Beltane falls on May 1st, the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. It marks the ancient Celtic beginning of summer: a fire festival rooted in themes of fertility, desire, abundance, and permission.

For this show, those themes translate into something deeply personal: what do you allow yourself to want? What do you keep caged, and why?

#beltane #summersolstice #solstice #mayday #firefestival #unpackingtheclosetpodcast

Kelly Balch has spent a career asking people to be fully present in front of a lens and what they've learned is that the camera is only part of the story.

In this episode, we go deep into the emotional and psychological architecture behind Kelly's docuseries, what it means to witness someone's truth and hold it with intention, and how their own journey as a nonbinary, queer artist has shaped the way they move through the world and the work.

This is a conversation about creativity as a spiritual practice, storytelling as activism, and what becomes possible when we finally let ourselves be seen.

You can find Kelly here:

https://kellybalch.com/

And you can support us being liking, following and sharing!

@unpaqckingthecloset on all social platforms!

#beingseen @queerphotography #queerphotographer #queerpodcast #unpackingtheclosetpodcast #lqbtqpodcast

What changes when girls, and especially queer girls, girls of color, and girls at the margins, are given real access to education, resources, skills, and spaces of creation and leadership?

Christina Yoon has spent nearly two decades in construction and engineering asking that exact question. In this episode, we explore the systemic gaps that have historically shut girls out of the trades and STEAM fields, what intentional access and mentorship look like in practice, and the quiet revolution that happens when someone who was told "this isn't for you" picks up a tool and builds something anyway.

You can support Girl Buildrs by visiting their website https://www.girlbuildrs.org

and following them on social media @girlbuildrs

You can support use by liking, commenting, and sharing! Helps us grow our community and reach more folks!

And follow us on social media @unpackingthecloset

#girlsinstem #girlswhobuild #girlsinengineering #girlsinconstruction #girlbuildrs #girlswithtools #girlsinstemfields

Tiffaney Florentine has done everything right, by every external measure. Veteran. CIA. Management consultant. American Gladiator finalist. And still, she hit a wall.

In this episode, we explore what happens when high-achieving women realize that success was never the thing they were actually chasing, the difference between performing strength and embodying it, and how the "hustle for love" pattern keeps so many of us stuck no matter how much we accomplish.

You can find Tiffaney here:

Instagram

@tiffaney.flo

Website

tiffaneyflorentine.com

And you can listen to us anywhere you get your podcasts or follow us @unpackingthecloset on TikTok and Instagram!

What do a writers room, a bike commute, and Hurricane Katrina have in common? For Helen Krieger, they're all chapters in the same story: one about community, what it costs to lose it, and what it takes to rebuild it.

In this episode, we explore how storytelling became Helen's entry point to both craft and civic life, and what it means to reclaim your queer identity when the world has quietly made you feel like you don't quite count.

You can learn more about Helen here:

https://www.helen4weho.org

#UnpackingTheCloset #UnpackingTheClosetPodcast #TheLocalLens #QueerPodcast #LGBTQPodcast #QueerStorytelling

#Helen4WeHo #HelenKrieger #WestHollywood #WeHo #WestHollywoodCityCouncil #CityCouncil2026 #WeHo2026 #KriegerForWeHo

#TVWriter #WritersRoom #Screenwriter #LocalPolitics #CivicEngagement #BiVisibility #BiIdentity #QueerBelonging #QueerCommunity #BiRepresentation #HousingAffordability #RenterRights #BikeAdvocacy #BikeCommute #NewOrleans #HurricaneKatrina #AffordableHousing #ArtistHousing

#QueerVoices #RepresentationMatters #LGBTQPolitics #QueerActivism #WomenInPolitics #QueerLeadership #CommunityBuilding #LocalGovernment

Art has always been one of the most powerful ways humans make meaning, and for queer and marginalized communities, it has often been the only space where our full truth could exist.

In this episode, we'll explore how creative practice becomes a site of reclamation: how making art can help us process trauma, reconstruct identity, and insist on our own visibility. We want to hear about your work, your process, and what it means to you personally to create from an authentic place.

You can follow Maze at:

Instagram @hi.there.im.maze

IG link: Maze Felix

And you can listen to us anywhere you get your podcasts and follow here:Socials: @unpackingthecloset Youtube: @unpackingtheClosetPod

#unpackingtheclosetpodcast #unpackingthecloset #lqbtqpodcast #queerpodcast #queerart #queerjoy

This episode goes into tender territory: the stories we hide, the shame we carry quietly, and what it looks and feels like when we finally let them out. We'll talk about the relationship between secrecy and identity, why shame thrives in silence, and how vulnerability, especially in queer and marginalized communities, can be one of the most radical acts there is. This won't be a heavy episode, we bring warmth and humor to even the hardest topics, but it will be real and honest.

Todays guest is Kyle Ridley an Emmy Award-winning TV journalist and former morning show producer. He is now host of The Tangle with Kyle Ridley podcast, where he unpacks the stories that don’t fit in a 5-minute segment. And in 2026, Kyle publicly shared his decade-long secret struggle with bulimia, one of the most under-discussed topics in men’s and LGBTQ+ health.

You can follow Kyle here:

Host: The Tangle with Kyle Ridley (2025 SpeakerCon winner for "New Podcast of the Year")

Founder: Ridley Media

Instagram: kyleridley_

www.unpackingthecloset.com

What happens when the law makes your story illegal, and what does it take to reclaim it?

In this episode of Unpacking the Closet, Geri-Lynn and Caitlin sit down with UK-based transgender author, playwright, poet, and performer Kestral Gaian (they/them) for a conversation about the radical power of storytelling. Kestral is the author behind The Boy From Elsewhere and the editor behind Twenty-Eight, a groundbreaking anthology gathering voices from the Section 28 generation, the UK's original 'don't say gay' law that silenced queer youth for fifteen years.

We talk about finding yourself in a story for the first time, what legislative erasure does to a generation's sense of self, and why the echoes of Section 28 feel painfully familiar in today's US political climate.

This one is for every queer kid who ever looked for themselves in a book and came up empty. 🏳️‍🌈

🔗 Find Kestral Gaian:

🌐 Website: www.kestr.al

📸 Instagram: @kes.tr.al

🦋 Bluesky: @kestr.al

🐘 Fedi: @kestral@hackers.town

💬 This week's reflection questions:

• What's the first story where you felt truly seen?
• Whose voice has been missing from the stories you've consumed?
• What would change if you treated your own story as worthy of being heard?

Unpacking the Closet is hosted by Geri-Lynn Cesar & Caitlin. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us wherever you listen.