QueerCore Podcast

PART THREE:

It’s a queer true-crime story, political mystery, and historical investigation unlike anything the curious world has ever been exposed to.

9:00-9:15 PM, July 8, 1979: Oscar streaker, gallerist, and bisexual political activist Robert Opel is shot in the head from a foot away. Weeks earlier, he had taken on the establishment and the San Francisco police. He was also the owner of Fey-Way Studios, a queer San Francisco gallery that championed artists like photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and Tom of Finland.

Opel was more than a provocateur or a footnote in queer history: he was deeply entrenched in the radical underground of 1970s San Francisco, moving between political activism, art, leather, performance, and the intense queer world. His murder came at a moment when he was increasingly challenging powerful people and institutions—and what happened next remains deeply troubling.

Someone—or ones—wanted Robert Opel dead. And the murderer? He escaped over three times. The first time, he was wearing street clothes and allegedly had money in his pocket. He was gone a month.

In this wild-ride series, we feature the voices of leather goddess and performer Camille O’Grady (she was in the next room when Opel was shot) and even the trigger man himself. Joins us as we name names and walk through the case that has stunned people for decades. Robert Opel did not have to die.

Topics: Political assassinations, police cover ups, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tom of Finland, black magic, leather gods and goddesses, Harvey Milk, Dan White, injustice, justice, escaped murderers, flipping the queer world upside down, queer history, San Francisco underground, Oscar streaking, and MORE!

PART TWO:

It’s a queer true-crime story, political mystery, and historical investigation unlike anything the curious world has ever been exposed to.

9:00-9:15 PM, July 8, 1979: Oscar streaker, gallerist, and bisexual political activist Robert Opel is shot in the head from a foot away. Weeks earlier, he had taken on the establishment and the San Francisco police. He was also the owner of Fey-Way Studios, a queer San Francisco gallery that championed artists like photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and Tom of Finland.

Opel was more than a provocateur or a footnote in queer history: he was deeply entrenched in the radical underground of 1970s San Francisco, moving between political activism, art, leather, performance, and the intense queer world. His murder came at a moment when he was increasingly challenging powerful people and institutions—and what happened next remains deeply troubling.

Someone—or ones—wanted Robert Opel dead. And the murderer? He escaped over three times. The first time, he was wearing street clothes and allegedly had money in his pocket. He was gone a month.

In this wild-ride series, we feature the voices of leather goddess and performer Camille O’Grady (she was in the next room when Opel was shot) and even the trigger man himself. Joins us as we name names and walk through the case that has stunned people for decades. Robert Opel did not have to die.

Topics: Political assassinations, police cover ups, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tom of Finland, black magic, leather gods and goddesses, Harvey Milk, Dan White, injustice, justice, escaped murderers, flipping the queer world upside down, queer history, San Francisco underground, Oscar streaking, and MORE!

PART ONE:

It’s a queer true-crime story, political mystery, and historical investigation unlike anything the curious world has ever been exposed to.

9:00-9:15 PM, July 8, 1979: Oscar streaker, gallerist, and bisexual political activist Robert Opel is shot in the head from a foot away. Weeks earlier, he had taken on the establishment and the San Francisco police. He was also the owner of Fey-Way Studios, a queer San Francisco gallery that championed artists like photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and Tom of Finland.

Opel was more than a provocateur or a footnote in queer history: he was deeply entrenched in the radical underground of 1970s San Francisco, moving between political activism, art, leather, performance, and the intense queer world. His murder came at a moment when he was increasingly challenging powerful people and institutions—and what happened next remains deeply troubling.

Someone—or ones—wanted Robert Opel dead. And the murderer? He escaped over three times. The first time, he was wearing street clothes and allegedly had money in his pocket. He was gone a month.

In this wild-ride series, we feature the voices of leather goddess and performer Camille O’Grady (she was in the next room when Opel was shot) and even the trigger man himself. Joins us as we name names and walk through the case that has stunned people for decades. Robert Opel did not have to die.

