Authors On The Air Global Radio Network

Journalist, historian, and author Rick Karlin joins host Ian Henzel for a wide-ranging conversation about how queer history gets preserved and why the places we gather, especially bars, newspapers, and local communities, matter more than we think. Rick reflects on his Chicago upbringing, the complicated imprint of family (including a father in law enforcement), and the long arc from personal struggle to public storytelling. We talk about his years writing for Gay Chicago Magazine, what it means to document LGBTQ life with honesty and tenderness, and why “the bars were the community centers.” Along the way: memoir, memory, literature (yes, Armistead Maupin), and a quick detour into time travel dreams of 1920s New York.