Podcast appearances and mentions of erin reed

OA1134 - Mere hours after a literal pat on the back from Donald Trump on live TV, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts delivered a 5-4 decision against him in the emergency litigation over Trump's unconstitutional efforts to eliminate foreign aid funding. How much of a win was this really, and why did Samuel Alito spend eight pages in dissent pretending to be “stunned” by the majority's radical assertion that the federal government should pay out debts incurred by valid acts of Congress? We then turn to a less-noticed recent Supreme Court decision with concerning implications for the future of civil rights litigation before appreciating recent Congressional wins: blue city mayors schooling the House Oversight Committee without ever giving up even a  single point in six hours, and Senate Democrats taking a meaningful united stand for trans lives. U.S. Supreme Court's order in Department of State et al v. AIDS Vaccine Coalition (3/5/25) Lackey v. Stinnie, Supreme Court #23-621 (2/25/2025)  Full video of House Oversight Committee's hearing with mayors of Boston, New York, Denver, and Chicago, Associated Press (3/5/25) Boston Mayor Michelle Wu performs George Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Boston Pops (9/22/2024) “Senate Dems Show Spine, and National Sports Bill Dies,” S. Baum, Erin in the Morning (journalist Erin Reed's Substack)(3/3/25) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!

The New Abnormal hosts Andy Levy and Danielle Moodie tear into President Donald Trump's “toddler tantrum” in the Oval Office. Then, journalist Erin Reed talks about the Trump administration's attacks on trans rights from federal erasure to military purges and immigration bans. Plus, Brooke Shuman and Eric Vasquez dive into a video they co produced for More Perfect Union detailing how Elon Musk's Texas playbook explains the moves of the Department of Government Efficiency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Salvatore Manzi (he/him), Speaker, Facilitator, Coach at Leadership Communications and I recap the latest 5 Things (good vibes in DEI) in just 15 minutes. This week our conversation is about history-making wins, Hollywood power moves, and why hiring ghosting needs to go!Here are this week's good vibes:Breaking Barriers, Winning RingsGame-Changer On and Off the FieldHollywood's Leading Ladies Achieve ParityGhosting Is Out, Accountability Is InDEI on the Pickleball CourtGood Vibes to Go: Bernadette's GVTG: Want some Girl Scout Cookies? Consider buying them from trans girls thanks to this list curated by Erin Reed. Salvatore's GVTG: Use the “Golden Bridge” concept: give people a graceful way to walk back something they said that may have been an unintentional mistake. Read the stories.Connect with Salvatore.Watch the show on YouTube. Join thousands of readers by subscribing to the 5 Things newsletter. Enjoy some good vibes in DEI every Saturday morning. https://5thingsdei.com/

Transgender journalist Erin Reed is a respected independent voice with a large following on social media. She met with a group trans people and allies to review the growing list of anti-trans executive orders coming out of the Trump White House (produced by David Hunt). And in NewsWrap: gender-affirming healthcare for Australia's trans and gender-diverse young people is under review, U.S. President Donald Trump “has blood on his hands” after a blitz of anti-transgender executive orders, the Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal take on Trump's new ban on service in the U.S. military by transgender and gender-diverse enlistees, the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear LGBTQ-related children's stories that offend some Maryland parents' religious beliefs, Minnesota's Twin Cities Pride receives double the amount of major donor Target Stores' contribution when it parts ways with the retailer that's abandoning DEI policies, Costo shareholders reject a right-wing sponsored bid to dump its inclusivity initiatives, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 3, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! Emma speaks with Mike Prysner of the Empire Files to discuss Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be U.S. Director of National Intelligence. Then, she speaks with journalist Erin Reed, author of the Erin In The Morning newsletter on SubStack, to discuss Rep. Nancy Mace's recent decision to introduce legislation to bar Rep. Sarah McBride, the only trans legislator in the upcoming Congress, from using the Capitol Hill bathrooms. First, Emma runs through updates on the ICC's issuing of arrest warrants for the leaders behind Israel's genocide of Palestinians, Israel's new one-sided ceasefire pitch for Lebanon, the failure of Bernie's Israel resolution in the Senate, the passage of the anti-non-profit bill in the House, US military aid to Ukraine, the Gaetz ethics report, Pete Hegseth's history of sexual assault allegations, and Linda McMahon's history of hiring people with sexual assault allegations, before watching a little more from the UN as they finally begin to hold Israel to account for their ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Mike Prysner then joins, diving right into Trump's pick of one Tulsi Gabbard for his Director of National Intelligence, and the oddly underwhelming critique of her in the face of myriad problematic potential appointments, tackling how most of the mainstream criticisms of her focus on her odd foreign policy beliefs (support for dictators, Edward Snowden), leaving her deep ties to a deeply ideological religious organization untouched. Expanding on this latter element, Prysner parses through the history and evolution of the Science of Identity Foundation, a religious organization (or ‘cult' to some ex-members) founded by former Hare Krishna member Chris Butler, who – claiming to be THE messenger from God – established and grew this community around himself, with explicit, long-term plans to establish and grow their role in American politics, first taking root in Hawaii with the rise of Gabbard's parents, before she, having been groomed for the role from a young age, became the first elected to Congress. Going even deeper, Mike walks Emma through the central ideological beliefs of the organization, and how they fundamentally shape their education around islamophobia and homophobia, with a near-constant exposure to rampantly and explicitly anti-muslim and anti-LGBTQ sermons from Butler himself, ingraining these beliefs in children, before they step back to examine the community's history of intimidation and harassment of ex-members and critics. Wrapping up, Prysner unpacks Tulsi's role as a political chameleon, from her odd foreign policy takes to her Bernie-to-leaving-the-left pipeline, as a reflection of the organization's deep desire to climb the rungs of power – something expressed during her time in the military as well – and paints a picture of the role the Gabbard family play within the Science of Identity Foundation as a whole. And in the Fun Half, Emma, Matt Binder, Brandon Sutton, and the MR Crew react to the breaking news that former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination to be Trump's incoming Attorney General, and how some new exclusive CNN reporting on his conduct may have contributed to his withdrawal. The crew also strolls down memory lane to remember when Gaetz defended his relationship with his (completely real) adopted son, Nestor. They then look into the grisly allegations outlined in a 2017 police report regarding sexual assault investigation into Trump's Defense Secretary pick, Pete Hegseth. After, they check in on Emma's spicy appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored", where Emma made Piers visibly uncomfortable because a woman wouldn't listen to him telling her to be quiet. Plus, your IM's! Follow Mike on Twitter here: https://x.com/MikePrysner Find out more about The Empire Files here: https://linktr.ee/empirefiles Follow Erin on Twitter here: https://x.com/ErinInTheMorn Check out "Erin in the Morning" here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityrep ort Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Join Sam on the Nation Magazine Cruise! 7 days in December 2024!!: https://nationcruise.com/mr/ Check out StrikeAid here!; https://strikeaid.com/ Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 20% off your purchase! 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Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

Following the 2024 Presidential election, Diana and Joy reflect on the results and share insights about their families' personal reactions and responses upon learning that Trump will be president in 2025.  The discussion includes a reflection upon biggest concerns and how they are navigating next steps.  Resources mentioned include a reference to Erin Reed's "Erin in the Morning" journalism and FreeMomHugs.org.If you're taking something away from our podcast, we'd appreciate it if you'd take a moment to provide us with a review; the more listeners and reviews, the more people we can reach and support. As always, feel free to reach out to us at transparentlyspeakingpodcast@gmail.com.

I'm out this week taking care of my mental health, so I'm running some shows from this year that deserve another listen, especially right now. Today, from January 16: The Trump slide into fascism has brought with it some dangerous new trends like the banning of books, whitewashing history and a massive backsliding of personal rights like abortion and bodily autonomy. One of the most heinous attacks has been on the rights of people to live their own authentic lives.I've been hyper-focused on what's going on in Florida as I lived there for much of my life. The current governor is the worst in the country when it comes to pushing his own perverted sense of morals on the rest of the nation from his sickening directives like the “Don't Say Gay” bill, prohibitions on African American studies AP high school courses and 6-week abortion ban for a start.Now, as the legislative session began this week, we learn of new legislation that would outlaw transgender adults. Really. I'm not overstating that.I learned of this latest outrage last week though an article at Alternet written by one of today's guests. Erin Reed, aka Erin in the Morning, whose substack of the same name reports on trans and queer news and legislation so that we're all aware of what is going on.Erin and I will be joined by our old friend ‘Boca' Britany Somers, host of The Brit Somers Show, a trans woman trying to live her life in Floriduh.

If you've watched TV this month, you've likely seen campaign ads supporting Donald Trump by attacking Kamala Harris over transgender issues. From Oct. 7 to Oct. 20, Trump's campaign and pro-Trump groups spent an estimated $95 million on ads, more than 41 percent of which were anti-trans. Independent journalist and LGBTQ+ activist Erin Reed joins Laura Barrón-López to discuss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

One of our favorite power couples is back! The AP first dubbed them the Transgender Power Couple. Journalist Erin Reed was formerly the digital director of The American Independent. She currently writes for the Los Angeles Blade and Harpers Bazaar.. She is a researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker. Her fiance is Zooey Zephyr, member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 100th district.  Zephyr was a vocal opponent of multiple anti-LGBT bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. During a floor debate on April 18, 2023, Zephyr admonished those who supported Senate Bill 99, which prohibits gender-affirming medical and surgical care for minors. She first commented, "If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed."  When this remark triggered an objection from Republican majority leader Sue Vinton, Zephyr replied, "The only thing I will say is if you vote 'yes' on this bill and 'yes' on these amendments, I hope the next time there's an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands." This led to a massive attempt by the state Republicans to censure her and silence her. Months ago we enjoyed a rigorous conversation with these two about the state of transgender rights, and today we get their insights on that subject from the purview of the DNC, plus discussion on current issues.

One of our favorite power couples is back! The AP first dubbed them the Transgender Power Couple. Journalist Erin Reed was formerly the digital director of The American Independent. She currently writes for the Los Angeles Blade and Harpers Bazaar.. She is a researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker. Her fiance is Zooey Zephyr, member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 100th district.  Zephyr was a vocal opponent of multiple anti-LGBT bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. During a floor debate on April 18, 2023, Zephyr admonished those who supported Senate Bill 99, which prohibits gender-affirming medical and surgical care for minors. She first commented, "If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed."  When this remark triggered an objection from Republican majority leader Sue Vinton, Zephyr replied, "The only thing I will say is if you vote 'yes' on this bill and 'yes' on these amendments, I hope the next time there's an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands." This led to a massive attempt by the state Republicans to censure her and silence her. Months ago we enjoyed a rigorous conversation with these two about the state of transgender rights, and today we get their insights on that subject from the purview of the DNC, plus discussion on current issues.

It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Margaret Power, professor of history at the Illinois Institute of Technology, to discuss her recent book Solidarity across the Americas: The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and Anti-imperialism. Then, she's joined by journalist Erin Reed, author of the Erin In The Morning newsletter on SubStack, to discuss how speakers at the RNC have been employing transphobic rhetoric. Check out Margaret's book here: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469674056/solidarity-across-the-americas/ Check out "Erin In The Morning" here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Join Sam on the Nation Magazine Cruise! 7 days in December 2024!!: https://nationcruise.com/mr/ Check out the "Repair Gaza" campaign courtesy of the Glia Project here: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/rebuild_gaza_help_repair_and_rebuild_the_lives_and_work_of_our_glia_team#!/ Check out StrikeAid here!; https://strikeaid.com/ Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: Henson Shaving: It's time to say no to subscriptions and yes to a razor that'll last you a lifetime. Visit https://HENSONSHAVING.com/MAJORITY to pick the razor for you and use code MAJORITY and you'll get two years' worth of blades free with your razor–just make sure to add them to your cart. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

The U.K. report by Dr Hilary Cass - Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for children and young people. This episode also includes a broadcast interview with trans journalist Erin Reed, and comment from PATHA, (Professional Association for Trans Health Aotearoa) Dr Tony Reed looks at the issues facing the LGBTI community

Journalist Erin Reed discusses the importance of Pride month, the fight for transgender rights, and the issues motivating LGBTQI+ voters. Daniella and Colin also talk about Donald Trump's tax proposals, and his plans to wrestle power away from federal agencies and Congress if elected.

