Shows
Deep Dive with ShawnMaxim Ibadov - Rusa LGBTQ+ (and Be Willing to Bear Witness)Send us a textIncreasingly, Russian citizens opposed to the war are fleeing their country, taking asylum in other places – around the world. A significant number of these folks are queer – leaving not just because of their opposition to the war, but fleeing severe persecution in Russia, as the country cracks down on the LGBTQ community. And, they’re landing in places that are skeptical of them because of the war in Ukraine. In this episode I’m talking to Maxim Eye-BAD-off, coordinator with Rusa LGBTQ+ - a network for Russian-speaking LGBTQ+ individuals in the United St...2023-07-2854 min
Queer Late Night Hosted by Ell McCullarsMaxim Ibadov: The Queer Russian ActivistMaxim Ibadov (he/they/fab) is a Brooklyn- born, Moscow-raised, Jewish-American who's not afraid of living their life authentically. They're an event-organizer, podcast host/ producer, theater director, activist, and arts educator at Park Avenue Armory. The Brooklyn-born testifies to their experience of growing up as a queer person in Russia, and what moving to America meant for them. More importantly, Maxim speaks out against the war taking place in Ukraine. As a member of a WE Together, a collective aimed to unite and celebrate the Caucasus, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) LGBTQIA+ community, Maxim works to create spaces...2022-03-231h 14
Whispering HuntysLet’s Tawk About Drag Race, Holland 2.0, and Snatching the Win (W/ Mijon Zulu, Marco Dreijer, & Maxim Ibadov)From politics to pride, this episode was a real podcaster party! Although Nick is currently MIA (Midwesterning In Action), we had an amazing chat with two fabulous guests: Marco Dreijer and Maxim Ibadov! Marco Dreijer is a Dutch arts and culture influencer and body positivity activist and is also the host of two podcasts: Ding-a-Dong, a Eurovision podcast, and Pruikentijd, a Drag Race podcast. Maxim Ibadov is a Brooklyn-based multimedia artist and fashionista, and hosts the political/pop culture podcast Let’s Tawk! We discuss virtual queer spaces, Holland Pride, and the latest episodes of Holland and All Stars!
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Let’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastThe Financial Power of Representation (with P.S. Kaguya)In this episode, we are tawking with a trailblazing Korean-American artist, plus-size model, content creator, and cannabis entrepreneur P.S. Kaguya, whose uniqueness is not only helping her carve out her own path, but also open doors and provide financial opportunities for others like her. Kaguya shares her personal story of overcoming abuse and rejection, and together Maxim and Kaguya take a deep dive into why representation is an economic issue, how the fashion industry has been changing, Avril Lavigne's influence on early 2000s queer culture, being canceled, and why it is time that we embrace drug-consumption and create...2021-07-231h 03
Let’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastPushing the Boundaries of Being a Queer Artist (with AJA)Our guest this week is an iconic and multi-talented musician and artist Aja. Known to the world as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9 and All-Stars 3, Aja was catapulted into international fame as a drag queen. Since then, Aja has quit drag, came out as non-binary, and released two studio albums, including their newest sophomore album The Crown, which came out this May.
As we break down the album, Aja tawks about the process of creating such a vulnerable and eclectic album during a pandemic, who were their musical inspirations growing up and how they dealt wi...2021-06-161h 07
Let’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastAchieving Queer Liberation Through Financial Autonomy (with Ron Sese)Happy Pride Month and welcome to Pride Tawk: a mini-series where we to tawk to queer creatives who are pushing the boundaries of queer representation. Our first guest is experiential producer and creative strategist Ron Sese, who is also the founder of Bk Queer Flea: NYC only all LGBTQ+ marketplace. Together with Ron we discuss how the Flea came about, why it's mission is to help queer creators achieve liberation through financial autonomy, defining queerness and whether a product can be queer, the prominence of a growing queer economy, as well as dish on Demi Lovato's coming out and how...2021-06-0153 minLet’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastForging Your Path as a Queer Musician (with Kezra Leon)Queer Musicians are Here, and they are here to stay!
This week, we are tawking to the multi-talented Kezra Leon, musician, rapper, and club/drag personality. Kezra shares his story of coming into the music business as a queer rapper, the inspiration behind his bold and assertive music such as their new single "ICV" (I Choose Violence), how their collaboration with the legendary Aja came about, as well as dishes his thoughts on Lil Nas X breaking the barriers and paying tribute to the late hip-hop legend DMX.
This episode features Kezra's songs "Big Mad" an...2021-04-2241 min
Let’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastMaking NYC More Progressive (with Marti G Cummings)IT'S SEASON 2 FINALE! We are wrapping up this season with a very special guest who embodies everything Let's Tawk ! is about- Marti G Cummings: a New York City Icon, Drag Artist, Activist and a Candidate for New York City Council. Marti shares with us the reason they decided to run for public office and how they plan to fix NYC many problems with a bold progressive idea that consists of things like #DefundThePolice, raising the minimum wage, providing guaranteed income, implementing a city-wide Green New Deal and investing more into underrepresented communities' education, housing and infrastructure.
Follow Marti on Instagram...2021-03-3036 min
Let’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastExposing China's Human Rights ViolationsFor over 20 years now, Chinese Communist Party has been commiting the worst Genocide we have seen since World War 2, by placing millions of Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghur muslims and other religious minorities in concentration camp, where they are subject to genocide and organ harvesting. We are tawking to Mitchell Gerber, a veteran activist and a Falun Gong practitioner himself, who has been on the frontlines of exposing the evils of this regime.
For more sources, check out www.faluninfo.net, endtransplantabuse.org, and watch Hard to Believe Documentary on Youtube
Follow us on Instagram and TikTok.
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This episode is s...2021-03-1752 minLet’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastHow to Build to Protect Against Natural Disasters (with George Siegal)Every season due to climate change, natural disasters are getting worse and worse, leaving behind destruction of property that can be devastating. This week, we are tawking to George Siegal, director of "The Last House Standing"- a documentary about how to build in order to save your home against hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other disasters. George shares his story of how this film came about, what one can do to protect themselves and their property and what could have been done different in Texas.
To watch the film and learn more, go to https://www.thelasthousestanding.org/, or find t...2021-03-0350 minLet’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastHow to Lead a Positive Political Campaign (with Steven Patzer)This week, we are tawking to Steven Patzer- a candidate for New York City Council from 47th District, Maxim's home area. Steven, a freshman on the block, is shaking things up in politics by leading a clean campaign that is focused on empowerment, empathy and equality in hopes of bringing those things to a neglected South Brooklyn. Maxim and Steven discuss what it means to run for a local positions, how his campaign style differentiates him from his opponents and what he plans to do with issues such as homelessness, de-facto-segregation and LGBTQ+ issues.
To learn more...2021-02-1744 minLet’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastWhat's Happening With The Stock Market? (with Isabella Davilla)The Stock Market has become the center of attention last week, when the stocks of a struggling company GameStop started rising and causing major chaos on Wall Street. As Reddit users tried to save GameStop by purchasing stocks after they were shorted by hedge funds, it erupted into a small war between the rich and the poor. ⠀
To disect what went down, we are tawking with Isabella Davilla, a stock trader, to understand what is happening on Stock Market with GameStop and Reddit, the role online brokers like Robinhood played, the kind of year 2020 was for the sto...2021-02-1046 minLet’s Tawk: A Queer Political PodcastIs Russia Finally Waking Up?January 23 will go down in Russia's history as the biggest protest in its modern history, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the street to protest Vladimir Putin's stagnant and corrupt regime following the poisoning of opposition leader Alexiy Navalny. Navalny, who is Putin's most prominent critic, has been exposing Russia's corruption for more than 10 years and last August he was poisoned and almost died. He recovered in Germany and was arrested upon his return to his homeland. This episode, Maxim is tawing about who Navalny is, how deep is Putin's corruption and shares his own experince of...2021-01-2633 min