Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness

Is life one big cosmic orgy? To wrap up our Pride Beyond Borders series, we’re going big… with an episode all about our universe! Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein joins Jonathan to discuss why spacetime isn’t straight, what quantum spin can teach us about gender expression, and why the key to understanding the cosmos may just be (wait for it) the world’s biggest dental dam. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Core Faculty in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of New Hampshire. She is a researcher in particle cosmology and author of the award-winning book for general audiences, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred. She is working on her next book, The Edge of Space-Time. You can follow Dr. Prescod-Weinstein on Twitter @IBJIYONGI, on Instagram and TikTok @chanda.prescod.weinstein, on Bluesky and Substack @chanda, and at cprescodweinstein.com. Curious for more? Here are some resources Dr. Prescod-Weinstein

What do 90 young, gay men in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have in common? They’ve all spent years sharing their stories with this week’s guest: Dr. Travis S. K. Kong. He joins Jonathan as part of our Pride Beyond Borders series to discuss what it’s like to be queer in each of these places—and share his interviewees’ coming out stories, their experiences with sex and dating, and their senses of intergenerational queer community. Travis S. K. Kong is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Chinese Male Homosexualities: Memba, Tongzhi and Golden Boy (Routledge 2011), Oral Histories of Older Gay Men in Hong Kong (Hong Kong University Press, 2019) and Sexuality and the Rise of China: The Post-1990s Gay Generation in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China (Duke University Press 2023). Curious for more? Check out the rest of our Pride Beyond Borders series: Is Queerness Divine? (Part One) with Dr. Eziaku Nwokocha Is Queerness Divine? (Part Two) with Dr.

What’s it like to enter a religious or spiritual space as a queer person? In Haitian Vodou, the divinities are ready to accept LGBTQIA+ practitioners—and are arguably queer themselves. In part two of our Pride Beyond Borders episode about this African diasporic religion, Professor Eziaku Nwokocha takes us into one of Manbo Maude’s temples to better understand this spiritual practice, and how its practitioners navigate questions of race, gender, and sexuality. Curious for more?  Check out part one of our conversation with Professor Nwokocha, where we get down to basics on Haitian Vodou and Haitian history.  Revisit the first episode from our Pride Beyond Borders series, all about global drag cultures, with Professor Kareem Khubchandani. And learn all about New Orleans history in parts one and two of our episode with Dr. Kathryn Olivarius! Eziaku Nwokocha is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. She is a scholar of Africana religions with expertise in the ethnographic study of Vodou

A spiritual practice that has a divinity dedicated to the protection of lesbians?! Tell us more! This week, for our Pride Beyond Borders series, we’re exploring the world of Haitian Vodou in a special two-part episode. In this first half, Professor Eziaku Nwokocha introduces us to this African diasporic religion, and Haitian history. In part two, out tomorrow, we’ll step into the world of Manbo Maude’s temples in Haiti and the US to learn about Haitian Vodou rituals and fashions, and what this practice has to do with queerness. Curious for more? Check out the first episode from our Pride Beyond Borders series, all about global drag cultures, with Professor Kareem Khubchandani. Eziaku Nwokocha is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. She is a scholar of Africana religions with expertise in the ethnographic study of Vodou in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Her research is grounded in a thorough understanding of religions in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States, in gender and sexuality s

This June, we’re celebrating Pride Beyond Borders! And to kick off our series, we’re exploring global drag culture with Professor Kareem Khubchandani aka Dr. LaWhore Vagistan. We’re learning how drag artists around the world stage political dialogues with their audiences, how queer nightlife can connect diasporic communities, and how this art form can be used to challenge—rather than reinforce—the legacies of colonialism and white supremacy. The world of drag is so much bigger than the world of Drag Race, and we’re here for all of it. Kareem Khubchandani is Associate Professor of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at Tufts University. He is the author of Ishtyle: Accenting Gay Indian Nightlife and Decolonize Drag, co-editor of Queer Nightlife, and curator of criticalauntystudies.com. Kareem also performs as LaWhore Vagistan, everyone’s favorite overdressed, overeducated, oversaturated desi drag aunty. You can follow Professor Khubchandani on Instagram and Twitter @kareempuff, and at KareemKhubchand

