Peaches Christ is a San Francisco drag icon, a self-professed cult leader, horror queen, filmmaker, activist, comedian, and a singer all rolled into one. With a drag career spanning more than 20 years her impact on queer, drag and film culture are obvious.

We talk drag, activism, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Jinkx Monsoon, Heklina and more with Peaches Christ on Stereotypes.

That time Elon Musk turned my apartment into a disco fire alarm.

Christopher Beale never expected to be at the center of the latest drama to arise from Elon Musk‘s takeover of Twitter. True, he’s lived close to the company’s Market Square headquarters in San Francisco since 2020, and regularly uses the app — as an independent journalist it’s a convenient way for him to make connections and promote his work. But then Musk tried to rebrand Twitter as “X,” and Beale was thrust into the spotlight. Literally.

Chris and Charles are military veterans living in Central Florida with their non-binary kid Eric. They arrived in Florida just as Governor Ron DeSantis began his outright attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and now they’ve had enough. They are raising money to leave Florida and an uncertain political future.

"My social life is just so busy, and at times intense," joked Juanita MORE! The San Francisco drag legend was in mid-preparation for what is always, and promises to be, a wall-to-wall weekend of Juanita MORE! during this year's Pride celebrations.

The wall pun is intended, as it takes only a short walk through San Francisco to find Juanita MORE! enshrined in a (growing?) number of murals scattered around town. MORE! is both an icon and iconography.

Tre'vell Anderson is an author, journalist and observer of pop culture. Over the years, as they moved through their own coming out journey, Tre'vell noticed a problem with the way Trans people are portrayed in media. Are negative representations on screen causing violence off screen?

"I generally don't lip sync unless I absolutely have to," bragged actor and singer J. Conrad Frank. "I am a theater person, so I approach anything I do character first." In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Frank explained that the character Katya Smirnoff-Skyy was custom-made for a specific reason: to host cabaret and sing live. This week Katya celebrates 18 years hosting Katya Presents at Martuni's piano bar, a passion project that became an institution.

Perhaps it was the original location, at the corner of Stockton & Geary, that made City of Paris an icon. Or it might have been their unique approach to customer service, fine imported products, and over-the-top environments and celebrations. City of Paris was one of the earliest residents on Union Square, and a piece of their store remains there more than 40 years after its closure.

The Castro Theatre’s new managers want to renovate the space, saying the very future of the theater depends on its flexibility, and resulting financial viability. This would involve some changes to the traditional movie theater layout that have the LGBTQ and film communities divided. The arguments have reached San Francisco City Hall, and the fight is getting ugly.

Have you ever seen Shaggy from the old Scooby-Doo cartoons?" said gay standup comedian Wonder Dave, "I look like that.” Wonder Dave is the host of Safe Words Comedy Showcase at San Francisco's iconic leather bar The Eagle. The standup comedy night was once booked by straight people, and featured a number of them as well. Then in 2022 Dave and his boyfriend Jonah were offered the chance to take over the showcase.

You can’t walk through San Francisco’s Castro District without your eyes being drawn to the towering marquee. The words “CASTRO” shine in bright, flashing neon over this proud queer neighborhood. But get a little closer and you notice that some of the neon lights are out, and there aren’t any people around. The front of the theater seems as deserted today as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. What gives?

Are there enough LGBTQ+ people represented in stand-up comedy? Our guest, comedian Wonder Dave, thinks not. How he's working to change that, with a Queer Comedy Night at the San Francisco Eagle, this time on Stereotypes: Straight Talk from Queer Voices.

One drag queen’s journey from the US Mexico Border to San Francisco. From the closet, to being an openly gay, and non-binary role model to another generation of queens. And how the support of her family and friends inspired Betty Fresas to shoot for the stars.

While the rest of the country cools off and settles into fall, the Bay Area has a couple of months of warm weather that seem designed for a trip to an old-fashioned amusement park. For generations Bay Area residents have sought fresh air, community and thrills. Many of these parks are gone now, and their ultimate demise was the result of a very Bay Area problem: sky-high real estate values.

Monogamy wasn't working for Julian, so he decided to try something new. What he found, is happiness.

What did he say his name was? Oh fuck!

Despite its popularity, there remains some mystery around Monterey Jack’s true origins. Though it may have the name “Monterey,” the town of Pacifica lays claim to the iconic cheese.

When worlds collided and I co-produced and hosted a professional wrestling show at KQED public media in San Francisco.

Scrumbly Koldewyn is one of the founding members of a hippie drag troupe active in San Francisco. The Cockettes were only around for a few years, beginning in 1969, but left a whole catalog of performance tape, photos, and lore in their wake.

Today, Koldewyn lives in Oakland in a gorgeous bungalow where his living room takes a backseat to his office. It's a little messy, full of papers, pictures, and memories centered around a baby grand piano where Koldewyn writes and plays music effortlessly.

"The next drag superstar..." RuPaul pauses as the music swells. It's March 3, 2009 on the inaugural season finale of RuPaul's Drag Race. That premiere season, when the show was on Logo, was before Drag Race was cool. The camera cuts around the room as Ru surveys the scene. It's a perfectly executed, dramatic reality TV finish, designed to draw out the moment until everything goes quiet and RuPaul finishes, "...is Bebe." Cameroon-born drag performer BeBe Zahara Benet let out a scream at Ru's pronouncement and drag herstory was made.