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Finding Maria
or most of her life, Maria believed she understood who she was. After the end of a long marriage, she set out to answer a simple question: “How can I be happy?” The unexpected journey that followed led her to discover herself, embrace her identity, and find a sense of freedom she’d never known. In…
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More Than A Building – Creating a Home for the LGBTQ Community
ake an inside look at Our Center, Casa BruMar Foundation’s LGBTQIA+ community center in Prince William County, Virginia. Designed not as a sterile facility, but as a welcoming, home-like safe space, Our Center provides vital health partnerships, educational classes, and essential resources for the community. Join Linda as she speaks with Executive Director Evelyn Brumar,…
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Why I Transitioned — Speaking Out After 37 Years
Nearly 37 years after transitioning, I reveal that the anonymous “Emma” from Emma’s Story was me. This is not simply the story of my transition, but of the fear, depression, hope, and healing that shaped my life. My hope is that by sharing my own experience, I can help others better understand what it means…
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Discovering I Was Gay as an Adult
Billy shares his deeply personal coming out story, reflecting on what it was like to grow up without fully understanding his identity and eventually come out later in life. In this honest conversation, he discusses self-discovery, acceptance, and the challenges of recognizing who he was as an adult, offering insight for anyone navigating identity, coming…
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Why I Voted YES for a Gerrymander in Virginia
In this episode of The Spectrum, recorded on March 27, 2026, we explore the complex ethics of the upcoming Virginia redistricting vote and its national implications for the LGBTQ community. Host Linda discusses her difficult decision to vote “yes” for a partisan gerrymander—a move that seemingly contradicts her core principles but is intended to “fight…
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From Space Force Colonel to Congressional Candidate | Bree Fram
Retired U.S. Space Force Colonel **Bree Fram** joins *The Spectrum* to discuss her 23-year military career, coming out as a transgender woman while on active duty, and the impact of policies banning transgender service members. In this wide-ranging conversation, she reflects on leadership, service, and the challenges facing transgender Americans today, and explains why she…
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What They Didn’t Teach You In Biology
Nature’s response to a simple binary is usually: ‘Hold my beer.’ In Episode 36 of The Spectrum, we’re moving past the oversimplified diagrams of middle school textbooks to explore the fascinating, messy, and beautiful reality of human biology. From the social lives of bonobos to the intricacies of the SRY gene, we dive into why…
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The “Ick” Factor
In this episode of *The Spectrum*, we explore what homophobia and transphobia really are — not just in their most extreme forms, but in the subtle, everyday reactions that often go unnoticed or are dismissed as harmless discomfort. From personal avoidance to institutional discrimination, bias exists on a spectrum and is frequently rooted in instinctive…
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Polite Words, Real Exclusion
In this episode, Linda shares a recent personal experience that shaped how she wanted to begin the 2026 season. After offering to help test a remote astronomy setup at a friend’s request, she was unexpectedly declined—not because of her skills, but because of discomfort with pronouns and LGBTQ-related links in her email signature.
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Rainbow Ridge Social Club: Building Community in the Northern Shenandoah Valley
In this episode, we sit down with Augie and Paul, two organizing members of the Rainbow Ridge Social Club in Virginia’s northern Shenandoah Valley. What begins as a conversation about social events and friendship quickly becomes something deeper: a powerful, honest discussion about resilience, belonging, and the life-saving importance of queer community.
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Casa BruMar Foundation: Fighting for LGBTQ+ Rights in Virginia
In this episode of The Spectrum (Episode 32, recorded November 20th, 2025), we sit down with Evelyn BruMar, the Executive Director of the Casa BruMar Foundation. Find out how this Latina-led LGBTQ organization serves as a crucial home and resource hub across the whole Commonwealth of Virginia
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ARE & The R.I.S.E. Center
You can find the ARE here: https://aidsresponseeffort.org Transcript: LindaHi, and welcome to Episode number 31 of the spectrum. This was recorded on November 5th, right? Today’s the 5th? KatieYes. LindaNovember 5th, 2025. Today we’re here at the R.I.S.E Center of the ARE in Winchester, Virginia. And we’re going to be talking to folks that work…
The Spectrum 