(Some Of) The Best Queer Podcasts In Canada
Picking the best queer podcasts in Canada is an impossible task. There are far too many quality LGBTQ2S+ podcasters and too many topics and sub-topics to even pretend to rank them, so I’ll just pick a few of my favourites instead.
As a recently (and still only partially) out writer and podcaster, listening to these people own their queerness and identity with a sureness of voice is a beautiful thing.
They understand the intimacy and empathy that this medium creates, and they use that knowledge to make some of the best Canadian podcasts there are—queer or not.
Chosen Family
The quality of the chemistry between hosts Thomas LeBlanc and Tranna Wintour is matched only by the caliber of guests, whether it’s SNL’s very own Bowen Yang, the incredible Margaret Cho, or legendary musicians Tegan and Sara. I love to listen to the best pair of friends I never had talk to the people I’ve always wanted to meet, teaching me about everything I’ve ever needed to know.
Do You Queer What I Queer?
Okay, apparently I’m a sucker for a queer pun. Season 5 of this hilariously endearing podcast is coming back soon, so now’s the perfect opportunity to dive into Elliot and Thom’s catalogue. There is no topic these “super dumb, super queer” hosts can’t tackle—policing, polyamory and pop music are all on the menu, tackled with equal parts grace, humour and vulgarity.
Meet The Kramers
I got my first tattoo at Tattoo Zoo in Victoria, BC, the shop owned by Sarah and Geri Kramer.
My experience then mirrors my experience now of listening to this genuine, inspiring podcast about Geri Kramer coming out as a trans woman to her wife, Sarah.
It’s transformative, it’s exciting, and you leave with a whole lot more than what you thought you were getting in the first place (Yeah, I got two tattoos instead of just one).
Possibilities Podcast
A beautifully thoughtful and conversation-driven series between QTBIPOC creators and “possibility makers.”
One recent mini-sode ruminates on the possibility of joy in these times.
It sums up my feelings on shedding and cultivating parts of my pandemic life far better than I could have done myself, and each installment gives me new language to describe the world around me. It’s all you can ask for in a podcast—it makes you smarter, more empathetic, and just generally, a better person.
They & Us
Faith Fundal is an expert broadcaster, and their CBC podcast exploring the history and reality of gender identity and expression in Canada shows it.
Mixing together interviews, historical clips, and first-person storytelling, Fundal’s podcast is the perfect foundation for anybody who wants to understand or talk about queerness in this country.
As Pride Month begins, we’ll no doubt see no shortage of multi-billion dollar corporations and celebrity allies tell us just how important this month is. But why not listen to these incredibly honest and thoughtful and hilarious storytellers as they explain the true meaning of this month in their own words?
Pride Month is about celebrating queer life, queer love, queer heartbreak, queer humour, and queer identity, and these podcasts — and all podcasts like them — do so with a truthfulness that just can’t be matched.
These people are paving the way with some of the best podcasting in Canada, and I am eternally grateful to them for that. They inspire me, and I hope they inspire you, too.
