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Gaze reading, where the greats drop by. Trendy authors tell us all the who, what, and why. Anyone can listen, cause we're spoiler free. Gaze reading. From poets and stars, to book club picks. Where the curious minds can get their fix. So you say you're not gay, well that's okay. There's something for everyone. Gaze reading. Hello and welcome to gays. Gay's reading. I'm your host, Jason Blitman. And I am so. So grateful that you are listening. Maybe you're listening on the day that this episode. Drops, which happens to be election day 2024. and on today's episode, I have the Phantom. Fantastic author, Lester, Fabian Brathwaite talking. To us about his book rage. Couldn't think of a better book title. Title for us to be talking about on election day. And. I thought, you know, if a podcast episode is going to drop on election day, there is a one person. Who I can talk to as my guest gay reader, he was the. The only person I asked to come on the show today and I'm so grateful. He said, yes. Your favorite Instagram follow. The one and only Brian. Brian Derrick. He is. The person who I think. I think makes us feel a little better. Uh, about everything going on politically and. So who knows what is happening in the world right now as I've recorded? Did this prior to, uh, election day happening. But hopefully we can let. At some of our rage and Brian can help put us a little bit at ease. And this will be an okay podcast to listen to on election day. And if you're listening after election day, Well, I hope everything's okay, everyone. That's all I have to say. Uh, Please. like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, you. You could follow. Over on Instagram at gaze reading. and if you want to. Watch this episode, you can check us out on YouTube, the link to our YouTube channel. Is in the show notes and on the link tree on Instagram. Let's get to it because. You know, there's a lot to talk about and it's election day. And so here's. Here's let's distract you by talking about rage and. And hearing from your favorite Politico. Brian Derrick. Without further ado here is lesser Fabian Brathwaite.

Jason Blitman: 2:29

Lester, welcome to Gay's Reading.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 2:31

Let's read, honey.

Jason Blitman: 2:32

has anyone ever told you that your last name sounds like you come from a line of like earls from deep in London?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 2:40

Literally all the time, yes. My name is very stately.

Jason Blitman: 2:45

It is so stately. Lester Fabian Brathwaite

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 2:49

rathwaite. My damehood. My name is Maggie Smith.

Jason Blitman: 2:54

Yes, James Brathwaite. All right, Lester, your book, the full title is Rage on Being Queer, Black, Brilliant, and Completely Over It.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 3:06

Yes.

Jason Blitman: 3:07

is your elevator pitch for the book?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 3:09

Ugh, elevator pitch. I haven't done this in a minute. It's a series of darkly comic essays exploring just being black and queer in America, and the intent of rage that comes with that. And it's really my attempt to try and kind of, you know, exercised the rage for my life by dealing with it in a way that, you know, James Baldwin never taught me how to. Because the name of the book was inspired by a Baldwin quote about how being black in America, you're always in constant rage. And that like, there, you can either live with rage or let it consume you. And I didn't want to do either of those things. So I figured out, like, if I could make my rage, if I could turn something productive into something that was. positive and something that could help me and maybe help others then Then it's all for naught. It's not all for naught. Then I can, you know, the rage is It can be used for something good

Jason Blitman: 4:00

I would say for me, I was going into it almost assuming. It would be mostly memoir esque, but it's not really, it's a lot of commentary on the world and things around you with memoir peppered through using your personal lens to talk about things in the world. I, you sent me down a handful of Google rabbit holes. favorite was that, so there's a chapter about bodybuilding. And we will, we can go into where that comes from later, so this is complete non sequitur for our listeners. But my favorite factoid that I learned is that a judge for one of the first bodybuilding competitions ever was

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 4:45

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Jason Blitman: 4:46

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that shocked me. And also it was like. Where did that come from? Is he obsessed with men? Was Arthur Conan Doyle gay? So I started googling all about him and there were so many articles with like conspiracies about him and Sherlock Holmes about their sexualities, whether or not they're gay or asexual or like how progressive Arthur Conan Doyle was on sexuality, which was I couldn't believe it.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 5:13

That's interesting, I didn't know that at all.

Jason Blitman: 5:14

Yeah, apparently he was like super progressive about the gays

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 5:18

Oh, look at that. Look at her.

Jason Blitman: 5:19

the late 1800s when this was all happening,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 5:22

Good for her.

Jason Blitman: 5:23

right?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 5:24

Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 5:24

So thank you for giving me that little factoid.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 5:26

Oh yeah, I know, I love that kind of shit. It's like, how like one little factoid continues down this whole other little lane of information. Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 5:34

And then of course you, I'm gonna, I'm gonna reverse this comment, but you go on to say You want to have sex with people who'd appreciate that. And that being Jane Krakowski in Broadway's She Loves Me. Doing a split and getting dragged across the stage in the split

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 5:55

If you can't appreciate that, then why are we talking? I don't, I don't want to be around you. You can't appreciate Nick Krakowski doing a split and then jumping across the stage. While singing, by the way. Right?

Jason Blitman: 6:05

singing. I feel like when that happened on stage, I screamed. And

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 6:11

I mean, how could you not? As a faggot. That is just like, that's what happens. That's the reaction.

Jason Blitman: 6:16

astonishing! How? Who doesn't appreciate that?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 6:20

And also, like, talking about it. Like, the whole part, that part comes in the section where I'm talking about, like, masculinity and everything, and like, how, it's just. You put on all these airs in order to attract men, and try to keep men. And then like, but when you're just, when you're both just comfortable with each other, and comfortable in your masculinity, you can just be, and talk about gay shit. And like, really find common ground and enjoy each other's company, without like putting on this whole masculinity front.

Jason Blitman: 6:45

It's also really interesting because it's this gorgeous woman doing something pretty physically impressive.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 6:55

Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 6:56

And in a different society that would turn the heads of masculine straight men.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 7:04

Mm hmm.

Jason Blitman: 7:04

So there's this very interesting I don't know, balance of, it reminds me of millennials as teenagers. I had posters of Britney Spears on my wall and every magazine cut out of

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 7:14

Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 7:14

on my wall and the straight men or the straight teenagers had, players,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 7:21

Or they have the same posters, but it's just a different context. It's like, it's, like Krasky, it's like, it's sexy, but there's this, like, very gay element to it that, like, we don't necessarily, like, care about the sexiness, but we care about the femininity. We care about the heightened femininity, the heightened camp of it all.

Jason Blitman: 7:38

The fabulousness.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 7:39

straight men just like that she's, like, hot. Or that she's doing a split, or that her stomach is out, and then she's, you know, you know, she's, like, that's it, you know.

Jason Blitman: 7:46

Yeah. So you clearly you love musicals.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 7:49

I sure do.

