With just one week from Election Day we had an exciting show last night on The Agenda with Joe Solmonese. Co-host Mary Breslauer was still in California on the No on Prop 8 campaign, so I stepped in to assist Joe on the air.

Leading off the evening we talked to Vidur Kapur – a fantastic comedian who entertains audiences with social commentary of a one-man culture clash. Raised in a conservative upper middle class family in New Delhi, he talked about Indian culture, how it’s changing and how he finds humor in it. Download parts one and two or listen:
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Part two:

With record voter turnout expected in many places, protecting the integrity of the electoral process is a critical task. To discuss election protection activities, we were joined by Jonah Goldman, the Director of the National Campaign for Fair Elections in the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Voting Rights Project. He discussed the Election Protection Coalition – of which the Human Rights Campaign is a member – which is an unprecedented non-partisan effort of over 100 hundred organizations to protect the rights of voters. Download or listen:

Then it was our pleasure to welcome Randi Weingarten to the show. She is the newly elected president of the more than 1.4-million-member American Federation of Teachers – representing teachers, school-related personnel, higher education faculty and staff and many others. She discussed Obama and McCain’s education policy as well as her thoughts on creating safe schools for LGBT students. Download or listen:

We had a real treat last night in welcoming back Gail Collins to the show. Now a must-read New York Times columnist, she joined the paper in 1995 as a member of the editorial board and in 2001 became the first woman ever appointed editor of the Times editorial page. She and Joe discussed the state of the presidential race in its final week. Download or listen:

Turning to some state issues, a ballot question with serious consequences for children is on the ballot in Arkansas. Debbie Willhite of the Arkansas Families First campaign joined us to talk about Act One which would amend the Arkansas constitution to prohibit unmarried couples from fostering or adopting a child – placing thousands of children at a disadvantage who already have a hard enough time finding a permanent, stable family. Download or listen:

Finally, we wanted to take a look at marriage in Connecticut and efforts to set the stage for undoing marriage equality there. Anne Stanback, Executive Director of the Connecticut group, Love Makes a Family joined us to discuss the recent victory and a proposed constitutional convention on the ballot next week. Download or listen:

Joe was flying solo last night on The Agenda with Joe Solmonese with regular co-host Mary Breslauer working hard to preserve marriage equality in California. But of course we brought our usual variety with everything from the editor of The Nation to an a cappella drag queen.

Starting off the show Joe welcomed one of the best in the LGBT press – Kerry Eleveld. She’s the news editor at The Advocate and this year has been covering the 2008 elections through an LGBT lens. Download or listen:

For something on the lighter side, Ben Schatz was our guest. An original member of “America’s Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet” – The Kinsey Sicks – Ben himself is a Harvard-trained civil rights lawyer, former Director of the national Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and an expert on HIV/AIDS issues. Download parts one and two or listen:
Part one:
Part two:

Turning to media and arts Joe hosted Larry Gross, a Professor and Director of the School of Communication at USC Annenberg. He’s the author of “Contested Closets: The Politics and Ethics of Outing” and “Up From Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Media in America.” They discussed LGBT people in the media and how portrayals are affecting gay political issues. Download or listen:

For some laughs we brought on a hilarious woman who not only entertains audiences around the country but has been a groundbreaking performer throughout her career. Suzanne Westenhoefer was the first openly gay comedian in the country and the first lesbian to garner an HBO comedy special. She and Joe discussed her recent appearance at HRC’s national dinner and her current comedy tour. Download or listen:

Finally, it was our great pleasure to welcome Katrina vanden Heuvel to the show. She’s the publisher and editor of the magazine The Nation and a sought after voice for intelligent commentary on American and international politics. Download or listen:

We had a great show last night on The Agenda with Joe Solmonese with everything from politics to arts to travel. It was also another bicoastal show with co-host Mary Breslauer live from San Francisco where she is working with the No on 8 campaign.

Kicking off the show, we welcomed Margaret Murray, executive director of One in Ten – Washington DC’s producer of LGBT arts events – to talk about this weekend’s Reel Affirmations Film Festival. She discussed her favorites this year and how LGBT film festivals create and support community. Download or listen:

In the next segment, Margaret was joined by Michael Jacoby, director and producer of “Ten More Good Years” – a film exploring LGBT senior issues screening at Reel Affirmations. He talked about the subjects of his film and the importance of documentary to raise awareness. Download or listen:

Sunday marked a somber anniversary – ten years since the death of Matthew Shepard who in October of 1998 was beaten and left for dead on a fence along the side of a lonely road outside of Laramie, Wyoming… because he was gay. In the wake of Matt’s death, playwright Moises Kaufman along with his Tectonic Theater Project conducted hundreds of interviews in the small town of Laramie and created the stage play, “The Laramie Project” which was later turned into a film. We were so pleased that Moises Kaufman joined us last evening. Download or listen:

Turning to politics, we welcomed ABC News Senior Political Reporter Rick Klein back to The Agenda. He writes the must-read online political round-up “The Note” and shared his thoughts on tomorrow’s final debate and the remaining three weeks of campaigning. Download or listen:

Finally, it was time to have one of our favorite regulars back to help plan a little post-election getaway. Ed Salvato is a gay travel guru and editor in chief of Out Traveler. The new winter issue just hit the stands and Ed came by to discuss their featured destinations and how to plan a fun vacation in tough economic times. Download or listen: