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Today on PRIDE, we welcome Julia Turshen, a New York Times best-selling cookbook author and… powerlifter! Like a lot of us, Julia struggled with body image and the societal pressure to take up less space. Powerlifting has helped her learn to love what her body can do. 

We’ll talk about how she became one of the best-known cookbook authors in the US, her cultivation of a queer domestic life through her weekly Zoom cooking classes, and how Roxane Gay helped her share her transformative experience with powerlifting through a new essay collection.

Julia Turshen’s ROXANE GAY & series essay, called “Built for This: The Quiet Strength of Powerlifting” is now available on Everand.com, a digital content subscription.

You can read or listen to it here (this link will automatically apply a promo code that gives you a 60 day free trial to Everand). If you already have an Everand/Scribd account, you can read the essay here or listen to it here.

This week on PRIDE, we sit down with Jim Fielding, former Disney retail president and author of All Pride, No Ego, A Queer Executive's Journey to Living and Leading Authentically. 

Jim breaks down his journey as a queer executive moving through more conservative spaces, how a love for a brand and fictional character isn’t enough to drive growth in your career, and how imperative it is to live an authentic life no matter what.  

Check out Jim's book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/moments-of-truth-lessons-for-leading-and-living-authentically-jim-fielding/19599749?ean=9781394165285

What’s the cost of entering the public eye as a trans person? As the pendulum starts to swing back on queer rights in the world, we need trans advocates now more than ever. 

We sat down with Mercury Stardust to look back on the last three years of her time in the public eye, from her impact on TikTok to her New York Times Bestselling book Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair. What’s next for Mercury, and would she do it all again? 

Despite the price she pays, Mercury is steadfast in her dedication to trans joy. Together with Jory (alluring skull on TikTok), she will be raising funds for gender-affirming care for the third year running with Point of Pride. 

Donate to Point of Pride here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/point-of-pride/2024-tiktok-a-thon-for-trans-health

Grab a copy of Mercury's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Safe-Sound-Renter-Friendly-Guide-Repair/dp/0744079071 

Learn more about Mercury here: https://mercurystardust.com/

If you don’t know anything about PrEP, the short answer is that it is a preventive medicine that reduces the risks of contracting HIV/AIDS with up to 99% effectiveness. While this is an incredible step in eradicating this disease, the new problem to solve is the distribution and access to the drug. In this episode of PRIDE, we sit down with Tristan Schukraft. He's the CEO of Mistr, one of the largest sexual health companies prescribing PrEP, owner of one of the biggest gay hotels in Puerto Rico, and, as Blade Magazine would describe, the CEO of Everything Gay. We’ll discuss his early career, why he feels that creating and running Mistr is vital to not just the queer community, and some advice to any future entrepreneurs out there.

Learn more about Mistr here: https://heymistr.com/

Today on PRIDE, we uncover the true history of the queer pioneers with Professor of American History at Washington State University Peter Boag. Having dedicated a large portion of his life to studying a broader American history in the West and its intersection with queerness, Peter has unique insight into the life and achievements of the various LGBTQ+ people during the turn of the century.

Read Peter Boag's book, Re-Dressing America's Frontier Past. 

Grindr, synonymous with LGBTQ+ casual dating, has reshaped queer community interactions since its 2009 launch by Joel Simkhai. Now with over 13.5 million global users, it's influenced late-night humor and news while facing scandals and critiques for its anonymity feature—intended to protect users in hostile environments, yet sometimes misused for spreading hate or unsolicited content.

This week, Joel Simkhai introduces his new app, Motto, (now active in NYC) aiming to improve the queer dating scene. He discusses learning from Grindr's darker aspects and his vision for enhancing queer dating app reputations worldwide.

Learn about Motto here: https://www.findmotto.com/