Nancy

Myosha Smith stopped speaking to her brother Joseph Wilson after he handled her coming out poorly. Realizing his mistake, Joe decided to try to win his sister back with a song. — Daniel A. Gross is a writer, reporter, and radio producer based in Brooklyn. — Myosha Smith is a social worker and songwriter based in Brooklyn. — Musical Connections is a program run by Carnegie Hall that teaches inmates at Sing Sing Correctional Facility to create and perform music. — You can listen to live performances of Gnarly Knees and Bright Dark, a song Joe co-wrote with Myosha, from inside Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Special thanks to John J. Lennon, a journalist in Sing Sing Correctional Institution who helped Nancy find this story. John wrote about the Carnegie Hall Musical Connections program for Pacific Standard. Also thanks to our friends at WQXR: Christine Herskovits, Aaron Dalton, Eileen Delahunty, and Matt Abramovitz. Music in this episode by Kyle Sanna. Nancy theme by Alexander Overington.

Every year, contestants spend months working on their charisma, memorizing speeches, and getting their show-stopping outfits ready to win the sash. No, this is not Miss America...this is Mr. Los Angeles Leather. — James Kim makes podcasts at KPCC.— Pup Yoshi can be found @toddster213 on Twitter.— You can listen to both seasons of  The Competition at competitionpodcast.com.Music in this episode by Jeremy Bloom, the team at The Competition, and Broke For Free ("Calm the Fuck Down"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Note: this is a rerun of a previous episode. Nancy staged a friend-tervention for Joe Rodriguez. Will finding your gaggle be your resolution for the new year? And if you want to broaden your friendship horizons this year, join our How to Get a Gaggle project! Special thanks to Fran Tirado of the podcast Food 4 Thot, Eric Sosa at C'mon Everybody, and Bill Clark and Libby Willis at MeMe's Diner. Our friendship project is coordinated by Charlotte Cooper with help from Ashley Lusk, Caroline English, Sahar Baharloo, Sarah Sandbach, Fiona Carswell, and many more of our colleagues at WNYC Studios. Original music by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Mystery Mammal ("You're Up There"), Podington Bear ("Gizmo"), and Creo ("Memory"). Theme by Alex Overington.

Growing up, Phoebe was a Jesus kid. In college, after Tinder-swiping her way to gayness, she comes out to Christians and hopes that they’ll accept her. And now, Phoebe goes on a mission to find out whether people with fundamentally different beliefs can have meaningful relationships. — Phoebe Wang is a multidisciplinary artist based between Brooklyn, NY and Toronto, ON. You can find her on Twitter @feebswang. — "God + The Gays" won the 2018 Third Coast/Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition Best New Artist Award and Phoebe gave an acceptance speech that resulted in a 45-second standing ovation. Music in this episode by Joni Void. The song “Let Your Little Light Shine” is by Pamela Warrick-Smith and was performed by Community Chorus, a resistance-themed choir led by Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs in LA. Nancy theme by Alexander Overington.

A nun leaves her small town home in Illinois and comes to the West Village of ‘80s New York...so she can learn how to care for patients dying of HIV/AIDS.  — Michael J. O'Loughlin is a Chicago-based religion journalist and author of The Tweetable Pope: A Spiritual Revolution in 140 Characters. — Bethany Place is a non-profit AIDS Service Organization in the St. Louis Metro East area. — Brian Dolphin contributed original music to this episode. Visit him at briandolphin.com to receive his free monthly songs or to join a community sing near you. Music in this episode by Jeremy Bloom, Brian Dolphin ("Cow Trough Song"), Marco Trovatello ("Haunty Fourstroke"), and UltraCat ("Disco High"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Bowen Yang drops by the studio to talk to Tobin and Kathy about Sandra Oh, Saturday Night Live, and bad representation. — Bowen Yang is a comedian, producer, and formerly mediocre chemistry major based in Brooklyn, NY. He co-hosts the podcast, Las Culturistas, and you can find him on Twitter @bowenyang. Music in this episode by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington.

Warning: this episode discusses childhood sexual assault. When he was a young teenager, Luke realized he had to speak up—about who he was and what had happened to him. — Radio Rookies is a New York Public Radio initiative that provides teenagers with the tools and training to create radio stories about themselves, their communities, and their world. — The Ali Forney Center is a community center assisting LGBT homeless youth in New York City. Music in this episode by Jeremy Bloom and PC III ("Blue Hope"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

This week, Nancy is featuring an episode of Radiolab Presents: Gonads. A lot of us understand biological sex with a pretty fateful underpinning: if you’re born with XX chromosomes, you’re female; if you’re born with XY chromosomes, you’re male. But it turns out, our relationship to the opposite sex is more complicated than we think. This episode was reported by Molly Webster, and produced by Matt Kielty. With scoring, original composition and mixing by Matt Kielty and Alex Overington. Additional production by Rachael Cusick, and editing by Pat Walters. The “Ballad of Daniel Webster” and “Gonads” was written, performed and produced by Majel Connery and Alex Overington. Special thanks to Erica Todd, Andrew Sinclair, Robin Lovell-Badge, and Sarah S. Richardson. Plus, a big thank you to the musicians who gave us permission to use their work in this episode—composer Erik Friedlander, for "Frail as a Breeze, Part II," and musician Sam Prekop, whose work "A Geometric," from his album The Republic, is out on Thrill J

