20 Fiction Podcasts for Pride Month – Part One

Happy Pride! I wanted to put together a list of some of my favourite fiction podcasts which feature LGBTQIA+ characters to celebrate Pride Month, and it was a difficult task considering just how many shows exist with awesome queer representation! I eventually got the list down to 20, which I’m breaking into two parts, with today’s post being the first of the two. I wanted to shout out and thank Tal Minear, creator of Sidequesting (which is also featured in this list) for their work during Pride Month last year in compiling Podchaser lists of fiction podcasts with LGBTQIA+ representation, I found them so useful in putting my list together. Here are their list of podcasts with lesbian, gay, bi and pan, binary trans, nonbinary, aromantic, and asexual representation.

A Ninth World Journal

A Ninth World Journal is a scripted fantasy podcast which is based off the TTRPG Numenera; and Januae, the protagonist through which this story is told, is bisexual. After a new teleportation device breaks, Januae starts teleporting randomly to new and strange places, with no control over when this happens or where he goes. I won’t spoil too much, but there was a storyline recently where Januae’s bisexuality was really brought to light, along with an interesting examination of gender identity and gender expression.

ars PARADOXICA

I’ve mentioned before how ars PARADOXICA was one of the first podcasts I’d listened to, and how it was the very first one I’d listened to which had a canonical asexual character. Dr. Sally Grissom is a badass scientist who accidentally discovers time travel, and she’s also aromatic asexual. While she very casually brings this up in the show to another queer character, she has to give a bit more of an explanation which is relevant to the time period she’s now living in.

CARAVAN

CARAVAN is a NSFW weird-west adventure, and the main character is Samir, a queer Desi man. Samir falls into a canyon while camping with his best friend – who he also happens to be in love with. Samir is also canonically fat, and one theme that’s explored during the show is Samir’s insecurities about his body, and the fact that he is just as attractive as all the other characters.

Dos: After You

Dos: After You is a fantasy/horror story, which also has an unconventional queer love story (or maybe the fall-out from this unconventional love story would be a better description!) at its core. Deck, the main character of the story, is a bi trans man, who has fallen in love with the god Sil, and goes on a long journey to find him. There are many other queer, trans, and nonbinary characters who we meet along the way, as Deck’s journey becomes increasingly dangerous.

Gay Future

Gay Future is a hilarious satire set in 2062, where everyone is gay, thanks to the spreading of the Gay Agenda by the government. Mikey is about to start at Gay Academy, but he’s hiding a big secret – he’s straight. Mikey discovers that he might be the prophesied hero who will bring heterosexuality and order back to what remains of North America. It’s a silly and fun adventure, which also contains an underlying commentary on the ‘gay panic’ we still see in society and politics today.

Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services

Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services is an urban fantasy show, and Kalila herself is a bisexual woman of colour. As the story progresses, Kalila starts dating Desiree, a Black nonbinary person; and their relationship and the hurdles they face become a key part of the story. Desiree is first introduced after a visit to the ER, which highlights issues nonbinary and trans people of colour experience in medical settings.

Less is Morgue

Less is Morgue is a comedy horror podcast, set in an alternative Florida, in a world where supernatural creatures, cryptids, and humans all co-exist together. It’s a fictional interview (or at least, that’s the intention!) podcast, hosted by Riley the ghoul, and Evelyn the ghost – Riley is agender and asexual, and Evelyn is a lesbian. Things don’t always go to plan when they invite guests into their basement, but it’s always a lot of fun for the audience.

Love and Luck

Love and Luck is an MLM love story, told through voicemails. Kane is bi, and Jason is a trans man, and we meet them in episode one as they first start dating. As the show progresses, they move in together and open a queer dry bar, which becomes an important part of the local LGBTQIA+ community. The show doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, the bar’s community have to fight homophobia and transphobia; and the bar itself becomes a safe place for queer folks to stay, when they’re unable to go back home. The show very much focuses on healthy relationships, and depicts all kinds of queer relationships – for example, there are two asexual folks who start dating each other, and a polyamorous woman who has two girlfriends.

Moonbase Theta, Out

Moonbase Theta, Out was the first fiction podcast I’d come across where a character used neopronouns. Ashwini Ray is nonbinary, and uses ze/zir pronouns; and there are also a number of other nonbinary characters who use different pronouns or pronoun pairs. The show portrays all kinds of LGBTQIA+ characters and relationships: there’s a polyamorous lesbian who has two wives, a pair of trans siblings, a couple of asexual characters (one of whom is in a polyamorous relationship) and an aromantic character; and of course, there’s the MLM couple of Roger and Alexandre, who are always such a key part of the story.

Sidequesting

Rion, the main character in Sidequesting is asexual and nonbinary. As someone who is also ace, I love that the world is seen through the eyes of an ace person, and that their sexuality is also explicitly confirmed in the show. This happens in episode 7, when Rion meets up with an old friend of theirs, who is aromantic. This leads to a really great conversation between the two about their experiences of being asexual/aromantic, and how it is to live in a society where being ace and/or aro means that you’re always different to your allosexual and alloromantic peers.