The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie & Lina
Welcome to The Cutting Up: A Kiki with Connie and Lina, a new weekly podcast hosted by DJ/activist Lina Bradford and fashion legend Connie Fleming, the show offers unprecedented access to the icons, secrets, and untold stories that shaped queer culture. Lina and Connie are both trailblazing women of transgender experience, with deep backgrounds hosting and performing in NYC’s most storied clubs—and pioneering on fashion runways. They bring their knowledge, stories, and relationships to “The Cutting Up,” offering audiences a backstage pass to authentic conversations that can only happen between true friends and industry legends. “The Cutting Up” goes d...
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis: Club Kid Roots. Public Health. No Holding Back.
This week on the pod, Connie and Lina welcome Dr. Demetre Daskalakis for a conversation that goes from NYC nightlife nostalgia to speaking truth to power—with chosen family, candid stories, and a few sitcom detours along the way.
They revisit their shared club roots and the lessons that followed Demetre from the dance floor into medicine: read the room, build trust, and meet people where they are. Their takeaway? Knowing the science matters. Knowing how to talk to people matters, too.
They dig into LGBTQ+ healthcare at Callen-Lorde, HIV pr...
Sutton Stracke on Housewives, Healing & Letting Go
This week we’re cutting up with Sutton Stracke, talking Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, life after divorce, and finding your power without pretending you’ve got it all figured out. First, we revisit that woozy reunion moment—because bronchitis and a corset were never going to be a dream team.
Sutton gets candid about healing, motherhood, loss, and learning to care a little less about everyone else’s opinions. We get into turning 55, building a better relationship with ourselves, and why personal growth does not come with express shipping.
Gender Liberation Is for Everyone | Raquel Willis
Raquel Willis, author, activist, and co-founder of the Gender Liberation Movement, joins us for a powerful conversation on trans rights, Black queer liberation, Southern organizing, civil disobedience, and the courage it takes to bloom.
Raquel reflects on growing up in Augusta, Georgia, how her Southern and Catholic roots shaped her activism, her arrests during direct actions for trans rights, the work of the Gender Liberation Movement, building support spaces for families of trans and non-binary youth, and her memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom, now available in paperback.<...
From Sense8 to Fire Island with Brian J. Smith
Actor, director and Tony nominee Brian J. Smith joins Connie and Lina for an episode that starts with some crazy Barbie banter and somehow ends somewhere between Sense8, Texas trauma, Broadway nerves, and a very chaotic fishbowl Q&A. (Well, it IS The Cutting Up afterall.)
It’s funny, sometimes heartfelt, slightly unhinged, and full of stories from Brian’s life and career — from growing up in Texas and finding theater, to working with the Wachowskis on Sense8, to teasing his role in the...
Basil Twist: Puppet Magic, Joey Arias & Old-School NYC
Puppeteer extraordinaire Basil Twist joins Connie and Lina for a colorful, hilarious, deeply magical hang about puppets, chosen family, and downtown NYC lore.
Less "interview," more old friends catching up over rainbow looks, fabulous nails, nightclub memories, and puppetry sorcery throughout.
Basil talks about falling for puppets, the legends who shaped him (Jim Henson, Julie Taymor, Mummenschanz), and why bringing an object to life still feels like magic — plus his showbiz family history and the downtown scene that raised them all.
And because this crew can't st...
Mila Jam Gets Naughty: Pride, Broadway Bares & Netflix’s Survival of the Thickest
Season 2 is here, Sugar, and we are starting off with a bang!
The one and only Mila Jam joins us for a hilarious, and completely unfiltered kickoff full of Pride stories, dating confessions, nightlife memories, snack debates, and trans excellence.
Mila spills on her whirlwind Pride season, from making history as the first Black trans woman to headline Boston Pride to being invited back to Cincinnati Pride, performing in Broadway Bares for HIV/AIDS fundraising, landing the cover of The Advocate Pride issue, and appearing as...
The Cutting Up: Previously On…Nicole Ari Parker, Kerri Colby, Carson Kressley & More
Before we launch into our shiny new Season 2, Connie and Lina and everyone at “The Cutting Up” take a look back over the past year. Our “Previously On…” romp through Season 1 features producer Matthew Breen (also known as “HR”) and co-producer Josh Rosenzweig (aka “Palmolive’). We look back on the unforgettable guests, the behind-the-scenes chaos, and the growing community that made it all possible. It’s honest conversations, chosen family energy, queer joy, drag history, pop culture obsessions, and a safe space where guests could truly open up.
