Best Frank Gigy Podcasts (2024)

1
Episode 216: Anatomy of a Murder 44:37

3M ago44:37

44:37

Anatomy of a Murder is a courtroom drama that introduces some of the touchstones of the genre, including the the “I’m just a simple country lawyer” trope, with Jimmy Stewart as said lawyer. With a Duke Ellington score and a surprisingly nuanced approach to imperfect victims, a new decade is definitely on the horizon with this flick.…

1
Episode 215: The Diary of Anne Frank 42:05

3M ago42:05

42:05

The 1959 adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank (adapted from the stage play, in turn adapted from the original diary) has a lot to recommend it. Only problem? The lead, and titular character, isn’t one of them.By Screen Test of Time

1
Episode 214: Room at the Top 50:28

4M ago50:28

50:28

You know what there’s Room at the Top for? A new Bengal Lancer Episode! As we’re working through our backlog of recorded episodes, some of the topics discussed are old news, but some of them are news so old it’s new again. Enjoy some media recommendations that are not the worst movie of the 1959 nominees.…

1
Episode 213: Separate Tables 39:14

4M ago39:14

39:14

If we had a nickel for every time there was a film nominated for Best Picture in 1958 that was based on a play that dealt with the trauma of a man hiding his homosexuality in a post-WWII world, but rewrote the script so the gay character was straight in the film, we’d have 2 nickels. It’s not a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.…

1
Episode 212: Auntie Mame 1:02:55

5M ago1:02:55

1:02:55

Rosalind Russel plays the titular aunt with delightful flair in this first adaptation of the best selling novel. A perfect balance of zany and clever, Auntie Mame is deceptively thoughtful, though not without some glaring failures at the Screen Test of Time.By Screen Test of Time

1
Mark Segal: Stonewall Lasted 365 Days 28:15

5M ago28:15

28:15

Mark Segal moved to New York City in May of 1969 and a month later found himself at The Stonewall Inn as the now-infamous police raid began. "The police came in, pretended that they were doing their duty, got their pay off," he says. "The difference here was they barged in, they threw people up against the wall, they extorted money from some of the…

1
Laverne Cox: The Transgender Tipping Point Turns 10 24:50

5M ago24:50

24:50

Laverne Cox talks about being on the cover of Time magazine ten years ago, the pressure she's faced as one of the most visible members of the trans community, and how the Bostock v. Clayton County Supreme Court case with Aimee Stephens impacts all LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our ⁠Sub…

1
Barney Frank: The Gay Agenda, Then and Now 32:08

6M ago32:08

32:08

Rep. Barney Frank served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 2013. He talks about being one of the first members of Congress to come out, how the AIDS crisis forced Congress to act, and the current state of the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement. Plus, his "Trophy Husband", Jim Ready, drops by to say hello. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-sup…

1
Gigi Raven Wilbur: Talking BDSM With the Bisexual Intersex Elder 29:31

7M ago29:31

29:31

(This interview contains explicit sexual content.) Gigi Raven Wilbur talks about learning that they were intersex in college, the transformational power of BDSM in their life, and how they're feeling living in Texas right now among the current onslaught of anti-trans legislation. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please conside…

1
Lesbian Nation: Martha Shelley and Audre Lorde (Bonus Episode!) 11:08

7M ago11:08

11:08

Martha Shelley talks to poet Audre Lorde in an episode of her radio show, Lesbian Nation. This was originally recorded in 1972 and is a part of Martha's archive at the Lesbian Herstory Archive. Martha is a pre-Stonewall activist who got her start in the 1960s with the Daughters of Bilitis. Click here to listen to our new sit-down interview with Mar…

851
Martha Shelley: Gay Activism Before Stonewall 31:50

7M ago31:50

31:50

Martha Shelley began her life as a gay activist before the Stonewall uprising. She talks about joining the Daughters of Bilitis, co-founding the Gay Liberation Front, the first pride march, and her memoir, "We Set The Night On Fire". LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our Substack as a paid Subscriber to …

