Spencer Macnaughton joins Daniel W.K. Lee and Kate d'Adamo to talk about his journey from mainstream media to founding Uncloseted Media. He shares how years of reporting on extremism and anti-LGBTQ groups exposed the urgent need for deeper, more rigorous queer storytelling. 

The conversation explores media fragmentation, journalistic standards, representation, and the responsibility to tell complicated stories with nuance and evidence. Spencer also opens up about his queer journey, the people who inspire him, and why believing in yourself can be the first step toward building something new.



Truth, Stories, and Change with Spencer Macnaughton #70

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Noris Chavarría joins Daniel W.K. Lee and Kenyon Farrow to talk about his journey from growing up in Queens as a queer Salvadoran American to building a career centered on leadership, coaching, and community. He reflects on nonprofit burnout, workplace boundaries, and the moment a coach encouraged him to consider working for himself. Noris shares how his experiences shaped Queer Compass Coaching and the Bloom Collective, with a focus on helping queer men of color build genuine connections and feel empowered in their next steps. The conversation also explores self-compassion, living authentically, and the importance of being present for the moments and people that matter.



Community, Courage, and Reinvention with Noris Chavarría #69

What happens when history is rewritten, identities become contested, and movements struggle over who belongs? The Power Beyond Pride hosts explore those questions through conversations about the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the political meaning of “queer,” and the responsibilities that come with shared identities and community power. They examine the importance of learning history beyond traditional institutions, recognizing resistance across communities, and refusing narratives that erase complexity or harm. The episode also addresses the attack in Berlin and the danger of turning violence into an excuse for Islamophobia. The conversation ultimately turns toward action, offering listeners ways to participate in change while navigating family relationships, boundaries, and personal well-being.



 History, Identity, and Action with Power Beyond Pride Reply All #68

Simran Chugani brings a powerful conversation with co-hosts Kenyon Farrow and Shawn Aaron about what it means to live authentically while navigating athletics, art, activism, and political hostility.

They explain how running helped them connect with their body and build confidence, while poetry gave them the freedom to explore identity and tell the truth more honestly. Simran pushes back on the narratives used to target transgender people and offers a broader understanding of gender-affirming care. The episode closes with practical wisdom about rest, community, collective care, and learning to treat yourself with more beauty and grace.

Running, Writing, and Becoming with Simran Chugani #67

Ashley Virginia joins co-hosts Shane Lukas and Daniel W.K. Lee to talk about how songwriting became a way to process emotions, express identity, and connect with others. She shares how queer community, folk music, and creative spaces have shaped her journey as an artist and activist. 

Ashley also opens up about the realities of making a living as an independent artist, choosing integrity over a job that asked her to compromise her values, and the role community played in helping her move forward. The conversation ultimately explores why creativity belongs to everyone and how making art can help us reclaim our power, joy, and humanity.

Songwriting, Community, and the Power of Expression with Ashley Virginia #66

What happens when a community loses touch with its own history? Hugh Ryan joins Mattie and Kenyon for a thoughtful and often hilarious conversation about queer memory, resistance, and the ways history continues to shape LGBTQ+ life today. From the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History to his upcoming memoir, Hugh shares personal stories and big ideas about archives, identity, activism, and the changes he has witnessed across generations. He challenges the idea that the past can simply be recreated and explains why queer people must continue documenting, supporting, and preserving their own stories. The episode is both a history lesson and a reminder that change has happened before—and that queer communities have always found ways to create possibility.





History, Pride, and Queer Possibility with Hugh Ryan #65

What if the phrase "second chance" is itself the problem? Adam Henderson, VP of Sales at Orijin, opens this conversation with Shane Lukas and Mattie Bynum by challenging a widely-used framing — arguing that for many incarcerated people, it was never a first chance to begin with. The episode maps what's possible: Massachusetts' model of 24/7 in-prison programming, Tennessee's "hidden talent" workforce initiative connecting incarcerated people to major labor gaps, and Iowa's tech-based parole check-ins reducing costly technical violations. Threaded through it all is a sharp analysis of how race, gender, and identity shape who gets incarcerated, who gets harmed inside, and who gets a real shot on the outside — with a particular focus on the disproportionate impact on queer and trans communities.

Justice, Community, and Clearing the Path with Adam Henderson #64

Co-hosts Melody KG and Mattie Bynum dig into the deeper currents of River Coello's work, exploring what gets erased when colonial systems take hold — and what endures anyway. As a PhD candidate in anthropology at UCF, River has traced the quiet persistence of Indigenous wisdom throughout the history of the field, arguing that Indigenous voices have always shaped knowledge, even when uncredited. Drawing from the Andean Cosmovision — conversations with sacred animals, the stars, and the moon — River weaves art, research, spirituality, and facilitation into a single practice rooted in the belief that culture is one of the most powerful sites for change. And when it comes to trans visibility, River is clear: being seen is not enough. Trans people need safety, shelter, family, and financial security — everything that pride, on its own, doesn't fully capture.

Ritual, Roots, and Radical Selfhood with River Coello #63

What happens when the internet turns politics into a consumer activity — something you watch, share, and feel, rather than something you do? Cayden Mak, publisher of Convergence magazine and host of Block and Build, joins co-hosts Daniel W.K. Lee and Kenyon Farrow to untangle the structural forces shaping digital organizing, from Shoshana Zuboff's surveillance capitalism to Silicon Valley's role in driving authoritarian consolidation. He pushes back on AI hype — arguing that much of it is marketing designed to launder ideology and remove human accountability from harmful decisions — while also insisting that the internet has been genuinely life-saving for young queer people cut off from affirming communities. Drawing on the legacy of ACT UP and the long-view thinking of Grace Lee Boggs, Cayden makes the case that real politics is not what you watch or repost, but what you do with other people over time.

Logging Off, Showing Up, and Organizing with Cayden Mak #62

The Lavender Scare — the 60-year federal policy that allowed gay people to be legally fired from government jobs — is the subject of Lisa Cordileone's historical fiction TV series Committed, and in conversation with co-hosts Kenyon Farrow and Mattie Bynum, she makes a compelling case that its echoes are very much present today. Lisa pushes back on the tendency of queer film to market itself as an education for straight audiences, arguing instead for stories where queer people simply exist, the way they always have — intersecting across race, class, gender expression, and history. Drawing from nonfiction, stoicism, and overlooked histories like Hidden Figures and The Imitation Game, she builds characters who battle with morality rather than slot neatly into hero or villain roles. She's particularly drawn to questions of colorism and passing — and how her own experience as a white queer woman means living simultaneously at the intersection of privilege and otherness. For Lisa, Power Beyond Pride means thriving without shame: not just surviving visibility, but choosing a life of truth.

History, Hollywood Hustle, and the Lavender Scare with Lisa Cordileone #61

Ignite your activism! Power Beyond Pride dives deep into the electrifying work of LGBTQ+ leaders and organizers shattering barriers. Hear their inspiring stories, feel the raw power of their purpose, 

Power Beyond Pride · Zencastr

Power Beyond Pride

Ignite your activism! Power Beyond Pride dives deep into the electrifying work of LGBTQ+ leaders and organizers shattering barriers. Hear their inspiring stories, feel the raw power of their purpose, and discover concrete ways YOU can join the movement in your own community. Two dynamic hosts every week, plus a monthly all-host power surge discussing the latest movement news! Get ready to be inspired and take action!