The Season 1 lineup was ah-maaah-zing, and included icons, legen...
House of Field, Space C*nt & Downtown Drag: David Dalrymple Tells All
We’re joined by David Dalrymple, designer, downtown fashion legend, and longtime House of Field creative force, for a kiki about iconic New York nightlife and the looks that shaped downtown culture, from Patricia Field’s collaborations with the Keith Haring Foundation to the jumpsuit inspired by Grace Jones’ body-paint era.
We trace the origins of House of Field and working with Pat Field, from scotchlite and girdle-fabric magic to the iconic push-up “carnival” bra, then dive into Boy Bar’s “Space Cunt” era with Mona Foot and Lady Bunny stories, Matthew Kasten’s curation of that n...
Cruising, Kink and a Bath House Kiki with Dr. Lee Phillips
This week, we're CUTTING UP with Dr. Lee Phillips @drleephillips): sexologist, former psychotherapist, comedian, and professional shame-dismantler. Nothing is off the table.
We trace Dr. Lee's path from mental health and substance use treatment to sex therapy and social media, and how he's built a platform that makes talking about sex feel normal, and funny. Because if you can't laugh about it, you're probably still ashamed of it.
The conversation moves fast: moving back to NYC in 2021 and reclaiming main-character energy, '90s club kid nostalgia...
Real Art in a Fake World
What happens when fashion photography, AI, dating apps, and stem cell therapy end up in the same conversation? Chaos. Insight. A little shade.
Legendary fashion photographer Ezequiel De La Rosa (Ez to his friends) joins us for a no-filter talk on art, AI, and where creativity is headed, from capturing someone's true essence through a lens to what "photographer" even means now that everyone has a phone.
We dig into AI's creep into art and acting, how phones and social media are reshaping dating and real connection, and whether love...
A Summer Cookout Chaos Cutting Up
Summer vibes only!
Lina, Connie, and Producer Matt take Summer by storm. It’s all music, cookout food debates, beach energy, Fire Island plans, tan lines, and how you know summer has really started (hint: shirtless runners and sandals).
They kick things off riffing on The Pointer Sisters, Cher, florals (groundbreaking), and the ultimate summer playlist soundtrack — from Donna Summer and the B‑52’s to “Summertime Sadness,” “Summer Breeze,” bossa nova, and Jessie Ware. If you need songs of the summer inspiration, we’ve got you.
Then it...
Fire Island’s Hidden History + Madonna’s Next Act
Pop icon debates, queer history deep dives, and insider cultural storytelling! This week Connie and Lina are joined by writer-producer Jess Rothschild.
First up, Madonna’s Confessions Two album. What do we know and what do we really want Madonna to deliver? Plus a deep dive on mother’s discography: Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light, her stunning debut, and early classics like “Burnin’ Up” and “Borderline.”
Then Jess talks Finding Fire Island...
Moral Panic & Queer Cinema with Blue Film director Elliot Tuttle
Buckle up. This week we’re joined by debut filmmaker Elliot Tuttle, director of Blue Film, one of the boldest queer indie films in recent memory. The film follows a cam boy hired by an anonymous client who turns out to be his disgraced former middle school teacher. It’s not comfortable and it was too scary for some LGBTQ film festivals.
This conversation goes deep, into queer loneliness, empathy vs. morality in film, voyeurism, adolescent desire, and whether art is allowed to be messy. Elliot talks about low-budget filmmaking, festi...
Drag Legend Shequida, The Roxy & Boy Bar: ’90s NYC Nightlife Tea
This week on Cutting Up:
Roxy. Boy Bar. Mars. Absolute chaos.
The legendary Shequida joins us to spill iconic ’90s NYC nightlife tea — from first seeing Lady Bunny at Mars to getting into The Roxy on opening night and navigating the East Village vs. big‑club wars.
We get into:
✨ Boy Bar boyfriend drama that sparked a full confrontation
✨ Connie’s extreme corset era (and the trauma that followed)
✨ The ongoing Fluevog shoe saga (broken… then stolen)
✨ Being the first drag queen in a recurring national TV role on One...
Inside the Movement Defending Trans Equality Nationwide
What does it actually take to defend trans rights in 2026?
This week, Connie and Lina sit down with Victoria Foster James of Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) to talk about the legal, political, and cultural fight shaping transgender equality in America.
Formed from the merger of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), A4TE combines federal lobbying, direct legal services, name-change support, and impact litigation into one powerhouse organization.
More than 700 anti‑LGBTQ bills were introduced in...
