The Fire Up Stairs Podcast Por HARDY Productions arte de portada

The Fire Up Stairs

The Fire Up Stairs

De: HARDY Productions
Escúchala gratis

In the early nineteen-seventies, The Up Stairs Lounge, a little known queer oasis in the French Quarter of New Orleans, was a second home to its patrons, a place where folks felt safe and free to be themselves in a world that was rampant with discrimination.

Then on the night of June 24th, 1973, someone doused the entrance of the bar in lighter fluid and lit it on fire, causing a blaze that would kill 32 people. Until the tragedy at Pulse Orlando in 2016, the fire at The Up Stairs Lounge was the single deadliest attack on the queer community in the US on record, and it remains one of the deadliest fires in modern New Orleans history.

The Fire Up Stairs Podcast is a miniseries about the 1973 Up Stairs Lounge arson, exploring its lesser-known history and present-day themes. Over the course of the series, we'll be joined by notable members of the queer community to discuss the story of the Up Stairs Lounge; its role in the larger arc of queer history, and themes that are just as relevant to the queer community of today as they were fifty years ago.

Guests include: drag superstar Ben DeLaCreme, journalist Robert Fieseler, HRC's Cathryn Oakley, political strategist Brian Derrick, journalist Clancy Dubos, Up Stairs Lounge survivor Ricky Everett, and documentarian Robert L. Camina.

The Fire Up Stairs is produced and hosted by Joey Hardy Gray, executive produced by Ryan Killian Krause, and edited by Citizens of Sound.

Presented by Equal Pride and Provincetown Brewing Co.

Sponsored by Sean x Val, Malin & Goetz, Double Scorpio, and Halloween New Orleans.

© 2025 The Fire Up Stairs Ciencias Sociales
Episodios
  • Chapter Four: The Legacy

    Chapter Four: The Legacy
    Jul 19 2023

    On this episode, we cover the state of the affairs for the LGBTQ+ people in the United States. What is life like for queer people in 2023 and how does that differ from life in 1973? In what ways have we made progress since the days of the Up Stairs Lounge and in what ways might we be backsliding?

    To learn more, host Joey Hardy Gray chats with Cathryn Oakley, State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel at the Human Rights Campaign and political strategist Brian Derrick. They discuss the wave of Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that has swept across state legislatures in recent years, the impact these bills will have on the lives of queer people, where we've seen some glimmers of hope in recent days, and how we can best donate our time and resources to help fight for a more equitable world.

    If you're interested in helping fund HRC's work, you can donate to them HERE.

    To learn more about how you can get involved by using Oath, check out their website. You can also follow Brian on Instagram.

    Más Menos
    1 h
  • Chapter Three: The Community

    Chapter Three: The Community
    Jul 12 2023

    For the next two episodes of The Fire Up Stairs Podcast, we'll be zooming out to discuss how the themes surrounding the events of the arson at the Up Stairs Lounge are still very much relevant today.

    On this episode, host Joey Hardy Gray is joined by international drag superstar BenDeLaCreme to discuss the importance of queer spaces. The two chat about the recent drag bans popping across the country, the importance of fostering community, how queer people pass culture down through generations, and why drag is its own form of rebellion.

    To stay up-to-date on BenDeLaCreme, you can visit her website or follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

    Más Menos
    42 m
  • Chapter Two: The History

    Chapter Two: The History
    Jun 28 2023

    On this episode, host Joey Hardy Gray talks to journalist Robert Fieseler, author of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation. They discuss how the arson fits within the larger arc of queer history, as well as the cultural and societal climate at the time of the attack and how those factors influenced the events leading up to the fire and its aftermath.

    Visit Robert's website to read more of his work and purchase your copy of Tinderbox.
    Más Menos
    44 m
Todavía no hay opiniones