Podcasts/Radio
The Club Soda Podcast - “Lazarus Letcher on getting sober, making music, and reconnecting with community” his conversation with guest podcast host Yasmin Spark explores Laz's experience of getting sober and connecting with their ancestral history. And they discuss the power of music-making without alcohol, from viola players having the best seat in the orchestra to the founding influence of black queer people on dance music. In this episode, Laz mentions Accountability Mapping for QTBIPOC. This episode is the last of our special season celebrating Black History Month in the UK and LGBT+ History Month in the US. Each week, join Club Soda co-founders Laura Willoughby and Dru Jaeger on the Club Soda podcast to dive deeply into the subjects that matter. Join them to discover incredible alcohol-free drinks, find life-changing advice and practical tips, and hear from experts on sober and mindful living.
Sober Stories - “Until it Ran into Me” Lazarus Letcher joins Sober Stories host Beth Bowen to discuss gender, identity, race, and their intersection with sobriety. Beth and Lazarus talk about how Laz used to use alcohol as a way to perform masculinity, Laz’s experience as a trans man before and after sobriety, and how powerful it is to see queer, sober elders in their community. Laz explains what the recovery industry is getting wrong about race, gender, and identity, and how they have found use of the 12-steps through communities led by and for queer folks. Beth and Laz discuss the idea of “outside issues,” and how it’s impossible to separate the political from the personal, especially in sobriety. Laz and Beth and discuss the long history of drugs and alcohol being mobilized against the BIPOC community, and how ingrained drugs and alcohol also are with queer communities. Laz shares their views on how we can increase access to recovery for marginalized communities and then shares what brings them JOY when things feel hard. Lazarus shares what their story would be called: "Until It Ran Into Me."
We Thought You Been Knew - “School Daze” If you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere... you better wake up and pay attention! In this month’s episode, we’re breaking down Black education—from a teacher and student perspective. First, we discuss our experiences as Black students and how we were taught Black history (if we were taught it at all). Later, we speak with academic scholar Laz Letcher on the intersectional challenges of teaching curriculum that doesn’t center whiteness or heteronormativity. Then we wrap things up by dissecting The Chair, to see how a Black professor worthy of tenure was portrayed in the Netflix series.
My Gay Playlist - “On this week's episode, Liv sits down with Musician and Scholar, Lazarus Letcher to discuss music and the many ways coming out has shaped Laz's life. Their stories touch on affirming queer, trans and nonbinary identities, the challenges of growing up as a BIPOC queer person in the Midwest, sobriety, and the endless longing experienced within the LGBTQIA community. Music featured on this episode's playlist include songs by Laz's band Eileen and the In-Betweens, Death Cab for Cutie, Nina Simone, Johannes Brahms, and many more.”
Thank You For Coming Out - "Coming Out While Staying In” Laz joins host Dubbs Weinblatt to talk about trans representation (L Word, Transparent, The Vanishing Half, and MORE), the power of music, AND MORE. So much more!
Sober Curious - “Sobriety & Identity - In this episode, I’m in conversation with the wonderful Lazarus Letcher, a writer, scholar, and musician, who is currently pursuing a PhD in American Studies, with a focus on folklore, Black liberation, and queer and trans studies. Their work in the sober space focuses largely on intersectional approaches to addiction and recovery, which means taking into account how identity impacts substance use.”
Audacious WNPR - “I’m More Dangerous to White Supremacy Sober - Addiction affects people of all shapes and sizes. Skin tones and geographic locations. Ages, personalities, and genders. Today, meet two people who are committed to sobriety, and the Chief Clinical Officer at a treatment facility.”
This won’t be the last time you hear stories from people in recovery on this show, so if you’d like to tell me your story about what the sober life has been like for you - whether you’re a few days into it, or it’s been decades, whether you’ve stopped using alcohol or meth, heroin or weed, or another drug, tell us your story: CWolf@ctpublic.org.”
