It's a Christmas miracle! Defining Marriage is back, baby. And also finished. But James and Matthew aren't leaving you -- this is the start of something new and exciting and hopefully far less inappropriate. Join us for one last bumble, a round of what's-her-name, and a tease for where you can find us in the new year on our new upcoming podcast, Cozy Pants.

It's a Christmas miracle! Defining Marriage is back, baby. And also finished. But James and Matthew aren't leaving you -- this is the start of something new and exciting and hopefully far less inappropriate. Join us for one last bumble, a round of what's-her-name, and a tease for <a href="http://patreon.com/mattbaume" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">where you can find us</a> in the new year on our new upcoming podcast, Cozy Pants.

Storebought Ham

Oh my stars and garters, we're back -- improbably enough, by popular demand. After a bit of a hiatus for creative re-tooling, Defining Marriage has been resurrected so you may once again revel in topics such as Jeff Goldblum's feet, a robotic Carol Channing, and a torrid giraffe love triangle. Oh and also some marriage news too. 

Oh my stars and garters, we're back -- improbably enough, by popular demand. After a bit of a hiatus for creative re-tooling, Defining Marriage has been resurrected so you may once again revel in topics such as Jeff Goldblum's feet, a robotic Carol Channing, and a torrid giraffe love triangle. Oh and also some marriage news too.

Do You Want to See My Foot

On this week's episode of the Defining Marriage podcast, we dissect the new Star War, and get blown to Bermuda for some worrisome news about marriage going away. Roy Moore refused to go away, and same-sex couples are happier than heterosexuals -- surprise! All that, plus it becomes clear to James that the furpublic no longer functions.

On this week's episode of the Defining Marriage podcast, we dissect the new Star War, and get blown to Bermuda for some worrisome news about marriage going away. Roy Moore refused to go away, and same-sex couples are happier than heterosexuals -- surprise! All that, plus it becomes clear to James that the furpublic no longer functions.

Practice Man Full of Meat

We're back for more nonsense! This week we're urging you to check out our Dungeons and Drag Queens show at DungeonDrag.com, and also celebrating the misery of Australian homophobes, hooray. James is in Twitch jail for a day, and the Cheeseman can finally wed. All that plus some misinformation about Ren and Stimpy! How timely.

We're back for more nonsense! This week we're urging you to check out our Dungeons and Drag Queens show at <a href="http://DungeonDrag.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DungeonDrag.com</a>, and also celebrating the misery of Australian homophobes, hooray. James is in Twitch jail for a day, and the Cheeseman can finally wed. All that plus some misinformation about Ren and Stimpy! How timely.

I Endorse Doug Funny

We're back with a rollicking romp of forgotten names and irritating officials! I can't remember the name of another celebrity, and even when I remember I still forget. Vatican officials have some thoughts about Roy Moore, and someone just donated a wig to Alabama. Don't every try to use it at the same time. Also, watch us get even sillier on a livestream on November 4! Details at http://bit.ly/extralifeseattleMusic:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We're back with a rollicking romp of forgotten names and irritating officials! I can't remember the name of another celebrity, and even when I remember I still forget. Vatican officials have some thoughts about Roy Moore, and someone just donated a wig to Alabama. Don't every try to use it at the same time. Also, watch us get even sillier on a livestream on November 4! Details at <a href="http://bit.ly/extralifeseattle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/extralifeseattle</a>Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

The Greatest Adventure

This week, we celebrate the arrival of Halloween with inappropriate sound effects and the strange story of where pumpkin goo actually comes from. There's some rotten news from Alabama, where Roy Moore is preparing to make Congress even crazier -- did you know he is the world's worst poet? And also some good news from Germany, land of the free.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week, we celebrate the arrival of Halloween with inappropriate sound effects and the strange story of where pumpkin goo actually comes from. There's some rotten news from Alabama, where Roy Moore is preparing to make Congress even crazier -- did you know he is the world's worst poet? And also some good news from Germany, land of the free.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

