The movement for LGBT rights has gained a lot of traction around the country, but there are still many places that remain unfriendly or unsafe for the queer community. Often, those places are in the more conservative parts of America. But transgender author and journalist Samantha Allen found something different when she traveled through middle America in 2017. She discovered thriving communities and havens for people of all genders and orientations. For this episode of the Crosscut Talks podcast, we invited Allen to discuss her new book, Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States, as well as her journey from Mormon missionary to openly trans woman. She is joined by David Schmader, a Seattle-based writer and performer whose work often explores queer life. The conversation was recorded on May 4, 2019 at Seattle University as part of the Crosscut Festival.

This conversation is part of our Crosscut Talks podcast series. To listen to more episodes, go to our show page: crosscut.com/talks