In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court of the United States will hand down decisions that could have major implications for LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, tribal sovereignty, and beyond. Melissa Murray and Jonathan discuss what’s on the docket, why the Supreme Court seems more powerful (and conservative) than ever, and how we can get through this hot mess SCOTUS summer. Melissa Murray is a Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, where she teaches constitutional law, family law, criminal law, and reproductive rights and justice and writes about the legal regulation of intimate life. Melissa clerked for Judge Stefan Underhill on the District of Connecticut and for Justice Sotomayor when she served on the Second Circuit. When she’s not reading the SCOTUS tea leaves, she’s practicing the violin, reading People magazine, and keeping up with Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. You can follow Professor Murray on Twitter and Instagram @ProfMMurray. You can keep up with Strict Scrutiny on Twitter @StrictScrut

We’re dripping in jewels this week on Getting Curious! What does it mean for a diamond to be “hard”? Are lab-grown gems made to perfection? What’s the difference between rubies and pink sapphires? Dr. Gabriela Farfan joins Jonathan to discuss the science and art behind the dazzling, multifaceted world of gems and minerals. Dr. Gabriela Farfan is the Coralyn Whitney Curator of Gems and Minerals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. She began collecting minerals at a young age and turned her hobby into a career as a mineralogist, geochemist, and the first woman and Latina to become Curator-in-Charge of the National Gem Collection. You can follow Dr. Farfan on Twitter @gabriela_farfan and on Instagram @the.mineralogist. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History is on Twitter @nmnh and Instagram @smithsoniannmnh. Curious for more? Check out these resources from Dr. Farfan: What is a Mineral? The AMNH’s “GeoGallery” Hope Diamond Whitney Flame Topaz Dom Pedro Aquamarine Cha

New Orleans was one of America’s most important cities in the early 1800s. It was also one of the most deadly. This week, to mark the new season of Queer Eye, we’re exploring New Orleans history with Dr. Kathryn Olivarius in a special two-part episode. Today, we’re learning about yellow fever’s grip on the city—and what this illness revealed about power and politics in New Orleans. Haven’t listened to part one yet? Check it out here to learn more about New Orleans history. A note from the team: this episode discusses enslavement and graphic descriptions of illness. Kathryn Olivarius is a prizewinning historian of slavery, medicine, and disease. She is Assistant Professor of History at Stanford University. Her book Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom, published by Harvard University Press, was recently awarded the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize. You can follow Dr. Olivarius on Twitter @katolivarius. Harvard University Press is on Twitter @Harvard_Press. If you’re new

New Orleans is a city in a swamp—a city, some argue, that should have never been built. So how did it become one of America’s most important sites in the 1800s, and a critical battleground in the American Civil War? This week, to mark the new season of Queer Eye, we’re exploring New Orleans history with Dr. Kathryn Olivarius in a special two-part episode. Today, we’re breaking down the basics on antebellum New Orleans. Tomorrow, we’ll learn all about New Orleans’ rampant history of yellow fever. A note from the team: this episode discusses enslavement and references to bodily harm. Kathryn Olivarius is a prizewinning historian of slavery, medicine, and disease. She is Assistant Professor of History at Stanford University. Her book Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom, published by Harvard University Press, was recently awarded the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize. You can follow Dr. Olivarius on Twitter @katolivarius. Harvard University Press is on Twitter @Harvard_Press. If you’

You didn’t hear it from us, but this week’s episode is so juicy that you’ll want to tell everyone about it. Dr. Meltem Yucel joins Jonathan to dish on gossip: why it’s irresistible, what it reveals about our moral and social codes, and how we can use it to our benefit. Come for the drama, stay for the drama. (Are we the drama?) Dr. Meltem Yucel is a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. She researches the development of social cognition and morality, specifically focusing on how and when children become moral beings. She is also the founder of www.PsychResearchList.com with the goal of making Psychology more accessible to students from all backgrounds by making the hidden curriculum of higher education more visible. You can follow Dr. Yucel on Twitter @DrMeltemYucel, on Instagram @drmeltemyucel, and on LinkedIn @nazlimeltemyucel. Her website is meltemyucel.com. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN.  