Laverne Cox on Trauma, Trans Youth & Legacy
Connie and Lina are back with Part 2 of their conversation with Laverne Cox, and from the jump we are talking about whether trauma is necessary for strength, the political fight over trans youth and puberty blockers, and the real harm of taking kids off medication. Laverne shares how she uses her lived experience in her acting, reflects on a cut monologue in a Keanu Reeves/Cameron Diaz film, and opens up about her Amazon Prime series Clean Slate.
The conversation expands into father wounds, therapy, reparenting the inner child, Black...
Laverne Cox, Part 1: ’90s NYC Nightlife & Her Memoir
Laverne Cox is here, and she's giving us two full episodes.
This is the conversation we've been waiting for! Laverne sits down to talk about 1990s New York nightlife, trans visibility, and her new memoir, Transcendent (out June 9, available for presale now).
Before the Emmy nominations and the global recognition, Laverne was on the downtown dance floors during one of the most electric eras in New York City club culture. The stories do not disappoint. We talk about what it actually felt like to navigate that w...
Why Real Conversations Still Matter (NYC Edition)
This week, Connie and Lina welcome Zach Miller, host of the podcast Before We Cheers, and the vibes are very New York, very cultured, and just a little chaotic (in the best way).
Zach describes Before We Cheers as “the emotional truths we tell before the toast.” The show was inspired by writing his best friend’s wedding speech, that vulnerable, unfiltered moment before everyone raises their glass.
We talk:
The origin of Before We CheersBuilding community in New York’s creative sceneGrowing...What NYC Nightlife Was Like in the 90s (Before Social Media)
What was New York nightlife really like before phones, influencers, and bottle service?
This week on The Cutting Up, we sit down with East Village legend DJ Gant Johnson to relive the chaos, glamour, and dance-floor magic of 80s and 90s NYC club culture.
We’re talking:
🔥 Crowbar Tuesdays
🔥 Boy Bar
🔥 Salon Wednesdays (1993–1999)
🔥 Pat Fields era fashion
🔥 Sugar Babies, the legendary Monday night party.
And yes — the time Lina was electrocuted on stage… and the crowd thought it was pa...
Peppermint on Survival of the Thickest, Trans Rights, and Celebrity Traitors
Peppermint joins The Cutting Up, and the gloves are OFF.
The icon, activist, and 2026 NYC Pride Grand Marshal comes through for what starts as a springtime kiki, and ends up being one of our most honest, most necessary conversations yet. From shouting out Sinners to going all the way in on Caitlyn Jenner's cheerleading for Trump, travel bans hitting the community, celebrity non-apologies, the TLC/Chilli tour mess, and the very specific double standards Black queer people have to navigate. Peppermint says what she says. ☕🔥
...
Cleansing Curses, Taking Leaps & Owning Your Power
This week on The Cutting Up, Connie and Lina are welcoming our brother-in-chaos and Pride royalty himself, David Correa. Shall we start with outfits and an I Love Lucy tangent? Yes, we shall.
David and Lina go way back—all the way to 2016, when he booked her as the resident DJ for NYC Pride’s Pride Island, a year that honestly shifted everything in terms of diversity, visibility, and who gets to take up space. From WorldPride to Hudson Yards to the moment he told Lina (to h...
Alvaro Takes Us Inside 80s NYC Art & Fashion: Antonio Lopez, Naomi & The Golden Club Era
Okay, first of all… yes. The camera betrayed us last time. But like true legends, we came back hotter. On this episode, we welcome back the incomparable Alvaro, an artist, fashion insider, South Bronx original. And this time the cameras stayed ON. Not only is his art all over our “studio,” but he literally presented Connie with a gorgeous original portrait. Because we keep company with icons only.
We get into…
✨ Growing up in the South Bronx with big dreams and bigger manifestations
✨ How he engineered...
Music to Kiki By: Disco, House & the Albums That Raised Us
This week we are joined by producer Matthew Breen (who also doubles as HR, Sugar). We all spiral from the iconic Justin-Britney denim lewk into a full jukebox of memories.
It’s all about MUSIC. The albums that raised us, the songs that cracked us open, the disco divas who built community, the house tracks that baptized us on dance floors, and the very specific art of a “seal the deal” sexy playlist.
Because music is memory, identity, resistance, heartbreak, healing… and foreplay.
We talk about the chil...
Kevin Aviance on Black Queer Legacy, Beyoncé, and Club Kid History
It’s a birthday episode and we are celebrating all month, Sugar and we’re setting intentions.
