Podcast Pick: Queer We Are, with Host Brad Shreve
Many of you will know Brad Shreve from his recently retired podcast Queer Writers of Crime, in with he interviewed a long and stellar list of authors specializing in LGBTQ+ mysteries and thrillers. Brad has launched a new podcasting venture and it’s a good one: Queer We Are. Brad has in-depth conversations with guests ranging from drag icon Miss Coco Peru, to author John Berendt, whose Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was a sensation as a book and as a movie.
Each week on Queer We Are, Brad Shreve hosts LGBTQ performers, athletes, politicians, activists, and even people you never heard of making a difference in their neighborhood. Guests share motivational, yet entertaining stories about their successes, challenges, and what they learned along the way.
A small sampling of guests includes:
Drag performer Coco Peru
Former Pennsylvania state representative Brian Sims
Comedians Rosie Wilby and ANT
CNN National Senior Correspondent Miguel Marquez
Documentary filmmaker Vivian Kleiman
Aydain Dowling, entrepreneur. As a model he is first trans male to have appeared on the cover of Men’s Health Magazine
Bryan Ruby, the only out professional baseball player who started an organization to help ball players from little league to the pros come out
And many more. It’s a must-listen podcast where you experience the lives of the guests as if they were sitting across a coffee table from you telling you their life stories.
Brad’s life has been a series of adjustments. He was 35 and had a wife and daughter when he came out, forcing him to adapt from living a lie to being who he is overnight. Freeing, yet difficult. Later, drugs and alcohol consumed his life, taking him from a being corporate executive to living on the streets of Los Angeles. In sobriety he accepted a life more modest than he had anticipated. Living clean and sober allowed Brad to be functional for years but every thought, every step, every action was a struggle. He knew he needed additional help yet was repeatedly turned away by the overworked Department of Mental Health. It wasn’t until he checked into the emergency room at a hospital and refused to leave unless he was guaranteed ongoing care that his life made its biggest turn around. The best day of his life was when he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder because he felt as if his past made sense for the first time, and he saw a more optimistic future.
Brad realized although his life was a series of struggles, he survived by following the inspiration of others and redefining his life and what success meant to him. Many people have the definition of success thrust upon them, and queer people especially. Wanting others to be inspired as he had been, he decided to launch Queer We Are. With his understanding there is no one ideal for everyone, it was important to him to not start another podcast about climbing the corporate ladder, seeking fortune, or following new age traditions to find oneself. Instead, Brad’s guests include people from all walks of life. His guests share how they achieved success and what obstacles they faced, but conversations frequently begin with allowing his guests to define success for themselves.
Brad’s goal with Queer We Are is to motivate and inspire listeners without feeling they’re listening to a show about motivation and inspiration. His expectation is he’ll help more people by making his conversations equally entertaining. He also admits his love of having interesting conversations with interesting people was equally a factor in starting the show.
About Brad Shreve the Author
At far too young an age, Brad Shreve developed a love for political satire and became an avid fan of the Doonesbury comic strip. After years of taking art classes and designing his own strips, he realized he enjoyed writing the stories more than the visual art. His thoughts turned to being a writer someday.
When he discovered mystery novels he was hooked. Authors Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Gregory Mcdonald and Robert B. Parker, had strong influences on him.
Losing himself in the corporate world, he discovered the big office and prestigious title were great for the ego but were not great for living a life he found fulfilling. As a grownup he pondered what he wanted to do when he became a bigger grownup, and the answer was obvious. His fingertips have been on the keyboard ever since.
Brad was thrilled when he discovered LGBTQ mysteries are a thing, and the list of authors who inspired him to write in the subgenre are too numerous to mention. He published his first novel in 2019. He was also the host of Queer Writers of Crime, a weekly podcast featuring interviews with LGBTQ authors of mystery, suspense, and thriller fiction.
Brad lives with his husband Maurice in the California High Desert.