Dan Savage has dished out love and sex advice in his syndicated Savage Love column for over 25 years. He’s blunt, hilarious and empathetic– and not just in his writing! Wednesday Savage joined Katie Couric for her podcast, Katie Couric. They discussed Savage coming out in high school, the HIV epidemic and gay rights, among other things. Savage is an activist and author well-known for his The Stranger sex advice column, Savage Love. You can listen to the full episode here.
Below are some highlights from the Katie Couric Podcast:
On President Trump’s anti-gay policies:
- “Trump touched a pride flag at a rally and a bunch of right-wing gay people— the handful that exists out there— pointed to that as evidence that he would be the most pro-gay president ever. And then appoints Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, who’s already issued anti-gay rulings when he was involved in lower courts. And now the trans ban...”
On the HIV and AIDS epidemic in America:
- “I actually came out before the AIDS epidemic. I came out in ’80, ’81 and then into that buzzsaw, and watched a lot of my friends die in their mid-20s and early 30s. And that was really rough. And there were moments there at the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic where I watched people that I knew to be gay go back in the closet or renounce their sexuality, who were already infected and died anyway. You know, the AIDS epidemic forced us to start telling the truth.”
On coming out in high school:
- “It was rare for kids to be coming out in high school, who are my age, * but I did come out in high school. And instantly became kind of the go-to guy for my straight friends who had relationship problems or sex questions, because I think they just intuited that I was thinking more about these things than they were. Because I had to think more about these things. And I think that’s true for a lot of gay people.” *Savage is 52 and says most kids of his generation didn’t come out in high school.
Listen to the full episode by streaming or downloading it for free on iTunes, Stitcher or Soundcloud. The podcast features unscripted conversations with some of the biggest names in news, politics and pop culture. Past podcast episodes feature individuals including Alec Baldwin, Samantha Bee, Ina Garten, Nate Silver, Jonathan Weisman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rebecca Traister, Bob Costas, Frank Luntz and Sen. Al Franken.
For more information on the Katie Couric podcast visit: http://www.stitcher.com/