Recovery Happy Hour - “Resources for BIPOC and LGBTQ Recovery”
Your New Mexico Government & COVID - “In episode 75, we're talking data privacy, surveillance, sophisticated bots, racially biased tech and misinformation on social media in the time of COVID, BLM and the upcoming electing. We check in with researchers, privacy advocates and an artist/activist, who talk about how our data is valuable to corporations or governments that want to exploit their knowledge of us for policing, political or capitalistic reasons.”
Let’s Talk New Mexico - “Episode 53 is all about re-entering the world from jail or prison during the pandemic, and holding onto your recovery from addiction during quarantine. What does the world feel like right now if you've spent some part of your last years inside a prison? And what do you do if a requirement of your probation or parole is that you find a job when there isn't one to be found? How are folks managing their sobriety during a time of isolation or social distancing? What's keeping them on track? “
Let’s Talk New Mexico - “Let’s Talk Sobriety in the Summer with Fourth of July weekend just ahead and Pride celebrations ongoing, ‘tis the season for summer parties. And for many, that means being in social situations where the booze is flowing. On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’re talking sobriety this summer. If you’ve quit drinking or using drugs, how has that changed the way you connect with people? What can friends and family do to support their sober loved ones?”
Let’s Talk New Mexico - “Let’s Talk Transgender Visibility…we’re focusing on transgender folks who thrive in our community, the growing acceptance in younger generations, and gains being made around the country. Media narratives often emphasize the discrimination and violence transgender people face. Those are essential stories, but we want to add to the conversation.
Strange Fruit: Musings on Politics, Pop Culture, and Black Gay Life - Expanding the definition of "American Boys", looking at Soraya Zaman's incredible photo project "American Boys", talking about what trans masculine representation means to me, and a view into life on the internet as a Black trans person
Land of Enlightenment - "Laz Letcher comes on the show to enlighten us about their life as a non-binary person of color with the gift of music and intellect.
Transitional Wisdom - "Lazarus joins us on this episode to discuss unpacking religious baggage, being in recovery as a queer non-binary trans person subject to administrative violence, self-rehabilitating and problematic story lines from The L Word.
Print Interviews
Discovering Gender - “I’ve been a professional musician since I was fourteen, and the way I’ve been treated from being read as a cis Black woman to a cis Black man is radically different in this world. Audience members, sound techs, and other musicians treat me with more respect and admiration – transitioning didn’t improve my musical ability at all but just getting read as a dude changed the way folks saw me, which is fucking shitty. My band Eileen & the In-Betweens always demands that venues make all restrooms gender neutral for our events, which I am eternally grateful for.”
Queerport - “While Laz has clocked many hours of field time on the front line of protests and working in advocacy, when they’re enjoying some “downtime” (whatever that means for a full-time artist who looks at their art, activism, and academic work as their life’s work), it’s usually creating music…and even then there’s still a message.”
Unite UK - My coming out story, “I’m nonbinary, queer, and happy as hell”
LGBTeetoler - "Sobriety is the best thing that’s ever happened for me. The first months weren’t easy...The whole LGBTQ community suffers from higher rates of addiction than cis and or hetero folks – trans folx of color being especially vulnerable. What brick and mortar LGBTQ establishments exist around you that aren’t bars? What LGBTQ events have you attended that aren’t centered around substance abuse and its celebration? My entry into the queer community was through the doors of a bar.”
Santa Fe Reporter "Come Together" on Gatas Y Vatas Festival - "A former classical musician, Letcher performs at Gatas for the first time this year, having come to the world of rock, punk and freak-folk only recently. "I had a pretty tough breakup with classical music," they say, only half-joking, "but I've been involved with the women and non-binary and trans art scene in [Albuquerque] for almost three years. I came out with my EP a little less than a year ago and have been pushing myself to perform more and harder [with the music]."...
Autostraddle Polly Pocket Series - “I envision a future where I can reopen my heart, and fight for a world where I’m not scared to leave my apartment with all of my identities intact. My dream world and future is one with less fear and more vulnerability.”