We asked you to share with us the things you've been meaning to tell someone. This is what happened next. — The article that led us to Michael Kerr can be found at The New York Times. — Dylan Marron is a digital creator in New York.  — Glenn Marron is a psychologist in Manhattan and the Hudson Valley. Music in this episode by James Pants ("Cha Cha Demo"), Little Glass Men ("Cloud Launching"), and Benedek ("Cruzin"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Alexandra Billings, who plays Davina on Transparent, says she believes Jeffrey Tambor's accusers — and feels complicit for not speaking up earlier. — Alexandra Billings is an actor and singer. She recently appeared on Broadway in the comedy The Nap. Music in this episode by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington.

Transparent creator Jill Soloway on the allegations against Jeffrey Tambor and what's next for the groundbreaking Amazon series. — Jill Soloway is the creator and executive producer of Transparent. Their new book is called She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy. Music in this episode by Jeremy Bloom, with additional music by Creo ("Memory") and Broke for Free ("The Great"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Midterm elections are coming up, and March For Our Lives activists Emma Gonzalez and Bria Smith traveled the country registering voters. — Emma Gonzalez is an activist and advocate with March For Our Lives. — Bria Smith is an activist and advocate with March For Our Lives. — Gays Against Guns is a direct action group of LGBTQ people and allies. Music in this episode by Lee Rosevere ("What Have You Done"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

To win in Massachusetts, trans activists have adopted a counterintuitive strategy: leaning into the worst things their opponents say about them. — Dee Rogers (she/her) is a volunteer for the Yes on 3 campaign in Massachusetts. — Kasey Suffredini (he/him) is a Yes on Three co-chair and president of strategy at the campaign's national parent organization, Freedom for All Americans. — David Broockman (he/him) is an assistant professor of political economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is co-author of the paper "Durably reducing transphobia: A field experiment on door-to-door canvassing." — Kelly Jenkins (she/her) is a teaching assistant in Wellesley, Mass. She hosts the series Kelly's Quest on the public access channel ActonTV. — Keep Massachusetts Safe, the group seeking to repeal the state's public accommodations protections for transgender people, argues the existing law puts women at children at risk in places like public restrooms. However, a recent study by researchers at the Williams Ins

It's been a tough week of news, and we asked our trans and gender non-conforming listeners: What do you want cisgender people to know? If you, or someone you know, are looking for resources (or for organizations to donate to), consider these ones: — Trans Lifeline— Transgender Law Center— National Center for Transgender Equality— Lambda Legal— The Trevor Project Episode artwork by Kiernan Sjursen-Lien. You can find them on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington.

The first woman ever elected to Congress was queer. So why isn't that ever really mentioned anywhere? This week, we're featuring an episode of WNYC's The United States of Anxiety, hosted by Nancy favorite, Kai Wright. — Kai Wright is the host of The United States of Anxiety. — Mara Silvers is a producer in the WNYC newsroom. Nancy theme by Alexander Overington.

Note: this is a rerun of a previous episode. You've all had a lot you've been meaning to say. Plus, a favorite story from the Nancy archives. — Peter Bresnan is a radio producer in New York. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom, Isaac Jones, and U.S. Army Blues ("Barbara"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

The 20 years since Matthew Shepard's death have been transformative for his mother, Judy. Plus: we talk to Samira Wiley, who appeared in an anniversary production of The Laramie Project. — Judy Shepard is president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. — Moisés Kaufman is founder and artistic director of the Tectonic Theater Project; he co-wrote and directed the play The Laramie Project. — Samira Wiley is an actor best known for her work on Orange is the New Black and The Handmaid’s Tale. — You can stream the film version of The Laramie Project on HBO. Special thanks to Christina Russo and Maxim Ibadov. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom, Alexander Overington, and Broke For Free ("The Great"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Kathy always thought her favorite singer-songwriter was working through something in her songs. It turns out she was. — Katie Herzig is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter based in Nashville. Her latest albums are Moment of Bliss and the Delicate EP. — The Instagram post Katie talks about in the story can be found here. Episode scoring by Kathy Tu, with music by Katie Herzig. Theme by Alexander Overington.

Jason Kim didn’t talk to his dad very much. But all that changed three years ago, when he got a call that upended their entire relationship. — Jason Kim is a screenwriter, playwright, and librettist. He's written for shows like "Barry" and "Girls" on HBO, and recent performances of his plays include "The Model American" at The Williamstown Theatre Festival and "KPOP" at Ars Nova Theater. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom, Yuichiro Fujimoto ("The Boys"), and Lee Rosevere ("Featherlight"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Every Monday, stories and conversations about the LGBTQ community. New episodes start September 24.