The Floor Whisperer

On this week's podcast, James and I argue about ownership of a joke that wasn't even funny, sigh about the ridiculous marriage ads in Australia claiming that gay marriage will abolish Christmas, and sing some folk music. We also dive into Scrumpty Western music and plump up some donut holes.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

On this week's podcast, James and I argue about ownership of a joke that wasn't even funny, sigh about the ridiculous marriage ads in Australia claiming that gay marriage will abolish Christmas, and sing some folk music. We also dive into Scrumpty Western music and plump up some donut holes.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

Don't Deny Your Chum a Bum

We're back, baby, with a brand new Defining Marriage and some fresh nonsense from James. Australia is launching into the plebiscite, kind of, and it's triggered some truly terrible TV ads. The Drag Queens have journeyed into a Dungeon, Malta gets gay marriage this week, and Bermuda is being menaced by a man named Wayne Furbert.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We're back, baby, with a brand new Defining Marriage and some fresh nonsense from James. Australia is launching into the plebiscite, kind of, and it's triggered some truly terrible TV ads. The Drag Queens have journeyed into a Dungeon, Malta gets gay marriage this week, and Bermuda is being menaced by a man named Wayne Furbert.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

The Steel Beefalo of the Nightmare World

A chilly hello from Reykjavik, city of the future! I'm recording from a drizzly city square this week, preparing to reunite with James at the end of my long strange journey through deepest Europe. We have some news about Baldur's Gate and a bald man's pate, as well as the decline of American civilization -- which, let's be honest, was never much of a prize pig. Also in the news is a hasty conclusion (we hope) to the marriage fight in Australia, and Captain Planet's brave stance against the forces of hate.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

A chilly hello from Reykjavik, city of the future! I'm recording from a drizzly city square this week, preparing to reunite with James at the end of my long strange journey through deepest Europe. We have some news about Baldur's Gate and a bald man's pate, as well as the decline of American civilization -- which, let's be honest, was never much of a prize pig. Also in the news is a hasty conclusion (we hope) to the marriage fight in Australia, and Captain Planet's brave stance against the forces of hate.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

The Aftertaste of Tomorrow

What a tangled web of nonsense we weave this week! I'm loitering about London before heading off to Iceland, while James swelters in the Seattle summer. Haiti has banned marriage equality, while a weird official in South Carolina is doing his best to stop queers from having domestic violence protection. Oh brother. And on top of everything, I can't tell the difference between Slash and Dr. Teeth from the Muppets.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

What a tangled web of nonsense we weave this week! I'm loitering about London before heading off to Iceland, while James swelters in the Seattle summer. Haiti has banned marriage equality, while a weird official in South Carolina is doing his best to stop queers from having domestic violence protection. Oh brother. And on top of everything, I can't tell the difference between Slash and Dr. Teeth from the Muppets.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

The Newly Dead Game

Each week on Defining Marriage, hosts Matt Baume and James Morris chat about what's happening with marriage equality, featuring frequent digressions into pop culture, silly banter, and the jokes and quibbles that have kept them together as a couple for over a decade. The first eighteen episodes of the podcast contain the complete audiobook version of the book Defining Marriage, which traces the decades-long evolution of marriage through the personal stories of those who lived through it, featuring personal insights from the lives of Evan Wolfson, Dan Savage, Ken Mehlman, Dustin Lance Black, and many more.

My only question is, how will we be able to tell when James has gone mad.

Pressing Concern

Did I just see Matt Baume in the short film &#34;Rusalka&#34; as an extra in a leather bar?

