This week was show No. 13 on The Agenda, but it was anything but unlucky. We started out with a conversation with Rep. Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., who serves the district that used to be represented by the late Rep. Gerry Studds, who died over the weekend. Studds became the first openly gay member of Congress, coming out in 1983.

Marc Ambinder, associate editor of the political tip sheet “The Hotline,” was our guest for Cup of Joe. Ambinder gave us a political lay of the land and talked about some of the hot races around the country. Listen to the interview in parts one and two.

Turning to Neilson ratings and plotlines, Gail Shister, the lesbian TV columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, joined us in The Skinny. Joe and Mary dished about some of their new favorites this season, as we all talked about the evolution of GLBT characters on television. Listen to the laugh-out-loud funny interview in parts one and two.

There are some new gay characters on television as of Monday night with the premier of “Jacob & Joshua: Nemesis Rising” on Logo. The openly gay twins are the pop-rock group Nemesis, and we aired an interview between them and Joe from when they stopped by HRC to visit last week.

Finally, we took a look at an interesting new research project being launched with the Human Rights Campaign and Hunter College. Political Science Professor Ken Sherrill joined us from New York to talk about a paper he released last week proving the people are more accepting of GLBT issues when they know an openly GLBT person.

Yesterday, Washington was abuzz with talk about Rep. Mark Foley who resigned Friday after reports came out about an illicit email and instant message exchange with a young congressional page. So The Agenda tackled the gossip head-on.

Joining us was Howard Fineman, Newsweek’s chief Washington correspondent. We talked about the Foley scandal as well as his take on the elections now just five weeks away. Also dishing with us was Mary Ann Akers who writes the must-read column “Heard on the Hill” for Roll Call. Listen to the interview with Howard Fineman here.

Listen to the interview with Mary Ann Akers here.

Taking a broader view of the political landscape, NAACP chair and GLBT advocate Julian Bond talked with Joe about parallels between the civil rights movement he fights in and the GLBT movement. Listen to the insightful conversation here.

We love politics on The Agenda but that’s not all we’re about. I presented a package on adoptions by GLBT people and HRC Family Project Director Ellen Kahn joined us in-studio to talk about her work with other organizations to equip adoption placement agencies and organizations to better serve GLBT folks. Mark Shields, the director of HRC’s Coming Out Project shared some stories from the transgender conference Southern Comfort and talked about the particularities of coming out for the trans community. We also took a look at international issues with Scott Long who runs the LGBT rights project at Human Rights Watch.

Check back later in the week for details about next Monday’s show which will feature some interviews from this weekend’s HRC National Dinner and a celebration of living openly and honestly for National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11.

As always, we’re going to take on a little bit of everything this week on The Agenda with Joe Solmonese. Joining us from Washington, DC, will be Marc Ambinder, Associate Editor of the must-read political briefing “The Hotline.” We’ll talk politics - particularly the midterm elections now just weeks away. Lesbian TV columnist Gail Shister will talk trends in GLBT themes with Joe and Mary. Shister has been following TV for The Philadelphia Inquirer since 1982.

Joe also sits down to talk with Jacob and Joshua Miller of the hot new musical group Nemesis. The gay twins are starring in a new reality show premiering on Logo Monday night. Part of their goal is to increase visibility of GLBT people in the media and arts and on The Agenda we’ll also talk to Professor Ken Sherrill of Hunter College about how the more Americans know GLBT people, the more likely they are to support equality. Sherrill is the author of a paper released on National Coming Out Day titled, “‘Coming Out’ and Americans’ Attitudes on Gay Rights.”

All that and more on The Agenda - Monday night from 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern on XM channel 200. Check back next week for highlights from the show.