Author Steven Capsuto joined me in The Locher Room on December 29, 2020 to discuss his book “Alternate Channels: Queer Images on 20th-Century TV.” The book explores the battle for lesbian and gay visibility on American TV in the twentieth century, which pitted sexual-minority groups (from the Mattachine Society in the 1950s to GLAAD in the 1990s) against powerful far-right religious organizations, with TV executives and scriptwriters caught in the crossfire. It documents countless famous or now-forgotten programs, characters, and political skirmishes, examining gay portrayals and the era's few pioneering depictions of bisexual and trans people.

This revised 20th Anniversary Edition (out now) which was fact-checked from scratch, reinstates material which the original publisher cut from the book as well as almost one hundred photos which were also not part of the original publication. The first edition was a semifinalist for what is now the Stonewall Book Award and has been widely used in universities. Capsuto built this account of events from archival materials, a thousand broadcast recordings, and his interviews with showrunners, network and studio executives, and early activists.

Steven was also the lead historical consultant for the recent Apple TV+ docuseries Visible: Out on Television.