As Anti-LGBTQ Podcasters Dominate, Uncloseted Is Launching Its Own Offering
Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter
The numbers don’t lie. Far-right influencers are dominating in the podcast ring. Six of the top 10 podcasts in the U.S. on Spotify come from right-wing perspectives. Nearly a third of news influencers lean right. And right-leaning online shows get nearly five times as many viewers as left-leaning ones.
Many of the top podcasts feature hosts that spew anti-LGBTQ language. Joe Rogan, who is number one in the U.S. on Spotify and has over 14 million listeners, has falsely said trans people are “perverts” who commit the majority of school shootings. Tucker Carlson, number four in the states, has claimed that gender-affirming health care allows adults to “basically molest and abuse children.” And Candace Owens, at number 10, has called homosexuality a “social contagion” and has blamed gay men for pedophilia in the church.
Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal found that “corporate and foreign interests” are pouring thousands of dollars per post into “getting pro-Trump social-media stars to push their causes.” And nearly 70% of political podcasters have shared unsubstantiated or false claims.
The stunning amount of misinformation in this space is priming the next generation of young Americans—40% of whom say they sometimes or often get their news from podcasts—to learn from leaders who normalize discrimination against LGBTQ people and who view us as toxic or dangerous.
Since we launched in September 2024, the vast majority of Uncloseted Media’s reporting has been communicated through the written word. But we know we need to reach audiences where they’re at if we want to meaningfully fill the gap in accurate and fair LGBTQ storytelling.
That means we need to play in the video and audio space. And that’s why on March 25, we’re launching “Uncloseted with Spencer Macnaughton” (that’s me!), a weekly video podcast that expands on our investigative journalism and brings you exclusive scoops, raw interviews and voices you don’t hear anywhere else.
In our first three episodes, I talk to Lucas Pearson, a gay Kentuckian who developed a ketamine addiction to cope with childhood trauma from his upbringing in a conservative Christian home. I speak with our very own Hope Pisoni about how her conversations with eight incarcerated trans women led her to discover that the Bureau of Prisons is illegally denying them gender-affirming care. And I interview the president of Gays for Trump—who oversees an 11,000-person Facebook group of LGBTQ Republicans—to find out how he thinks Trump is doing a year into his second term.
The podcast will come straight to your inbox every Wednesday morning, but additional clips and extras will be uploaded to our YouTube channel. To get all of our content, subscribe and like our page here:
“Over 200,000 deaths”: Police arrest 13 HIV activists protesting Trump PEPFAR cuts (LGBTQ Nation)
The Trump administration has severely damaged a program credited with saving 26 million lives since its inception in 2003.
Gay professional gamer detained by ICE fears deportation to Cameroon, where homosexuality is illegal (The Advocate)
Ludovic Mbock’s Maryland family is worried that he will be sent to a country where homosexuality is illegal.
James Talarico Stands By Defense of Trans Youth: “Focus on the Real Problem” (Them)
“The only thing the media wants to ask me about are trans athletes,” Talarico told MS NOW.
Scouting America sues LGBTQ+ travel company for using the word “scout” in its name (LGBTQ Nation)
While the queer travel company says that no one is confusing it with the youth organization, just fighting the lawsuit could be prohibitively expensive.
“Don’t call yourself a fan if you share racist/homophobic/biphobic/misogynist/ageist/ableist/parasocial/bigoted comments of any kind,” read the posts. “None of us need your hateful ‘love.’
Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕 SATURDAY: “Transgender,” “Lesbian” and “Twink” are some of Pornhub’s most watched categories. But as an increasing amount of porn is produced in the unregulated space of AI-generation, what does that mean for depictions of queer bodies? Emma Paidra investigates.
🆕 TUESDAY: Headlines were made last month when a coalition of nearly 50 far-right organizations launched the Greater Than campaign, a new front in the fight to overturn gay marriage. The campaign was spearheaded by a little-known activist named Katy Faust. Hope Pisoni uncovers how this former blogger, who was raised in part by queer women, ended up at the helm of the fight against marriage equality.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief — spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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So glad to hear this!!!