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.

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