Actor Denée Benton (Peggy Scott on HBO's The Gilded Age) and historian Hugh Ryan (When Brooklyn Was Queer) dig into the Black and queer history the 1880s and 1890s left out of the record, with Brittany Packnett Cunningham, host of UNDISTRACTED and founder of Da Gild, moderating. Recorded live at Gladys Books & Wine in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, on October 11, 2026, this is the premiere episode of Queer Thinking on… from littlebigworld.
The conversation moves from the drag and queer nightlife of 1890s Brooklyn and the early balls to where queer history hides in the archive, how Denée and the show's Black creative team built Peggy's world, colorism among the Black elite, Denée's own coming out alongside Peggy's journey, what Season 4 holds for Peggy (no spoilers), and what the first Gilded Age can teach us about getting through this one.
Presented by littlebigworld in partnership with HBO Max. The Gilded Age Season 4 premieres Sunday, November 1 on HBO and HBO Max.
Thanks to Gladys Books & Wine for hosting; to Luna Luis Ortiz and Saint James Libations for Ball x Ball; to our community partners Da Gild, BLK MKT Vintage, Lesbian Herstory Archives, Lambda Literary, Zesty World and The Josie Club; and to our gifting partners Penguin Random House, DAME and Chambers Vintage.
Next episode: Tuesday, November 10. Ball x Ball, with Luna Luis Ortiz.
Created and hosted by Chana Ginelle Ewing. Produced by littlebigworld. Edited by canteenkilla. Show art by Karina Diaz.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
The Gilded Age Season 4, premiering Sunday, November 1 on HBO and HBO Max: https://www.hbomax.com/show/2537da31-ff99-4195-a53e-e0e1ddb1d67e
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play by Jocelyn Bioh, with Denée Benton as Paulina, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre through November 15: https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/shows/2026-27-season/school-girls-or-the-african-mean-girls-play/
Dreams in Nightmares, written and directed by Shatara Michelle Ford, in theaters from Lunette Films: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_in_Nightmares
Rachael Abigail Holder, director of Love, Brooklyn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachael_Abigail_Holder
When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan: https://www.hughryan.org/when-brooklyn-was-queer
Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City by Carla L. Peterson: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300181746/
Autobiography of an Androgyne by Jennie June, published in 1918 under the names Ralph Werther and Earl Lind, including her account of the Cercle Hermaphroditos: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/67711
Gladys Books & Wine, 306 Malcolm X Blvd, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn: https://gladysbooksandwine.com
BLK MKT Vintage: https://www.blkmktvintage.com/
Special Collections Section, founded by Jennifer Burchette: https://www.instagram.com/specialcollectionssection/
Rachel Cargle and The Loveland Foundation: https://thelovelandfoundation.org
Dr. David Johns and the National Black Justice Coalition: https://nbjc.org
Weeksville Heritage Center: https://www.weeksvillesociety.org
Soul Fire Farm: https://www.soulfirefarm.org
Da Gild: https://www.instagram.com/wearedagild/
Also mentioned: William Dorsey Swann, Florence Hines and Mimi Roberts, Jack Brown, the Hamilton Lodge balls, A'Lelia Walker, Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar-Nelson, Walt Whitman, Phillis Wheatley, Philip Augustus White, Dr. Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Saidiya Hartman, Akasha (Gloria T.) Hull, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Sonja Warfield, Julian Fellowes, John Douglas Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Louisa Jacobson, and Toni Morrison.
CONNECT WITH BRITTANY PACKNETT CUNNINGHAM
UNDISTRACTED: https://wearethemeteor.com/work/undistracted/
Da Gild: https://www.instagram.com/wearedagild/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mspackyetti/
CONNECT WITH DENÉE BENTON
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deneebenton/
CONNECT WITH HUGH RYAN
Website: https://www.hughryan.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hughoryan
STAY IN TOUCH
Substack, for essays, the next salon and first access to tickets: https://littlebigworldco.substack.com
Website: https://littlebigworld.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlebigworld.co/
Email: [team@ or hello@littlebigworld.co]