Film debut

Defining Marriage - Gay/LGBT News & Chat

This week Missouri had a filibuster and Australia talked about a plebiscite. Both of these sound like made-up words but it's all too true.Missouri Democrats did their best to stop an anti-gay law, but Republicans were able to force a vote. We talk about the real-world implications of this law on witches and mule-owned monster truck dealerships. Then we sing.Photo: Greg Westfall/MuleMusic:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week Missouri had a filibuster and Australia talked about a plebiscite. Both of these sound like made-up words but it's all too true.Missouri Democrats did their best to stop an anti-gay law, but Republicans were able to force a vote. We talk about the real-world implications of this law on witches and mule-owned monster truck dealerships. Then we sing.Photo: Greg Westfall/MuleMusic: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

A Marriage Encounter

Gabe Kaplan

Oops, we missed a week! As you NO DOUBT noticed, last week's episode does not exist, in part due to our travels to Chicago. But we're back now from the debauchery of IML, and we're hot on the trail of the latest in gay marriage news. My favorite headline this week is that there's a group trying to get some buzz around Roy Moore for the Supreme Court... and what a coincidence, that group just happens to have been founded by Roy Moore. (But he's not the president! His wife is.) Also this week we reflect on one of the strangest episodes of Murder She Wrote ever committed to film, featuring Gabe Kaplan and a drag show and a gay bar and (in our minds) a disgusting sex act with a fish.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Oops, we missed a week! As you NO DOUBT noticed, last week's episode does not exist, in part due to our travels to Chicago. But we're back now from the debauchery of IML, and we're hot on the trail of the latest in gay marriage news. My favorite headline this week is that there's a group trying to get some buzz around Roy Moore for the Supreme Court... and what a coincidence, that group just happens to have been founded by Roy Moore. (But he's not the president! His wife is.) Also this week we reflect on one of the strangest episodes of Murder She Wrote ever committed to film, featuring Gabe Kaplan and a drag show and a gay bar and (in our minds) a disgusting sex act with a fish.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