Jason Blitman: 7:50

What are some of your, what are some of your faves?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 7:53

mean, I saw The Wiz last, what was it last, a few months ago. This year's been so long. I saw the revival of The Wiz, and it was so good. I love The Wiz, and it's just, in terms of like, just, musical hits. Just like, just like number of songs that are just hits. Like, that musical is like chocked full. That was a great experience. I'm really looking forward to seeing the news at the boulevard with Nicole Scherzinger. I've heard amazing things. I love

Jason Blitman: 8:19

coming out of the stage door covered in her blood from the end of the show. Talk about camp.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 8:23

a teddy, in a, in a, like blood is dripping down his face. And Superbowl of Art is like, one of the campiest movies of all time.

Jason Blitman: 8:31

Yes.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 8:31

I mean, the dead chimp with the arm falling out. Like, you have like, Buster Keaton, like, going to his flat when he starts playing. Poker with her and just like the high camp of it all and just like translating it to theater which is camp like theater is where camp comes from and so like it's just like and also a former pescatol is like playing like just layers and layers of camp i'm like i miss my wife my life

Jason Blitman: 8:55

Oh my God, that's so funny. Speaking of hit after hit with the Wiz, I, for reasons I won't get into, was listening to the Annie cast recording the other day. And every song is a hit. Song after song. You're just like, wait, maybe into Hardknock Life, into, Little Girls, into they're all so good.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 9:16

like,

Jason Blitman: 9:17

Yes, it's man, this, I don't want to say it's underrated obviously it's not, but I think

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 9:21

It is, it is. It kind of is, though. Like,

Jason Blitman: 9:24

people see it as cheesy, but it's actually a really solid hit. Musical.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 9:29

it's not Sondheim, but it's still a great musical.

Jason Blitman: 9:32

Sure. Anyway, but hit after hit, I was like, oh, there is not a song. I'm not skipping a single song here.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 9:37

Yeah, that's quality.

Jason Blitman: 9:39

that is quality.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 9:40

Hard to do, also.

Jason Blitman: 9:41

yes. Name a cast recording that you don't skip through. There are very few.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 9:46

Dreamgirls.

Jason Blitman: 9:47

Oh, come on.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 9:48

Yeah. That came very quickly, so.

Jason Blitman: 9:51

Were you ever a performer?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 9:52

No, not really. I've always, like, had, like, aspirations. But, like, I never had, like, the training, you know? And also, like, I don't take rejection very well. So, that was also something that, like, I knew that I was not built for that life. You know, not necessarily one of auditioning and being rejected and that kind of stuff. Like, I don't want to do that.

Jason Blitman: 10:10

Yeah, that's fair. But Writing is not dissimilar. I'm sure you've gotten plenty of rejection. No

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 10:17

Um,

Jason Blitman: 10:17

like, That's I just

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 10:19

of all, how dare you?

Jason Blitman: 10:20

But statistically speaking, right?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 10:22

No, it's true. I've been rejected a lot for this book. But also, it's a different kind of rejection. In some cases, it's actually more personal, I think, than just going to an audition and dancing and singing. But no, it's just me pouring out my heart in a manuscript form, or in whatever form, and then being told it's not good enough. It's like, okay, well. I guess I'll go back home and like, you know, go to sleep

Jason Blitman: 10:43

It's funny, because I worked in casting for a little while in New York, and these people come into the room, and they're like, sing for 30 seconds and then they leave, but they're, they come in and they took the day off of work and they sing their heart out and they like are super vulnerable depending on their level of talent. It's, so it's very interesting just, anyone who's putting themselves in front of people to say, here is a piece of me. There's a lot of vulnerability there. And I think writers, artists of all kinds. That's yeah, it's hard. It's a bizarre context, I feel

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 11:15

yeah. It's also a bit of a move though when you're a writer, because you're not in the room with someone while they're reading your work usually. It's like

Jason Blitman: 11:21

see their face while,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 11:22

yeah. Performer, you're like, you're right there, you're like giving it to them. But the writer, you're like, you're sending it in, and you might hear back like a week or two later or something, or a month later, whatever the case may be. So it's not like necessarily as intimate, but I think it is also more Kind of heart wrenching when you don't get it because you do put a lot of work into it And it is a reflection of something that's inside of you

Jason Blitman: 11:43

You, okay, you love musicals, not to put you on the spot and not to drag you, but you don't love drag queens.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 11:52

No, I do not. But

Jason Blitman: 11:54

it. Tell me more. What is what do you have trouble with?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 11:57

You know, I, You know, it's just, I don't know, really. It's just, I think what the, what it is, is that I started watching Drag Race years and years ago when it first started. I interviewed, like, all the queens, and I interviewed RuPaul twice, and, like, I've just, like, been dragged out. I think I'm just, like, especially with what drag has become now, because of Drag Race, like, it has changed. And not necessarily for the better in all my opinions, so it's like, it's like, I can appreciate a drag queen, I can appreciate what they do, but it's like, I'd just rather not. I'd just rather not, like, first of all, I don't even go out anymore, so that's the other thing, like, I don't even go out, I'm just, I'm an old man, I just like to stay in. I have to be in bed by ten, if I can. But if I go out though, and I'm like, with my friends, and like I guess I have to sit through this now. It's more like, I'm just like, I'm just like, I'm just like old and tired. It's just like, I really, it's not like anything personal against drag queens. It's just like, it's my, my own personal taste

Jason Blitman: 12:50

Yeah, no, I feel you. Drag queens imply a late night and I want to be in bed.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 12:55

I, thank you. I would like to be in bed, please. You know, like, maybe, like, maybe one drink, maybe the music's good, we could dance a little bit, but if we threw a drag show in there, it's like, we'd mess around in there for 30 minutes, you know, it's like, it's another, like, get my dog, my

Jason Blitman: 13:08

And

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 13:08

out for the tips, you know,

Jason Blitman: 13:10

I do think Drag Race has done a disservice to the local drag community because there are these expectations of drag queens now and, they're on the show, they perform in quotation marks for Five minutes,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 13:28

Yeah,

Jason Blitman: 13:29

right? The rest of the TV show is the drama. And so on, if you're like literally at a drag show and the drag show is an hour, you're like, wait, I don't actually want to watch these people do this thing for so long. Like I just want it for a couple of minutes, like on

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 13:42

and the question, the question is like, who are they performing for on TV? Like, I feel like when Drag Race first came out, it was actually for the gays. It was like Vaseline Lens, it was very cheap, it was, they were like, you know, Drag on a Dime, it was that. But now, like, they're performing for America, they're performing for everyone, for the world, and that's great, but like, Yeah, I also have, like, drag queens who don't fit that mold. I think that's where Brooklyn actually is really good at. They have, like, these alternative drag scenes in Brooklyn that, like, you don't get in Manhattan. You get with a queen. Like, I went to, actually, I was at a drag show. I also went to a dive bar, like, a few weeks ago. And that was my friend's 40th birthday. And there were these two queens that got kitten heels, just like, you know, no padding. You're just like, just like, having a good time. And that was fun. It was like, this is like, this is like a fun drag because it's not too serious. It's not too much. It's just like, these like, they're just trying to like, get some, get some cash and then entertain the faggots. Like,

Jason Blitman: 14:31

There is a

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 14:32

that's admirable.