1
Mia Yamamoto: The Trans Lawyer 'Liberating' The Judicial System 37:28

7M ago37:28

37:28

Mia Yamamoto talks about her work as a criminal defense attorney, the racism she faced growing up as a Japanese-American after World War II, and coming out as trans later in life. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider subscribing to our Substack in order to help support our work. This is a part of our special series…

1
Bob 'Rose' Levine: Has Been Doing Drag in Fire Island Since 1955 31:19

8M ago31:19

31:19

Bob "Rose" Levine talks about his first trip to Cherry Grove in 1955, being a part of the original drag "Invasion of the Pines" in 1976, and how the AIDS crisis changed Fire Island in the 1980s. LGBTQ&A is an independent, listener-supported podcast. Please consider joining our Substack to help support our work. This is a part of our special series,…

1
Episode 211: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 42:13

8M ago42:13

42:13

Tennessee Williams hated this adaptation of his play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof so much that he went up to people standing in line for it and said, “This movie will set the industry back 50 years. Go home!” Our episode won’t do that, but we agree with him on the movie. It’s been awhile since we had a flick where the Hays Code made it completely pointles…

1
Ma-Nee Chacaby: 'I'm Old, But So What?' Says The Two-Spirit Elder 22:02

8M ago22:02

22:02

Ma-Nee Chacaby talks about learning that she was Two-Spirit as a kid, her rural upbringing, and the challenges of being an out indigenous lesbian in Thunder Bay, Canada in the 1980s. Ma-Nee is the author of A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder. (Note: This episode discusses domestic violence.) "Put love in front of…

1
Sandy Stone: From Lesbian Separatist to Trans History 39:36

8M ago39:36

39:36

Sandy Stone talks about working with the lesbian separatists of Olivia Records, why the attacks on the trans community today mirror the attacks from the 1970s, and the moment that led her to write "The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto"—an essay that became a founding document of trans studies. You can learn more about Girl Island, t…

1
Joan Jett Blakk: The Drag Queen Who Ran for President 22:22

8M ago22:22

22:22

Joan Jett Blakk (a.k.a. Terence Alan Smith) talks about her historic 1992 presidential campaign, why the AIDS crisis influenced her run, and what it was like to be an out gay teenager in the '70s. "They still ask the same questions that they asked in the '90s. 'Drag queens run for president in America?' I'm like, 'Well, they told us anybody could r…

1
Duane Michals: Redefined Photography, But Don't Call Him an Artist 32:16

9M ago32:16

32:16

Duane Michals has never followed the rules. The pioneering photographer, now 92 years old, says, "Because I didn't learn the photo rules it was very easy for me to abandon them. You're either defined by the medium...well, I redefined the medium." Duane talks about discovering his love for photography in the 1950s, not looking down on commercial wor…

1
If You Can Read This, You're Gay (We Are So Back) 2:22

9M ago2:22

2:22

Hi! We're coming back! On February 27th! And we're continuing our special series, The LGBTQ+ Elders Project. I can't wait for you to hear it. For more info, come check out our Substack. Do you know an amazing elder and want to hear from them on the show? Come find me on Substack or social media (@jeffmasters1) and let me know. I'd love to hear all …

1
Episode 210: The Defiant Ones 50:33

9M ago50:33

50:33

Sidney Poitier makes his Screen Test of Time debut in this message movie, co-starring Tony Curtis, that's actually good. Two escaped chain gang convicts, one Black and one white, have to learn to work together to escape the law. Sounds like a simple, cheesy premise, but a nuanced story and incredible performances make this better than more recent m…

1
Episode 209: Gigi 1:08:50

11M ago1:08:50

1:08:50

Split score alert! David and Suzan both hate and love the same things about Gigi, most of which boils down to Maurice Chevalier (the former) and everything else (the latter), but that doesn’t mean they weigh each equally. Ernst Lubitsch may be dead at this point in film history, but his influence is alive and kicking in old Maurice.…

1
Episode 208: Witness for the Prosecution 1:01:14

12M ago1:01:14

1:01:14

The final film of 1957, Witness for the Prosecution has it all: Murder! Intrigue! Humor! Marlene Dietrich! So it’s more than appropriate that this episode has it all: The cast of Westworld! The Sonic the Hedgehog, Pikachu, and Spider-Man films of the last few years! A first ever for the Screen Test of Time end of year choice! Enjoy this Thanksgivin…

