Around the world, LGBTQ people are winning huge victories and facing an unprecedented backlash. Just in the past few years, LGBTQ activists and their allies have won fundamental rights and cultural inclusion in dozens of countries, even as authoritarian regimes and reactionary movements lash out violently, scapegoating LGBTQ as enemies of the people. This story is far too often misunderstood as a queer clash of civilizations, between the enlightened West and the backwards rest of the world. These myths persist even as violence and xenophobia are on the rise in Europe and North America and even when creative, resilient changemakers are transforming their societies across the Global South.

Radio Free Qtopia is launching in January 2017 to tell the stories of the amazing people working in countless ways and unexpected places to make the world more LGBTQ affirming. We need to know what’s happening and what’s working, to share knowledge and build solidarity. Your generous support is essential for getting this podcast up and running in 2017, covering start-up costs, time and labor, and travel expenses to speak with changemakers in the communities where they live and work.

Changing the world one story at a time

There are so many urgent stories to tell right now: from the migration crisis and the homophobic, xenophobic backlash against refugees and migrants to the vibrant roles LGBTQ people are playing building post-conflict and post-authoritarian societies, from the epidemic of anti-transgender violence to the extraordinary trans* activism in all corners of the globe, and so many, many more.

Above and beyond the pure value of sharing and preserving these stories, it is absolutely urgent that those of us in North America and Europe not presume we know best how to help LGBTQ people living in purportedly less progressive societies. Radio Free Qtopia will help change those conversations, boosting the signal of those activists, artists, educators, NGO workers, and everyone else who knows what is effective locally for building societies where LGBTQ people’s human rights, dignity, and security are guaranteed.

With Your Support

Kicking off at the beginning of 2017, Radio Free Qtopia will debut in January as a monthly podcast, before shifting to a biweekly schedule as soon as funding permits. I also plan to record additional episodes responding to breaking news.

While I seek additional funding support, your donations are essential to launching on schedule and demonstrating the need to tell these stories.

Roughly the first half of the target goal will cover start-up and technical expenses – audio equipment and software, web hosting, sound editing, etc. The next half of the target goal will go to one major trip to interview LGBTQ changemakers in their communities – most likely either Central/Eastern Europe to cover the migrant crisis or Cuba to document that country in a moment of dramatic transition.

Reach goals:

• If fundraising surpasses the target goal, those donations will cover more extensive travel to speak with changemakers elsewhere in the world
• If fundraising surpasses 50% above the target goal, I will investigate how best to incorporate video into sharing the stories of LGBTQ changemakers

Your Host and Producer

As Radio Free Qtopia’s host and producer, I bring 25+ years of experience as an interviewer, storyteller, scholar, and social justice advocate to this project. Over those years, I’ve worked with a broad range of U.S. and international movements for freedom, justice, and human rights. I’ve also taught dozens of courses on sexuality and gender, international politics, and social change at numerous universities, including Harvard, Duke, Cornell, and Tufts. Currently, I’m finishing my first book, Queer and Present Dangers, on how in the United States, gay liberation and lesbian feminism emerged from other protest movements of the 1960s. Through my research, in teaching Gender, Sexuality, and Oral History at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies, and as founder of the Rainbow Triangle LGBT Oral History Project in North Carolina, I’ve conducted almost 200 interviews. I’m now extraordinarily excited to bring all this experience to Radio Free Qtopia.

Challenges and Opportunities

Launching a podcast and sticking to a regular schedule is no easy task, but with all the interviewing skills and global contacts to make Radio Free Qtopia a success, the most critical needs are – unsurprisingly – time and money. Your support will make it possible to carve out the time to produce the podcast and buy the equipment needed to get off the ground.

Other Ways You Can Help

Even if you’re not in the position to donate money, please consider sharing this page and talk to anyone you know who might be interested in supporting Radio Free Qtopia! Don’t forget to use the Indiegogo share tools!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!