Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel
Bonus: Lesbian Bars and the Secret Formula for Belonging
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Lesbian bars aren’t just nightlife, they’re evolving spaces of community and chosen family, and they have a special place in Jessi Hempel’s heart. On this bonus episode, Jessi sits down with one of Hello Monday’s own producers, Rachel Karp, to talk about her new book The Lesbian Bar Chronicles: The Living History and Hopeful Future of America's Dyke Dives and Sapphic Spaces.
Rachel’s journey started as a passion project: a documentary podcast in which the Cruising podcast team went on a road trip to visit every lesbian bar in the US. Their goal was to tell the history of lesbian bars and stories of the people who go to them. Now, those stories– and the lessons we can learn from them about how to create real-life community spaces–are in a book.
In this episode:
Why Rachel and the Cruising podcast team went on their road trip
Why lesbian bars have endured, even as culture, technology, and rights have shifted
What makes physical spaces of belonging different from digital communities
The role of leadership in shaping inclusive, values-driven spaces
What “chosen family” looks like in practice, and why it matters
What anyone (queer or not) can learn from lesbian bars
Follow Jessi Hempel and Rachel Karp on LinkedIn.