Behind the scenes of the Twin Cities only bisexual TV program

(FOX 9) - For more than 20 years, BiCities has been giving a voice to an often misunderstood faction of the LGBTQ community through a weekly public television program. Today, the co-hosts say their mission is more important than ever before.

BiCities began its run on Twin Cities television in 2002, with a goal of increasing visibility around bi-sexuality. Hosts Dr. Anita Kozan and Dr. Marge Charmoli say more than 20 years later it’s become a weekly education on all topics LGBTQ.

"It feels like a mission – a calling," said Kozan. "Actually, it feels like a public education."

The show was the idea of local bisexual advocate and author Bill Burleson who recruited Charmoli and her partner Kozan to host the show. Since Burleson’s departure in 2007, the pair has committed to keeping the show running despite the ending of their personal relationship.

"Our desire is to increase bi visibility and educate the general community about bi issues. And we want to dispel some of the myths," said Charmoli. "When I was coming out, it was like we didn’t exist."

Charmoli, a clinical psychologist, and Kozan, a speech and language pathologist specializing in transgender speech rehabilitation, do the show for free and the entire staff is volunteer.

Now more than 300 episodes in, the hosts tackle a variety of LGBTQ topics. Recently, the entire collection of shows was digitized and archived in the Jean Tretter Collection at the University of Minnesota – the largest LGBTQ archival repository in the upper Midwest.

Bi Cities airs every Wednesday night on the St. Paul Neighborhood Network, channel 16, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Episodes can also be found on YouTube or in the Tretter archive.