Jason Blitman: 14:33

100%, there's a drag queen in Palm Springs who hosts literally everything like bingo, story time, it's oh you need someone to speak at an event, go call this one, and she's I don't want to call her a dinosaur, but she's an old drag queen. She was wearing like a muumuu, a wig, lipstick, and glasses. Literally no other

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 14:54

That's my favorite drag look. That's

Jason Blitman: 14:55

Nope. Me too. And all of a sudden Lester, I was like, wait a minute. This is my third act. Like I'm going to be that drag queen,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 15:03

that for you. I see that for you.

Jason Blitman: 15:04

right? Like literally lipstick. No, not even blush.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 15:08

Why would you, right? I was reading like, there's this like, Mrs. Roper, like, festival, like, where like, It's a thing where people dress up as Mrs. Roper from Things Company, just moo moos, and like bright garish looks, and like, that's, that is drag. That is just another form of drag. And it's the finest form of drag. It's that Phyllis Diller 70s, like, woman of a certain age, who's like, may not be the most beautiful, but you know, she's got a quip, she's got jokes, she's got one liners, she's got comebacks at the ready. And I love that kind of drag.

Jason Blitman: 15:37

I was just gonna say that's the best part when it's like you're not relying on how good your makeup skills are, you're

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 15:42

Or that body. Relying on that

Jason Blitman: 15:44

the body, the fabulous outfit, it's about a personality, it's about a vibe, it's about a style.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 15:51

And those queens I will always fuck with. Like, I love, I love those queens that are just like, maybe the drag's not great, but the humor is.

Jason Blitman: 15:58

Yeah, absolutely.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 16:00

Like, my

Jason Blitman: 16:00

okay, thank you for explaining all that to me.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 16:02

Have

Jason Blitman: 16:03

favorite queen is who?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 16:04

Dina Martina? Have you ever seen her?

Jason Blitman: 16:06

No.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 16:07

Oh my god, she's fucking brilliant. Like, she does a show in P Town, but she also, she travels around sometimes, and it's just like, this big red lips, like, this choppy, awful, short wig, like, the dress is dented up in the back, her back is still hairy, you know? It's just, but she is the funniest person in the world. Like, I will go see her show at any time. She's, if you ever see, she's probably in Palm Springs, so if she ever, like, is there, go see her. Like, she is the best.

Jason Blitman: 16:34

That's so funny. A couple years ago, I went to, I used the term dinosaur earlier because I went to a drag show on New Year's Eve, and it was like the dinosaurs of drag, and it was Varla Jean Merman, and Haklina, who recently passed away, and Sherry Vine, and this drag queen named Gypsy, and they were all like, above the age of 60. And incredible. It was like it was like such classic drag. And it was one of the best nights of my life. And it was so different. I could have watched them just talk all day long, but it's very different than I think what we're so used to today. So I'm glad we talked about this. Cause you like, I don't want to say blanketly said you don't like drag Queens. But you sort of did um,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 17:26

try and drop it and leave it. But I felt

Jason Blitman: 17:28

And

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 17:28

discussion for, like, another time. Which, apparently the time is

Jason Blitman: 17:31

this, right? Exactly. Now is the time. Speaking of now's the time you do something that is also very important for the children, for the gay children reading the book and you like drop little nuggets of just like queer. pop culture things from once upon a time that I hope they Google. Things like Rosalind Russell. You say that 22 year olds don't know who Rosalind Russell is.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 17:55

They do not.

Jason Blitman: 17:56

I know. And that's devastating.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 17:57

It is. It really is.

Jason Blitman: 17:59

Do you remember your introduction to her?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 18:01

I mean, I used to watch, at AMC it was just like classic movies and it wasn't like Mad Men and stuff. They would just like show classic movies like during the day. I would just like sit in front of them and watch it like all day. And so they would play Auntie Mame and His Girl Friday a lot. And like, she was just such, her voice was the first thing I remember because it was so husky, you know? Like Bea Arthur. It's one of those voices that you just hear and you're like, oh, I know who that is immediately. So I recognized the voice. I recognized she was in His Girl Friday doing, like, one of the greatest criminal comics of all time, and Auntie May, which is just, it's a faggot to my dream. It's just like her in, like, drag costumes, like, looks, and she's just this Bigger than my personality and she's taking this little obviously gay boy under her wing and like showing him what life is and how to live and how to be you know in giant cap of letters and that really spoke to me as a little gay boy who wanted to like be bigger than life and so like And to like, be this, be this woman. Be like, this kind of like, larger life character who like, shepherds like, the younger kids to, you know, towards fabulousness. Like, I'm an uncle now. I have an uncle to like, several, like, kids. So I feel like it's not my job to like, be their auntie Mae. And then just like, be that aunt that just swoops in, you know, making loud pronouncements and just swoops out, you know, blowing kisses around, looking great.

Jason Blitman: 19:19

Speaking of being an uncle, and drag queens for that matter I, my, I have a niece, and she happens to also live in Florida, and I sent her, a few months ago the book The Hips on the Drag Queen, and the The book is a take on the wheels on the bus and it's like the hips. So if you say to her, what do the shoulders of the drag queen go? She will say to you, shimmy, shimmy,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 19:48

Shut up. This is what the conservatives are terrified about.

Jason Blitman: 19:51

She's two and a half. What do the children, the drag queen go? Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy. I'm like, yes, I'm doing my job.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 19:59

You're doing the Lord's work.

Jason Blitman: 20:01

Yes, exactly.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 20:02

S W E R Q.

Jason Blitman: 20:04

Yes, with a Q!

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 20:06

Yes, ma'am.

Jason Blitman: 20:07

In high school, we watched the movie Picnic. And that was my introduction to Rosalind Russell. I was like, This woman is she gives a performance in this movie where you're like, It is just classic, and so good. I had to know who she was, and I was, in high school at the time, so I wasn't, I didn't really know. So I then fell down a Rosalind Russell rabbit hole,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 20:26

yeah. And you talk about range, by the way. Like, talk about range. Like, the women, Warner becomes Elektra, Gypsy, like, the woman was, like, doing it all, and doing it well.

Jason Blitman: 20:37

Seriously. Rosalind Russell's one of your nuggets. Another one is the Philadelphia story.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 20:43

My favorite movie of all time, yes.

