Wide Open with Ashlyn Harris

Asbury Park Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn joins host Ashlyn to discuss her path from public-service attorney to local elected official and why she’s running for mayor. Drawing on her experience as a lesbian, wife, and mother, Quinn talks about protecting LGBTQ+ history, making housing more affordable, and why local participation matters.

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Cindy Eckert is a champion of the pink pill in a blue pill world. As founder of Sprout Pharmaceuticals, she’s responsible for Addyi, the only FDA approved drug that is proven to increase sexual desire in women. Today, Ashlyn sits down with Cindy to talk about the long road to getting Addyi on the market, why women’s health is still so under researched, and where Cindy's passion for justice comes from.

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Ashlyn has an unfiltered conversation with Nikki, a sports-obsessed baseball mom and patient. Hear how Nikki’s diagnosis inspired her to do more for herself, and how playing competitive sports helped prepare her for her toughest competition yet. Ashlyn and Nikki discuss what it’s really like to be a woman, balancing work, her treatment, and her son’s hectic sports schedule. Plus, Nikki talks about how her family, friends, and doctors became a team she could lean on for support. Visit https://www.novartis.com/us-en/sites/novartis_us/files/kisqali.pdf for full prescribing Information for KISQALI (ribociclib). Sponsored by Novartis.

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Ashlyn sits down with entrepreneur Tristan Schukraft for a candid conversation about building businesses, expanding access to PrEP and HIV care, and preserving queer spaces. Tristan shares how failure, ambition, and vision shaped his career. He also opens up about polyamory, relationships, visibility, shame, and the importance of protecting LGBTQ+ communities and the spaces that give them refuge, history, and connection.

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Coming out can feel like starting all over again — being a beginner in love, relationships, and of course, sex. In fact, navigating sex in non-hetero relationships is probably the most nerve-wracking part of people’s queer awakenings. In Casey Tanner’s work as a queer sex therapist, she wants to erase the shame and fear associated with feeling like a beginner. Today, Casey sits down with Ashlyn to talk about her work, how she helps clients understand their desires, and to answer your burning questions about queer sex.

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Jeffrey Masters, creator and host of LGBTQ&A, joins Ashlyn to discuss the art of meaningful interviewing, the importance of preserving queer history, and what years of listening to queer icons and activists have taught him. They explore empathy, visibility, mental health, activism, and how asking better questions can create space for people to tell the stories behind the headlines.

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How can we support LGBTQ+ athletes? How is the state of women’s soccer? Is it hard being a mom? How do you know you’ve found “the one”? This week, Ashlyn is answering these and more in a reflective listener question episode.

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Mary Mazzio joins us to share the powerful story behind Mighty Mary and the lessons she’s carried from elite sport into filmmaking and life. From failure and rejection to resilience, leadership, and self-belief, this conversation explores how the mindset of an athlete can shape everything that comes next and why the story of women breaking barriers in sport still matters today.

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Laura Benanti has already made a name for herself on the Broadway stage, and now she’s entering the spotlight on a totally new one. Ashlyn talks to the Tony Award winning actress about her hilarious new one woman show, Nobody Cares, and what it’s like to reintroduce herself to her fans mid-career. Laura opens up about what it’s like to finally stop people pleasing, dealing with online trolls, the humbling moments of motherhood, and being unafraid to speak out in our current troubling times.

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Anna Camp is living her most authentic life right now. Last year, she came out as bisexual and in her words, a giant weight was lifted. Now, she sits down with Ashlyn to talk about the joy of shedding the expectations others put on you. They discuss the moments in Anna’s career that led to huge personal growth, like the time she literally bared all on a Broadway stage, the frenzy of being part of a huge hit like Pitch Perfect, and being honored as one of the Out 100 last fall.

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This week on Wide Open, Ashlyn sits down with Olympic hockey player Jackie Pierri to talk about identity, resilience, and life beyond the rink. Jackie opens up about growing up in Montclair, playing boys hockey, building a career across North America and Europe, and using her platform to push for better conditions in women’s sports and for climate-conscious change.
They also talk about the emotional weight of honoring her late father, the burnout of fighting for basics in sport, and how her values have shaped both her engineering career and her athletic journey

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You may know Abigail Thorn as Philosophy Tube on YouTube or as Sharako Lohar on House of the Dragon; she is a British playwright and actress. Today, Ashlyn is inviting her to get Wide Open about her acting process. They also discuss how her background in philosophy shapes what she brings to the screen, and they talk about what life in America is like and what it has taught her about extending compassion to friends and neighbors in new ways.