Eris Young is author of the go-to book on everything non-binary. They break down the basics of the gender binary, painting a more expansive, inclusive, and accurate picture of human identity. What is it like to be nonbinary? What challenges do people face? What about healthcare for nonbinary folks? All this and more, as we talk to Eris Young about their book, They/Them/Their: A Guide to Nonbinary and Genderqueer Identities. About the Guest Eris Young is a queer, transgender writer of fiction and nonfiction. Their books They/Them/Their: A guide to nonbinary and genderqueer identities (2019) and Ace Voices: What it means to be asexual, aromantic, demi or gray-ace (2022), are published by Jessica Kingsley. They were the writer-in-residence at Lighthouse, Edinburgh's radical bookshop, from 2019 to 2022, in 2020 received a Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award for fiction, and are a 2023 IPSE Freelancer Award finalist, in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion category. Transcript ERIS YOUNG: When you step away from the norm in any way, it's going to influence the way people interface with you, the way people treat you, the assumptions they make about you when they see you. I think it just made my childhood that much more complicated. BLAIR HODGES: That's Eris Young, and the norm they stepped away from in middle school that caused some difficulty was the gender binary—the idea that there are two discrete genders, boy and girl, man and woman, end of story. Today there's a growing chorus of scientists, biologists, psychologists, and other specialists who are making it clearer than ever that the gender binary doesn't capture the diversity of human experiences. This includes trans people and all who don't fall so neatly into one category or another. In this episode, Eris Young joins us to talk about their book, They/Them/Their: A Guide to Nonbinary and Genderqueer Identities. There's no one right way to be a guy or a girl, or someone else entirely. I'm Blair Hodges, and this is Family Proclamations. REACHING THE AUDIENCE (01:31) BLAIR HODGES: Eris Young, welcome to Family Proclamations. It's great to have you on the show. ERIS YOUNG: Thanks for having me, Blair. I'm really happy to be here. BLAIR HODGES: We're talking about your book, They/Them/Their. These are pronouns obviously, and they are pronouns you use. Your introduction to this book starts off with a glossary of sixteen terms. But you manage to actually keep it interesting! We'll talk about those terms, but I think it says a lot that you had to spend time right off the bat with direct definitions. Talk a little bit about that decision for the book. ERIS YOUNG: It is a bit odd. You don't often start off with a dictionary or a glossary. Because of the nature of the project and when it came out—this book came out in 2019 and I started writing it around 2017—and at that time we were at the very beginning of our understanding, at least in the Anglophone West, of nonbinary and genderqueer identities and trans identity in the mainstream. For the book I wanted to get into the nitty gritty. I wanted to go deep as quickly as possible, but it meant there was a lot of explaining I had to do in a short space of time in order to be able to get past that basic stuff. I'll talk a little bit later how I feel about glossaries and dictionaries and how that's changed over time. It's very much a product of where I was at and where we as a society were at when the book was written. BLAIR HODGES: You say your target audience is people who want to understand but might not have the means yet. This isn't necessarily for people that have already been in all the online discussions about nonbinary and different gender identities, but for people trying to wrap their minds around it. It can be a little intimidating for people that aren't used to those discussions in those spaces, and you identify some of reasons. It might feel like people are afraid of making a mistake so they're afraid to ask questions, or they might feel like they're virtue signaling if they're going overboard and trying to show how knowledgeable they are. Tell me a little bit more about those dynamics because your target audience was for interested and well-meaning people that just want to learn more. ERIS YOUNG: It is funny how much has changed in the time since I wrote the book. It's only been a couple of years, so when I first wrote it I was very much—and I think that's the strength of the book—I was really doing what I could to reach as many people as possible. That meant I had to do a little bit of explaining and a little bit of making sure my readers were on the same page as me from the very beginning. I've seen the book described as “accessible.” I've had a lot of cis people come up to me and enthuse about the way they were able to use the book to get to know the nonbinary people in their life, or to make their workplace more inclusive. I really value having been able to do that for people. BLAIR HODGES: You mentioned cisgender folks. I'm cisgender. For people who aren't familiar with the terminology, that means my gender identity aligns with the sex I was assigned at birth, the assumptions people made based on what my body looked like back then. I fit into a typical male identity and my body aligns with that. The term “cis” is basically trying to get people to think about how cisgender itself is also an identity. To be nonbinary is an identity in the same way being cisgender is an identity, and it's trying to avoid hierarchies of comparison of better than or less than. It seems to serve an equalizing purpose. ERIS YOUNG: It's absolutely an equalizer, and it's absolutely a way of challenging this otherness. Trans and gender non-conforming people, we tend to get placed into this "other" category, but really it's about repositioning cis and trans as categories of being on an equal footing with each other. ERIS GETS PERSONAL (05:54) BLAIR HODGES: We'll expand on definitions as we go, but let's start here with more about your own personal biography. This book explores your own experiences. You're very personal here. You talk about what it was like growing up. You say you realized as a young child there was something different, or something uncomfortable maybe about how you were encouraged to act and dress and speak and play as a child. Tell people a little bit about how that felt, about how you were. ERIS YOUNG: This is something I've thought about a lot over the years. I think in comparison to a lot of genderqueer and nonbinary people I was fairly lucky. My parents are very liberal in the sense of being quite flexible. They weren't very prescriptive. I did karate. I did art lessons. I managed to avoid a lot of the gendered activities—not to say I was very good at karate or art! I dodged a bullet a lot of people in my position don't always manage to avoid, so I'm very grateful to my parents for that. When I was a little kid, especially an adolescent and in high school, I did feel different. This has to do with my sexuality, my gender, my neurodivergent stuff going on. There were a lot of times when if the adults in my life had had the opportunity to read a book or watch a TV program about transgender or about nonbinary identity, that would have helped me a lot. This is what I'm trying to give to the nonbinary children, the trans children of the people reading my book. I don't think it's going to make a huge difference, but I have had quite a few parents reach out to me, and I've had some intense emotional conversations with parents who, as you say, they're really well-meaning and they're trying to understand, but they've been taught their whole lives gender and sex work a certain way. They're finding it difficult to try and engage while trying not to hurt the nonbinary or trans person in their life. PARENTAL APPROACHES (08:20) BLAIR HODGES: That's right. There are a lot of different reactions parents can have, coming from a lot of different places. Some people might have very rigid ideas about sex and gender being inflexible, and gender assigned at birth is paramount, and so any kind of deviation from that is uncomfortable, or even evil or whatever to them. Then you have people who are more open to it but might see social discrimination and might worry for their kids if they're nonbinary or trans, and they worry about discrimination kids would face. Or maybe even the dreams a parent has for their kids, where in theory they're alright with trans identities or nonbinary identities, but they also have built this story of who their kid was going to be and then they have to let go of that story. I think parental anxiety can come from a lot of different directions and it's not limited to "conservative" or traditionalist, anti-trans feelings, but can also come from people who are open and believe and accept trans identities as well. ERIS YOUNG: I think so much of parenthood and family is—you know, we're so close to it. For some people family and parenthood is the most fundamental and personal thing in their life. That means ego plays into it a lot, whether we want it to or not. I see this talking to a lot of asexual and aromantic people as well. We'll have parents who are good, supportive, loving parents, but when they encounter something that disrupts their own ideas of what their family should look like, it can cause a lot of conflict. Something I'm really hoping for, an idea that makes me quite emotional that I'm hoping for the future, is I'd like to see more parents approach their child's gender journey as not a challenge to them as a parent or as not an obstacle to their idea of their child's happy and stable future. Instead, I'd like to see parents approaching their child's gender exploration and potential transition as an adventure you're going on together as a family. I think for a lot of people this practically isn't possible because society right now makes it hard to be trans or nonbinary or genderqueer. I'm hoping we can have incremental social change, such that in ten or twenty or fifty years we can celebrate it when our children decide they're something other than they were assigned at birth. I think that's a beautiful potential future. I'd like to work towards that. SOCIAL PRESSURES (11:23) BLAIRHODGES: In the book you also talk about some of the ways you felt anxiety, even though your parents were generally supportive and, it seems, flexible and open to different things. You also felt anxiety around public restrooms or different social situations. What were the pressures? Did you feel pressure to conform to the gender binary that you had to resist? What did that pressure look like? ERIS YOUNG: No matter who you are, there's a lot of pressure on you to conform to the sex assignment you were given at birth. Restrooms is a thing. We talk about it a lot. I still have to navigate that, although nowadays when you're an adult you can get away with pretty much anything by walking in and looking like you know what you're doing. But as a kid I was—I don't want to say a little weirdo, but I was quite a shy child. [laughter] I was a nervous little kid. Not really knowing anything about the community that I would later enter, it added this extra layer of complication. I had a good childhood, but I was a funny little guy. I've definitely had some anxiety throughout my life, a lot to do with being neurodivergent. What did it really look like? It kind of really started to come to the fore when I was in middle and high school, so in my early to mid-teens in California, in Orange County. We didn't have strict dress codes or anything. I was dressing in boy's clothes from high school. I think it more influenced the way people treated me and looked at me. When you step away from the norm in any way, it's going to influence the way people interface with you, the way people treat you, the assumptions they make about you when they see you. I think it just made my childhood that much more complicated. BLAIR HODGES: This speaks to the idea of nonbinary people being thought of as egocentric or self-obsessed in presentation and stuff, and what interests me about you is you were not like that. It seems like you didn't want attention. And you also needed to express your gender identity in a way that made you feel comfortable in your body and in yourself. But you weren't going for attention. It seems like if anything, you wanted to not get extra attention. ERIS YOUNG: It's funny because that is the stereotype, isn't it? Pretty much all of the trans and gender non-conforming people I know, myself included, we're just trying to live our lives and because we're now able to be visible and open in a way we never were before, going from invisible to visible is now being transformed into this perception of us being attention-seeking. When you look at the ways some cis people act out and perform their gender, like don't even get me started! It's very funny we do get painted with this paintbrush and it all has to do with visibility and change. It's not that we're visible or trying to be obnoxious about it, it's that we exist and our existence challenges the status quo and makes people think about things they haven't had to think about before. BIOLOGICAL SEX AND GENDER (15:12) BLAIR HODGES: Your book also drills down on gender, sex, and the binary. For people who aren't familiar with this way of thinking about sex and gender your explanation is really helpful. The most common understanding of sex and gender is a binary understanding. The idea is gender is determined by a person's physical body parts, their body morphology, maybe chromosomes, or whatever. That's also supposed to determine sexual orientation as well. Gender identity, sexual orientation, and sex are all thought to be one singular thing. In your book you talk about how humans are loosely a “sexually dimorphic” species. There is a general view of a sex male, a sex female, and so it's easy to understand how we've arrived at these assumptions about sex and gender. But you complicate that for us. Talk about why that binary understanding is problematic. ERIS YOUNG: This is a fun question with a lot of deep potential. One of the things that happened for me, while I was writing They/Them/Their the more research I did, the more it complicated that understanding. I was a twenty-year-old starting to write this book and I approached it with an understanding of: There is biological sex and some people feel they are not whatever they were assigned at birth. In reality, the more you look at it and the more research you do, and the more you look at history and actually biology, that rigid, contiguous binary we've constructed and we've put on this pedestal in our society, it starts to crumble really quickly. It kind of broke my brain and put it back together, and that's part of why I'm so pleased I was able to write this book when I did because it made a lot of things make much more sense to me very quickly. For example, I'm picturing three boxes with arrows between them, and you've got biological sex equals gender equals sexuality. Well, a good hundred years ago we started to disrupt this idea of gender equals sexuality. There are all sorts of different kinds of historical categorizations of homosexual people—as inverts, hermaphrodites. These are the quite pathological words placed onto us or claimed by us at different times. We've pretty much disrupted that connection. We've also managed to start—with some setbacks, there's still backlash against homosexuality, but we're starting to be able to decouple this idea of biological sex equals gender. We've got trans people, we've got nonbinary people, all sorts of people who aren't cis. We're also starting to come to understand biological sex is not as much a scientific reality as we're taught to believe, or as some people would want us to believe. This was something revelatory for me as I was writing the book, is it turns out that intersex conditions—so people who are born with what we might call ambiguous genitalia, or secondary sex characteristics that develop differently from how we would expect them to based on that person's assigned sex, those ways of being, and there's actually dozens of different ways a person can be intersex—they're way, way, way more common than we're led to believe. I didn't know a person could be intersex. I didn't know that was a thing until my late teens. Mid to late teens. BLAIR HODGES: Me too. It may have even been my twenties. ERIS YOUNG: No one talks about it. The only way I was able to learn about it is through the trans community because historically trans and intersex communities have been allied and we share a lot of lived experiences, though we're not always overlapping Venn diagram circles. Intersex people exist and are around and we know them. It's not a marginal experience by any means. BLAIR HODGES: That's even on a chromosomal level, right? It's not the case that it's a simple XX, XY. There are different combinations. ERIS YOUNG: There are women who would present as cis women and who would never be seen as anything other than a cis woman who have a Y chromosome. THE BINARY IMPULSE TO CLOCK (20:30) BLAIR HODGES: Alright, so I think one of the reasons this can be hard for people to grasp is, I think humans in general need these shortcut ways to sum each other up. We want to be able to look at each other, we want visual cues, and just to be able to get a picture of who a person is. Perhaps even a lot of transgender folks, I think, want to present on one end of the binary or another. There's still a lot of social pressure or social expectations or social conditioning. To transition kind of happens on a scale, some people really want to transition in a way that helps them present as female, very female, feminine, femme. Other people want to present as masc, masculine, more male. But nonbinary folks don't always really feel comfortable at either end of that pole. Here's a quote from you: "A genderqueer person will most likely have been raised as either male or female, and most likely will have either a penis or vagina and attendant chromosomes and hormones, but will not feel that either of these labels suits them wholly. They might feel that both or neither of those labels applies." So even with many trans folks the binary is strong, and we have genderqueer or nonbinary folks that challenged that polarity. ERIS YOUNG: That's why we're here, isn't it? We do like categories. We like binaries. As people, we like to be able to make quick assumptions. I don't know if that's an inherent thing for human brains, or if it's something we're taught, but it does take a lot of work to get beyond. For me, I had to do a lot of thinking, a lot of research, a lot of writing and talking to people. I had to be on Tumblr for quite a long time before I could get my brain out of these rigid categories I had been thinking in. In a way that's a privilege, but the more you do it, it's a skill. It's critical thinking. This way of being able to question the categories you're given. As a nonbinary person, I'm quite grateful I'm able to exist in between. I feel like it gives me a lot of freedom to play, to question, to challenge. BLAIR HODGES: I think the more nonbinary and genderqueer folks we get to know, the more automatic it can become. I think even with pronouns. I have a coworker, they/them pronouns, and they're the second person I've spent a lot of time with. It took a little while to be able to automatically think—instead of “translating” it, instead of looking at them and having to decide to use their preferred pronoun—to it becoming automatic. I also found that using they/them more generally helped do that as well. Referring to people as they/them more broadly. Familiarity helps a lot, but also it can be challenging because we don't necessarily know we're running into people who might be nonbinary all the time. As you say in the book, it's hard to even get estimates of how many people identify as nonbinary. That's part of the challenge. ERIS YOUNG: I agree. That's one of the problems. That's why it's so hard to be genderqueer or nonbinary, or one of the reasons is a lot of our social systems are built around these very rigid categories. When you break them, you stop being intelligible to the system you exist in. If I am nonbinary, but I have to choose M or F on a form, I get erased as a person. BLAIR HODGES: That's right. You're facing this on forms, you're facing this as people are interacting with you, and from my perspective as a cisgendered person encountering a nonbinary person, my impulse has been to think, “What are they really?” Basically still thinking in terms of what gender they were assigned at birth and then triangulating from that. So I think people are tempted to ask invasive questions about that. It's not my business what gender you or anyone else was assigned at birth, and the more I've been familiar with actual nonbinary folks and hanging out with them, the less that impulse exists to try to see them initially as "What are they really?" Or where's their transness? Where are they transitioning away from, instead of just seeing them as they are. ERIS YOUNG: When you were taught that binary gender is the only thing, your brain is naturally going to go and try and fit the person you're talking to into one or the other category. The only way to do it, the easiest way, is to get to know people and talk to people, as you say. BLAIR HODGES: Do you have to resist that, too? Does the impulse I'm talking about sound familiar to you? When you see someone and as they present your brain starts to automatically do this processing of what their gender identity is. Because we're in such a cisgender-heavy society, it seems that would be a default. I'm just guessing. I'm interested in your thoughts, maybe even for genderqueer folks, that they might have that same kind of impulse. What do you think? ERIS YOUNG: We're subject to the same social conditioning everyone else is. It's different from individual to individual, but I had to do a lot of, I guess you would call it unlearning, as I was writing the book and as I was getting to know myself. I had to let go of all those impulses. I can't even say I did let go of them because it's an ongoing process. I had to do a lot of unlearning and I have a lot of these harmful or unproductive instincts of trying to once I've clocked someone, my brain automatically wants me to try and wonder their sex assignment at birth. It's quite a harmful instinct and a hard one to get rid of. I have managed to get rid of that instinct by being myself and being with other people in my community. I also wanted to loop back to the instinct of thinking what is the person's sex assignment at birth. That instinct to try and wonder about a person's sex assignment at birth, a lot of that comes from, or at least I think it comes from the way our society as a whole is really obsessed with bodies and specifically with categorizing bodies and medicalizing bodies and pathologizing difference. This is an instinct that exists on a lot of different levels, most often in the medical system, but it permeates throughout society. It feels like a very Western, very Anglophone instinct to seek some kind of essential truth about a person. I use that phrase “essential truth” not on its face value, but what we're seeking is what we're taught to think as the truth of a person, when in reality the truth of a person doesn't have to have anything to do with what's in their pants. I think there's this deep historical process that's kind of still ongoing, that contributes to this instinct we have to clock people. IGNORING VERSUS EMBRACING (28:24) BLAIR HODGES: Yeah, I find myself in such a strange position about it, because there's this weird tension of, it shouldn't matter all that much, but it also should matter because I also want to support folks, especially marginalized folks. I want to understand their experiences. There are legal issues, social pressures. I would shy away from a “gender blindness,” I guess. Or a way of erasing gender identity. ERIS YOUNG: Right. I was at university for undergrad in mid-2010s, I guess, I don't know. There was a lot of discourse around, can you be race blind? Can you be post-racial? I mean, no, because you're a person who exists now. Regardless of whether biological sex or gender or even race, regardless of whether those things are actual "scientific realities," they affect the lived experience of real life people today. It's not possible to be gender blind. I think you're right to shy away from that impulse because I don't think it's necessarily a productive one. That's kind of like saying, "Oh, can't we all just get along?" when you're talking about social inequality. At the same time, I don't want to be gender blind. I want to celebrate people's genders. I want to celebrate a trans woman's ability to joyfully embrace femininity and womanhood. I want to celebrate my own in-betweenness and my own playful way I live my gender. I think there is a well-meaning impulse to "not see gender." I don't think that's necessarily the most productive thing to do, because rather I think we should be trying to celebrate difference. BLAIR HODGES: I think the idea of ignoring it is probably coming from a place of privilege. What it really means is I'm not comfortable with it and so let's just not talk about it-- ERIS YOUNG: I think you've hit the nail on the head. LANGUAGE NERD (30:49) BLAIR HODGES: Yeah, when other people don't have that luxury of ignoring it. Okay, so Eris you're also kind of a language nerd. You have a chapter in here about your linguistics I wanted to talk about, because this is a huge consideration. Language itself can be one of the biggest obstacles to social and legal acceptance of nonbinary and genderqueer identities. Let's talk a little bit about that, including the ways different languages are structured. Sometimes gender is literally baked into language. ERIS YOUNG: When I wrote the book, my publisher sent me a list of topics they wanted to cover and I think pronouns were on the list. But then I rubbed my hands together like, "Something about language, you say?" [laughter] I am a big language nerd. Any chance I get to talk about it I will take. We've had the pronouns debate. I think we're coming to the end of that debate, maybe? I guess my political instinct would be, can we stop talking about pronouns and start talking about suicide statistics? Obviously we can talk about both. But I think this "debate" around, "Oh, is it okay to use they/them pronouns?" Like, whatever. But language does have a huge effect on our lived realities. Anyone who's studied any other languages knows this can be totally different depending on what language you're speaking. Your ability to maintain your own autonomy when it comes to gender presentation—what does it mean for someone to be genderqueer or nonbinary in a language like Spanish, where if you speak about someone else you basically have to assign them a binary gender? That was the kind of question I had been trying to get at. There's other languages like Japanese, for example, and obviously there are caveats here because Japanese society—I'm not an expert—but it's not a wonderful place to be trans or nonbinary or queer, but the language itself just taken in a vacuum, you are allowed to basically claim gender for yourself based on the personal pronouns you use because you refer to yourself with a gender. You can use different forms of the word "I" based on how you see your own gender. I haven't studied it in a while, but it's broadly gendered. That's something you can exercise autonomy in. I could use boku if I wanted to be slightly more masculine, but not as masculine as saying ore, for example. BLAIR HODGES: That's interesting because these Japanese words could be seen as over-gendering things, but it also gives people the opportunity to play with language or to identify themselves in their gender identity more on the fly and more subtly than having to say, "My gender pronouns are this." You can just refer to yourself. ERIS YOUNG: You can signal to people on the fly. BLAIR HODGES: If I was saying “I'm glad to meet you,” I could say that in a way that says “I being a cis person…” They would look at me and what I look like and I can give them gender clues just by saying, "I'm glad to meet you”? ERIS YOUNG: It comes down to a part of gender presentation. One of the people I spoke to in writing They/Them/Their is Japanese and I asked them what their pronouns were, and they use they/them in English and boku in Japanese. Depending on the language you're speaking, the way language shapes gender experience is different. I think a lot of the ways we ourselves use language is so gendered. There's a lot of ways, at least in English, a person is able to signal their own gender in the language they use. BLAIR HODGES: You talk about “natural gender” in language, which is the basic meaning of a word, like "woman," "man," and different languages have these natural gender words. And then there's “grammatical gender—all the ways gender is embedded in language arbitrarily. Like in Spanish, there's your ways of signaling male and femaleness and there's also, as you said, in Japanese this way of signaling gender associated to other words, and even in phrases you might use. And you say there are some “social convention” phrases that are more coded as masculine or feminine. I can't think of any examples, but I guess it might be like, let's say in English saying "holy cow" would be like, "Oh, that's kind of like a boy thing to say. Girls don't really say that." There's coded ways of even sending signals about your gender identity and phrases you use. ERIS YOUNG: You're absolutely right. When I'm saying I don't think we need to have the pronouns debate anymore, I mean I don't think we need to debate about whether it's grammatical anymore. PRONOUN GO ROUND (35:36) BLAIR HODGES: I guess even swearing in English. It used to be more so in the past, but it was not "ladylike" to use certain words. In English too. You mentioned the pronoun debate, I do think it's important to talk about why that is important. Why that does matter to people. There's a quote here I highlighted from the book: "The question at the heart of the pronoun debate is really fundamentally one about autonomy, the ability of a demographic, especially a marginalized one, to name itself and to claim agency or control over how it's referred to, and by extension treated." I think this is what makes some opponents and critics so uncomfortable with the pronoun debate. They don't want to give up control over defining other people. They perhaps feel it's some sort of indictment even of themselves. It's really a control issue and a dignity issue. You talk a little bit about that history too, because they/them/their for a singular, people say, "Oh, ‘they,' that's plural. It's not right to use that singularly." Your book is like, "Well, actually." [laughs] ERIS YOUNG: I do a bit of "well, actually." English has actually had neutral pronouns in it. Old English had them and various times throughout history. People may not know this, but language changes a lot over time. English has had neutral pronouns at various times. I think Shakespeare used them. Jane Austen used them. So to say it's ungrammatical and it's a newfangled thing is pretty disingenuous. BLAIR HODGES: People should note "they" as a singular pronoun actually is older than "you" as a singular pronoun. It was being used earlier than "you." Let's talk about neopronouns too. This is where I feel I have to resist being the old man on the porch shaking my fist at the youths, because when I start seeing all the differences, people might see pronouns like ze and xe and ve, I'm not even a hundred percent sure how to pronounce a lot of these, but so it's easy for me to be the old man on the porch. Give us some info about these newer pronouns. ERIS YOUNG: At the time I wrote the book, there were and still are people who use pronouns like ze/zir, ze/hir, which is a combination of him and her. They get conjugated, or they declined any other set of pronouns. But truth be told, I don't personally know many people that use neopronouns, and I wonder if that is because it's quite difficult to assert that. We're barely able to get people to not mis-gender us and to use they/them. BLAIR HODGES: Like you said, there was a learning curve in being able to learn how to use they/them/their in the way I can now. It's a bigger lift when we're completely unfamiliar with new pronouns. I see the utility of them. I think it's cool. I like how language changes to adapt to new realities. Maybe a hundred years from now someone will be like, "You didn't know? These pronouns have now carried the day." That'd be cool. But I feel that future would be a long way off. ERIS YOUNG: It does feel a long way off. I'll probably talk a little bit later about backlash we're experiencing, especially here in the UK, and I wonder if a lot of people who would otherwise be using neopronouns because they feel that most accurately reflects who they are, are just sort of like, "I can't fight with people anymore. I'll just use they/them." MISGENDERING MISTAKES (40:01) BLAIR HODGES: This speaks to a broader issue of the kind of fights people are willing to have, and the rights that are at the forefront at the moment. That's a political calculation, which also means some people get hurt in the meantime, and pain exists in the meantime. But there are priorities that are set and there are imbalances of power. People get to kind of decide, "Let's rally together. What are we going for right now?" Choices have to be made. I think that can be tricky, but it speaks to the fact that language is a power game. All of this is wrapped up in power. Not that everybody is even necessarily trying to exercise mean power over others, but sometimes we make mistakes. Now I'm looking for tips from you about how people can handle accidentally misgendering somebody, for example, what's a good approach when that happens? ERIS YOUNG: Going back to this idea of we're not really trying to be the center of attention, even just because being the center of attention is quite dangerous, the best advice is to approach the interaction with good faith, understand you may be hurting someone more than you personally can empathize with, and there are certain situations where it's no one's fault. I guess my advice would be if you accidentally misgender someone or deadname someone, you don't need to make a big deal out of it. Make sure the person knows you're sorry and you're trying, but you don't need to necessarily go, "Oh, God, I'm the worst! Oh no, I f*cked up so bad!" Don't make it about you, but also don't put them in the spotlight. You can correct yourself, say sorry, and then move on with the conversation. Maybe you can check in with that person later and say, "Are you okay?" We're all adults here and there are ways of doing it sensitively just as long as you're being as respectful as you can be. BLAIR HODGES: One thing I've been encouraged to resist is to say something like, "I hope you can be patient with me as I learn." Because again, that's making it about me and putting an obligation on that person to police their own feelings or to maybe even feel shame if they feel angry or upset about it. ERIS YOUNG: Because sometimes I can't be patient with someone. I just need to step away. That's a good point. BLAIR HODGES: I love this in your book where you talk about that, how does it feel to get misgendered? And you're like, "Well, it depends on the day. There are some days when I'm feeling fine and I see that as an annoyance and it's like, okay that's not really cool but I can move on." Then you can be in a different space at a different time when it hurts more. And it depends on your relationship to the person who's doing it, or the situation. There's no one way it's received when someone gets misgendered. It really depends. I liked what you said of just being subtle about it, of being straightforward, apologizing, and not making too big of a deal out of it either. That otherwise puts more labor on a nonbinary or nongender conforming person. ERIS YOUNG: I guess understand also you can apologize, and you should apologize, but the other person doesn't owe you forgiveness. BLAIR HODGES: And don't feel resentful if they don't. They have a whole backlog of experiences that your one comment one day can be added to. I think that's all about not making it about me again. I would be making it about me if I was like, "Well, they should forgive me and if they don't then that's a problem," or “they're a bad person,” or whatever. That would be centering myself. I've been working at not centering myself as much, especially coming from a more privileged position, being cis-het, being a white male. I'm perceived as the default or with all the privilege that brings. It's helpful to keep in mind that misgendering can be really hurtful, and other times it can just be annoying. I think being attuned to that is helpful. I want to remind people Eris Young is our guest and we're talking about the book They/Them/Their: A Guide to Nonbinary and Queer Identities. This is a great book. Eris, I'm so glad we're able to sit down and talk with you about it today. And we've got more stuff to cover.  