Jason Blitman: 20:45

It is so good, which I hadn't seen until I interviewed an author named Alyssa Sussman who wrote her own rom com called Funny You Should Ask, and that was inspired by the Philadelphia story. And in preparation of interviewing her, I watched the movie. I couldn't believe that a movie from, what, like the 40s was making me laugh as much as it did. I was like, I cannot believe this holds

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 21:13

That's the hallmark of great comedy. It's

Jason Blitman: 21:15

yes.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 21:16

Like, the funniest movie of all time is still Duck Soup, 1933. That movie has, like, perfection. From start to finish. It's, yeah, it's hilarious. Like,

Jason Blitman: 21:23

The Marx Brothers? Three? Yeah. Okay.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 21:26

It's where the mirror scene, the mirror gag, where, like, it's Gnacho and Harpo like, pretending to be a mirror. That's, like, where that came from.

Jason Blitman: 21:32

I'll have to watch. Yeah. I love a classic movie that holds up.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 21:37

Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 21:37

Nothing like it.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 21:39

And for those of you who saw it, it's definitely, like, first of all, the cast. You got Kate Hepburn, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart. You know, you got Ruth Hussie in a great supporting role, just being, like, that smart aleck, you know, scene stealer. And it's also, it's just, it's, it does what rom coms do really well. And it's, like, both funny and very romantic. And, like, very swooningly romantic. Like, that scene where they're dancing by the pool that night. It's, like, that's so what Hollywood is. That's just, like, it's, like, it's beautiful. She looks amazing. The dialogue is perfect. You know, the chemistry is perfect. It's like, I really recently watched that on Netflix. No one asked for this. It's a romcom with Kristen Bell and Adam Brody.

Jason Blitman: 22:15

Oh yeah.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 22:16

and that reminded me of like, it's It was so good. It was ten episodes, light and breezy, but it has the romance, and it has the comedy, and it's like, it's a perfect mix of both, and the chemistry between them is so good. So like, it's just like, when rom coms are good, they're like, really fucking good, and they don't get enough credit for like, being, having that balance. Of being like, what the, I don't know, Best Friends Wedding. Amazing movie. We put in effort. Should have gotten an Oscar. But, you know, it's like, because it's a comedy, because it's a rom com, it isn't going to take it seriously. That's film.

Jason Blitman: 22:44

And you go on to say too that all rom coms are about defying reality. And I was like, oh, that might be why they don't get more credit. Because there is this sort of fantastical ness to

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 22:59

Yeah, a veneer of like, yeah, where it's just like, it's not quite real, and you know, there's like, it's a little formulaic. But also, it's like, maybe the problem is that it's just about like, the healing powers of love, and that's just cheesy, and people don't believe in that. You know, maybe that, yeah, that's what it is. But, I don't know, everyone wants to be in love. Everyone loves being in love, so.

Jason Blitman: 23:17

When I think about some of my favorites. When I think like classic Hollywood and rom com, Singin in the Rain is one of the first ones that come to mind. And it just, it's sweeping, and to your point, it's like, lit beautifully, and there are these great musical numbers, and there's real heart, and it's also quirky, but it, at the end of the day, it's like about something, and

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 23:38

Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 23:39

anyway. I love a romcom. What's your favorite one? Do other, okay, Philadelphia Story. What's your favorite contemporary romcom?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 23:45

I mean, my best friend's wedding is really up there. Um,

Jason Blitman: 23:49

You've Got Mail.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 23:52

I've never seen that one. I, I see

Jason Blitman: 23:56

Well, This has been fun.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 23:57

on, fair enough.

Jason Blitman: 23:58

Oh, okay. I've honestly, I've actually never seen Chop Around the Corner and I want to so badly.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 24:03

It's on, it's on, on TCM occasion. I saw that a little while ago. Delightful.

Jason Blitman: 24:08

funny that we're talking about that because that's what She Loves Me is based on. No, it's not based on that. It's based on the French or Hungarian play that movie is based on.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 24:17

Yeah. It's had many lives at

Jason Blitman: 24:19

it's the same story. Yeah. So funny. We're talking so much about like fun and Sort of frilly things, but your book is called Rage, and you

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 24:28

Yeah, for whatever reason. There's a lot of that in there. But also in the comedy too, so it's like, we're not completely off track.

Jason Blitman: 24:34

No! And all of the things that we're talking about do come up in the book, and I think, I don't want to speak too much about specifics in the book so people can read it and see where your rage comes from. One of the things is talking about the sort of campness of, villains and how you've seen yourself or you've fancied yourself a villain for most of your life. What is why is that? What do you mean by that?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 24:58

I think it's because I'm just, like, angry. I think there's this, like, there's a lot of darkness inside of me that I mask with humor. And it's like, you know, if I didn't mask it with humor, then I'd just be angry. And then I'd be very easy to be a villain when you're just angry. And you just have no outlet for it. But, like, the comedy makes it easier. It makes the anger palpable and it makes it relatable. Whereas if I didn't have humor, I would just be an asshole. Like, straight up. So, I think my seeing myself as a villain is like, I know what I'm capable of in both good ways and bad ways, and I know that if I didn't have some sort of checks and balance, if I didn't have some sort of checks and balance with myself, then I could tip over into villainy, you know? Or I could just like, because I ain't like, really what we've What Hyrule has told us and what stories have told us is that villains are just misunderstood. That they're just, they had, they they might be good people but they took a wrong turn or something. Some people are, there's never, I don't know, people are actually, there's always the question of, Nature of good and evil. Like, people are born good, people are born evil, this, that, and the other. So, like, I think humans try to believe that no one's born evil, and that, like, we believe that people do evil things out of necessity, or out of ignorance, or whatever it may be. But I think humans try to believe the best in people. That's why you kind of, like, we don't want to humanize villains, even when there's a lack of humanity within them. And so like, when you see humanity in a villain, you see humanity in other people. You realize that like, Yeah, no one's perfect, and we're all capable of doing bad things. And we do. Like, humanity is just, like, it's just a constant Like, I'm never surprised by the depths of humanity, you know, because there's just

Jason Blitman: 26:42

For better

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 26:42

happen all the time, for better and for worse. Like, there's, like, there's, humans are capable of so many great, amazing things, and also capable of such rot, and such awful It's such an awful thing, there's so much hatred and anger and violence, and like, I really wanted to speak to that.

Jason Blitman: 26:57

Yeah. And we're living through so much of it right now.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 27:00

Yes, every fucking day, it's just, you're confronted with like, how evil the world is, and also the banality of evil, like how, you know, people are dying left and right in genocide, and like, we're talking about memes, and we're talking about like, there's just, like it feels like the world is constantly coming to an end, or coming to a point where like, there's no returning. And yet, you know, I thought the apocalypse would be, like, more exciting than this. That it would be, you know, like, it'd be more urgency. But, you know, we're just living life like it's, like, it's always been and it hasn't been. That went for a while.

