We were back in D.C. this week and had an exciting show with a lot of different points of view on The Agenda with Joe Solmonese last night.

Kicking off the show, co-host Mary Breslauer shared an interview she did with Nathan Lane backstage at last weekend’s HRC New York dinner. They talked about him being among a small group of “out” celebrities as well as his work on a new sequel to the hit movie The Birdcage.

Then Joe and Mary talked to Irshad Manji, the lesbian activist who authored The Trouble with Islam Today. They had a fascinating conversation about faith, politics and the how gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues are viewed in the Muslim world. Listen to parts one and two of the interview.

Turning to the right, Republican message man Frank Luntz joined us to talk about his book Words that Work and how that applies to the current political climate as well as GLBT issues. We also welcomed Andrew Breitbart, noted blogger and social commentator with a right-of-center point of view. Joe, Mary and Breitbart chatted about celebrity culture, how the Internet is changing politics and the presidential horse race. Hear our interview with Breitbart here.

On to some other topics… it’s less than a week away from the gay Super Bowl — that’s of course the Oscars— so Molly Dedham from XM’s Broadminded on channel 155 stopped by to give her take on the red carpet, the films and the gossip. We also continued our look at Black History Month with Bishop John Selders of the Amistad United Church of Christ in Hartford, Conn. Hear his take on lessons the GLBT community can learn from the African-American civil rights movement here.

Don’t forget you can hear The Agenda live every Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. Eastern on XM channel 200. You can also catch us on XM online 24/7 on Channel 134 and if you click here you can get a two-week free trial of The Agenda and the rest of XM’s online programming.

Listeners of The Agenda with Joe Solmonese were in for a treat this week with a special jam-packed “Live from New York” edition. That’s right — we took the show on the road to bring you the best of the Big Apple.

And since we were in New York, we wanted to deliver some of the city’s biggest newsmakers. Leading off the show was openly lesbian New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn who stopped by to talk New York politics. Listen to both segments of Quinn’s interview here and here.

What would a New York show be without a focus on theater? Out director Trip Cullman talked about his new off-Broadway show and gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the Great White Way. And when you think of New York, you can’t ignore the “grey lady” — the city’s venerable New York Times. Style section columnist Bob Morris returned to The Agenda to give us his unique perspective on the holiday that you may love or hate — Valentine’s Day.

We also covered two big events in New York this month — Fashion Week and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. HRC’s own Cassidy Karakorn reported on the new fall trends in a package straight from Fashion Week. Joe also had an interview with Richie Rich and Traver Rains — the duo behind the hot clothing brand Heatherette.

Turning to dogs, I brought an on-the-ground view from the best-known dog show in the world and some of the characters who make it unique. To cap it off, Mary talked with David Frei, Westminster’s communications director and the human face of the show. Listen to both pieces here.

In other news this week, former NBA basketball star John Amaechi came out publicly as a gay man for the first time, making him the first professional basketball player to do so. Amaechi also announced that he’ll be touring the country as a spokesperson for HRC’s Coming Out Project as he promotes his new book — Man in the Middle. He joined us in-studio to talk about homophobia in sports as well as his new project to help others live openly and honestly. Listen to Amaechi’s segment here.

Next week The Agenda with Joe Solmonese goes on the road with our first live show from New York, so this week we gave our listeners a little preview of what’s to come.

We started out with a preview of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show that co-host Mary Breslauer and producer Michael Cole will be visiting over the weekend. Dog owners John Wessel & Billy O’Connor came by to talk about their pooch Rosie and their dreams of winning “Best in Show.”

Next week we’re also going to be covering a New York institution: Fashion Week. To get The Skinny on the new fall line and what Fashion Week is all about, we had Ali Basye as our guest. She’s a fashion, travel and lifestyle writer and the editor of Seattle Bride Magazine. Sticking with looking good, producer Michael Cole also had a package on simplifying skincare that you can listen to here.

By now you should have received your W-2 in the mail so we brought in accountant Bill Abell of the firm Flynn, Abell & Associates to give some guidance on tax filing. Abell specializes in helping same-sex couples navigate the patchwork of laws that complicate their financial situations. One of those factors is how the laws of your state treat same-sex couples, and one state trying to extend protections is Oregon, where a civil unions bill is expected to be introduced. Bryan Boyd of Basic Rights Oregon joined us to give the lay of the legislative landscape.

Georgetown University Law Center Professor Chai Feldblum dropped by the studio to talk about her new endeavor — The Moral Values Project. She argues that a moral case for both sexual and gender equity is not only possible but also necessary. Listen to segments one and two.

Finally, Patrick Healy of The New York Times was our guest in-studio. Healy is currently assigned to the Hillary Clinton beat, so Joe and Mary obviously had a lot to discuss with him about the presidential horserace and covering one of the most recognized women in the world. Listen to the full segment here.

And don’t forget, you can still get an extended two-week free trial of The Agenda and the entire XM Radio Online lineup at no cost through March 31, in conjunction with our online launch. Sign up here for your free trial.