NEGOTIATING UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY (44:28) BLAIR HODGES: I want to talk about the community aspect. It's Pride Month, by the way. Happy Pride, Eris! ERIS YOUNG: Happy Pride! BLAIR HODGES: Let's look at this acronym: LGBTQ. I've also seen it expanded to LGBTQIA+. There are different iterations of it. It didn't occur to me until pretty recently the way the acronym breaks down, the first few letters pertain more to sexual orientation, lesbian, gay, bi, and then we start to get to gender identity. Trans, queer, the T and Q, and I is intersex, A, asexuality, the plus means it can extend to pansexual and aromantic. There's all sorts of things. But it's interesting to me that it's not fully distinguishing between sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and so on. It's all kind of lumped together as these marginalized identities. What that means is the LGB part of it can be really binary and even transphobic as well, even though the letter T appears in the bigger acronym. Let's talk about the LGBTQ community, and how you address that in the book, and some of the nuances people miss who aren't really in those communities. ERIS YOUNG: LGBTQ+, etc. It's an umbrella term. It is an expression of a shared experience of marginalization in terms of sex, gender, and sexuality. Naturally that means it's not a monolith. There are always going to be conflicts within the community. What do I want to say about this? — BLAIR HODGES: It can be a touchy subject. The fact that you paused a little bit, what is that coming from? Just trying to organize your thoughts? Or are there some anxieties about unpacking this stuff? ERIS YOUNG: There definitely is a little bit of anxiety there in terms of, as you mentioned earlier, we're under a lot of pressure, especially right now, to present a unified front to the rest of the world. We have to act in solidarity with each other. The same people who are trying to take rights away from transgender people, if they succeed in five years, they'll be coming after gays and lesbians who only recently managed to secure any kind of real legal or social security. We all need to be acting in solidarity with each other, but that's not always possible. There is a lot of conflict. When you see LGB, and then you go T, and then you go Q, and queer sort of articulates a division within the community that I can see, which is you have assimilationist, usually LGB people, most often cis, and then you've got queer, trans, ace people who are more often likely, at least from my view, to be anti-assimilationist, who are more likely to want to reject the entire institution of marriage because of an understanding that marriage is a part of a heteronormative system. It can't be decoupled from that. I think there are divisions within the community and a lot of the communities I belong to, the genderqueer and trans communities, I do consider myself to be queer. I think that's a more capacious term a lot of us use to describe ourselves. I'm trans, and I'm also asexual. I'm a triple threat of anti-assimilationist queerness because those are the identities that don't really slot in easily into the existing system. There's been a lot of campaigning historically for gays and lesbians to be able to marry, though there is "marriage equality" in a lot of countries now, nonbinary people who don't have one or the other gender marker, often we are excluded from those so-called equal marriages. I think it's inherent to some identities, and obviously these identities don't have firm boundaries between them, but there's a lot of types of ways of being, of lived experience that don't have the luxury or the privilege of being able to assimilate. You see a lot of corporations getting involved with Pride now because the corporations have realized the gays have money now, and a lot of us don't have money yet. The T, that's the poorest subgroup within the LGBTQIA+. BLAIR HODGES: Economically speaking you can see lower incomes, more difficult job opportunities, education, violence committed against— ERIS YOUNG: —Housing, incarceration. BLAIR HODGES: I think there's been some temptation by old school LGB to throw that under the bus a little bit. They would say, I've heard this, "We fought for certain rights and we've got to protect those. We don't really get this other thing and don't feel obligated to it." They want to separate that out and even maybe display blatant transphobia. It's not the case that just because someone identifies as lesbian, gay, or bi they're going to be an ally of trans folks. That's just not a guarantee. ERIS YOUNG: I think that's something that at least I, maybe naively, have been quite surprised and disappointed at. I come in good faith to the community and then I find some people don't want me there. It can be quite frustrating. It undermines the solidarity we're going to need in order to survive the next ten, twenty, fifty years. It's quite disappointing to see. I do want to say at this point I think the handful of gays, lesbians, and “question mark” bisexuals—I think it's mainly cis gays and lesbians who are exhibiting transphobia. That's a very vocal, very limited minority. I think the vast majority of cis gays and lesbians are wholly supportive of the trans community and fully understanding our rights and our rights to dignity, health care, stability, security, they're all interconnected. I think most people within the community do understand that and are working alongside us. But there is a vocal and influential minority within the LGBTQ+ community working against full equality, the full equality of the umbrella as a whole. It's quite hard to see. BLAIR HODGES: These are folks who are going to get platformed, too. One of the dangers is there's a kind of extra credibility in the eyes of transphobic folks. ERIS YOUNG: “We have a gay we can wheel out who hates trans people, that means the whole community does.” BLAIR HODGES: Exactly. This happens with people who have detransitioned. A very small number of folks who transition and detransition in some way for any number of reasons, and then an even smaller subset of that then become spokespeople against trans rights and are platformed and given huge audiences. ERIS YOUNG: Simply because they are able to pander to that transphobic ideology. BLAIR HODGES: It's heartening to hear that solidarity continues, and is more prominent. Your book does a good job of talking about the necessary community building that has to happen if people are going to advance rights and protections. And celebrations too. It's not just about protection. It's also about celebration and embracing and acceptance and curiosity and exploring. That's important as well. ON MENTAL HEALTH (52:45) BLAIR HODGES: As your book talks about mental health issues, I think that's a good transition into that topic, your chapter on mental health is especially careful because some people believe identifying beyond the binary or outside of it, is itself a mental health problem. This has been pathologized even in scientific Enlightenment thinking, as scientists in the late 1800s are trying to classify things and start seeing nonbinary and trans identities as pathological. Talk about the trickiness of mental health. Because on the one hand, it's been pathologized in negative ways. On the other hand, mental health issues do exist within the trans and nonbinary communities, in part because of the pressures that surround it. Mental health is a real concern, but it can also be deployed in really negative ways. ERIS YOUNG: I think you pretty much said it. The mental health chapter in my book—that was one of the topics I knew from the beginning I wanted to talk about, because I wanted to know what was going on. I think that chapter for me was all about trying to pick apart where these negative mental health outcomes actually come from. On the surface we've got these two facts that seem to contradict each other. We have on the one hand documented, disproportionate experiences of mental illness within the trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer communities. On the other side you have this understanding—and this was intuitive for me—this understanding that there is nothing wrong with being trans or being nonbinary. It's not an illness, it's just another way of being in the world. I really wanted in while writing that chapter, to try and dig a little deeper and get at what was really going on. What I basically found was it's a combination of gender dysphoria and marginalization stress, which is this experience, this way of describing the negative mental health outcomes—anxiety, depression—that come when a person is living as a marginalized person. Any kind of minority might experience this. It's the stresses of dealing with microaggressions. The everyday stress of being misgendered, of feeling like you don't fit and that society isn't built for you. BLAIR HODGES: These are physical things that happen. You talk about blood pressure elevation, more stress hormones being released, which is hard on the body, and it impacts mental and physical health. When people feel these marginalized stressors it has physical impacts. As you said, if you were to set a group of nonbinary folks or trans folks and a group of cis het folks next to each other, you're going to see a disproportionate amount of marginalized folks with depression, anxiety, and other things. It would be easy to say those people are broken people and their gender identity issues are because they have mental problems, or they're depressed, or it's part of all that. Instead of saying there's nothing wrong with who they are, but what they experience causes these negative outcomes. That's a crucial distinction to make. ERIS YOUNG: It's a really crucial distinction, but it's also quite a pernicious assumption. I can easily see where it comes from. When you have someone whose existence challenges people in positions of power, I can see why it was very convenient for people in medical institutions to be able to say “It's an illness, look how depressed they are,” and just in that way sort of brush queers, trans people under the rug. ON MEDICAL APPROACHES (56:38) BLAIR HODGES: There's also a chapter here specifically about medical issues, which is another touchy subject. As you've already hinted at, there's some distrust between genderqueer folks, trans folks, and medical resources and medical practitioners because of a history of diagnosis, this history of assuming these identities are disorders, and a history of attempts to cure them. We think of conversion therapy today as a religiously grounded thing, and obviously there are religious groups still trying to practice it, but it also grew out of the medical industry and out of psychology. It wasn't just religious fundamentalists who wanted to fix gay people or trans people, but rather medical industry saying, "Is there a way we can fix this problem for them so their gender aligns with their sex?" That's a long history— ERIS YOUNG: So they reintegrate into society. BLAIR HODGES: Exactly. This is where it's tricky because medical advances have helped, with hormone blockers and helping people medically transition, whether it be through hormones, whether it be through surgical procedures, but behind all of that is a lot of baggage and ongoing distrust. ERIS YOUNG: I think trans people who decide they want to transition medically, whatever that means for them, are put in this contradictory position where you are forced to rely on a system that has consistently dehumanized and pathologized you and people like you. That can create a lot of trauma. It's like being in a position where someone has hurt you and you have to see that person every day. It can be quite harmful. That really does come down to this post-European enlightenment shift in mindset that made us start to see biological sex as a kind of scientific reality and to uphold that as the most important thing. It also comes down to the way we have this system of capitalism that exploded after the Industrial Revolution, and you had men and women's social roles become more and more divergent from each other. Women were increasingly relegated to the home and men were increasingly placed in positions of economic power that were now outside the home. What that meant was, for men in power, it was very convenient for them to use this new scientific knowledge to make claims about the people they wanted to exclude from power. Usually this was women, but it's been weaponized against trans people, colonized people, queer people, generally since that time. BLAIR HODGES: As though there's something inherently inferior about them. ERIS YOUNG: Inferior, broken, and somehow being unwilling or unable or refusing to conform to a very specific norm is a moral failing and an illness. BLAIR HODGES: And hey, we can fix it! Using science. ERIS YOUNG: That's why in the community we have these assimilationist and anti-assimilationist groups getting in conflict with each other, because society offers you a way to re-enter society. Come back to the bosom of society. All you have to do is promise not to challenge the people in power anymore. It's really tempting and I can see why people fall into that. BLAIR HODGES: That can even happen in the process of transitioning too. We're staring down the barrel of all these new laws people are trying to pass that prevent gender affirming medical care, especially for young people. It's at a critical time. The idea of puberty blockers is to prolong a time when a young person can come to terms with who they are. ERIS YOUNG: Just some breathing space. To get to know yourself a bit better. BLAIR HODGES: They want to be like, "That's too dangerous. Let's just cut that completely off and then they can decide when they're older." But that means a body has undergone changes it didn't necessarily have to to begin with. The medical community is offering options now for people to take more control over their identities and their presentation in ways that alleviate suicidality. This part fascinated me where you talked about, for example, a care provider you had who thought you were transitioning to male and was prescribing testosterone and was like, "Your levels aren't where they should be." You're like, "Oh, interesting," but you also felt like you couldn't say like, "They're where I want them to be." ERIS YOUNG: It puts you in this position of having to misrepresent yourself. I think this is not as common anymore. Here in the UK we do have gender identity clinics, for how much longer we'll have those I do not know, but I do know a few people I've spoken to have accessed those services. There are people who are being very open about their nonbinary identity and their desire to transition in a way that isn't strictly from one end of the pole to another. BLAIR HODGES: I'm pausing the interview for a quick second with an update because Eris's words about care being under threat were prescient. Since we recorded the interview months ago, the UK has paused the prescription of puberty blockers for minors, under the advice of a partisan report produced by Dr. Hilary Cass, who other reporters say has worked with anti-trans activist groups and conversion therapists. To get a better sense about why prescriptions are being paused, I suggest following independent reporters who've been covering these stories. Erin Reed and Evan Urquhart are two of my favorite resources to go to. I hope to cover more about these recent studies and these laws later on the show. Back to Eris Young. TRANSITION OPTIONS (1:02:30) BLAIR HODGES: Give us a sixty second snapshot of what the process generally looks like for a young person who, let's say from a very young age they've talked about not being a boy or a girl, or maybe they've talked about being a gender they weren't assigned at birth. What does the process look like to transition? There are many ways to transition, so just give us a snapshot of what people go through. ERIS YOUNG: It varies a lot between the US and the UK and from state to state, obviously, and country to country, region to region. I think rural trans people will experience, for example, using gender identity services in the UK a lot differently than someone who's based in a city. If they're very young they might be able to access puberty blockers. That would only be for a short period of time they would be prescribed. They are not generally prescribed longer than a few years from my understanding. That would just give them a little bit of breathing space, because generally at the point of access of the first point of entry into the gender identity medical system, that's the moment at which a child is able to declare there's something going on with me and I want to explore it in more depth. At the point of being prescribed puberty blockers, that would just give them a little bit of breathing room to talk to people, hopefully. I'm of two minds about speaking to a cis therapist about gender stuff, but explore the community, explore their options, think about what kind of gender presentation feels right for them, think long and hard about what kind of medical transition they might want to undergo or not undergo at all. Then after a few years, they would then in an ideal world access hormone replacement therapy, so either and/or testosterone or estrogen, while this whole time they'll be transitioning socially, ideally, if it's safe to do so, exploring different names, different pronouns. I actually don't know if this is the lived reality of people right now. I'm sure in very progressive cities it probably is. The reality I'm sure is much more difficult than I'm making it out to be. BLAIR HODGES: This is the impression I think opponents have, is this idea that it's super easy and these kids are being manipulated, or the word people use is “groomed.” This term that has been rightly used to talk about adults pressuring children into sexual situations or conversion therapy, but they're trying to use it as though these people are trying to brainwash kids into thinking they're different. ERIS YOUNG: That's the same kind of bullsh*t that was said about gay people back in the eighties or nineties. “They're grooming our children and making them gay.” No. No, we aren't. BLAIR HODGES: Opponents of gay marriage would say, “we can't have gay men in particular father children because what they really want to do is abuse kids” or whatever. We're seeing those exact same arguments play out here. For anyone who has spent any time with a kid who identifies as trans, good luck trying to convince them of something else. I can barely get my kid to brush his teeth every night. There's the claim that it's way too easy, that it's coercive, that kids aren't interested in this really. ERIS YOUNG: It's the reverse. It's the kids that are educating themselves and coming to this with clear eyes and letting go of the social programming they've had. The kids are so much more conversant with all of this stuff than I was at their age. They should be supported in that. BLAIR HODGES: The parents I see are involved. There's nervousness, there's anxiety, and fear and love and all kinds of emotions they're dealing with. It's not this simple process. Your book is helpful in laying out why these processes are necessary and helpful, and also some of the downsides. It's clear eyed about some changes that could improve the system, more patient-centered informed consent models, where medical professionals are laying out options and talking about drawbacks and talking about side effects and talking about possibilities. ERIS YOUNG: I think the biggest change that needs to happen within the medical community is to understand or to acknowledge trans people are the experts on their own lived experience and are capable of making informed decisions for themselves and are best placed to make informed decisions for themselves. Not some faceless gender recognition panel of old cis people. I think that's the biggest change I'd like to see in the medical system. I have no idea if we'll ever get there. LEGAL ISSUES (1:07:19) BLAIR HODGES: Speaking of changes, let's also talk about legal issues. So you say nonbinary folks are most concerned with two factors. First, they need basic legal recognition of their identities, especially on official documents, birth certificates, and other things. Then second, with greater visibility will come a greater need for legal protection from discrimination, from violence. Those are the big things. Tell us what legal protections exist now, and what legal protections you'd really like to see happen that don't exist mostly. ERIS YOUNG: It's a little tricky. These things are changing all the time. They vary by country, they vary over time, they walk forward and get knocked back. Just last year in the UK, we saw Scotland vote by a pretty solid majority to reform the Gender Recognition Act in Scotland. This was the Scottish people voting in favor of making the legal process and medical process for transitioning easier and more humane. It would allow people to start the process younger, and it would eliminate some of the more dehumanizing and traumatic aspects of the current UK gender recognition system. Then what we saw was that Westminster, so the overarching government in the UK, which is a conservative government run by the Tory Party, Boris Johnson or whoever they've got down there now, they simply decided to ignore it. They saw that Scotland had voted, exercised the democratic process, and they decided not to uphold it. The Gender Recognition Act has not been reformed, even though Scotland voted to do it. We've seen even in the course of one year massive progress and massive walking back of that progress because of a transphobic government the UK has. It really varies a lot and it's all extremely in flux right now. I'm pretty excited that I've now been able to, I think at the beginning of last year, I applied for a passport just at the time Joe Biden announced you can now get an X on your gender marker, so I got that which was very cool. I filled out my application and then had to come back to the UK but in my mom's house right now there's a driver's license for me with an X gender marker on it that I have to go and get. I've got these nonbinary friendly, inclusive gender markers on my driver's license. In California, literally all I had to do was fill out a gender declaration form. It took a minute to fill it out. It was super easy. I'm grateful my family is based in California. We have a lot of rights other queers in other states don't. Something I'm wondering is, the more we see progress being made in one area, for example in legal documentation, what then does that mean, for example, to the criminal justice system? Or I should say, the quote-unquote "justice system"? This is all theoretical. What happens to somebody with an X gender marker on their documentation if they get arrested, if they become incarcerated? BLAIR HODGES: If they're incarcerated, where do they go? If prisons are separated by binary where would they go? ERIS YOUNG: Is it possible to change your birth certificate right now? I'm not sure. I haven't looked into it. If it is, how much longer will we have that privilege, or that right of being able to do that? But the more we change things, the more we start to see how entrenched binary gender is throughout the entire system. Obviously, what passes for a criminal justice system in the United States is fundamentally broken and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Part of that is going to be, how is sex and gender treated within that system. I don't know if anyone has done any formal study of people with nonbinary legal documentation or just of nonbinary people within the criminal justice system in the States. I'd be very interested to see what they're finding because it would be another layer of complication on an already horrific experience. BLAIR HODGES: We're also seeing general access to care being affected in places. Utah, where I'm meeting you from, has passed legislation to prevent gender affirming care for minors. It's causing so much pain and damage. Hopefully the courts can help address that, but that remains to be seen. Legally it feels like we have a long way to go, and I think it's going to be a heavier lift in some ways than gay marriage because cis het people could more easily wrap our heads around gay marriage. It was just like, oh, these people want to get married. Cool. ERIS YOUNG: This is us asking for a separate thing. It's not an assimilation. We're asking for actual change, not just to access something existing. IS THERE REASON TO HOPE? (1:12:54) BLAIR HODGES: To be yourselves. Let us be us, not let us be like you. ERIS YOUNG: Yes.  BLAIR HODGES: With that in mind, are you generally optimistic? Let's close on that. What are some reasons for optimism, some things to keep our eyes on? ERIS YOUNG: Something I find reassuring is, it's not the same all over the world right now. We are seeing backlash, but it's not the same. One of my friends here in Scotland, they're nonbinary and their son is trans. They just went to Canada and stayed there for a few weeks. They said they felt safer and more seen and more understood than they had in years of living in the UK. It wasn't just that there are legal recognitions over there. It's the way they were treated in the day-to-day by normal everyday cis people. Just regular people treated them with respect and understanding. They didn't want to leave. In a way, it is cause for optimism because it makes me think it's not this way everywhere and it doesn't have to be. At the same time, it's quite depressing because we can't all move to Canada. There's space there, but you know. [laughter] I want to believe it won't be like it is in the UK or certain parts of the USA forever. I have to hope, but at the same time, and I think directly correlated with the increase in visibility that trans and nonbinary people have had in recent years, we've become really visible or we've been really visible and uncompromising when it comes to claiming space and claiming language for ourselves. What that means is there are a lot of people, especially people in power, who are made upset by that, who are afraid of it because it makes them think about themselves and think about their own position in the world. If they acknowledge us then they have to question a lot of the things they've based their whole lives around. Because they're people in power they've applied an equal and opposite pressure to our own attempts to demand rights and equality. I think the next ten years is going to be difficult. BLAIR HODGES: From where I sit—this is complete theory, there's no study backing this theory I have—but I have a theory that there are more people who would be supportive of nonbinary identities, that there are more people who could come to easily understand trans folks and their experiences, and the opposition is a very dedicated, vocal, and powerful minority of voices who have a disproportionate impact on what policies are passed, on how people are treated. What that means to me is if that's true, that puts more onus on me to use my voice and my position to advocate for equality and for greater understanding. It really becomes the sort of middle grounders or folks who are like, "Yeah, that sounds fine to me. But I'm also living my life over here." That's who I want to start paying attention. Because most queer folks are already in the fight. They kind of have to be. Some take breaks here and there or want to hop out because otherwise they might end their lives or something. For me, I want these folks who are interested, maybe kindly curious, to be more

