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As LGBT issues strain an already-conflicted Catholic Synod on the Family, Vatican assistant Rev. Father Thomas Rosica explains the progressive bishops' position, and Pope Francis' gay former student Yayo Grassi talks about his warm reunion audience with the pontiff.

The biography of an artistic lesbian duo (Living Large) and the release of a herstoric, censored French classic (Therese and Isabelle) are celebrated by Queer Lit Commentator Janet Mason.

And in NewsWrap: a British appeals court denies same-gender couple pensions parity, a pro-equality Obama resists endorsing the Equality Act, transgender people suffer setbacks in Malaysia and Poland, Isle of Man official and an NCAA basketball coach make coming out news, Kim Davis could be a porn star, and more international LGBT news reported this week by Kristin Mellian and John Dyer V (produced by Steve Pride, written by Greg Gordon).

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This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org.

Dana Eagle Soars!

Week of December 15, 2014
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Lesbian laughs with the Eagle, the Hummer, and the Last Comic Standing as Dana meets up with Chris Wilson and Wenzel Jones.

Queer Life and Literature Commentator Janet Mason leafs through three new books about disparate parts of the LGBT world: Pride Climbing Higher, Stories by LGBT People from Nepal, an anthology edited by Chad Frisbie (Creative Nepal, 2014), Mardis Gras, a photobook from Australia (2014, Sonia Friedrich) and The Last Conception, a novel by Gabriel Constans (Melange Books, 2014).

And in <i><a href="http://bit.ly/1w0od5m">NewsWrap</a></i>: dozens of naked men humiliated at Cairo gay bathhouse crackdown, thousands protest E.U. sanctions over Gambia's anti-LGBT laws, English and Welsh "partners" finally get married, Seoul's mayor bows to human rights pressure, I.O.C. bans bias against the L-G-B but not the T, and more news reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Chrisanne Eastwood (produced by Steve Pride).

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This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org!

NewsWrap for the week ending December 15, 2014

SUMMARY

Un-Pride March - Up to 40 frightened and naked allegedly gay men are paraded out of a Cairo bathhouse with news cameras rolling as they're being arrested for “perversion” and “debauchery” …

Biting the Hand - thousands march in Gambia’s capitol of Banjul to protest the EU’s withdrawal of financial aid because of the enactment of draconian new anti-gay laws …

No, It's Not Free Speech - a U.S. federal appeals court in Boston advances an unusual “crimes against humanity” lawsuit by Ugandan activists against professional homophobe Scott Lively …

Movin' On Up - same-gender couples in English and Welsh civil partnerships begin converting them to civil marriages …

Decent Proposal - a civil marriage bill is introduced in the Chilean House of Delegates …

Sorry for Dehumanizing You - after a five-day sit-in by equality advocates at City Hall, Seoul’s mayor apologizes for dumping an LGBT-inclusive municipal Human Rights Charter because Christian conservatives had objected …

Game Changer … Almost - the International Olympic Committee adds sexual orientation to the named characteristics in the Charter’s anti-bias Principle 6, but as activist (and Harvey Milk nephew) Stuart Milk notes, transgenders are still without specific mention …

What's the Problem? - U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James tells the “USA Today’s” Susan Page that she has no objection to military service by qualified transgender people …

Empire Progress - transgender rights advance in New York City and New York state …

When the Unexpected Happens - Roman Catholic Pope Francis tells an Argentinian newspaper that parents finding themselves in the “somewhat unusual situation” of having a gay or lesbian child should support them …

Lavender Lotuses - Kyodo’s 500-year-old Shunkoin Zen Buddhist Temple becomes Japan’s first to host the wedding ceremonies of same-gender couples ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text … download the podcast … or listen on Stitcher!

