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PODCAST

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise

Is it possible to make art and make rent without compromising your values? Since 2013, Nia King has been interviewing queer and trans artists of color to find out. Here"s what she learned.

society & culture books

All Episodes

01:11:55

106: Suzy X

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2020/04/19

Bisexual Latina writer, comics artist and musician Suzy X has gone from making zines to drawing comics for Rookie Mag to writing for MTV Iggy (RIP) to being the Latin music editor at Rolling Stone in the short time (approx. 7 years) I've known her, and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this success. In this interview we discuss her zines Malcriada and Chronicles of an 8th Grade Mallgoth, illustrating her first graphic novel, and the challenges of working in media as a young woman of color

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50:51

105: Rahul Mehta

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2020/03/09

Queer Indian-American author Rahul Mehta discusses his award-winning collection of short stories, Quarantine; growing up Asian in Appalachia; and how LGBTQ audiences in India have received his work. We also try to sort out why he's so drawn to unlikeable protagonists. Photo by Matthew Hamilton. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

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54:58

104: Alex Smith

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2020/02/03

Alex Smith is a queer, Black sci-fi writer, musician and visual artist. In this interview, we discuss his collection of short stories, ARKDUST, as well as his many influences, ranging from Public Enemy to Nirvana and Marvel Comics to the Black Panther Party. Photo by Shane Jenkins. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at Patreon.com/artactivistnia.

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01:03:17

103: BL Shirelle

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/12/16

BL Shirelle of Die Jim Crow Records discusses the challenges of recording and releasing music by incarcerated artists. She also shares stories of dealing drugs, doing time and raising kids with her wife. (Photo by Verse.) Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia. Transcript coming soon.

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44:29

102: Oliver Spencer / St. Sol

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/11/03

Black queer Philadelphia-based musician and visual artist Oliver Spencer (known musically as St. Sol) discusses growing up between North Carolina and Okinawa, how their dad's military service impacted their life, and finding the space to be weird in (an arts) high school. We also talk about the whiteness of art school(s), not letting perfectionism hold you back, and using music to assert your humanity. Photo by Georgia Wescott. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at

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53:35

101: Joyce Hatton

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/10/13

Black asexual zinester and cartoonist Joyce Hatton discusses their comic Locks and their zines Trust the Knife and Grief. Joyce is a survivor of breast cancer, homelessness, and a suicide attempt, so this episode gets pretty heavy. We also talk about the concept of "trauma porn" (which is not actual porn), when illustrations come easier than words, and their love of birds. Here is a link to the Vivek Shraya article I reference in this episode. Buy Joyce's work here. You can support the podcast at

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01:58

August 2019 announcements

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/08/05

1.) I'm taking a break from the podcast. I'll be back in October. 2.) I'm moving to Philly. Please hit my up if you have leads on any jobs! 3.) The book launch for Queer & Trans Artists of Color, Volume 3 is October 19th at East Bay Booksellers in Oakland, featuring Anthony J. Williams, Luna Merbruja and Paradise Khanmalek. PLEASE DONATE so we can hire ASL interpreters for the event. Thank you! <3 <3 <3 Launch party GoFundMe: https://bit.ly/2NMcsFK

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48:14

100: Mey Rude

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/07/05

Bisexual trans Latina writer Mey Rude discusses growing up in Idaho, getting kicked out of her church family, and how comics helped her find her queer- and trans-ness. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

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01:05:24

99: Aja Archuleta

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/06/10

Two-Spirit mestiza musician Aja Archuleta discusses growing up in a big Mexican family with deep Denver roots, discovering her Indigenous identity, and why "Two-Spirit" now fits her better than "trans". She also shares how her love of music evolved: from playing piano in Catholic school to discovering the how much fun noise-punk could be to making massage music. Photo by Kristin Cofer. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

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58:31

98: Kyle Casey Chu

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/05/06

Queer Chinese-American drag queen, filmmaker, and musician, Kyle Casey Chu talks growing up in SF, touring the South in a punk band, and changing media representations of Asian-American men. Photo by Vincent Flores. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

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54:43

97: 6 Year Anniversary Episode!

