Periodically Queer Season 2 Ep. 2 – “Labor of Love” – on ONE Magazine
“When I found no answers to give the world, ONE said it for me.”
In the midst of the current conservative backlash against LGBTQ+ freedom of expression, Periodically Queer Season 2, Ep. 2 uplifts the story of a group of activists brave enough to bring the fight against shame and moral panic all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. “Labor of Love” travels back to the 1950s to unravel the stories behind One Institute’s own ONE Magazine, celebrating its seventieth anniversary this year.
As the first publicly distributed gay and lesbian magazine in the country, ONE Magazine took a once-isolated group of readers and created one of the first national gay communities. Featuring archival clips of ONE’s founders and contributors, interviews with staff from our partners at the USC Libraries, and voice-acted letters to the magazine, this episode brings to life our predecessors’ ambitious worldmaking efforts through publishing. It also enacts our readers’ desire for affirmation and belonging.
Stay tuned for a behind-the-scenes story of our organization’s historic triumph in ONE, Inc. v. Olesen, the groundbreaking Supreme Court case that marked the first legal battle for LGBTQ+ freedom of speech.
This episode of Periodically Queer is produced by Umi Hsu and assistant-produced by Shei Yu; hosted by traci kato kiriyama; mixed by Quincy Surasmith; scripted by Umi Hsu, Shei Yu, and Rozanna Leo-Fields; theme music by Analog Tara; episode music by Matthew Ivler, Umi Hsu, and Jacob Alden Sargent. Research by Sela Kerr. Copywriting by Sadie Buerker. Graphic Design by Saphir Davis and Maxwell Fong. Production support by Evan Ibarra. Story consultation by Sayre Quevedo.
This episode contains the voices of Joseph Hawkins, Craig Loftin, Michael Oliveira, Loni Shibuyama, Dorr Legg, David Moore, Jim Kepner, Geraldine Jackson, Blanche Baker, and Sten Russell. Voice acting by Trevor Ladner, Sadie Buerker, Sela Kerr, Rozanna Leo-Fields, and Tony Valenzuela. Special thanks to David Hensely, ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, and Pacifica Radio Archives for providing research materials.
Periodically Queer is presented by One Institute.
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This Periodically Queer episode is made possible by a grant for the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Image credits: banner image by One Institute; all other images, ONE Archives at the USC Libraries