Jason Blitman: 27:35

Yeah. Yeah, and I feel it takes the consuming content like this and like this being your book, Rage and experiencing the world in different ways and through different lenses that will allow for some of that change to happen. Sure.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 27:52

Yeah, it's sort of like a screw coated, like, medication, like, pill, where it's just like, yeah, the humor is, like, ease, like, ease down, like, these ideas and these, these stories and these, like, my opinions, but, like, at the heart of it is still, like, the truth, or what I see as the truth, and my, and my urgency. So I try and, You'll be able to see the larger picture.

Jason Blitman: 28:13

You talk about some of the pop culture content throughout the nineties that were very queer and very formative and looking at things like the birdcage and too long foo. It's Almost astonishing. I feel like I was, when I was reading it, I was reminded that those films were like, really iconic. Maybe Tuong Phu was like a little bit more culty and niche, but The Birdcage is like freaking Mike Nichols. Like it's a classic.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 28:40

multiple Oscar winners, it was a big box office hit, you know,

Jason Blitman: 28:43

Right.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 28:44

made over like 200 million at the box office in the 90s. It was like a big A list mainstream Hollywood movie about two men in love with each other and about another family they raised and like, coming together with this conservative family and, you know, trying to make it work. It's like, very subversive in that sense. I mean, they never kiss or anything, but they do proclaim their love for each other, and it's very important, especially when you're a young kid, seeing, like, these two men, who are dressed fabulously, by the way, and are just, and, like, live this fabulous life in this, like, incredibly, like, decorated apartment, and are happy, and, like, they raise a kid who's kind of a shit, but, you know, still, like, you know, pretty well adjusted,

Jason Blitman: 29:21

I was just going to say relatively well adjusted.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 29:23

Yeah, so you have like this like example of a modern family like, like snuck in through this like very hilarious like movie.

Jason Blitman: 29:31

I was thinking about how we don't really have that many contemporary versions of that,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 29:36

yeah,

Jason Blitman: 29:37

that are universally beloved queer stories. You look at something like Bros or Fire Island or these films that came out somewhat recently, and they It just doesn't, it just isn't the same and it had me thinking a lot about why that is.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 29:51

Well, it has a lot to do with the audience too. Like, the Birdcage is meant for mass consumption, whereas like Brose, Morell, and those were meant for gay audiences. Well, I think Brose was actually meant for, I think Brose was actually meant for mainstream audiences, but they didn't bite. I still haven't seen it yet, but. But like, you have to, you have, but you have like more options as well, so you have, and also more people behind the cameras, who are writing the movies, directing the movies, not just starring in it. So you have people who are openly gay, openly queer, in different Different parts of the movie, up in front and behind it, so, like, it definitely changes the audience, changes the expectations. But also, like, funny is funny. Sometimes things just aren't funny. I don't know. Like, if a movie's just not good, it's not good.

Jason Blitman: 30:34

For better or for worse. This episode is coming out on Election Day.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 30:39

My birthday.

Jason Blitman: 30:40

Happy birthday.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 30:41

I mean, we'll see how happy it is. Yeah. Okay.

Jason Blitman: 30:49

If there's a day for us to process and understand how to channel our rage and to think through our rage in whatever way that means to you how, other than through humor, because obviously, that. is true throughout the book, but how have you found that for you, you can channel your rage, or harness it, or is putting it out what's helpful, is directing it in specific ways helpful, is, I think for, cause I need that advice for today.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 31:23

Yeah, I think creativity has been like a real outlet for me. And I think like you said putting it out there like This book represents, like, years of work and years of thought, and, you know, it also represents a shift in my career and a shift in my perspectives, and, like, a lot of my rage came from feeling as if I was, like, screaming into the void, as if, like, what I was saying when I was writing didn't matter, that my talent didn't matter, that, like, that I was just, you know, talented, but who cares? So, like, being able to, like put this out there and hopefully receive well. It's a big thing and that just helped me with my rage and I think it also, just the process of doing it has helped me with my rage. And then, there's the idea of like, talking about my rage, and where it comes from, and how I deal with it. And that also is very therapeutic. And I think that can help other people when it comes to their rage. I mean, just like, talking about it. I started therapy again, it's great. You know, like I had this morning. You know, like,

Jason Blitman: 32:25

Very pro therapy here. Yes.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 32:27

yeah, so that's like a great way of dealing with it. Just like, not letting it consume you, not letting it eat you, not letting it fester, I think. Yeah. Define whatever makes you happy and channel your rage into that. Like, for me, it's like writing and it's bodybuilding. Those are two things that I really enjoy and it allows me to like channel my rage into productive ways. But if it's like, if it's art, if it's just like, If it's reading, if it's writing, if it's whatever the hell you're into, like, just, like, find something. If it's organizing, if it's activism, like, there's just so many things you can do. And also, the thing is, like, to find other people who share those interests. Rage is something you feel, and it's something that's very personal. But, like, if you can find a community. And have like, you know, share a common purpose. Like, that can be very positive. It can also be very, it can also be very negative. So that's also like, you know, a lot of times people like, are very angry and they find other angry people and they get very angry together. And so you know, it's January 6th happening, we have some sort of like, you know, Nazis walking around in broad daylight. So there's like, there's that. But, but like, it doesn't necessarily have to be that. It doesn't necessarily have to be negative. It doesn't have to be violent. You can find Like, peace through rage, I think, and that's just like, being able to use that rage for the good. Whether it's like, cleaning up your community, or it's like, supporting a funding candidate, or it's like, whatever you feel that needs to be done with the world. There's so much to be done, and it's impossible to do it all, but if you can focus on one thing that makes you happy, one thing that feels tangible, and find other people who are interested in that, and I think that's a great way to like, at least start dealing with rage.

Jason Blitman: 34:05

Even though the book is called Rage, we like can't end on Rage. That's that's such a negative

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 34:11

the nose. It's too on the nose.

Jason Blitman: 34:13

What's bringing you joy? What are you looking forward to?

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 34:15

I'm looking forward to, like, writing the next book. I want to do fiction. I want to do a novel. I'm very excited about that and getting started on that and just doing more writing. You know, like I said, this book represents a shift for me in a lot of different ways. I'm just so very happy about it. life right now. Even though, you know, there's a lot to be unhappy about. Like, I'm happy for what I can accomplish and what I can do and I do have control over. I'm very excited about those things.

