Beltane: Time to Bloom

More Than an Identity: Queerness as Practice and Resistance with Anna Storti

What does it mean to carry violence in your body? Author Anna Storti joins Unpacking the Closet to unpack her book Torn and the layered intersections of queerness, race, and inherited trauma. In this conversation, Geri and Caitlin sit down with Anna to explore how systemic violence lives inside us and across generations, what it means to hold a mixed-race Asian-white identity in queer spaces, and why Pride has always been as political as it is joyful. They also dig into the cultural legacy of The L Word, racism within queer communities, and how education and community can become sites of genuine resistance. This one is deep, honest, and full of the kind of clarity that only comes from someone who has lived and studied these questions from the inside. 🎧 New episodes every Tuesday. 📖 Find Anna's book Torn wherever books are sold. 👉 Subscribe so you never miss an episode. Connect with Unpacking The Closet: Instagram: @unpackingtheclosetpod TikTok: @unpackingtheclosetpod YouTube: @unpackingtheclosetpod Have a coming out story, identity journey, or life experience you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for listening, and remember: every story unpacked helps make a little more room in the closet for someone else to step out.

Litha: The Longest Day

The Solstice Series follows the eight points of the Celtic Wheel of the Year as living mirrors for queer identity, mental health, and the rhythms of becoming. Beltane (May) asked: what do you allow yourself to want? The Summer Solstice asks something harder: what do you do when you have it? When you're fully seen, fully lit, at the height of your energy and something in you still wants to hide?

The Politics of Pleasure: From Heated Rivalry to Bridgerton and the Double Standard of Desire

By now you've probably heard of Heated Rivalry, the steamy queer hockey romance that became one of streaming's biggest hits, driven overwhelmingly by a female audience. And if you've been paying attention, you've also clocked the very different reaction some of those same women had when Bridgerton announced its first WLW season. Dr. Yamissette Westerband is here to unpack all of it: what female desire actually looks like when women have the freedom to explore it, why queer male stories feel safe in a way queer female stories apparently don't, and what it means that two shows in the same cultural moment are revealing very different things about whose pleasure we're actually comfortable with. We post new episodes every tuesday and you can follow us on all socials: @unpackingthecloset Have a question or want to be on the show?! Message us by going to our website: www.unpackingthecloset.com #heatedrivalry #bridgerton #ThePoliticsOfPleasure #UnpackingTheCloset #FemaleDesire #FeministPodcast #QueerRepresentation #WLW #QueerRomance #GenderStudies #PopCulturePodcast #MediaAnalysis #LGBTQPodcast #WomenAndCulture #PodcastRecommendations #Franchaela #FrancescaBridgerton #MichaelaStirling #ShaneAndIlya

Stonewall, Juneteenth, and the History of Pride

Pride didn't start as a parade, it started as a riot led by Black and brown trans women who were tired of surviving. This episode is about knowing whose shoulders we're standing on, what they actually built, and how we honor that by refusing to be quiet about our joy. #Pride #PrideHistory #Juneteenth #blackhistory #queerhistory #June

Beltane: Time to Bloom

Beltane falls on May 1st, the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. It marks the ancient Celtic beginning of summer: a fire festival rooted in themes of fertility, desire, abundance, and permission. For this show, those themes translate into something deeply personal: what do you allow yourself to want? What do you keep caged, and why? #beltane #summersolstice #solstice #mayday #firefestival #unpackingtheclosetpodcast