Last night was our first show of Spring and we began by congratulating Ray Buckley, the first openly gay chair of a state Democratic Party. Buckley, who won the New Hampshire seat with 80 percent of the vote, gave us a sneak peek of the upcoming 2008 Democratic primaries.

In recent months the Episcopal Church has been flooded with controversy, as some of its conservative leaders have moved against the ordination of gay priests and the blessing of gay unions. We invited the Rev. Susan Russell, of HRC’s Religion Council, to walk us through some of the debates and explain what lies ahead for the Episcopal Church. Listen to parts one and two to hear what she had to say.

Then to continue our spring kick-off show we talked to former NFL running back Dave Kopay. In a 1977 autobiography, Kopay courageously revealed that he was gay and became one of the first professional athletes to come out publicly. We asked Kopay about his own coming out story and then got his reaction to the recent coming out of retired NBA athlete John Amaechi. Kopay will participate in a panel in Atlanta this Friday on gay athletes, which HRC is sponsoring with Nike and It Takes a Team!, part of Billie Jean King’s Women’s Sports Foundation.

Our producer, Michael Cole, was out this week recovering from a tonsillectomy. But before he lost his tonsils and his voice, Michael sat down for an interview with hot young singer/songwriter Eric Himan. This out gay musician is known for his live, intimate performances and has been a big touring attraction for years. He’s well-known to gay audiences through his performances at dozens of prides and even the Gay Games. Check out the interview here.

Then former HRC President Elizabeth Birch joined Joe and Mary in-studio to chat about her life as a lawyer, mom, activist and former leader of the nation’s largest GLBT civil rights organization. We also got an inside scoop about Birch’s new firm, Birch and Company, which runs Rosie O’Donnell’s production company and oversees her foundation, the All for Kids Foundation. Listen to parts one and two of the interview.

Finally, Bill Maher was honored at the HRC Los Angeles dinner last weekend and we listened in on some of his hilarious acceptance speech. To say that he was primed to take on Ann Coulter and her anti-gay comments is selling the moment short.

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