PODCAST · society
Unpacking The Closet
by Unpacking The Closet
Unpacking the Closet is a queer podcast exploring identity, mental health, relationships, culture, and self-expression through candid conversations. Hosted by Geri and Caitlin, the show centers lived experience, real questions, and everyday complexity, creating space for listeners to feel seen and heard.-----After four seasons of conversations, we have closed this chapter. This isn't goodbye to the community, just to the mic for now. We're so grateful for every single one of you.With so much love,Geri & Caitlin
Episodes
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Leaving Home, Finding Family: A Queer Story of Activism & Belonging with Eugene MaySky
What does it mean to build a home when you've been forced to leave one behind? This week on Unpacking The Closet, we sit down with Eugene MaySky, activist, journalist, community organizer, two-time Emperor of the Imperial Court, tenant rights advocate, and one of the most influential leaders in…
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More Than an Identity: Queerness as Practice and Resistance with Anna Storti
What does it mean to carry violence in your body? Author Anna Storti joins Unpacking the Closet to unpack her book Torn and the layered intersections of queerness, race, and inherited trauma. In this conversation, Geri and Caitlin sit down with Anna to explore how systemic violence lives inside…
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Litha: The Longest Day
The Solstice Series follows the eight points of the Celtic Wheel of the Year as living mirrors for queer identity, mental health, and the rhythms of becoming. Beltane (May) asked: what do you allow yourself to want? The Summer Solstice asks something harder: what do you do when you have it? When...
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The Politics of Pleasure: From Heated Rivalry to Bridgerton and the Double Standard of Desire
By now you've probably heard of Heated Rivalry, the steamy queer hockey romance that became one of streaming's biggest hits, driven overwhelmingly by a female audience. And if you've been paying attention, you've also clocked the very different reaction some of those same women had when…
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Stonewall, Juneteenth, and the History of Pride
Pride didn't start as a parade, it started as a riot led by Black and brown trans women who were tired of surviving. This episode is about knowing whose shoulders we're standing on, what they actually built, and how we honor that by refusing to be quiet about our joy. #Pride #PrideHistory...
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Beltane: Time to Bloom
Beltane falls on May 1st, the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. It marks the ancient Celtic beginning of summer: a fire festival rooted in themes of fertility, desire, abundance, and permission. For this show, those themes translate into something deeply personal: what do…
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The Power of Being Seen with Kelly Balch
Kelly Balch has spent a career asking people to be fully present in front of a lens and what they've learned is that the camera is only part of the story. In this episode, we go deep into the emotional and psychological architecture behind Kelly's docuseries, what it means to witness someone's...
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When Girls Get the Tools with Christina Yoon
What changes when girls, and especially queer girls, girls of color, and girls at the margins, are given real access to education, resources, skills, and spaces of creation and leadership? Christina Yoon has spent nearly two decades in construction and engineering asking that exact question. In...
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From Gladiator to Guru: Strength, Shame & Relearning with Tiffaney Florentine
Tiffaney Florentine has done everything right, by every external measure. Veteran. CIA. Management consultant. American Gladiator finalist. And still, she hit a wall. In this episode, we explore what happens when high-achieving women realize that success was never the thing they were actually...
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The Local Lens: Storytelling, Bike commuting, Civic life with Helen Krieger
What do a writers room, a bike commute, and Hurricane Katrina have in common? For Helen Krieger, they're all chapters in the same story: one about community, what it costs to lose it, and what it takes to rebuild it. In this episode, we explore how storytelling became Helen's entry point to both...
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Reclaiming Your Story Through Art with Maze Felix
Art has always been one of the most powerful ways humans make meaning, and for queer and marginalized communities, it has often been the only space where our full truth could exist. In this episode, we'll explore how creative practice becomes a site of reclamation: how making art can help us...
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Secrets, Shames, and the Stories That Set Us Free: With Kyle Ridley
This episode goes into tender territory: the stories we hide, the shame we carry quietly, and what it looks and feels like when we finally let them out. We'll talk about the relationship between secrecy and identity, why shame thrives in silence, and how vulnerability, especially in queer and...
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Stories for the Outsiders: A Conversation with Kestral Gaian
In this episode of Unpacking the Closet, Geri and Caitlin sit down with UK-based author, playwright, poet, and performer Kestral Gaian (they/them) for a conversation about the radical power of storytelling. Kestral is the author behind The Boy From Elsewhere and the editor behind Twenty-Eight, a...