Rim Shots from Gabe Kaplan

Hello friends, I'm Matt Baume, and thanks for subscribing to the Defining Marriage podcast, where we trace the decades-long evolution of marriage through the personal stories of those who lived through it. If you've been listening so far, every week you've heard me read one chapter of my book, Defining Marriage: Voices from a Forty-Year Labor of Love. If you'd like to hear the book, complete and unabridged, you can jump back and listen to the first 18 episodes of this podcast in order. Or you can pop over to Amazon and get Defining Marriage as a digital download, and now in paperback and audiobook.Now that I've released the entire book as a podcast, for the next few episodes I'll be revisiting the marriage work that I did as an reporter and activist over the last decade. I've gathered news clips, interviews, and analysis from the dark days of marriage inequality.This week I'm looking back at my 2011 interview with Alan Shayne and Norman Sunshine, a couple about to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their meeting. Back in 2011, they'd just written a book about their time together called Double Life, and it is an absolutely amazing story. Alan's career took him from acting on Broadway to running Warner Brothers Television; Norman is a celebrated painter and ad executive. Together they were first-hand witnesses to the monumental changes in how our culture views gay couples. Here's our interview from 2011 -- it was conducted over Skype, so the audio quality is a little scratchy, but it's worth sticking around for.One thing that Alan and Norman commented on was how in the late 50s and early 60s they had no role models for a relationship of equals -- either gay or straight. That observation stuck with me for years after our conversation, because it really highlights that we're living in a remarkable time. Just a few decades earlier and it would be unthinkable that partners could be peers. It can be tempting to be nostalgic for simpler times, but remember, simpler isn't always better. That also reminded me of something Judge Vaughn Walker wrote in his 2010 ruling that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. Walker noted that marriage is in a state of constant change, and that the institution reflects social conventions of the time. Back then, he wrote:"The evidence shows that the movement of marriage away from a gendered institution and toward an institution free from state-mandated gender roles reflects an evolution in the understanding of gender rather than a change in marriage."Walker also wrote that the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage:"exists as an artifact of a time when the genders were seen as having distinct roles in society and in marriage. That time has passed."If we have anyone to thank for gay marriage, it's really straight people. Sometime in the last few decades, they got their act together and realized that there's no reason why men and women should be required to fill different roles. And once marriage became more equal between women and men, restricting access by gender made less and less sense.So, thanks, straight people.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Hello friends, I'm Matt Baume, and thanks for subscribing to the Defining Marriage podcast, where we trace the decades-long evolution of marriage through the personal stories of those who lived through it. If you've been listening so far, every week you've heard me read one chapter of my book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Defining-Marriage-Voices-Forty-Year-Labor/dp/1518631525" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Defining Marriage: Voices from a Forty-Year Labor of Love</a>. If you'd like to hear the book, complete and unabridged, you can jump back and listen to the first 18 episodes of this podcast in order. Or you can <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Defining-Marriage-Voices-Forty-Year-Labor/dp/1518631525/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pop over to Amazon and get Defining Marriage as a digital download, and now in paperback and audiobook.</a>Now that I've released the entire book as a podcast, for the next few episodes I'll be revisiting the marriage work that I did as an reporter and activist over the last decade. I've gathered news clips, interviews, and analysis from the dark days of marriage inequality.This week I'm looking back at my 2011 interview with Alan Shayne and Norman Sunshine, a couple about to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their meeting. Back in 2011, they'd just written a book about their time together called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Double-Life-Story-Broadway-Hollywood/dp/1936833026/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Double Life</a>, and it is an absolutely amazing story. Alan's career took him from acting on Broadway to running Warner Brothers Television; Norman is a celebrated painter and ad executive. Together they were first-hand witnesses to the monumental changes in how our culture views gay couples. Here's our interview from 2011 -- it was conducted over Skype, so the audio quality is a little scratchy, but it's worth sticking around for.One thing that Alan and Norman commented on was how in the late 50s and early 60s they had no role models for a relationship of equals -- either gay or straight. That observation stuck with me for years after our conversation, because it really highlights that we're living in a remarkable time. Just a few decades earlier and it would be unthinkable that partners could be peers. It can be tempting to be nostalgic for simpler times, but remember, simpler isn't always better. That also reminded me of something Judge Vaughn Walker wrote in his 2010 ruling that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. Walker noted that marriage is in a state of constant change, and that the institution reflects social conventions of the time. Back then, he wrote:"The evidence shows that the movement of marriage away from a gendered institution and toward an institution free from state-mandated gender roles reflects an evolution in the understanding of gender rather than a change in marriage."Walker also wrote that the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage:"exists as an artifact of a time when the genders were seen as having distinct roles in society and in marriage. That time has passed."If we have anyone to thank for gay marriage, it's really straight people. Sometime in the last few decades, they got their act together and realized that there's no reason why men and women should be required to fill different roles. And once marriage became more equal between women and men, restricting access by gender made less and less sense.So, thanks, straight people.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

A Gay Couple's 60-Year Love Story

We're back! On this week's episode of the Defining Marriage podcast, we pick right back up with a rousing game of What's His Name, and I probe the depths of the animal kingdom for Bruce something, you know, the football guy. James has been having cuddle dreams, and Germany has been sobbing quietly and winning the freedom to marry. Plus: the latest from the sewers of Paris, the actual sewers, not the podcast.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We're back! On this week's episode of the Defining Marriage podcast, we pick right back up with a rousing game of What's His Name, and I probe the depths of the animal kingdom for Bruce something, you know, the football guy. James has been having cuddle dreams, and Germany has been sobbing quietly and winning the freedom to marry. Plus: the latest from the sewers of Paris, the actual sewers, not the podcast.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