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/04/08

Acclaimed author and artist Luna Merbruja interviews me (Nia King) about my pre-podcast life as zinester and cartoonist, turning the podcast into a book, and how the QTPOC art world has changed since We Want the Airwaves began six years ago.

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57:46

96: The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/03/04

Black queer femme Southerner The Lady Ms. Vagina Jenkins may be best known as a burlesque performer, but she's also a stand-up comic, filmmaker, and taxidermist. In this interview, she discusses growing up working-class in the country, starting sex work after finishing college, and moving to the Bay (nearly ten years ago) to pursue greater artistic opportunities. Read the interview at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

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01:29:46

95: Breena Nuñez and Lawrence Lindell

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/02/14

Queer Black and brown punk weirdos in love! In this episode, Breena Nuñez and Lawrence Lindell, both cartoonists, musicians, and educators, tell the story of how they met and how the places they grew up shaped them. They also discuss getting what you need out of art school DESPITE the faculty and administration, making a living off of art (but pursuing higher education to make a living as teachers), and their "gateway" comics and punk bands. To see some of Breena’s comics about their Afrolatinx

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58:25

94: Jocquese Whitfield

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2019/01/08

Black queer SF native and dancer Jocquese Whitfield discusses discovering vogue in college, his first ball in Oakland, performing with MIA and Azealia Banks, taking corporate money and giving back to the community. (Photo by Ejects Collection) Read the interview at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

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49:15

93: Arielle Twist

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2018/11/05

Indigenous trans woman poet Arielle Twist discusses her upcoming book DISNTEGRATE/DISSOCIATE, growing up Cree on a M'ikmaq reservation, and the mentorship she's received from other trans women of color poets. This conversation also covers the importance queer sex education, the problems of performative allyship, and the meaning of the phrase “all trans girls are ghosts.” Photo by Laurence Philomene. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at

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01:08:37

92: Malcolm Lasalle

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2018/09/30

Is visibility ultimately a good thing for the artist with revolutionary intentions? For most artists, seeking to be visible to the mainstream mass media is key to economic survival. However that visibility and the surveillance that comes with it can be detrimental to the intent of subversive art. What if we accept that anything we get paid to do can never be truly revolutionary, and that anything truly revolutionary cannot be done in public? Malcolm Lasalle explored these and other questions in

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59:33

91: Jackie Wang, pt 2

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2018/09/18

Jackie Wang's book Carceral Capitalism helps draw a direct line between the Recession of 2008, the following calls for austerity, and the visible uptick in anti-Black police violence. Indebted cities are trying to cut costs and raise funds, and they are doing it by having machines and algorithms make decisions that cops and judges would usually make. In places like Ferguson, MO, they're also charging exorbitant fees and fines for the most minor infractions, making poor Black residents' lives way

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58:51

90: Jackie Wang

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2018/09/03

Queer mixed-race writer Jackie Wang and I lived parallel lives in different parts of the country. In this first half of the interview, we reminisce about our teen years, spent listening to punk, reading/writing zines, and volunteering at Food Not Bombs. We also discuss her trajectory from zinester to blogger to published author and from dropping out of a poetry MFA program in the desert to becoming a PhD candidate at Harvard. Read the interview at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at

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01:08:52

89: Chief Esparza

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2018/08/06

Chief Esparza is the founder and editor-in-chief of EFNIKS.com, an online magazine for queer and trans people of color. In this episode, we discuss the environmental racism issue (EARTH), why they went on hiatus after Pulse, and how they hope to nurture young writers of color in the future. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

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01:01:45

88: Rabih Alameddine

We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise ·

2018/07/05

Gay Lebanese-American novelist Rabih Alameddine authored the California Book Award-winning book An Unnecessary Woman and the Lambda Literary Award-winning book The Angel of History. In this interview we discuss (questionable) reasons some Lebanese don't identify as Arab, and the commodification of gay struggle, and writing against empire. TW for use of the word "sand n****r". This episode was recorded at Women's Audio Mission in SF. Photo by Oliver Wascow. Listen to the interview at read the

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101 results

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