A local podcast is opening space for conversations that aren’t always easily accessible in the queer community, by inviting a variety of LGBTQ guests onto the show to talk about books that have changed how they live and think about love, alongside the authors who wrote them.
“So much of queer culture is having to go out and find it,” J.P. Der Boghossian, the host and creator of This Queer Book Saved My Life!, said. The lessons of love and community that spread themselves throughout heteronormative culture can be hard to find as a queer person, even when you’re looking for them. “Unless you’re lucky enough to be born into a queer family or to ally parents who are going to help you no matter what, you never grow up in a family that’s going to teach about the history of the queer community. My hope is that the podcast makes that a little easier.”
Each episode touches on different fundamental topics affecting the LGBTQ community, by facilitating open conversations with people about their favorite LGBTQ stories, and by chatting with the authors who wrote them. Coming out, gender identity, repairing family relationships, homophobia, and gender affirmation and transitioning are just a few of the themes that span the three-season podcast, with new guests and authors on every bi-weekly episode. The podcast has welcomed the National Book Award winner Carmen Maria Machado, Alison Bechdel, whose graphic novel was turned into the Tony Award-winning musical, Fun Home, and four-time winning gold medalist Greg Louganis on the show in its first two seasons.
But what brought This Queer Book Saved My Life! to life? “While we’re being banned and we’re being attacked and people are showing up with guns to drag queen story hours, this podcast opens a space that folks can come to and find these stories to start a conversation in an environment that feels safe. That’s all I can ask for,” Boghossian said.
Before diving into the world of podcasts, Boghossian’s background in broadcast journalism and teaching in the diversity, equity, and inclusion field spurred him into founding the Queer Armenian Library in Minneapolis and editing for and publishing in the Minnesota LGBTQ Standards of Inclusion for Health and Human Services. With a desire to be more involved in the local queer community, with books, and with the way that queer stories were being represented, it was only a matter of time before the idea for the podcast was born.
Since the release of the first season in 2022, the podcast has reached audiences in 56 countries worldwide and local businesses around the Twin Cities have partnered with Boghossian for special in-person and local-listener-only opportunities. Starting up again on May 18, This Queer Book Saved My Life! will be returning to Lush Lounge and Theater in northeast Minneapolis for live audience episode recordings, and you can catch episodes of the podcast live, on-air. All you need to do is tune into AM 950 on Sundays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The QuatreFoil Library offers an e-book system for folks wanting to lend any of the books talked about on the podcast for free, and all you need is a library card.
The third season of the podcast hit airwaves on March 7, with Becky Albertalli, the author of Simon vs. The Homo Sapien’s Agenda—the book has since been turned into the 2018 blockbuster film Love, Simon and the 2020 Hulu series, Love, Victor. Find new episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! online, and check out the sister podcast, 7 Minutes In Book Heaven, to stay up-to-date on the latest book releases on the queer community’s radar.