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Ostara: Spring, Symbols, and Stories
In this installment of our Solstice Series, we’re exploring Ostara and the spring equinox, the moment in the year when day and night stand in equal balance and the light begins to noticeably return. In this episode, we unpack what we actually know about Ostara historically, including the...
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Romance, Desire, and Writing Love: A Conversation with Rena Sapon White & Ella Schaefer
In this episode of Unpacking the Closet, we sit down with romance authors Rena Sapon White and Ella Schaefer, co-authors of Christmas Pick and Sweet Talk. We talk about what it means to write desire honestly, without softening it, straightening it, or explaining it away. From fantasy and…
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Season 3: The Season of Connection
Welcome back to Unpacking the Closet! This season is all about connection, collaboration, and the joy we build together. In this opening episode, we introduce The Season of Connection and share why we felt called to shift toward community-centered conversations right now. The world can feel heavy...
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Fire Horse Rising: Renewal Under a Ring of Fire
On February 17, 2026, a rare convergence of cycles aligns: the Year of the Fire Horse begins with Lunar New Year, an annular solar eclipse (“ring of fire”) occurs, and Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) marks a seasonal transition in the Christian calendar. In this episode of Unpacking the Closet, we…
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Valentine’s Day: Love, Power & Vulnerability
Valentine’s Day often arrives with unspoken rules: be partnered, be happy, be impressive, be chosen. But where did those expectations come from and who do they actually serve? In this episode of Unpacking the Closet, Caitlin and Geri slow Valentine’s Day down. Grounded in history, cultural…
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Solstice Series: Imbolc, Light Returning, Life Stirring
In this episode of Unpacking the Closet, we continue our Solstice Series with Imbolc, an ancient Gaelic seasonal observance marking the quiet return of light. Rooted in early Irish history and folklore, Imbolc arrives at the threshold between winter and spring, a time traditionally associated…
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New Year, Same You: The Soft Reset We Actually Need
The New Year is here, but instead of reinventing ourselves, what if we chose to return to ourselves? In this cozy, reflective episode of Unpacking the Closet, we talk about why “New Year, New Me” culture is unrealistic, capitalist, and often harmful, especially for queer folks, chronically ill...
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Divine Drama: Queer Love Stories from the Ancients
Across cultures, across centuries, across pantheons, queer stories have always existed.This week, we’re unpacking the myths history tried to sanitize, erase, or rewrite. From the shapeshifting chaos of Loki to the battle-worn destiny of Shikhandi… from Sappho’s tender lyric longing to the tragic...
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Solstice Series: Yule, Firelight, Queerness, and Winter’s Magic
In today’s Solstice Series episode, we’re diving into Yule, one of the oldest winter traditions celebrated around the world. From Norse fire festivals to Japanese yuzu baths, we explore the global history of the winter solstice and why this season resonates so deeply with queer and…
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Queer Holiday Cinema: Gay, Merry & Bright
This week on Unpacking the Closet, we’re diving headfirst into the glittering, chaotic world of queer Christmas movies, and we brought our wives along for the ride! From Carol to Happiest Season to sapphic ranch romances and drag-filled holiday musicals, we’re unpacking what queer representation...
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Letters to Our Younger Queer Selves
This week, we slow down and write the letters we wish we had growing up. In this intimate episode, Geri and Caitlin reflect on the moments that shaped them, the messages they needed to hear, and what it means to offer yourself compassion across time. 💌 From navigating shame and uncertainty to...
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The Joy of Chosen Family
This week, Caitlin and Geri gather ‘round the queer table to talk about chosen family, the people who make us feel at home, even when “home” doesn’t look traditional. From Friendsgiving potlucks to candlelit rituals, we explore the beauty of building new traditions, redefining family, and...
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Tiny Alters Everywhere: Building Sacred Spaces
What if sacred space didn’t require a temple, incense, or even a lot of room? In this episode of Unpacking the Closet, Caitlin and Geri explore how queer folks build meaningful rituals and altars, whether it’s a crystal on your desk, a playlist in your car, or a photo tray in a small apartment....
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Queer as TV: The Characters That Made Us Feel Seen
Before many of us had language for queerness, we had television. We had movies. We had music videos at 2 a.m. that made us feel… something. In this week’s episode of Unpacking the Closet: The Queer Joy Editions, Caitlin and Geri dive into the wonderfully chaotic, deeply formative world of...