NewsWrap for the week ending March 8, 2014

SUMMARY

Flogged and Fined - Four young men convicted of violating Nigeria's new horrendously-oppressive anti-LGBT laws are publicly whipped and could face more violence in prison …

Admissible Evidence - trial begins for two men in Zambia forced to undergo anal probes to "prove" their homosexuality …

Orange Is the New Lavender - four lesbians are reportedly arrested in Cameroon, which Human Rights Watch says prosecutes more sexual minorities than any other country in Africa …

Totally Intended Consequences - a Ugandan blog reports that a lesbian has been evicted from her home, despite being a "wonderful" tenant, because of that country's new Anti-Homosexuality Law …

Prophets of Doom - Uganda's Anglican Bishop calls mother Church of England "spiritually blind" about homosexuality, and prospective Anglican clerics in Nigeria must now swear to God that they aren't gay …

New Testaments - ambiguity surrounds comments attributed to Roman Catholic Pope Francis that seemed to suggest that the Church might be open to civil unions for same-gender couples, while exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama tells "Larry King Now" that marriage equality is "okay" …

Law in Transition - a landmark ruling in Lebanon sanctions the relationship of a transgender woman and a man …

Jasmine Equality - 200 guests cheer what may be the first public wedding of a gay male couple in Myanmar (Burma) …

Altared States - Colorado's Governor publicly endorses civil marriage for lesbian and gay couples, while Wyoming and Indiana are next in the U.S. to be sued for marriage equality by same-gender couples, and a federal court is expected to rule this month in a case challenging Michigan's hetero-only marriage law …

Early Admissions - citing a federal court ruling, Illinois officials expand the availability of marriage licenses to same-gender couples outside Chicago before the official June 1st enactment date of the state's marriage equality law …

Running for the Roses - Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway is unable to conceal his emotions as he announces that he won't appeal a federal ruling declaring as unconstitutional his state's refusal to recognize same-gender civil marriages legally performed elsewhere ….

Read the <a href="http://bit.ly/OfHeDd">complete NewsWrap text</a> ... or listen to <a href="http://bit.ly/1oRwiH7">this week's podcast</a>.

NewsWrap for the week ending November 2, 2013

SUMMARY

Taipei Tipping Point - A marriage equality bill is introduced in Taiwan's legislature the day after more than 50,000 parade with Pride in Taipei …

Rings and Rainbows - hundreds demonstrate for marriage rights in Hanoi …

Experts Notwithstanding - a marriage equality proposal fails for the second time in the Australian state of Tasmania …

Who Do They Say That I Am? - the Vatican distributes an unprecedented worldwide survey asking for input from local Roman Catholic parishes about such contentious social issues as abortion, divorce, and marriage equality …

Cold Shoulder - Thomas Bach, the new head of the International Olympic Committee, refuses to meet with LGBT advocates during his visit to the Russian site of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi …

A League of Their Own - a group of Russian activists is planning a major sporting event in Moscow right after the Sochi Olympics that will be open to people of all sexual orientations …

He Blinded Me With Junk Science - discredited homophobic American psychologist Paul Cameron gives "expert" testimony before the Russian parliament claiming that one in three gay men has sex with children or wants to …

Open the Flood Gates - former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who oversaw the dismantling of Don't Ask Don't Tell, is tapped to lead the soon-to-be partially-gay-welcoming Boy Scouts of America ….

Complete NewsWrap text and this week's podcast to be posted November 5, 2013.

"Facing Fear"

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Matthew Boger and Tim Zaal's unlikely friendship fights fear and fosters forgiveness in an acclaimed documentary short considered by Entertainment Correspondent Steve Pride.

Plus -- Canadian Artist Steven Walker is remembered in a Rainbow Minute (produced by Judd Proctor and Brian Burns, read by Heidi Trepanizer).

And in NewsWrap: more moderating words from the newly-minted Pope, U.S. Labor Department pushes spousal benefits for same-gender couples, Oklahoma not OK with National Guard benefits, Russian YouTube video claims gays and lesbians adopt children for rape, and more news reported by Michael LeBeau and Pamela Brooks (produced by Angela Brooks and Steve Pride).

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NewsWrap for the week ending September 21, 2013

SUMMARY

The Gospel Truth - Pope Francis shakes up Roman Catholics opining during a lengthy interview that the Church has been overly "obsessed" with abortion, contraception and marriage equality …

That's Amore - Italian Parliament kiss-in heralds passage of a bill to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the country's hate crime laws …

Labor of Love - U.S. Department of Labor makes a post-DOMA announcement that same-gender couples are now eligible to participate with their spouses in private employer-provided health care and pension benefits plans organized under federal law …

Both Sides of the Family - bipartisan bill introduced in Congress would extend family benefits to federal gay and lesbian workers and their domestic partners equal to those given ...

