Nia (left) interviews novelist Gabby Rivera (right). Photo by Tecpatl DeSequoia.

We Want the Airwaves

Nia King's trying to figure out if her dream of making a living as an art activist is beyond reach. In this podcast, she seeks advice from other political queer artists, trans artists, and artists of color who seem to have figured out how to make art and make rent without compromising their values.

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Ways to Access the Podcast

1. Most episodes are now available here and in iTunes. (free)
   
2. Read the transcripts. (free)
3. Download the mp3s. ($2 each)
4. Subscribe! ($5 a month. This is the best way to support the podcast!)

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New episode

Episode 108!
To say that Anna Vo, a nonbinary trans masc Vietnamese immigant, is an artist is to dance to the arrhythmic tune of understatement: they are a traveler, social worker, and wizened anarchist soul who not only dabbles in various artistic media, but transforms each discipline they encounter. Their galvanizing work in the zine underground with the international BIPOC [Black/Indigenous/People of Color] zine "Fix My Head" and the political perzine "The Swan, the Vulture," in comics, contemporary visual art, experimental fabric manipulation, and their ever-evolving musical explorations with textural metal-inspired folk, is astonishing. Vo brings their experience as an activist to their work, imbuing their many endeavors with radicalism, emotional intensity, and humor, all hallmarks of a wandering spirit whose work leaves a lasting impact on those touched by it. Nia sat down with Vo and explored the chaos, beauty, and radical potential of living an eclectic life shaped and molded by all things.
(copy written by Alex Smith)

Listen to the interview here, in iTunes or in Stitcher. Support the podcast here. Read the transcript here.

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PAST Episodes

Links go to their episodes. Starred episodes are behind a paywall.

