Pride Connection

Episode Notes During our Silver Saturday Celebration earlier this year, members of BPI got together and shared a few coming out stories. This conversation was led by Kerri Regan and Shannon Dyer, giving space to anyone who chose to share their coming out experience. Now, in honor of National Coming Out Day, we’re sharing this conversation with a wider audience by turning it into a bonus Pride Connection episode. We hope you’ll find these stories as moving as we did.

Episode Notes In this latest episode of Pride Connection, Robin talks about self-care. She delves into what it is, how to practice it, and why it’s important. She then opens the floor to participants Shannon, Tom, and Kristeen for their views and personal practices. Toward the end of the show, all four share resources they’ve found helpful along their own road to better self-care habits To learn more about Blind LGBT Pride International, please visit www.bpi.gay

Episode Notes This week on Pride Connection, we present another highlight from our Pride Month Silver Saturday Festivities. Listen in as Shannon and Jessica host a discussion with our members about books, movies and TV shows we have particularly enjoyed. In this era of looming sensorship, anti-LGBT policies and the rollback of DEI initiatives, we feel it is more important than ever to highlight and celebrate media that represents our identities. From comedy specials to romance, from sci fi to memoir, you're sure to hear about something you'll love. To find out more about Blind Pride International, please visit www.bpi.gay Find all of our queer gear merch here: https://blindgirldesigns.com/collections/bpi-25-anniversary

Episode Notes Tune in as the whole BPI Crew gathers for a virtual brunch sharing toasts and memories spanning Blind LGBT Pride International's 25 year history!! You'll hear stories about our founding, funny, chance meetings and even a little karaoke too! Here's to many more years and happy memories! To find out more about BPI, and to get our Queer Gear, please visit www.bpi.gay

Episode Notes Although the month of June, widely recognized as LGBTQ Pride Month has ended, we’re still here, and we’re queer all year! In fact, July is Disability Pride Month, so we can all just keep on celebrating! In this spirit, we’d like to offer you a replay of our first-ever live-streamed pride parade with audio description! A huge thank-you to 2020 the Beacon for the initial stream of our show, and to Elana Centor for the live audio description. Listen in for all the fun, including colorful floats, handouts of beeds and candy, people in drag and much, much more! Don’t miss a beat! To learn more about Blind LGBT Pride International, please visit www.bpi.gay Find all of our queer gear merch here: https://blindgirldesigns.com/collections/bpi-25-anniversary

Episode Notes Although the month of June, widely recognized as LGBTQ Pride Month has ended, we’re still here, and we’re queer all year! In fact, July is Disability Pride Month, so we can all just keep on celebrating! In this spirit, we’d like to offer you a replay of our first-ever live-streamed pride parade with audio description! A huge thank-you to 2020 the Beacon for the initial stream of our show, and to Elana Centor for the live audio description. Listen in for all the fun, including colorful floats, handouts of beeds and candy, people in drag and much, much more! Don’t miss a beat! To learn more about Blind LGBT Pride International, please visit www.bpi.gay Find all of our queer gear merch here: https://blindgirldesigns.com/collections/bpi-25-anniversary

Episode Notes What do you remember about the world 25 years ago? What do you remember about our community and the strides we had made at that point? We’d love to hear your favorite Blind Pride memories—from conventions and social meetups to groundbreaking programming and unforgettable moments of connection. How has the world changed? And what do we envision for this organization in the next 25 years?

Episode Notes Tune in for another outstanding interview with friend of the podcast Eric Marcus of Making Gay History. We learn a few lessons from history and receive encouragement to keep doing the work and not give up! To find out more about Blind LGBT Pride International, please visit www.bpi.gay  You can also find our “queer gear” merch here:  https://blindgirldesigns.com/collections/bpi-25-anniversary

Episode Notes Last year, the team produced a stirring, heartfelt commentary on why we still need pride parades and celebrations. Unfortunately, these musings are now even more relevant than they were back then. In the face of hatred, fascism and bigotry, let's conspire to have the boldest, loudest, most colorful and most affirming pride month EVER!!! To find out more about Blind LGBT Pride International, please visit www.bpi.gay  You can also find our “queer gear” merch here:  https://blindgirldesigns.com/collections/bpi-25-anniversary

Episode Notes Pride Connection is pleased to present an interview with acclaimed writer, professor and GLBTQ+ activist Karla Jay. Beginning with her involvement in the feminist and gay liberation movement in the early 1970s, Jay indelibly made her mark as a strident voice in our community. Jay has written 10 books and has traveled extensively speaking about post-Stonewall glbtq+ advocacy and the 2nd wave of feminism. Jay is a distinguished professor emerita at Pace University, where she taught English and directed the women's and gender studies program between 1974 and 2009. Leah Gardner hosts this dialog with Jay, primarily discussing her 1999 memoir, Tales of the Lavender Menace. This is a riveting interview brimming with historical context and Jay's thoughts on the tumultuous world we live in today.

