THIS WAY OUT: A Queer History of 2025 - Part 3
This Way Out/Greg Gordon
H A P P Y N E W Y E A R
THIS WAY OUT:
the international LGBTQ radio magazine
Program #1971 distributed 05 January 2026
(Hosted this week by Brian DeShazor and produced by Greg Gordon and Lucia Chappelle)
We conclude our review of some of the news and feature stories heard on this program in 2025, including the reauthorization of the U.N.’s queer expert, escalating hate-filled book bans in the U.S., the Australian Football League welcoming its first openly-queer player, the U.S. Supreme Court considering bans on conversion therapy, the Netherlands electing its first openly-gay Prime Minister, and “Professor Pomona Sprout” celebrating her woke-ness, as our 3-part “A Queer History of 2025” wraps up.
NOTE: “NewsWrap” returns next week.
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Feature: This Way Out’s Queer History of 2025 - Part 3: from 7/7/25 - SEGMENT #2 - The global struggle to secure the human rights of LGBTQ people has a powerful advocate at the United Nations, but will that always be so? That advocate’s voice was nearly silenced this week when the time came for the United Nations Human Rights Council to renew its mandate. “This Way Out’s’ DAVID HUNT talks with FABIANA LEIBL of International Service for Human Rights, who was anxiously monitoring the vote (with intro music by FOSTER, and a “this just in” report on the vote by BRIAN DeSHAZOR) [International Service for Human Rights => https://ishr.ch/]; 7/21 - SEGMENT #2 - Books may not be burning yet, but the political heat in the U.S. is rapidly rising. Just how far is it from book bans to bonfires? In its mad dash to undo diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the current administration is working overtime to pull LGBTQ+ and other marginalized voices off the shelves. ALLISON LEE of the venerable literary organization PEN illuminates the dangers and suggests ways to fight back in conversation with “This Way Out’s” JASON JENN (with music by JOANIE LEEDS and GEORGE MICHAEL) [https://pen.org/profile/allison-lee/]; 9/1 - SEGMENT #1 - “NewsWrap”: out U.S. Centers for Disease Control official DR. DEMETRE DASKALAKIS joins other high-profile medical directors to resign, dissing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s and President Donald Trump’s anti-science politics [with brief comments by the good doctor]; and Perth’s former West Coast Eagles defender MITCH BROWN becomes the first out bisexual pro in the 129-year history of the Australian Football League [with brief excerpts from his exclusive interview with “The Daily Aus”] (reported this week by MICHAEL TAYLOR GRAY and AVA DAVIS); 9/1 - SEGMENT #2 - In the “genre-fied” music industry, it’s rare for an artist to remind us that “Christian” and “lesbian” can harmonize quite nicely, thank you. One singer-songwriter has been striking that chord for longer than you might imagine on a journey from Kansas to Oz and back again. JENNIFER KNAPP talks with “This Way Out’s” DAVID HUNT about the unifying power of music and working for queer equality in faith communities. [jenniferknapp.com/]; a :59 TWO weekly promo/re-intro and TWO ID at about 15:28 into this program; then: 10/13 - SEGMENT #1 - “NewsWrap”: The U.S. Supreme Court hears a challenge to Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy”, and the fate of similar statutes in more than 2 dozen other states and jurisdictions hangs in the balance — as LINDA ROBINSON, the mother of a suicided son forced into enduring the “quack cure” warns other parents to not fall for false claims [with audio] (reported by MARCOS NAJERA); 10/20 - SEGMENT #1 - “NewsWrap”: 84-year-old British actress MIRIAM MARGOLYSE, perhaps best known for her role as Professor Pomona Sprout in the “Harry Potter” move franchise, tells host Patrick Kielty on Irish TV’s “The Late Late Show” how much fun it is to be a “woke left-wing dyke” [with brief audio from Margolyse as Sprout in a “Potter” film and an excerpt from her conversation with Kielty] (reported by JOE BOEHNLEIN); 11/3 - SEGMENT #1 - “NewsWrap”: 38-year-old ROB JETTEN of the D66 Party is on track to become the youngest-ever and first openly gay Prime Minister of The Netherlands [with comments by Jetten in English, and in Dutch with voice-over translation] (reported by RET); 11/10 - SEGMENT #1 - “NewsWrap”: Democrats virtually sweep U.S. off-year national elections in a strong rebuke to the Trump administration, including the landslide win of Democratic Socialist Muslim and queer ally ZOHRAN MAMDANI to become the next mayor of New York City [with brief comments during a campaign stop by Mamdani at a gay venue]; and British actor/dancer JONATHAN BAILEY becomes the first proudly gay man to be named People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” [with brief comments by Bailey on NBC-TV’s “The Tonight Show”] (reported by MELANIE KELLER and MARCO NAJERA) [with feature intro music from TRIUMPH’s “Fight The Good Fight”, and internal piano music from Broadway’s “RENT”).
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Since April 1988, "This Way Out" is the multi-award-winning internationally distributed weekly LGBTQ radio newsmagazine and free podcast.
The program currently airs on some 200 local community broadcast radio stations and grassroots online outlets around the world, along with carriage in Asia/The Pacific, Europe, Africa/The Middle East and other regions of the globe on the World Radio Network (www.wrn.org); on SoundCloud, iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts; and on postal-mailed audio CDs by subscription.
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