiana Non-Discrimination Act. From there, she set out on a tour called "Loosen the Bible Belt" with pastor Jay Bakker. In 2017, she founded "Summer of Sass," a nonprofit that hooks queer teens up with a job and housing, and flies them out to Ptown for a summer on the gay beach. More recently, she crashed out at a fancy party and secured $3 million worth of funding for her program. You'll have to stick around til the end for that story! Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook -Follow Kristen Becker @KristenBeckerComedy -Follow Summer of Sass @SummerofSass -Donate or find out more about Summer of Sass -Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Olivia Travel -Discover Olivia at Olivia.com and save $100 on your next trip when you use promo code CRUISING -Support Cruising here! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small but mighty team of three: Sarah Gabrielli (host/story producer/audio engineer), Rachel Karp (story producer/social media manager), and Jen McGinity (line producer/resident road-trip driver). Theme song is by Joey Freeman. Cover art is by Nikki Ligos. Logo is by Finley Martin. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min
  7. 4 MAR

    Journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist on queer media, childhood crushes, and what 'holding space' means to her

    You might know this week's guest, Tracy E. Gilchrist, as "the queen of queer media" or simply "the holding space lady." She reached internet fame last year when her interview with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande went viral during the Wicked press tour. But it goes without saying that Tracy is a whole person, who has lived a whole life, outside of that one video. Tracy has worked in queer media since the 90s - specifically covering queer entertainment and pop culture news for outlets like The Advocate and Out Magazine. We discuss how she ended up in this position of having basically interviewed every queer-adjacent person in Hollywood, first crushes / kisses / girlfriends, and the lesbian pop culture moments that shaped us. In Act II, we break down her viral moment and everything that comes along with that. Who had she seen holding space for the lyrics of defying gravity? When did she first clock the finger-hold? What does she really think of Ariana and Cynthia, and have they exchanged words since? We get into it... Watch the full viral video starting at 02:46 Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook -Follow Tracy E. Gilchrist @tracyegilchrist on Instagram and Threads -Explore more of her work at her website tracyegilchrist.com -Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Olivia Travel -Discover Olivia at Olivia.com and save $100 on your next trip when you use promo code CRUISING -Support Cruising here! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small but mighty team of three: Sarah Gabrielli (host/story producer/audio engineer), Rachel Karp (story producer/social media manager), and Jen McGinity (line producer/resident road-trip driver). Theme song is by Joey Freeman. Cover art is by Nikki Ligos. Logo is by Finley Martin. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    56 min
  8. 18 FEB

    Barbara Smith on The Combahee River Collective, lesbian identity, and Black feminism

    Barbara Smith is an award winning author, scholar, and activist. She is most well-known for co-authoring the Combahee River Collective Statement with two other queer Black women - her twin sister Beverly, and friend Demita Frazier. Barbara joins us to unpack the personal history that informed her groundbreaking Black Feminist politics. We discuss her multi-generational upbringing, growing up in Cleveland during the Civil Rights Movement, lesbian nightmares, and what she really meant when coining the phrase "identity politics." Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other listeners find Cruising! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review! -For more Cruising adventures, follow us @cruisingpod on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook Follow Barbara on instagram @thebarbarasmith46 on Instagram Learn more about her work at her website. -Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Olivia Travel -Discover Olivia at Olivia.com and save $100 on your next trip when you use promo code CRUISING -Support Cruising here! Cruising is an independent podcast. That means we're entirely funded by sponsors and listeners like you! -Cruising is reported and produced by a small but mighty team of three: Sarah Gabrielli (host/story producer/audio engineer), Rachel Karp (story producer/social media manager), and Jen McGinity (line producer/resident road-trip driver). Theme song is by Joey Freeman. Cover art is by Nikki Ligos. Logo is by Finley Martin. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 18m

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Ratings & Reviews

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2 Ratings

About

Conversations about lesbian bars, sapphic spaces, and beyond! Not sure where to start? You don’t have to listen in order! Pick your favorite city, space, or LGBTQ+ icon and dive in.  Season 1 follows creators Sarah Gabrielli, Rachel Karp, and Jen McGinity on their 2021 cross-country road trip to every lesbian bar in the U.S., sharing the stories of the humans that run these spaces and the humans that call them a home.  Season 2 features 14 more spaces, chronicling the current lesbian bar resurgence AND taking you back in time to lesbian bars of decades past. In Season 3, host Sarah Gabrielli sits down with history-making lesbians and LGBTQ+ folks to discuss all kinds of queer spaces - from bookstores, to farms, to peace encampments and more! New episodes air every other Tuesday.

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