1. Virgie Tovar - Mexican/Iranian writer and fat activist-scholar
2. Nia King* - queer Black/white podcaster and cartoonist
3. Kim Tillman* - Black queer pop musician
4. Micia Mosely* - Black lesbian stand-up comic
5. Magnoliah Black - fat Black queer burlesque performer
6. Julia Serano* - (white) writer and trans activist/scholar
7. Ryka Aoki - Japanese-American transgender writer
8. Julio Salgado - undocumented queer Mexican-American illustrator
9. Love Corazón - Mexican/Alaskan Native trans woman of color writer
10. Yosimar Reyes* - undocumented queer Mexican-American poet
11. Julia Serano, pt 2* - (white) writer and trans activist-scholar
12. Fabian Romero - Indigenous Chicano queer trans poet
13. Day Al-Mohamed* - Bisexual Arab-American writer and senior advisor the US Dept. of Labor
14. Miss Persia and Daddie$ Plastik, pt 1* - Drag queen and musicians/performance artists
15. Miss Persia and Daddie$ Plastik, pt 2* - Drag queen and musicians/performance artists
16. Sapna Kumar* - Indian-American lesbian comedian
17. Nick Mwaluko* - Tanzanian-American transgender playwright and journalist
18. Safe* - (straight) Black/white musician SAFE and I debate the word "mulatto"
19. Van Binfa - Chilean-American transgender cartoonist
20. Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler* - Black transgender documentarian and social entrepreneur
21. Kiam Marcelo Junio - queer Filipino-American visual and performance artist
22. J Mase III - Black trans queer poet
23. Toasted Marshmallows* - mixed-race documentarians (Black/white and Sri Lankan/white)
24. Karinda Dobbins* - Black lesbian stand-up comic (audio is not super great)
25. Juba Kalamka* - Black bisexual hip-hop artist (transcript only)
26. Best of 2013* - excerpt episode
27. Cherry Galette* - queer Chicana/Moroccan dancer and burlesque performer
28. Lexi Adsit - trans Latina student organizer
29. Totally Radical Muslims - South Asian zine editors
30. Devi - queer South Asian artistic director of Peacock Rebellion
31. Mimi Thi Nguyen* - queer Vietnamese-American zinester and academic
32. Miyuki Baker - queer Japanese-white zinester and global traveler
33. Mattie Brice* - queer Black/white game designer and critic
34. Amir Rabiyah - Arab/Native queer transgender poet
35. Book Launch Party*
36. Mia Mingus* - queer Korean-American writer and disability activist
37. Nina Malaya* - Filipina/white trans woman of color editor at Biyuti Publishing
38. Hari Kondabolu - (straight) South Asian stand-up comic
39. Kiley May* - Native trans woman filmmaker and journalist
40. Safe, pt 2* - (straight) mulatto musician
41. Tina Takemoto* - queer Japanese-American performance and video artist
42. Queer Rebels* - Celeste Chan and Kali Boyce
43. Indira Allegra - queer Black/Native writer, video artist and weaver
44. Texta Queen - genderqueer Indian-Australian illustrator
45. Ajuan Mance - Black trans queer visual artist
46. Vivek Shraya - genderqueer Indian-Canadian bisexual musician, author and filmmaker
47. Elena Rose - queer trans mixed Filipina woman performance poet and minister
48. Aamer Rahman - (straight) Bangladeshi-Australian stand-up comic
49. Monica Trinidad - Mexican-American queer painter and prison abolitionist
50. micha cárdenas - Columbian-American trans woman scholar and performance artist
51. Grace Rosario Perkins - queer Native painter and multimedia artist
52. Lynn Cyrin - Black trans woman tech activist
53. Lynn Cyrin, pt 2 - Black trans woman tech activist
54. W. Kamau Bell - (straight) Black political comedian
55. Achy Obejas - Cuban-American lesbian writer
56. Rob Fatal - queer Chicano/Native filmmaker
57. Osa Atoe - queer Black zinester and punk musician
58. Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha - queer disabled femme mixed Sri Lankan writer/curator
59. Lyric Seal - multiracial multigender writer and performer
60. Sam Levin - queer mixed Chinese reporter
61. Sam Levin, pt 2 - queer mixed Chinese reporter
62. Trish Salah - queer mixed Arab trans woman poet, educator, and activist
63. Hani and Uzma - co-hosts of The Bollywood Project
64. Star Amerasu - queer Black trans woman artist and musician
65. Star Amerasu, pt 2 - queer Black trans woman artist and musician
66. Queer & Trans Artists of Color, Volume 2 Launch Party!
67. Kamal Al-Solaylee - gay Yemeni-Canadian journalist and author
68. Hasan Namir - gay Iraqi-Canadian novelist
69. Qwo-Li Driskill - Two-Spirit Cherokee poet and scholar
70. Kai Cheng Thom - Chinese-Canadian trans author and poet
71. Farzana Doctor - queer Indian-Canadian novelist
72. jia qing wilson-yang - queer trans mixed Chinese-Canadian novelist and musician
73. Anthony J. Williams - queer Black non-binary male writer and organizer
74. Anthony J. Williams, pt 2 - queer Black non-binary male writer and organizer
75. Sarah Burke - queer mixed Filipina journalist and former managing editor of the East Bay Express
76. Paradise Khanmalek - queer Iranian-American visual artist and poet
77. Gabby Rivera - queer Puerto Rican novelist and comic writer
78. Gabby Rivera, pt 2 - queer Puerto Rican novelist and comic writer
79. Samar Habib - Palestinian scholar and author
80. DJ YNG GMA - biracial genderqueer DJ
81. Teresa Ellis - Black queer femme burlesque performer and fitness instructor
82. Teresa Ellis, pt 2 - Black queer femme burlesque performer and fitness instructor
83. Andre Perez - queer trans mixed Puerto-Rican filmmaker and oral historian
84. Andre Perez, pt 2 - queer trans mixed Puerto-Rican filmmaker and oral historian
85. Joamette Gil - nonbinary queer Afro-Cuban comics artists, editor, and publisher
86. Joamette Gil, pt 2 - nonbinary queer Afro-Cuban comics artists, editor, and publisher
87. Venus Di'Khadijah Selenite - Black trans dyke poet
88. Rabih Alameddine - gay Lebanese-American novelist/writer
89. Chief Esparza - gay Chicano editor-in-chief of EFNIKS.com
90. Jackie Wang - queer mixed Chinese writer and poet
91. Jackie Wang, pt 2 - queer mixed Chinese writer and poet
92. Malcolm Lasalle - non-binary queer Black writer
93. Arielle Twist - Cree Two-Spirit Indigenous trans woman poet
94. Jocquese Whitfield - Black queer dancer
95. Breena Nunez and Lawrence Lindell - Black/AfroLatinx cartoonists, musicians, and educators
96. The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins - queer Black femme burlesque performer, filmmaker, and stand-up comic
97. Six Year Anniversary Episode - Luna Merbruja interviews me!
    
98. Kyle Casey Chu - queer Chinese-American drag queen, musician, and filmmaker
99. Aja Archuleta - Two-Spirit mestiza musician
100. Mey Rude - Bisexual trans Latina writer
101. Joyce Hatton - Black asexual zinester and comics artist
102. Oliver Spencer / St. Sol - Black queer musician and visual artist
103. BL Shirelle - Black gay hip-hop artist and record label executive
104. Alex Smith - queer Black sci-fi writer, visual artist and musician
105. Rahul Mehta - queer Indian-American writer
106. Suzy X - Bisexual Latina music journalist and graphic novelist
     

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