June 3, 2026 • 29 mins
The first Gay Games took place in 1982, an inclusive answer to the Olympics. It was a place of activism and community that has grown and changed over the years. Anney and Samantha run down some of the history and performances of the Gay Games, and why it matters.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha and welcome to stuff.
I never told you a productive I hurry, and today
we have an episode for you about the Gay Games.
We are kicking off Pride Month with a bang with
(00:25):
a history and a rundown about the Gay Games because
Samantha and I we had not heard of it until
recently with Samantha's Activists around the World episode on Kitty
Sway where it came up.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
And we were like, what is this? We should look
into what is this?
Speaker 1 (00:43):
What's going on here? So I would say go listen
to that episode if you haven't already. Also our episode
we did on the Olympics for discussion about gendered categories.
You could also check out our book. We have a
whole chapter about the Olympics in there. And our conversation
we had with doctor Annabath about trans athletes I think
(01:03):
also relates to this, and an important related conversation about
access and cost that we had in that episode that
will touch on a bit here, But that's something to
keep in mind. This is going to be a bit
of a shorter one, but I will tell you that
if you want to learn more, Gay Games dot Org,
(01:24):
they have a really useful, interesting timeline that has videos
and interviews and it just shows how it's changed and
how it came together and the people that made it
and what it's meant to people. So if you would
like to check that out, you can. So. The Gay
(01:46):
Games is an inclusive event modeled somewhat after the Olympics,
where LGBTQ plus people can come together and compete in
sporting and cultural events. These days, it brings in around
ten thousand and attendees who can visit Festival Village, which
is sort of like Olympic village, a meeting spot, a
place to stay, a place of entertainment. There are activities
(02:09):
like the memorial Rainbow run around the host city. There
are workshops, all kinds of stuff. It honestly, in some
ways reminded me of Dragon Con because it has like
a lot of those like in things if you know,
you know, yeah, like the flamingo.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
We'll talk about that in this second.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
So, as discussed in our Olympics episode, the Olympics does
have a long and often not so great history around
including queer people in sport or in general, women or
people of color for a while, or speculating about people's
sexual orientation and or gender identity to the point of harassment.
That's something we see today, right. So Olympic decathlete doctor
(02:53):
Tom Odell wanted to create an inclusive LGBTQ plus space
that featured not only sports competition, but a place for activism,
for people to come together and make community and culture.
Waddell first got involved with the nineteen sixty eight Mexico
City Olympics. This was a time with a lot of turmoil,
(03:14):
the protest against the Vietnam War, for one.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
The civil rights.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Movement was in full swing in the United States, and
black American athletes threatened to boycott the Olympics in protest
to racism in America. Of racism in America, there were
initiatives on voting ballots proposing banning LGBTQ plus folks from
becoming teachers. The Stonewall riots were on the horizon. There
(03:39):
was a lot of political violence with the assassination of
Martin Luther King Junior and Senator Robert F.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Kennedy.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
There was violence in Mexico City when students protesting poverty
in part caused by all the funds going to the
Olympics instead of the citizens. They were fired on by
Mexican soldiers, resulting in thirty deaths and a lot more injuries.
So because of this, there were acts of resistance and
defiance at these Mexico City Games, amongst some of the
(04:08):
athletes calling out racism and inequality. Two of those athletes,
black men, Tommy Smith and John Carlos, were sent home
after raising the Black Power fist during the US national anthem.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
While on the metal podium.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Doctor Waddell was vocal in his support of the athletes,
and there were calls to have him court martialed for
his comments because he was part of the military at
the time. Due to Waddell's participation in the military, he
could not compete in the Olympics as an openly gay man.
Waddell had also witnessed women being barred from competing in
(04:45):
sporting events. This was around the time of Boston Marathon
that whole thing. After seeing all of this and conferring
with others in the community, Wardell and others set about
putting together an inclusive alternative to the Olympics, the Gay Games.
The first Gay Games took place in nineteen eighty two,
fittingly in San Francisco. About thirteen hundred people showed up
(05:09):
with twelve countries represented, and Tina Turner was the headliner
for the opening ceremony.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
What this is why she was an icon in general
in every way? But yeah, she was the opener. Yes, please, yes,
I need to see that performance.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
You I think you can. And I read she like
brought down the house with her performance of Proud Mary Man.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
That would be one event I would love to have seen, damn.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And it was really fun to read the interviews of
people who were there, and they were so happy and
shocked that someone of her caliber showed up at a
time when being queer was still kind of looked down upon,
and she showed up at their event and it made
them feel very like, oh, this is something.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
You have seen. Yeah, yeah, to have someone that's amazing, Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yes, I have to say. Over the years, they've gotten
some really big names. I'm only gonna mention some of them,
but I would recommend looking it up because they've gotten
some people to show up for these games.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
I cannot believe I've never heard of these games. I'm
really sad. I go, oh, I'm so glad to talk
about it.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yes, yes, me too.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
There were sports competitions and cultural events at these first
games opening and closing ceremonies. It was largely put together
by volunteers and with donations, and allegedly it costs around
two hundred and twenty thousand dollars. The athletes ranged from
professional to just starting out, like they would hold you've
(06:38):
never done this sport before, but you're interested kind of things.
So they were really just come on in if you
want to try it out, and the focus was more
on getting a personal record as opposed to a medal.