Episode Notes One of Pride Connection’s most inspiring and thought-provoking conversations was with then-Senate aide Laurel Hilbert—a shining example of courage, conviction, and the strength of the human spirit. In this episode, we revisit Laurel’s extraordinary journey: from leaving his home country of Syria, to his time in Saudi Arabia, to arriving in the United States knowing only a few words of English—but armed with drawings, dreams, and unstoppable determination. Laurel speaks passionately about the universal truths of democracy, the resilience of the human condition, and what becomes possible when we align our spirit and purpose. But this conversation isn’t just about where he’s been—it’s also about where he’s going. Since the passing of his mentor and friend, the late Senator Dianne Feinstein—whom many of us remember as a fighter for justice and democracy—Laurel has taken time away from politics and even from the United States. In this deeply personal update, he shares his own version of an Eat, Pray, Love journey: finding love, learning how to live within grief, and reconnecting with his purpose. Now studying for finals and preparing for the LSAT, Laurel took time out of his busy schedule to reconnect with us, reflect on where life has taken him, and share why he still believes in the future of this country, our intersectional communities, and humanity itself. This powerful and timely episode is a reminder that strength comes in many forms—and that hope, when nurtured, can carry us through even the darkest times. Have thoughts or questions? We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a note at media@blindlgbtpride.org, and don’t forget to visit www.blindlgbtpride.org for more information about BPI, our 25th anniversary celebrations, and to grab some fabulous queer gear—including our new Ally Love collection just in time for Pride Month!

Episode Notes On this episode of Pride Connection, we get to know Grim Kells, founder of Grimalkin Records, a collective of LGBT, disabled and BIPOC musical and visual artists.  We talk about Grim’s musical work under the name Spartan Jetplex, and what led them to found Grimalkin records.  We also touch on some of the community outreach that makes Grimalkin special, including an in-person and virtual festival every October.  Finally, we talk about how you, too, can get involved if you’d like to be part of the collective. You can find Grimalkin Records at www.grimalkinrecords.com We also discuss the work of RAMPD, Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities.  Find them at www.rampd.org Finally, Grim discusses “loop sessions” in which musicians have roughly 23 hours to complete a track, as an exercise in creative unblocking.  Find out more at: https://linktr.ee/loopsessionsdmv To find out more about Blind LGBT Pride International, please visit www.bpi.gay  You can also find our “queer gear” merch here:  https://blindgirldesigns.com/collections/bpi-25-anniversary

Pride Connection presents a Flashback, celebratory discussion about Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. **Content warning: gun violence, hate crimes/violence against AAPI, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, ableism, other topics that may be sensitive to some listeners ** May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month! This week on Pride Connection, please join Saejh Chung (moderator,) Minh Ha, Miso Kwak, Tyanne Wilmath, and Anthony Corona for a conversation exploring AAPI history, personal stories of the intersectionality of identifying as AAPI and having a disability, mental health, sexualization and fetishization of AAPI women, defining heritage, and how the pandemic has shaped their lives and the greater AAPI community at large today. Additionally, the roundtable discussion also examined the Covid 19 Hate Crimes Act (H.R. 1843) and thoughts on how this legislation will affect the AAPI community. The hour-long segment concludes with our guests answering how they will celebrate AAPI heritage month. Resources are listed below. Resources Stop AAPI Hate: https://stopaapihate.org/ National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association: https://www.naapimha.org/ Asian Americans (on PBS): Asian Americans Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong (Available on Bookshare and BARD) Pachinko by Minjin Lee (Available on Bookshare and BARD) H.R. 1843: Covid 19 Hate Crimes Act: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/hr1843 Try Guys Anti-Asian Hate documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14WUuya94QE Misogyny Against Asian Women - The TryPod Ep. 102: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMd3S3BOarU

Episode Notes This week on Pride Connection, dropping on Tuesday wherever you get your podcast, we’re continuing a very special two-part journey with someone who continues to inspire and electrify our community —Rosemary Ketchum! Part one last week presented a flashback to one of our most powerful conversations ever. And this week, she’s back with us for a brand-new episode—raw, real, and refreshingly Rosemary. We first met Rosemary Ketchum during a momentous chapter of her journey—as an advocate, a candidate, and a history-maker. As the first openly transgender person elected to office in West Virginia, Rosemary shattered barriers and made national headlines… but she didn’t stop there. In this powerful updated episode, we had a conversation that left an indelible mark on our hearts. Rosemary shares her passion for advocacy, her grassroots work supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, and her unapologetic drive to protect and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community—especially in places where it’s not always safe or easy to do so. She joins us to talk about what’s next, how she’s really doing, and how she’s feeling in the face of an America that’s teetering between promise and peril. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t hold back. She talks candidly about attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community, the exhaustion of advocacy, and the crossroads many of us are standing at: fight or flee? And in her own words: “I love coming to talk with Blind LGBT Pride International’s Pride Connection. I am an honorary member of this fabulous organization who is fighting the good fight and folding and embracing our community’s most vulnerable members, and standing up against the forces trying to strip away the identities of us all—especially our transgender and non-binary siblings.”   For more information on Blind Pride International, please visit www.bpi.gay

