This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine

Access to the ballot is under threat for thousands of US voters, and transgender activists are on the front lines fighting the dangerous new restrictions, Abigail DeRoberts speaks with Meghan Maury-Fox policy director of the Trans Law Center. In the news Hungary’s recent election is having consequences this week, as Orban’s “no promo homo” state begins to crumble … the denouncements from international rights advocates and UN experts about the anti-LGBTQ crackdowns in Senegal and Turkey seem to have little impact … and there’s political and financial capital to be gained by bending to bias — just ask the English NHS and Facebook! All that and more now that you’ve found This Way Out. Featured speakers: Trans Law Center policy dir. Meghan Maury-Fox Credits: Associate Producer / host Lucia Chappelle, Producer Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, the feature was produced by Brian DeShazor and Lucia Chappelle, NewsWrap reporters Ava Davis and Michael Taylor Gray. music: Shea Diamond, our theme music was written and performed by Kim Wilson.

Abigail DeRoberts speaks with Tre’vell Anderson, executive director of the Trans Journalists Association, about challenging media bias, supporting trans journalists, and transforming how transgender lives and communities are represented in the news. The program also features transgender person speaking from a 1968 KPFA broadcast preserved by the Pacifica Radio Archives. In NewsWrap, protests erupt in Taipei following police raids on LGBTQ+ venues; openly LGBTQ+ candidates make gains in Brazil’s elections as the right-wing Liberal Party strengthens its congressional position; LGBTQ+ voters prepare for the U.S. midterms amid debates over transgender rights; advocates spotlight the challenges LGBTQ+ survivors face in seeking domestic violence support; and a record number of school book bans puts LGBTQ+ stories among the targets of growing censorship. Featured speakers: Reuters Policy Reporter Leah Douglas, activist Rashad Robinson, Tre’vell Anderson Credits: Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, Producer/ host Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, the feature was produced by Brian DeShazor and Lucia Chappelle, NewsWrap reporters Tanya Kane-Parry and David Hunt. music: Bobby Sanchez, our theme music was written and performed by Kim Wilson. All this on the October 12, 2026 Edition of This Way Out!

Drag Queen Tara Hoot talks defending the Kennedy Center with Jeb Backe and a listen back to the first National Coming Out Day. In the news this week, Serbia's lesbian Prime Minister abruptly becomes President in a partisan pre-election gambit, while the US midterms separate the supportive progressives from the transphobic performers. US civil rights law is open to interpretation, and so is discrimination and sexual assault, or so it seems and a Virginia street gets a lesbian name and an English castle gets a rainbow ring. Featured speakers: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot (https://tarahoot.com). Credits: Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, Producer/ host Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, the feature was produced by Brian DeShazor and Lucia Chappelle, NewsWrap reporters Melanie Keller and Joe Boehnlein. Feature produced by Jeb Backe music: Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. our theme music was written and performed by Kim Wilson. All this on the October 5, 2026 Edition of This Way Out!

This week on This Way Out, a long-forgotten gem from the Pacifica Radio Archives brings some much-needed laughter: excerpts from The Gay Liberation Follies- recorded circa 1976 in San Francisco, a queer radio take on the legendary TV comedy Laugh-In, recently rediscovered and preserved from an original KPFA recording featuring Lily Tomlin performing some of her most famous characters: Ernestine, Edith Ann, and more. In the news U.S. hospitals pay millions to settle Justice Department demands targeting pediatric gender-affirming care, queer celebrities are arrested protesting Israel’s war in Gaza at the United Nations, and Colombia withdraws from the global Equal Rights Coalition. Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ communities in Australia mobilize to defend trans and intersex rights, and U.S. Republicans discover that there’s more to politics than attacking trans people. Plus, a heartfelt tribute to Dolly Parton — and more queer news, history, and culture, now that you’ve discovered This Way Out. Featured speakers: Hannah Einbinder, Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin Credits: Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, Producer/ host Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, the feature was produced by Brian DeShazor and Lucia Chappelle, NewsWrap reporters Marcos Najera and Lucia Chappelle. Dolly Parton Tribute produced by Sheri Lunn. Feature produced by Brian DeShazor music: Dolly Parton and theme music was written and performed by Kim Wilson. All this on the September 28, 2026 Edition of This Way Out!

In 1968, one mother’s public support for her gay son helped inspire the founding of PFLAG — Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Today, PFLAG has hundreds of U.S. chapters and an international network connecting families, friends, and allies for support, education, and advocacy. PFLAG Los Angeles Vice President Anthony Eftimeo speaks with This Way Out’s Lucia Chappelle about what meaningful allyship looks like and how allies can help LGBTQ+ people and their families thrive. In the news this week, Turkish activists take to the streets as the right-wing government’s anti-queer raids and arrests escalate, but the formerly right-wing Hungarian government will scrap its “no promo homo” law. Fiji sees a spike in HIV infections. There’ll be no gender-affirming care for trans youth in North Dakota, but the city of Seattle, Washington expands civil protections with the times. Featured speakers: editor-in-chief of the LGBTI+ rights group Kaos GL Yildiz Tar, PFLAGLA VP Anthony Eftimeo, Lucia Chappelle Credits: Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, Producer/ host Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, the feature was produced by Brian DeShazor and Lucia Chappelle, NewsWrap reporters John Dyer the 5th and Melanie Keller. music: Dolly Parton and theme music was written and performed by Kim Wilson.