Jason Blitman: 34:40

Amen. Love. In the meantime, go watch Jane Krakowski on repeat doing her split drag.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 34:49

or on the last season of Shmigadoon, where she's doing trapeze work that she learned for that very episode. Where's the Emmy? No one has no Emmys. Come on.

Jason Blitman: 34:59

What can't she do? She made her Broadway

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 35:01

Win an Emmy.

Jason Blitman: 35:02

on roller skates.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 35:04

Yeah.

Jason Blitman: 35:04

Cannot handle it. This episode is dedicated to Jane Krakowski and

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 35:09

Yes, as are most things in my life.

Jason Blitman: 35:12

I know, and to Arthur Conan Doyle the best bodybuilder judge out there,

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 35:16

Dame Arthur Conan Doyle.

Jason Blitman: 35:19

sitting next to Dame Lester Fabian Barathwaite.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 35:23

There we go, full circle.

Jason Blitman: 35:25

Oh my god Lester, thank you so much for being here.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 35:28

Thanks for having me, this is fun.

Jason Blitman: 35:29

Happy birthday. Send the rage all the places. Yeah, that's it.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite: 35:37

All right, thanks.

Jason Blitman: 35:38

I am so excited to have our guest gay reader today. When I knew there was an episode coming out on election day, I was like, there's only one possible gay reader that we can have on the show. And I'm so grateful he said yes. You might know him as a political strategist, as an activist, as your favorite Instagram follow. He's the one. makes us feel comfortable and makes us feel optimistic, even when the world around us is gloomy. Maybe it's his red hair, the one and only Brian Derrick! Welcome to Gay's Reading!

Brian Derrick: 36:15

you for having me on. I love to read, so I'm happy to be here.

Jason Blitman: 36:20

Do you really?

Brian Derrick: 36:21

yeah. Big reader.

Jason Blitman: 36:23

I'm so excited. Even if you tell me what you're reading is your CVS receipt, that's still

Brian Derrick: 36:28

Still reading.

Jason Blitman: 36:29

a thing. Yeah.

Brian Derrick: 36:31

literate is an important skill to have

Jason Blitman: 36:35

Listen. So what are you reading, since you clearly have a long list? Tell me.

Brian Derrick: 36:40

these days, and we're recording a little bit before Election day.

Jason Blitman: 36:45

We are. We can be very honest here.

Brian Derrick: 36:48

So, uh, currently I am mostly reading polls and poll results, cross tabs. I'm reading cross tabs. I am like, what are those white women in Pennsylvania doing? What are they thinking? What are they buying? Where are they? Um, it's a lot of that at the moment. I would say.

Jason Blitman: 37:07

And that's P O L L S, not P O L E S. Just clarifying.

Brian Derrick: 37:12

and we're already spelling and it's like we're only a couple minutes in.

Jason Blitman: 37:16

Yes! Oh.

Brian Derrick: 37:18

on a normal day, you will catch me reading a few different genres. First and foremost, I'm a sci fi guy. I think that, yeah, especially if I'm reading fiction, it's usually in the sci fi space. I feel, um, It expands the mind. It's a cool way to sort of escape from the world and also dive into concepts in a more theoretical way than sometimes the real world circumstances will allow us to. So

Jason Blitman: 37:51

Mm hmm. Does that help think more theoretically about real world things?

Brian Derrick: 38:00

a thousand percent. Absolutely. I think that people who don't read sci fi think that sci fi is about spaceships and planets and aliens or like, whatever. It is not. The whole point of sci fi is to like, take you out of a world that you have preconceived notions about, right? Like in our time or, um, like a rule, a world that plays by our rules, basically. Explore very familiar concepts of friendship, or love, humanity, um, courage. Like, it's exploring very familiar things. in a setting that allows you to think about things differently. And so, yeah, I, I have converted many a friend into sci fi fans by communicating about not how cool are these laser shields in this novel, but it's like, Oh wow. The character development that happens actually allowed myself to be reflected in this story in a really cool way. Like no other book I've read in a long time.

Jason Blitman: 39:09

What's the, what's the first thing you put in their hands? P

Brian Derrick: 39:12

Recently, especially if it's like an intro, probably Red Rising, Pierce Brown,

Jason Blitman: 39:20

Oh,

Brian Derrick: 39:21

a little YA for me, particularly like, it's now on it's sixth, um, it has turned into a Hunger Games slash Harry Potter level, like, cult fandom, it's just smaller. Um,

Jason Blitman: 39:36

hmm.

Brian Derrick: 39:37

It's, yeah, it starts out a little bit more YA ish, but honestly, the stories are really compelling and it pulls you in. The books go from like maybe 250 pages or something to like 600 page volumes.

Jason Blitman: 39:53

Did you read this?

Brian Derrick: 39:54

tell me more.

Jason Blitman: 39:56

I'm holding up the darkness outside us. this author Elliot Schreffer just came out with the sequel to this called The Brightness Between Us. I'm just gonna read you the first line of the back of the

Brian Derrick: 40:04

me.

Jason Blitman: 40:05

Two boys, alone in space, sworn enemies sent on the same rescue mission.

Brian Derrick: 40:10

Period. Wait, I live!

Jason Blitman: 40:13

I know, I was not really, these books I think helped me think about the genre in a new way. And the sequel is even better because I think it's more a character study and it's more like a family drama than anything else. So anyway, highly

Brian Derrick: 40:30

okay. I'm adding that to my Goodreads. I'm serious.

Jason Blitman: 40:35

Okay, so Yeah. No, you should. The director's outside us. I loved it. You, you mentioned a little ya and it's also a little ya.

Brian Derrick: 40:43

And you know what? That's okay. We deal with a lot of really serious shit in the world these days, and I think that it's okay for a book to be a little light on, on your heart sometimes.

Jason Blitman: 40:55

You can't have Yes without ya. I just decided

Brian Derrick: 41:00

Wow, was that off the cuff?

Jason Blitman: 41:03

It was a hundred

Brian Derrick: 41:03

Wow, that's like a tagline for this pod, to be honest.

Jason Blitman: 41:06

That's tm. You can't have Yes without ya. tm. Jason Linman, TM

Brian Derrick: 41:12

Have you read the three body problem?

Jason Blitman: 41:17

The three body problem?

Brian Derrick: 41:18

Oh, wow. You haven't heard of it yet. So I'm truly introducing it to you.

Jason Blitman: 41:22

Hold please. What?

Brian Derrick: 41:23

This is this is not as niche. This is on Obama's book list from like 2020 or 2021. So it got some play then and then it was also developed recently into a Netflix show, which I have not seen.

