Nancy – Podcast Review

Nancy is a WNYC Studios podcast hosted by best friends Tobin Low and Kathy Tu, both Asian American and both super gay, about the experience of being LGBTQ in the twenty-first century. It is heartfelt and funny, and after it launched in 2017, it quickly became one of the mainstays among my jogging/housework podcasts. (It helps that the episodes are generally a nice bite-sized half-hour long!)

One of the things I love about Nancy is its wide scope and variety. It goes from personal coming-out stories to interviews of famous people, to politics and everyday life as a queer person, to 90s pop culture. It also tries to be inclusive and covers a range of experiences across the LGBTQ spectrum.

Here are some of my favourite episodes:

#1 “Hello, hello” and #33 “Kathy’s mom is uncomfortable with all this”: The very personal story of host Kathy Tu’s coming out to her very traditional Taiwanese mother and how it’s an ongoing process.
#5 “There are no gay wizards”: A look at the character of Dumbledore and how JK Rowling revealed his homosexuality years later.
#9 “Thank you for being a friend”: For everyone who loves the Golden Girls!
#19 “The Pentagon’s Secret Gaggle of Gays”: Self-explanatory
#22 “Does your boss know you’re gay?”: Some input from listeners, mainly from the US so focused on that population, but still fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking.
#34 “Return to Ring of Keys”: A must-listen for anyone who’s ever been a little confused baby dyke.
*“God + the Gays”: About a lesbian woman from a very religious background trying to stay connected to her childhood friends.

*For some reason, they stopped numbering the episodes after #50.

As you can see, I tend towards the lesbian stories and pop culture episodes, but there is something here for everyone. The hosts Kathy and Tobin are funny, sometimes awkward, but always genuine. I highly recommend you check it out.

You can find the entire series here: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/nancy or via iTunes or other podcast services.