Coming Out Pod

Musician Jupiter Zirkua (she/they) describes her story as "a lot of bleak stuff," but with "a bookend to it that's really sweet," and she delivers on both promises. Raised in rural Florida by a single mother, Jupiter's first introduction to the idea of gender nonconformity was a kindergarten teacher at a Tampa Catholic school. But while Jupiter was aware of the pansexual aspect of her identity from a fairly early age, it would take years before she felt secure enough to truly begin engaging with her transness. From coming out in a sewer (yup!) to leaving home at the age of sixteen, Jupiter tells her story with a degree of levity and heart that is deeply impressive in the face of all she's had to overcome. We talk about She Who Must Not Be Named, Elliot Page, and Jupiter's most personal album yet; plus, Jupiter discusses the freedom and emotional-shorthand of being in a relationship with another trans person!
(TW: grooming and child abuse, both physical and sexual)
You can listen to Jupiter's back catalog by searching "Stuffy Doll" wherever you get your music, and check out MxDmG exclusively on Bandcamp! You can also follow Jupiter at @stuffydollband on Insta and Tumblr, and @stuffydoll on Bluesky. Lastly, the queer content creators who Jupiter shouted out are Teddy Hold On (@teddyholdon on Insta) and Zhalarina (@zhalarina on Insta), both of whom have music available wherever you do your streaming!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

If you're an old school listener of the pod, then over the years you've probably heard Lauren and Nicole mention their SINGLE GREATEST SUCCESS STORY* as podcasters, which is the marriage of Episode 25 guest Vanessa Ravenscroft. Well, get ready for a lovey-dovey episode, because today Lauren and her guest co-host Vanessa are talking to the woman who made it all possible: baker, artist, and Vanessa's wife, Sarah Ravenscroft! Sarah hit the ground running by living every lesbian's dream (i.e., dating her best friend at an all-girls Catholic high school). But when that relationship had run its course, she found herself grappling with an all-too-relatable queer conundrum: how do you find potential partners; *especially* if you're considered "straight-presenting?" Sarah discusses the queer platonic relationship she entered into with an ace male friend (they had a dog *and* a house!), and the fateful night that Vanessa slid into her DMs. Squeal along with Lauren as Sarah and Vanessa share their love story, from that very first message on Twitter to the day Nicole officiated their wedding at Disneyland!
Follow Sarah and all of her fuzzy/feathered kids on Twitter at @Squatchycat, and on Insta and Threads at @fuzziesoflakeview! Follow Vanessa on Twitter at @LochNessy7891, and on Insta and TikTok at @vanessalynn25!
*(besides finding Ricky)
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

At sixteen years old, Jenn Levine sat in a room with her mother and was told by two doctors that she had an extra chromosome, and that because of that extra chromosome, she would never be able to have children. But that wasn't all: they also said that she shouldn't tell anyone about her "birth defect" because people wouldn't understand, and then closed out the conversation by saying "you'll probably never meet anybody else like you." What Jenn *wasn't* told that day was that she was intersex; that was something she wouldn't find out til over a decade later, when she herself undertook a years-long process of obtaining her hard copy medical records from that very appointment. Jenn describes the truly serpentine journey she went through to finally arrive at the point where she now definitively knows "I am not my diagnosis...I am an intersex woman." All this, plus Jenn kvells over the fact that she is living every Jewish woman's dream by being a bagel ambassador for Brooklyn's BagelFest!
Follow Jenn everywhere at @jennlevine! Also, follow InterConnect on Instagram at @interconnect_support, and check out their website at interconnect.support to see all that they do! If you'd like to join the L.A. LGBT Center's Club Intersex group, you can register at https://socialnet.lalgbtcenter.org/member-registration/ (intersex-identified folks only, though - allies, check out InterConnect!). Lastly, Every Body, the intersex documentary that Jenn discusses in this episode, is streaming for free on Peacock, and is available for purchase elsewhere.
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

