Advertise on podcast: Afterlives: Marsha P. Johnson

Watching Marsha P. Johnson get ready for a date feels like spying on a long lost auntie. On some level, that’s exactly who Marsha is as a mother in the fight for trans rights. But in her grainy home videos, she’s not a living legend. She’s just a human. Our debut episode cuts through myths and mysteries to uncover the complicated contradictions that made up Marsha’s life. Host Raquel Willis explores her own relationship with LGBTQ+ history and ancestors like Marsha, while friends of Marsha along with historians shed light on her story. We’re lucky that Marsha spoke for herself too and we’ll get to know her in her own words. Check out the photos we mention on our Instagram @afterlives.pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A trip to Elizabeth, New Jersey, brings us into the heart of Marsha’s upbringing. We sit down with her sister, Jeannie, and her nephew, Al, to get a picture of Marsha’s childhood home and hear stories about the early ways Marsha dared to be different. We also learn about her hometown’s queer underground and the ways Marsha navigated her identity from an early age. By the time she graduated from high school, she had her sights set on New York City. She headed to Times Square in a time before the billboards and mascots, and the M&M store. Instead, she was strutting the streets where sex was bought and sold, finding community, and forming big dreams.  Check out our Instagram @afterlives.pod for additional content. Plus, you can listen to Marsha P. Johnons’s 1979 interview with Steven Watson courtesy of Artifacts at www.artifacts.movie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s no moment in queer history more celebrated than the Stonewall riots, which set off the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. There’s also no event that’s more hotly debated. To separate the truth from the myth, we first step onto the streets of Greenwich Village, a mecca of queer culture in the 60s. By all accounts The Stonewall Inn at the heart of the Village was a dump, but it was also the only place queer people could dance, making it an instant favorite among neighborhood hangouts. But how did one Saturday night at the bar change the course of history? And what was Marsha’s role in how it all jumped off? But wait, before you fast forward to Pride today and fade to the credits, we take a closer look at the organizing that followed the riots and the ways it excluded the very people who were on the front lines, people like Marsha. Check out our Instagram @afterlives.pod for additional content.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“STAR is into two things very heavily. One is radical politics. And the second is prostitution.” At least that’s how one journalist in the 1970s described the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group started by Marsha and fellow trans organizers. Life on the streets and with STAR meant freedom and friendship, but it could also be really tough. Marsha was candid about that. She wanted to build a better future for unhoused trans and gender nonconforming young people, and we’ll hear stories about what that looked like day to day, from parties and puppies to “liberating” food for the kids, as Marsha would put it. The STARs had big goals. But things came crashing down as quickly as they had started. As Marsha experienced life’s hardships, we’ll examine the toll it took on her mental health. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marsha’s status as an icon extends beyond activism and into the arts. She was an inspiration to others and a creative in her own right. From her trendsetting DIY looks salvaged from New York’s dumpsters to her appearances with a downtown gay theater troupe, Marsha was immersed in the underground art world. In performances at home and abroad, she rarely sang on key and had to read her lines on stage. But still, audiences cheered her name and called for encores. Listen in as we explore Marsha’s style and artistry, along with the complex reality of being a muse to some of the biggest names in New York. Check out our Instagram @afterlives.pod to see the photos and videos we mention in this episode. Plus, check out Randy Wicker’s Flickr album to see even more of Marsha’s legendary looks. You can also listen to Marsha P. Johnons’s 1979 interview with Steven Watson courtesy of Artifacts at www.artifacts.movie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The AIDS crisis devastated our community in the 1980s. It’s an era defined by loss. But those feelings of helplessness gave rise to unprecedented love in the form of caretaking and bold activism. For Marsha, the 80s were all of these things. The era was also marked by a new home and a chosen family in Hoboken, New Jersey. Hear how Marsha found stability, took care of herself, and provided softness and love during one of the darkest moments in our history.