UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis is one of the foremost LGBTQ health professionals in the U.S. In November 2020, the waning months of Trump’s first term, he was appointed director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through part of his tenure with the Biden administration, he also served as the deputy response coordinator for mpox at the White House as well as the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.While he continued a lot of this work after Biden left office, he didn’t last long under Trump 2.0. In August 2025, Daskalakis resigned from the CDC over the direction that health policy had taken under Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. In his resignation letter, which garnered widespread attention, he said he was “unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.” He cited changes to the CDC’s immunization schedule, a lack of scientific communication from HHS leadership and the growing influence of anti-vaccine sentiments in the department.A year after his resignation, we wanted to hear from Daskalakis, who is now serving as chief medical officer of the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, an LGBTQ health clinic in New York City. In this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton,” Daskalakis speaks about his time working for the Trump administration, the erosion of scientific rigor under RFK Jr. and the troubling future for HIV and LGBTQ healthcare in the U.S.“UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication.Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Read our full investigations on Substack.Find us on Instagram.Host: Spencer MacnaughtonSocial producer/Design: Sophie HollandEditor: Laury PeyssonnerieAudio Production Intern: Bella SayeghAdditional reporting: Hope Pisoni

Lindsey Graham, who passed away on July 11 at 71 years old, served in the Senate for 23 years and garnered a reputation for his hawkish views and hardline anti-LGBTQ beliefs.Years before his death, rumors swirled as allegations surfaced about the Republican senator engaging with male sex workers. The public and the media underscored the hypocrisy of the senator publicly working to roll back LGBTQ rights while allegedly engaging in queer sex behind closed doors.In this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton,” Taylor Snider, a trans woman and former sex worker, says Graham was a former client. She says Graham’s team threatened her to prevent her from going public in 2020 and calls him the “leader of the circus” when it comes to hypocritical homophobia and transphobia coming from the government. She talks in detail about the sexual exchange between her and Graham, reveals that she’s had other “sitting members of Congress” as clients, and speaks about the broader issue of down-low conservative men in American politics who are “actively working to push anti-LGBT legislation.”“UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication.Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Read our full investigations on Substack.Find us on Instagram.Host: Spencer MacnaughtonSocial producer/Design: Sophie HollandEditor: Laury PeyssonnerieAudio Production Intern: Bella Sayegh

In her first video interview from Johnson County Jail in Texas, Hill tells Uncloseted Media she is a “political prisoner.” She says she and her co-defendants—two of whom are also trans—have been unjustly locked up by the Trump administration, who has claimed that they are part of an antifa cell. “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Read our full investigations. Find us on Instagram.Host: Spencer MacnaughtonAudio Production Intern: Bella SayeghEditor: Izzy StokesSocial producer/Design: Sophie HollandSpecial thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad

In February, Doug Wilson made headlines after giving a sermon at the Pentagon as part of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s monthly Christian worship service. Wilson, the lead pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, holds a number of controversial views: He believes the U.S. should become a Christian theocracy, married women shouldn’t have the right to vote and gay sex should be illegal. In his first interview with an LGBTQ publication, Wilson talks about his connections to Hegseth and others in the Trump administration. He estimates that 10 to 20 people in the government are aligned with his radical ideology. He explains that he thinks trans people are “sad,” certain elements of his idea of “homosexual behavior” should be punished by execution and in certain cases of marital rape, both parties should be disciplined.  “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube // Spotify // AppleHost: Spencer MacnaughtonReporting: Hope PisoniAudio Production Intern: Bella SayeghEditor: Sean RobinsonSocial producer/Design: Sophie HollandSpecial thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad

Brien James, who joined the Ku Klux Klan as a teenager, speaks with Uncloseted Media about far-right extremists’ views on LGBTQ people in 2026.For my newsletter this week, I wanted to take a deeper look into Patriot Front, the white nationalist group that made headlines last weekend with huge rallies across Washington, D.C. One photo, taken by a Reuters journalist, displayed a Black woman on the subway surrounded by dozens of anonymous Patriot Front members.As I read into what happened, it made me think of my years of reporting on far-right extremism. What are they thinking right now? And how has the landscape of far-right extremism and white supremacy changed in the last 10 years?I opened my phone, searched through my contacts and found “Brien KKK.”James says he joined the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in his teens after attending a high school that was “80% Black.” According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, he then co-founded the Vinlanders Social Club, a coalition of regional skinhead groups known for racist violence. He also participated in numerous white nationalist rallies over his multiple decades in the far-right movement. And in the summer of 2011, the Vinlanders held a white power concert, entitled “Plunder and Pillage,” which reportedly drew more than 50 skinheads to Ohio from around the country.While James no longer considers himself a white nationalist or a skinhead and has since left the KKK, he is still a member of the Proud Boys, a far-right militia group most infamous for being one of the biggest players in the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.James makes it clear that the Proud Boys and Patriot Front have different ideologies: The former denies that it is a white supremacist group, for example. Still, both groups have been known to organize and attend protests, often violent ones, against pride and drag events. In this interview with Uncloseted Media’s Editor in Chief Spencer Macnaughton, James offers insight into where far-right extremism in America is today and how those following the ideology view the LGBTQ community.“UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Host: Spencer MacnaughtonEditor: Izzy Stokes and Laury Peyssonnerie