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You might know Sam Gordon as that little girl who went viral for outrunning all the boys on her tackle football team. She was just nine years old when her dad posted that video, and fourteen years later Sam has matured into a powerful advocate for women’s sports. In her career, she’s already co-founded the Utah Girl’s Tackle Football League and played D1 soccer at Columbia University. Now she’s professional football player with the Salt Lake Wildcats all while pursuing a law degree. Sam talks to Ashlyn about why it’s so important to be a multihyphenate in sports and life, what it’s been like to grow up as the face of a women’s sports movement, and the opportunities tackle football can bring to women on and off the field.

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Director, writer, producer, and comic creator Carly Usdin joins the show to talk with Ashlyn about their long career as a storyteller and the importance of making sure queer stories keep being made. Ashlyn tries to get the scoop on Carly’s upcoming film, “Courtside,” a gay basketball rom-com set to feature several WNBA players. Plus, Ashlyn and Carly discuss all things women’s sports, identity, and the new wave of joy in queer film and TV.

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Roku’s Director of Content, Publicity and Talent Relations Nicole Wilcox joins the show this week to give a peek behind the curtain into how, why, and when certain stories get told in film and television. Nicole knows what it takes to bring a project into the world, build excitement around it, and make sure everyone is represented on screen. Ashlyn and Nicole discuss the art of documentary filmmaking and why accessibility to media matters. Plus, they dive into what it took to get Ashlyn’s documentary, Game Changers: The Ashlyn Harris Story made and what it’s like to have it out in the world.

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Comedian, actress, and now author Aida Rodriguez joins Wide Open this week to depart some of her infinite wisdom on all things motherhood, comedy, and finding the courage to truly be yourself. Aida and Ashlyn have a raw conversation on setting boundaries with family and the importance of teaching conflict resolution to their children. Plus, Aida tells Ashlyn all about her new book Legitimate Kid and how her upbringing made her who she is today.

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Climate change is a fact, not a question. If you’re watching the World Cup this summer, you’ll see players facing record-breaking heat head-on. As a former player, Ashlyn knows how hard heat is on these athletes’ bodies, not to mention the challenges of travel, dehydration, and overheating turf. To get a handle on what exactly the teams are facing this summer, Ashlyn is talking to sport ecologist Madeline Orr and CEO of the Korey Stringer Institute, Dr. Douglas Casa. In this special episode, Dr. Maddy Orr and Dr. Doug Casa discuss the conditions of the World Cup and warn that it is just a preview of how rising temperatures will affect the future of sports.

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Get ready, because comedian, actor, and writer Michelle Buteau is gracing Wide Open with her loud, boisterous, and infectiously-upbeat self. That larger than-life persona is intentional. In her career, Michelle refuses to tone herself down for the male gaze. She tells Ashlyn how she stays true to that value, where her confidence comes from, and why kindness and allyship are of the utmost importance in comedy today.

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Happy Pride month from Wide Open! For more of your favorite LGBTQ+ content, check out the Outspoken Network from iHeartPodcasts.

Legendary film, television, and theater producer Bruce Cohen joins Ashlyn for a conversation about what showing up for the queer community looks like now— when it’s more needed than ever. Bruce is best known for producing films “American Beauty,” “Milk,” and his latest documentary “Reclaim the Flag.” The doc shines a light on the political movement to take back the American flag from those who have co-opted it as a symbol of hate and division. Ashlyn and Bruce talk about the ways the documentary moved them, and the importance of political activism.

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Jordan Lucas went viral for being utterly himself. On CSUN’s men’s volleyball team, he snaps, flicks, waves, and serves more than just volleys on the court. He’s one of the few visibly gay male athletes we have right now, and today Ashlyn sits down with him to talk about what it took to live so openly. They discuss safety in men’s sports for queer people, the importance of leading by example, and Jordan’s mission to make sure everything is better for the next generation of players.

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