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Sex, Death, and Gangster Movies: An Interview with Nick Mwaluko

8/4/2013

Meet Nick Mwaluko, Tanzania-born, Kenya-raised, American playwright, journalist and fiction writer. Nick's play Waafrika - the fictional story of an interracial queer lesbian relationship set in 1992 rural Kenya - was recently produced by Fort Lauderdale’s Thinking Cap Theatre. To order and purchase copies of this groundbreaking work, contact Tobe Levin of UnCUT Voices Press at levin@em.uni-frankfurt.de. In this interview, we discuss:

what he'll have to do to break in to the US theater scene,
how to get away with having gay sex in public in Africa, and
why he prefers Scorsese to Tarantino

Trigger warning: discussion of rape and female circumcision
Download here. Transcription here.

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Addicted to the Hustle: An Interview with Sapna Kumar

7/28/2013

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You may have seen her on Last Comic Standing. Or on LoGo. Or at Sundance. In this interview, comedian Sapna Kumar and I dive deep into the depths of comedy nerd-dom to discuss improv's infiltration into Chicago's standup scene, the decline of "ethnic" comedy, and the burgeoning queer comedy circuit. We also discuss the career trajectories of Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Neal Brennan, Aziz Ansari, and Kumail Nanjiani. Highlights include:

How to make a living as a standup comedian,
how not to get pigeonholed as an "ethnic" comic,
and why I love/hate Marc Maron.

Download here. Transcript here.

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We're All Whores: An Interview with Daddie$ Pla$tik & Miss Persia (Part 2)

7/22/2013

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Last week, Miss Persia and Daddie$ Pla$tik explained the inspiration behind their viral music video "Google Google Apps Apps." This week we talk more about how they became Daddie$ Pla$tik (Vain Hein, Tyler Holmes, and San Cha) and Miss Persia, from strict religious upbringings, to dropping out of art school, to potentially performing sex acts on stage in the near future. Highlights include:

why you shouldn't go to the San Francisco Art Institute,
how holy laughter brought about Vain Hein's "a-ha" moment,
and, whether people of color actually want to be white.

Download here . Transcript here.

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Gentrify My Love: An Interview with Miss Persia and Daddie$ Pla$tik

7/14/2013

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If you haven't heard Google Google Apps Apps yet, you are missing out. Local drag queen Miss Persia and multimedia performance art collective Daddie$ Pla$tik exploded on to the scene with this addictive anti-gentrification anthem only a week ago when they release their video, which is going viral, and getting written up in Italian and Hungarian! In this interview we talk politics, pop, and poverty, as well as gentrification's impact on their SF/Oakland neighborhoods. Tune in next week for part two in which we discuss wanting to be white. Highlights include:

how they pay the bills,
how much it costs to live in a "mud room" in SF,
and why they wrote the song Google Google Apps Apps.

Download here . Read transcript here.

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Inside Job: An Interview with Day Al-Mohamed

7/8/2013

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Bisexual Arab-American woman. Senior policy advisor with the U.S. Department of Labor. Steampunk enthusiast. All of these terms describe Day Al-Mohamed. In this interview she discusses her path to DC, working on the Affordable Care Act, and fighting for a trans-inclusive Employee Non-Discrimination Act. Highlights include:

why you shouldn't go into "disability policy" as a career,
what not to wear to a day of lobbying in Washington,
how to get disparate groups to work together without killing each other.

I apologize for all the background noise. This interview was done during VONA at UC Berkeley, which was under construction at the time.
Download here. Transcript here.

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Poetry and Privilege: An Interview with Fabian Romero

7/1/2013

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Fabian Romero is a queer Chicano poet, performance artist and community organizer. In this interview, Fabian opens up about how getting sick, losing weight, and gaining thin privilege have affected their career. Be sure to listen all the way to the end for a sneak preview of their forthcoming pieces about call-out culture and anti-black racism in communities of color. Highlights include:

why internet fame is a double-edged sword,
how the words of civil rights leaders get appropriated inappropriately,
and why "allyship" is an act, not an identity.

Download here . Read transcript here.

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Girl Talk: An Interview with Julia Serano (Part 2 of 2)

6/25/2013

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You may have known Julia Serano was the author of Whipping Girl, but did you know she's also a slam poet, musician, and co-producer of the upcoming event Girl Talk, a dialogue between cis women and trans women? In this second half of our extended interview, we discuss Julia's past as a slam poet and member of the indie-pop band Bitsize. Stay tuned till the end for a sneak preview of her forthcoming book, Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive. Highlights include:

how queers can be anti-color coordination (apparently it is possible),
how to make a living as a writer, and
what makes queer cis-women realize the depths of transmisogyny in their communities.

Download here. Transcript here.

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I Don't Wanna Be Tragic No More: An Interview with Yosimar Reyes

6/18/2013

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Yosimar Reyes and Julio Salgado are the self-proclaimed "Kelly and Beyonce" of the Bay Area undocuqueer art scene. In this interview, Yosimar opens up about almost getting deported on the way to perform for Carlos Santana, what was going on behind the scenes in this "Undocumented and Awkward" video, and what he said on Tumblr that got him into trouble. Other highlights include:

when (and how) he started getting paid for his poetry,
how he got his first chapbook published, and
why "safe space" isn't always accessible space.

Download here . Read transcript here.

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Unapologetic Vulnerability: An Interview with Love Corazón

6/4/2013

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Love Corazón is an incredibly wise (and accomplished) 19-year-old who has just published her first book, Trauma Queen, about surviving childhood sexual abuse. In this interview, she shares some of her wisdom on how survivors can support each other, when "harm reduction" isn't enough, and the tyranny of self-care. Highlights include:

Why she quit sex work,
How she got her book deal, and
Why we need to shift from a paradigm of "self-care" to "communal care."

TW: discussion of rape, suicide, and anti-trans violence
Download here . Read transcript here.

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Undocumented and Awkward: An Interview with Julio Salgado

5/21/2013

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It's the radicals versus the assimilationists. But wait, are we talking about the queers or the DREAMers? In this case, it's both! Undocuqueer activist illustrator Julio Salgado discusses his political progression from painting a picture perfect portrait of undocumented students to a framework that recognizes even if your record isn't squeaky clean, you don't deserve to be deported. Highlights include:

Sex, Death, and Gangster Movies: An Interview with Nick Mwaluko

Addicted to the Hustle: An Interview with Sapna Kumar

We're All Whores: An Interview with Daddie$ Pla$tik & Miss Persia (Part 2)

Gentrify My Love: An Interview with Miss Persia and Daddie$ Pla$tik

Inside Job: An Interview with Day Al-Mohamed

Poetry and Privilege: An Interview with Fabian Romero

Girl Talk: An Interview with Julia Serano (Part 2 of 2)

I Don't Wanna Be Tragic No More: An Interview with Yosimar Reyes

Unapologetic Vulnerability: An Interview with Love Corazón

Undocumented and Awkward: An Interview with Julio Salgado

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise

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