Erin Reed is a transgender woman, public speaker, journalist and activist who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world, tirelessly reporting on issues concerning the trans community. Her immensely influential TikTok account has over 445,000 followers and her daily Substack, Erin In The Morning, has more than 54,000 subscribers. On twitter alone, her works has been viewed over 250 million times. That's reach.All told, her content has been viewed hundreds of millions of times with one goal: “to achieve gender justice for queer and marginalized people through education and understanding.”Thanks for listening! Now follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Threads. And please consider becoming a Patreon supporter at www.patreon.com/podcastunreasonable. It's a small price to pay to help keep America from becoming a theocracy, dontchya think?

It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Max Felker-Kantor, associate professor of history at Ball State University, to discuss his recent book DARE to Say No: Policing and the War on Drugs in Schools. Then, she speaks with journalist Erin Reed, author of the Erin In The Morning newsletter on SubStack, to discuss the recent gender identity review by the National Health Services (NHS) in the United Kingdom. First, Emma runs through updates on Israel's ongoing assault on Rafah, ongoing institutional support for Israel's genocide among the US government and major corporations, US sanctions against Iran, the White House's climate stance, Boeing hearings, Disneyland unionization, Biden's polling numbers, Mike Johnson's failing speakership, and the Senate's rejection of the Mayorkas impeachment sham, before parsing a little deeper through the recent report on the horrendous abuse and torture of Palestinian hostages in Israel and the ongoing showdown between Columbia University's anti-zionist student body, and hyper-zionist institutional leadership. Professor Max Felker-Kantor then joins, diving right into the evolution of DARE's prevalence in US schools and society, and how it got its start with the LAPD. First, Professor Felker-Kantor walks Emma through the precursor to DARE, with LA Chief of Police Darrel Gates' strategy throughout the 1970s to send undercover officers into schools to bust drug dealers – a project that had been failing as the War on Drugs kicked into full swing by the end of the decade – and his subsequent attempt to shift from cracking down on the supply end of the War on Drugs, to cracking down on the demand. Expanding on this, Felker-Kantor explores the creation of DARE as a joint venture between the LAPD and local schools, with officers essentially becoming ingrained the education environment and classrooms, even going as far as to pitch themselves as friends and mentors to the students, and quickly taking off across the US over the 1980s, before walking through the slow collapse of the program as more and more evidence came out about the strategy's failure in preventing drug addiction or exposure. Wrapping up, Max walks Emma through the extensive funding network of the DARE program, beginning with internal LAPD funding before quickly expanding to state and federal grants over the 1980s and start of the ‘90s, and why its particular ability to cling to its non-profit status has allowed it to remain, in some capacity, as a global organization today. Erin Reed and Emma then jump right into the background for the UK's recent Cass Report on transgender care, stepping back to briefly cover the rise of transphobic activism in the UK at the end of the 2010s, and the major policy impacts it had despite fringe following, including the NHS-sponsored ‘independent' and ‘unbiased' review by Hillary Cass. After giving some background on the evidently not-so-unbiased Cass herself, Reed parses through the clear failure of the report itself to live up to these supposed standards, actively excluding both trans voices and experts on trans care from the report, relying on outdated and fraudulent statistics (compiled by notorious homophobes nonetheless), and repeatedly requiring absurdly high standards for trans care – standards not met by the vast majority of both adult and pediatric care – while rarely substantiating any of the claims about the supposed dangers. And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton and Matt Binder as they talk with Colin from Missouri about sports team owners extorting taxpayers, address the absurdity of “woke” segregation, and watch Professor Ruha Benjamin absolutely nail her acceptance speech for a Spelman College honorary degree by calling out institutional support for genocide and white supremacy. They also dive into the ongoing suppression of student activist voices on college campuses right now, with a particular focus on Columbia University's ongoing campus activism and the administrative backlash, before talking with Genevieve from Tucson about Operation Olive Branch's work helping Palestinians in Gaza. After touching on the mass manufacturing errors facing Tesla's Cybertrucks, they talk with Erin from Atlanta about Cobb County State candidate Gabriel Sanchez, and watch Matt Walsh pretend like nobody cares about women's sports, after months of obsessing about women's sports, plus, your calls and IMs! 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A legal assault on trans rights by conservative groups and the Republican Party is escalating, the journalist Erin Reed reports, with nearly five hundred bills introduced across the country  so far this year. Reed spoke with the Radio Hour about the tactics being employed. But long before gender theory became a principal target of the right, it existed principally in academic circles. And one of the leading thinkers in the field was the philosopher Judith Butler. In “Gender Trouble” (from 1990) and in other works, Butler popularized ideas about gender as a social construct, a “performance,” a matter of learned behavior. Those ideas proved highly influential for a younger generation, and Butler became the target of traditionalists who abhorred them. A protest at which Butler was burned in effigy, depicted as a witch, inspired their new book, “Who's Afraid of Gender?” It covers the backlash to trans rights in which conservatives from the Vatican to Vladimir Putin create a “phantasm” of gender as a destructive force. “Obviously, nobody who is thinking about gender . . . is saying you can't be a mother, that you can't be a father, or we're not using those words anymore,” they tell David Remnick. “Or we're going to take your sex away.” They also discuss Butler's identification as nonbinary after many years of identifying as a woman. “The younger generation gave me ‘they,' ” as Butler puts it. “At the end of ‘Gender Trouble,' in 1990, I said, ‘Why do we restrict ourselves to thinking there are only men and women?' . . . This generation has come along with the idea of being nonbinary. Never occurred to me. Then I thought, Of course I am. What else would I be? . . .  I just feel gratitude to the younger generation, they gave me something wonderful. That takes a certain humility.” 

On this episode, we're joined by Erin Reed. Erin is an independent journalist. She covers transgender issues and anti-transgender legislation for her newsletter, Erin in the Morning, available on Substack. She also does video pieces on Instagram and TikTok. Erin is transgender and uses the pronouns she/her.Erin explained her entry into journalism, what it's like to cover and track anti-transgender legislation across the country. She told us about the stories she's most proud of, ranging from a rebuttal of an erroneous New York Times piece that got more than 4 million pageviews to a personal story about her engagement to Montana state representative Zooey Zephyr (who is also transgender. And she shared the names of other people doing a good job covering transgender issues.Erin's salutes: Evan Urquhart of Assigned Media and Karleigh Webb of Outsports, as well as the Trans Journalists Association.

Gaslit Nation launched in 2018 to help build the Blue Wave, which set up progressive infrastructure that expands today, including in states like Kansas. In Virginia in 2023, our community produced one of the largest phone banks for Sister District, helping to get out the vote, flipping the Senate, and helping elect Danica Roem, the first transgender person to serve in the state Senate. We also protected abortion rights from Posh Trump Glenn Youngkin. An early September 2023 Gaslit Nation episode highlighted the work of the States Project, which raised more money for Virginia than the Democratic Party. Why? Because grassroots power is the most reliable power we have left. We are the answer to the decades-long mission of the corporate-backed far-right to dismantle our democracy. No one is coming to save us but us. That's why our listeners are the least likely to be demoralized by the news that the Supreme Court will drag out Trump's January 6 insurrection case, the one Merrick Garland's DOJ already waited out the clock on, losing valuable time as the coup plotters like Trump and Bannon continue to mobilize their genocidal far-right army. Ivanka and Jared dine with politicians from both parties and continue to serve as anonymous sources for the media that, in return, tries to rehabilitate their (banana republic grifter) reputations. This week's bonus show, answering questions from our listeners, features a special focus on the murder of Nex Benedict, a gender-fluid trans teen killed by the incitement of hate and violence driven by Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok and Oklahoma state school superintendent Ryan Walters, who appointed Raichik to terrorize vulnerable children and their allies. While the grief and anger over the lack of accountability are immense, there are solutions to what we can do, no matter if we live in a Republican-hostage state or a so-called blue state. Other questions from our listeners range from the latest news on the Havana Syndrome mystery and cover-up, must-see places to visit in New York, and whether George Santos will end up on Dancing with the Stars (he will!), and more. If you didn't hear your question answered this week, look out for it next week, as our Q&A continues. Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Join the conversation with a community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit and get bonus shows, all episodes ad free, submit questions to our regular Q&As, get exclusive invites to live events, and more.    Show Notes:    Join Andrea at State Fair to help build our power in the states as a buffer against Russian-backed GOP fascism: https://linktr.ee/statefair   Human Rights Campaign President Asks for Full Investigations by DOJ and Department of Education into Brutal, Senseless Attacks Against Nex Benedict https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/human-rights-campaign-president-asks-for-full-investigations-by-doj-and-department-of-education-into-brutal-senseless-attacks-against-nex-benedict   Contact the DOJ Civil Rights Division and file a report – you do not have to Include your name and contact information. LINK: https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/    If it's helpful, copy/paste and/or select the following information:   PRIMARY CONCERN: Discrimination at a school, educational program or service, or related to receiving education   WHERE: OWASSO PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1501 N Ash St., Owasso, OK 74055   WHEN: February 8, 2024   WHAT: Nex Benedict, a gender-fluid trans teen was killed by the incitement of hate and violence driven by Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok and Oklahoma state school superintendent Ryan Walters, who appointed Raichik to terrorize vulnerable children and their teachers. The DOJ must take over the investigation of Nex's murder. Local officials and school staff failed her, including failing to call an ambulance when she had trouble walking after suffering a hate crime attack. The DOJ must open an investigation now.    You can also send Kristen Clarke, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the DOJ, a message over Twitter: @KristenClarkeJD @CivilRights    How you can support queer and trans kids in Oklahoma after Nex Benedict's death – The Advocate Link: https://www.advocate.com/news/how-to-help-trans-kids?fbclid=IwAR1KDpTCrqpohhRicaDP0cYQkGUZy9mj_zT7E0ZH30Yz282DmvgSGFylC7s_aem_AZIcTG7MHSnhJT6CkblIS6Y9nAQ3krE-taqnVCJswjJS2TJmpkTmq210J81PK3GrGJI&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#toggle-gdpr   Erin Reed on Substack – Erin in the Morning: Chaya Raichik Was Appointed To "Make Schools Safer" In Oklahoma; Now A Trans Teen Is Dead. Nex, a gender fluid trans teen is dead in Oklahoma. Their death comes after a year of transphobic bullying, in a school targeted by the biggest anti-trans influencers. When will it end? Link: https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/chaya-raichik-was-appointed-to-make?utm_source=substack&publication_id=994764&post_id=141878010&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=1xosvv   How LGBTQ Parents Can Protect Their Families After Dobbs – Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms and Other LGBTQ Parents: Know your legal rights including emergency hotlines to call. Link: https://mombian.com/2022/07/15/how-lgbtq-parents-can-protect-their-families-after-dobbs/   Moving Forward After Tragedy and Loss – Mombian: Sustenance for Lesbian Moms and Other LGBTQ Parents. Link: https://mombian.com/2024/02/23/moving-forward-after-a-week-of-tragedy-and-loss/   Davis Hammet's 2018 Twitter Thread on How Building the Rainbow House in Topeka, Kansas Led to Political Change – Twitter link: https://twitter.com/Davis_Hammet/status/1060958025731715072   Activist Davis Hammet speaks on the Topeka Equality House – Washburn Review. Link: https://washburnreview.org/48906/news/news-campus-news/activist-and-loud-light-founder-davis-hammet-speaks-on-the-topeka-equality-house/   “1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture is a feature documentary that follows the story of tireless researchers who trace the origins of the anti-gay movement among Christians to a grave mistranslation of the Bible in 1946. It chronicles the discovery of never-before-seen archives at Yale University which unveil astonishing new revelations, and casts significant doubt on any biblical basis for LGBTQIA+ prejudice. Featuring commentary from prominent scholars as well as opposing pastors, including the personal stories of the film's creators, 1946 is at once challenging, enlightening, and inspiring. While other documentaries have been successful in their attempt to treat the symptom of homophobia in the church, 1946 is working to diagnose and treat the disease - Biblical Literalism” – 1946themovie.com   Summary of Vice News Investigation Into Sadist Groups Online Driven by Children, Targeting Children – Twitter link: https://twitter.com/VICENews/status/1759959890770956502   Keeping teens safe on social media: What parents should know to protect their kids A multipronged approach to social media management, including time limits, parental monitoring and supervision, and ongoing discussions about social media can help parents protect teens' brain development – APA.org. Link: https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/social-media-parent-tips   Congress to Examine U.S. Spy Agencies' Work on Havana Syndrome The C.I.A. and other agencies concluded that no hostile power was responsible for the mysterious ailments, a finding some whistle-blowers have challenged. – New York Times link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/us/politics/congress-to-examine-cias-work-on-havana-syndrome.html   Want to join us in pressuring Congress to pass aid to Ukraine? This easy new site helps you send a message to your reps in Congress. Be sure to make your voice heard through  helpukrainewin.com