After appearing on the 11th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the first season of Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World, the sixth season of RuPaul’s All Stars and now the 11th season of All Stars, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, known by many as the Reverend, is undoubtedly a legend. Born and raised in Moss Point, Mississippi, Ganache bears all in this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton.” She speaks about her relationship with gender, her 100-pound weight loss, what it’s like living as a queer person of color in a red state and why she’s calling on allies to stand up for the trans community. “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube // Spotify // AppleHost: Spencer MacnaughtonAudio Production Intern: Bella SayeghEditor: Izzy StokesSocial producer/Design: Sophie HollandSpecial thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad

In April, dominatrix and sex worker Shy Sotomayor revealed that she had had a nine-year professional relationship with Bryon Noem, the husband of former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Following reports in March that Bryon Noem had allegedly engaged in feminization and “bimbofication” fetishes with other sex workers, Sotomayor is sharing more details about his interest in trans identities. These interests represent a stark contrast to his wife’s anti-trans record. As Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem signed bills into law that allow businesses to use religious refusal to deny service to LGBTQ people; ban gender-affirming care for trans youth; and ban trans women and girls from competing on women’s and girls’ sports teams. Through all of this, Bryon Noem never denounced his wife’s policies. In addition, experts have raised concerns about Bryon Noem’s relationship with sex workers from a national security standpoint. “If a media organization can find this out, you can assume with a high degree of confidence that a hostile intelligence service knows this as well,” Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA officer, told the Daily Mail. “Damaging information like this can be a tantalizing lead for a hostile intelligence service.”In this episode of “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton,” Sotomayor speaks about her nine-year online relationship with Bryon Noem and describes the terrifying moment where she was almost caught by Kristi, who at the time was one of the country’s most powerful intelligence officers.“UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube // Spotify // AppleNote: If you are questioning your gender identity and don’t feel safe reaching out to anyone you know, The Trevor Project has a handbook on how to navigate this as well as 24/7 crisis support via calls and messaging with counselors.Host: Spencer MacnaughtonEditor: Sean RobinsonSocial producer/Design: Sophie HollandAdditional Reporting: Hope PisoniSpecial thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad

“UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube // Spotify // AppleMilo Miles, a Toronto-based adult film actor, was recently banned from entering the United States for the next 10 years after he says he was detained and questioned by Customs and Border Protection agents over the course of two days. Miles, who was trying to fly to Las Vegas from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, says he had never faced significant issues at the border ahead of this instance. While U.S. Customs does have the right to deny entry to people they believe have engaged in sex work, Miles says he was questioned for upwards of eight hours, often about his sexual orientation. He says one agent asked him why he has so many “gay clothes” and if he was “sick” upon seeing his PrEP medication and his fiber pills. In this episode of “UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton,” Miles sits down for his first on-camera interview to explain his experience, what he thinks Prime Minister Mark Carney should do in response to this treatment and why he believes all LGBTQ travelers should avoid the U.S. right now.

“UNCLOSETED, with Spencer Macnaughton” is a new podcast by Uncloseted Media, an investigative LGBTQ-focused nonprofit news publication. Follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube // Spotify // AppleYou may know Peppermint as a runner-up on season 9 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Or for her stint as the first trans competitor on the runaway hit “The Traitors.” Or for her relentless activism at a time when the Trump administration is waging an unprecedented attack on the LGBTQ community.  Now, Peppermint is getting set to be one of New York City Pride’s official grand marshals. And she’s doing that while upholding the legacy of the trans women of color who were at the Stonewall Uprising in 1969. In this episode of “UNCLOSTED, with Spencer Macnaughton,” Spencer sits down with Peppermint to hear about what it means to be a Black trans woman at the forefront of the LGBTQ movement during the second Trump administration.Host: Spencer MacnaughtonAudio Production Intern: Bella SayeghEditor: Laury PeyssonnerieSocial producer/Design: Sophie HollandSpecial thanks: Jennifer Moroz and Leital Molad