Connie and Lena kick things off with a mystical little “circle of three” blessing before summoning the icon, the legend, the voice you definitely know — Kevin Aviance — for the ultimate backstage Kiki.
We get into why our work is political (yes, even the glam), how assimilation has dulled parts of LGBTQ+ culture, and why movements that centered white gay men too often erased Black and trans pioneers like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. We talk about how Black Lives...
Joey Arias Unfiltered: Nightlife, Mugler & a Legendary Downtown Life
This week on The Cutting Up, Connie and I are kiki‑ing in Washington Heights like it’s a downtown séance — and our guest? Only a living, breathing piece of NYC nightlife history: the one and only Joey Arias.
Yes. That Joey Arias.
Performance art legend. Mugler muse. Warhol era mischief-maker. Billie Holiday channeler. Downtown royalty.
We kick off doing what we do best: manifesting peace on earth, success, spiritual elevation… and obviously a hot man. Priorities.
From ther...
Glam, Grit & Glisten: Our Convo with Wilson Cruz
Baby… this episode? A whole mood.
Wilson Cruz dropped into The Cutting Up and we started where all important conversations start: backstage glam. Because if we’re going to talk about surviving late-stage capitalism and political chaos, we’re at least doing it moisturized.
But don’t get it twisted — the kiki got real.
We talked about what it means to trust timing in a career that’s feast‑or‑famine. Wilson’s been in this game for decades, and instead of spiraling when the...
Our First Times: Crushes, Chaos & A Married Man
This week’s kiki starts creamy… but quickly turns into a full-blown “the first time I…” chaos! .
Yes, we open with creamsicles, Charlie perfume, and a head-to-toe cream moment (because aesthetics matter). But the real meat of this episode? Our firsts. We play a rapid-fire game of:
First crushFirst best friendFirst heartbreakFirst album that changed our personalityFirst celebrity crush (problematic? nah!)First concertFirst time getting in troubleFirst fight (and why Webster Hall still...Kiki, Chaos & Crisco (Yes, THAT Crisco): Backstage with Connie & Lena
Oooh Sugar, we are back and bring you a peek “backstage” - it’s unfiltered, off-the-rails and spiritually protected, okay?? Because why did we start the episode spraying “Go Away Evil” like we were cleansing demons… and almost took ourselves out in the process. I nearly gagged. Connie was no help. Pure chaos from the jump.
Then we get into these MEN…
Listen, we are not here to be fetishized. We are not here to be gaslit. And we are definitely not here for “so… what surgeries have you had?” over appetizers.<...
Psychic Tea & Protection Spells
Hey Sugar, we’re back! 💋
This week on The Cutting Up, Connie and I start with a cute little backstage kiki — you know, just casually spiraling from Diane Freis dresses and YSL fantasy to vintage perfume memories and our retro TV crushes. As one does.
But then… the energy shifts.
I start talking about listening to that inner voice (because mine does not whisper, she announces), grounding in nature, and this magical fog-meets-sunlight moment I had on a mountain that felt like the earth...
Love Bombs & Trash‑Bag Exits: The Dating Red Flags We Missed
🚩 If he says “I don’t really give compliments…” baby, that’s your cue. 🚩
This week on The Cutting Up, we’ve got outfit breakdowns, supermodel nostalgia, and mental Versace campaigns. But then we unpack our prophetic dreams and talk about men who should’ve been sent packing.
We get into red flags we ignored, love bombing, men who order for you at dinner like we’re on Mad Men, and that very specific “you owe me” hint after they pick up the check. And wha...
Connie & Lina’s Valentine’s Day Survival Guide
Okay Sugar, it’s Valentine’s Day and we are serving opinions and giggles. This episode is basically a heart‑shaped box of chaos.
First up, dating apps that test my patience, then subway crushes that live rent‑free in our minds. What are the romantic gestures that actually matter? And why honesty in relationships is non‑negotiable , even when it’s awkward. We answer your questions, overshare a bit (#toetrix), and sprinkle in sisterly banter like it’s our love language.
Whether you’re coupled up, single by choice or circumstance...
Cutting Up with the Cosmos: David Odyssey Reads Lina & Connie
On this episode of The Cutting Up, we went full cosmic with David Odyssey from Heavenly Bodies. Honey, that’s a crossover! And it felt magical, grounding, and just plain fun.