Episode Notes This week on Pride Connection, dropping on Tuesday wherever you get your podcast,were kicking off a very special two-part journey with someone who continues to inspire and electrify our community —Rosemary Ketchum! Part one starts Tuesday with a flashback to one of our most powerful conversations ever. And next week, she’s back with us for a brand-new episode—raw, real, and refreshingly Rosemary. We first met Rosemary Ketchum during a momentous chapter of her journey—as an advocate, a candidate, and a history-maker. As the first openly transgender person elected to office in West Virginia, Rosemary shattered barriers and made national headlines… but she didn’t stop there. In this powerful flashback episode, we revisit a conversation that left an indelible mark on our hearts. Rosemary shares her passion for advocacy, her grassroots work supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, and her unapologetic drive to protect and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community—especially in places where it’s not always safe or easy to do so. And then—buckle up—next week we catch up with Rosemary once again! Fresh off her historic mayoral run in Wheeling, she joins us to talk about what’s next, how she’s really doing, and how she’s feeling in the face of an America that’s teetering between promise and peril. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t hold back. She talks candidly about attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community, the exhaustion of advocacy, and the crossroads many of us are standing at: fight or flee? And in her own words: “I love coming to talk with Blind LGBT Pride International’s Pride Connection. I am an honorary member of this fabulous organization who is fighting the good fight and folding and embracing our community’s most vulnerable members, and standing up against the forces trying to strip away the identities of us all—especially our transgender and non-binary siblings.”

Episode Notes On April 5, 2025, over 5 million people around the US and the globe gathered for a series of rallies and protests against the Trump administration. Their message was loud and clear. Hands Off!! Hands Off our democracy, our economy, our bodies, our most vital services ... Among the protesters were BPI members Courtney and Destiny, raising their voices and fighting for their very lives as blind queer people. They share their experience at the rallies, what steps they took to make protesting as safe and comfortable for them as possible, and what actions they plan to take going forward. Join us for a lively conversation full of inspiration, encouragement, advocacy, and more ways to fight back!! Learn more about the Hands Off rallies here: https://handsoff2025.com/ Check out this article from Mother Jones about virtual rallies spearheaded by the disabled community: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/04/hands-off-virtual-zooms-disability-covid/ Thanks to Courtney and Destiny for speaking with us. If you have an idea for a future episode of Pride Connection or questions about our podcast, please email us at media@blindlgbtpride.org Browse our new Queer Gear, perfect for Pride, nights on the town, or speaking your truth to power: https://blindlgbtpride.org/queer-gear/ BPI is on Facebook, Mastodon and Bluesky. Find all our links and follow us here: https://linktr.ee/bpisocials

Episode Notes We at Blind Pride International are always working diligently to advocate for our membership. But, things have been kind of heavy lately and we wanted to lighten things up. We invited BPI members to a recording session where they could share their embarrassing stories and bloopers. Join us for an episode full of laughter and comradery.

Episode Notes Two Presidents, a Lot of Sheep, and a Whole Lotta Fun What happens when two powerhouse leaders in the blind and low vision community sit down for a chat? You get laughs, insight, and maybe a little ginger beer. Join BPI President Leah Gardner and Martine Abel Williamson, President of the World Blind Union, as they dish about Leah’s recent adventures in Martine’s stunning homeland—New Zealand! From breathtaking landscapes to quirky sheep encounters, delicious food, unexpected hiccups, and cultural delights, this conversation is equal parts travel diary and leadership summit—with the easy banter of two gal pals catching up over drinks. But it’s not all fun and fluff; these two dive into the shared experiences and challenges faced by our community, all with heart and humor. Pride Connection drops every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. For more about Blind LGBT Pride International, visit www.bpi.gay. Got a question or comment for Leah, Martine, or the BPI family? Email us at: media@blindlgbtpride.org — we’d love to hear from you!

Episode Notes Please join us for a flashback episode of Pride Connection from 2021, where guest host Tristan Snyder brings you an exclusive, in-depth interview with queer author TJ Klune! TJ Klune is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, The Extraordinaries, and more. Being queer himself, TJ believes it’s important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories. Visit Klune online: tjklunebooks.com Twitter: @tjklune Instagram: tjklunebooks

Episode Notes Join us for this very special interview with author and Pagan leader Enfys Book! Find out how their spiritual path began, a little about their writing process and how we can all use rituals to mark the passing of time in meaningful ways. Enfys also shares a bit of their musical journey as well, including their time with the band Misbehavin' Maidens! Find out more about Enfys and their writing at www.majorarqueerna.com Find out more about Blind Pride International by visiting our new website www.bpi.gay find us on other social media by visiting https://linktr.ee/bpisocials