It was much less competitive and much more collaborative. Organizers
and volunteers made a specific effort to bring in women
(07:00):
as well, and it ended up that close to half
of the participants were women. Wadell didn't like the nationalism
aspect of the Olympics, so it was more focused on
city participants. The city participants were from. Yes, there still
was a little like sometimes in the pictures you'll see
people holding up like Germany or whatever.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
But yeah, you'll see like a.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Little city sign like that.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
That's cute.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I know, I love it. There weren't metal ceremonies or
medal counts. It was more of a celebration than a competition. Yeah,
but people did get medals. They just didn't do like
the whole yes thing. Yes, case way did we saw that.
In the beginning, this event was generally referred to as
the Gay Olympic Games. There were even pins printed with
(07:48):
the name. I think you can still get them. But okay,
I'm getting ahead of myself. You know who didn't like that.
The US Olympic Committee soprise.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, they did not like it at all.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Well, they initiated a lawsuit to prevent the event from
using Olympics as.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Part of their name.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
At the time, there were a lot of events that
used the term Olympics as part of their name. But
when it came to the LGBTQ plus community, that is
where they put the foot down.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
They were like, absolutely not, you will.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Not do that. They were successful in their suit, so
the Olympics was struck from the title. However, the whole
thing really shored up support for the event in the
gay community. But going back to what I was saying earlier,
I believe because they'd already printed some merchandise, it's almost
like the Olympics is redacted, like it's still on there,
(08:39):
but there's like a.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Plus cross over it. Yeah. Yeah, and I think you
can still get it like that.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I think it's one of the what I was saying earlier,
like one of those in things if you know, you.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Know, yeah, yeah, that's right, being rebellious that it exactly well.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
In defense of the US Olympic Committee, they claimed that
the name implied that they were apposed to gay athletes
competing in the.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Other Okay, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
But yeah, this was their first lawsuit around the whole thing,
so what are we to make of that? And the
whole thing? The Gay Games themselves was about expanding people's
views of the many facets of the gay community. When
this was going down, many people just didn't believe gay
people were or could be athletic instead of just drag
(09:28):
queens and leather people they'd often been labeled at as
at the time, or that lesbians only played softball, or
that wrestling would become home erotic if gay people were
allowed to compete, things like that, those kind of stereotypes.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
A lot of gay sporting events took place under the
radar for safety reasons at the time, too, so people
didn't see them happening. So these stereotypes continued unquestioned. And
it also reinforced the idea that it was something to
The Gay Games was a way of shining a light
(10:04):
on people in the queer community being in sports and
what it looks like and how it looks like, all
kinds of things, not just these couple of things that
people had stereotyped it to be. The historical context of
(10:40):
when this was taking place is important to keep in
mind too, because this is when the HIV AIDS epidemic
was on the rise and largely ignored by the US
government and society, or seen as a punishment or the
fault of the victims. President Reagan and his extremely homophobic
administry were in power at the time. Public sentiment in
(11:03):
the US was volatile and often fearful and judgmental around
gay people. Some queer groups were prohibited from using public pools,
for example, because they thought people thought that's how HIV
AIDS might spread. Some people were coming from countries where
being queer was illegal, so having this space of joy
(11:24):
and camaraderie and activism was really important, and sadly, Waddell
himself died of AIDS in nineteen eighty seven. When people
recount the games from this period, there were a lot
of losses in the community hanging over the whole thing,
Like almost every interview I read, Yeah, people had lost people,
(11:48):
and there were a lot of really powerful counter protests
against the small number of people who showed out to
say being gay was wrong. So people did show up
at these games testing and saying homosexuality is a sin,
as unfortunately we would expect, but there were much bigger
counter protests against them.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
So that's good.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Vicky Carter, a member of an LGBTQ plus swimming group
in the UK, called out to swim participated in the
games and told the BBC we had two swimmers who
were out about their HIV status and one broke a
world record in their age group. It was amazing because
there was this terrible thing going on with HIV and
AIDS and people talking about how sick it was to
(12:32):
be gay, what a dreadful thing it was, and how
we're all going to die, and then you've got people
who are sick who are breaking world records, and it
was like, well, you might think we're sick, but we're
actually strong and powerful and can do amazing things. It
felt really defiant. The whole thing was truly terrifying, so
to overcome that terror and say no, I'm not going
(12:55):
to be frightened. It is okay to be gay, it
is okay to get on with my it's okay to
get on with my life. And we will live through this.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
And so there are a lot of great statements like
that in interviews that I mentioned at the top, So
if you want to read them, I would recommend it.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I would recommend it.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So with a successful inaugural Gay Games event under the Belts,
organizers decided to follow the Olympics templates and hold a
Gay Games every four years. Gay Games Too took place
in nineteen eighty six, also in San Francisco. Attendance rose
to over three thy five hundred. A handful of new
(13:36):
events were adding to the roster too. And here's something
I mentioned earlier. There is a lot of lore to this,
but the story goes that this is when the beloved
pink Flamingo relay really came to be as a tradition.
And it sounds so much about this, Yeah, it sounds
really fun. It's a swimming event that has costumes where
(13:57):
the swimmers have a flamingo on of sorts in a
relay race and they can carry the flamingo.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
However, they would.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Like it sounds so fun, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yes, the pictures are fabulous.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
I feel like this is even more entertaining to watch
than the Olympics. This would be more entertaining.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
For the third Games, the organizers went international, hosting them
in Vancouver, Canada in nineteen ninety. These were even bigger,
still more than doubling in size since the previous event,
with about seven five hundred athletes and fifteen hundred artists.
There were athletic and cultural events, and a few sanctioned
swimming world records were set, which was the first for
(14:42):
these Games. Records achieved in swimming continued in the nineteen
ninety four Gay Games held in New York City, furthering
its legitiacy as a sporting event with world class athletes.