Topics: Political assassinations, police cover ups, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tom of Finland, black magic, leather gods and goddesses, Harvey Milk, Dan White, injustice, justice, escaped murderers, flipping the queer world upside down, queer history, San Francisco underground, Oscar streaking, and MORE!

Bang. 10:40 PM. July 8, 1979: Robert Opel is dead.

We know who pulled the trigger, or do we?

Robert Opel was a bisexual political activist, gallerist, and 1974 Oscar streaker. He was a pioneer: his gallery, Fey-Way Studios, in San Francisco showed artist Tom of Finland and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe before nearly everywhere else.

Prior to being shot in the head from about a foot away, Opel publicly tried to take down the San Francisco Police Department and Dan White, the man who killed out politician Harvey Milk. Someone or someones wanted Opel dead.

No one has ever pieced the pieces together like the QueerCore Podcast. We bring you narration, interviews with performer and leather icon Camille O’Grady—who was in the next room when Opel was shot—and others who were there, in some way.

How did the “murderer” escape from captivity at least three times? The first time, he was wearing street clothes and allegedly had money in his pocket. He was gone for a month... But behind the official story was something darker: strange escapes, spells, conflicting testimony, police misconduct, and questions that have lingered for decades. Who was behind the trigger? We name names.

The decades of whispers are now projected over the airwaves. Robert Opel did not have to die.

It’s a queer true-crime story, political mystery, and historical investigation unlike anything the curious world has ever been exposed to.

Subscribe now.

Topics: Political assassinations, police cover ups, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tom of Finland, black magic, leather gods and goddesses, Harvey Milk, Dan White, injustice, justice, escaped murderers, flipping the queer world upside down, and MORE!

We’re revisiting a 2023 throwback episode about the Mother of Gay Liberation, Martha Shelley. Martha Shelley joined the movement in the mid-1960s and went on to co-found the Gay Liberation Front in New York City in 1969, immediately after the June 28, 1969, Stonewall Rebellion. Martha kept going: Rat magazine, Radicalesbians, radio... We are going to say it, Martha Shelley is the most important woman in the gay liberation revolution era. Thank you, Martha!

Don’t call it “gay lib,” says Ginny Berson, a pivotal member of the Furies. “Gay lib” doesn’t justify it.

This episode is an oral history with Ginny Berson and her comrade in the lacking revolution, Coletta Reid. They were both members of the Furies, a lesbian “separatist” activist group based in Washington, D.C., active from 1971 to 1972. They lived collectively and published a widely circulated and influential newspaper until 1973.

After the Furies, Coletta founded Diana Press in 1972, a significant publisher that amplified women’s voices and lesbian literature. In 1973, Ginny founded Olivia Records, an early and consequential all-woman record label.

This is the story of the Furies, told by two women who lived it.

The Angels of Light are back and are breaking ground. Why have you not heard about them before? It’s a crime. They existed for over a decade. Who are they? A San Francisco free theater troupe founded in the aftermath of the Cockettes. They performed for free and believed theater should be accessible to everyone. Their story is one of the most overlooked chapters in LGBTQ history.

This oral history is from a panel August Bernadicou (The LGBTQ History Project, QueerCore Podcast) moderated, featuring Beaver Bauer, Greg Cruikshank, and Tahara, on July 28, 2026, at the San Francisco Public Library. This has not happened before. Wake up! WOW!

Far out, brother! Sister! We now bring you Tahara, a gender bender who opened doors during the gay liberation revolution. Tahara was part of the Berkeley Gay Liberation Front, the Cockettes, the Angels of Light, and more!

Given the timing, Tahara was one of the first gay liberation activists and performers in history. We're talking Stonewall era—1969.

The Cockettes were a hippie drag performance troupe founded on December 31, 1969. The Angels of Light? A glitter-drenched free theater troupe that carried the revolution forward for years.

Join the madness!

