Celebrating Pride Month With Love, Light, A Podcast & A Poem
Author: Megan Natoli, Challenge America Program Director
In celebration of PRIDE Month,I’d like to share an episode of one of my favorite podcasts to listen to - Criminal hosted by Phoebe Judge and a beautiful poem by CAVARTist Branwen Drew.
The Podcast:
Phoebe Judge is an incredible interviewer and storyteller and her team does amazing work on this podcast as well as This is Love - a podcast their team describes best as “how to be alone, how to live forever, how to wait, how to worry, and yes, how to love”. Both podcasts are amazing works of journalism and I highly recommend checking them both out. Today, however, I would like to highlight episode #221 of Criminal, which first aired in June of 2023.
About Criminal:
Criminal is an award-winning podcast about true crime. Stories of people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or gotten caught somewhere in the middle.
Criminal launched January of 2014, and new episodes come out weekly on Fridays.
Criminal is one of the most popular podcasts in the world, and was named one of the Best Podcasts of 2023 by The New York Times. The show has been featured in “Best of” lists in Time, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, USA Today, Wired, and more.
Their team travels around the country to interview people, and sometimes take the show on the road to tell stories live.
“A different, contained universe within each episode … unfurling stranger-than-fiction plotlines.”
- The New York Times, Best Podcasts of 2023
“An unexpected and critical look at true crime that often leaves you questioning the criminal legal system and always shows there is more to the story.”
- ACLU of New York
About Episode #221:
Helen James grew up in a military family — her great-great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, her father in WWI, and her uncles in WWII. So when she enlisted in 1952, she felt like she belonged. Shortly after, she realized she was being watched.
In this episode, we talk to one of the members of the U.S. Air Force impacted by a campaign to remove LGBTQIA2S+ employees of the U.S. government in the 1950s.
***TRIGGER WARNING***
This episode features interviews with members of the military impacted by a campaign to remove LGBTQIA2S+ employees of the U.S. government in the 1950s, sexuality, repression, military trauma, and being followed.
This episode may be difficult for some to listen to. If you decide to check it out, please take care while listening, reading, and reminiscing.
🎧 CLICK HERE to listen to the episode
📚 CLICK HERE to read the transcript of the episode
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The Poem:
In addition to sharing this important story featured in the podcast, I’d like to close out this post with a message for everyone in celebration of PRIDE Month, regardless of whether you decide to listen to the podcast episode or not.
It is an honor to lift up and share CAVARTist Branwen Drew’s beautiful poem entitled Pride. Branwen is a Navy/Naval Reserve Veteran, poet, writer, artist, and librarian. Branwen’s words are absolutely beautiful and I hope they will inspire you to meet yourself where you are, wherever that is today, and towards feelings of pride and self love.
To learn more about Branwen, visit the links below:
Subscribe to Branwen's poetry: https://branwenspoetry.substack.com/about
Newsletter: https://branwen.substack.com/
To all of our LGBTQIA2S+ community members - today, everyday this PRIDE Month, and everyday beyond, we honor you.
Wishing everybody a wonderful day full of pride, love, and light. Thank you all for being integral members of this amazing community full of positivity, support, and inspiration!
Sincerely,
The Challenge America Team