I have to say this nineteen ninety four to one
in New York was kind of a stree range, Like
looking back over it, Rudy Giuliani spoke at it like all.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
These things gives me like that makes me sad and
like nostalgic for when politicians were sane, right, But also
you don't want him to be a part of this
now exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
I was just let your name on that. Why is
your name here?
Speaker 1 (15:23):
I think there were some pretty cool people of this
one too. But another thing I didn't get into, but
I believe at this game's this is when they worked
with the US governments to make it so that people
who were coming from other countries into the US to
participate didn't have to declare their HIV status.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Which was a big deal.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
By the time of the nineteen ninety eight Games in Amsterdam,
almost fifteen thousand people from seventy three countries showed up.
This was a notable game for a lot of reasons.
First of all, it had the highest percentage of women
competitors as compared to previous events. On top of that,
there was a bit of an uproar around same sex
(16:08):
pairs and figure skating that ultimately led to the international
bodies in charge to change the rules to allow same
sex pairs. Yes, and further, they were providing information on
breast cancer, which had impacted a lot of their community.
So they do a lot of fundraising around things.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Like HIV AIDS.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
But this is when they also really got in on
breast cancer. The two thousand and two Games were held
in Sydney. In the two thousand and six Games in Chicago,
there was some host city drama that tear Montreal was
originally going to be the host, but they pulled out
and hosted a competing event, Oh, the out Games. Yes,
(16:50):
but the Gay Games came together in Chicago and the
closing ceremony took place in the iconic Wrigley Field and
featured Sydney Lauper.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
That makes it perfect sense. It don't get me Motaina
as too, but like, yes, she hasn't always will be
an icon in the queer world.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yes, I think Billy Jan and King came to that
one too. There were a lot of people at this one.
Cologne's Cologne, Germany. There they hosted the twenty ten Games
and they set up a cultural village to highlight how
these games were about more than just a gay version
of the Olympics. They encompassed a lot more. It was
a space to learn through art and discussion. And then
(17:31):
the twenty fourteen games in Akron and Cleveland featured a
video message from President Obama during the opening ceremony about
how important these games were. Of note about the twenty
fourteen Games, this is when Sochi in Russia was hosting
the Olympics, and there was a lot of concern and
(17:51):
backlash amongst LGBTQ plus folks and allies do two Russias
anti LGBTQ plus policies. This actually resulted in a quote
constructive meeting between leadership of the Gay Games and the
International Olympic Committee, and the people who were in that
meeting representing the Gay Games were like, we never thought
(18:13):
we'd be here. After they pretty much suit using the
name Olympics. But yeah, there's a lot more on their
site about that whole thing and about the how that
looked and how specifically organizations in Russia. Queer organizations in
Russia were like, make sure when you're helping us, you're
(18:34):
not ignoring that you got some pretty bad stuff in
the United States too. It was a good read. It
was very interesting. So the Sydney Games were also when
the Gay Games, they were starting to hone in on
their branding because they'd been facing all these questions about
(18:56):
how they had to justify their existence. Is this discriminated
towards straight people? Why do we even need the Gay Games?
Things like that, and so that became something that they
started to really focus on and continued over the years,
and it would change as society changed, viewpoints changed, But
(19:17):
that was when they really started to focus in on it,
and they also started to link up with LGBTQ plus
organizations in the countries they were going to, like smaller
ones to help set up these events and make sure
they were reaching the right people all that stuff. Paris
(19:39):
hosted in twenty eighteen, and there was some drama behind
that one too. Also. I think it was Miami that
was the host city and they pulled out a last
minute and people had already flown there and stuff. It
was yeah, wow, it was really bad. But yes, Paris
did happen. And then the pandemic capited, which delayed the
(20:02):
next Games until twenty twenty three, where they were held
in Hong Kong and Guadalajara, Mexico. And part of the
reason they chose two cities was because of the pandemic.
It was still people were traveling, but it was still
kind of like, I don't know, let me be careful, yeah,
And so they held them in these two places that
(20:23):
they hoped large amounts of people could get to. The
Hong Kong Games led to the local FGG or Federation
of Gay Games organization to eventually host the Asia Pride Games,
and they were success and they're going to I think
they're having their second one. Nice. Valencia, Spain is the
(20:44):
host of the June twenty seventh to July fourth, twenty
twenty six Games. So this was an accidental on time
episode we did.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yeah, no, it's so perfect timing.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
It's rare that we do this. But yeah, this.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Is not that rare. Pretty tune somehow, like the world
seems like the vibe seem to know it's time.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
It's time.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right. I guess you're right.
It wasn't intentional. No, but here we are.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Yeah, me too. And listeners, if you have been or
are planning on.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Going, please right in and let us.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
I would love to hear about this. Yes, yes, Also
I need pictures of the flamingos from this. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
So here are some of the event categories they have
as of now. Aquatics, shack and field bowling, court sports
like volleyball, basketball and dodge well cycling, dance including cheerleading,
grass sports like baseball, rugby, and cricket, matt sports like
wrestling and fencing, Open water sports and racket sports. They
(22:11):
also have chess e sports and dragon boat racing.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
So I guess a similar to flamingo racing.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
No, maybe now the boat dragons.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah yeah, it's a dragon boat.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Oh yeah, I get it. I get it. After you
did that motion, yeah, a whole like rowing motion that
for some reason they clicked.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Yeah, it's very helpful in audio when I make a gesture.
