All Episodes

October 16, 2024 58 mins

Send us a text

This Queer Universe with Ozzy Irving Gold-Shapiro
🎙️ Welcome back to Queer for Cities! Episode 6—we made it!! We’re back with a captivating conversation with Ozzy Irving Gold-Shapiro, “a curious historian, Yiddishist, cultural worker, and raconteur living on Nipmuc, Pocumtuc, and Nonotuck land in so-called western Massachusetts.” Josh and Ozzy talk about their work at the intersections of identity and community engagement and how Ozzy is transforming how neighbors engage with each other, including lessons on ways to practive grief in public. We’re diving into Ozzy’s life story and the queer world they grew up in and how that shapes the work they do today.

In This Episode:
🌈 Getting to Know Ozzy:

  • Your host, Joshua Croke, introduces Ozzy Irving Gold-Shapiro, highlighting their extensive work in community organizing and art in Northampton, Massachusetts.
  • Reflections on Ozzy’s life growing up in a pretty queer world and how those experiences shapes some of how they engage in broader community resilience and collective power work.

🏳️‍🌈 Community Engagement and Queerness:

  • Insights into the transformative power of community-oriented art projects in community, featuring stories from Ozzy's experiences.

📚 Cultural Heritage and Queer Narratives:

  • Discussion on the influence of Ozzy’s cultural heritage on their work, especially their Jewish identity and its intersection with queerness.
  • Reflections on the historical context of queer communities in Northampton and its designation as "Lesbianville, USA."

🗣️ Host: Joshua Croke, Queer For Cities

👥 Guest: Ozzy Irving Gold-Shapiro, Historian, Yiddishist, Cultural Worker

🎧 Tune in: Listen to Queer for Cities wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5 FM, Worcester’s only NPR affiliate station. Catch us on Wednesday at 6 PM when we have new episodes and find more episodes at QueerForCities.com. When we’re not airing new episodes of Queer For Cities, you can listen to our comeback show, Public Hearing, all about interesting and timely conversations about our home city, the second largest city in New England, Worcester, MA. Public Hearing is now under the very gay umbrella of Queer For Cities, yass!

👕 Support Queer For Cities with Merch! BUY MERCH HERE


📣 Supporters & Shoutouts:

  • Volturno Pizza: Fab pizza, delicious bevs, great people. Learn more at volturnopizza.com.
  • Love Your Labels: Supporting LGBTQ+ youth through creative expression. Discover how to get involved at loveyourlabels.org.

Thanks for listening! Please share with your fave queers, allies, and someone who maybe needs to learn a thing or two :) 

Queer For Cities is about life at the intersections and designing equity-centered, liberated communities where LGBTQ+ folx thrive. Follow us @QueerForCities and QueerForCities.com. Hosted by Joshua Croke. #QueerForCities

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.