Announcing: Queer Sages
Sharing stories of LGBTQIA+ elders.
Dear fam,
It’s Friday morning and summer is finally here. Well, Big Kid would say that technically summer will be here tomorrow — June 21st — and we should be precise. But I think the smell of wildflowers coming in on the breeze through my window is precision enough. The sun on my skin n the playground this morning felt like health. Finally, warmth. Calm. Breath.
It’s been a bad week, world-wise, to say the least. I’m more than a little stressed and sad. I spent most of the week following the news and trying to see how my loved ones back home were doing as they scrambled up and down stairs into bomb shelters. I texted with my bestie from Berklee, whose family lives in Tehran; together we lamented the reality of fearing for the lives of the ones we love. And, while I have the privilege of not having lost friends and family, it is not lost on me that this is a matter of luck and circumstance. Nearly 40% of folks in Israel either lack access to a shelter at all or are crammed into an under-maintained public shelter. Once again we see that, while things are unfathomably shitty and painful, there are levels to the shittiness.
So. All that being said, I actually have some good news to share with you! My wife, Ella, and I are launching a podcast along with our wonderful pal Asher Kurtz. It’s called Queer Sages, and it’s an oral history of queer folks — as told by them to us in candid interviews. We’ve been working on this for over a year (we got a little sidetracked by, um, the apocalypse) — editing audio, composing music, and more and more.
We’re finally ready to release the first three episodes, beginning next week.
All Chaos Palace subscribers will be automatically subscribed to the pod here on Substack unless you tell me otherwise. Of course, you can always unsubscribe — no hard feelings at all, ever. Everything will be free to read or listen to. If you want out — drop me a note!
Queer Sages is being created in collaboration with Sage USA, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older people. We’re not looking to make any money off this pod, but if you want to share some dollars with Sage, we think that would be a wonderful thing to do. LGBTQIA+ elders face all the same challenges regular seniors do, plus unique issues like being less likely to have a supportive family structure, facing discrimination in many housing situations or senior living facilities, and having healthcare denied them due to discriminatory practices. Sage does incredible work advocating for these folks, as well as creating opportunities for community-building and so much more.
You can expect the first episode Monday morning (I’m gonna go schedule it now). It’s a conversation with Richard Daniels, a wonderful choreographer, filmmaker, dancer, and all-around fascinating person.
In the meantime, wishing a you as peaceful a Shabbat as possible.
Love and hope,
Mikhal
Hey there! Welcome to the Chaos Palace is a space uplifting ADHD, queerness, Judaism, and how to find opportunities for growth & creativity in the messiness of life.
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