Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington (Guest: James Kirchick)

Show Notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Kirchick, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and columnist for Tablet, to discuss his new book, “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington.” Benson and Kirchick discuss how homosexuality came to be seen as potential national security threat, the Lavender Scare, the irresponsible homophobia of Oliver Stone’s film JFK, the tragedy of the closet, and how gay Washingtonians fought a multi-decade fight for civil rights.

Get the book here:  https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627792332/secretcity

Show Notes:

Commentary: Bruce Bawer – “A Capital History”
https://www.commentary.org/articles/bruce-bawer/gay-washington-james-kirchick/
 

New York Times: Alexandra Jacobs – “‘Secret City,’ an Epic Narrative History of the Closet in the Capital”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/books/review-secret-city-history-gay-washington-james-kirchick.html
 

The New Yorker: Michael Waters – “What Made Washington, D.C., the ‘Gayest and Most Antigay City in America’”
https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/what-made-washington-dc-the-gayest-and-most-antigay-city-in-america

 Reason: Walter Olson – “Secret City Recounts the Gay History of D.C.”
https://reason.com/2022/06/01/gay-history-in-the-city-of-secrets/

 The Spectator World: David J. Garrow – “The rise of gay Washington”
https://spectatorworld.com/book-and-art/queer-streets-secret-city-gay-washington-james-kirchick/

 Washington Examiner: River Page – “James Kirchick's history of gay power”
 https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/james-kirchicks-history-of-gay-power

 Washington Free Beacon: Douglas Murray – “Life in a Closeted Capital”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/life-in-a-closeted-capital/

Creators and Guests

Host

Tim Benson

Ill Literacy, the newest podcast from The Heartland Institute, is helmed by Tim Benson, Senior Policy Analyst for Heartland’s Government Relations team. Benson brings on authors of new book releases on topics including politics, culture, and history on the Ill Literacy podcast. Every episode offers listeners the author’s unique analysis of their own book release. Discussions often shift into debate between authors and Benson when ideological differences arise, creating unique commentary that can’t be found anywhere else.

What is Ill Literacy: Books with Benson?

The Heartland Institute's podcast discussing notable new works with their authors. Hosted by Tim Benson.