Cruising | Queer History and Culture

Cruising | Queer History and Culture

Conversations about lesbian bars, sapphic spaces, and beyond! Not sure where to start? You don’t have to listen in order! Pick your favorite city, space, or LGBTQ+ icon and dive in. Season 1 follows creators Sarah Gabrielli, Rachel Karp, and Jen McGinity on their 2021 cross-country road trip to every lesbian bar in the U.S., sharing the stories of the humans that run these spaces and the humans that call them a home. Season 2 features 14 more spaces, chronicling the current lesbian bar resurgence AND taking you back in time to lesbian bars of decades past. In Season 3, host Sarah Gabrielli sits down with history-making lesbians and LGBTQ+ folks to discuss all kinds of queer spaces - from bookstores, to farms, to peace encampments and more! New episodes air every other Tuesday.

Episodes

October 14, 2025 55 mins
In 1999, Jess Dobkin and Lisa DeBoer formed the activist group Lesbians for Liberty. Their purpose was to push for visibility in the WNBA and specifically, at the New York Liberty games. In Act I, Jess and Lisa sit down with Sarah to discuss the history of lesbians and the WNBA, the story of the Lesbian Time-Out Kiss-In, and their experiences in activist groups like the Lesbian Avengers. In Act II, Jess remains to talk about some ...
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Radical lesbian activist Oak Chezar spent three years protesting nuclear war at Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, and another five living on lesbian women's lands. Some of Oak's stories were aired on our original Greenham Common episode with Sue Say and, due to popular demand, we bring you Sarah's full conversation with her here today. Tune in for never-before-seen tales of creative actions, annoying law enforcement, living outsi...
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Ronnie D. Ron (also known as Ronnie-Ron and Sha'ron Harris) came up in the LA Black gay disco scene, and soon went on to found Shakedown in 1996. Shakedown was a special place - where women celebrated each other, danced freely and exotically, and found lovers and family. Ronnie discusses the origins of Shakedown, the making of Leilah Weinraub's 2018 documentary, and why they eventually had to close their doors... -Watch Shakedo...
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In this episode, we sit down with Tricia Cooke — the creative force behind the recent lesbian comedies Drive-Away Dolls and Honey Don’t. Married to filmmaker Ethan Coen (yes, of the Coen brothers), Tricia has long identified as a lesbian, and we dive into how that identity intersects with her decades-long, straight-presenting poly marriage. The conversation spans two interviews a year apart: first, in Tricia and Ethan’s Manhattan h...
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Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Lisa Cannistraci, the owner of Henrietta Hudson, the longest running lesbian bar in the country, (@henriettahudson), to chat about her experience running the bar. From taking Madonna on a tour of all of the lesbian bars in NYC, to Melissa Etheridge taking over the stage when the band started playing "Come to My Window", Lisa has seen it all. She talked to us about embracing...
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Another feed swap this week - with The Queer Family Podcast with Jaimie Kelton! . . . Jaimie sits down with Brian Rosenberg, longtime advocate, dad of three, and founder of Gays With Kids and GWK Academy. From navigating HIV and homophobia in the '80s to building a beautiful family through adoption and surrogacy, Brian shares his powerful story with honesty, humor, and heart. He opens up about the challenges of coming out as HIV...
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Cruising is taking a a short summer hiatus and, in the meantime, sharing episodes from other queer podcasts we love! First up is Shame Spiral with psychotherapist-turned-comedian Ely Kreimendahl. This is her hilarious interview with comedian Robby Hoffman (Hacks, Workin' Moms, The Chris Gethard Show, Odd Squad, Just For Laughs), which originally aired April 18, 2023:  "This week I spiraled out with ridiculously funny & brilliant...
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Womencrafts is one of only 13 feminist book stores left in the country, and a pillar of Provincetown, MA. This week, we sit down with Michelle Axelson, the owner of Womencrafts since taking over in 2015. Michelle shares the history of the shop (first owned by lesbians in 1976), how she found her place in Ptown, and why so many people have come out for the first time at Womencrafts (they offer a dyke discount) ...  Check out the ...
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We're diving into the rich history and culture of queer country western dancing. First, Sean Monaghan will share the story of Stud Country - how he discovered queer line dancing at the historic Oil Can Harry's, and how (along with his cofounder, Bailey) Sean founded Stud Country and brought about a renaissance of country western dancing to a younger generation of queers. In Act 2, Susanna Stein shares her own journey in the queer d...