Porky the Pumpkin

We have a special guest this week! Ulli Köppe went to see German Chancellor Angela Merkel speak on a panel a few weeks ago, and on the spur of the moment asked her during the Q&amp;A when he'd be able to marry his boyfriend. To everyone's surprise -- especially Ulli's -- she answered that a vote on marriage equality would happen right away. And then it did. And then marriage was legalized. Just like that, Ulli found himself having changed the lives of millions of queer Germans for the better. We chat about that experience, the moment he realized just what he'd done, and what his plans for marriage are now.And then we get into the silly business as usual: James and I joke around about my time in Europe, about Thor, and about Eartha Kitt. The marriage news of the week is a bit dire: a terribly anti-gay judge just got confirmed for life, a guy who objected to the children of same-sex parents being able to get passports. Ugh. Also, my nipples are briefly mentioned on this week's episode, so you're welcome, world. Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We have a special guest this week! Ulli Köppe went to see German Chancellor Angela Merkel speak on a panel a few weeks ago, and on the spur of the moment asked her during the Q&amp;A when he'd be able to marry his boyfriend. To everyone's surprise -- especially Ulli's -- she answered that a vote on marriage equality would happen right away. And then it did. And then marriage was legalized. Just like that, Ulli found himself having changed the lives of millions of queer Germans for the better. We chat about that experience, the moment he realized just what he'd done, and what his plans for marriage are now.And then we get into the silly business as usual: James and I joke around about my time in Europe, about Thor, and about Eartha Kitt. The marriage news of the week is a bit dire: a terribly anti-gay judge just got confirmed for life, a guy who objected to the children of same-sex parents being able to get passports. Ugh. Also, my nipples are briefly mentioned on this week's episode, so you're welcome, world. Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

A Damp Swaddle in the Swath of Night

It's an inter-continental edition of the Defining Marriage podcast this week, with James back in Seattle and me sailing off to Europe for the summer. I share a harrowing tale of bicycles and fish, and we take a breath of relief that it's been a slow week for marriage news (aside from that whole thing about the United Kingdom getting a whole new government). Plus: pig scrying.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

It's an inter-continental edition of the Defining Marriage podcast this week, with James back in Seattle and me sailing off to Europe for the summer. I share a harrowing tale of bicycles and fish, and we take a breath of relief that it's been a slow week for marriage news (aside from that whole thing about the United Kingdom getting a whole new government). Plus: pig scrying.<h1>Music:</h1>In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

Copin' with Copenhagen

This week I'm reporting from Amsterdam ... that Amsterdam is very pretty. We have a salami marriage in Switzerland, James designs video games about Grace Jones, and it's the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia. Congratulations to everyone!Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week I'm reporting from Amsterdam ... that Amsterdam is very pretty. We have a salami marriage in Switzerland, James designs video games about Grace Jones, and it's the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia. Congratulations to everyone!Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

Salami Tactics Advance

I'm on the road again, recording this week's Defining Marriage podcast with Jim and Michaela in Chicago while I visit for IML. In marriage news, we have a huge victory in Taiwan; and in other news, Michaela was once convinced that The Commish was her father.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

I'm on the road again, recording this week's Defining Marriage podcast with Jim and Michaela in Chicago while I visit for IML. In marriage news, we have a huge victory in Taiwan; and in other news, Michaela was once convinced that The Commish was her father.<h1>Music:</h1>In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

You Look Just Like the Commish

The work on marriage equality is pretty much wrapped up in this country, but every now and then, anti-gay activists manage to find their way into the news by trying to roll back progress and stop LGBTs from getting married. What are their chances of success? Well, let's talk about it this week, with the help of a special guest.The latest scheme to undo marriage involves a sneaky bill in Tennessee. If it had passed it would have created a special right for bigots by allowing nonprofits to discriminate against same-sex couples -- but ONLY against same-sex couples. The bill failed, probably in part because noncompliance with federal law would have cost the state $8 billion.But there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 more bills like this in legislatures around the country. In this episode we'll talk about what those bills look like, how to spot the ones that are disguised, and what can be done to stop them.Here's the Valentine's video we discuss in this week's episode: Some supplemental viewing about anti-gay laws: Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The work on marriage equality is pretty much wrapped up in this country, but every now and then, anti-gay activists manage to find their way into the news by trying to roll back progress and stop LGBTs from getting married. What are their chances of success? Well, let's talk about it this week, with the help of a special guest.The latest scheme to undo marriage involves a sneaky bill in Tennessee. If it had passed it would have created a special right for bigots by allowing nonprofits to discriminate against same-sex couples -- but ONLY against same-sex couples. The bill failed, probably in part because noncompliance with federal law would have cost the state $8 billion.But there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 more bills like this in legislatures around the country. In this episode we'll talk about what those bills look like, how to spot the ones that are disguised, and what can be done to stop them.Here's the Valentine's video we discuss in this week's episode: Some supplemental viewing about anti-gay laws: Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

