Claiming Our Identity through History with Neil Laird
In this episode, I talk history with Neil Laird. Neil is an Emmy and BAFTA-nominated TV producer, novelist, and ancient history geek whose fiction retells gay stories across early human civilizations. We discuss such diverse topics as The Tomb of the Brothers, the Myth of Stonewall, and Toxic Avenger 3 or 4 - whichever was worse.
REFERENCES:
Neil Laird’s website: https://www.neillaird.com/
Follow Neil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neillaird/
Follow Neil on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557422344116
Follow Neil on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gay_history
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REFERENCES:
Neil Laird’s website: https://www.neillaird.com/
Follow Neil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neillaird/
Follow Neil on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557422344116
Follow Neil on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gay_history
- (00:00) - Opening credits
- (00:37) - Show opening
- (01:31) - Introducing Neil Laird
- (03:12) - An early love of film and air conditioning
- (06:38) - What does Western isolationism miss in human history?
- (11:25) - Travel with a sense of humility
- (15:04) - Promoting gay history in fiction
- (17:52) - The Tomb of the Brothers
- (22:06) - Humanity has always been queer
- (25:17) - Prehistoric doesn't mean unknown
- (29:29) - Interior decorators at Stonehenge
- (33:50) - Christian suppression of history
- (36:20) - Modern queer myths
- (40:56) - Knowing the history claims the identity
- (45:57) - The Other is magical
- (48:35) - Making gay love in ancient Rome real today
- (53:51) - The Mythology of the Stonewall Riots
- (55:21) - How to find Neil Laird on the internet
- (56:25) - Show closing
- (56:54) - Closing credits