Lauren sits down with voice actor and romantic/erotic audio narrator Dianna Conley, who identifies as bi/pansexual ("I saw The Mummy, and my answer was 'yes'"), agender, and neurospicy! Dianna's first kiss with a girl was in high school, but since she knew she was definitely attracted to boys, she was left more confused by the experience than anything else. That is, until she learned the word "bisexual" from a formative character on The O.C.! Dianna shares how, for her, "all clothes are a costume," and explains why "being ADHD is more important to my identity than having a gender." Plus, Lauren and Dianna - who met in a COVID-conscious Zoom group - discuss how the ongoing pandemic is very much a queer issue, and have a personal and candid conversation about why they are still taking the level of precaution they are.
Whole lotta stuff here, so buckle up! First off, follow Dianna on Instagram at @diannaconley and on Twitter at @DiannaConleyVO, and get in touch with her via her website at diannaconley.com . Also mentioned in this episode, former guest Jessica Ellis (Episode 144) is tweeting very openly about her journey with Long COVID at @baddestmamajama (you can search her profile page for "Long COVID" to turn up tweets).
In terms of all the COVID-related information we discussed, here's an easy to digest, super-thorough primer full of resources and links: https://www.patreon.com/posts/86871700?utm_campaign=postshare_fan . If you're interested in meeting other folks who are #stillcoviding, the "Still Coviding Weekly Hangout" (@covidisntover on Twitter and Instagram) is a virtual, international, and very queer-leaning group, and you can also check out covidmeetups.com . Last but not least, if you'd like to personally ask Lauren about any of the things discussed in this episode, please don't hesitate to reach out at [email protected]!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

Lauren is joined by her friend and co-facilitator, Maggie Tielker (Episode 165), for an in-depth conversation with Lane Willis, whom Lauren and Maggie both know from the L.A. LGBT Center's HERstories group! Lane (they/them) is a *phenomenal* kindergarten teacher, who hopes their students will always remember them as "that one that wore the rainbow shoes." Lane knew that they "adored girls" as early as five years old, and also strongly identified with both Twiggy and Elton John. But a rushed marriage to a man at only nineteen years old quashed any chance of Lane exploring either their sexuality or their gender identity for many years. Lane shares how their involvement in an underground swinging community confirmed their long-suppressed attraction to women, and discusses how non-binary YouTubers guided them to their eventual gender epiphany at the age of fifty-two. Plus, Lane tells a story about running into a former student at Pride that will pull on even the sturdiest of heartstrings!
If you're interested in any of the groups or workshops discussed during this episode, check out the L.A. LGBT Center's website at https://socialnet.lalgbtcenter.org/social-networking-groups/ , and follow them everywhere at @lalgbtcenter. Also, follow Maggie at @maggietielker, and check out some of her designs at @worldofwonder!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

Lauren is joined by her friend and co-facilitator, Maggie Tielker (Episode 165), for an in-depth conversation with Lane Willis, whom Lauren and Maggie both know from the L.A. LGBT Center's HERstories group! Lane (they/them) is a *phenomenal* kindergarten teacher, who hopes their students will always remember them as "that one that wore the rainbow shoes." Lane knew that they "adored girls" as early as five years old, and also strongly identified with both Twiggy and Elton John. But a rushed marriage to a man at only nineteen years old quashed any chance of Lane exploring either their sexuality or their gender identity for many years. Lane shares how their involvement in an underground swinging community confirmed their long-suppressed attraction to women, and discusses how non-binary YouTubers guided them to their eventual gender epiphany at the age of fifty-two. Plus, Lane tells a story about running into a former student at Pride that will pull on even the sturdiest of heartstrings!
If you're interested in any of the groups or workshops discussed during this episode, check out the L.A. LGBT Center's website at https://socialnet.lalgbtcenter.org/social-networking-groups/ , and follow them everywhere at @lalgbtcenter. Also, follow Maggie at @maggietielker, and check out some of her designs at @worldofwonder!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