1
Episode 207: Peyton Place 49:09

1y ago49:09

49:09

The Hayes Code relaxed restrictions on certain issues related to sex the year before Peyton Place was released, and the filmmakers took that ball and ran with it. A melodrama that would go on to be a television soap opera, every plot point is as over-the-top and ridiculous as it possibly can be.By Screen Test of Time

1
Episode 206: Sayonara 47:11

1y ago47:11

47:11

Sometimes, our hosts' predictions from the previous week turn out to be wrong. It's rare that it's in this way, though... Sayonara stars Marlon Brando and Miiko Taka in a romantic drama about American soldiers falling in love with Japanese women in post-WWII Japan. Yes, it’s still problematic, but not in the way Suzan and David were anticipating.…

1
Episode 205: The Bridge on the River Kwai 49:17

1y ago49:17

49:17

The winner of the 1957 nominees, The Bridge on the River Kwai stars Alec Guiness, in what David calls “the role he was born to play” (please don’t get mad at us, Star Wars fans…), and William Holden (also arguably in the role he was born to play). It’s long, and ambitious, and cost a lot of money to make, which hasn’t necessarily been the mark of a…

1
Episode 204: 12 Angry Men 40:13

1y ago40:13

40:13

The curse of great poster, bad movie is well and truly over! (Well, at least so-bad-it’s-great poster…) Henry Ford leads a phenomenal cast of, well, twelve angry men in this tense, bottle episode of a movie, and meditation on the potential failings and virtues of trial by jury.By Screen Test of Time

1
Amy Ray: How The Indigo Girls Became The Greatest Band of All Time 29:56

1y ago29:56

29:56

When Amy Ray first started playing music with her Indigo Girls bandmate, Emily Saliers, her "head felt like it was going to explode". She remembers thinking, "This is amazing. Not, we sound amazing. But this feels amazing. It was always about, This feels amazing." They've been playing together for over 35 years now and it's their music that the que…

1
Episode 203: Friendly Persuasion 49:09

1+ y ago49:09

49:09

Gary Cooper plays a father and husband in a Quaker family during the American Civil War, when his community is faced with the question of whether or not they will stay pacifists and out of the war or confront injustice with violence.By Screen Test of Time

1
Darcelle XV: The Oldest Drag Queen in the World (ft. Poison Waters) 16:02

1+ y ago16:02

16:02

Darcelle XV (Walter Cole), the world's oldest drag queen, died on March 23, 2023. She was 92. Since 1967, Darcelle has been performing and running the Portland drag venue, Darcelle XV Showplace, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. I had the opportunity to speak with Darcelle and her friend and collaborator, Poison W…

1
Charles Silverstein: Remembering The Joy of Gay Sex Author (1935-2023) 26:37

2y ago26:37

26:37

Dr. Charles Silverstein died this week at the age of 87. Best known for making the 1973 presentation before the American Psychiatric Association that led to the removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’s list of mental illnesses, he was also a co-author of the landmark book The Joy of Gay Sex. More than simply a sex manua…

1
Shatzi Weisberger: Remembering The People's Bubbie (1930-2022) 24:09

2y ago24:09

24:09

Shatzi Weisberger died this week at the age of 92. A lifelong activist, Shatzi was a fixture at marches and protests here in NYC and was affectionately known as The People’s Bubbie. "I was a political lesbian for many years. I just loved being around lesbians...one of my earlier demonstrations was here in New York City and we did a die-in along wit…

1
Episode 202: The Ten Commandments 41:40

2y ago41:40

41:40

The Ten Commandments is Cecil B. DeMille’s apotheosis, and we mean that both as a compliment and an insult.By Screen Test of Time

1
Episode 201: Around the World in 80 Days 43:37

2y ago43:37

43:37

The winner of 1956, Around the World in 80 Days, features cameos from just about everyone who was alive at the time in Hollywood… which is probably why this hour too long, frequently racist mess got enough votes to take home the statue.By Screen Test of Time

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