Season Two

Hey there fans of the Last Call Podcast  The wait is OVER!  We are officially BACK with Season 2 on February 14, because Season 2 is for lovers of freedom.

Season 1 host,  free feral, will be joined this season by Laine Kaplan-Levenson (WWNO’s TriPod and Sticky Wicket) to present Stories of Queer Resistance from our Queer Histories, Queer Futures workshop series in 2017.   Each week we’ll share stories produced by Laine, free, and our workshop participants that show how members of the New Orleans LGBTQ community stood up and threw down to make the world a safer, freer place for all of us.

We have 9 new episodes ready to be released weekly starting Valentines Day. We can’t wait to share these stories with you.

Special Episode: 'Alleged Lesbian Activities' Artist Talk

Recorded live on the set of Alleged Lesbian Activities on the last afternoon of a sold out run, Rachel Lee discusses the process of creating ALA with writers nelle mills and Bear Hebert, and directors indee mitchell and Bonnie Gabel, with additional commentary from performer Erin Roussel. Special thanks to Mallory Falk and Wendy Gaudin.

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Episode 5: The Way They Go

Why did all the dyke bars close? What did we lose when they shut down? In this final episode of our initial podcast series we hear answers to these foundational questions from interviewees and Last Call organizers. 

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Episode 4: Sanctity of Marriage

Here comes the bride? For some lesbians, marriage is a tool of the patriarchy; for others it’s a welcome opportunity to celebrate and gain family acceptance. In this episode we go inside four different partnerships, starting with the joyfully subversive wedding of a New Orleans dyke bar owner.

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Episode 3.3: Les Pierres

Les Pierres, New Orleans’ first bar owned by and operated for Black lesbians, was often so packed on the weekends that owners Juanita Pierre and Leslie Martinez had to throw open the french doors to accommodate the crowd. In this episode they share some of their favorite memories of the bar and why it was such an important space.

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Episode 3.2: Charlene's

Charlene’s was legendary. Open for 22 years on Elysian Fields, it was a community hub, a dance party and a training ground for budding activists. We go back to the fateful night that started it all.

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Episode 3.1: Brady's

If you wanted to drink at Brady’s, you had to play by the rules. This episode goes inside one of New Orleans’ first dyke bars and introduces its founder Alice Brady, a butch lesbian in a skirt and ship’n’shore blouse. This is the first in a series of episodes about specific dyke bars in New Orleans.

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Episode 2: Crossing the Threshold

In this episode we hear about the fear and excitement of entering into a dyke bar for the first time through the stories of two women. We ask: how does race shape our experience of social spaces? How did subtle and not-so-subte interpersonal racism show up in lesbian bars? Do our intersecting identities create opportunities for solidarity across difference?

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Mini-sode 1: Gay Money

Remember when Pride didn’t come with corporate sponsorship and gay liberation was about standing up, not fitting in? Restaurant owner Ellen Rabin remembers the first gay march in New Orleans and her own subversive action.

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Episode 1: Coming Out Stories

The first in the series: Prologue: Coming Out Stories. There were at least a dozen lesbian bars in New Orleans in the 1970s and 80s. These are the stories of five people who found their way into the thriving scene. At turns funny, surprising, and heartbreaking, these stories give new meaning to the quintessential queer narrative: the coming out story.

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