Can Marriage Equality Be Rolled Back?

I'm back from Chicago, and this week's episode is a brief interlude before my rainbow tour to Europe. We talk to riding a train to a pup romp, how I nearly became a go-go dancer without realizing it, and about Chile's gay-marriage train. Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

I'm back from Chicago, and this week's episode is a brief interlude before my rainbow tour to Europe. We talk to riding a train to a pup romp, how I nearly became a go-go dancer without realizing it, and about Chile's gay-marriage train. <h1>Music:</h1>In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

These Have Always Brought me Luck

On this week's podcast, there's a plausible size difference (and a few implausible ones), as well as more cake quibbles. A cat and a dog have gotten married for reasons that are not entirely clear, and James has a new drag character based on another drag character that does not actually exist. All that, plus a bearracuda, a giant finger, and that famous aphorism, "when you're on a love boat, anything goes."Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

On this week's podcast, there's a plausible size difference (and a few implausible ones), as well as more cake quibbles. A cat and a dog have gotten married for reasons that are not entirely clear, and James has a new drag character based on another drag character that does not actually exist. All that, plus a bearracuda, a giant finger, and that famous aphorism, "when you're on a love boat, anything goes."<h1>Music:</h1>In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

The Chimp, the Chump, and the Chomp

I'm back from LA and ready to catch some gay Pokemans! This week on the podcast, we talk about laptop-marriage, Virginia's latest redefinition of marriage (to exclude child brides), and a new study claiming that gay parents make fat kids. Also, it's weird enough that support for marriage equality is climbing in Utah, but it's even weirder that it's climbing extra-fast among Mormons.Plus: I have another minor stroke trying to remember a celebrity's name. Camemberta? Harriet Hole in the Mozone? Maureen Slithering? Gary Anda? Chester Hope? Moldy Coldfish? Zoltan Mola Nosecare? Lola Crampstink? Nicole Cankles?Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

I'm back from LA and ready to catch some gay Pokemans! This week on the podcast, we talk about laptop-marriage, Virginia's latest redefinition of marriage (to exclude child brides), and a new study claiming that gay parents make fat kids. Also, it's weird enough that support for marriage equality is climbing in Utah, but it's even weirder that it's climbing extra-fast among Mormons.Plus: I have another minor stroke trying to remember a celebrity's name. Camemberta? Harriet Hole in the Mozone? Maureen Slithering? Gary Anda? Chester Hope? Moldy Coldfish? Zoltan Mola Nosecare? Lola Crampstink? Nicole Cankles?Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

Andrea Loathsome

This week, I'm talking to Davina Kotulski, a crucial figure in the modern marriage equality movement. Davina appears briefly in my book, but she played a key role in securing marriage in California and nationally. I spoke to her this week about what it was like to not just be a witness to history -- but to have an opportunity to shape it.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week, I'm talking to Davina Kotulski, a crucial figure in the modern marriage equality movement. Davina appears briefly in my book, but she played a key role in securing marriage in California and nationally. I spoke to her this week about what it was like to not just be a witness to history -- but to have an opportunity to shape it.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

