Bammer and Me Mike Balaban

In this heartening episode, join Mike as he engages with Mohsin Zaidi, a passionate lawyer, LGBTQ activist, and best-selling author of "A Dutiful Boy". Learn about Mohsin's remarkable journey from a poor London neighborhood to his rise as a celebrated lawyer amidst the challenges and triumphs of growing up as a gay Muslim. Gain deeper insights into the complexities of societal norms, cultural identities, and Mohsin's truth-seeking voyage towards authenticity.
Dive into Mohsin's childhood where he fearlessly recounts his struggles and alienation, his diligent balancing act between becoming 'too Western' and maintaining his cultural identity, and the role of cultural traditions and religion in shaping deeply ingrained stigmas, particularly around homosexuality within the Islamic community. His balanced exploration makes space for the aspects of love, hope, and faith that guided his path, rendering an honest portrayal of life within a religious, immigrant family.
Mosin's conversation spans across societal class structures in the UK and US, highlighting the hurdles faced by individuals from lower-income backgrounds attempting to scale societal ladders. Get a candid look into his educational voyage from public education to Oxford, inspired by mentors and supporters that believed in him, teaching the immense importance of determination and hard work.
In this explosive episode, Mohsin switches gears to discuss his professional life, his shift from a corporate lawyer to a criminal barrister, and his subsequent plunge into the sphere of LGBTQ activism. Recognized as one of UK's top 20 future LGBT leaders, he reflects on his struggle for race representation within the gay community and offers valuable insights into negotiating with religiously conservative families.
Embark with us on this enlightening journey filled with profound reflections urging for acceptance and diversity, beautifully narrated by Mohsin himself. Produced by Mike Balaban and Tom Walker, with audio editing by Henry Ley.

It's an honour to have Peter Tatchell on the podcast, a fearless LGBTQ and human right's activist who's launched social movements the world over including in some of the most politically dangerous countries. He and Mike talk early life, influences and trajectory and his own gay journey both in Australia and in the UK, as well as his work founding OutRage! and many other amazing human rights projects.

Steve Gillon recently retired following 40 years as a professor of American history at some of the most prestigious universities in the US and UK where his students appreciated his dedication to storytelling even more than his in-depth knowledge of history. He also served as long-time spokesperson for the History channel on A & E cable network. Listen to Steve share details from his (previously) private life, including his insight and humorous tales about his close friend, John F. Kennedy, Jr. who he instructed at Brown University and later wrote his posthumous, best-selling biography.

In her epic roller-coaster of a memoir, "This Time For Me" Alexandra Billings muses on her unlikely journey as an accomplished actor and performer as well as her other lives in sex work, as a HIV positive activist, not to mention a huge LGBTQIA+ icon. Join Mike and Alexandra as she dishes about what she thinks of the next generation of queer activists! We had such a great time with Alexandra and you are sure to enjoy her energy as much as we do!

Barney Frank represented Massachusetts in Congress from 1982 to 2012, thirty years in which he was one of the most powerful, smartest, and wittiest politicians in DC.  He was also the first LGBTQ Congressman to voluntarily come out while in office, a highly controversial move in 1987 during the height of the AIDS crisis.
I interviewed Barney remotely from his home in Ogunquit, Maine (where he now resides with his husband, James Ready). As I had expected, Barney’s whip smart mind was evident as was his wit. 
What I hadn’t expected were his answers to some of my questions. Most notably, I was surprised by his assessment of the state of our democratic system at present. 

Today the accidental gay historian interviews a young, credentialed historian illuminating gay history and actively working for representation on TV and beyond. Eric Cervini has been and continues to be incredibly busy; having written a NYT Best Selling and Pulitzer Prize finalist book in 2020, writing and producing "The Book of Queer" TV series in 2022 with more still in production, and most recently starting his own book club and publishing company to spread the modern and historical stories of LGBT people everywhere. Mike and Eric talk upbringing and future plans in one of the most exciting episodes of the podcast to date. Check Eric out on https://ericcervini.com/