Chimpanzees and bonobos know how to live it up. They hang out with their friends, they take self-care breaks, they eat fresh fruit, and when it’s raining they fashion umbrellas out of leaves. Dr. Laura Simone Lewis is back on the show this week to tell us all about the social lives of these dynamic individuals, who happen to share 98% of our DNA. From their favorite juice flavors to their equivalent of Netflix and chill—this episode’s got it all.   Missed Dr. Lewis’s first episode on the show, all about our great ape family tree? Check it out here.   Dr. Laura Simone Lewis is a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Psychology department at UC Berkeley. She received her PhD from Harvard through the department of Human Evolutionary Biology last year. She studies how social cognition has evolved in our closest living primate cousins, chimpanzees and bonobos!   You can follow Dr. Lewis on Twitter @LauraSimoneLew.   Want to support our chimpanzee and bonobo cousins? Here are some groups to follow:

What do Enlightenment-era paintings, 19th-century American fashion magazines, and Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” have in common? They’re all examples of what fatphobia has to do with race, class, and gender discrimination. This week, we’re re-releasing one of our favorite episodes from the archives, with Dr. Sabrina Strings. Learn all about the origins of anti-fat bias, and how it persists today. Listened to this one last year? We promise—it’s worth revisiting! Sabrina Strings, Ph.D. is a Chancellor's Fellow and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. Sabrina has been featured in dozens of venues, including BBC News, NPR, Huffington Post, Vox, Los Angeles Times, Essence, Vogue, and goop. Her writing has appeared in diverse venues including, The New York Times, Scientific American, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. Her book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia (2019), was awarded the 2020 Best Publication Pri

The RMS Titanic sank 111 years ago this week. It may have been on its maiden voyage, but this trip was the culmination of more than 200 years of maritime travel and innovation. This week, Dr. Meaghan Walker joins us to explore British maritime history in the lead-up to this historic event. And just like an 18th century ship would have zig-zagged towards its destination, this episode is hitting all the angles: we’re talking kidnappings, steerage, slop clothes (the original fast fashion!), and why men’s calves were considered their sexiest body part in the 1700s.   Meaghan Walker is the Ewart A. Pratt Postdoc at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, where she researches the clothing of British “working men who got wet.” She has done work on the Royal Navy and British merchant shipping, but her current project focuses on the clothing purchases of the residents of the fishing outport of Bonavista, Newfoundland, using records at Memorial’s Maritime History Archive.   You can follow Dr. Wa

In the late 1990s, American malls were the place to be. Families from around the world vacationed at the Mall of America. Teens flocked to Britney Spears’ Hair Zone Mall Tour. A nine-year-old Jonathan basked in the fine fragrance mists of Juniper Breeze. Today, there are only around 700 indoor malls in the US, and more are in the midst of shuttering. What happened to these institutions? This week, Alexandra Lange joins Jonathan to discuss the rise, fall, and potential resurrection of the American mall.   Alexandra Lange is a design critic and author of “Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall.” Her essays, reviews and features have been published in the New York Times, The New Yorker and New York Magazine, as well as in design publications including Bloomberg Citylab, Elle Decor and Curbed. She lives in Brooklyn and walks in Brooklyn Bridge Park almost every day.    You can follow her on Instagram @langealexandra and on Twitter @LangeAlexandra. And you can purchase a copy of Meet Me by th

A note from team Getting Curious: This episode contains descriptions of violence that are at times graphic.   Women in Iran aren’t allowed to dance, sing, or show their hair in public. But it wasn’t always this way in the country. In part two of our conversation with Moj Mahdara and Nicolette Mason of the Iranian Diaspora Collective, we’re exploring the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran—and considering what a free, secular democracy, a new constitution, and an end to theocracy could look like for Iranians.   If you haven’t listened to part one yet, check it out. We discuss the basics on what it’s like to live in Iran today, and map out the women-led revolution underway in the country.   You can follow Iranian Diaspora Collective on Instagram @iraniandiasporacollective, and at iraniandiasporacollective.com. Nicolette is on Instagram @nicolettemason. Moj is on Instagram @moj.    And you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation.   The Iranian Diaspora C

