Charlene Coco

from Dam Yankee · host Dam Yankee

Zack Newmark sits down with Amsterdam-based drag queen performer Charlene Coco, to talk about identity, fear, freedom, and what it really means to show up as yourself. Charlene Coco was voted Best New Drag in Town after her debut appearance in Amsterdam in 2019. Charlene is the drag persona born from the mind of Charlie Robertson, a British performer based in Amsterdam who also uses drag to help offices become more tolerant and inclusive. From performing political punk-rock drag numbers to moderating panels at Amsterdam Dance Event, Charlene shares her journey from Oxford private school to the stages of Amsterdam’s queer nightlife. We talk about: • Why drag still triggers fear • The moral panic around drag & trans visibility • Corporate diversity workshops in full drag • Safety, backlash & being visible • God Save The Queer – building community through performance • Pride, politics & protecting nightlife spaces • What allies can actually do Chapters: 00:00 – Taxi in Full Drag & Public Reactions 02:00 – Drag in Corporate Boardrooms 07:00 – Discovering Drag & Early Performances 12:00 – Political Performances & Punk Energy 19:00 – Winning Best New Drag Queen (2020) 21:00 – Building “God Save The Queer” 26:00 – Is Drag More Accepted Today? 30:00 – Fear, Backlash & Moral Panic 33:00 – Supporting the Trans Community 35:00 – Amsterdam Dance Event & Queer Nightlife 39:00 – Why Does Drag Trigger People? 44:00 – Cis Privilege & Taking Drag Off 47:00 – Coming Out (Twice) 52:00 – Drag in the Corporate World Connect with Charlene Coco: https://www.instagram.com/thecharlenecoco/ Connect with me: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharynewmark Instagram (The Dam Yankee Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/damyankeepodcast Website: https://damyankeepodcast.nltimes.nl/

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 26, 2026

Embed this episode

Attribution link and audio player

NOW PLAYING

Charlene Coco

0:00 1:01:14

1×

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Share this episode

Similar Episodes

No similar episodes found.

Similar Podcasts

We're No Dam Experts Rebecca Engum and Shannon Newth Recorded claims from Great Falls, Montana, hosted by two people who know some dam stuff, but are by no means experts. Shannon and Rebecca will share Montana's Greatest Dam Town with you weekly, sometimes even giving you actual experts, and maybe, just maybe, one of them will be a dam (hydroelectric power) expert! We know you'll fall in love with Great Falls, Montana, just like we have. Round the Moon (Version 2) by Jules Verne Loyal Books Jules Verne’s sequel to his “From the Earth to the Moon” begins with a short chapter to catch you up, if you missed the first book.Then we join our three adventurers in their huge projectile as they gather themselves after the shock of being fired at the Moon from the Columbiad cannon. Perhaps in a nod to Yankee exceptionalism, Verne permits them an extraordinary encounter in space, and better yet – to survive it!But that encounter has a lasting effect: despite all the careful preparations to deposit the projectile on the Moon, it appears the travelers are destined to miss it! Careful scientists at heart, the former artillerymen in the projectile note every occurrence faithfully in their notebooks, along with the details of their observations of the Moon as they fly past… and round it. That precision might pay off as they try to figure out what happens to them next: will they fly off into space, become an eternal satellite of the Moon, or perhaps, something else?And do they have an Dave Dashaway Around the World by Roy Rockwood Loyal Books Never was there a more clever young aviator than Dave Dashaway, and all up-to-date lads will wish to make his acquaintance.Weldon J. Cobb was a staff writer for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book packaging company that specialized in juvenile fiction. Under the pseudonym Roy Rockwood, Cobb authored the Dave Dashaway series of books that appeared between the years 1913 and 1915.In this fourth volume of the series, Dave Dashaway Around the World; Or, A Young Yankee Aviator Among Many Nations, Cobb enthralls his audience with the absorbing tale of a great air flight around the world, of adventures in Alaska, Siberia and elsewhere. A nostalgic picture of how the imaginations of children in the early twentieth century anticipated the accomplishments of the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Dam Yankee?

This episode is 1 hour and 1 minute long.

When was this Dam Yankee episode published?

This episode was published on February 26, 2026.

Can I download this Dam Yankee episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.

URL copied to clipboard!