We started out reminiscing (yes, The B‑52s DID come up 💃) before diving into what was really in the air: astrology, tarot, and the energetic shifts happening both collectively and personally right now. David led us through powerful tarot readings that opened up conversations about authenticity, transformation, love, and self‑discovery, and honestly… the cards did not hol...
Hollywood, Casting & Life as a Trans Actress
This week on the pod, Connie and I are doing what we do best: talking fashion, reliving auditions we absolutely should have booked, and unpacking the absolute circus that is today’s news cycle. We get into door‑knocker earrings (obviously), guilty pleasures, iconic roles, and the very real gymnastics trans actors have to do just to exist in Hollywood.
We’re joined by the fabulous Matthew Breen, who helps us connect fashion, media, and those unforgettable NYC nightlife moments (yes, Jackie’s 60, we see you). From MTV memories to club cha...
More Than Makeup: Beauty as Trans Power
Okay Sugar, strap in! This episode of The Cutting Up is serving beauty, history, and a whole lot of truth.
This week, when the gong rashes, guess who it is… the iconic Bradley Miller—makeup artist, educator, and all‑around force—and she sits down for a kiki that starts with nostalgic movie obsessions and legendary lipstick moments, and quickly turns into something deeper, but no less fabulous.
Bradley spills on her journey through the cosmetics industry, what it really means to be visible as a trans pe...
Training the Body, Feeding the Soul: A Kiki with Celebrity Trainer Kacy Duke
We were already in full kiki mode, but once fitness icon Kacy Duke stepped into the chat? Baby. It became a juicy, feel-good, soul-stirring conversation about fitness, confidence, and loving the skin you’re in, no matter the season.
We talked about how our bodies survived the pandemic, laughed about our favorite throwback ’80s workout queens, and confessed what fitness really looks like for us these days. It's not always cute, but it’s got to be honest.
Kacy has trained legends like Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, and Lenny Kravitz, and sh...
Carson Kressley: Style with Heart
Slip on your favorite heels and settle in, because this episode is everything. We are spilling fashion tea from the early 2000s—the era that gave us questionable shoes, plaid overload, and confidence we maybe didn’t earn. And just when you think it can’t get better, Carson Kressley struts into the conversation like the gorgeous gay icon he is.
Carson dishes on everything from his Queer Eye for the Straight Guy days (life-changing, culture-shifting, no big deal) to his time twirling through RuPaul...
Connie & Lina’s Holiday Hot Takes
This week, our brother and producer Matt joins us to ring in the new year!
We share some of my favorite holiday memories from childhood gifts to traditions that still bring the vibes. We talk about how we actually like to spend the holidays, debate overplayed Christmas songs, and give Mariah Carey her flowers. The diva is THE DIVA after all.
We also touch on holiday shopping chaos, festive cocktails, squeezing in that New Year’s jump off, and what drama we are all happily leaving beh...
Connie & Lina's Christmas Pajama Party
What’s the first thing a girl’s to do on a jubilant Christmas morning? Call a sistrix, of course! Sugar, this is unfiltered Christmas energy because if anyone is going to tolerate me before caffeine, it’s a sistrix.
Your girl Lina woke up like this and your girl Connie Girl answered the call, sounding exactly as you’d expect: just risen from the coffin, half asleep, half delighted, and fully confused. What starts as a “Merry Christmas and a Happy Nude Rear!” turns into a full‑blown recap of 2025, complete with laughter, mild emotional...
Pirate Boots & Punk Roots: Connie & Lina’s Tribute to the Iconic Vivienne Westwood
Okay Sugar, buckle up—because this episode was basically mine and Connie’s Olympics. From the moment we hit record, the energy was high, the accessories were rattling, and Vivienne Westwood was in the house hovering over the conversation like the patron saint of chaotic glam.
We kicked things off with a little accessory talk (because of course we did), and before long,we were deep in our feelings about our Westwood babies—yes, the squiggles, the pirate boots, and those corsets. Con and I traded stories - spiraling into memories of punk’s electric...
Joy Reid Unfiltered: Black Identity, Bold Truths, Fashion, and a Little Paranormal Tea
Buckle up, because this episode goes off the rails the way only our show can. Today we have Joy Reid! Yes, Joy freakin’ Reid, the first Black woman primetime news anchor, New York Times bestselling author, and the woman who tells it like it is. We jump right into the deep end with, what else, dolls! It’s an obsession in this house, as you all know. We talk Mr. and Ms. Potatohead, Baby That–a-Way, custom dolls, and then we go thataway talking about Joy’s ascendance to make primetime news history, and how her Jamaican godmother won’t le...
