It’s been a big week for the GLBT community and we had a big show to celebrate marriage in California and look forward to the political battles ahead. We started out the show taking your calls (at 877-9-AGENDA) to discuss the marriage decision and HRC’s plans to fight an expected ballot measure to undo the landmark ruling.

We also talked with one high-profile couple who have announced their impending nuptial… that’s Star Trek actor George Takei and his partner Brad Altman. Best known for playing Mr. Sulu on the TV series and films, Takei came out several years ago after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a marriage bill passed by the legislature. Download or listen:

To get our political fix we talked to veteran political consultant Bob Shrum. He’s worked with Al Gore, John Kerry and John Edwards and he gave us his take on the news of the day in the continuing presidential race. Download or listen:

And to better understand how voters make their decisions, we turned to a returning guest – psychology professor Drew Westen. His book “The Political Brain” examines how voters use emotion to make their decisions, rather than rational arguments. Download parts one and two or listen:
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Then we turned to a couple of authors. First, Caitlin Rother has a new book out, “Twisted Triangle: A Famous Crime Writer, a Lesbian Love Affair, and the FBI Husband’s Violent Revenge.” It’s the true story of writer Patricia Cornwell and her affair with an FBI agent. Download or listen:

Finally, we were thrilled to welcome acclaimed author Augusten Burroughs live in-studio. Known for bestsellers “Running with Scissors” and “Dry,” his new book out is “A Wolf at the Table” – a moving depiction of fear and powerlessness from a child’s point of view. Download or listen:

It was both a rainy day and a Monday here in Washington but we had an exciting line-up on last night’s The Agenda with Joe Solmonese.

We started off with a woman the New York Times called the “Thurgood Marshall of the gay marriage movement.” That’s Mary Bonauto of the Boston-based legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. Not only is it their 30th anniversary, they are also celebrating the fourth anniversary this week of the first legal marriages in Massachusetts between people of the same sex. Listen in parts one and two.

Still with our eye on history we turned to author and history professor Vicki Eaklor. She discussed her new book “Queer America” that looks at the history of the modern GLBT rights movement as well as her work editing the memoirs of HRC founder Steve Endean. Listen in.

HRC’s Clergy Call 2009 is one year away and we previewed the event last night as well as looked at the Religion and Faith Program’s efforts over the next year to spur education and dialogue over inclusive workplace protection legislation. Rev. Joe Hoffman of the First Congregational United Church of Christ of Asheville, NC was our guest. Listen in.

Turning to the theater, we were thrilled to welcome renowned playwright Paul Rudnick live from our New York studios. His new collection of four one-act plays called “The New Century” is currently running at Lincoln Center.
Listen in.

Finally we got our fix of politics from New York magazine’s John Heilemann. He’s been out on the campaign trail and discussed his recent column that looks back at how things might have turned out differently for Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Listen in:

It was an exciting night on The Agenda with Joe Solmonese as we moved to a new channel and opened up the phone lines for your calls. From now on, you can hear us live at our usual time every Monday night from 6 – 8 pm eastern now on XM’s Take Five channel 155. And to join in the conversation during the live show, call toll-free 877-9-AGENDA (that’s 877-924-3632).

Leading off the show we heard from Rep. Mark Udall who is running for the U.S. Senate from Colorado. He talked about trying to replace Sen. Wayne Allard – the lead Senate sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment – and his thoughts on the 2008 race in general. Listen in.

To give us our political overview this week we turned to NPR’s Juan Williams. He’s their news analyst as well as a contributing political analyst for Fox news. He previewed today’s important contests in Indiana and North Carolina and helped us figure out how much longer the Democratic horserace will continue. Listen in parts one and two.

To go a little lighter we welcomed a familiar face on late night television and a friend of Joe’s – Ross Mathews. You know him better as “Ross the Intern” from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was our guest to talk celebrity gossip and how he went from intern to TV personality. Listen in.

We always mix it up on The Agenda so we moved from entertainment to religion with BeliefNet Politics Editor Dan Gilgoff. This returning guest writes the God-O-Meter blog and had a lot to say about Catholic voters, Rev. Wright and McCain endorsee Rev. John Hagee. Listen in.

Finally, we looked at HIV and AIDS with two activists who were in Washington last week to lobby Congress on the issue with AIDS Action. Craig Thompson is the executive director of AIDS Programs, Los Angeles and Reggie Davis is an HIV positive activist from Chicago. Listen in.