They have a lot more events. Samantha and I were
just looking through and picking out the ones that we
were like, oh, that's you don't.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Normally see that different.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Yes, they have a lot of dance games.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Is unique. Yes, I love that. Actually, yeah me too,
me too.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
You could participate any last one to yeah or the
other one, scarier.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
One, the scarier one.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
The bad movies that we've talked about, where they going
to the world with that dude with the box Head girl,
I can't the weird nurses. Oh, Silent Hill, thank you,
Silent Hill. I was like resurrection, that is not right,
pyramid Head, not box close enough. It has a shape.
(23:28):
That was the most mom thing I could do. Your
little friend box Head.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, just go play that.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
But you're good at that game. That's what I'm meant
to say.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yeah, yes, thank you, Samantha.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
I think you should train to be in the games
at the Gay Games.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
We should look into it. I want to know what
exactly what games are they're playing can be perfect. I'll investigate.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Okay, I'll investigate. Next assignment, yes for you.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Okay. As for the cultural events, they include things around dance, music,
TV and film, art and literature. So it sounds like
I have a lot of stuff to do, a lot
of stuff to check out.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
How do you compete in literature?
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Oh no, these are no these are just cultural events
where you hang out and learn.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Oh what they have? Okay, okay, okay. I was like,
they compete in this hell all right?
Speaker 1 (24:22):
I can see trivia?
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Yeah, I mean that's in my head. I was like,
this is like a Jeopardy thing. Yeah, yeah, it's not.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
And they have to dance at the same time.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Wow, that would be I would watch that.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Yes, I would watch that.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
There you go, Gay Games. If you're listening to us,
we've got suggestions, We've got ideas, activity type of things.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
We've got so many ideas.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Stitching while you dance Oh yeah, the trick is not
to stab somebody or yourself.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
That's that would be ideal. That's a good trick.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
I'm sorry anyway, keep going.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I have more respect for the Games than that.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Moving on, so many credit the Gay Games in part
with boosting LGBDQ plus participation in the Olympics and with
the proliferation of gay sports clubs across the US and
across the world. Reading accounts from participants, it seems like
it is a really joyous space where people feel like
(25:17):
they can be themselves, a feeling that they would take
home with them and share with others. We've talked in
the past about the importance of sports too when it
comes to building community, self confidence, things like that, and
having spaces like this is increasingly important with growing attacks
on trans and non binary athletes. There also remain questions
(25:40):
of cost and access, which we have talked about before
when it comes to sports and especially events that call
for training and travel. Like I said, for this, you
don't necessarily have to have the training part, but having
this does represent so much, and the Gay Games has
scholarship programs to bring people in and teams off in
(26:02):
front fundraise. I know the cheer team is pretty big
and fundraising so people can come and providing for their
travel and stuff like that. The Gay Games are also
working on bringing in more women and more people of
color and people with disabilities. They're having discussions about changing
the name because there's just conversation about whether or not
(26:23):
for the younger generation, gay is what they connect with,
if that's the term that they connect with or resonate with.
So they're having that conversation too. But so many people
have reported how powerful it was and is to not
feel alone and how these events really gave them that,
(26:43):
and especially in dark times Yeah, where you're being told
you can't participate in these sports or that's wrong.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
To hide you who you are, Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
So I wanted to end on this quote from their website,
which again is Gay Games dot Com. Work In the
United States, LGBTQ plus rights are under attack, from bands
against transgender individuals to those wishing to remove the rights
and protections for the LGBTQ plus community that have come
about in the past forty years, and many of the
(27:15):
attacks we see today are the same ones we faced
forty years ago. Taiwan is the only Asian country where
marriage equality exists in South Africa, the only country on
the African continent. Thus, when people ask do we still
need a Gay Games, the obvious answer is yes, yes
we do. Yeah, I'm very glad to have learned more
(27:37):
about this. Yes, yeah, And as I said, the website
is full of interviews and pictures and videos. Some of
those performances are up there, so I do recommend checking
it out. And I really, listeners, if you have been
or I don't know, have any information about it, please
(28:00):
let us know.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
I need I need clips and I'm sure we can
go look up. I mean, I'm gonna look up the
Flamingo race immediately as well as the Tina Turner performance
because I must that will feed my soul. But also
any you have an assignment.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yes, look into the force.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Let's see we can get you into the Gay Games.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
I'm sure I could get in. I mean that's the thing.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Well, I mean, let's do this.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Q training montage.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Make sure I'm hydrated.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
Me in the background, how you your forehead?
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Get you got this?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
We got like some gator rays like I got you
the cold towel.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Yes, all right, well we'll look into that. Listeners, never
fear in the Meanwhile, if you would like to contact
us and oh and Happy Pride by the way, Happy
Pride Yes about anything Pride related or what have you,
you can email us at Hello Stuffhenever Told You dot com.
You can find us on Blue skyte Mom Stuff podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff when Never Told You.
(29:05):
We're also on YouTube. We have some merchandise at Compureau,
and we have a book you can get where you
get your books. Thanks as always to our super producer
Chandler and our expected brewser maya thank you and thanks
to you for listening. Stuff Never Told You is protection
of by Heart Radio. For more podcast in my heart Radio,
you can check out the heart Radio app, Apple podcast
or where you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha and welcome to stuff.
I never told you a productive I hurry, and today
we have an episode for you about the Gay Games.
We are kicking off Pride Month with a bang with
(00:25):
a history and a rundown about the Gay Games because
Samantha and I we had not heard of it until
recently with Samantha's Activists around the World episode on Kitty
Sway where it came up.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
And we were like, what is this? We should look
into what is this?