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Unpacking Joy as Protest
Pride didn’t start with glitter, it started with resistance. In this episode, Caitlin and Geri trace the revolutionary roots of queer celebration, from the Stonewall uprising to modern Pride. Through history, laughter, and reflection, they explore how joy has always been central to queer…
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Solstice Series: Samhain
Welcome to Season 2 of Unpacking the Closet: The Queer Joy Editions, where we celebrate community, creativity, and identity through laughter, ritual, and storytelling. In our first chapter of The Solstice Series: Queer Traditions & the Wheel of the Year, we’re stepping through the veil with...
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Season 2 Intro
We’re entering Season 2: The Queer Joy Editions, a new chapter filled with laughter, ritual, and queer culture celebrations. While we’ll keep unpacking, we’re also gifting a little more sparkle this time around: holiday stories, drag heat, crafting your own traditions, and queer media nostalgia....
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Season 2: The Queer Joy Editions
We’ve unpacked the pain, now it’s time to unpack the joy Because queer joy isn’t just ours, it’s collective. 💖 We’re entering Season 2: The Queer Joy Editions, a new chapter filled with laughter, ritual, and queer culture celebrations. While we’ll keep unpacking, we’re also gifting a little more...
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The Cost of Being Queer & Sick: Financial & Employment Barriers
In this episode, Geri and Caitlin unpack the overlapping realities of queerness, chronic illness, and poverty—and what it means to feel politically and economically abandoned. From healthcare to employment to housing, we explore how systems of survival are often inaccessible or outright harmful…
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Rest Without Guilt – Why Capitalism Warps Our View of Productivity
Rest isn’t a reward. It’s a right. And yet, so many of us—especially those navigating queerness, chronic illness, or disability—have been conditioned to feel like we need to earn rest through productivity, perfection, or pain. In this episode, Geri and Caitlin unpack the toxic cultural narratives...
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Invisible Workloads
Being queer, POC, chronically, disabled etc. in the world doesn’t just mean navigating your own identity—it often comes with an unseen emotional and mental workload. In this episode, Geri and Caitlin explore the invisible labor of educating others, managing microaggressions, being expected to...
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Authenticity Is a Practice, Not a Destination
In this episode of 'Unpacking the Closet', Caitlin and Geri explore the concept of authenticity as a continuous journey rather than a final destination. They discuss the impact of change on identity, the pressures of social expectations, and the role of social media in shaping perceptions of...
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Medical Bias – Why Some Bodies Are Believed & Others Aren’t
Let’s talk about what happens when you walk into a doctor’s office and they decide you’re the problem—not your symptoms. In this episode, Geri and Caitlin are joined by feminist therapist and HAES-informed clinician Malea Woods, LMFT, to unpack how fatphobia, racism, ableism, queerphobia, and...
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Unmasking, Living Without the Performance
What happens when you stop performing who you think you’re supposed to be—and start showing up as who you actually are? In this episode, we’re unpacking masking: where it comes from, why we do it, and what it feels like to unlearn it. Whether you’ve spent your life people-pleasing…
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Coming Out, Coming In - Identity Beyond the Binary
Coming out is often framed as a single moment—a before and after. But what if identity isn’t a finish line, but a fluid, evolving process? In this episode, Geri and Caitlin explore the experience of coming in to your identity: deepening into yourself, embracing change, and learning to exist in…
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Unpacking The Closet: A Introduction
Welcome to Unpacking The Closet, meet your hosts Caitlin and Geri—two queer, life coaches who are showing up unapologetically to unpack what it really means to live authentically. From navigating chronic illness and identity shifts to challenging societal norms around queerness, mental health…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Unpacking the Closet is a queer podcast exploring identity, mental health, relationships, culture, and self-expression through candid conversations. Hosted by Geri and Caitlin, the show centers lived experience, real questions, and everyday complexity, creating space for listeners to feel seen and heard.-----After four seasons of conversations, we have closed this chapter. This isn't goodbye to the community, just to the mic for now. We're so grateful for every single one of you.With so much love,Geri & Caitlin
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Unpacking The Closet
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Unpacking The Closet have?
Unpacking The Closet currently has 39 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Unpacking The Closet about?
Unpacking the Closet is a queer podcast exploring identity, mental health, relationships, culture, and self-expression through candid conversations. Hosted by Geri and Caitlin, the show centers lived experience, real questions, and everyday complexity, creating space for listeners to feel seen and...
How often does Unpacking The Closet release new episodes?
Unpacking The Closet has 39 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Unpacking The Closet?
You can listen to Unpacking The Closet on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Unpacking The Closet?
Unpacking The Closet is created and hosted by Unpacking The Closet.
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