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Our Guest this week, Heather Purser, made headlines back in 2011 when she single handedly passed same-sex marriage in the Suquamish tribe in Seattle, Washington. Today, Heather is a Suquamish lesbian activist and commercial diver! She shares her story of accepting her own identity, finding her childhood crush, and making space for herself within her community. Thank you for listening to Cruising Podcast! -Reviews help other li...
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Holly Near is a world-renowned singer and activist, known for producing music with powerful political messaging - she sings about war, racism, queer love and much more. She is one of the early pioneers of Women's Music (also known as radical lesbian feminist music) and the first lesbian to come out in People Magazine in 1975. Holly started her political career in the anti-war movement. Most notably, joining Jane Fonda's FTA (Free T...
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This week, we sit down with Angela Denise Davis, the creative director and podcast host for ZAMI NOBLA - the National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging. She's also a scholar, organizer, minister, and Ukulele instructor. ZAMI NOBLA, founded in 2011 by Angela's partner Mary Anne Adams, is the leading advocacy organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbians over 40. Angela breaks down her experiences with aging and vision lo...
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For the first time, we feature two interviews - two dykes, from two different generations - on the same concept: Dyke Drag. First, we'll hear from I'm Baby, a Brooklyn drag performer who started an event they call "Dyke Drag" which brings gender-diverse drag to sapphic spaces around the city. In Act 2, we meet Denise Gaylord, a local Ptown lesbian who ran an annual brunch also called "Dyke Drag" back in the 90s. Tune in to find out...
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Robin Tyler is a history-making activist and stand-up comic, that's been on the scene since moving to New York City in the 1960's. Robin is a treasure trove of punchlines and queer history. She shares some of her most famous stories - like making a name for herself as a female impersonator, calling for 3 Marches on Washington, being the first out gay comic on national television, and successfully suing the state of California for t...
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The Greenham Common Women’s Peace Encampment was an anti-nuke encampment outside of a US military base in England, that women (and loads of lesbians) occupied from 1981 all the way through 2000. Fed up with male-on-male violence, and society's expectations on women, Sue Say joined the protest in its very beginnings as an 18-year-old. There, every day was exciting, for better or for worse. Greenham women were evicted from their camp...
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Valery Hughes is a retired nurse who spent her career working in HIV/AIDS care and research. She coauthored Nurses On The Inside: Stories Of The HIV/AIDS Epidemic In NYC with her colleague, Ellen Matzer, after working together in designated AIDS units for many years. Valery takes us behind the scenes of some of the city's busiest hospitals - from crossing paths with her first AIDS case in 1979, to all of the stigma around the disea...
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Kristen Becker is a standup comedian and activist based out of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Becker also has a long history of touring, living, and organizing in the Deep South. In 2006, she founded the "Dykes of Hazard," an all-lesbian comedy group that toured the Deep South for a decade. In 2014, Becker testified before the Louisiana State Legislature in support of the Louisiana Non-Discrimination Act. From there, she set out on a...
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You might know this week's guest, Tracy E. Gilchrist, as "the queen of queer media" or simply "the holding space lady." She reached internet fame last year when her interview with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande went viral during the Wicked press tour. But it goes without saying that Tracy is a whole person, who has lived a whole life, outside of that one video. Tracy has worked in queer media since the 90s - specifically covering ...
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Barbara Smith is an award winning author, scholar, and activist. She is most well-known for co-authoring the Combahee River Collective Statement with two other queer Black women - her twin sister Beverly, and friend Demita Frazier. Barbara joins us to unpack the personal history that informed her groundbreaking Black Feminist politics. We discuss her multi-generational upbringing, growing up in Cleveland during the Civil Rights Mov...
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For our first episode of season 3, Sarah sits down with long-time activist and radical organizer, Michelle Crone. Now in her 70s, Michelle has spent the better part of her life organizing women and building community in the upstate New York/Albany area. At 18, she began doing service work with communities in the Appalachian Mountains, but soon had to flee the country for (undoubtedly radical) reasons she is not allowed to talk abou...
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