Boy Erased Filmmakers Produce ‘UnErased’ Podcast with Creators of Radiolab

It was announced yesterday by Limina House, Focus Features, and Anonymous Content that the filmmakers behind Boy Erased, along with the creators of the widely acclaimed Radiolab podcast and radio program will launch a new podcast, UnErased, this fall.

Warning: This article discusses conversion therapy, which some readers may find triggering.

UnErased is going to be a four-part podcast series. It will reveal the controversial truth behind the “pray away the gay” movement and conversion therapy in America.

Limina House will produce the series. Limina House was started by Mikel Ellcessor, the co-creator with Jad Abumrad of Radiolab. The production team for UnErased is Ellcessor, Kat Aaron, Alice Quinlan and Shima Oliaee with the author of the Boy Erased memoir Garrard Conley and the film’s co-producer and cast member David Joseph Craig. Abumrad provided editorial oversight and conducted key interviews.

The upcoming podcast does sound very interesting. According to the press release, it is estimated that between 700,000 to 800,000 Americans have been subjected to conversion therapy, which uses damaging and harmful practices designed to “convert” someone from gay to straight.

The four episodes of UnErased will use original reporting, sound-rich design and deep interviews with individuals, who have experienced, led and criticized conversion therapy, “to reveal a deeply troubling part of our culture.”

Working with The Mattachine Society, one of the foremost LGBTQIA historical archives and a major collector of conversion therapy source material, UnErased brings virtually unheard recordings and documents from key conversion therapy groups and leaders into the light and combines them with original interviews to reveal a complex, and increasingly global, attack on the health and well-being of LGBTQIA youth.

“This series, the original journalism that’s taking place, the stories that are being brought into the light, could not have happened without Joel and Garrard, David, Kerry, and everyone at Focus, Anonymous, and Stitcher. This is an incredible demonstration of people across creative disciplines pulling together to test new boundaries for storytelling, content delivery, and community engagement. It’s our hope that fans of the film, Garrard’s memoir, and the podcast series will immerse themselves in all of these different works so they can have a richer understanding of the context of Garrard’s story. It’s a story that is shared by hundreds of thousands of others and goes on today,” said Limina House producer Mikel Ellcessor. “Limina House is dedicated to creating work where new worlds of insight and emotion open up and we learn something new about ourselves and the lives we lead. Being a part of Boy Erased is a privilege.”

“Boy Erased tells a deeply personal story; UnErased tells the whole story. Combining one of the most comprehensive conversion therapy histories to date, survivors’ accounts and exclusive interviews, UnErased will pick up where the memoir and film leave off,” commented Garrard Conley and David Joseph Craig. “We are honored and thrilled to have partnered with podcast-juggernauts Jad Abumrad and Mikel Ellcessor, and are working closely with the Mattachine Society of D.C. and other LGBTQ advocacy groups to usher our queer stories into the permanent archives of American history, where they have always belonged.”

For those of you interested, UnErased will be available exclusively to Stitcher Premium subscribers in the weeks before the film’s November 2, 2018, release. It will be available everywhere you get podcasts coinciding with the film’s limited release.

Here’s the synopsis for the movie!

From writer and director Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased tells the story of Jared (Academy Award nominee Lucas Hedges), the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who is outed to his parents (Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith. Boy Erased is the true story of one young man’s struggle to find himself while being forced to question every aspect of his identity.

A trailer was released for the film in July.

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Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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