Jason Blitman: 41:36

Okay, it came out in 2008. So I,

Brian Derrick: 41:40

But

Jason Blitman: 41:40

I wasn't really a reader

Brian Derrick: 41:42

in China, it's a Chinese novel that was translated. I don't remember. I think it actually took it a couple of years before it was like, um, more widely circulated in the U S I believe. Um, Yeah. the author's name is like, I can't pronounce it correctly, so I apologize, but I think it's Sixin Liu. Is like phonetically the vibe I'm getting, the vibe I'm getting from the name. Um, and incredible, remarkable. It's a trilogy, highly, highly recommend. So thought provoking dives into like concepts around nationality around, like it breaks down sort of what, I mean, I immediately go so big. I'm like what it means to be human, but like what your responsibility

Jason Blitman: 42:30

That's important.

Brian Derrick: 42:31

people. on this planet, and it dives into like, real interesting concepts about family and responsibility, and it's cool.

Jason Blitman: 42:42

Interesting. Yeah, it was, it was published in English in 2014 and that's literally pre me becoming a reader.

Brian Derrick: 42:47

Period. And now it's your time.

Jason Blitman: 42:51

And now I know. Now it's my time. also, please tell me you've read. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John

Brian Derrick: 42:57

I have.

Jason Blitman: 43:02

That's all you have to say about

Brian Derrick: 43:03

Wait, I'm, I'm, uh, I'm looking up the, I almost just said album

Jason Blitman: 43:09

The cover.

Brian Derrick: 43:10

Wait, no, no, no, I'm confusing this with another book. I own this book, and it is on a bookshelf, and I have not read it. Tell me why. That you're obsessed with it and yell at me to go read it.

Jason Blitman: 43:21

I'm obsessed with it. Similarly, it is sci fi, cli fi, very future, super not my genre at all. And I was obsessed with it. I cared about the character so much. End of the world. Felt very now. Loved. I haven't read it. It was a minute since I've read it, but Highly recommend.

Brian Derrick: 43:46

Um, okay. And just for my own understanding, where do you anchor in genres that feel like home to you?

Jason Blitman: 43:56

I mean, I'm like a literary fiction person. And this is like a great literary fiction book that happens to be sci fi.

Brian Derrick: 44:06

Yeah, I love that. Um,

Jason Blitman: 44:11

This is new territory for me, Brian.

Brian Derrick: 44:13

a bunch. I will send you. Ranging from like the more sort of conceptual to like heavier plot space opera type shit. Um, but I think that the conceptual stuff is more interesting to me. The three body problem being a great example of that.

Jason Blitman: 44:39

Yeah. All right. I'm going to give it a go. What else you got?

Brian Derrick: 44:44

Um,

Jason Blitman: 44:45

I like interrupted you when you talked about

Brian Derrick: 44:47

no, yeah, yeah, um, I mean, to, to jump outside of sci fi, another, the nonfiction space, I love reading about LGBT history. There are some wonderful books by Patrick Moore, um, my favorite being, and maybe like, maybe favorite is understating it's. Sort of influence on my life, but it's called beyond shame and it's really Esoteric or the content isn't but it I don't think anyone has ever read this book but the people who have Adore it in my, in my little gay enclave. Um,

Jason Blitman: 45:30

did it change your life? How did it change your

Brian Derrick: 45:31

it basically looks at specifically gay male sexuality. Um, but also in, in parts the queer experience in a broader context, pre 1980. in a way that acknowledges and, uh, sort of removes the weight of the AIDS epidemic. And so it sort of has this thesis that we, every, currently mod in, in modern times, All of society essentially looks at gay sexuality through this lens of AIDS because it was such a defining, um, tragedy and, and like, and crisis of the last generation, but that it also impacted Our generation, I can't tell you how many of my friends say within the first three sentences of them coming out to their parents, the thing that was repeated back to them was, but I don't want you to die of AIDS, right? Like that. Yeah, totally. Right. That's a really common experience. And so not only even if we weren't alive for it, it colored our experience coming out, how we saw ourselves, how we thought about sex, like, It really did. It touched everything in gay life was impacted, uh, and still is and still is. And so what this book does is it tries to look at the time before it looks at the time before the AIDS epidemic broke out and removes the shame and the weight that we have now attached unfairly to all. Um, it removes that in order to sort of explore what was New York like. What was San Francisco like when we had these ethnic enclaves and when we had these like really vibrant gay communities?

Jason Blitman: 47:37

Yeah.

Brian Derrick: 47:37

That were unburdened as Vice President Harris would say by a lot of society's expectations around them and also did not have even the awareness that of the concept of AIDS or, or an, uh, like an STI that would have that sort of weight to it. So, um, Fascinating. book totally changed how I think about, uh, the community and sex and all these things.

Jason Blitman: 48:05

have to say, and this could be an entire conversation in and of itself, it makes me, I think, realize perhaps why gay men of a specific generation are, um, I don't want to say less supportive of gay marriage, but like don't quote unquote believe in gay marriage because what they're actually looking for is the pre AIDS enclaves,

Brian Derrick: 48:29

Totally. That's

Jason Blitman: 48:31

right?

Brian Derrick: 48:32

Yeah. I feel like an alt to throw in, I mean, let's just stir the pot. You gotta, you gotta bring in like the Velvet Rage.

Jason Blitman: 48:44

Mm hmm.

Brian Derrick: 48:46

The Trouble is, which sort of, to me, is flip sides of a coin with The Trouble with Normal. Um, I'm not gonna remember the author off the top of my head. Uh, Michael Warner, uh, which sort of, in many ways, explores similar concepts to The Velvet Rage from an opposite point of view. Less assimilationist. To your point, I do think that there is this, Interesting tension post 1980s about what to do about all right, like, how do you respond to not only like a public health crisis that's threatening the very lives of many members of our community, but also how do we respond to how society responded to that? To that crisis, because that was its own epidemic of hatred and bigotry and shame that pushed so many people in our community deeper into the closet, um, away from resources, away from support networks and family, and so there have always sort of been two different, at least two, many, but like, but two, two broad, um, umbrellas of, uh, two, two schools of thought about how to address that. So I think you're, you're right to point that out.

Jason Blitman: 50:06

Mm. Um, the only thing I love more than a good pun is a great transition. And how do we respond to society's response, I think, is a great question. segue for us to talk about the capital E election. And like, as you said earlier, and you know, we're talking about books, so I don't, I don't need to take the other part of your life and bring it in. However, because this is quote unquote election day, wink, wink, um, you said earlier, we're recording this a few weeks before election day. This is the one time I will be very honest about when we're recording, because I listened to some of your content from earlier this year, and you were talking about things that are completely moot because we had different candidates.

Brian Derrick: 50:55

Oh, a hundred percent.

Jason Blitman: 50:57

So God only knows what's going to happen in the next, what, days or whatever. Um, but in terms of like how we respond to society's response today, election day, uh, Everyone's gonna be on the edge of their seat. Everyone's gonna, you know, feel like they're gonna throw up in every direction. How do you, A, cope with that feeling? But then, how do we come tomorrow, regardless of the outcome, how do we move forward?