Flyover Friday, March 1, 2024A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:Texas Is On Fire | Colorado Oil Wells Are Not So Well | Missouri Meat Packing Ponds Stink | Kansas legislators behave like bullies | Texas AG Making Lists Of Undesirables SOURCES: The heartland collective, Missouri independent, Kansas Reflector, Colorado Sun, Associated Press, Advocate and journalist - Erin Reed's blog, Erin In the MorningEvery thing is bigger in Texas, Including The States Largest Ever WildFirehttps://apnews.com/article/texas-panhandle-fire-evacuations-cbbb6a279bef1bd020722ed48927114aSTINNETT, Texas (AP) — A dusting of snow covered a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned out homes in the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, giving firefighters brief relief in their desperate efforts to corral a blaze that has grown into the largest in state history.The Smokehouse Creek fire grew to nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers). It merged with another fire and is just 3% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.Gray skies loomed over huge scars of blackened earth in a rural area dotted with scrub brush, ranchland, rocky canyons and oil rigs. In Stinnett, a town of about 1,600, someone propped up an American flag outside of a destroyed home.Colorado Oil Well Eye Sores Subject of new law suithttps://coloradosun.com/2024/02/24/colorado-orphaned-oil-wells-cleanup-lawsuit/It is just one orphan well among an estimated 1,800 in Colorado, but a lawsuit filed in Adams County District Court contends it is part of a large, fraudulent scheme to dump old, played-out wells onto the state.Adams County leads the state in orphan wells with 318. “It is a serious concern for the county and a growing concern as the number keeps increasing incrementally,” said Gregory Dean, the county's oil and gas administrator.The lawsuit, in which McCormick and her husband, Ronald, are among the plaintiffs, focuses on Denver-based HRM Resources LLC, which was the recipient of hundreds of low-producing oil and gas wells from some of the state's largest operators.For Adams County, orphan wells have been a big problem. Since July 2021 there have been 75 leaks and spills from orphan wells and 92% of the orphan well sites checked by county oil and gas inspectors were out of compliance.The lawsuit is seeking monetary damages. HRM currently has no active wells, according to the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management database, and in the last four years produced the equivalent of 550 barrels of oil.The company has been financed by Los Angeles-based Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, which according to its website manages $34 billion in investments, many in niche areas including oil and gas fields. The company is mentioned but not named as a defendant.https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2017/05/02/cut-abandoned-gas-line-caused-firestone-home-explosion/309230001/In April 2017, in nearby FIRESTONE CO — A home explosion that killed two people was caused by unrefined natural gas that was leaking from a small abandoned pipeline from a nearby well, fire officials saidThe April 17 explosion in Firestone about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Denver happened when the odorless gas in the old line leaked into the soil and made its way into the home's basement, Ted Poszywak, chief of the Frederick-Firestone fire department, said Tuesday.Investigators do not know how or when the small pipe was cut. The house was within 200 feet (60 meters) of the well, and the pipeline was buried about 7 feet (2.1 meters) underground.Missouri Meatpacking Plant Lagoon Wretched Stenchhttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/29/missouri-house-bill-takes-aim-at-cesspool-of-meatpacking-sludge/Between Vallerie Steele, her seven siblings and their children, there's always a birthday or anniversary to celebrate on the family's southwest Missouri farm. The summer months are typically a parade of pool parties and barbecues.Until last year. The stench coming from the lagoon across the road from Steele's home has become unbearable. It holds waste Denali Water Solutions collects from meatpacking plants before spreading it as free fertilizer on farmers' properties. The smell from the “cesspool of rotting flesh” has forced the family inside, she said. “Nobody wants to eat a burger or a hot dog if it smells like rotten crap in the air,” Steele said in an interview with The Independent. “It's just disgusting.”She tried to stain her porch three times last summer but couldn't stand to be outside because of the smell. One of her sons was bullied at school because the stench of the lagoon clung to his clothes. Children at her younger son's combined elementary and middle school beg their teachers to stay inside during recess.“It literally burns your lungs, your chest,” she said. “I'm an ICU nurse — like, I know this isn't normal.”Steele leads a coalition of southwest Missouri residents fighting for more regulation of Denali's — and similar — lagoons. She implored state lawmakers last month to pass legislation meant to protect rural neighbors and impose more regulations on wastewater sludge haulers.And on Thursday, the Missouri House voted 151-2 to pass legislation that would require companies like Denali to have water pollution permits and follow certain design requirements for its facilities. Facilities like Denali's would have to be at least 1,000, 2,000 or 4,000 feet from the nearest public building or home depending on the size of the lagoon. And the state would have to establish sampling rules for the basins and require groundwater monitoring in hydrologically sensitive areas.Sponsored by state Reps. Ed Lewis, a Moberly Republican, and Dirk Deaton, a Noel Republican, the legislation now moves to the Missouri Senate for consideration. The House attached an emergency clause, meaning if it clears the Senate and is signed by the governor the new regulations would go into effect immediately. Kansas Lawmakers School Yard Bully Routine with LGBTQ+ personshttps://kansasreflector.com/2024/02/29/legislative-bullies-target-kansas-lgbtq-kids-for-harassment-with-anti-trans-bills/When Kansas GOP leaders consider three bills Thursday targeting transgender kids in the state, they might as well file into a local high school and line the hallways. From their posts, leaning arrogantly against lockers, they could yell slurs and throw elbows at beleaguered LGBTQ+ kids trying to make their way through the day.They're bullying our fellow Kansans.If lawmakers actually behaved like that at high school, they would face discipline and possibly suspension. In the Kansas Legislature, however, they will revel in news media coverage and behave as though they're protecting someone from something nefarious. You know, the same way a high school bully “protects” a target in P.E. class by shoving them to the floor.These lawmakers will profess to be concerned about gender-affirming care for those younger than 18. Here's the truth: They don't give a rip about gender-affirming care guidelines. If they did, they would listen to the bevy of medical experts, families and trans folks who explain the lifesaving necessity of this treatment.As American Academy of Pediatrics CEO Mark Del Monte put it, his group wants to “ensure young people get the reproductive and gender-affirming care they need and are seen, heard and valued as they are.”Forget expert opinion. These lawmakers want to harass and exclude kids who look and behave differently.They're bullies, no matter their age.Not To Be Outdone In Texas They Are Making Listshttps://www.erininthemorning.com/p/retaliation-texas-ag-paxton-demands?publication_id=994764&utm_campaign=email-post-title&r=1n4up&utm_medium=emailIn a legal filing Thursday, PFLAG (National sought to block a new demand from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that would require the organization to identify its Texas transgender members, doctors who work with them, and contingency plans for anti-transgender legislation in the state. The civil investigative demand, issued on Feb. 5, calls for extensive identifying information and records from the LGBTQ+ rights organization. PFLAG, in its filing to block the demands, describes them as "retaliation" for its opposition to anti-transgender laws in the state and alleges that they violate the freedom of speech and association protections afforded by the United States and Texas constitutions.Founded in 1973, PFLAG is the first and largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and their families.The demands are extensive. The letter to PFLAG National demands "unredacted" information around claims made by Brian Bond, PFLAG's Chief Executive Officer, in a legal fight against the ban on gender-affirming care in the state. Bond's claims highlighted that PFLAG represents 1,500 members in Texas, many of whom are seeking contingency plans if SB14, the ban on gender-affirming care, takes effect.Per the lawsuit, PFLAG National states that it would be required to disclose Texas trans youth members, including "complete names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, jobs, home addresses, telephone numbers, [and] email addresses." It also states they would need to hand over documents and communications related to their medical care, hospitals outside the state, and "contingency plans" discussed among members for navigating the new laws on gender-affirming care in Texas.Learn more and support PFLAG at PFLAG.ORG @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

Flyover Friday, March 1, 2024A flyover from this weeks top heartland stories including:Texas Is On Fire | Colorado Oil Wells Are Not So Well | Missouri Meat Packing Ponds Stink | Kansas legislators behave like bullies | Texas AG Making Lists Of Undesirables SOURCES: The heartland collective, Missouri independent, Kansas Reflector, Colorado Sun, Associated Press, Advocate and journalist - Erin Reed's blog, Erin In the MorningEvery thing is bigger in Texas, Including The States Largest Ever WildFirehttps://apnews.com/article/texas-panhandle-fire-evacuations-cbbb6a279bef1bd020722ed48927114aSTINNETT, Texas (AP) — A dusting of snow covered a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned out homes in the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, giving firefighters brief relief in their desperate efforts to corral a blaze that has grown into the largest in state history.The Smokehouse Creek fire grew to nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers). It merged with another fire and is just 3% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.Gray skies loomed over huge scars of blackened earth in a rural area dotted with scrub brush, ranchland, rocky canyons and oil rigs. In Stinnett, a town of about 1,600, someone propped up an American flag outside of a destroyed home.Colorado Oil Well Eye Sores Subject of new law suithttps://coloradosun.com/2024/02/24/colorado-orphaned-oil-wells-cleanup-lawsuit/It is just one orphan well among an estimated 1,800 in Colorado, but a lawsuit filed in Adams County District Court contends it is part of a large, fraudulent scheme to dump old, played-out wells onto the state.Adams County leads the state in orphan wells with 318. “It is a serious concern for the county and a growing concern as the number keeps increasing incrementally,” said Gregory Dean, the county's oil and gas administrator.The lawsuit, in which McCormick and her husband, Ronald, are among the plaintiffs, focuses on Denver-based HRM Resources LLC, which was the recipient of hundreds of low-producing oil and gas wells from some of the state's largest operators.For Adams County, orphan wells have been a big problem. Since July 2021 there have been 75 leaks and spills from orphan wells and 92% of the orphan well sites checked by county oil and gas inspectors were out of compliance.The lawsuit is seeking monetary damages. HRM currently has no active wells, according to the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management database, and in the last four years produced the equivalent of 550 barrels of oil.The company has been financed by Los Angeles-based Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, which according to its website manages $34 billion in investments, many in niche areas including oil and gas fields. The company is mentioned but not named as a defendant.https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2017/05/02/cut-abandoned-gas-line-caused-firestone-home-explosion/309230001/In April 2017, in nearby FIRESTONE CO — A home explosion that killed two people was caused by unrefined natural gas that was leaking from a small abandoned pipeline from a nearby well, fire officials saidThe April 17 explosion in Firestone about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Denver happened when the odorless gas in the old line leaked into the soil and made its way into the home's basement, Ted Poszywak, chief of the Frederick-Firestone fire department, said Tuesday.Investigators do not know how or when the small pipe was cut. The house was within 200 feet (60 meters) of the well, and the pipeline was buried about 7 feet (2.1 meters) underground.Missouri Meatpacking Plant Lagoon Wretched Stenchhttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/29/missouri-house-bill-takes-aim-at-cesspool-of-meatpacking-sludge/Between Vallerie Steele, her seven siblings and their children, there's always a birthday or anniversary to celebrate on the family's southwest Missouri farm. The summer months are typically a parade of pool parties and barbecues.Until last year. The stench coming from the lagoon across the road from Steele's home has become unbearable. It holds waste Denali Water Solutions collects from meatpacking plants before spreading it as free fertilizer on farmers' properties. The smell from the “cesspool of rotting flesh” has forced the family inside, she said. “Nobody wants to eat a burger or a hot dog if it smells like rotten crap in the air,” Steele said in an interview with The Independent. “It's just disgusting.”She tried to stain her porch three times last summer but couldn't stand to be outside because of the smell. One of her sons was bullied at school because the stench of the lagoon clung to his clothes. Children at her younger son's combined elementary and middle school beg their teachers to stay inside during recess.“It literally burns your lungs, your chest,” she said. “I'm an ICU nurse — like, I know this isn't normal.”Steele leads a coalition of southwest Missouri residents fighting for more regulation of Denali's — and similar — lagoons. She implored state lawmakers last month to pass legislation meant to protect rural neighbors and impose more regulations on wastewater sludge haulers.And on Thursday, the Missouri House voted 151-2 to pass legislation that would require companies like Denali to have water pollution permits and follow certain design requirements for its facilities. Facilities like Denali's would have to be at least 1,000, 2,000 or 4,000 feet from the nearest public building or home depending on the size of the lagoon. And the state would have to establish sampling rules for the basins and require groundwater monitoring in hydrologically sensitive areas.Sponsored by state Reps. Ed Lewis, a Moberly Republican, and Dirk Deaton, a Noel Republican, the legislation now moves to the Missouri Senate for consideration. The House attached an emergency clause, meaning if it clears the Senate and is signed by the governor the new regulations would go into effect immediately. Kansas Lawmakers School Yard Bully Routine with LGBTQ+ personshttps://kansasreflector.com/2024/02/29/legislative-bullies-target-kansas-lgbtq-kids-for-harassment-with-anti-trans-bills/When Kansas GOP leaders consider three bills Thursday targeting transgender kids in the state, they might as well file into a local high school and line the hallways. From their posts, leaning arrogantly against lockers, they could yell slurs and throw elbows at beleaguered LGBTQ+ kids trying to make their way through the day.They're bullying our fellow Kansans.If lawmakers actually behaved like that at high school, they would face discipline and possibly suspension. In the Kansas Legislature, however, they will revel in news media coverage and behave as though they're protecting someone from something nefarious. You know, the same way a high school bully “protects” a target in P.E. class by shoving them to the floor.These lawmakers will profess to be concerned about gender-affirming care for those younger than 18. Here's the truth: They don't give a rip about gender-affirming care guidelines. If they did, they would listen to the bevy of medical experts, families and trans folks who explain the lifesaving necessity of this treatment.As American Academy of Pediatrics CEO Mark Del Monte put it, his group wants to “ensure young people get the reproductive and gender-affirming care they need and are seen, heard and valued as they are.”Forget expert opinion. These lawmakers want to harass and exclude kids who look and behave differently.They're bullies, no matter their age.Not To Be Outdone In Texas They Are Making Listshttps://www.erininthemorning.com/p/retaliation-texas-ag-paxton-demands?publication_id=994764&utm_campaign=email-post-title&r=1n4up&utm_medium=emailIn a legal filing Thursday, PFLAG (National sought to block a new demand from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that would require the organization to identify its Texas transgender members, doctors who work with them, and contingency plans for anti-transgender legislation in the state. The civil investigative demand, issued on Feb. 5, calls for extensive identifying information and records from the LGBTQ+ rights organization. PFLAG, in its filing to block the demands, describes them as "retaliation" for its opposition to anti-transgender laws in the state and alleges that they violate the freedom of speech and association protections afforded by the United States and Texas constitutions.Founded in 1973, PFLAG is the first and largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and their families.The demands are extensive. The letter to PFLAG National demands "unredacted" information around claims made by Brian Bond, PFLAG's Chief Executive Officer, in a legal fight against the ban on gender-affirming care in the state. Bond's claims highlighted that PFLAG represents 1,500 members in Texas, many of whom are seeking contingency plans if SB14, the ban on gender-affirming care, takes effect.Per the lawsuit, PFLAG National states that it would be required to disclose Texas trans youth members, including "complete names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, jobs, home addresses, telephone numbers, [and] email addresses." It also states they would need to hand over documents and communications related to their medical care, hospitals outside the state, and "contingency plans" discussed among members for navigating the new laws on gender-affirming care in Texas.Learn more and support PFLAG at PFLAG.ORG @TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85 (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Post)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp (Post) Sean Diller (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/

In the Missouri legislature, 2023 was the year of bills targeting trans people. But there is a bigger picture here: For observers of the national picture, Missouri is a bellwether and a trendsetter. We sit down with two trans journalists to talk about what they're seeing in Missouri in this movement, and this moment. Joining the discussion is Erin Reed, the author of the newsletter Erin in the Morning; and Evan Urquhart, founder of Assigned Media.

This week's bonus show answers questions from our listeners at the Democracy Defender-level and higher, starting with incarceration rates in the U.S. vs. Russia. Spoiler alert: GOP-led states and swing states are as bad or worse than Russia, starting with Mike Johnson's Louisiana. We look at prison incarceration rates and what they can tell us about the struggle for democracy in America, what we're up against, and how to overcome it, and more, in this week's bonus show.   There's a lot to discuss given the recent news, with new sweeping sanctions against Russia; new DOJ indictments against Russia; Libs of TikTok killing Nex, a trans teen in Oklahoma; Alabama going full Taliban by banning IVF, and more. Join Gaslit Nation and Kremlin File for a live Q&A this Wednesday February 28 at 12pm ET. To our subscribers at the Truth-teller level and higher, look out for a Zoom link on the morning of the Q&A on Wednesday. We hope to see you there!    A special message to our Gaslit Nation community: Several listeners sent messages about the hate crime that killed Nex, a trans teen in Oklahoma. Nex was targeted and killed by the genocidal far-right echo chamber led by Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok, which, in any functional society, would have been banned by now. Erin Reed has written an essential, must-read piece on Nex's murder, featured in the show notes of this episode. What happened to Nex is authoritarian scapegoating 101. Genocidal movements consolidate around violence to rally the sadists who will serve as the trusted lackeys to carry out a mass purge once in power, turning a former democracy into a prison. Chaya Raichik will undoubtedly be included in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 plan to mass purge our government should Trump win the Electoral College in 2024. Nex's murder is a tragedy that must be recognized for what it is: a hate crime. It is also an urgent warning as Trump and his supporters consolidate with the desire to carry out genocide against the most vulnerable among us, especially LGBTQ+ people and their families, friends, doctors, teachers, and others in their support networks.  Our hearts go out to all those who feel unsafe due to this heinous crime. The Gaslit Nation community is here for you. Look out for an upcoming episode on ways to fight back and protect each other. In the meantime, listen to our spring 2022 interview with Chase Strangio, Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project, included in our show notes.  If you didn't hear your question answered this week, look out for it next week as our Gaslit Nation Q&A continues! Thank you to everyone who supports the show – we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!  Join the conversation with a community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit and get bonus shows, all episodes ad free, submit questions to our regular Q&As, get exclusive invites to live events, and more.    Show Notes:    Event: Thursday February 29 at 1pm – Russian-diaspora led roundtable on Russian anti-war activities  https://www.facebook.com/events/439307928421886   Chaya Raichik Was Appointed To "Make Schools Safer" In Oklahoma; Now A Trans Teen Is Dead. https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/chaya-raichik-was-appointed-to-make?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web   Protect the LGBTQ Community: An Interview with Chase Strangio of the ACLU https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2022/5/26/chase-strangio-interview   The Sentencing Project: U.S. Continues to be the World Leader in Rate in Incarceration https://static.prisonpolicy.org/scans/sp/usno1.pdf   Prison Policy Initiative: States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021 https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.html   Justice Department indicts more Russian businessmen, their aides, vowing to keep pressure on Putin https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2024/02/22/justice-department-arrests-russia-businessmen-putin Fani Willis calls out Nathan Wade, earning the women vote in her upcoming election: https://twitter.com/highbrow_nobrow/status/1758247461993283909

It's Hump Day! Sam and Emma speak with independent journalist Erin Reed, author of the Erin In The Morning newsletter on SubStack, to discuss the state of anti-trans legislation moving its way around the country in 2024. Then, they speak with Margie Mason & Robin McDowell, investigative reporters for the Associated Press, to discuss their recent reporting on prison labor in the United States. And in the Fun Half, Tim Heidecker makes a special appearance! First, Sam and Emma run through updates on the House GOP blowing their majority, Donald Trump's legal woes, the Nevada election, UAW expansion, Ronna McDaniel, and the IRS, also watching MTG reflect on the recent failures of her and her cohorts. Erin Reed then joins, diving right into the busy 2024 in state-level anti-trans legislation in the US, first parsing through the media's insistence on emphasizing bigoted and misinformed perspectives – as seen in the New York Times's recent piece by Pamela Paul – and how the arguments seen in those texts are perfectly reflected in the statehouse hearings in red states. Expanding on this, Reed walks through the major legislative developments in the anti-trans fascism of the US, including Indiana's school-snitch forms, the plethora of legislation coming out of Missouri and Iowa, and Florida's Real ID bill, before wrapping up by looking at the major donors behind the GOP's tactic of all-out transphobia. Margie Mason and Robin McDowell then walk Sam and Emma through their research into the thriving industry of Prison labor in the US, with a particular focus on the agricultural industry and how it presents a clear thread on the US' evolution from a Slavery economy to the Prison-Industrial Complex. They then look to the Louisiana Angola Prison as a perfect representation of this, literally evolving from a plantation to a prison over Reconstruction, helping them to tackle the role of the 13th Amendment in pushing this development, before parsing through the major labor rights issues involved in prison labor, and how states do (and don't) regulate it. Wrapping up, Mason and McDowell explore the reactions from major industries and corporations that benefit from prison labor to the growing transparency around the issue, and what changes to look for moving forward. And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma are joined by Tim Heidecker as he and Sam put aside their differences in appreciation of the true journalism that the US so lacks today. Expanding on this, they parse through Tim's in-depth report on Tim Pool's too-easily digestible content, explore some industry musings on what could be going on behind the scenes at the Compound™, and ponder the likelihood of an FBI infiltration into the TimCast team. Sam and Emma also parse through the unsurprising reports coming out about the dearth of proof in Israel's claims about UNRWA involvement on October 7th, and have an expansive conversation on Democrats' (and the media's) insistence on fully embracing Donald Trump's framing on the immigration debate. Tucker Carlson and Brett Weinstein ponder gender ideology, plus, your calls and IMs! Check out "Erin In The Morning" here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/ Check out Margie & Robin's reporting here: https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e Check out all of Tim's work here!: https://www.timheidecker.com/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: HelloFresh: Go to https://HelloFresh.com/majorityfree and use code majorityfree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. That's free breakfast for life at https://HelloFresh.com/majorityfree with code majorityfree. Henson Shaving:  It's time to say no to subscriptions and yes to a razor that'll last you a lifetime. Visit https://HENSONSHAVING.com/MAJORITY to pick the razor for you and use code MAJORITY and you'll get two years' worth of blades free with your razor–just make sure to add them to your cart. That's one hundred free blades when you head to https://hensonshaving.com/MAJORITY and use code MAJORITY. Sunset Lake CBD: Today, until February 14th, you can save 30% on all Sunset Lake CBD edibles. That includes their fudge, their coffee, and all of their gummies— including their full-spectrum Tay Aych Say (THC) Vibe gummies. Just use code Sweet at checkout. Treat yourself and your loved ones to some tasty CBD this Valentine's Day. Head to https://SunsetLakeCBD.com Sunset Lake CBD (DOT) (COM) and place your order before February 14th . Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