Six years in the making, we are excited to bring you the Mother of Us All, Bambi Lake. Bambi Lake changed the world and broke hearts. She joined the Angels of Light, the legendary free theater troupe founded by members of the Cockettes, in 1971 and went on to perform around the world. She made San Francisco her home base, where she sang, acted, and wrote. A fearless performer, poet, author, and trailblazing transgender artist, Bambi became one of the defining voices of queer counterculture. To celebrate her new posthumous poetry collection, Devour Me, Again, published by Nightboat Books, we are digging seven years back into our archive to bring you the impossible-but-true Bambi Lake story. Features never-before-released songs!

Upcoming Bambi Lake Events:

• July 28: San Francisco Public Library (San Francisco)
• July 29: Tally Ho! Books (Oakland)
• July 30: Tenderloin Museum (San Francisco)
• August 7: Sacramento Poetry Center (Sacramento)

PART TWO: Perry Brass and Don Kilhefner were active in the movement when gay liberation was just beginning and had not yet been recognized as such. Shortly after the Stonewall Riots in 1969, Don became a member of the Los Angeles Gay Liberation Front and a founder of what would become the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Perry Brass became active in New York's Gay Liberation Front and worked on Come Out!, one of the first newspapers published during the gay liberation movement. He later co-founded the East Coast healthcare network, Callen-Lorde.

For the past 50 years, both men have remained strong advocates for the gay movement and its history through their work as writers, organizers, activists, and witnesses to the struggles and achievements that transformed American society. The two men discuss the origins of gay liberation, the individuals who created it, the events that defined it, and the lessons today's youth need to learn from it.

Perry Brass and Don Kilhefner were active in the movement when gay liberation was just beginning and had not yet been recognized as such. Shortly after the Stonewall Riots in 1969, Don became a member of the Los Angeles Gay Liberation Front and a founder of what would become the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Perry Brass became active in New York's Gay Liberation Front and worked on Come Out!, one of the first newspapers published during the gay liberation movement. He later co-founded the East Coast healthcare network, Callen-Lorde.

For the past 50 years, both men have remained strong advocates for the gay movement and its history through their work as writers, organizers, activists, and witnesses to the struggles and achievements that transformed American society. The two men discuss the origins of gay liberation, the individuals who created it, the events that defined it, and the lessons today's youth need to learn from it.

We’re revisiting a 2020 throwback episode about the legendary Theatre of the Ridiculous — the outrageous, glitter-soaked underground movement that transformed queer performance and Downtown New York culture. Featuring conversations with Ruby Lynn Reyner, Agosto Machado, and Tony Zanetta, this episode captures the chaos, creativity, and rebellion of a scene that shattered artistic boundaries. Revisiting these interviews now feels especially emotional, as Ruby and Agosto have both since passed away. Are you ready? Probably not!

This episode takes us through the life of Jon Platania, a key member of the Los Angeles Gay Liberation Front. Jon helped create concrete ways for LGBTQ+ people to support one another through radical ideas. After joining the GLF in 1970, Jon became an active member of a movement focused not only on encouraging queer people to organize and fight back against their oppression, but also to care for one another on an unprecedented level. In 1971, Jon helped establish what we know today as the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the world’s largest LGBTQ center, with over 800 employees. He also helped co-found the Liberation Houses, which were homes created to provide shelter and community for LGBTQ+ people who were kicked out of their families or left without a place to call home. This episode recounts how Jon and other GLF activists set in motion many of today’s LGBTQ support systems and how their legacy continues to shape our experience today.

In this episode, three individuals describe life during and after the Stonewall Uprising, sharing their authentic accounts of the struggles they faced as they participated in the newly formed gay liberation movement. First-hand accounts are given by Perry Brass (NYC Gay Liberation Front), Don Kilhefner (LA Gay Liberation Front), and Rich Wandel (NYC Gay Activists Alliance)—providing a personal, visceral portrait of how people built a movement based on chaos, radicalism, humanity, and energy, even though it happened nearly 60 years ago.