Not OK With Them - Oklahoma joins Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana to defy a post-DOMA Pentagon directive to enroll same-gender couples in National Guard benefits programs …

Native American Movement - California's Santa Ysabel Tribe brings the total of Native American tribes that marry lesbian and gay couples to six …

Nothing to See Here - new out writer for DC Comics' "Batwoman" franchise insists that his employer isn't anti-gay by rejecting the story line developed by his predecessors that had the lesbian superhero marrying her longtime gal pal detective Maggie Sawyer …

Fingers Crossed Behind Their Backs - Russia agrees in its generic version of the UN's traditional Olympics Truce that it won't discriminate, but refuses to be more specific …

Sick Young Imaginations - new Russian YouTube video warns that gays and lesbians want to adopt children so they can rape them and "satisfy their sexual desires" …

Soft Drink Gambit - former chess champion and Russian opposition figure Gary Kasparov suggests how things in Sochi could go even better with Coke ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... or listen to this week's podcast.

Russia Update & Manning Sentencing

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Moscow-based activist Nikolai Alekseev (via Skype with correspondent Steve Pride) brings us the latest from the frontlines of Russia's crackdown on LGBT people -- is Vladimir Putin playing Russian roulette with the Winter Olympics?

Elizabeth Goitein of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice shares her analysis of what's ahead for the controversial queer whistle-blower, as a U.S. Army judge measures Pvt. Bradley Manning's guilt (an interview with Dorian Merina of Free Speech Radio News).

And in NewsWrap: the new Pope says he won't "judge" gay priests, activists align with LGBT bar owners to "Dump Stoli," U.S. citizens get equal visa rights for their same-gender spouses, marriage equality bells ring in Minnesota and Rhode Island, and more news reported by Pamela Brooks and Charlie Bauer (produced by Steve Pride).

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NewsWrap for the week ending August 3, 2013

SUMMARY

Gamesmanship - The Russian government ignores global protests and vows no exceptions in enforcement of the recently passed "no promo homo" law at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, but then maybe relents …

Dry Politics - debate among LGBT activists and their allies continues around the world about how to best respond to Russia's escalating war on sexual minorities, but there's a push to "Dump Stoli" (arguably the most popular Russian vodka in the West) that’s growing around the world …

Vodka Veritas - Latvia's leading LGBT rights group Mozaika asks activists to stop their vodka protest actions, claiming that Stoli is made in their country, but the U.S. based Queer Nation disputes that claim with facts …

Judge Not - Pope Francis makes headlines with seemingly positive comments about gay priests, but critics remind LGBT Catholics that the Church still condemns homosexual *acts* as mortal sin …

Truth's Consequences - military court convicts U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, described as either gay or transgendered, of all but the most serious charge – aiding the enemy – for releasing reams of classified documents to Wikileaks in what's been called the largest breach of national security in American history …

Welcome Home - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry confirms (post-DOMA) that visa applications of the married foreign same-gender spouses of U.S. citizens will be treated the same as those from heterosexual spouses …

Wedding Cake-Bakers' Dozen - joining 11 other U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Minnesota and Rhode Island officially begin marrying lesbian and gay couples ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... or listen to this week's podcast.

Urvashi Vaid & "Straight to Vegas"

The veteran rights advocate questions the LGBT movement's status quo in Irresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics (interviewed by Chris Thomas of WBAI's OUT FM).

Gay "beard" Wenzel Jones deals deceptive fun in "the marriage capital of the world."

And in NewsWrap: New Zealand one vote away from marriage equality, Michigan's Odawa Indians okay same-gender weddings, civil unions law peaks in Colorado, Elizabeth's Commonwealth speech disappoints activists on "other grounds," there's nothing really new at the Vatican, and more news reported by Natalie Peoples and Johnnie Torres (produced by Brian DeShazor and Steve Pride).

To listen to the world's only syndicated weekly LGBT radio program, subscribe to our podcast at http://www.thiswayout.org ...

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