We had politics from both side of the aisle, fashion and film last night on The Agenda with Joe Solmonese.

Starting off, we welcomed New York Magazine’s John Heilemann. An astute political observer, he gave us an update on the latest ad wars as well as previewed his latest article on the new, sought-after demographic “Wal-Mart Moms.” Download parts one and two or listen:
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Taking a break from politics, we welcomed Chris Muther of the Boston Globe who’s back fresh from New York Fashion Week. Certainly one of Joe’s favorite topics, we discussed what the runways held in store for next Spring’s collection. Download parts one and two or listen:
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Getting back to the rough and tumble of this political season, Republican author Dick Rosenbaum was our guest. The former New York State Republican Chairman and gubernatorial candidate helped explain the appeal of Sarah Palin to party loyalists as well as how he thinks GLBT issues will factor in the race. He’s also the author of “No Room for Democracy: The Triumph of Ego over Common Sense.” Download or listen:
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Finally, we looked at the struggles faced by LGBT people in the Middle East with filmmakers
Parvez Sharma & Sandi DuBowski. Their new film, “A Jihad for Love” chronicles the discrimination and violence faced by LGBT Muslims. Download or listen:
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After a relaxing Labor Day vacation for The Agenda with Joe Solmonese we were back with a fresh new episode last night. Leading off the show, we took a look at the news of the day and then I shared an interview I snagged with Sen. Sherrod Brown at the Democratic Convention that we didn’t have time to play that night.

We were thrilled to welcome Kim Gandy, the president of the National Organization for Women, live in-studio with us. With the buzz around the Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, we heard from Gandy about her possible appeal or lack thereof. Download parts one and two or listen:
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Last week, the Human Rights Campaign released its annual Corporate Equality Index rating corporate America on its policies toward LGBT workers. HRC Business Council member Meghan Stabler was our guest to give us an update. Download or listen:

It’s back to school time so I had a packaged report on The Point Foundation – the nation’s largest scholarship granting organization for LGBT Youth. I introduced two scholars currently in school thanks to Point as well as the group’s executive director. Download or listen:

We thought an interesting way to cover the Republican National Convention would be through the eyes of an outsider. So we welcomed back to the show nationally syndicated columnist Dan Savage for some of his thoughts from the Twin Cities. Download or listen:

Finally to round out our political coverage we talked to the Washington Examiner’s Patrick Gavin. He writes the Yeas and Nays column for the newspaper and shared some political gossip as well as the trends in the presidential horse race. Download or listen:

The Agenda with Joe Solmonese was live from “Radio Row” at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Monday night with complete coverage of the Democratic National Convention. It was all politics, all the time with a star-studded guest list and perspectives from members of Congress, gay delegates, journalists and pundits. Download or listen to Joe and co-host Mary Breslauer introducing the show:

Kicking off the show, we welcomed one of our community’s brightest stars and the only openly lesbian member of Congress – Wisc. Rep. Tammy Baldwin. She gave a preview of her speech the following day and how the GLBT community needs to get involved in the election. Download or listen:

One of the more familiar faces on CNN these days is Democratic strategist and Huffington Post Political Editor Hilary Rosen. She dropped by our booth to talk about how the general election match-up between Sens. Obama and McCain will play out. Rosen was followed by the other openly gay member of Congress, Chairman Barney Frank. As always, he brought his characteristic wit and insight to the show. Download or listen:

We love celebrity sightings and a bit of gossip so we welcomed Mary Ann Akers who writes The Sleuth blog at WashingtonPost.com. We discussed the hot tickets in town and also the ethics reforms that are making party-going complicated for politicians. Download or listen:

This convention brought a record number of openly gay delegates and we spoke with two of them from the Pepsi Center. Both active in the National Stonewall Democrats, Chris Porter and Sonya Lewis talked about their experiences in Denver and bringing that energy home to their communities. Download or listen:

Much discussion about Hillary Clinton and her supporters marked the opening days of the convention and we brought in Ellen Moran of EMILY’s List to give her perspective. She also shared new polling from her organization on how women voters are thinking about this election. Download or listen:

On Wednesday, Mass. State Senate President Therese Murray spoke for her delegation in the convention roll-call proudly proclaiming the Bay State as the first in equality in marriage. She was our guest on Monday to discuss marriage in Massachusetts as well as efforts still underway to turn back the clock on equality. Download or listen:

We thought it was important to hear from the convention hosts and we were fortunate enough to snag an interview with Colo. Congresswoman Diana DeGette. She talked about Democrats’ electoral prospects in the west as well as her new book, “Sex, Science and Stem Cells.” Download or listen:

The night wouldn’t have been complete without hearing from the Obama campaign itself and to do that we welcomed Dave Noble, head of GLBT Outreach for the campaign. He shared his thoughts on the importance of this election and then I shared some interviews I had recently done with the GLBT people who know Barack Obama. Download or listen:

Broadcasting from our spot on Radio Row earlier in the day was Gayle King – better known to most as “Oprah’s Best Friend.” A radio personality in her own right, King sat down with Mary to talk about her morning interview with Michelle Obama and her perspective on the race. Download or listen:

We tried to squeeze as much as we could into our two hours from Denver so with just a couple of final moments left, I joined Mary to wrap-up the show. Download or listen: