New Podcast 'Living Queer' Explores How LGBTQ+ Communities Build Resilience Amid Global Backlash

Nine-episode series features unfiltered conversations with artists, advocates, and organizers worldwide

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, February 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Living Queer, a new podcast hosted by Columbia University School of Professional Studies faculty member Erwin de Leon, PhD, launches today with nine episodes examining how LGBTQ+ communities create meaning, build community, and persist through the current backlash against queer rights.

The series brings together artists, advocates, scholars, nonprofit leaders, and legal experts from around the world to explore how queer lived experience shapes resilience, creativity, leadership, and community.

"The people trying to legislate us out of existence have never lived our lives," said de Leon. "This podcast is about what actually happens in those lives—how we take care of each other, how we keep making art, how we show up for our communities even when the law says we shouldn't exist."

Global Voices, Personal Stories

Season One features conversations with:
● Andrew Gelwicks, celebrity fashion stylist, writer and author of "The Queer Advantage"
● Lee Bynum, arts leader, composer, librettist, dramaturg, and advocate
● Benedict Nguyen, dancer, creative producer, writer and author of "Hot Girls with Balls"
● Enkhmaa Enkhold, Mongolian LGBTQ+ activist and leader
● Harvey Kennedy-Pitt, global public health consultant and health equity strategist
● Andrea Rivas, Argentinian activist for family diversity and LGBTIQ+ human rights
● Odell Mays, nonprofit leader and longtime HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ advocate
● James Lewis, director and screenwriter of the documentary "Out Laws"
● Carly Jackson and Jessie Wang, co-founders of Queer Feet Running Club NYC

Topics explored throughout the season include queer leadership, artistic survival, global advocacy, public health equity, family-centered activism, intergenerational history, and the colonial roots of anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Beyond Sound Bites

The podcast arrives amid renewed global backlash against LGBTQ+ rights, offering thoughtful dialogue rather than soundbites. Living Queer focuses on lived experience—creating space for nuance and solidarity across differences.

"At a moment when LGBTQ+ lives are increasingly politicized, these conversations remind us that the queer experience is personal, historical, and deeply global," notes de Leon.

The series spans generations and geographies, documenting how LGBTQ+ communities adapt and persist when progress becomes uncertain.
Living Queer is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

About Living Queer

Living Queer is a conversation-driven podcast exploring how LGBTQ+ identity, lived experience, and community shape resilience, leadership, and the ways people build meaningful lives. Hosted by Erwin de Leon, the series centers global voices across arts, advocacy, academia, and public life.
Media Assets

Media Contact
Erwin de Leon
Host, Living Queer
Email: erwindeleon@livingqueer.life
Website: https://www.livingqueer.life/
Interviews, clips, and guest introductions available upon request.

Erwin de Leon
Living Queer
+1 917-863-1763
erwindeleon@livingqueer.life

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