Rachel Karp, Sarah Gabrielli & Jen McGinity
The idea for the podcast Cruising came to co-creators Rachel Karp (l), Sarah Gabrielli (c), and Jen McGinity (r) on New Year’s Eve 2021, over a discussion about the few remaining lesbian bars in the country. “We were all talking about it, and I said ‘What if that’s our podcast? We go to all the remaining lesbian bars in the country, and document them?’” Karp, a New York-based producer, writer, and director, tells GO. The trio then embarked on a thirty-day road trip across country to visit all the remaining lesbian bars, a journey they recorded in Cruising. Over the course of their road trip, they met many people, shared stories, and built connections with the communities they visited. For McGinity, a New York-based line producer, these connections were the most rewarding parts of their journey. “I got to meet the people that call these bars ‘home,’” she says. “I felt lucky to be able to sit with them and share stories, laughs, games of darts, and express who we are and what our lives are like.” For podcast producer and journalist Gabrielli, “hearing the positive feedback from the folks we’ve interviewed” has been particularly rewarding. “It means so much to hear from people who are happy to have their stories told, and who feel seen and well-represented in the podcast,” she tells GO. What’s next for Cruising? The trio hopes to build more connections with, and share the stories of, others in the LGBTQ+ community. –AB