Speaker 1 (00:43):
What's going on here? So I would say go listen
to that episode if you haven't already. Also our episode
we did on the Olympics for discussion about gendered categories.
You could also check out our book. We have a
whole chapter about the Olympics in there. And our conversation
we had with doctor Annabath about trans athletes I think
(01:03):
also relates to this, and an important related conversation about
access and cost that we had in that episode that
will touch on a bit here, But that's something to
keep in mind. This is going to be a bit
of a shorter one, but I will tell you that
if you want to learn more, Gay Games dot Org,
(01:24):
they have a really useful, interesting timeline that has videos
and interviews and it just shows how it's changed and
how it came together and the people that made it
and what it's meant to people. So if you would
like to check that out, you can. So. The Gay
(01:46):
Games is an inclusive event modeled somewhat after the Olympics,
where LGBTQ plus people can come together and compete in
sporting and cultural events. These days, it brings in around
ten thousand and attendees who can visit Festival Village, which
is sort of like Olympic village, a meeting spot, a
place to stay, a place of entertainment. There are activities
(02:09):
like the memorial Rainbow run around the host city. There
are workshops, all kinds of stuff. It honestly, in some
ways reminded me of Dragon Con because it has like
a lot of those like in things if you know,
you know, yeah, like the flamingo.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
We'll talk about that in this second.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
So, as discussed in our Olympics episode, the Olympics does
have a long and often not so great history around
including queer people in sport or in general, women or
people of color for a while, or speculating about people's
sexual orientation and or gender identity to the point of harassment.
That's something we see today, right. So Olympic decathlete doctor
(02:53):
Tom Odell wanted to create an inclusive LGBTQ plus space
that featured not only sports competition, but a place for activism,
for people to come together and make community and culture.
Waddell first got involved with the nineteen sixty eight Mexico
City Olympics. This was a time with a lot of turmoil,
(03:14):
the protest against the Vietnam War, for one.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
The civil rights.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Movement was in full swing in the United States, and
black American athletes threatened to boycott the Olympics in protest
to racism in America. Of racism in America, there were
initiatives on voting ballots proposing banning LGBTQ plus folks from
becoming teachers. The Stonewall riots were on the horizon. There
(03:39):
was a lot of political violence with the assassination of
Martin Luther King Junior and Senator Robert F.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Kennedy.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
There was violence in Mexico City when students protesting poverty
in part caused by all the funds going to the
Olympics instead of the citizens. They were fired on by
Mexican soldiers, resulting in thirty deaths and a lot more injuries.
So because of this, there were acts of resistance and
defiance at these Mexico City Games, amongst some of the
(04:08):
athletes calling out racism and inequality. Two of those athletes,
black men, Tommy Smith and John Carlos, were sent home
after raising the Black Power fist during the US national anthem.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
While on the metal podium.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Doctor Waddell was vocal in his support of the athletes,
and there were calls to have him court martialed for
his comments because he was part of the military at
the time. Due to Waddell's participation in the military, he
could not compete in the Olympics as an openly gay man.
Waddell had also witnessed women being barred from competing in
(04:45):
sporting events. This was around the time of Boston Marathon
that whole thing. After seeing all of this and conferring
with others in the community, Wardell and others set about
putting together an inclusive alternative to the Olympics, the Gay Games.
The first Gay Games took place in nineteen eighty two,
fittingly in San Francisco. About thirteen hundred people showed up
(05:09):
with twelve countries represented, and Tina Turner was the headliner
for the opening ceremony.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
What this is why she was an icon in general
in every way? But yeah, she was the opener. Yes, please, yes,
I need to see that performance.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
You I think you can. And I read she like
brought down the house with her performance of Proud Mary Man.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
That would be one event I would love to have seen, damn.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And it was really fun to read the interviews of
people who were there, and they were so happy and
shocked that someone of her caliber showed up at a
time when being queer was still kind of looked down upon,
and she showed up at their event and it made
them feel very like, oh, this is something.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
You have seen. Yeah, yeah, to have someone that's amazing, Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yes, I have to say. Over the years, they've gotten
some really big names. I'm only gonna mention some of them,
but I would recommend looking it up because they've gotten
some people to show up for these games.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
I cannot believe I've never heard of these games. I'm
really sad. I go, oh, I'm so glad to talk
about it.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yes, yes, me too.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
There were sports competitions and cultural events at these first
games opening and closing ceremonies. It was largely put together
by volunteers and with donations, and allegedly it costs around
two hundred and twenty thousand dollars. The athletes ranged from
professional to just starting out, like they would hold you've
(06:38):
never done this sport before, but you're interested kind of things.
So they were really just come on in if you
want to try it out, and the focus was more
on getting a personal record as opposed to a medal.
It was much less competitive and much more collaborative. Organizers
and volunteers made a specific effort to bring in women
(07:00):
as well, and it ended up that close to half
of the participants were women. Wadell didn't like the nationalism
aspect of the Olympics, so it was more focused on
city participants. The city participants were from. Yes, there still
was a little like sometimes in the pictures you'll see
people holding up like Germany or whatever.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
But yeah, you'll see like a.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Little city sign like that.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
That's cute.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
I know, I love it. There weren't metal ceremonies or
medal counts. It was more of a celebration than a competition. Yeah,
but people did get medals. They just didn't do like
the whole yes thing. Yes, case way did we saw that.