A note from team Getting Curious: This episode contains descriptions of violence that are at times graphic.   If you haven’t heard about the women-led revolution happening in Iran, or you thought things had quieted down, that’s by design. The Islamic Republic of Iran has banned women from dancing, singing, and showing their hair in public. And they’ve restricted Internet access for people across the country. Still, taking these risks—and showing the world—is worth it to Iranians who want a free, secular democracy, a new constitution, and an end to theocracy.   This week, Moj Mahdara and Nicolette Mason—two founding members of the Iranian Diaspora Collective—join Jonathan for a two-part conversation about the country’s biggest protest movement in more than 40 years, and what’s at stake for women, young people, LGBTQIA+ people, and ethnic and religious minorities in particular.   In part one, we’ll focus on the last six months in Iran. In part two—out tomorrow—we’ll explore the history of the Islamic R

Today is March 31, 2023. It’s International Transgender Day of Visibility. And Queer Youth Assemble has organized the March For Queer & Trans Youth Autonomy. It’s set to be one of the largest queer and trans youth marches in history, with events across all 50 states and Washington, DC. We had the honor of speaking with three of the group’s leaders—Alia Cusolito, Esmée Silverman, and Faith Cardillo—about what they have planned for TDOV, how they’re experiencing this moment, and what everyone can do to support LGBTQIA+ youth right now. Queer Youth Assemble is a queer youth-led non-profit serving queer youth under 25 in the United States. You can follow them on Instagram and TikTok at @queeryouthassemble and on Twitter @qyouthassemble. Head to queeryouthassemble.org for more information on how to get involved, and to donate. Alia is on Instagram @alia.cusolito. Esmée is on Instagram and Twitter @esmeesactivism. And Faith is on Instagram @goalkeeping_faith, Twitter @faithgk11, and at linktr.ee/faithcardillo

This week, we’re touring Washington, DC, to learn how the nation’s capital is a Native capital—with returning guest Dr. Elizabeth Rule! She and Jonathan explore the city’s significance for the 574 tribal nations in the US today and spotlight Indigenous art, architecture, and activism. Put on your walking shoes and join us for a journey that’ll change how you see the city, and the United States. Elizabeth Rule, PhD (enrolled citizen, Chickasaw Nation) is an Assistant Professor of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies, and a Social Impact Resident Fellow with the Kennedy Center. Her book, Indigenous DC: Native Peoples and the Nation’s Capital (Georgetown University Press, 2023), analyzes historical and contemporary sites of Indigenous importance in Washington, DC. Rule is also the founder of the Guide to Indigenous Lands Project and creator of the Guide to Indigenous DC (2019), Guide to Indigenous Baltimore (2021), and Guide to Indigenous Maryland (2022) digital maps and mobile applications.  You can

This week, we’re celebrating the small screen with a TV legend: World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey! Fenton is one of the creative forces behind RuPaul’s Drag Race and other groundbreaking TV shows and films.    Fenton and Jonathan discuss how infomercials, public access stations, televangelist sermons, and unscripted TV have shaped our reality. Plus, hear all about Fenton’s decades-long creative partnership with RuPaul; his work with cultural icons like Britney Spears, Tammy Faye, and Monica Lewinsky; and what happened when his career landed him in North Korea.   Fenton Bailey is the co-founder of World of Wonder, the production company behind the Emmy Award-winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Million Dollar Listing” LA & NY franchises, as well as award-winning subversive documentaries.    His new non-fiction book ScreenAge: How TV shaped our reality, from Tammy Faye to RuPaul’s Drag Race is out in the US on March 28, and you can order a copy now!   Follow Fenton on Instagram @fentonjbailey and on Twit

We’re back with the second half of our special two-part episode about algorithms and artificial intelligence, featuring returning guest Meredith Broussard. Yesterday, we got the T on ChatGPT, and learned why we can’t trust algorithms to be fair or objective. Today, Jonathan and Meredith get personal about their encounters with algorithms, and consider what an equitable tech industry could look like. Plus, deepfakes, TikTok, the Supreme Court, and Jonathan’s take on M3GAN!   Meredith Broussard is Associate Professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University and Research Director at the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology. She is the author of Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World (MIT Press). Her work has been featured in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Atlantic, BBC, Wired, the Economist, and more. She appears in the 2020 documentary Coded Bias and serves on the advisory board for the Center for Critical Race & Digital Studies.     Make