About
Dr. Kaila Story is Associate Professor, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, with a joint appointment in the Department of Pan-African Studies. She holds the Audre Lorde Chair in Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
Dr. Story was also a part of NBC’s inaugural #Pride30 which featured LGBTQ Community leaders and change makers.
“#Pride30: Professor Kaila Story Is Opening Hearts and Minds in Kentucky”-Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC , https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out-pride30/pride30-dr-kaila-adia-story-n763466
She also co-hosts an award-winning podcast with longtime Louisville activist Jaison Gardner called Strange Fruit: Musings on Politics, Pop Culture, and Black Gay Life on WFPL (Louisville affiliate of NPR). You can find current and past episodes here: strangefruitpod.org
Strange Fruit Podcast
Dr. Kaila Story is the co-creator and co-producer of Strange Fruit: Musings on Politics, Pop Culture, and Black Gay Life. The Strange Fruit podcast "is an internationally-recognized and award-winning podcast that is co-hosted by Dr. Kaila Story and Jaison Gardner. The podcast averages 6,000 downloads weekly and 24,000 downloads each month. Guests on the podcast have included celebrities like Tarell Alvin McCraney, Idina Menzel, Jill Scott, Janet Mock, David Sedaris, Janelle Monae, and Wanda Sykes, and thought leaders including Darnell Moore, Wade Davis, Dr. Yaba Blay, Dr. Brittney C. Cooper, Monica Roberts, and Patrisse Cullors. Strange Fruit was created in 2012 and has 391 episodes in its archives. Recent awards and honors for Strange Fruit include Outstanding Podcast/Internet Based Video or Audio Show from Pride Index (2015), Bluegrass Black Pride Trailblazer Award (2017), Indy PopCon Best LGBT 13 Podcast (2018), Leo Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards "Best Podcast”, Second Place (2018).
To access archival episodes of the podcast visit, NPR (National Public Radio) at: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/440577316/strange-fruit . The events and press listed below have all been either invited interviews, keynotes and/or workshops that Dr. Kaila Story, along with her co-host Jaison Gardner were requested to do by various news outlets, organizations, or museums.
Listen Up: 12 Podcasts About Race, Social Justice, and Black History https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/02/black-history-month-podcasts-race-social-justice-history
Pass the Mic: Dr. Kaila Story, Sirius RadioXM https://www.siriusxm.com/clips/clip/63c04bed-0899-f292-0747-57f384bed5d7/1c91ba39-040b-4b2d-8595-
Research interests
Dr. Story's research examines the intersections of race and sexuality, with special attention to Black feminism, Black lesbians, and Black queer identity. Her current research explores the intersections of race, class, and sexuality in identity performance, mass media, body politics, and the like. Dr. Story's other research interests include, but are not limited to, Gender Socialization, Transnational Sexualities, Black feminisms, and Transnational Feminisms.
Current and recent courses
- Racism & Sexism (SBD1)
- Black Lesbian Lives (cross-listed with Pan-African Studies)
- Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
- Black Feminisms in Action (cross-listed with Pan African Studies)
- Queer Performance (graduate level course)
- Pedagogy of Black Studies (Pan African Studies)