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James Kirchick
@jkirchick
Author, SECRET CITY + THE END OF EUROPE; Columnist ; Writer at Large ; Fellow
James Kirchick’s Tweets
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You can read a note introducing the piece by AIR MAIL's co-editors, Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley: airmail.news/issues/2023-2-
and the article itself can be found here:
Recognizing just how out of favor their ideas are with the public, the “queer” movement is exploiting the goodwill most Americans now feel toward gay people to advance its cause.
LA DA: “In this case, those prosecutors conducted an extremely thorough review, but determined that at this time, there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr. Hammer with a crime."
A lot of people in positions of authority within the LGBT movement appear to have been duped by Sam Brinton. They should have listened to when they had the chance.
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Top LGBTQ organizations let down the movement and undermined the fight against "ex-gay" conversion therapy by offering the unvetted Sam Brinton a media platform. #TruthWinsOut #exgay #conversiontherapy #LGBTQ #LGBT #LGBTQIA #SamBrinton
lgbtqnation.com/2022/12/sam-br
Spoke to about my exclusive for — check your local listings for tonight’s episode.
This is a nice gesture, but the #LavenderScare did not target "LGBTQI+ Americans." It targeted gay and lesbian Americans.
… I guess Joe Biden and his administration also "Don't Say Gay.”
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I had a fascinating conversation with on his Sex & Politics podcast to discuss my interview with Armie Hammer, and why those shocking accusations against him require more scrutiny.
Subscribe and listen here:
It is not America that is “fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian,” but Putin who is fighting Ukraine to the last Russian.
How does one reconcile a commitment to free speech with an abhorrence for hateful speech?
Here is how I confronted the anti-Semitism of Alice Walker last summer at the Mississippi Book Festival:
quillette.com/2022/10/18/cal
.: James Sweet “had nothing to apologize for, but in history and in life, those who have done nothing wrong are often those most ready to apologize, while actual criminals and miscreants offer only denial and excuses.”
The word “gay” is increasingly being substituted by “queer” or, more broadly, “L.G.B.T.Q.,” which are about gender as much as — and perhaps more so than — sexual orientation.
Both the Putin and Mullah regimes are slowly collapsing. May they both disappear.
The 1962 film #AdviseAndConsent smashed taboos of homosexuality on screen. A tense Senate confirmation battle for Secretary of State leads to coverups & blackmail over secrets from the past.
Join me for a screening & discussion w/ this Saturday: silver.afi.com/Browsing/Movie
The great Austro-Hungarian journalist Karl Pfeifer died today. I wrote about him for in 2011. Karl led an exemplary life and my own is richer for having known him.
Great piece in by on the icky, right-wing intramural cat fight between Steven Crowder and Candace Owens
"I’m relieved not to be a young writer today working in this atmosphere of self-consciousness and trepidation, this North Korea of the mind."
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RUDE
I had the good fortune earlier this week to be visited here in Rome by an ex-student who was brought up in Nigeria and has been working on a novel set there. I’ve only read the beginning of the book and have been unable to read more. (At the moment I can’t read much because… Show more
It was so much fun chatting with about SECRET CITY and the hidden history of Gay Washington. Here’s a clip of me talking about the significance of World War II in shaping gay consciousness:
index.supportingcast.fm/subscription/t
George Santos is Paul from “Six Degrees of Separation.” Soon he’ll tell us his father was Sidney Poitier.
Historical presentism run amok.
Excellent piece by examining the controversy over naming telescope after James Webb due to his alleged involvement in the purge of gay employees.
Who could have seen it coming?
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Ye praising Hitler breaks my heart.
Ears ringing from the echo chamber? We’ve got the cure for your political tinnitus! Listen to NOT EVEN MAD, my new podcast with and about the trending disagreements of the week. New eps every Wed! #NotEvenMad mikepesca.com/notevenmad
“Queer” is shouted with rejection, and the resigned expectation — the hope, even — that its adherents will remain forever on the margins.
My latest in : "From Queer to Gay to Queer”:
RIP Tina Turner, who was Simply The Best. If you have not seen the HBO documentary, do so.
RIP, Lillian Vincenz, the first female member of the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C. and a pioneer of the GAY AND LESBIAN movement
This excerpt has everything: Right-wing homosexual assassins. Central American paramilitaries. Dick Cheney. A "sex orgy" in Lake Tahoe. Ronald Reagan in a bathrobe.
SECRET CITY: THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF GAY WASHINGTON is out in paperback today
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Brilliant piece by on King Charles III, who "by trying to be...the voice of the planet...is trying to channel that one thing we all still treasure. Our ailing world."
”Never was so much damaged by someone so petty for something so inconsequential.”
My review of CONFIDENCE MAN, by , for
. Refused to Cancel James Webb. Good.
Blaming the former head of NASA for the Lavender Scare actually minimizes anti-gay discrimination.
“Looking back now, it’s clear that the ‘American Dirt’ debacle of January 2020 was a harbinger, the moment when the publishing world lost its confidence and ceded moral authority to the worst impulses of its detractors.”
.: It wasn’t a threat from NATO that “provoked” Putin to invade. It was decades of Western lassitude and irresolution about Ukraine’s status that enticed the bully to make his mistake.
Great piece by , a 15-year veteran of LGBT media, on the misguided effort to paint the as anti-transgender.
“The defense of Ukraine is a defense of the liberal hegemony.”
Brilliant thread about how the history of homosexuality in Italy features subtly in season 2 of #TheWhiteLotus
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As a historian of sexuality who lived six years in Italy, I loved the 2nd season of #thewhitelotus. There is a lot of history behind seemingly random motifs. It doesn’t only drive the season’s plot but also gives some clues to what to expect next. 
(spoilers) 1/20
(spoilers) 1/20
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Excellent thread, and a demonstration of where university administrative bloat leads
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The Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative over at Stanford is wild. I can see why they hid it as soon as it got noticed.
web.archive.org/web/2022121913
As leaders of a new congressional body aimed at investigating the “weaponization of the federal government” claim the mantle of Frank Church, it’s worth revisiting the “Year of Intelligence.”
My review of THE LAST HONEST MAN
Congratulations to upon receiving
the Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity from
. A belated recognition of the importance of gay history. #ThroughHistorytoEquality
This is a great conversation between two very smart people, and confirmed for me that I am spiritually a Gen-Xer.
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"We can't help being boring. But we can help being lazy." @WDeresiewicz returns to @TheUnspeakPod to talk about art, artists, audiences and how we can get excited again." podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the
0:41
.: The Russian imperial itch is so deeply embedded, it must be excised not just from Russian capability but from the intention and mindset of elites and in the popular imagination.
The first episode of #NotEvenMad was indeed a “delightful disagreement.” , and I agreed about… nothing but I think we proved the coolest kids in high school ARE on the debate team. Give it a listen and subscribe at
With pleasure!
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Very much enjoyed this discussion about journalism, secrecy, and Cold War Washington w/ and moderated by . Thanks for covering:
.: All this Jew wants for Christmas is a five-year moratorium on playing that damn song in December.
Super excited to talk about "Capital Secrets: J. Edgar Hoover’s Shadowy Reign” alongside the great at #NatBookFest on August 12! See the full lineup and learn about the National Book Festival at loc.gov/bookfest
The greatest film about American politics was also the first to depict a gay character explicitly on screen.
Come see ADVISE AND CONSENT this April on the big screen and hear and me discuss its fascinating history.
Always enjoy joining my friends at for the Live From the Table podcast
thelaughbutton.com/podcasts/the-c
Co-sign
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The AHA has released a statement condemning the FLDOE’s recent ruling that "would eliminate almost entirely the history of LGBTQ+ people from the Florida social studies curriculum." #FreedomToLearn #HonestHistory historians.org/news-and-advoc
Congratulations
Hitch on Jeanne Kirkpatrick:
“She made Phyllis Schlafly look like a faggot.”
Courtesy of
Thanks to for having me on @PolitocologyPod to discuss SECRET CITY and the hidden history of Gay Washington
How will crime impact next week's election? Listen to and yours truly debate — civilly — on this week's episode of #NotEvenMad
Thanks to for naming SECRET CITY as one of the best national security beach reads of the summer!
Video of my conversation about SECRET CITY with last summer in a beautiful Provincetown barn. Thanks for posting:
Join me on Oct 11 for #LGBTQhistorymonth at for a talk about my book SECRET CITY, and the history of gay Washington, D.C.
RSVP: eventbrite.com/e/in-conversat
I’ll be in conversation about SECRET CITY with Antonio Monda on May 4th. We’ll be exploring the American fear and fascination of homosexuality through film. Tickets available here:
nyhistory.org/programs/le-co date=2023-05-04
Mike and I are joined by former Obama speechwriter on #NotEvenMad for the debates of the week:
— the Democratic defection of Kyrsten Sinema
— the uneven—or understandable?—Brittney Griner trade
— the continuing Musk-ification of Twitter
Does the defeat of election deniers mark the end of Trump’s grip on the GOP?