In this episode you'll hear the unedited audio recording of a Zoom webinar called No Intermission, which took place on March 29, 2026, featuring the legendary underground artists, Cherry Vanilla and Tony Zanetta, and their reflections on the powerful convergence of queer liberation, the avant-garde theater scene, and rock and roll that occurred in New York and London during the latter half of the 1960s and into the early 1970s—including the Theatre of the Ridiculous, Andy Warhol's Factory, and the early development of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust character. The result is a vibrant account of how queerness expressed itself through confrontation, community, and creativity, as well as through art, sexual expression, and the challenge of societal norms, with all of these acts often seen as one radical action.

Tony Zanetta, an influential figure in both the glam rock and Off Broadway scene, helped create a period in which theater, music, and identity came together in spectacular, gender-smashed fashion. He worked as an actor in innovative plays and joined MainMan when David Bowie was at his most popular, one of the major forces behind glam rock. Tony became a part of a performance, persona, and pop culture explosion that created an unforgettable scene.

Tony, who starred in Andy Warhol’s Pork in 1971, takes listeners backstage as he reveals the creative chaos, the risks, and the high-creativity environment he and others lived in during the gay liberation revolution. His stories offer insight into the dramatic intersection of art and excess and demonstrate how Off Broadway thrived.

Catch Cherry Vanilla, Tony Zanetta, and August Bernadicou in conversation on Zoom on March 29, 2026, at 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT. Register: lgbtqhp.org/intermission.

Cherry Vanilla is a fearless, iconic figure in glam rock, punk, and the experimental underground of New York City. She was also a publicist for David Bowie, contributing significantly to the development of the Ziggy Stardust mystique. In the 1970s, she started performing her poetry as songs and released two albums for RCA in 1978 and 1979, in the early days of punk.

Aside from music, Cherry Vanilla collaborated with some of the most provocative and culturally important artists of the time, including her work in Pork (a raucous, surrealistic off-Broadway play by artist Andy Warhol). Cherry has continued to be a defining influence on anyone interested in creating daring, performative art and music during this creative era of New York City in the 1970s.

Catch Cherry Vanilla, Tony Zanetta, and August Bernadicou in conversation on Zoom on March 29, 2026, at 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT. Register: lgbtqhp.org/intermission.

The rainbow flag is one of the most well-known symbols in the world. It is celebrated as a representation of LGBTQ pride and liberation. It is widely thought to be the work of Gilbert Baker. However, history is often messier than the story we inherit. In this episode, we are joined by Faerie Argyle Rainbow. What she contributed to the flag's creation has largely been forgotten or misattributed, but we have her back! She takes us through how the idea came to be, how she was involved in making the first flags, and her experience of seeing her work attributed to someone else. This is a discussion about authorship, memory, and the politics of recognition within our community. To honor the queer community, we must examine who is recorded in history and who is not. For more, check out Season 3!

The episode dives into the life and contributions of John Lauritsen, an early member of the New York City Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance, a historian, and an interesting figure. John aided in the recovery of many lost parts of LGBTQ history, but his views on different aspects within the gay movement have made him one of the most controversial figures, especially his contradiction of the mainstream and scientific AIDS narrative and his transphobia. One thing sets John apart from 90% of the people in the late 1960s and early 1970s. What? He was in the room.

A live, one-night-only special podcast episode documenting a famous, rare archived Co*ckette's icon through story, memory, and the contributions of many has been produced. This episode was performed in front of an audience in New York City and featured voices from many different generations and backgrounds. The readings included personal stories, live performance, and select items from his archives; this provided an important insight into a life that greatly influenced the development of underground culture, performance, queer history, and so much more.

The readers for this event included August Bernadicou, Hucklefaery, Mike Payne, Will Shellhorn, Shelby Black, Joe E. Jeffreys, Perry Brass, Jane Held, and more. Each reader contributed their unique voice to a collective moment of remembrance and continuation of his legacy. What came from this evening was not nostalgia but the living history of an individual: chaotic, not yet complete, and very present.