JT LeRoy: Gender, Deception, and the Ultimate Hoax

The Compendium Podcast

On this week’s episode of the Compendium, we dive into the wild world of JT Leroy, a name that took the literary scene by storm before turning it on its head. Join us as we pick apart how Laura Albert and Savannah Knoop spun the identity of a made-up boy-genius author, fooling the glitterati and bookworms alike. It’s a story packed with scandal and a hoax that has us questioning everything about identity in the arts.
In our chat, today we're not just telling a story; we’re asking the big questions about what happens when the line between an author’s true self and their fiction gets blurry. We'll get into the nitty-gritty of the JT Leroy literary scandal explained, stirring up everything from gender identity debates to the shockwaves the hoax sent through pop culture. So, buckle up—it’s going to be a wild ride through one of the juiciest literary hoaxes ever.
We give you the Compendium, but if you're itching for even more, dig into these rad reads and watches:

1. "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" by JT Leroy
2. "Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT Leroy" by Savannah Knoop
3. "Author: The JT Leroy Story" - Documentary
4. "Sarah" by JT Leroy
5. "The Cult of JT Leroy" by Marjorie Sturm
6. “Who is the Real JT LeRoy?” New York Magazine Article by Stephen Beachy

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Credits:

• Hosts: Kyle Risi & Adam Cox
• Intro and Outro Music: Alice in dark Wonderland by Aleksey Chistilin
• All the Latest Things Intro: Clowns by Giulio Fazio

章

1. Sneak peak (00:00:00)

2. Welcome to the Compendium (00:00:57)

3. All the latest things (00:03:30)

4. Topic of the week (00:13:27)

5. Outro (01:05:01)