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marsha spent the final days of her life surrounded by people who loved her. When she was struggling with an oncoming breakdown, a friend escaped with her to a cottage on the beach. Her final Pride was filled with love and appreciation as she marched down the streets with her fellow revolutionary, Sylvia Rivera. Just days later, though, Marsha’s body was found in the Hudson River. The police immediately declared it a suicide, but friends and family refused to accept that and organized for further investigation. We take you inside the efforts to find out what really happened and bring you to the beautiful and epic memorials that celebrated her life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These days, you don’t have to go far to find Marsha. Every June, big box stores roll out the Pride merch, with t-shirts, candles, and ornaments adorned with Marsha’s image. But what happens when those corporations don’t see our stories as profitable anymore? Trans folks are doing what we’ve always done, showing up for each other. Hear from our community leaders and elders who are speaking out, helping people find housing and safety, and preserving our history. That’s Marsha’s real legacy. And it matters more than ever. Learn more about G.L.I.T.S., House of gg, and other organizations that support the trans community like The Audre Lorde Project and Transgender Law Center. You can also find more information about the Michaels' family foundation. Plus learn more about Safara Malone’s activism and hear more from her on Queer Chronicles, another podcast hosted by Raquel. As always, you can find additional content on our Instagram @afterlives.pod. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hear the story of the brilliant activist, artist and writer who has been researching Marsha for nearly 20 years! We’re sharing unaired segments of our multiple conversations with Tourmaline, so you can learn more about her book, her creative process across mediums, and her wide ranging scholarship of Black trans lives. Coinciding with her recent biography Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson, Tourmaline also published a children’s book about Marsha, One Day in June. Plus, you can dig through her old Tumblr posts where she shared some archival research about Marsha. Tourmaline got close to Marsha's world early in her career as an organizer, working with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Queers for Economic Justice and other organizations. She’s also a filmmaker whose work beautifully spotlights our community. You can check out The Personal Things about Miss Major and Atlantic is a Sea of Bones about Egyptt LaBejia. And of course there’s her film, Happy Birthday, Marsha!. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Pride was corporate. Before protections. Before visibility. There was survival—and there was community. In this bonus episode, we sit at the feet of two living legends of New York’s queer underground. First Ceyenne Doroshow - the performer, activist, researcher and the unstoppable force behind G.L.I.T.S. - takes us back to Brooklyn in the ‘70s and ‘80s, where she came of age as a young Black trans girl. She shares stories of unlikely protectors, neighbors who supported her in unexpected ways, the nightclubs she’ll never forget, and how she met her community mother –  an icon in her own right.  Then Stonewall veteran, activist, and self-identified Super Butch, Jay Toole drops us straight into their life on the streets as a teenager – sleeping in Washington Square Park and finding family among queer kids who the world left behind. Plus, they share a queer love story for the ages. Jay also wants to shout out LGBTQ+ organizations carrying the work forward today: The Audre Lorde Project, Transgender Law Center, and The Trevor Project. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We need YOUR vote to win a Signal Award. We’re SO excited to announce that Afterlives: Marsha P. Johnson is a finalist for Best LGBTQ+ Limited Series! It means so much to our whole team and this is an incredible opportunity to share Marsha's story with all new listeners. If you enjoyed listening, please VOTE HERE: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2025/limited-series-specials/genre/lgbtq See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tune in to a magical night spent at The Stonewall Inn celebrating Marsha's 80th Birthday! The Afterlives live show kicked off with an unforgettable performance by Hot Peach Michael Michelle Lynch, followed by the brilliant insights of Marsha's biographer Tourmaline, and closed out with words from Marsha's friends and family, plus a group rendition of Happy Birthday! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In light of Miss Major's passing on October 13th, we're honoring the story of a true legend and sharing never heard before excerpts of her interview for Afterlives. May she rest in power and may we never lose sight of her legacy.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marsha P. Johnson is THE icon of the LGBTQ+ movement and a mother of the fight for trans rights. Today, you can buy T-shirts emblazoned with her face or walk through a park named in her honor. This season on Afterlives, we hear from Marsha in her own words.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Layleen Polanco was full of energy and always up for an adventure. From her love of music, to the first time she expressed her girlhood, we’ll explore how Layleen came to discover her sense of self and found her way to New York City’s ballroom scene. As a picture begins to form of her vibrant life, we also see how it took a turn and why her demise could have been prevented. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.