For the 2nd episode of Private Parts Unknown, your favorite commuter companions – Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra – are thrilled to welcome Samantha Allen, author of the new book Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States, as well as Love & Estrogen, & senior reporter for The Daily Beast.  First: Your bestie hosts are super excited to be back weekly, effective immediately. Our 1st Helsinki ep drops next week, so now we're looking ahead to upcoming destinations: namely, New York & Tokyo. In the meantime, we fell in love with Samantha Allen's new book, so we had to have her on the show.   Then: Samantha gives us a tour of the thriving LGBT communities in Middle America she discovered on her six-week road trip, which was the basis of Real Queer America. She (& her delightful wife, Corey!) shares how Trump was an unintended source of inspiration for the book, why more letters of the LGBT acronym hang out together in rural areas vs. the cliquey-ness of many urban queer hot spots, the beautiful connections that can be borne out of oppression & opposition, the impact of Mormonism on her gender identity & how her & Corey's love story began in the Kinsey Institute bookstacks!  For more Samantha Allen: Buy Real Queer America + Love & Estrogen Check out her website samanthaleighallen.com Follow her on Twitter @SLAwrites If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo