The second season of the podcast “Unboxing Queer History” invites listeners to experience historical materials from Gerber/Hart Library and Archives’s collections and follow along as the audio producers leave the library to investigate the stories that are missing from its file cabinets.
The new season premieres Sept. 23 and will include eight new episodes that explore a range of subjects, including grassroots activism, public media, religious self-discovery and much more.
“This season just feels much grander and somehow bigger,” Gerber/Hart’s operations director Erin Bell said. “The first season was a lot about Gerber/Hart itself and our collections, but this one has much more of a focus on community rather than the archive itself, and how we can bring people together to explore our history by going out into the community.”
The first season of “Unboxing Queer History” was released in 2022 and largely focused on showcasing materials from the archive. It led to an outpouring of support for Gerber/Hart, including an increase in donations for the collections that were featured, said Gerber/Hart’s community outreach and strategic partnerships manager Jen Dentel.
Support from listeners and a Broadening Narratives grant from the Gaylor and Dorothy Donelly Foundation made it possible for Gerber/Hart to expand the podcast’s scope and hire more producers to showcase a wider range of perspectives for the second season.
Though the new season of “Unboxing Queer History” is still grounded in Gerber/Hart’s collections, it has evolved to contribute to larger conversations around archival silences as well as the value in preserving and continually adding to community archives.
“This year, we’ve seen how access to queer history and access to information and libraries in general have become flashpoints,” Dentel said. “Anything we can do to counter that narrative and honor our elders and show that we’ve always been here feels increasingly important. We can look to the past to find resources to inform what we can do in the future.”
To celebrate the launch of the second season, Gerber/Hart is hosting a free listening party at the Music Box Theater, 3733 N Southport Ave., Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. Attendees can listen to the first episode, “Lost and Found: Lesbian Bars and the Music Box Lounge,” together and take part in a panel discussion with some of its creators. No ticket is needed to attend the event, but you can find more information about it on Gerber/Hart’s website.
There will also be a pre-party running tour featuring historical lesbian bars, led by Quinn Rose, the episode’s producer and a tour guide for book-themed running group Read & Run Chicago. Tickets for the pre-show run cost about $40 and can be purchased here.
In “Lost and Found: Lesbian Bars and the Music Box Lounge,” Rose investigates the Music Box Lounge’s history as a lesbian bar and reminisces with community members about other former gathering places for queer women. The episode features audio from some of the musicians who performed at the lounge to emulate what it might have felt like to be there in the ‘70s.
“I was most surprised by how much I wasn’t able to find out about the Music Box Lounge itself,” Rose said. “I went into it thinking that we’d be able to track people down, but it really became a stark reminder to me of how fragile these stories are and how many of them may be entirely lost. It was very sad, but at the same time, I was so grateful to sit down with people who shared stories about other bars from this time and that we could record those for the future.”
Another episode, “The Search for Sapphic Stories: A Dive into Gerber/Hart’s Erotica Archive,” explores why the majority of erotica preserved in Gerber/Hart centers cis gay men. It starts with the sound of producer Chijioke Williams opening an archive file cabinet. Through original music, readings of some of the materials, and interviews with community members, Williams answers the question, “Where’s all the femme/sapphic/trans porn?”
“It also touches on what people can do to potentially get more of it into the archive,” Williams explained. “Gerber/Hart is such a beautiful, expansive, important space that’s investing in the queer history of our country, and sometimes, that expansion has to catch up with time. In the past, maybe women’s pleasure and media wasn’t valued as much as it could be, and the library reflects that truth right now, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”
The podcast itself contributes to the work of expanding Gerber/Hart’s archive, which is already one of the largest LGBTQ+ libraries and archives in the world, by offering an opportunity to capture queer people’s stories in real time.
For example, the episode, “The Intergenerational Dialogue Project,” highlights a currently existing program that pairs queer elders with queer “youngers” through art-making, conversation, and shared meals. Williams spoke with many of the participants to investigate the wide gaps between LGBTQ+ generations, why connection is important and the tensions and joys those relationships bring.
“These people are living primary sources, and it’s just honestly a privilege to be able to hear some of their stories,” Williams said. “I know a lot of the younger folks felt the same way, and the older folks did as well. It’s not a one-way street. There’s still at least one pair that still meets up every month for brunch. The kinds of relationships the program breeds are just really cool and interesting to explore.”
The upcoming eight episodes will be released every other week throughout the fall, starting Sept. 23. Each episode will have its own online exhibit with photos of the materials discussed and a list of resources for anyone who wants to learn more.
“What I love about the podcast is that it’s this very accessible entry point, where you can listen to for 30 minutes to get a taste, and then decide to come in and do your own research if you want,” Dentel said. “Then you can realize how much more there is to discover about Chicago queer history.”
Learn more about Gerber/Hart’s podcast “Unboxing Queer History” on its website, and listen to the second season’s trailer here.