Overview of The Bisexuals (Trailer for You Must Remember This)
This trailer introduces a new season of Karina Longworth’s podcast You Must Remember This focused on bisexuality, sexual fluidity, and the complicated public/private lives of major 20th-century entertainment figures. The season explores how bisexual and queer identities were expressed, hidden, judged, or reshaped by Hollywood, Broadway, and celebrity culture across the early-to-mid 1900s.
What the Season Covers
Central focus
- The season title, “The Bisexuals,” signals a historical look at bisexual and sexually fluid artists and performers.
- The trailer frames these stories around:
- fame and scandal
- secrecy and self-presentation
- relationships that crossed social and racial boundaries
- the tension between public image and private identity
Featured story: Libby Holman
- The trailer spotlights Libby Holman, a blues singer and Broadway star in the late 1920s.
- She is described as:
- sexually fluid
- racially ambiguous
- a major stage performer who became infamous after her tobacco-heir husband died and she was indicted for his murder
- Her story sets up the season’s interest in how sexuality, scandal, and celebrity were entangled.
Other Figures Mentioned
The trailer also teases episodes or segments involving:
- Montgomery Clift — a major Hollywood actor who kept his bisexuality secret
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Josephine Baker
- Tallulah Bankhead
- Nicholas Ray
- Paul Bowles
- Jane Bowles
Tone and Themes
Main ideas
- Bisexuality is presented as a history that was often hidden, coded, or misunderstood
- The season appears to examine how queer lives were shaped by:
- studio-era pressures
- social norms
- racism and racial ambiguity
- gossip, rumor, and legal scandal
- The trailer emphasizes emotional complexity rather than simple biography
Notable lines and mood
- The trailer uses dramatic, archival-style dialogue to evoke:
- self-protection
- defiance
- vulnerability
- the cost of being known or misunderstood
Release Information
- Premieres: September 15
- Release schedule: New episodes every Tuesday in the You Must Remember This feed
- Where to listen: Wherever podcasts are available
Takeaway
This season of You Must Remember This looks like a historically rich exploration of bisexuality in classic entertainment, using famous lives and scandals to show how queer identities were lived under intense public scrutiny. It promises a mix of biography, cultural history, and critical perspective on Hollywood’s hidden past.