, and I are in the thick of the midterms on #NotEvenMad.
Replying to
By the time this is over, “George Santos” will have been revealed to be “Jim Smith,” a white, straight,
real estate broker whose license was revoked
Democrats continually pointing to Republicans and crying “racist!” perfectly demonstrates why they’re about to get walloped in the midterms. I made that point on the first ep of #NotEvenMad. Here’s an excerpt.
Full convo here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not
Great piece by in on the James Webb telescope and sleazy campaign against
"To single out Webb … actually minimizes the Lavender Scare, which was waged by the entire federal government from the President on down.”
quillette.com/2022/12/25/cha
.: “I feel like we are potentially entering an era of socialist realism without the genocide.”
Spot-on observation from report on this week’s centenary symposium on free speech
A giant in the world of gay literature has passed. Michael Denneny, RIP.
Replying to
yeah, when was the Senate confirmation? Stopped watching 10 minutes in.
“With a credo of group safety the newest generation of leftists does not reach out but reaches in. It operates more like a club for members only than a politics for everyone.”
.: “The reason this country is a democracy at all is because Black and Jewish people have loved each other and helped each other and supported each other.”
., and I make strange political bedfellows—but excellent podcast co-hosts. We all took over ’s The Gist yesterday for a preview of our new podcast #NotEvenMad. Subscribe now and get ready for the 1st ep tomorrow!
There are 38 seats remaining for this SECRET CITY book event I’m doing on Thursday eve w/ and the #RainbowHistoryProject
.: The fight over which weapons to give Ukraine is really a disagreement about Germany.
Replying to
Apple is testing your intelligence (and my patience) today. Here's how to subscribe so the 1st ep's in your feed Wed:
1. Open Apple Podcasts
2. Tap 3 dots on top-right (app) or "File" on menu bar (comp)
3. Add a Show by URL
4. Enter feeds.megaphone.fm/notevenmad and subscribe
Though this will not help our inflationary problems, I appreciate the gesture from
More than worth its weight, I assure you!
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Found space in my carry-on for
@jkirchick’s wonderful Secret City even though I’m 4/5 of the way through. It’s really a great book—grateful Jamie took the time to gift those of us who grew up in DC with an antidote to cheap snark & TikTok parodies of our deeply layered city
Does host nation Qatar, a repressive dictatorship, drain all the fun out of the World Cup? For me, it’s that plus the soccer. And segments on the FTX/SBF debacle and the cancellation, or not, of Dr. Leana Wen on #NotEvenMad. Listen here:
Thank you!
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Finished @jkirchick's SECRET CITY last and it's the best nonfiction book I've read this year. Just an unbelievable amount of research and reporting combined with fantastic storytelling.
This is the most succinct and terrifying example I have yet seen of the threat AI poses to writers
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Here is StrikeTalk Week 7. A chat with A.I.
22 Minutes. Pls listen & share widely.
Unless we act, this is our future, maybe our PRESENT.
CEOs need to hear this. CONGRESS needs to hear it - before AI replaces THEM too.
Need your RT on this. Thanks.
megaphone.link/PMC1551872733
Thrilled to be moderating this discussion with the wonderful Thomas Mallon about his new novel, UP WITH THE SUN, on June 29th. Register here:
George Santos is Michael Palin in the cheese shop sketch
.: “We tell ourselves stories in order to live,” Joan Didion wrote in The White Album, famously, but in our present era of narrative manipulation, one might instead say: “They tell us stories about how we don’t live.”
Join me in conversation with the great gay novelist #ThomasMallon this Thursday at the West End Neighborhood Library, courtesy of
With so many election-deniers defeated last week, the loudest of them all announced his 2024 candidacy yesterday. Can Republicans finally rid themselves of him? That’s our top story this week on #NotEvenMad—out now!
My favorite comedians, at my favorite comedy club, animated. Check out STOOPID with
Thoughts on "appropriation." Was Tom Hanks right to say that he should not have played the role of a gay AIDS victim in PHILADELPHIA?
Thanks Jimmy! Fellow Bostonian here.
“there are few things more comical or more worthy of contempt than an American fraudulently playing at being an English aristocrat, which he, the Chipster, did all his adult life.”
.: Conservatives and progressives share only one belief these days—in the irredeemable iniquity of America and what it stands for.
Greatly looking forward to this conversation about SECRET CITY with at the LGBTQ Policy Center . RSVP below!
community.hunter.cuny.edu/roosevelt-hous