Welcome to episode 20 of Cock Tales Over Cocktails. A couple of quick things: this year we’re recording another live episode at the same convention at which we recorded an episode last year, so if you were there, keep an eye out for us on the schedule. We’re recording Saturday night at 9:30 and it’s going to be a hoot, with a secret special guest co-host at the table with us and a bunch of folks whose names you know in the audience alongside you. There will, of course, be a Q&A, and naturally I’ll be sneaking in my own mini-bar to keep us fueled up. Chuck and I are also going to be in Washington, DC, for Capital Pride June 9th through the 11th - as will Viktor! We’re going to be recording an episode together there, assuming we ever stop dancing and/or marching in the motherfucking streets.

Speaking of marching in the streets, in this episode, Chuck and I get fairly political and encourage people to stand up, do what’s right, combat hate, and make the world a better place. I absolutely believe that. I also acknowledge doing so is dangerous, and I honor anyone brave enough to risk themselves to show compassion to another. We joke a lot about how Chuck is on the Light Side of the Force and I’m on the Dark Side, but the truth is I suspect I’m only Dark Side because people have so often disappointed me when I wanted to believe in them. This past weekend, two men were murdered and a third seriously injured when they stood to defend two young women from a white supremacist on a train in Portland. This episode has no music. Instead, we offer a moment of silence at the beginning of the episode and at its end in honor of Taliesen Namkai-Meche, Ricky Best, and Micah Fletcher.