Happy Pride from the Resistant Communiqués Collective!

The Resistant Communiqués Collective is thrilled to present Season I, Episode II of the Resistant Communiqués Podcast this June in recognition of Pride Month, featuring an incredibly enlightening and thought-provoking episode, “From Stonewall to the Repeal of “Rights”: Reexamining the Queer Political Imagination & Resistance with Activist, Social Movement Historian, & Co-Founder & Editor of Against Equality, Ryan Conrad“.

Our extraordinary guest, Ryan Conrad (he/him), is an activist and social movement historian based in West Quebec with roots in Maine. Ryan currently teaches part-time at Carleton University in Human Rights and Sexuality Studies, and he is also president of his academic labour union, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4600. Ryan, alongside friend and frequent collaborator Yasmin Nair, founded Against Equality, an online archive, publishing, and arts collective focused on critiquing mainstream gay and lesbian politics. You can learn more about Ryan’s work on his website: faggotz.org.

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In 2025, we are living during a period of rising authoritarianism in the United States. The fact that mainstream or “Beltway” LGBTQ+ politics are collapsing amid rising far-right movements demonstrates that there are lessons to be learned about queer radical history, particularly in light of experiencing a bankruptcy of queer politics.

Moreover, the application of this history can illuminate lessons that aid all of society: the harm inflicted by heteronormative and cis-gendered politics is not solely limited to the LGBTQ+ community, and reimagining these politicscan and will materially benefit everyone.

In this critical Pride episode, Ryan Conrad offers an opportunity to explore what we can learn by examining an earlier era of queer activism, a more radical queer politic, and resisting LGBTQ+ Beltway politics of heteronormative assimilation. Further, in light of the recent HIV research, vaccine, and prevention program cuts in the U.S., Ryan delves into the complex interplay between the HIV Pandemic, AIDS Crisis, and Pandemic Politics. Ryan provides a fascinating analysis of the Trump administration’s cuts while unearthing the critical history of the Reagan administration’s negligence during the early years of the AIDS Crisis and how it amounted to genocide through state inaction, underscoring the historical and ongoing impact of biopolitical control and state abandonment.

TheAgainst Equalitydigital archive is a vital and unique digital repository that critiques mainstream gay and lesbian politics, seeking to “seize the means of production of knowledge” and rejuvenate the “queer political imagination” by questioning the status quo and offering visions of transformative justice. Complementing the archive, Ryan’s book (Ed.) Against Equality: Not Mere Inclusion is a must-read for anyone invested in radical queer politics.

The Against Equality: Not Mere Inclusion collection of essays challenges the mainstream LGBTQ+ movement’s push for inclusion in traditional systems like marriage, the military, and prisons, arguing that such inclusion often masks systemic injustices rather than addressing them. Conrad and his fellow contributors advocate for a queer revolution that is not content with mere assimilation but seeks to restructure the societal norms at their core that perpetuate inequality and oppression. Together, these works urge readers to reexamine the goals of queer activism and movements, moving beyond the rhetoric of “equality” and towards genuine liberation and systemic change for everyone.

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The Resistant Communiqués Collective chose to utilize this Pride episode of the Resistant Communiqués Podcast to reexplore the radical roots and history of Pride and the necessity of radical queer movements engaged in resistance that focus on more than just “mere inclusion” into heteronormative and cisnormative society and instead on the material needs of LGBTQ+ communities and critiques of Beltway LGBTQ+ politics in the United States and to reflect on what that legacy means today.

Pride falls on June 28 each year, as June 28, 1969, marks the beginning of the Stonewall Uprising. However, the Pride Parade in Manhattan, New York City, the largest (and most corporatized) Pride Parade in the U.S., takes place on the last Sunday of June. So, instead of publishing this special, extended episode for Pride on our usual last Saturday of the month, we opted to publish it today, Sunday, June 30, 2025. We hope you enjoy and learn from this episode as much as we do.

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We want to thank our new paid subscribers. Your contributions are vital in helping cover high overhead costs, such as purchasing podcasting software for producing higher-quality recordings and equipment, as well as utilizing advanced design tools for creating vibrant promotional materials. The investments we have made, as well as those made by others, into the Resistant Communiqués Podcast, help us continue to engage and educate our audience, especially younger generations eager for radical People’s and Resistance History interviews and insights.

The Resistant Communiqués Collective will share more details about subscriptions to support this work, along with the benefits subscribers will receive, in a future non-podcast episode. Nevertheless, please know that your support enables our grassroots project to continue growing, documenting, archiving, and sharing essential People’s and Resistance History with everyone.

Thank you so much for your support.

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Listen, share, and study with us using the multimedia syllabus.

Luta,

Resistant Communiqués Collective

Learn more about Resistant Communiqués on the About page (here).

Accessibility: The transcript for this episode is available.

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[CREDITS] Resistant Communiqués Podcast Season 1, Episode 2 – From Stonewall to the Repeal of “Rights”: Reexamining the Queer Political Imagination and a Politic of Resistance with Activist, Social Movement Historian, and Co-Founder and Editor of Against Equality, Ryan Conrad

The Resistant Communiqués Collective co-hosts and collaborates on the development of the Resistant Communiqués Podcast.

This episode of the Resistant Communiqués Podcast:

Podcast Episode Writers: Jamila Hammami and Zeb Larson

Podcast Episode Question and Script Development: Jamila Hammami

Podcast Episode Researcher: Jamila Hammami

Podcast Episode Fact-Checking: Zeb Larson

Podcast Episode Recording: Zeb Larson

Podcast Episode Production: Jamila Hammami

Podcast Episode Editing: Jamila Hammami

Podcast Episode Transcript: Zeb Larson

Podcast Multimedia Syllabus Development: Ryan Conrad, Jamila Hammami, and Zeb Larson

Featuring:

Resistant Communiqués Podcast Introduction: Jamila Hammami

Resistant Communiqués Podcast episode Co-Hosts: Jamila Hammami and Zeb Larson

Resistant Communiqués Podcast episode guest: Ryan Conrad

Resistant Communiqués Podcast episode outro: Zeb Larson

[MUSIC]

Royalty-Free Music Artists/ Composers:

Podcast Intro Music: Cheel – Soft Feeling

Episode Intro Music: Wayne Jones – Connection

Episode Music: Karl Casey – New Dawn

Episode Outro Music: Cheel – Soft Feeling

Royalty-Free Music for the Podcast and Episode:

Music Editing: Zeb Larson

Music Mixing: Jamila Hammami

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistantcommpod.substack.com/subscribe