Episode notes
In this belated celebration of gay liberation Andy talks to writer and cartoonist for the New Yorker, Baffler, The Toast, the Nib, etc, and a real life gay communist, John Leavitt about the Lavender Scare--a moral panic and homophobic purge of the State Department after World War II that paralleled and informed the Red Scare. We also discuss purges of homosexuals from Leninist organizations, and whether it is better today that government buildings fly the rainbow flag.
After that some audio riot porn in the form of an excerpt from Martin Duberman's Stonewall, including a background on the raid and vivid details of how the riot began and how it played out. ...
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