Nancy

Content warning: This episode contains a reference to suicide. Traveling to Taiwan with her mom, Kathy imagines the life she might have lived had her family stayed. — Kathy's mom previously appeared on Nancy in the episodes "Hello Hello" and "Kathy's Mom is Uncomfortable With All This." — Guo Mama is a volunteer at the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association in Taipei. — Li Te-Yun (Nan Gua) is a singer-songwriter in Taiwan. Special thanks to Andrew Ryan, a host and producer with Radio Taiwan International. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Art of Escapism ("Done with Disco"), Uncan ("Unbroken"), and Little Glass Men ("Cloud Launching"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Alan Cumming became a U.S. citizen in 2008. His new show, "Legal Immigrant," tells a story of love for his adopted homeland. — Patti O'Furniture hosts a weekly drag show at PT's 1109, a gay bar in Columbia, South Carolina. — Lewis Wallace is a radio producer and magazine editor. Music in this episode by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington.

All things just keep getting better. — Katie Schlechter is a freelance journalist based in Mexico City. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with original composition and performance by Kyle Sanna. Theme by Alexander Overington.

When it comes to RuPaul's Drag Race, Nancy is a house divided. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Mystery Mammal ("Xanadont"), Broke for Free ("Hella"), Benedek ("Cruzin"), and Lee Rosevere ("Welcome to the World of the Living"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Content warning: This episode discusses sexual assault. Most jokes about rape are terrible. But in a new special, comedian Cameron Esposito is using them to talk about being a survivor of sexual assault.  Cameron's special "Rape Jokes" can be streamed for free on her website or purchase a copy with all proceeds going to RAINN, the United States’ largest organization combatting sexual violence. You can find resources for survivors of sexual violence at RAINN, End Rape on Campus, and the Trevor Project. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Drake Stafford ("Casets"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Everybody loves a hero. But villains can be much more interesting.  Meredith Talusan is the Executive Editor at Them. She wrote an essay about trans villains in film for BuzzFeed. Dan Kois and Isaac Butler are co-authors of The World Only Spins Forward, an oral history of Angels in America. Andrea Bernstein is the co-host of Trump, Inc., a podcast about the Trump family business from WNYC Studios and Pro Publica. Stephen Spinella plays Roy Cohn in the Berkeley Rep production of Angels in America. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Lee Rosevere ("I Was Waiting for Him" and "Featherlight"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Nancy's "How to Get a Gaggle" project gave listeners four weeks of challenges toward making new friends. This week on the show, we check in on how it all went. Special thanks this week to friendship guinea pig Joe Rodriguez and WNYC engagement project extraordinaire Charlotte Cooper. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by James Pants ("Bird"), Madame Rrose Selavy ("Sojou Meu Nome"), Mystery Mammal ("Xanadont"), Ondrosik ("Love is Over"), and Anamorphic Orchestra ("Machine Elves"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

JP Brammer has all the answers. — John Paul Brammer is a writer who's wrote for Into and Them. You can subscribe to "Hola Papi" here. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington. Original music by Jeremy Bloom. Support our work! Become a Nancy member today at Nancypodcast.org/donate.

Sex toys can be about more than just pleasure. For queer people, they're often a vital part of figuring yourself out. — Gabe Gonzalez is a comedian and writer. — Buck Angel is a trans advocate and sex toy designer. Special thanks to Hallie Lieberman, author of the book Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy.  Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by James Pants ("Bird") and Kevin MacLeod ("Off to Osaka"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Kim Davis denied David Ermold a marriage license three times. Now he's running to replace her. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Andy Cohen ("Land of Legs"), Nctrnm ("Blonde"), and Drake Stafford ("Only Love"). Democratic forum audio via WIVY and WMKY. Theme by Alexander Overington.

Michelle Buteau is the host of Late Night Whenever. This episode features comedian Matteo Lane and actor Nico Tortorella. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to shows. Episode scoring by Rob Lewis. Nancy theme by Alexander Overington.

He wrote "On the Regular" to be hated. — Shamir Bailey is a queer, Philadelphia-based musician. His albums include Ratchet, Hope, Revelations, and Resolution. — While he was in the studio, we had Shamir perform acoustic versions of his songs "Straight Boy" and "I Can't Breathe." Video production by Kim Nowacki. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington.

Our month-long "How to Get a Gaggle" project is just getting started! Today we're checking in on what participants are looking for and how they're doing. Share your own stories! Email a voice memo to nancypodcast@wnyc.org, post on social media using the hashtag #NancyGaggle, or join our brand-new Facebook group. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington.

Once upon a time, Kai Wright saw a movie called "Punks." A romantic comedy about black gay men, it was like nothing he'd ever seen before. But then it disappeared. Kai Wright is editor and host of WNYC’s Narrative Unit and a columnist for The Nation magazine. Patrik-Ian Polk is the writer and director of Punks; he went on to create Noah's Arc, The Skinny, and Blackbird, and is now a producer and writer for Being Mary Jane. He is currently producing and writing the upcoming Starz drama series, Pussy Valley. Special thanks to the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at USC.  Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Ultracat ("Little Happenings"). Theme by Alex Overington.

In our season three premiere, Nancy stages a friend-tervention for Joe Rodriguez. Plus, we launch our new 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.

Nancy's back with a whole new season of stories and conversations about the queer experience today. All-new episodes starting Sunday, April 15. Music by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington.

Note: this is a rerun of a previous episode. Sarah Lu's first glimpse at life as a queer adult came while visiting Maura Koutoujian's general store back when she was a kid. Years later, Sarah tracked Maura down. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Arne Bang Huseby (“Stormy Blues”), Jalen Warshowsky (“Dollar Theater”), Josh Woodward (“Once Tomorrow”, “Grey Snow”, and "Border Blaster"), Anamorphic Orchestra (“Taking Dark Matter Lightly”), Joey Pecoraro (“Strong Vibes”), and Little Glass Men (“Kelp Grooves”). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Note: this is a rerun of a previous episode. Kathy's mom didn't expect anyone would actually listen to her the first time Kathy recorded their conversation. And she's still not particularly comfortable with all this gay stuff. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Benedek ("CRUZIN"). Theme by Alexander Overington.

Note: this is a rerun of a previous episode. We first spoke with Lena Waithe just ahead of Master of None's second season, which featured the groundbreaking episode "Thanksgiving." Kathy checked back in shortly after Lena won an Emmy for writing that episode. — Lena Waithe is an Emmy-award winning writer and actress on Master of None. Her new show, The Chi, premieres Jan. 7, 2018 on Showtime. — This episode was recorded in Los Angeles at Werk It, WNYC's women's podcast festival. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom. Theme by Alexander Overington.

— Asa Sevelius is principal of the Heath School in Brookline, Mass. — Clair Farley is the director of economic development at the San Francisco LGBT Center; Mia Satya is an employment services specialist with the center's Trans Employment Program. — Check out the results from our Out at Work survey, plus a whole bunch of resources for navigating being queer on the job. Special thanks to Mandy Naglich, Anna Burke, and Alison Morgenstern. Episode scoring by Jeremy Bloom with additional music by Drake Stafford ("Matte Black") and Evan Schaeffer ("Sisyphus"). Theme by Alexander Overington.