The AP dubbed them the Transgender Power Couple. Journalist Erin Reed was formerly the digital director of The American Independent. She currently writes for the Los Angeles Blade and Harpers Bazaar.. She is a researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker. Her fiance is Zooey Zephyr, member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 100th district.  Zephyr was a vocal opponent of multiple anti-LGBT bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. During a floor debate on April 18, 2023, Zephyr admonished those who supported Senate Bill 99, which prohibits gender-affirming medical and surgical care for minors. She first commented, "If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed."  When this remark triggered an objection from Republican majority leader Sue Vinton, Zephyr replied, "The only thing I will say is if you vote 'yes' on this bill and 'yes' on these amendments, I hope the next time there's an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands." This led to a massive attempt by the state Republicans to censure her and silence her. Today we talk to them both about the wave of oppression and intolerance against trans kids and adults, and their mission to defeat it. With co-host Brody Levesque

The AP dubbed them the Transgender Power Couple. Journalist Erin Reed was formerly the digital director of The American Independent. She currently writes for the Los Angeles Blade and Harpers Bazaar.. She is a researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker. Her fiance is Zooey Zephyr, member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 100th district.  Zephyr was a vocal opponent of multiple anti-LGBT bills introduced during the 2023 legislative session. During a floor debate on April 18, 2023, Zephyr admonished those who supported Senate Bill 99, which prohibits gender-affirming medical and surgical care for minors. She first commented, "If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed."  When this remark triggered an objection from Republican majority leader Sue Vinton, Zephyr replied, "The only thing I will say is if you vote 'yes' on this bill and 'yes' on these amendments, I hope the next time there's an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands." This led to a massive attempt by the state Republicans to censure her and silence her. Today we talk to them both about the wave of oppression and intolerance against trans kids and adults, and their mission to defeat it. With co-host Brody Levesque

Over 300 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation have been introduced in state legislatures across the country so far this year, in what advocates are calling an unprecedented assault on transgender rights. The majority of bills specifically target transgender individuals, ranging from healthcare restrictions to limits on school sports participation. The volume has skyrocketed compared to previous years, with 2023 on track to exceed 2022's record number of anti-trans bills. “This is not regular politics — it's a moral panic,” said journalist Erin Reed, who tracks anti-LGBTQ legislation extensively. “It's gone beyond politicking and is now basically whatever [conservatives] can use to rally their base.” Many bills have origins in model legislation pushed by national conservative groups. The Heritage Foundation's “Project 2025” blueprint lays out plans to rescind LGBTQ protections over the next three years, establishing what critics call a path toward authoritarian rule. Efforts span from empowering a right-wing federal workforce to utilizing agencies like the CDC for invasive data collection on sexuality. The recent bills rely largely on unfounded claims that inclusive policies endanger cisgender students and undermine parental rights. Alabama, Arizona, and other states target healthcare coverage for transition-related care for minors even as major medical associations endorse affirming care. Experts widely discredit arguments that acknowledging young transgender students' identities or respecting pronouns can influence peers' orientations. Similarly, sports participation bans counter research showing trans athletes have no consistent performance advantages in their gender category after beginning hormones, though schemes differ. Reed warned that families are already being forced to “flee their homes or hide just to get healthcare” while awaiting legal challenges against healthcare restrictions. While some Senate Democrats have spoken against anti-LGBTQ measures, the White House response remains muted to date. With administrations empowered to interpret sex protections, legislative defeats may not spell the end as court battles loom ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over 300 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation have been introduced in state legislatures across the country so far this year, in what advocates are calling an unprecedented assault on transgender rights. The majority of bills specifically target transgender individuals, ranging from healthcare restrictions to limits on school sports participation. The volume has skyrocketed compared to previous years, with 2023 on track to exceed 2022's record number of anti-trans bills. “This is not regular politics — it's a moral panic,” said journalist Erin Reed, who tracks anti-LGBTQ legislation extensively. “It's gone beyond politicking and is now basically whatever [conservatives] can use to rally their base.” Many bills have origins in model legislation pushed by national conservative groups. The Heritage Foundation's “Project 2025” blueprint lays out plans to rescind LGBTQ protections over the next three years, establishing what critics call a path toward authoritarian rule. Efforts span from empowering a right-wing federal workforce to utilizing agencies like the CDC for invasive data collection on sexuality. The recent bills rely largely on unfounded claims that inclusive policies endanger cisgender students and undermine parental rights. Alabama, Arizona, and other states target healthcare coverage for transition-related care for minors even as major medical associations endorse affirming care. Experts widely discredit arguments that acknowledging young transgender students' identities or respecting pronouns can influence peers' orientations. Similarly, sports participation bans counter research showing trans athletes have no consistent performance advantages in their gender category after beginning hormones, though schemes differ. Reed warned that families are already being forced to “flee their homes or hide just to get healthcare” while awaiting legal challenges against healthcare restrictions. While some Senate Democrats have spoken against anti-LGBTQ measures, the White House response remains muted to date. With administrations empowered to interpret sex protections, legislative defeats may not spell the end as court battles loom ahead.

Here are this week's good vibes:Walmart to increase pay for store managersPhiladelphia becomes first sensory-inclusive city in the U.S.Jerod Mayo hired as New England Patriots coachBIPOC folks win big at Emmy's321 Coffee shows an inclusive business modelThis week's Call to Action:Do you crave Girl Scout cookies but struggle to find them for sale where you live? No worries! Check out this list of scouts who happen to be trans girls and will ship cookies wherever you are! The list was curated by Erin Reed.Read the Stories: https://www.theequalityinstitute.com/equality-insights-blog/companerosConnect with Jason Benitez:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-benitez-64a269b3/ and https://capitalregionchamber.com/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/ Join thousands of readers by subscribing to the 5 Things newsletter. Enjoy some good vibes in DEI every Saturday morning. https://5thingsdei.com/

We have an exciting announcement this week: The Suburban Women Problem just launched a Substack newsletter! It's an opportunity for a deeper dive into each week's topic and to share news, Troublemaker stories, pod videos, and more. To subscribe to our Substack, click here or search for “The Suburban Women Problem” on Substack.com.Our guest this week is journalist and transgender rights activist Erin Reed, who has a popular Substack of her own called Erin In The Morning. She also happens to be engaged to one of our favorite politicians, Rep. Zooey Zephyr in Montana! Erin shares how anti-trans legislation is at an all-time high - as of our recording, there were 220 anti-trans bills already introduced in the U.S. That's in just the first 15 days of the year! She also answers our hosts' questions about what exactly gender-affirming care means, what's been going on in Ohio with Governor Mike DeWine, and why sharing trans joy is so important.Finally, Rachel, Amanda and Jasmine raise a glass to hope for 2024, to understanding different perspectives, and to everyone who supports local candidates in this episode's “Toast to Joy.”For a transcript of this episode, please email theswppod@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Twitter: @TheSWPpod and @RedWineBlueUSA Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

The Trump slide into fascism has brought with it some dangerous new trends like the banning of books, whitewashing history and a massive backsliding of personal rights like abortion and bodily autonomy. One of the most heinous attacks has been on the rights of people to live their own authentic lives. I've been hyper-focused on what's going on in Florida as I lived there for much of my life. The current governor is the worst in the country when it comes to pushing his own perverted sense of morals on the rest of the nation from his sickening directives like the "Don't Say Gay" bill, prohibitions on African American studies AP high school courses and 6-week abortion ban for a start. Now, as the legislative session began this week, we learn of new legislation that would outlaw transgender adults. Really. I'm not overstating that. I learned of this latest outrage last week though an article at Alternet written by one of today's guests. Erin Reed [http://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn], aka Erin in the Morning [http://www.erininthemorning.com/], whose substack of the same name reports on trans and queer news and legislation so that we're all aware of what is going on. Erin and I will be joined by our old friend 'Boca' Britany Somers, host of The Brit Somers Show [http://britsomers.substack.com/], a trans woman trying to live her life in Floriduh. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nicolesandler/message

Republicans are pushing our country: no social safety net, corrupt regulatory and police agencies, politicians and legislation for sale, and absolute immunity for the morbidly rich. Guest Interview: Erin Reed, Independent LGBTQ+ journalist, mom and host of Erin In the Morning. How committed is the GOP in destroying the lives of Trans people? Plus Thom breaks down Trump's federal appeals court hearing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Erin Reed's info: Site: https://www.erinreedwrites.com/Twitter: @erininthemornSubstack: https://www.erininthemorning.com/ Jess Piper is @piper4missouri@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and Threadshttps://heartlandpod.com/JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”

Tonight on The Last Word: Democrats and abortion rights win big in local elections. Also, parents help Democrats retake control of a Pennsylvania school board. Plus, the SAG-AFTRA board approves an historic deal to end the strike. And a judge denies Donald Trump's request to delay the classified documents trial. PA Rep. Joanna McClinton, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Jane Cramer, Erin Reed, Justine Bateman and Bradley Moss join Ali Velshi.

A live show! The Big Interview is with Robert Shetterly, who founded the portrait-story initiative, “Americans Who Tell the Truth,” which highlights Americans who have spoken truth to power. Also, courtesy of transgender blogger Erin Reed, we play a clip of a young Utah transgender girl speaking truth to her local school board re: the…

On this episode, we're joined by Em Espey. Em is an education reporter for MoCo360 Media, which covers Montgomery County, Maryland, comprehensively online at Moco360.media.Em is transgender non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them. They've previously worked as a transcriptionist and court reporter and as an investigator for a group that worked with religious organizations on improving their responses to sexual abuse.Em talked about the primary story they've been focusing on the last several months, a lawsuit over Montgomery County's decision to not allow parents to opt their children out of the LGBTQ+ books in the school curriculum. They explained the story and gave perspective on what it's like to cover as someone who is transgender.Em also talked about their past work amplifying the good stories - and how stories of trans joy need to be covered and shared given that most stories about transgender people deal with their being under attack.Em's articles: https://moco360.media/author/em-espeybethesdamagazine-com/Em's salutes: Erin Reed & Imara JonesThank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com, visit our website thejournalismsalute.org and Mark's website (MarkSimonmedia.com) or tweet us at @journalismpod. And find us on TikTok at @journalismsalute.

Sohrab Ahmari, author of Tyranny, Inc., talks about the dictatorship of capital. Erin Reed, aka Erin in the Morning, discusses the state of trans politics.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Behind the News, 8/17/23 - guests: Sohrab Ahmari on the tyranny of capital; Erin Reed on trans politics - Doug Henwood

Sohrab Ahmari, author of Tyranny, Inc., on the dictatorship of capital • Erin Reed, aka Erin in the Morning, on the state of trans politics The post The tyranny of capital, the state of trans politics appeared first on KPFA.

Earlier this month, the Human Rights Campaign declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQ people, following "the worst year on record" for the number of anti-LGBTQ legislative proposals and wins. The ACLU mapped and tracked 491 bills this session, including two in Connecticut. Many of those proposals are aimed at gender-affirming health care. There are several protections for trans and nonbinary people in Connecticut, and in some cases, beyond the border. Connecticut's Safe Harbor Law, passed in response to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, includes legal protections for people seeking gender-affirming health care from out-of-state. But advocates say the state is not immune from ideological or political attack. Diana Lombardi, the former executive director of the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition, and a current member of Governor Lamont's Hate Crimes Advisory Council, notes the favorable political climate and support from "the governor on down." But "my concern here in the state of Connecticut is that pressure would be mounting to do away with our health care," she says. This hour, we hear from the ACLU's Gillian Branstetter, and independent journalist Erin Reed, who has been maintaining a monthly "legislative risk" map of the U.S. Plus, Katy Tierney, the medical director at Middlesex Health Center for Gender Medicine and Wellness, and local reporter Dawn Ennis. GUESTS: William Tong: Connecticut Attorney General Gillian Branstetter: Communications Strategist for the ACLU's Women's Rights Project and LGBTQ & HIV Project Erin Reed: Independent Journalist; Author, Erin in the Morning on Substack Diana Lombardi: Executive Director of Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition and member of Lamont's Hate Crimes Advisory Council Katy Tierney: Medical Director, Middlesex Health Center for Gender Medicine and Wellness Dawn Ennis: Reporter and Opinion Columnist Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was available early to Premium members. If you'd like that kind of perk, consider joining at fivefourpod.com/support.Journalist Erin Reed monitors assaults to trans rights across the country. We talked to her about the evolution of anti-trans legislation, common conservative strategies, and what cases might end up before the Supreme Court.You can find Erin's incredible "Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map'' at erininthemorning.com. It's a map of "two Americas - one where trans people have full legal protections, and one where they are persecuted by the state."5-4 is presented by Prologue Projects. Rachel Ward is our producer. Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons provide editorial support. Our researcher is Jonathan DeBruin, and our website was designed by Peter Murphy. Our artwork is by Teddy Blanks at Chips NY, and our theme song is by Spatial Relations.Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter. You can follow the show on Twitter and Instagram @fivefourpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Erin Reed monitors assaults to trans rights across the country. We talked to her about the evolution of anti-trans legislation, common conservative strategies, and what cases might end up before the Supreme Court.You can find Erin's incredible "Anti-Trans Legislative Risk Map'' at erininthemorning.com. It's a map of "two Americas - one where trans people have full legal protections, and one where they are persecuted by the state."If you're not a 5-4 Premium member, you're not hearing every episode! To get exclusive Premium-only episodes, discounts on merch, access to our Slack community, and more, join at fivefourpod.com/support.5-4 is presented by Prologue Projects. Rachel Ward is our producer. Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons provide editorial support. Our researcher is Jonathan DeBruin, and our website was designed by Peter Murphy. Our artwork is by Teddy Blanks at Chips NY, and our theme song is by Spatial Relations.Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter. You can follow the show on Twitter and Instagram @fivefourpod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the Frontlines for Trans Rights: A Conversation with Rep. Zooey Zephyr and Journalist Erin Reed  Edelman's Lauren Gray (she/her/hers) and Lou MacAfee (they/them/theirs) will host this episode, uncovering what it means to be on the front lines advocating for trans rights in the United States with Montana State House Representative, Zooey Zephyr (she/her/hers), and LGBTQ+ Journalist, Erin Reed (she/her/hers).   ____ Representative Zooey Zephyr identifies as transgender and, in a recent high-profile incident that sparked controversy, was censured and banned from the House floor after speaking out against a bill that would ban healthcare for transgender youth. Erin Reed is a leading transgender journalist who writes for Erin In the Morning and recently wrote an influential point-by-point rebuttal in response to the alleged Missouri whistleblower on transgender healthcare.  

The first episode of our Pride Month series is here! In this episode Matt, Pat, and Jackie host an interview with transgender activist Erin Reed (aka ErinInTheMorning) where we talk about the state of LGBTQIA+ rights in America, Erin's process for tracking anti-LGBTQIA legislation, and some more lighthearted topics such as self care techniques and our favorite queer media! 0:00 Intros5:00 Interview with Erin Reed Begins!8:41 Erin's Journey to Activism12:20 The Problem of Silencing Queer History16:24 Why Trans-Exclusionary Feminism Fails18:19 Erin's Process for Legislative Tracking24:14 How Erin Practices Self Care26:00 The LGBTQIA Community's Resilience29:39 Where's the Light at the End of the Tunnel?32:51 Erin's Recommendations on Queer Media and People to Follow!38:29 We All Nerd Out Over DnD And Zelda41:33 Wrapping Up the Interview43:14 Matt, Pat, and Jackie Discuss the Interview!45:15 Our Pride Plans49:18 Pat Saw Alaska the Drag Queen52:39 Signing OutThanks so much to Erin Reed for this interview! Make sure to subscribe to her content by following the links below! https://www.erininthemorning.com/https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMornhttps://www.tiktok.com/@erininthemornThis linktree has links to all our content and socials, including Twitter, Twitch, Mastodon, and Discord! https://linktr.ee/pridempireCheck out our other podcast, Under Queer Review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/under-queer-review/id1664534589Logo Credit: Jackie Vandewater | vandewater.studio | @jakquillime | https://twitch.tv/jackie_the_bananasIntro and Outro Music:"Funky Chunk" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Grab your copy of Rainbow Parenting: Your Guide to Raising Queer Kids and Their Allies! Check out our Pride tour schedule! Subscribe to Erin's Newsletter! Find Us Online - Queer Kid Stuff Website: https://www.queerkidstuff.com - Weekly Newsletter Signup: https://bit.ly/qksnewslettersignup - Patreon: patreon.com/queerkidstuff - Instagram: instagram.com/queerkidstuff - Twitter: twitter.com/queerkidstuff - Email: business@queerkidstuff.com Production - Host & Creator: Lindz Amer - Producer: Multitude - Editor: Mischa Stanton - Theme Music: Amanda D'Archangelis - Artwork: Abe Tensia About The Show Welcome to Rainbow Parenting, a queer- and gender-affirming parenting podcast. Every week, queer educator Lindz Amer starts conversations about the intimidating first steps on how to affirm queer, trans, and nonbinary kids. They talk to experts who explain how to approach age-relevant early childhood sex ed, queer kid lit, gender reveal parties, and much more. And this isn't just for parents; educators, caregivers, librarians, and anyone who knows, loves, and works with kids can start the process of raising a whole generation! New episodes of Season Three will drop Mondays and Fridays throughout June! Produced in partnership with Multitude.