In the beginning, this event was generally referred to as
the Gay Olympic Games. There were even pins printed with
(07:48):
the name. I think you can still get them. But okay,
I'm getting ahead of myself. You know who didn't like that.
The US Olympic Committee soprise.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, they did not like it at all.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Well, they initiated a lawsuit to prevent the event from
using Olympics as.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Part of their name.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
At the time, there were a lot of events that
used the term Olympics as part of their name. But
when it came to the LGBTQ plus community, that is
where they put the foot down.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
They were like, absolutely not, you will.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Not do that. They were successful in their suit, so
the Olympics was struck from the title. However, the whole
thing really shored up support for the event in the
gay community. But going back to what I was saying earlier,
I believe because they'd already printed some merchandise, it's almost
like the Olympics is redacted, like it's still on there,
(08:39):
but there's like a.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Plus cross over it. Yeah. Yeah, and I think you
can still get it like that.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
I think it's one of the what I was saying earlier,
like one of those in things if you know, you.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Know, yeah, yeah, that's right, being rebellious that it exactly well.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
In defense of the US Olympic Committee, they claimed that
the name implied that they were apposed to gay athletes
competing in the.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Other Okay, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
But yeah, this was their first lawsuit around the whole thing,
so what are we to make of that? And the
whole thing? The Gay Games themselves was about expanding people's
views of the many facets of the gay community. When
this was going down, many people just didn't believe gay
people were or could be athletic instead of just drag
(09:28):
queens and leather people they'd often been labeled at as
at the time, or that lesbians only played softball, or
that wrestling would become home erotic if gay people were
allowed to compete, things like that, those kind of stereotypes.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
A lot of gay sporting events took place under the
radar for safety reasons at the time, too, so people
didn't see them happening. So these stereotypes continued unquestioned. And
it also reinforced the idea that it was something to
The Gay Games was a way of shining a light
(10:04):
on people in the queer community being in sports and
what it looks like and how it looks like, all
kinds of things, not just these couple of things that
people had stereotyped it to be. The historical context of
(10:40):
when this was taking place is important to keep in
mind too, because this is when the HIV AIDS epidemic
was on the rise and largely ignored by the US
government and society, or seen as a punishment or the
fault of the victims. President Reagan and his extremely homophobic
administry were in power at the time. Public sentiment in
(11:03):
the US was volatile and often fearful and judgmental around
gay people. Some queer groups were prohibited from using public pools,
for example, because they thought people thought that's how HIV
AIDS might spread. Some people were coming from countries where
being queer was illegal, so having this space of joy
(11:24):
and camaraderie and activism was really important, and sadly, Waddell
himself died of AIDS in nineteen eighty seven. When people
recount the games from this period, there were a lot
of losses in the community hanging over the whole thing,
Like almost every interview I read, Yeah, people had lost people,
(11:48):
and there were a lot of really powerful counter protests
against the small number of people who showed out to
say being gay was wrong. So people did show up
at these games testing and saying homosexuality is a sin,
as unfortunately we would expect, but there were much bigger
counter protests against them.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
So that's good.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Vicky Carter, a member of an LGBTQ plus swimming group
in the UK, called out to swim participated in the
games and told the BBC we had two swimmers who
were out about their HIV status and one broke a
world record in their age group. It was amazing because
there was this terrible thing going on with HIV and
AIDS and people talking about how sick it was to
(12:32):
be gay, what a dreadful thing it was, and how
we're all going to die, and then you've got people
who are sick who are breaking world records, and it
was like, well, you might think we're sick, but we're
actually strong and powerful and can do amazing things. It
felt really defiant. The whole thing was truly terrifying, so
to overcome that terror and say no, I'm not going
(12:55):
to be frightened. It is okay to be gay, it
is okay to get on with my it's okay to
get on with my life. And we will live through this.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Yeah, me too.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
And so there are a lot of great statements like
that in interviews that I mentioned at the top, So
if you want to read them, I would recommend it.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I would recommend it.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So with a successful inaugural Gay Games event under the Belts,
organizers decided to follow the Olympics templates and hold a
Gay Games every four years. Gay Games Too took place
in nineteen eighty six, also in San Francisco. Attendance rose
to over three thy five hundred. A handful of new
(13:36):
events were adding to the roster too. And here's something
I mentioned earlier. There is a lot of lore to this,
but the story goes that this is when the beloved
pink Flamingo relay really came to be as a tradition.
And it sounds so much about this, Yeah, it sounds
really fun. It's a swimming event that has costumes where
(13:57):
the swimmers have a flamingo on of sorts in a
relay race and they can carry the flamingo.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
However, they would.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Like it sounds so fun, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yes, the pictures are fabulous.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
I feel like this is even more entertaining to watch
than the Olympics. This would be more entertaining.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
For the third Games, the organizers went international, hosting them
in Vancouver, Canada in nineteen ninety. These were even bigger,
still more than doubling in size since the previous event,
with about seven five hundred athletes and fifteen hundred artists.
There were athletic and cultural events, and a few sanctioned
swimming world records were set, which was the first for
(14:42):
these Games. Records achieved in swimming continued in the nineteen
ninety four Gay Games held in New York City, furthering
its legitiacy as a sporting event with world class athletes.
I have to say this nineteen ninety four to one
in New York was kind of a stree range, Like
looking back over it, Rudy Giuliani spoke at it like all.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
These things gives me like that makes me sad and
like nostalgic for when politicians were sane, right, But also
you don't want him to be a part of this
now exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
I was just let your name on that. Why is
your name here?
