Coming Out Pod

The moment is here, y'all: it's our final episode as Lauren & Nicole. So grab a glass of red wine and/or bottle of sparkling mineral water, and strap in as we take an equally hilarious and tearful stroll down memory lane; from the original tiny closet that we crammed Stephanie Beatriz into, to our posh podcasting studio, to our respective hot, sweaty closets that we've been recording in since we went virtual! Nicole shares what she's learned, what she's grateful for, and even a few things she wishes she'd done differently. We reminisce about some of our favorite moments, and talk about our ONLY fight as #workwives! Nicole sobs! Lauren actually CRIES! It's a beautiful, funny, and fitting goodbye for a truly irreplaceable co-host.
Keep up with Nicole on Instagram at @nicolepacent. Our hashtags are #comingoutpod and, in ethereal perpetuity, #foundricky.
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

This is Nicole's penultimate episode of the podcast, so we knew our guest had to be someone extra-special! For over a decade, this incredible human being has been extremely close to Nicole and her family; so much so that he performed Nicole and Gustav's wedding in Scotland, and Nicole's sister's Memorial Service. Now, after *countless* mentions on the pod over the years, we finally sit down with the man, the myth, the legend, the REVEREND: Mark Montgomery! Mark discusses his small town South Carolina conservative Christian upbringing, and tells the "gayer than gay" story of how he came out to his mother at her hospital bedside (let's just say Steel Magnolias was involved). We talk faith vs. religion, Mark shares some "practical theology" you can use when confronted by intolerant Bible thumpers, and we take a deep dive into the misinterpretation of the oft-cited Sodom and Gomorrah story! This is an episode that you won't want to miss (and that you *will* want to send to your conservative family members)...
Mark gives an incorrect handle at the end of this ep, so make sure you *actually* follow him on Instagram at @markdmontgomery (and feel free to reach out)! Some of the people and resources he mentions during this episode include the United Church of Christ's website ( ucc.org ), Janie Spahr ( https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/jane-adams-spahr ), and More Light Presbyterians ( mlp.org ).
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

This is Nicole's penultimate episode of the podcast, so we knew our guest had to be someone extra-special! For over a decade, this incredible human being has been extremely close to Nicole and her family; so much so that he performed Nicole and Gustav's wedding in Scotland, and Nicole's sister's Memorial Service. Now, after *countless* mentions on the pod over the years, we finally sit down with the man, the myth, the legend, the REVEREND: Mark Montgomery! Mark discusses his small town South Carolina conservative Christian upbringing, and tells the "gayer than gay" story of how he came out to his mother at her hospital bedside (let's just say Steel Magnolias was involved). We talk faith vs. religion, Mark shares some "practical theology" you can use when confronted by intolerant Bible thumpers, and we take a deep dive into the misinterpretation of the oft-cited Sodom and Gomorrah story! This is an episode that you won't want to miss (and that you *will* want to send to your conservative family members)...
Mark gives an incorrect handle at the end of this ep, so make sure you *actually* follow him on Instagram at @markdmontgomery (and feel free to reach out)! Some of the people and resources he mentions during this episode include the United Church of Christ's website ( ucc.org ), Janie Spahr ( https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/jane-adams-spahr ), and More Light Presbyterians ( mlp.org ).
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

We laugh our goddamned asses off with standup, writer, and biomedical engineer (yes, really!), Pallavi Gunalan, who wins Lauren over in the first sixty seconds by stating that she "would die for Pierro." Pallavi grew up in an Indian family in Utah, and only started coming to terms with her queerness in her late 20's ("I had just started wearing crop tops; I didn't know you could do that without a sari"). Pallavi made the bold choice to incorporate her newfound identity into her comedy almost immediately, and shares the exhilarating story of coming out live on stage to her cousins. (She also discusses the much less effusive reaction she got when she later told her parents...) Not only that; Pallavi provides us with a *phenomenal* pudding cup analogy, and we talk shame, adult goths, and the Tootsie Pops owl!
Follow Pallavi everywhere and on all the things at @PallaviGunalan. Share her stuff, come to her shows, and don't forget to keep an eye out for her in the comments under Pierro's pictures!
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

We laugh our goddamned asses off with standup, writer, and biomedical engineer (yes, really!), Pallavi Gunalan, who wins Lauren over in the first sixty seconds by stating that she "would die for Pierro." Pallavi grew up in an Indian family in Utah, and only started coming to terms with her queerness in her late 20's ("I had just started wearing crop tops; I didn't know you could do that without a sari"). Pallavi made the bold choice to incorporate her newfound identity into her comedy almost immediately, and shares the exhilarating story of coming out live on stage to her cousins. (She also discusses the much less effusive reaction she got when she later told her parents...) Not only that; Pallavi provides us with a *phenomenal* pudding cup analogy, and we talk shame, adult goths, and the Tootsie Pops owl!
Follow Pallavi everywhere and on all the things at @PallaviGunalan. Share her stuff, come to her shows, and don't forget to keep an eye out for her in the comments under Pierro's pictures!
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

