Cruising | Queer History and Culture

LIVE: Community Story Share at As You Are (Washington, DC / 05.28.26)

This episode was recorded LIVE at As You Are in Washington, DC! We first covered As You Are in season one of Cruising, back when the community space was just a a dream fo

LIVE: Community Story Share at The Lipstick Lounge (Nashville, TN / 06.06.26)

This episode was recorded live at The Lipstick Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee. Lipstick, Nashville's only lesbian bar, was the last stop on our initial road trip back in

LIVE: Community Story Share at Gossip Grill and Diversionary Theatre (San Diego, CA)

We're comin at you live from San Diego, California! Here, we held two different events on our book tour -- both filled with some incredible intergenerational sapphic stor

Making Queer Space in Brooklyn: LIVE Panel at Greenlight Bookstore

This episode was taped live at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn! Alongside the release of our book, The Lesbian Bar Chronicles, Sarah hosts a panel of local business owne

LIVE: Community Story Share and Book Launch (Ginger's Bar, Brooklyn / 05.26.26)

This episode was taped live at Brooklyn's oldest lesbian bar, Ginger's! The community came out to celebrate the official release of our book, The Lesbian Bar Chronicles,

LIVE: Community Story Share (Northampton, MA / 06.01.26)

This episode was taped live at Sub Rosa: a queer bar and event space in Northampton, MA. We asked the local queer community to come out to celebrate the release of our bo

Highlights From Our Lesbian Bar Road Trip

We're looking back on the past five years of Cruising with some of our favorite stories from lesbian bars across the country. This episode airs simultaneously with the re

Organizer Meg Riley on living in a lesbian co-op, the history of radical resistance in Minneapolis, and the ICE surge

This week, we're digging into the rich history activism and resistance in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our guest, Meg Riley, is a political organizer, advocate, and Unitarian

Activist Mandy Carter on war resistance, the Quaker tradition, and the search for her long lost siblings

Mandy Carter is a long-time Black lesbian activist and community organizer. Born in 1948, Mandy spent her childhood bouncing between New York state children's homes. Whil

Franco Stevens on the history of Curve Magazine, lesbian visibility, and extremely creative fundraising

Franco Stevens first made her mark on lesbian history in 1990, with the creation of Curve Magazine (at the time known as Deneuve, but we'll get into that later). Curve wo

Angeli Luz on creating the Lesbian Masterdoc and the backlash

Angeli Luz was 18 years old when she sat down to research, pen, and post the “Am I A Lesbian?” Masterdoc. Over a decade later, her work has withstood the test of time hav

Bernie Stark on women's softball, Title IX, and trans inclusion in sports

The Mary Vazquez Women's Softball League was founded in 1976 in Northampton, Massachusetts. A collection of lesbian feminists (Eileen Stewart, Jean Grossholtz, Susan Trac

Activists Heather Booth and Martha Scott on their historic underground abortion network

They called it "The Service," the world has called them "The Janes" - this episode follows the story of Chicago's underground abortion network. From its 1965 inception, t

Margaret Cho on her parents’ gay bookstore, BDSM during HIV/AIDS, and why Ellen hates her

Iconic comedian Margaret Cho joins us on the podcast to discuss the ups and downs of her career, and all of the ways queerness has always been part of her life. We cover

Diane on coming out at 77, going viral, and life as a nun

Our friend Diane took the internet by storm this winter, when she started to tell her story of coming out and falling in love as a late-in-life lesbian. With over 5 milli

Carmen Maria Machado on writing 'In the Dream House,' tops/bottoms, and the forgotten history of queer DV

Guest Carmen Maria Machado is a writer of queer horror, essays, and short stories. She is most well-known for her memoir, In the Dream House, which came out in 2019, and

Elaine Stott on trying dr*gs at 5, getting kicked out of school bathrooms, and her journey to Survivor

Elaine Stott charmed audiences back in 2019 on the 39th season of CBS's Survivor. She was a shining light on her season and proved that a lesbian could, quite easily, win

Brooke Webster on Meow Mix, Cattyshack, and being featured in Chasing Amy and Go Fish

Some of the most beloved lesbian bars of the past few decades have been the creations of our guest, Brooke Webster. This week, Brooke shares the stories behind Meow Mix (

Jess Dobkin and Lisa DeBoer on the "Lesbian Time-Out Kiss-In," Lesbian Avengers, and queer visibility in the WNBA

In 1999, Jess Dobkin and Lisa DeBoer formed the activist group Lesbians for Liberty. Their purpose was to push for visibility in the WNBA and specifically, at the New Yor

Oak Chezar on rejecting the patriarchy and more stories from Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp

Radical lesbian activist Oak Chezar spent three years protesting nuclear war at Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, and another five living on lesbian women's lands. Some