Speaker 1 (15:23):
I think there were some pretty cool people of this
one too. But another thing I didn't get into, but
I believe at this game's this is when they worked
with the US governments to make it so that people
who were coming from other countries into the US to
participate didn't have to declare their HIV status.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Which was a big deal.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
By the time of the nineteen ninety eight Games in Amsterdam,
almost fifteen thousand people from seventy three countries showed up.
This was a notable game for a lot of reasons.
First of all, it had the highest percentage of women
competitors as compared to previous events. On top of that,
there was a bit of an uproar around same sex
(16:08):
pairs and figure skating that ultimately led to the international
bodies in charge to change the rules to allow same
sex pairs. Yes, and further, they were providing information on
breast cancer, which had impacted a lot of their community.
So they do a lot of fundraising around things.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Like HIV AIDS.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
But this is when they also really got in on
breast cancer. The two thousand and two Games were held
in Sydney. In the two thousand and six Games in Chicago,
there was some host city drama that tear Montreal was
originally going to be the host, but they pulled out
and hosted a competing event, Oh, the out Games. Yes,
(16:50):
but the Gay Games came together in Chicago and the
closing ceremony took place in the iconic Wrigley Field and
featured Sydney Lauper.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
That makes it perfect sense. It don't get me Motaina
as too, but like, yes, she hasn't always will be
an icon in the queer world.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yes, I think Billy Jan and King came to that
one too. There were a lot of people at this one.
Cologne's Cologne, Germany. There they hosted the twenty ten Games
and they set up a cultural village to highlight how
these games were about more than just a gay version
of the Olympics. They encompassed a lot more. It was
a space to learn through art and discussion. And then
(17:31):
the twenty fourteen games in Akron and Cleveland featured a
video message from President Obama during the opening ceremony about
how important these games were. Of note about the twenty
fourteen Games, this is when Sochi in Russia was hosting
the Olympics, and there was a lot of concern and
(17:51):
backlash amongst LGBTQ plus folks and allies do two Russias
anti LGBTQ plus policies. This actually resulted in a quote
constructive meeting between leadership of the Gay Games and the
International Olympic Committee, and the people who were in that
meeting representing the Gay Games were like, we never thought
(18:13):
we'd be here. After they pretty much suit using the
name Olympics. But yeah, there's a lot more on their
site about that whole thing and about the how that
looked and how specifically organizations in Russia. Queer organizations in
Russia were like, make sure when you're helping us, you're
(18:34):
not ignoring that you got some pretty bad stuff in
the United States too. It was a good read. It
was very interesting. So the Sydney Games were also when
the Gay Games, they were starting to hone in on
their branding because they'd been facing all these questions about
(18:56):
how they had to justify their existence. Is this discriminated
towards straight people? Why do we even need the Gay Games?
Things like that, and so that became something that they
started to really focus on and continued over the years,
and it would change as society changed, viewpoints changed, But
(19:17):
that was when they really started to focus in on it,
and they also started to link up with LGBTQ plus
organizations in the countries they were going to, like smaller
ones to help set up these events and make sure
they were reaching the right people all that stuff. Paris
(19:39):
hosted in twenty eighteen, and there was some drama behind
that one too. Also. I think it was Miami that
was the host city and they pulled out a last
minute and people had already flown there and stuff. It
was yeah, wow, it was really bad. But yes, Paris
did happen. And then the pandemic capited, which delayed the
(20:02):
next Games until twenty twenty three, where they were held
in Hong Kong and Guadalajara, Mexico. And part of the
reason they chose two cities was because of the pandemic.
It was still people were traveling, but it was still
kind of like, I don't know, let me be careful, yeah,
And so they held them in these two places that
(20:23):
they hoped large amounts of people could get to. The
Hong Kong Games led to the local FGG or Federation
of Gay Games organization to eventually host the Asia Pride Games,
and they were success and they're going to I think
they're having their second one. Nice. Valencia, Spain is the
(20:44):
host of the June twenty seventh to July fourth, twenty
twenty six Games. So this was an accidental on time
episode we did.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yeah, no, it's so perfect timing.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
It's rare that we do this. But yeah, this.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Is not that rare. Pretty tune somehow, like the world
seems like the vibe seem to know it's time.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
It's time.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right. I guess you're right.
It wasn't intentional. No, but here we are.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Yeah, me too. And listeners, if you have been or
are planning on.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Going, please right in and let us.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
I would love to hear about this. Yes, yes, Also
I need pictures of the flamingos from this. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
So here are some of the event categories they have
as of now. Aquatics, shack and field bowling, court sports
like volleyball, basketball and dodge well cycling, dance including cheerleading,
grass sports like baseball, rugby, and cricket, matt sports like
wrestling and fencing, Open water sports and racket sports. They
(22:11):
also have chess e sports and dragon boat racing.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
So I guess a similar to flamingo racing.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
No, maybe now the boat dragons.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah yeah, it's a dragon boat.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Oh yeah, I get it. I get it. After you
did that motion, yeah, a whole like rowing motion that
for some reason they clicked.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Yeah, it's very helpful in audio when I make a gesture.
They have a lot more events. Samantha and I were
just looking through and picking out the ones that we
were like, oh, that's you don't.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Normally see that different.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Yes, they have a lot of dance games.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Is unique. Yes, I love that. Actually, yeah me too,
me too.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
You could participate any last one to yeah or the
other one, scarier.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
One, the scarier one.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
The bad movies that we've talked about, where they going
to the world with that dude with the box Head girl,
I can't the weird nurses. Oh, Silent Hill, thank you,
Silent Hill. I was like resurrection, that is not right,
pyramid Head, not box close enough. It has a shape.
