You're going to be here. Hello and welcome to Outworth, Slate's LGBT podcast.

I'm Jules Gill Peterson coming to you live

from the year 2024.

You know, I managed, but kind of barely barely to stay up to midnight on New Year's Eve and I did turn on Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper's Times Square broadcast for like all of five minutes at one point. I think it might have been out of like more big curiosity, but y'all it was too weird for me. Like anyone who's lived in New York, I've always felt stressed by the idea that like people show up to Times Square at 9 a.m. on New Year's Eve because they have to kind of stand around all day waiting and apparently or at least allegedly don't have access to bathrooms.

So just know that like whenever I see these crowds in Times Square even on TV

my bladder really starts dancing.

And then there was just something about like

gaying up that whole scenario with Andy and Anderson

in front of one million product placements

that took it to a whole new level of weird for me.

Anyways, I hope whatever kind of holiday you had, it included time for rest and rejuvenation

and that you're feeling ready for this new year.

I'm so thrilled because today I'm bringing you

an extra special episode where I'm sitting down

with the one and only Rochelle Willis

to talk about her new memoir,

the risk it takes to bloom on life and liberation.

You might remember that actually her book

made it onto my gay agenda recently, and it was like a gay agenda I was making for myself

literally I needed to sit down and read this book as part of my gay holidays so I figured

why not share the experience with you all and invite Raquel onto the show to tell us more about her remarkable life journey and her fierce activism.

It's a really exciting and moving conversation.

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