What happens when you take a national research project and hand the microphone to the people living it?
“The Map of Us,” a new seven-episode podcast from News is Out, brings the findings of the LGBTQ+ Media Mapping Project to life through candid conversations with the journalists and publishers doing the work. All episodes are now available on The Buckeye Flame podcast network and all major platforms.
The series is a companion to the Media Mapping Project, released in September 2025 by Tracy Baim and Hanna Siemaszko and funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with support from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, Local Media Association and News is Out. That report documented 174 LGBTQ+ media outlets across the U.S. and confirmed what many in the field already knew: Queer media is widespread, deeply local and operating on razor-thin margins. Nearly half of outlets run on less than $100,000 a year, yet they’re covering their communities in places where other media isn’t.
Each episode focuses on one of the project’s core findings and pairs it with the voices of people navigating those realities. Topics include the economics of queer media, reporting under threat in states passing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, LGBTQ+ news deserts where no dedicated outlets exist, collaboration as survival and who holds power inside queer journalism.
Hosted by News is Out Managing Director Dana Piccoli, the podcast features segments by News is Out publishers, editors and reporters, along with special guests from across the queer media ecosystem.
The series opens with project director Tracy Baim in conversation with journalist Alexander Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Blade, exploring why the mapping project exists and what it reveals about this moment in queer media. Later episodes spotlight publishers and editors from across the country, including those running outlets without full-time staff and those serving communities in increasingly hostile political environments.
Listen to The Map of Us now on The Buckeye Flame or wherever you get your podcasts.