(23:28):
That was the most mom thing I could do. Your
little friend box Head.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, just go play that.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
But you're good at that game. That's what I'm meant
to say.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yeah, yes, thank you, Samantha.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
I think you should train to be in the games
at the Gay Games.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
We should look into it. I want to know what
exactly what games are they're playing can be perfect. I'll investigate.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Okay, I'll investigate. Next assignment, yes for you.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Okay. As for the cultural events, they include things around dance, music,
TV and film, art and literature. So it sounds like
I have a lot of stuff to do, a lot
of stuff to check out.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
How do you compete in literature?
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Oh no, these are no these are just cultural events
where you hang out and learn.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Oh what they have? Okay, okay, okay. I was like,
they compete in this hell all right?
Speaker 1 (24:22):
I can see trivia?
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Yeah, I mean that's in my head. I was like,
this is like a Jeopardy thing. Yeah, yeah, it's not.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
No, I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
And they have to dance at the same time.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Wow, that would be I would watch that.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Yes, I would watch that.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
There you go, Gay Games. If you're listening to us,
we've got suggestions, We've got ideas, activity type of things.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
We've got so many ideas.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Stitching while you dance Oh yeah, the trick is not
to stab somebody or yourself.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
That's that would be ideal. That's a good trick.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
I'm sorry anyway, keep going.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I have more respect for the Games than that.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Moving on, so many credit the Gay Games in part
with boosting LGBDQ plus participation in the Olympics and with
the proliferation of gay sports clubs across the US and
across the world. Reading accounts from participants, it seems like
it is a really joyous space where people feel like
(25:17):
they can be themselves, a feeling that they would take
home with them and share with others. We've talked in
the past about the importance of sports too when it
comes to building community, self confidence, things like that, and
having spaces like this is increasingly important with growing attacks
on trans and non binary athletes. There also remain questions
(25:40):
of cost and access, which we have talked about before
when it comes to sports and especially events that call
for training and travel. Like I said, for this, you
don't necessarily have to have the training part, but having
this does represent so much, and the Gay Games has
scholarship programs to bring people in and teams off in
(26:02):
front fundraise. I know the cheer team is pretty big
and fundraising so people can come and providing for their
travel and stuff like that. The Gay Games are also
working on bringing in more women and more people of
color and people with disabilities. They're having discussions about changing
the name because there's just conversation about whether or not
(26:23):
for the younger generation, gay is what they connect with,
if that's the term that they connect with or resonate with.
So they're having that conversation too. But so many people
have reported how powerful it was and is to not
feel alone and how these events really gave them that,
(26:43):
and especially in dark times Yeah, where you're being told
you can't participate in these sports or that's wrong.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
To hide you who you are, Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
So I wanted to end on this quote from their website,
which again is Gay Games dot Com. Work In the
United States, LGBTQ plus rights are under attack, from bands
against transgender individuals to those wishing to remove the rights
and protections for the LGBTQ plus community that have come
about in the past forty years, and many of the
(27:15):
attacks we see today are the same ones we faced
forty years ago. Taiwan is the only Asian country where
marriage equality exists in South Africa, the only country on
the African continent. Thus, when people ask do we still
need a Gay Games, the obvious answer is yes, yes
we do. Yeah, I'm very glad to have learned more
(27:37):
about this. Yes, yeah, And as I said, the website
is full of interviews and pictures and videos. Some of
those performances are up there, so I do recommend checking
it out. And I really, listeners, if you have been
or I don't know, have any information about it, please
(28:00):
let us know.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
I need I need clips and I'm sure we can
go look up. I mean, I'm gonna look up the
Flamingo race immediately as well as the Tina Turner performance
because I must that will feed my soul. But also
any you have an assignment.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yes, look into the force.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Let's see we can get you into the Gay Games.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
I'm sure I could get in. I mean that's the thing.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Well, I mean, let's do this.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Q training montage.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Make sure I'm hydrated.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
Me in the background, how you your forehead?
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Get you got this?
Speaker 2 (28:39):
We got like some gator rays like I got you
the cold towel.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Yes, all right, well we'll look into that. Listeners, never
fear in the Meanwhile, if you would like to contact
us and oh and Happy Pride by the way, Happy
Pride Yes about anything Pride related or what have you,
you can email us at Hello Stuffhenever Told You dot com.
You can find us on Blue skyte Mom Stuff podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff when Never Told You.
(29:05):
We're also on YouTube. We have some merchandise at Compureau,
and we have a book you can get where you
get your books. Thanks as always to our super producer
Chandler and our expected brewser maya thank you and thanks
to you for listening. Stuff Never Told You is protection
of by Heart Radio. For more podcast in my heart Radio,
you can check out the heart Radio app, Apple podcast
or where you listen to your favorite shows.
Stuff Mom Never Told You News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Samantha McVey
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Bleep! with Ana Navarro
Fear thrives in silence and confusion. Ana Navarro rejects both. Her voice is an antidote to today’s chaos. Her new podcast, Bleep! with Ana Navarro, takes on today’s most pressing issues with the voices most connected to it: decision-makers, political leaders, cultural shapers, and people on the frontlines of the story. The conversations acknowledge the emotions we all feel—despair, sadness, fear— but emerge with knowledge, perspective, and hope. The belief is simple: fearless dialogue can transform fear into courage, and courage into change. When fear dominates the headlines, this show digs deeper. Because information, debate, and conversation don’t just ease fear, they give us power to shape the future.
Hey Jonas!
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.