When Coming Out at Work Launched a Federal Investigation

CC BY-SA 3.0Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore 3.jpgBelieve it or not, there are still some people trying to undo marriage equality, and generally make life unpleasant for gay people. And also, it turns out, for straight people. I'm joined once again by my very special guest, James, to talk about this weird situation.In Oklahoma, there are 26 bills -- possibly a record -- jostling to chip away at protections for LGBT people. Among them: a bill to legitimize "sexual orientation change" treatments. The bill specifically calls out some protected practices, and they're amazing: "physical pain, such as electroshock or electroconvulsive therapy, touch therapy, pornography exposure or vomit-induction therapy."Federally, six candidates have endorsed the "First Amendment Defense Act," which doesn't just say that marriage should be between a man and a woman; but that only married heterosexuals should be allowed to have sex. Sorry, single straight people! Sorry, single moms! This proposed bills is really about controlling peoples' bodies -- gay and straight, and particularly women. Oddly enough, Trump is one of the only candidates who hasn't pledged to sign the bill. (He said he supported it in a letter, but declined to sign the pledge.) So we have a strange situation here where the GOP is making Donald Trump look like the reasonable guy in the room.Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a> Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore 3.jpgBelieve it or not, there are still some people trying to undo marriage equality, and generally make life unpleasant for gay people. And also, it turns out, for straight people. I'm joined once again by my very special guest, James, to talk about this weird situation.In Oklahoma, there are 26 bills -- possibly a record -- jostling to chip away at protections for LGBT people. Among them: a bill to legitimize "sexual orientation change" treatments. The bill specifically calls out some protected practices, and they're amazing: "physical pain, such as electroshock or electroconvulsive therapy, touch therapy, pornography exposure or vomit-induction therapy."Federally, six candidates have endorsed the "First Amendment Defense Act," which doesn't just say that marriage should be between a man and a woman; but that only married heterosexuals should be allowed to have sex. Sorry, single straight people! Sorry, single moms! This proposed bills is really about controlling peoples' bodies -- gay and straight, and particularly women. Oddly enough, Trump is one of the only candidates who hasn't pledged to sign the bill. (He said he supported it in a letter, but declined to sign the pledge.) So we have a strange situation here where the GOP is making Donald Trump look like the reasonable guy in the room.Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

