DetoxPod 131: Orie Givens IV (Journalist/Reporter)

Detoxicity: By Men, About Men, For Everyone

In this episode, I have the pleasure of talking to one of my favorite human beings, Orie Givens IV. Orie is the director of communications for an LGBTQIA+-related non profit and I originally befriended him because of his work as a producer and host of the radio show Queer State of Mind, which airs every Saturday on Radio Free Brooklyn from 12-2 PM Eastern. Orie has had a long career in broadcast journalism, having served as a reporter for Spectrum News here in New York and in his home state of Ohio and as a writer for the legendary Advocate.

Orie and I discuss many different facets of his life journey, including our mutual but not monolithic experiences as queer Black men. He discusses being impacted by addiction at a very young age, and looking to break the cycles of generational trauma many of us find ourselves struggling to come out on the right side of. We also go in depth about the experience of living in New York City vs. living in the midwest, as Orie has ping ponged between both environments over the course of his adult life.