Today we are joined by the amazing, Miss Jai. We are here to discuss trans rights as well as learn more about Miss Jai. Miss Jai is known as a public speaker. She specializes is teaching the healthcare world more about how to support, treat and understand our transgender and non binary friends. You can find Miss Jai online at askmissjai.com, on Instagram @askmissjai, and on linkedin @missjai. Miss Jai had a lot of suggestions for trans causes you can support. There are links to each below. Trans Empowerment Initiative in Kenya supports trans youth in places where being queer can be a death sentence.  Lambda Legal provides legal resources for queer individuals and fights anti-gay legislation in court. National Center for Trans Equality provides detailed information about transgender and non-binary individuals as well as lobbies for more progressive legislation. Locally, the Thornhill Lopez Center in Tucson and the One in Ten Chapter in Phoenix provide sexual education and resources for queer youth. Both are looking for donations and volunteers.  This month we made a donation to activist Erin Reed's substack, which is doing an amazing job tracking and drawing attention to trans legislation.  Not to be bleak or anything, but we're in a genocide right now, y'all. Send her some money here. Support the show

It's Hump Day! Sam hosts independent journalist Erin Reed to discuss the recent spate of anti-trans bills working their way through state legislatures across the country. Then they're joined by Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, to discuss Syria's recent re-introduction into the Arab League. It's Hump Day! Sam hosts independent journalist Erin Reed to discuss the recent spate of anti-trans bills working their way through state legislatures across the country. Then they're joined by Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, to discuss Syria's recent re-introduction into the Arab League. First, Sam runs through updates on the Florida grand jury Trump case, Mark Meadows' testimony against Trump, the continuing environmental emergency in the American northeast, right-wingers leaving behind their gas stove schtick, Tucker's Twitter show, and US-Ukraine intelligence on the Nord Stream fiasco, also diving into the absurdity of economists sticking with their decades-old unemployment lies. Erin Reed then dives right into assessing the state of the right-wing's attack on trans people nationwide, exploring how they got the entire GOP on board despite the topic's electoral failures, and why Florida is a good case study for the fundamentalist dystopia they want to create. Wrapping up, Erin tackles the similarities we see between transphobic healthcare legislation and abortion TRAP laws, discusses the fight between progressive and fundamentalist states over border rights and trans care, and why parental rights might wind up saving trans lives in court. Joshua Landis then reflects on over a decade of US-Syrian conflict, stepping back to parse through the role of US intervention under the Obama Administration, with Obama's trepidation and interventionist tendencies resulting in a classic US counterinsurgency quagmire, destabilizing the region in the hopes of weakening Assad's regime while not fully delivering power to outside terrorist groups (Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, ISIS, etc). They also tackle the role of this conflict as a US proxy war, while simultaneously pushing the parties involved closer to the US' supposed “enemies.” After assessing the current actors in the region, and the particular role of US-Kurdish relations, Joshua walks Sam through Donald Trump's Caesar sanctions, and the current HR-3202 to continue them, exploring what the actual goal of these sanctions was, and why the US refuses to learn from their imperialist mistakes. And in the Fun Half: Sam and the MR Crew discuss the relative importance of the UFO whistleblowing case, watch Manchin get shut up by environmental protestors, Gabriel from Washington dives into AI growth, and Corey from SF parses through the ADHD medication shortage. Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz side with guns over gas stoves in the culture war, and Crazy Canadian asks many questions about the recent Glacier NW v. Teamsters SCOTUS decision, plus, your calls and IMs! Check out Erin's work here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/ Follow Joshua on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/joshua_landis Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: Zippix Toothpicks: Ditch the cigarettes, ditch the vape and get some nicotine infused toothpicks at https://zippixtoothpicks.com/ today, and get 10% off your first order by using the code MAJORITY at checkout. Your lungs will be glad you did. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattBinder @MattLech @BF1nn @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/ Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

We're back for part two of Joel explaining why this book is one of the worst dating/pickup artist/misogynist pamphlets he's ever read. Not sure that he should have spent multiple weekends of his life reading anthropology papers to discount the assertions of a guy who thinks human civilization is 200k years old, but we all have to get our kicks somewhere. Also, since reading rightwing literature is now most of our show, we updated our logo accordingly.  In part two we discuss Chapter 3 of the text where Myron/Aaron attempts to explain what the "Old Contract" of human relationships looked like and how Myron thinks modern women have ruined everything. As you might expect there's a laughable amount of "appeal to nature" fallacies, lots of references to women being no better than prostitutes,  and assertions about human history and biology that most people with a highschool education would be able to disprove. But since the audience for this is probably middle school boys, maybe that's sufficient? WE DO DISCUSS SOME HEAVY STUFF like Domestic Violence and Assault and Racism. We're pretty good about giving a heads up in the episode itself, just wanted you to know if that's a dealbreaker. We're not linking to places you can buy this book. Go support your local library. This month we made a donation to activist Erin Reed's substack, which is doing an amazing job tracking and drawing attention to trans legislation.  Not to be bleak or anything, but we're in a genocide right now, y'all. Send her some money here. Support the show

V shines a spotlight on four of their favorite nonprofits, from a comedy troupe of abortion activists to a theologian holding community naps as a form of resistance. Then, V chats with Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr and journalist Erin Reed about their recent engagement and ongoing quest to protect trans rights. Follow Zooey @zoandbehold on Twitter and TikTok and Erin @erininthemorn on Twitter and @ErinInTheMorning on TikTok. Keep up with V on TikTok and Instagram at @underthedesknews. And stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.  For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and every other Lemonada show, go to lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We thought we've reached rock-bottom when reading dating culture books before, but somehow we broke through a found a new bedrock of low-quality dreck to discuss. Unfortunately, this one is perhaps the most popular dating book in the world right now and far far too many people have already read it and walked away with some of the worst hot takes ever put to paper.  This is part one of a multi-part critique of Myron Gaines' first (and hopefully last) manifesto. There is so much wrong with every assertion in this book that we might spend anywhere between 5 and 10 1-hour episodes breaking down his claims. This part explores the background of the author's podcast and how this got written, the horrible formatting and scam that is the length, the possibility Myron didn't actually write this, and the nonsense contained within the first two chapters. Buckle up.  We're not linking to places you can buy this book. Go support your local library.  This month we made a donation to activist Erin Reed's substack, which is doing an amazing job tracking and drawing attention to trans legislation.  Not to be bleak or anything, but we're in a genocide right now, y'all. Send her some money here. Support the show

Erin Reed joins the New Abnormal to talk the lastest in laws targeting transgender rights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel and Naomi get together on our two year anniversary to catch up on the dating/relationships of some prior guests, reflect upon our successes and failures, and plan out the future of the pod. Like most episodes, Joel also finds a way to torment his sister. But like, in a celebratory sense. The closing song is Bruce Springsteen's Glory Days. The content of the song bears absolutely no resemblance to the Guy family's views on their podcast.  This month we made a donation to activist Erin Reed's substack, which is doing an amazing job tracking and drawing attention to trans legislation.  Not to be bleak or anything, but we're in a genocide right now, y'all. Send her some money here. Support the show

Today marks the official end of Title 42, the Trump-era border policy that allowed U.S. border officials to expel asylum-seekers on public health grounds. We talk to Dara Lind, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, about the end of the policy, and what the restrictions that the Biden administration is putting in its place.Republican-controlled state houses across the country continue to push anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, including Montana, where lawmakers have banned gender affirming care for trans youth, and also voted to censure Representative Zooey Zephyr. Erin Reed, an independent journalist and activist, joins us to talk about her work to make the country a better – and safer – place for transgender people.And in headlines: writer E. Jean Carroll is considering suing Donald Trump again, Daniel Penny has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the chokehold killing of Jordan Neely, and the FDA has finally paved the way to allow more gay and bisexual men to donate blood.Show Notes:Immigration Impact: How To Seek Asylum (Under Biden's Asylum Transit Ban), In 15 Not-At-All-Easy Steps – https://tinyurl.com/332kejkpErin In The Morning | Erin Reed – https://www.erininthemorning.com/What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastCrooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffeeFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

In minisode number 4 it's as if Janie Danger never left… Carmen and Janie discuss this week's news, by following up with Montana state house rep. Zooey Zephyr, Florida's Pronoun bill…and more! Can you tell we're running out of things to celebrate? Footnotes: Judge rejects Zooey Zephyr bid to return to Montana House | AP News Trans lawmaker Zooey Zephyr and girlfriend Erin Reed targeted in 'swat' attack: 'We will not be deterred' Florida Republicans pass school bills on pronouns, diversity | AP News Dominique Morgan appointed to city of Atlanta Human Relations Commission by Mayor Andre Dickens For more from Carmen and Beauty Translated follow @thecarmenlaurent & @beautytranslatedpodSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of The New Abnormal, Erin Reed joins us to talk about the extreme measures taken by states targeting the trans community. Then, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood discusses the rise of anti-Semitism and radicalization in the county after his recent troubles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Go follow Erin Reed for more INCREDIBLE coverage! https://www.erininthemorning.com/ https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn

Today we're talking about the wave of anti-trans legislation that lawmakers are pushing through at virtually all levels of government. Over 500 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community have been introduced this year alone — that's a record number. On the show today, independent journalist and trans rights activist Erin Reed breaks down the swath of legislation seeking to restrict the rights of trans people, what gender-affirming care actually means and the political and economic implications of these bills. Plus, what gives Reed hope for the future of the trans community in the United States. In the News Fix: Guest host Amy Scott discusses the latest trends in the housing market, including what’s happening with home prices and new construction. Plus, new research looks at how ChatGPT impacts employee productivity. We'll get into how creative industries might grapple with AI tools in the workplace. Later, one listener shares how volunteering unexpectedly changed their life. Plus, a tip for cat lovers. And, this week's answer to the Make Me Smart question comes from Yanely Espinal, host of Marketplace's new “Financially Inclined” podcast. “Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures” from the American Civil Liberties Union “2023 anti-trans bills” from Trans Legislation Tracker “Missouri due to be first state to restrict adult gender-affirming care” from NPR “Trans Adults Officially Being Detransitioned In Missouri: ‘I’m Scared And Don’t Know What To Do'” from Erin Reed’s Substack “Anti-Trans and Anti-Abortion Activists Use the Same Playbook” from Intelligencer “Majority of Americans reject anti-trans bills, but support for this restriction is rising” from PBS NewsHour “Factors Leading to ‘Detransition’ Among Transgender and Gender Diverse People in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Analysis” from LGBT Health “Tennessee's anti-drag law comes with economic costs” from Marketplace “U.S. home prices rise for first time in 8 months, Case-Shiller says” from MarketWatch “US New-Home Sales Unexpectedly Increase to a One-Year High” from Bloomberg “Storytellers at a Los Angeles planetarium join the union representing Broadway actors” from NPR “Office Overachievers Won’t Be Happy About ChatGPT, Study Says” from Gizmodo Do you have an answer to the Make Me Smart question? We want to hear it. Leave us a voice message at 508-U-B-SMART, and your submission may be featured in a future episode.

Today we're talking about the wave of anti-trans legislation that lawmakers are pushing through at virtually all levels of government. Over 500 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community have been introduced this year alone — that's a record number. On the show today, independent journalist and trans rights activist Erin Reed breaks down the swath of legislation seeking to restrict the rights of trans people, what gender-affirming care actually means and the political and economic implications of these bills. Plus, what gives Reed hope for the future of the trans community in the United States. In the News Fix: Guest host Amy Scott discusses the latest trends in the housing market, including what’s happening with home prices and new construction. Plus, new research looks at how ChatGPT impacts employee productivity. We'll get into how creative industries might grapple with AI tools in the workplace. Later, one listener shares how volunteering unexpectedly changed their life. Plus, a tip for cat lovers. And, this week's answer to the Make Me Smart question comes from Yanely Espinal, host of Marketplace's new “Financially Inclined” podcast. “Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures” from the American Civil Liberties Union “2023 anti-trans bills” from Trans Legislation Tracker “Missouri due to be first state to restrict adult gender-affirming care” from NPR “Trans Adults Officially Being Detransitioned In Missouri: ‘I’m Scared And Don’t Know What To Do'” from Erin Reed’s Substack “Anti-Trans and Anti-Abortion Activists Use the Same Playbook” from Intelligencer “Majority of Americans reject anti-trans bills, but support for this restriction is rising” from PBS NewsHour “Factors Leading to ‘Detransition’ Among Transgender and Gender Diverse People in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Analysis” from LGBT Health “Tennessee's anti-drag law comes with economic costs” from Marketplace “U.S. home prices rise for first time in 8 months, Case-Shiller says” from MarketWatch “US New-Home Sales Unexpectedly Increase to a One-Year High” from Bloomberg “Storytellers at a Los Angeles planetarium join the union representing Broadway actors” from NPR “Office Overachievers Won’t Be Happy About ChatGPT, Study Says” from Gizmodo Do you have an answer to the Make Me Smart question? We want to hear it. Leave us a voice message at 508-U-B-SMART, and your submission may be featured in a future episode.

When anti-trans legislation floods state legislation across the country, it affects all of us. To quote Amira, “This will sink your boat too, bitch!” Journalist Erin Reed joins Becca to break down some of the FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TWO (and counting) egregious bills targeting trans people and their families, review this latest tactic in the right's assault on trans rights and bodily autonomy, and discuss what progressives can and should be doing to fight back. Erin is an independent journalist and activist. She diligently tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world, and both her substack and risk analysis maps have been incredible resources to us in the work we've done for this episode. Erin's substack: https://erininthemorn.substack.com/Erin's twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMornFollow us in your feeds for new episodes every other Thursday, and keep tabs on our Youtube page for our video team's Bloc Doc series!Questions? Answers? Thoughts? Email us at blocpartypod@gmail.com. Subscribe to the Bloc Media newsletter for bi-weekly updates from the team.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast  Briahna speaks to Erin Reed, a journalist who has been covering the hundreds of anti-trans bills that have been proposed this year more closely and thoroughly than perhaps anyone in the country. They discuss the activist community's disappointment over Biden's recent compromise on Title IX and trans women in sports, and Briahna asks some tough questions in an effort to give voice to what is perhaps some good faith confusion about how to negotiate the reality that sports are currently divided on the basis of physical advantages associated with those whose sex is assigned male at birth. They also discuss messaging around the gender identity of the Nashville shooter, the recent dust up around the Emily Yoffe article which allegedly misrepresented a nonbinary child's experience with gender affirming care, and more. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube to access our full video library. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram.   Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands)

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Across the country, at least 150 bills have been filed by Republican legislators targeting transgender Americans. Roughly 100 of those bills specifically restrict doctors and other providers from offering transition-related health care for minors. We hear from concerned parents whose children are most impacted and William Brangham discusses the bills with Erin Reed. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Across the country, at least 150 bills have been filed by Republican legislators targeting transgender Americans. Roughly 100 of those bills specifically restrict doctors and other providers from offering transition-related health care for minors. We hear from concerned parents whose children are most impacted and William Brangham discusses the bills with Erin Reed. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Less than two months into 2023, 325 bills aimed at the health and rights of transgender folks have been introduced in state legislatures around the country— more bills than the last four legislative years put together. Erin Reed, a queer legislative researcher and activist covering transgender legislation and life around the world, gives us an update on transgender health and rights in America, including what attacks to look out for and actions to take to protect bodily autonomy and human rights.  Bans on healthcare for trans youth, drag show bans, systemic abuse in schools, bathroom bills: these are just some of the vicious measures that have impacted the daily health and life of transgender and gender non-conforming Americans. 1/3 of bills introduced this year—97 bills—are designed to limit or ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. Often misrepresented as an interference to serious surgeries for minors, these laws end up restricting life-saving care, such as puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Arkansas, Alabama, Utah, and South Dakota have passed healthcare bans, with many moving through other state legislatures. 20 states have passed bans on transgender youth competing in sports, with 40 similar bills introduced just this year. And, despite anti-rights legislators claiming that their bills introduced to ban drag shows are meant to “protect children”, bills attacking drag shows ultimately stifle “male and female impersonators” or the performance, monologue, or dance of people dressed in clothing opposite to their assigned gender at birth.It's important to remember that many of the same tactics used in these attacks can be found in attacks to reproductive health and rights. Both the health and rights of trans folks and reproductive health and rights are issues rooted in bodily autonomy that often intersect with each other. The sliver of good news? Even in the harshest state where these bills are being proposed, Democrats are holding the line in protection. Progressive states are continuing to increase support of the transgender community in response to anti-trans legislation around the country. In addition, sports ban bills seem to be losing traction.LinksErin Reed on TwitterErin Reed on SubstackThe Anti-Trans State Of The States by Erin ReedAAP Policy Statement Urges Support and Care of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and AdolescentsSupport the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Just when you thought we'd escaped the event horizon of this prolife zine, it resurfaces, ready once more to be our emotional punching bag. Welcome to 2023, AYGFLHYaPZ! We hope we can be done with you by the end of the year, but we're still less than 20% thru your length so neither Joel nor Naomi are holding their breath. We return to discuss the state of abortion in the US and then dive right in, addressing the claims that terminations for the safety of the mother will always be allowed (lie), that many doctors think having a baby is safer than having any abortion (lie), that the two common abortion pills are actually deadly for one's health (lie), and that countries with illegal abortions don't have more maternal deaths than countries with legal abortions (really hard to prove but the context isn't great for their argument). Joel also finally figured out who the author is and what groups she works with, which will not win him any journalism awards but does provide an interesting perspective on the sources she's using. This year it looks like our monthly Patreon donations will be going towards trans organizations. This month we made a donation to activist Erin Reed's substack, which is doing an amazing job tracking and drawing attention to trans legislation. Interested in starting your own podcast? Check out our Buzzsprout link to get a $20 giftcard for signing up to host through them. If you're interested but not sold on the merits of the platform, give us a holler and we'll talk about why we chose and continue to use it. Support the show

A return. Friends coming back together after a long dark Winter. A conversation about hair loss, piercings, and the futility of arguing with a bigot. Some improv scenes about insecure motorcyclists, debate streamers, and a terrifying world in which dogs can drive. Plus, Charlie's last words.CW: transphobia; antitrans legislation; deathbeds; suicidal ideationTHIS WEEK'S "TRAN-REC" (TRANS RECOMMENDATION)Check out Erin Reed, a.k.a. Erin in the Morning for detailed updates and analyses on anti-trans legislation in the U.S.LINKSOur Patreon (for $5/month, you get an episode of bonus content every other week!)Our TikTokOur Twitter (note that our TikTok is way more active right now)Ari's TwitterCover artist: Isabel PereiraAri's and Isabel's Webcomic: MothorialMusic composition and arrangement: FlorrifyTheme by Garrett Stein-SeroussiCo-produced by New 32 Productions (indie media company co-owned by Charlie)FOR TRANS YOUTH IN CRISISTHE TREVOR PROJECTSUICIDE HOTLINEDial 998 or go to this websiteFriendly reminder that we're NOT experts in gender studies, psychology, or trans history! Questions? Feedback? Email us at yesandrogyny@gmail.com or DM us on TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 2 of our unfortunately already-dated (WE RECORDED 9 DAYS AGO AND THIS IS NOW ANCIENT HISTORY) discussion of genocidal rhetoric and policy-making is out. Again, awareness of these issues is important, but don't bum yourself out if you don't have to. Eat some cake or play some videogames (not that Potter one) and relax.  Good work is being done by lots of people right now, but we may call on you to help throw some stones at some point. In this episode we discuss the strategies governors are employing to undermine queer rights at all levels, what national actors could be doing to support trans and queer rights, why national newspapers like the New York Times are failing to cover this issue properly and what good coverage might look like, how this effects cis women, why people making grooming accusations have some very weird tolerances for bad behavior, and why, even with all of this bad stuff, there is stuff going on in the world that you can derive hope from.  Seriously, don't bum yourself out. Go listen to our Steve Harvey eps if you need a chuckle. Or consider this trans-themed gaming collection which directly supports queer creators, This year it looks like our monthly Patreon donations will be going towards trans organizations. This month we made a donation to activist Erin Reed's substack, which is doing an amazing job tracking and drawing attention to trans legislation. Interested in starting your own podcast? Check out our Buzzsprout link to get a $20 giftcard for signing up to host through them. If you're interested but not sold on the merits of the platform, give us a holler and we'll talk about why we chose and continue to use it. Support the show