Anti-Marriage Pledge Punishes Straight Fornicators

This week, let's take a look back at Proposition 8. That's the fight that got me engaged with marriage, back in 2008. After the marriage ban passed, I started making YouTube videos to update people on what was happening with marriage. I'm going to play the audio for you, but if you want to watch the videos, some of which are a bit visual, you can find them in the shownotes for this episode at DefiningMarriage.com. Here's one of the first post-Prop 8 videos I did, from May of 2009.  Well, I was wrong about it going back to the ballot. At the time, that seemed like the only option, since the convention wisdom was that a court case was too risky. But the day after I put this video out, AFER revealed their lawsuit, and the rest was history. And of course, you can read all about that history -- why it seemed so risky, why AFER decided they could take a chance, and the freakout that happened once the Prop 8 lawsuit was revealed -- in my book, Defining Marriage.Let's jump ahead a year to July of 2010. I produced a recap of everything that had happened with Prop 8 to get everyone caught all caught up. At this point, we'd heard initial arguments in the Prop 8 case, but there had been no ruling yet. How about that prediction from Nate Silver! Fifteen years to marriage equality? Turns out it was five.Next up, a video from 2013, summing up AFER's case before the Supreme Court. I made this video for AFER the week before they presented oral argument, to help folks understand the case.  I also produced a video showing the behind the scenes work that had gone into the case. We followed the plaintiffs and lawyers and PR people all over Washington, documenting what it was like to finally land at the Supreme Court. This one's pretty visual, so I do recommend checking DefiningMarriage.com to watch it if you can. At that point, it was all up to the justices. And that meant a few tense months of waiting, and waiting, and waiting. While we waited, I put together another video that summed up the entire case, drawing on interviews and media coverage from 2008 to 2013. Here's a sprint through the entire case, from its very first day to the moments before the Supreme Court ruled: Well I hope I'm not spoiling any surprises by revealing that we won. Here's a roundup of that day of decision, all of the celebrating, all of the rallying, all of the excitement and disbelief and joy. Turns out we had some more surprises in store. Within a week, marriage had resumed in California, much earlier than anyone expected. It was a huge shock to everyone, and I was able to arrange to have cameras present to document the first weddings. Here's one more video -- you'll first hear some interviews from the day of decision, and then you'll hear footage from a few days later, when we suddenly learned that the couples could marry. Please do get in touch and let me know your thoughts and questions on Twitter -- I'm @mattbaume. Check out my other podcast, The Sewers of Paris, for revealing personal stories about the entertainment that changed the lives of gay men. And don't forget to hop over to Amazon to get Defining Marriage in print or via download. If you do pick up a copy, it would mean a lot if you could leave an Amazon review with your honest opinion.Thanks again for listening, watching, and reading!Music:In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week, let's take a look back at Proposition 8. That's the fight that got me engaged with marriage, back in 2008. After the marriage ban passed, I started making YouTube videos to update people on what was happening with marriage. I'm going to play the audio for you, but if you want to watch the videos, some of which are a bit visual, you can find them in the shownotes for this episode at <a href="http://DefiningMarriage.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DefiningMarriage.com</a>. Here's one of the first post-Prop 8 videos I did, from May of 2009.  Well, I was wrong about it going back to the ballot. At the time, that seemed like the only option, since the convention wisdom was that a court case was too risky. But the day after I put this video out, AFER revealed their lawsuit, and the rest was history. And of course, you can read all about that history -- why it seemed so risky, why AFER decided they could take a chance, and the freakout that happened once the Prop 8 lawsuit was revealed -- in my book, Defining Marriage.Let's jump ahead a year to July of 2010. I produced a recap of everything that had happened with Prop 8 to get everyone caught all caught up. At this point, we'd heard initial arguments in the Prop 8 case, but there had been no ruling yet. How about that prediction from Nate Silver! Fifteen years to marriage equality? Turns out it was five.Next up, a video from 2013, summing up AFER's case before the Supreme Court. I made this video for AFER the week before they presented oral argument, to help folks understand the case.  I also produced a video showing the behind the scenes work that had gone into the case. We followed the plaintiffs and lawyers and PR people all over Washington, documenting what it was like to finally land at the Supreme Court. This one's pretty visual, so I do recommend checking <a href="http://DefiningMarriage.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DefiningMarriage.com</a> to watch it if you can. At that point, it was all up to the justices. And that meant a few tense months of waiting, and waiting, and waiting. While we waited, I put together another video that summed up the entire case, drawing on interviews and media coverage from 2008 to 2013. Here's a sprint through the entire case, from its very first day to the moments before the Supreme Court ruled: Well I hope I'm not spoiling any surprises by revealing that we won. Here's a roundup of that day of decision, all of the celebrating, all of the rallying, all of the excitement and disbelief and joy. Turns out we had some more surprises in store. Within a week, marriage had resumed in California, much earlier than anyone expected. It was a huge shock to everyone, and I was able to arrange to have cameras present to document the first weddings. Here's one more video -- you'll first hear some interviews from the day of decision, and then you'll hear footage from a few days later, when we suddenly learned that the couples could marry. Please do get in touch and let me know your thoughts and questions on Twitter -- I'm @mattbaume. Check out my other podcast, <a href="http://sewersofparis.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Sewers of Paris</a>, for revealing personal stories about the entertainment that changed the lives of gay men. And don't forget to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Defining-Marriage-Voices-Forty-Year-Labor-ebook/dp/B0119BEYKA/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">hop over to Amazon to get Defining Marriage in print or via download</a>. If you do pick up a copy, it would mean a lot if you could leave an Amazon review with your honest opinion.Thanks again for listening, watching, and reading!Music: In Your Arms Kevin MacLeod (<a href="http://incompetech.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incompetech.com</a>)  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</a>

The Emotional Work of Turning Prop 8's Heartbreak into Triumph

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