California State University, Stanislaus’ (Stan State), newest podcast, the Stanislaus Queer Cast, is the first podcast to come from the university that covers LGBTQ+ topics and issues.

The Stanislaus Queer Cast works in conjunction with the student-run newspaper, The Signal, as well as the student-run radio station KCSS 91.9.

This is the third podcast that has been produced by KCSS, the other two being Ask the Reporter and the Central Valley Politics Podcast, as well as mini podcast series that are produced by students enrolled in the Journalism 3012 course.

The Stanislaus Queer Cast is hosted by two Stan State students, Steph Landeros (senior, Sociology) and Jesús Alvarado (junior, Spanish). Each episode explores a topic regarding the LGBTQ+ community, and many episodes feature local guests to add to the conversation.

“I had been thinking about making this for a long time and finally came across the opportunity through The Signal and decided to make this podcast this semester after joining the class,” Landeros said.

Landeros stressed the importance of being able to talk about these topics, especially within the university.   

“It’s important to have a podcast that talks about these issues because there is a lack of representation of the experience of LGBTQ+ youth, specifically college students,” Landeros said.

The Stanislaus Queer Cast has received praise from its listeners in the community as well.

The first episode of the series covers the topic of “coming out,” and the hosts share their individual stories of how they came out to their families and friends as well as any positive or negative reactions they experienced. Other episodes include topics such as “code switching,” the concept of people being “too gay” or “not gay enough,” as well as events that are going on in the area. 

For more information email [email protected], and to find all the episodes visit https://soundcloud.com/queer-cast-189234848.