Why Here

We don't use the term icon loosely. But if singer, actor, activist and author Mx. Justin Vivian Bond (Viv for short) aren’t deserving, then no one we know is. As an NYC entertainment mainstay, their stage performances, sultry vocals and searing humor have kept a generation of New Yorkers in check. On this episode of Why Here, they explain what it was like trying to make people pay attention to pronouns decades ago, share how t...

As a child in Afghanistan, Qais Munhazim says their queerness was something they were allowed to embrace. For many other queer and trans Afghans, Qais suggests it's a similar story. Still, the Taliban's recent return to power has left the fates of women, trans and queer people in question. On this week's episode, Qais helps us learn what everyday life holds for LGBTQ+ Afghans, how the world's perception of the c...

When Dempsey Jara told her parents she was a girl and not a boy (which she was presumed to be at birth) a light went off in their heads. They could either get behind their young daughter or fight it. They chose the former, and what unfolded is a journey that has literally changed the narrative on how trans kids are perceived in the U.S. and the world (as proved by a lot of media coverage). On the Season 3 opener of Why Here, hosts ...

There is a question that has baffled scientists and scholars since the dawn of time: Is Scissoring A Thing? Well, finally the world has bonafide experts to answer it. Enter Daryn Carp and Liz Culley, the hosts of Scissoring Isn’t A thing, one of 2020’s breakout podcasts. On the season two finale of Why Here, the two join us to talk about scissoring, help us shed light on the technical term “baby dyke” and answer another huge questi...

Actor, writer and director Colman Domingo has received a GLAAD Award, has starred in some of the most profound films in recent years (If Beale Street Could Talk, Lincoln, Selma, Birth of a Nation) and has played a role alongside Zendaya in HBO’s critically acclaimed Euphoria. On this week’s episode of Why Here, Colman joins us to talk about his passion for telling important stories, his take on kindness, his gardening obsession and...

It easy to have an extreme crush on Wilson Cruz. Not only is he smart, thoughtful and a shining example of queer pride, he is one of the Grand Marshalls of NYC Pride this year. They’re big shoes to fill, but he takes it all in stride, as he does his role as Dr. Hugh Culber on Paramount+’s Star Trek: Discovery. On this week’s episode of Why Here, Wilson shares his take on queer representation in outer space (and on American TV since...

When Diane Anderson-Minshall began her career as a journalist in small-town Idaho she had to plead with someone to hire her. Now she's literally at the top of the LGBTQIA publishing world.  The queer, Indigenous journalist, editor, author and activist, who has received numerous awards for her work, now helms Pride Media Inc. and is the editorial director of its titles, which include The Advocate and Out magazines. On this week...

Life as a quadruple threat is a challenge, but Kat Cunning takes it all in stride. The actor, dancer, vocalist and musician has already graced TV screens (on HBO's The Deuce), concert halls, Broadway stages and many of our playlists (and you may not even know it!). On this week's episode of Why Here, hosts Benton and Tristan go deep with Kat and learn that a three-year-old can actually know exactly what they want to be, h...

Eden Espinosa may have gotten her start singing nearly every Disney princess ballad for Disneyland park-goers, but that was just the beginning. She's now one of the best-known contemporary stage actresses in the world and has had lead roles in iconic shows including RENT and Wicked. On this week's episode of Why Here, hosts Benton and Tristan chat with Eden about her humble Orange County beginnings, her political and soci...

Imagine: You're living your life in New York City, then mom moves in — with you and your partner. Director Sian-Pierre Regis doesn't have to imagine. His film "Duty Free" is a sort of love letter to his mother Rebecca Danigelis, who, at the age of 75, was fired and evicted. With nowhere to go, she was left to rely on Sian-Pierre to help her find more work. What she instead found was a chance to write (and comple...

The past year has introduced the world to many folx who’ve helped us understand what our blind spots might be. One of them is Sis, an actor, activist and sister to many who’ve felt left out of crucial conversations about race, identity and gender. On this week’s episode of Why Here, she talks to hosts Benton and Tristan about growing up in Texas, how she helped call out the entertainment industry and the ultimate way to get back at...

Guests on Why Here often get asked what their secrets are. WELL, the tables have turned. On this week's episode, Tristan McAllister turns the mic on himself and lets co-host Benton Whitley embarrass him on the eve of his birthday. Tristan talks about growing up in Alaska, his big gay wedding (and divorce), a chance run-in with Clay Aiken that changed the course of his life and first kisses. In truth, the only way the two stay ...

Actor and writer Casey Thomas Brown (@shartyparty69) was a big part of our Instagram feeds all through quarantine. From Her Majesty The Queen to Fiona Apple and many more, his comical impressions of well-known people, and those he's conjured up, helped us find humor in a dark time. But he's so much more than an internet meme Queen. He's also a series regular on @Netflix's wildly funny The Kominsky Method and has...

If you think coming out to your parents is tough, try telling them you have HIV. Even harder, try telling the world. For a decade 31-year-old Luke Ray Kelly kept his HIV diagnosis a secret, only sharing it with loved ones and sexual partners. Then he saw the hit HBOMax show It's A Sin and he realized that by keeping his secret he was complicit in creating the very shame that has stifled a critical and life-saving conversation ...

What were you doing at the tender age of eight? While most of us were busying ourselves with My Little Pony and Lego sets, Australian-born Jeremy Heimans was focused on things a bit headier. His childhood obsessions were nuclear non-proliferation and global poverty. He even tried to stop Desert Storm (with a fax machine). Nowadays he's a globally known activist and movement builder, whose work has literally touched all of your...

Robert Hartwell has our hearts. Truly. After conquering Broadway in his twenties, with leading roles in multiple shows, he turned his attention to arts education. Now, as the founder and CEO of The Broadway Collective, he works tirelessly to help aspiring performers find their voice (and their footing) on stage with workshops online and across the U.S. This week he sits down with Why Here hosts Tristan McAllister and Benton Whitley...

In 2017 Sandra Caldwell had a reckoning with herself — she could keep living as she had or she could make an admission that would shake the entertainment world. She chose the latter, and gave the interview of a generation to The New York Times, revealing that she had been living and successfully working as a cisgender actress for decades, all the while being transgender. The TV, film and stage star, who was featured in the landmark...

Can you imagine jumping out of an airplane with your nearly 80-year-old mother?  Sian-Pierre Regis can. It was actually his mother Rebecca Danigelis’ idea. She had a few more too, all of which went on the bucket list that Sian-Pierre asked her to make after she was fired from her job and forced out of the apartment she had lived in for nearly four decades. She was devastated. He saw a chance to give her all the things she always dr...