A Year in Review
Updates on My Experiments & Genetic Associates
Remember those holiday newsletters where families mail out a tidy little paragraph about each child? “McKaleigh had a great year at Hope Academy. She finished with a 3.9 GPA and the made varsity lacrosse team.” This will be kind of like that, except instead of my unborn children, I’ll be covering my dog, my gay lover, and my creative projects.
THE KELLY MANTLE SHOW (MY PODCAST) 1 Year Old
Have you seen The Kelly Mantle Show? Because somehow, against all odds, producing a weekly podcast has become a very real part of my job. The Kelly Mantle Show just hit its one-year anniversary (wild). Kelly and I first met on the set of my very first show, The Browns, and what began as a creative collaboration quickly turned into a friendship, and now, apparently, a long-term audio commitment. Kelly is a trailblazing transgender actress, a living broadcast-television legend, Mickey Mantle’s niece (yes, that Mantle), and one of the funniest, sharpest people I know. Since launching the podcast in December 2025, we haven’t missed a single Wednesday. Not one. Sometimes it’s been… close. But 53 episodes later, we’re still standing. We’re an independent underdog in a very loud ocean of opinions, and I’m genuinely proud of what we’ve built: a show that amplifies queer voices, centers Kelly’s radical, hilarious, slightly enigmatic worldview, and somehow keeps advertisers like HelloFresh, Mint Mobile, and Zocdoc happy enough to come back. To be honest, podcasting is a much bigger mountain than I expected. Producing one episode isn’t the hard part, but building and running the machine that delivers an episode every single week, for an entire year, comes with a very specific kind of fatigue. But with Kelly, it’s always been a labor of love. She prepares deeply for every episode, shows up fully, and is truly brilliant. If you’re new to the pod, we’ve got a Year in Review episode dropping tonight, which is a perfect entry point into our chaos and ethos. I’ve linked it below. Come say hi.
UZI (MY DOG) 3 Years Old
My dog is open to pets and cuddles from anyone with a pulse. He is truly the sweetest. He doesn’t bark. He doesn’t bite. He sits. He plays. He comes when you call. The final frontier of his training is getting him not to jump on people. And yes, training with consistency is the rule, but consistency collapses the moment he places his tiny paws on your leather belt, looks up at you with those criminally large eyes, and silently asks, “Is love not the point of all this?” In that moment, justice evaporates. All training philosophies crumble. Subordination spreads unchecked, creeping far and wide like his soft little eyelashes, until suddenly I’m apologizing for existing in a world where I thought rules could apply to a perfect baby.
DRAG HOUSE RULES (MY TV SHOW) 2 Years Old
I filmed the second season of a half-house comedy about a dozen rag queens navigating an unprofessional reality show. It was funny. It went great. It’s some of my best writing. I hope the satire of it comes across more effectively this season. More on this later.
CORY (MY BOYFRIEND) 87 Years Old
Cory and I celebrated four years together last August. Cory is not 87. That is a joke. But I cannot publish his actual age if I value my safety. Cory is from Los Angeles, where vanity runs deep in the water supply, but he also has integrity, compassion, and real talent, so I allow it. This year, he landed a new job as a production coordinator at Exactly Right Media, the podcast empire founded by the co-hosts of My Favorite Murder. We love to travel for the holidays. Last year we spent three weeks in Mexico City. This year, we’re doing two weeks in Istanbul. Both have been surprisingly affordable, wildly colorful, and extremely committed to feeding you well.
LEFT FIELD GOODS (AN ONLINE STORE) 6 Months Old
Last summer, I engaged with a collective of artists to assist in the launch of Left Field Good. Left Field Goods celebrates LGBTQ makers, designers, and artists who turn resistance into beauty, joy, and the kind of cool shit your home and wardrobe will benefit from. Every purchase helps fund queer creativity, put money directly into queer pockets, and sends a portion of our profits back into LGBTQ+ charities. I still have yet to put up my own collection on the site (in the works!), but it’s been great supporting the artists involved with design and logistics. If you’ve got a friend’s birthday coming up, or you just feel like supporting some very cool LGBTQ+ creatives, give it a look. I’m especially obsessed with Brandan Ray Leathhead’s 2026 calendar. So good.
Happy New Year friends. Stay safe out there and find the little joys.