UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton

Peppermint Made Her Mark on Drag Race. Now, Her Advocacy Is Front and Center

“UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChu2TFT8tC_1kNxZTlExOkw] // Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0naD6C9bz6pYhSpddWSxid?si=c14a127b8f024bd3&nd=1&dlsi=3f2b9586a8c24d8f] // Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncloseted-with-spencer-macnaughton/id1886465537] You may know Peppermint as a runner-up on season 9 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Or for her stint as the first trans competitor on the runaway hit “The Traitors.” Or for her relentless activism at a time when the Trump administration is waging an unprecedented attack [https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/p/a-full-year-of-trump-and-lgbtq-rights] on the LGBTQ community.   Now, Peppermint is getting set to be one of New York City Pride’s official grand marshals. And she’s doing that while upholding the legacy of the trans women of color who were at the Stonewall Uprising in 1969.  In this episode of “UNCLOSTED, with Spencer Macnaughton,” Spencer sits down with Peppermint to hear about what it means to be a Black trans woman at the forefront of the LGBTQ movement during the second Trump administration. Host: Spencer Macnaughton Audio Production Intern: Bella Sayegh Editor: Laury Peyssonnerie Social producer/Design: Sophie Holland Special thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

White Supremacists and Lone Wolves Are Absent From Trump's Counterterrorism Strategies. Why?

On May 6, the Trump administration released their new counterterrorism strategy [https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-USCT-Strategy-1.pdf]. It delineated three “major types of terror groups,” including “narcoterrorists and transnational gangs,” “legacy Islamist terrorists” and “violent left-wing extremists, including anarchists and anti-fascists.” In a glaring departure from the Biden administration’s strategy focused on far-right extremists and white supremacists, the Trump administration is cracking down on ideology that they call “anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.”  In this episode of “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton,” Spencer talks with Jon Lewis, a researcher at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, as well as University of Maryland distinguished psychology professor Arie Kruglanski, to learn about what this new characterization of terrorism means for the safety of LGBTQ people and the security of all Americans.  “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChu2TFT8tC_1kNxZTlExOkw] // Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0naD6C9bz6pYhSpddWSxid?si=c14a127b8f024bd3&nd=1&dlsi=3f2b9586a8c24d8f] // Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncloseted-with-spencer-macnaughton/id1886465537]. CREDITS: Host: Spencer Macnaughton Audio Production Intern: Bella Sayegh Editor: Izzy Stokes Social producer/Design: Sophie Holland Special thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Our Journalist Spoke to Four Trans Foster Kids Who All Attempted Suicide. Why?

LGBTQ kids make up a third [https://www.hrc.org/resources/lgbtq-youth-in-the-foster-care-system] of the American foster care system and transgender kids enter it at five times [https://perma.cc/APP3-9ZCC] the rate of the general population. But in 2026, there are few legal protections for LGBTQ youth in the system. Uncloseted Media’s Sam Donndelinger spoke with case workers, advocates and survivors of the foster care system and uncovered why it’s failing trans kids [https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/p/150-homes-in-10-years-how-the-foster]. In this episode of “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton,” Spencer sits down with Sam and breaks down the story’s key findings.  “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChu2TFT8tC_1kNxZTlExOkw] // Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0naD6C9bz6pYhSpddWSxid?si=c14a127b8f024bd3&nd=1&dlsi=3f2b9586a8c24d8f] // Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncloseted-with-spencer-macnaughton/id1886465537] CREDITS: Host: Spencer Macnaughton Audio Production Intern: Bella Sayegh Editor: Taya Strauss Social producer/Design: Sophie Holland Special thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

‘I’m Hopeful’: The President of Gays for Trump Speaks Out

Peter Boykin founded Gays for Trump 10 years ago as an organization to “get out the vote” for gay Trump supporters during the president’s first run for office. The organization grew fast by creating Facebook campaigns and hosting events at the Republican National Convention. Now, over one year into Trump’s second term, Boykin’s group is smaller but still boasts 11,000 members.  In this episode of “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton,” Spencer sits down with Boykin to learn about why he remains “hopeful for Donald Trump” despite his disagreements about how the president has been handling LGBTQ issues. “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChu2TFT8tC_1kNxZTlExOkw] // Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0naD6C9bz6pYhSpddWSxid?si=c14a127b8f024bd3&nd=1&dlsi=3f2b9586a8c24d8f] // Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncloseted-with-spencer-macnaughton/id1886465537]  For all of our journalism and for links to all our coverage, go to UnclosetedMedia.com [http://unclosetedmedia.com/]  Credits: Host: Spencer Macnaughton Audio Production Intern: Bella Sayegh Editor: Izzy Stokes Social producer/Design: Sophie Holland Special thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

In 1992, James Dale Sued the Boy Scouts. Now, Pete Hegseth Presents a New Challenge

In 1992, James Dale sued the Boy Scouts of America after they kicked him out for being gay. The case lasted nearly a decade and made it all the way to the Supreme Court.  While SCOTUS ultimately ruled against Dale in a 5-4 decision, his case paved the way for LGBTQ inclusion across the organization. In 2014, the Boy Scouts started allowing gay boys to join the organization. Three years later, the organization began allowing trans boy scouts, and a year later, girls became eligible for membership.  But today, Scouting America is presented with a new challenge as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has put the organization “on notice,” and has threatened to pull Pentagon support if the they fail to erase what he calls “an insidious radical woke ideology,” which includes allowing trans scouts and girls to join the organization, and promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion.  In this episode of “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton,” Spencer sits down with Dale to talk about his experience suing the Boy Scouts of America and why he’s ready to speak out against the new challenges created by Hegseth, who he describes as a “terrorist.”  “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChu2TFT8tC_1kNxZTlExOkw] // Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0naD6C9bz6pYhSpddWSxid?si=c14a127b8f024bd3&nd=1&dlsi=3f2b9586a8c24d8f] // Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncloseted-with-spencer-macnaughton/id1886465537]  For all of our journalism and for links to all our coverage, go to UnclosetedMedia.com [http://unclosetedmedia.com/]  Credits: Host: Spencer Macnaughton Audio Production Intern: Bella Sayegh Editor: Taya Strauss Social producer/Design: Sophie Holland Special thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.