For her first episode all by her lonesome, Lauren wanted to bring on "a guest who felt like home." Enter Brooke Berry, Lauren's BFF from college, whose incredible life experiences run the gamut from starting an AIDS coalition with a nun at the age of twelve, to living in South Africa, to working with Angelina Jolie (DON'T FREAK OUT, NICOLE!). Even *more* impressive than these achievements, however, is the fact that Brooke was literally in the room for Lauren's first ever girl-girl kiss, which Lauren finally dishes on in detail! Brooke reveals how she knew Lauren was gay even before *Lauren* knew Lauren was gay, and shares why she thinks so many theatre boys picked her as a queer-adjacent safe haven to come out to. She also discusses the unbridled joy of her brother's nascent journey with gender fluidity; plus, Lauren owns up to being "devoured" by her first ever queer relationship, which saw her largely peacing out on her entire friend group. Learn from her mistakes, lesbians!!!
If you'd like to reach out to Brooke, feel free to do so via @comingoutpod on Twitter or Instagram, or at [email protected]!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

For her first episode all by her lonesome, Lauren wanted to bring on "a guest who felt like home." Enter Brooke Berry, Lauren's BFF from college, whose incredible life experiences run the gamut from starting an AIDS coalition with a nun at the age of twelve, to living in South Africa, to working with Angelina Jolie (DON'T FREAK OUT, NICOLE!). Even *more* impressive than these achievements, however, is the fact that Brooke was literally in the room for Lauren's first ever girl-girl kiss, which Lauren finally dishes on in detail! Brooke reveals how she knew Lauren was gay even before *Lauren* knew Lauren was gay, and shares why she thinks so many theatre boys picked her as a queer-adjacent safe haven to come out to. She also discusses the unbridled joy of her brother's nascent journey with gender fluidity; plus, Lauren owns up to being "devoured" by her first ever queer relationship, which saw her largely peacing out on her entire friend group. Learn from her mistakes, lesbians!!!
If you'd like to reach out to Brooke, feel free to do so via @comingoutpod on Twitter or Instagram, or at [email protected]!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

So, okay; here's the deal: we talked SO much when we recorded Nicole's farewell episode that we ended up cutting almost half an hour from the version that we released last week (classic #workwives!). We ultimately decided that this particular twenty-four minute chunk didn't serve the true purpose of that ep - which was celebrating Nicole, our partnership, and the version of the pod that is "Coming Out with Lauren & Nicole" - but we also felt that the tangential discussion we'd had was important enough to release on its own as this bonus mini-episode. Plus, Nicole wouldn't be Nicole if she didn't leave without a dash of CONTROVERSY! Please enjoy the following completely unedited, *heated* conversation, and remember: it's okay if we disagree!
The Out Magazine article we discuss (that we keep mistakenly referring to as an "interview;" oops!) can be found here: https://www.out.com/gay-news/jasmin-savoy-brown-lesbian . At least Lauren got the author right!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement

So, okay; here's the deal: we talked SO much when we recorded Nicole's farewell episode that we ended up cutting almost half an hour from the version that we released last week (classic #workwives!). We ultimately decided that this particular twenty-four minute chunk didn't serve the true purpose of that ep - which was celebrating Nicole, our partnership, and the version of the pod that is "Coming Out with Lauren & Nicole" - but we also felt that the tangential discussion we'd had was important enough to release on its own as this bonus mini-episode. Plus, Nicole wouldn't be Nicole if she didn't leave without a dash of CONTROVERSY! Please enjoy the following completely unedited, *heated* conversation, and remember: it's okay if we disagree!
The Out Magazine article we discuss (that we keep mistakenly referring to as an "interview;" oops!) can be found here: https://www.out.com/gay-news/jasmin-savoy-brown-lesbian . At least Lauren got the author right!
This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5207650/advertisement