1/22/2012 This Way Out

Program #1,242

Hosted this week by Greg Gordon and produced with Lucia Chappelle

NewsWrap: The Canadian marriages of foreign same-gender couples are threatened and then reaffirmed over the course of about 24 hours; a marriage equality bill introduced this week in Washington appears to need two more votes in the Senate to pass and be signed by strongly supportive Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire, but New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie won't say if he'd sign a similar bill there, while repeal of their state's marriage equality legislation tops the agenda of New Hampshire's GOP-dominated legislature despite a threatened veto by Democratic Governor John Lynch; Prop 8 opponents in California begin a signature-gathering effort to put a repeal measure on the November 2012 state ballot, while a gay man apologizes on behalf of the LGBT community in Minnesota to anti-equality state Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch for causing her extramarital affair; Malaysia's embattled former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is cleared of sexually assaulting a male political aid, while a full court-martial is ordered for gay and/or gender confused Wiki-leaker U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning for allegedly orchestrating the largest security breach in American history; rightwing GOP Oklahoma state lawmaker Mike Reynolds wants to ban lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from serving in his state's National Guard, but Susan Allen wins a special election in Minnesota to become the first openly lesbian Native American state legislator in U.S. herstory (written by GREG GORDON with thanks to REX WOCKNER, produced by STEVE PRIDE, and reported this week by JENN MAHONEY and VASH BODDIE)

Back in the Naughtier Nineties, U.S. Senator and arch-homophobe Jesse Helms chose TIM MILLER as one of his favorite whipping boys. He couldn’t stop the queer performance artist then, and nothing can stop him now. Miller has most recently been teaching workshops at the University of Minnesota, and performing his LAY OF THE LAND in Minneapolis -- where he spoke with correspondents DIXIE TREICHEL and LEIGH COMBS [on Fresh Fruit on KFAI-FM/Minneapolis-St. Paul].

MA RAINEY, MOTHER OF THE BLUES is celebrated in a RAINBOW MINUTE (produced by JUDD PROCTOR & BRIAN BURNS at WRIR-FM in Richmond, Virginia and read by GAYE ADEGBALOLA)

Our masterful entertainment reporter STEVE PRIDE has already called Sundance festival fave PARIAH the top LGBT film of 2011. He gave us a sneak peek a couple of weeks ago in his annual best of special Pride On Screen. Pariah is now showing in theaters around the U.S., so we asked Steve to bring us a more complete look at the film and its makers.