Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness Getting Curious

Neil J. Young is here to answer all our burning questions about the history of gay people within the Republican party! Neil and Jonathan go back to the Mattachine Society in the 1950s and the beginnings of the Log Cabin Republicans in the late 1970s when neither political party accepted homosexuality. Then the two examine how gay Republicans were instrumental in taking down Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and advancing the legalization of same-sex marriage. Plus, we touch on the current mindset of this often disregarded group to better understand their political and personal motivations.



Neil J. Young is an award-winning historian, writer, podcaster, and author. Neil formerly served as a contributing columnist for The Week and, before that, an opinion columnist for HuffPost. He writes frequently for leading publications, including the Washington Post, the Atlantic, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, Vox, Politico, Slate, and the New York Times. Neil co-hosts and produces the popular history podcast, Past Present. His latest book, “Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right” just came out in April.



You can follow Neil on X and Instagram @NeilJYoung17. Check out the Past Present Pod archive on Apple Podcasts and X.



Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.



Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.



Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.



Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.



Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.



Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you know that the looks for Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour, Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale Tour, Katy Perry’s Vegas Residency, and Cirque du Soleil were all created by ONE design genius? It’s true! ZALDY is the artist behind this incredible oeuvre…and our guest on Pretty Curious. ZALDY tells Jonathan all about his journey from model to designer, meeting Ru Paul in their Club Kid days, and how the industry has evolved since then. Plus, the two geek out over all things Olympics!



ZALDY is a fashion designer based in New York City. Since launching his own namesake clothing line in 2002, ZALDY has designed both stagewear and one-of-a-kind looks for Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Cirque du Soleil, and others. He served as the head designer for Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. collection and won an Emmy in Costume Design in 2019 for his work on RuPaul’s Drag Race.



Follow ZALDY on Instagram @zaldynyc.



Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.



Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.



Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.



Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Pride, Curious People! We’re kicking the month off by talking with Angela Chen about the often overlooked “A” in LGBTQIA+. Angela lays down the basics of asexuality, then she and Jonathan talk more deeply about how the "Ace" perspective can offer everyone a new lens through which to think about their relationships to romance, sex, desire, and culture. Plus, compulsory sexuality and its MAJOR role in our cultural understandings of sex.



Angela Chen is a journalist, editor, and author. She’s worked as a senior editor at WIRED, a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, Vox Media’s The Verge, and MIT Technology Review.  Her reporting and essays have also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Paris Review, Chronicle of Higher Education, Lapham's Quarterly, National Geographic, and more. She is also the author of Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex.



You can follow Angela on X @chengela or on Instagram @angelaetcetera.



Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.



Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.



Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.



Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.



Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.



Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re MAJOR fans of Irene Neuwirth Jewelry, known for her one-of-a-kind and incredibly gorgeous pieces! Irene tells Jonathan the story of her slow and steady journey from hobbyist at local gem shows to crafting unique pieces for major celebrities. She shares all that inspires her creative vision from her mother’s influence as a painter, to mixing and matching gems in playful ways that break traditional rules of jewelry making, and even the thought behind her individualized packaging. Plus, that time as a young designer when she broke a rare opal!



Irene Neuwirth is a jewelry designer from Los Angeles. She began experimenting with jewelry design after college and soon after she found herself inundated with requests for her one-of-a-kind pieces. In 2003, with business partner Tracy Stoll, Irene Neuwirth Jewelry was born. Her jewelry has been worn by celebrities like Naomi Watts, Tracee Ellis Ross, Julianne Moore, Sarah Paulson, and Busy Philipps, and her work has been featured in publications like Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Town & Country, W, and The New York Times. Today the collection can be found at their flagship stores in Los Angeles, New York City, as well as leading boutiques across the globe.



Follow Irene Neuwirth Jewelry on Instagram @ireneneuwirth.



Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.



Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.



Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever wondered what’s up with double negation, the history of gender neutral pronouns, or why swearing is taboo? Then get ready for this week’s guest, linguist Anne Curzan! Anne and Jonathan talk about how the English language has evolved since the 1300s and how our words are SO powerful because of their central role in our identities and communities. Plus, we talk about how to be a more generous speaker, listener, and caretaker of language.



Anne Curzan is the Dean of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan, where she also teaches courses on the history of English, English grammar, language and gender, and the dynamics of conversations. She is a trained linguist and historian of the English language. Her TEDx talk at UM called “What makes a word ‘real’?” has over 2 million views on the national TED site. She earned her B.A. in linguistics from Yale University and her Ph.D. in English language and literature from the University of Michigan. Her book “Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words” came out on March 26th.



You can follow Anne on Instagram at @annecurzan and find more information about her book on Penguin Random House.



Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.



Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.



Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.



Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.



Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.



Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Allure Editor in Chief Jessica Cruel just got back from a trip to South Korea and is ready to share all the latest beauty recs from her travels with us! Jessica and Jonathan go deep on her journey to Allure, what she’s seen change in the industry, and where she thinks the future lies. Plus, who better than this Best of Beauty expert to get real with us when it comes to which products are meh and which are MAJOR?



Jessica Cruel is the editor-in-chief of Allure, where she leads the development of multi-platform editorial content for digital, social, and video platforms, including the Readers' Choice Awards and Best of Beauty Awards franchises. Jessica joined Allure in 2019, before becoming EIC in 2021. That same year, she spearheaded The Melanin Edit, an Allure platform exploring all things relating to Black beauty and wellness. Prior to joining Allure, Jessica also held editorial roles at Refinery29, SELF, and Popsugar.



Follow Jessica on Instagram @jcruel. Allure is on Instagram @allure and online at allure.com.



Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.



Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.



Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.



Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices