Pride vs. Prejudice

Pride combats prejudice, a Mrs. Maisel debrief, and Aisha wrote a whole dang book y'all

View this email online by Glen Weldon Hello there! It was the week the artist who sang an era-defining song walked to the sea, looking straight ahead, not at h/sh/me. It was the week the recent wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation first began to crash against the shield-wall of sandbags that is the U.S. Constitution. And it was the week your social feeds filled up with photos of a tiny orange sun suspended in an orange sky, like someone plopped a basketball from a great height into a sea of sherbet. Opening Argument: Pride vs. Prejudice Pride feels more needed, more urgent than ever this year, and I say that as a gay man who spent most of my life rolling my eyes at the rainbow bunting outside my Dupont Circle neighborhood's coffee shops and nail salons. I've only attended a handful of Pride festivals in my life, being among the cohort of LGBTQ+ folk constitutionally averse to crowds, midday sun and dancing. (Do not underestimate our numbers. We're here, we're queer, we'd rather go someplace where we can actually hear.) My husband and I couldn't see D.C.'s Pride Parade itself from the balcony of our old apartment, but we could watch the throngs of people streaming towards 17th Street to cheer it on. I'd get up early the Sunday after the parade so I could watch folk in tiaras, boas and rainbow leis wandering blearily home from their hookups. The Pride Walk and Rally in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2021.Drew Angerer / Getty Images We moved out of D.C. early in the pandemic, to a cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains about an hour-and-change west of the city. We traded our balcony overlooking Q Street for a deck overlooking a patch of yellow poplars. We still see just as many bears as we used to back in the old gay neighborhood, just, you know. Of a different sort. Oh sure, we do what we can to glitter and be gay out here. When we go out to local bars and restaurants, we're physically affectionate to the extent that we feel safe being so, which of course changes depending on the day, the place, the crowd around us. At home? Super queer. Devouring the latest seasons of The Other Two, Drag Race All Stars, Drag Race España (sleep on Pitita at your peril!) and Queen of the Universe. Listening to queer podcasts, watching queer comedy specials, reading queer books and comics, writing a queer fantasy novel. All of that's enriching, and enjoyable, and life-affirming. What it isn't, so much, is helping. Something's changed. Drag performers are under disingenuous attack. Trans kids are being used to score bad-faith political points. Queer folk are being assaulted in the streets. The very worst, most hateful people feel supported and emboldened. In the face of all that, my naming my horse in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom "Padam Padam" maybe isn't striking the blow for Big Gay Justice I can too easily lull myself into believing it does. So this year, we're schlepping back into the city for Pride. We're a good deal grayer and slower and achier than we used to be, and we're still carrying the extra pounds we picked up during the pandemic. But we'll be there, back in our old neighborhood, to cheer the parade along, and bake in the sun at the festival. We'll dance, we'll pay way too much for drinks, we'll go to drag shows and tip our local queens outrageously, we'll nod at the rainbow flags opportunistically festooning the bar where we used to meet each other after work. We'll pass by our old building, and gaze up at the balcony from which we used to watch Pride pass us by. And we'll think, This is … something. It's a hell of a lot more than we used to do; it's more than absolutely nothing. But we'll also know: It's not enough. It's not nearly enough. It's just the start of the onset of the beginning. Newsletter continues after sponsor message We Recommend Aisha Harris. Heard of her? Sure you have. Let the land sing with great rejoicing then, for next week her first book comes out: Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture that Shapes Me. Get the book! It's brilliant! Catch Aisha fever! Read it in public to impress strangers with your cultural acumen! Go see her on her book tour! Ask her if Glen Weldon is really as cool and hip and young young young as he seems! In comedian John Early's new HBO special, Now More Than Ever, he brings his character of hilariously self-involved comedian "John Early" onto the stage for an hour of songs, standup, and kidding-on-the-square social commentary. He also brings his parents, and closes by unleashing a frankly astonishing falsetto on a cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love." You'll feel it, too. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel went out on a strong final season, made even stronger in that it showed her finally putting in the work, and didn't feature every character on the damn show constantly telling her how wonderful she was. On Marc Maron's WTF podcast, he got showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino to take a victory lap – and to talk about the arc of her career in a candid and engaging way. What We Did This Week Greta Lee as Nora in "Past Lives" / A24 On Tuesday, Linda talked to Lauren Migaki, who recommended some recent books for folks who love love stories. On Wednesday, Linda, Regina Kim and Carlos Aguilar admired writer/director Celine Song's debut feature, Past Lives. On Thursday we encored an ep in which Stephen and Marissa Lorusso picked their favorite road trip songs. And on Friday, Aisha, Kristen Meinzer, J.C. Howard and Priya Krishna talk about the fourth and final season of Netflix's Never Have I Ever. What's Making Us Happy Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: Priya Krishna: Luis Miguel's cover of "I Only Want To Be With You" -- "Ahora te puedes marchar" J.C. Howard: Doctor Who's upcoming 60th Anniversary specials Kristen Meinzer: Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, streaming on Amazon's Prime Video Aisha Harris: Jessie Ware's new album That! Feels! Good! and the song "Pearls" Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: pchh@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Books, Daily News and more! 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