Brian Derrick: 51:33

Well, the number one,

Jason Blitman: 51:35

No pressure.

Brian Derrick: 51:38

the best way to address anxiety is through action. And that's not a platitude. It's a fact. A lot of our anxieties, especially in the political space, or in advocacy more broadly, not tied to just an election, a lot of those anxieties are tied to a feeling of powerlessness, that all of these things feel beyond our control, that the world feels like too big or complex at some, at some points. The best way to prove to yourself that you are not powerless is to exert some power to flex on them, if you will, and there are so many ways for you to do that, um, depending on what time you are listening to this podcast, you might be able to get on a phone bank right now and go turn out one more voter, um, to alleviate that and remind yourself that you actually can impact the world around you. You can have a two way. Relationship with your community. Um, that life is not just being dictated to you. I think that

Jason Blitman: 52:44

Right, you still have time to like, send that one uncomfortable text message, or make that one uncomfortable phone call, or like,

Brian Derrick: 52:49

Exactly. I mean, if you're listening to New York polls are open, I think until 9pm. So you got time girl. There's no excuse.

Jason Blitman: 52:55

Yeah.

Brian Derrick: 52:57

You can come back to the podcast later.

Jason Blitman: 52:59

Right. And if you're not listening until let's say Thursday,

Brian Derrick: 53:02

exactly. And if you're not listening until Thursday, you have to remember that maintaining hope and I appreciate your, um, kind words in your intro, uh, because I think that a lot of people think of me as a, an optimistic person. And that isn't. innate to me. It's a practice. It's something that I cultivate. It's about the stories that we tell ourselves, right? Or that we allow the world to tell us, really. If you are intentionally or unintentionally consuming misinformation and negative content all the time, and Basically like impulse driven, algorithmically served video content for several hours a day. You are going to feel the weight of the world in a way that no one person should. Like I, I truly believe that. And so you have to actually seek out and Um, hold close the narratives of people succeeding of our society making progress of the wins. You have to celebrate the wins. And not enough people do that. When they do get a win, they're all too quick to point out the flaws or to skip over it and just jump into the next fight right away. And I have learned not to do that. Hope is cultivated over time. It is a practice and I value that very, very much. And I think that that's why I maybe look a little different than some of the other political content out there on the internet.

Jason Blitman: 54:46

Of course. I was just talking about a version of that in therapy this morning of just like how you present yourself and how it takes work to do

Brian Derrick: 54:53

Absolutely.

Jason Blitman: 54:54

Um, Okay, so my new mantra is you can't have Yes without YA. Yours, longstanding, is stop doom scrolling and start doing something. Uh, tell the listeners about Oath and where they could learn more.

Brian Derrick: 55:11

Yeah, absolutely. That is at the heart of everything that I do. Um, is I want to, I want my community and the world to be a better place. Because I was in it, and I think that most other people want that too. And the hard part for a lot of people is figuring out how. Is figuring out where to start. And that's why we created Oath. Uh, I spent most of my career in politics and in non profits. And With Oath, this new chapter, for me, the goal was to go from sort of doing the work to helping other people find their own power and their own voice in our democracy. And so what we actually do, um, if I can step off of my soapbox, is We analyze elections from president down to local school board races, uh, as well as organizations, and we make recommendations to people about where they should give, whether they have 5 to give or 100 to give, where that will have the greatest impact on the issues that they care about. And so if you want to, fight climate change, we might recommend some candidates that are, if elected, going to be able to enact policy to combat climate change. Or if you want to protect democracy, we might focus on state supreme court races where democracy is at stake. if you want to fight against book bans, we might, Recommend some school board races where there's a book banner running against someone who supports everyone's, uh, right to freedom of speech and, information. So,

Jason Blitman: 56:51

Yeah.

Brian Derrick: 56:52

our goal is always just to empower people with more information, with better information, to celebrate those wins when we get them, and direct people's resources as efficiently as possible.

Jason Blitman: 57:03

So if we're listening to this episode after Election Day, let's, we're hoping for good news regardless of the news. There's always something to fight for and so we have to make sure to check out Oath so that we know where our priorities can be aligned.

Brian Derrick: 57:19

you. Yes. There, truly, the work doesn't stop. And so the key is finding a way to engage in it that doesn't feel taxing, but actually feels uplifting, right? That it's not about responding to scare tactics or emails with all caps, deadline tonight at midnight. Like it's none of that. We want none of that. And we want to say, Hey, what's important to me? For me, it's like protecting reproductive rights and, uh, strengthening our democracy. How can I engage in that month after month, year after year to make sure that we are moving things in the right direction for everyone? That's what we're all about. And it should feel good to do it. It should feel empowering, not anxiety producing. and and that's what we're trying to do.

Jason Blitman: 58:06

Thank you for that. And again, regardless of when you're listening, the best news is that the text messages and emails are going to stop

Brian Derrick: 58:13

Exactly. true. Although I I have to give you a pro tip. This will drive some people nuts. It's after the election that a lot of Your data gets sold from the people who are running this year to the people who are running next year and the following And so you want to unsubscribe yourself from as many lists as you can because your information is much less likely to be sold if you're marked as a unsubscribed person

Jason Blitman: 58:40

This is a great hot

Brian Derrick: 58:41

Yeah, it is like, and, and we also at oath have a tool to unsubscribe you on mass.

Jason Blitman: 58:48

That's like maybe the best thing coming out of this conversation.

Brian Derrick: 58:53

That's what I really came for. It's called stop to end. And you can, um, you have to make a donation. A hundred percent of it goes to, uh, the organizations or candidates that you choose. Um, but, uh, when you make a donation of any amount, we automatically unsubscribe you from dozens of spam lists.

Jason Blitman: 59:12

amazing. Okay. Where can people find it?

Brian Derrick: 59:15

If you go to oath. vote, O A T H dot V O T E. Uh, you can find it all there.

Jason Blitman: 59:21

Amazing. And if you want to find, uh, you know, videos of Brian telling you important facts, And or dancing. where can they find

Brian Derrick: 59:31

you? can find me dancing away at Ryan Derrick on Instagram.

Jason Blitman: 59:36

Two R's ICK. Amazing. Brian, Derrick, you are a fantastic guest, gay reader. You are a top reader.

Brian Derrick: 59:49

Period.

Jason Blitman: 59:50

I'm so excited to have you. Thank you so much for being here. Happy Election day.

Brian Derrick: 59:55

Happy Election Day. Thank you for having me on.

59:59

Brian. Lester. Thank you so much for being here. Happy election day, everyone. And I will.