When Tembe Denton-Hurst's fiancée gifted her a writing class, Tembe had no idea that the short story she turned in would eventually become "Homebodies," her debut novel that was published in May! A consummate writer, Tembe shares a hilarious rollercoaster of a coming out story that includes an "earth-shifting" look she exchanged with a friend's younger sister, and a highly-relatable series of "deeply one-sided, ill-fated crushes." Tembe also discusses how, at just twenty years old, she and her now-fiancée made the incredibly mature decision to prioritize their relationship over their unaccepting parents, and explains how, with "Homebodies," she wanted to tell a more nuanced coming out story about "women who are very settled in their identities, but still constantly navigating...being queer in Black families." All this, plus Nicole has sexy chest-cold-voice!
Follow Tembe on Instagram and Twitter at @tembae, and check out her website at tembedentonhurst.com !
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

When Tembe Denton-Hurst's fiancée gifted her a writing class, Tembe had no idea that the short story she turned in would eventually become "Homebodies," her debut novel that was published in May! A consummate writer, Tembe shares a hilarious rollercoaster of a coming out story that includes an "earth-shifting" look she exchanged with a friend's younger sister, and a highly-relatable series of "deeply one-sided, ill-fated crushes." Tembe also discusses how, at just twenty years old, she and her now-fiancée made the incredibly mature decision to prioritize their relationship over their unaccepting parents, and explains how, with "Homebodies," she wanted to tell a more nuanced coming out story about "women who are very settled in their identities, but still constantly navigating...being queer in Black families." All this, plus Nicole has sexy chest-cold-voice!

Follow Tembe on Instagram and Twitter at @tembae, and check out her website at tembedentonhurst.com!

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

We're closing out Pride Month in a big way with Emmy-nominated actress, writer, and producer, Rain Valdez (Razor Tongue; Transparent)! Rain, who describes herself as a heterosexual transgender woman, was born in the Philippines, and initially raised by her incredibly affirming grandparents. Things only changed when she moved with her mother and stepfather to Guam, and discovered that the people there were considerably less accepting than those in her home country. At the age of nineteen, Rain moved on her own to Los Angeles to pursue the arts, and was advised not to disclose to anyone that she was transgender. Believing this was her only path forward, Rain did exactly that for many years. But in June of 2016, bolstered by the beautiful community she'd met working on Transparent, Rain came out publicly in a VICE article. We have a candid conversation about what it's like trying to forge a career in the entertainment industry once it has decided that your particular marginalization is no longer trendy. Also, we discuss the many and varied ways that we as queer people can often feel "in between worlds," and what it means to try to align with your purpose within a system that was not built for you in the first place.

Follow Rain on Instagram at @rainvaldez, and check out her website at rainvaldez.com and her company at rainbowrated.com! Also, you can watch Rain's Emmy-nominated turn in Razor Tongue at https://rainbowrated.com/razortongue, and you can see her short film Ryans at https://www.rainvaldez.com/videos!

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

We're closing out Pride Month in a big way with Emmy-nominated actress, writer, and producer, Rain Valdez (Razor Tongue; Transparent)! Rain, who describes herself as a heterosexual transgender woman, was born in the Philippines, and initially raised by her incredibly affirming grandparents. Things only changed when she moved with her mother and stepfather to Guam, and discovered that the people there were considerably less accepting than those in her home country. At the age of nineteen, Rain moved on her own to Los Angeles to pursue the arts, and was advised not to disclose to anyone that she was transgender. Believing this was her only path forward, Rain did exactly that for many years. But in June of 2016, bolstered by the beautiful community she'd met working on Transparent, Rain came out publicly in a VICE article. We have a candid conversation about what it's like trying to forge a career in the entertainment industry once it has decided that your particular marginalization is no longer trendy. Also, we discuss the many and varied ways that we as queer people can often feel "in between worlds," and what it means to try to align with your purpose within a system that was not built for you in the first place.
Follow Rain on Instagram at @rainvaldez, and check out her website at rainvaldez.com and her company at rainbowrated.com ! Also, you can watch Rain's Emmy-nominated turn in Razor Tongue at https://rainbowrated.com/razortongue , and you can see her short film Ryans at https://www.rainvaldez.com/videos !
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

Holy hell, do we have a PIPING HOT EPISODE for you! When previous guest Avgi Saketopoulou and her partner Ann Pellegrini (both practicing psychoanalysts and faculty members at NYU) received an award for an academic article they co-authored, they were thrilled to find out that their paper would be published in a prestigious journal. They spent the following year working closely with the editors to revise their article for publication...only to be told at the last minute that they would be required to remove parts that the journal deemed "too political." Instead of bowing to pressure, Avgi and Ann decided to expand upon their thesis and publish it as a book, thereby making their work accessible to laypeople as well as academics. In this riveting conversation, Avgi and Ann discuss their controversial argument: that queer and trans people are not, to quote Lady Gaga, "born this way," but rather that any number of outside factors (including trauma) *can* affect and inform our sexuality/gender. It's a truly liberating, paradigm-shifting discussion about how we as queer people police ourselves as a result of (justified) fear that our words will be weaponized against us. And most importantly, we finally get to the bottom of the eternal question: *did* seeing the movie Mannequin as a child make Lauren gay??

Follow Avgi and Ann on Instagram at @avgolis98 and @apell168 respectively. And give Jeff Bezos the finger by ordering their incredible book at uitbooks.com instead of at the other place!

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