Today I interview Erin Reed. Reed is an activist, public speaker, and writer across multiple platforms, including a Substack newsletter, all of which she gathers under the title “Erin in the Morning.” Reed's work centers on advocacy for the transgender community and the greater queer community. At the moment, she's undertaken the momentous task of tracking the anti-trans legislation that's being forwarded in state houses across the country and exposing its troubling, deceitful, and vicious nature. Through her newsletter, social media posts, and in-person appearances, Reed supports not only trans and queer rights, but also a vision for our communities and our country in which mutual care and kindness are our abiding values. To say it another way, Erin supports the fight against cruel ant-trans legislation currently underway and she also connects her readers with trans girl scouts so she can help these kids with their annual cookie sale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Today I interview Erin Reed. Reed is an activist, public speaker, and writer across multiple platforms, including a Substack newsletter, all of which she gathers under the title “Erin in the Morning.” Reed's work centers on advocacy for the transgender community and the greater queer community. At the moment, she's undertaken the momentous task of tracking the anti-trans legislation that's being forwarded in state houses across the country and exposing its troubling, deceitful, and vicious nature. Through her newsletter, social media posts, and in-person appearances, Reed supports not only trans and queer rights, but also a vision for our communities and our country in which mutual care and kindness are our abiding values. To say it another way, Erin supports the fight against cruel ant-trans legislation currently underway and she also connects her readers with trans girl scouts so she can help these kids with their annual cookie sale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

Joel and Naomi discuss the very real issue of anti-trans legislation and escalating rhetoric in the US and abroad, a problem that anti-genocide think-tanks have deemed genocidal in nature. We give a little bit of background on recent anti-trans legislation and what it entails, why so many politicians are pushing anti-trans and anti-queer legislation, the ramp-up in explicitly anti-queer protests across the US, the rise in the use of the word groomer (as well as the history behind its usage), and why this impacts everyone. This is probably best consumed in conjunction with pt2 (out next week), where we give a couple glimpses of hopeful trends and suggestions for further action. The Lemkin Institute's statement on trans genocide can be found here. Track anti-LGBTQ+ legislation here. Data on child maltreatment can be found here. This year it looks like our monthly Patreon donations will be going towards trans organizations. This month we made a donation to activist Erin Reed's substack, which is doing an amazing job tracking and drawing attention to trans legislation.  This is not the happiest of topics and might be a bummer. If you're not in the best of places mentally (and who is, these days), consider playing some video games instead. We've heard good things about Celeste. Interested in starting your own podcast? Check out our Buzzsprout link to get a $20 giftcard for signing up to host through them. If you're interested but not sold on the merits of the platform, give us a holler and we'll talk about why we chose and continue to use it. Support the show

Today I interview Erin Reed. Reed is an activist, public speaker, and writer across multiple platforms, including a Substack newsletter, all of which she gathers under the title “Erin in the Morning.” Reed's work centers on advocacy for the transgender community and the greater queer community. At the moment, she's undertaken the momentous task of tracking the anti-trans legislation that's being forwarded in state houses across the country and exposing its troubling, deceitful, and vicious nature. Through her newsletter, social media posts, and in-person appearances, Reed supports not only trans and queer rights, but also a vision for our communities and our country in which mutual care and kindness are our abiding values. To say it another way, Erin supports the fight against cruel ant-trans legislation currently underway and she also connects her readers with trans girl scouts so she can help these kids with their annual cookie sale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Today I interview Erin Reed. Reed is an activist, public speaker, and writer across multiple platforms, including a Substack newsletter, all of which she gathers under the title “Erin in the Morning.” Reed's work centers on advocacy for the transgender community and the greater queer community. At the moment, she's undertaken the momentous task of tracking the anti-trans legislation that's being forwarded in state houses across the country and exposing its troubling, deceitful, and vicious nature. Through her newsletter, social media posts, and in-person appearances, Reed supports not only trans and queer rights, but also a vision for our communities and our country in which mutual care and kindness are our abiding values. To say it another way, Erin supports the fight against cruel ant-trans legislation currently underway and she also connects her readers with trans girl scouts so she can help these kids with their annual cookie sale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/lgbtq-studies

Today I interview Erin Reed. Reed is an activist, public speaker, and writer across multiple platforms, including a Substack newsletter, all of which she gathers under the title “Erin in the Morning.” Reed's work centers on advocacy for the transgender community and the greater queer community. At the moment, she's undertaken the momentous task of tracking the anti-trans legislation that's being forwarded in state houses across the country and exposing its troubling, deceitful, and vicious nature. Through her newsletter, social media posts, and in-person appearances, Reed supports not only trans and queer rights, but also a vision for our communities and our country in which mutual care and kindness are our abiding values. To say it another way, Erin supports the fight against cruel ant-trans legislation currently underway and she also connects her readers with trans girl scouts so she can help these kids with their annual cookie sale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

Today I interview Erin Reed. Reed is an activist, public speaker, and writer across multiple platforms, including a Substack newsletter, all of which she gathers under the title “Erin in the Morning.” Reed's work centers on advocacy for the transgender community and the greater queer community. At the moment, she's undertaken the momentous task of tracking the anti-trans legislation that's being forwarded in state houses across the country and exposing its troubling, deceitful, and vicious nature. Through her newsletter, social media posts, and in-person appearances, Reed supports not only trans and queer rights, but also a vision for our communities and our country in which mutual care and kindness are our abiding values. To say it another way, Erin supports the fight against cruel ant-trans legislation currently underway and she also connects her readers with trans girl scouts so she can help these kids with their annual cookie sale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law

Ashley Holben, interim manager and project specialist with the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange and executive specialist to the chief executive officer at Mobility International USA, leads the conversation on disability inclusion on campus and in international affairs. FASKIANOS: Welcome to CFR's Higher Education Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record, and the video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org/Academic if you'd like to share it with your colleagues. You can enable the closed captioning by clicking on the icon on your laptop or on your iPad in the “More” button. If you click on that you can show captions. So I encourage you to do that. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. We're delighted to have Ashley Holben with us today to discuss disability inclusion on campus and in international affairs. Ms. Holben is interim manager and project specialist with the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, and executive specialist to the CEO at Mobility International USA. In these roles, she develops initiatives and resources to increase participation and inclusion of students with disabilities in international exchange. So, Ashley, thanks very much for being with us. Let's just get right to it. If you could discuss and share with us the importance of disability inclusion in higher education institutions and international affairs, and share what you have found to be some of the best practices to do so on college campuses. HOLBEN: Certainly. Well, thank you so much, Irina, and thanks so much to the entire CFR team for putting this topic on the agenda of this webinar series. It's such a fantastic opportunity to discuss an often misunderstood topic but a very prominent community, which is people with disabilities in higher education. And so really appreciate all of those who are joining today to tune in, and welcome. And, you know, the CFR team shared with me the roster of folks who were planning to attend and one thing that really stood out to me is kind of the really wide breadth of expertise and departments represented and positions represented. So it's really encouraging to see so many different types of leadership wanting to discuss this further and wanting to share practices. So I'm looking forward to doing that today and I really hope to hear from some of those who are tuning in with your expertise and observations and activities as well, and I am delighted to share some—just observations of my own in this role at the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE). As Irina said, this is a project that's housed at Mobility International USA since 1995. But we're sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, really, in order to promote the participation of people with disabilities in international exchange between the U.S. and other countries, and that is to say kind of to the end we provide tips and strategies for people with disabilities and international program staff on how to prepare for an inclusive international exchange. So, before I kind of dive in, I just wanted to define these terms a little bit because it's not always clear what we mean by international exchange. But, basically, we're talking about everything from study abroad, teach abroad, volunteering, research, professional visitor exchanges. Also, cultural like arts, sports programs. So try to picture a U.S. college student going abroad for a semester or an international student coming to the U.S., a Peace Corps volunteer, Fulbright scholars, and so on. And we're—the genesis of this project is really because people with disabilities are taking advantage of these same opportunities as nondisabled people in order to advance their educational/career goals, their personal goals. And that kind of brings me to kind of another definition—a loose definition—that people often wonder, well, what do you mean by people with disabilities, and by that that includes people with physical or mobility disabilities, sensory disabilities, chronic health conditions, intellectual or developmental disabilities. That includes mental health disabilities, neurodiversity learning disabilities. And then keep in mind that disabilities can be apparent or nonapparent. And then also somebody's disability might be apparent certain times and not others—for example, if they use assistive devices on some days but don't need them on other days. So one topic that I really—is close to our hearts in our world is this theme of disability as diversity, and I saw on the roster—I was really excited to see that there were some folks who registered who are, for example, the director of diversity and inclusion, DEI specialists, and so on, and it's so encouraging to see that higher education is really embracing this diversity, equity, and inclusion, implementing DEI strategies kind of throughout all areas of higher ed. And so, with this in mind it's really vital to recognize that disability is part of diversity and not separate from it. Too often folks want to separate the two. Or, disability is an aspect of diversity that can get overlooked in diversity initiatives, we find, too often. So that inclusion of people with disabilities is really fundamental to be able to—and acting on that commitment to diversity at the institutional level. And then, for many, disability is an important facet of their identity, connecting someone to a larger disability community—for instance, disability pride, disability culture, history, and more. So it's really important to keep that in mind in any discussion related to DEI. And just as important, many people with disabilities have identities in addition to their disability identity. So, for example, a person with a disability can also be a person of color, a first-generation college student, LGBTQ, an immigrant. And so one thing that we find often when we're talking to people with disabilities about their experience is, there was so much focus on my disability that we completely forgot—(laughs)—to talk about these other aspects of myself that are important to me. So I think that's definitely a good lesson. If anyone out there is more interested in this topic of disability intersectionality, I want to just kind of do a little plug for a publication that I'm really excited about that we put forth last year on Intersections Abroad, which I'm holding up to the screen. I think it might be blurred out, unfortunately, but—(laughs)—oh, here we go. FASKIANOS: It's a little blurry but we'll— HOLBEN: It's a little blurry. FASKIANOS: (Inaudible)—anyway. HOLBEN: But it's Intersections Abroad: “Travelers with disabilities explore identity and diversity through a lens of international exchange.” So it's a series of travelers' stories, interviews with people with different types of disabilities including people who are blind or have chronic health conditions or who are on the autism spectrum but who also want to describe what their study abroad experiences in different countries was like as a person of color or as someone with a religious identity or someone who brings all these unique experiences to their international exchange experience itself. For those of you who—I know we have a lot of different folks joining the call. On the higher education campus, people with disabilities not only includes students but also faculty, staff, administrators, campus leaders, visitors, and institutions often have dedicated staff or offices to support individual level disability accommodations and also to promote disability access more broadly across campus. So I noticed some folks who registered for this event come from, for example, Office of Student Accessibility, Office of Disability Services, Office of Student Support and Success. We had—I saw an access and accommodations coordinator, an ADA compliance coordinator. So these are all some examples of the types of folks who are working to help promote access at the—in higher education. You can also find counseling centers, tutoring centers. There are a growing number of campuses that are providing services tailored for students on the autism spectrum and also those that are tailored for students with intellectual disabilities, which is really interesting. And if you want to learn more about that I encourage you to check out the organization Think College. But in addition to campus accessibility and disability support services you're going to find other entities that help promote disability community, disability history, disability rights, representation and visibility. For example, student groups led by and for students with disabilities. I saw one of the registrants—there were a couple of registrants on this event who are representing the Harvard Law School Project on Disability to, as they describe, use their learning in comparative and international law to advance understanding regarding disability law, policy, and education around the world. So it's really exciting to see just kind of all the different ways in which higher education can support and promote disability access and inclusion in different ways in representation. Another topic that we are really passionate about at the NCDE is disability-inclusive campus internationalization, especially when it comes to the international exchange aspect of internationalization. So take education abroad, for instance. For the most part, I think a huge bulk of our resources relate to students—college students with disabilities who study abroad. That's a big chunk of our resources, and we get a lot of questions about that from international exchange administrators and international study abroad advisors and coordinators about how can we provide some support to these students who want to study abroad who might have some specific disability-related accommodations they might need abroad, or everything from how can we attract students with disabilities to participate in our programs, and so on. So you're going to find a lot of those types of resources in our library. But, education abroad that can also encompass faculty with disabilities leading trips abroad, and it's really exciting to be able to connect with some faculty with disabilities who can share some of their stories with us about arranging these types of exchange programs. And the programs that they're leading may or may not have a disability theme, depending on what their scholarly background is. However, I've observed that some education abroad curricula does include disability-related themes. So one example is at California State University in Northridge. One of their faculty led an exchange program called “Black Deaf Activism: Culture and Education in South Africa,” bringing together a lot of students from their campus who identify either as deaf, as Black, or both, and more. So that was really exciting to follow their journey through South Africa, again, with those different lenses. And then, of course, people with disabilities working in the international exchange field—in the international education field as advisors, administrators, and more, and that's always something that we get really excited about at the Clearinghouse. We kind of proselytize a little bit to people with disabilities about, oh, have you thought about entering a career in international education so that we can see more disability representation and leadership within that field. A lot of students with disabilities are—and without disabilities are kind of blown away in a good way to see some of that disability representation in the kind of leadership level of that field and so that's something that we try to encourage in some different ways that I'll get to a little later. And then on the flip side of education abroad we also want to see disability-inclusive campus internationalization in the form of international student recruitment, so welcoming international students and scholars with disabilities to U.S. higher education, and that comprises another large segment of the resources housed at NCDE. So for those of you who advise international students and scholars on your campus or who are connected to the recruiting side to bring students with disabilities to the U.S., or bring international students to us, ESL offices and instructors. We want to work with them to make sure that they're aware of the international students with disabilities. These are fantastic opportunities for them, too, and but they also might have some different cultural expectations related to disability. They might be used to a different type of system of accessibility and accommodations or a lack thereof. And, most recently we've talked to a lot of international students who are expressing an interest in connecting with other students with disabilities during their stay in the U.S., whether it's other American students or other international students with disabilities. And so one thing that we're excited to do in the near future is think of some ways that maybe we can help facilitate these types of connections on kind of a peer-mentor type model. Another focus of campus internationalization can be offering coursework on international disability rights. One prominent example in my mind is the University of Oregon's “Global Perspectives on Disability” course because it's co-taught by MIUSA's own CEO, Susan Sygall, who is a woman with a disability, and what's interesting is that that course is cross listed on campus with international studies, special education, and disability studies. So, you know, disability is such a cross-cutting issue. There's really no topic or department or educational focus that doesn't—that can't touch upon disability, inclusion, and access. And so the “Global Perspectives on Disability” course at the U of O is one that's been running for several years and it's fantastic. We're able to bring some guest presenters who are often disabled women leaders from countries around the world to share about their experiences in disability rights, disability policy, movement building, and so on. And then, one last example I'll share, but not to say the last one, is access to foreign language learning and ESL and really ensuring that, you know, those are so vital to promoting campus internationalization and often they're linked to these international exchange experiences, education abroad, and so on. But, sometimes we hear from people with disabilities that they were discouraged from taking a foreign language class because of assumptions about what they're able to do. So, for example, like a person who is deaf, there might be some assumptions that they can't participate in a foreign language class. And so, we would really promote any person with a disability to see if learning a foreign language is something that would help further their goals, personal, career wise, or otherwise. And so, I do want to hear your—all of your questions and your—not just questions but also just sharing from your experiences. But before we do that, I do want to just say a little bit about NCDE resources so that you're aware of what we have in our library. That is to say they all touch on this crossover of disability inclusion in international exchange and include everything from tips for recruiting people with disabilities in international exchange programs, disability-specific tips for international travel. So, if your wheelchair gets broken when you're abroad, what might you do? Or, what are some different types of accommodations that a blind student might use or someone with dyslexia might use? Best practices from various U.S. higher education institutions. And I think that's going to really appeal to the folks who are on this webinar today. We have—just like we've been able to interview international exchange alumni, students who've come back from their experiences abroad, and others, we've also really relied on higher ed professionals to share their best practices with us because, really, our resource is a compendium of expertise from the field. And so I would really encourage anyone here who maybe they have a best practice to share from their own campus that they're working on and we would love to be able to add that as a resource to be able to share with our broader community. So if that's of interest please get in touch. We also offer sample disability accommodation forms and questionnaires, which is really handy for those out there who are wanting to start a conversation around disability access but maybe don't know the—don't have the vocabulary or don't have the language. These are kind of helpful guides that can help you take those next steps. And then, finally, one thing that I am really excited to share because this is a new—relatively new initiative on our part is we've started hosting an access to exchange externship for—and this is a resource you can share with your students—this is for students with disabilities, recent graduates and others, who want to use their experiences to further the mission to promote disability inclusion in international exchange. So they're tasked with coming up with some kind of either a webinar or event or a country guide, some kind of resource that can help further this mission. And so some of them have created resources for peers like prospective study abroad students with disabilities or for the folks who are working in the international education field so that they can be more cognizant of—you know, from a disabled person's point of view what are the supports needed or what can they be doing. And then our seminar—access to exchange seminar is for people with disabilities who have not had any international exchange experiences and, you know, or maybe it's a little intimidating to take that first step, and so our seminar is really just trying to break it down and make it feel a little bit more comfortable to ask questions and help try to just instill some confidence in future international exchange participants with disabilities. So, well, let me stop there for the time being and let me put it to all of you. What I'd like to know is, given, again, just this very—all of the different types of departments and expertise that you're all bringing with you today what are some of your own experiences, observations, activities, around disability inclusion on your campus and in international affairs. So I'd really like to hear from you all and I wonder if anyone would like to start. FASKIANOS: Great. Great. Thank you, Ashley. This is terrific and, yes, we want to go to everybody on the call. You can click the raised hand icon on your screen to ask a question, and on an iPad or tablet click the more button to access the raised hand feature, and when I call on you, you can accept the unmute prompt. Please state your name and affiliation followed by your question. You can also write your question in the Q&A box. If you do that, please say who you are. And we do have our first written question from Pearl Robinson, who is an associate professor at Tufts University: Does the Peace Corps offer opportunities for people with disabilities? HOLBEN: Thank you for that question. Oh, I'm so glad you asked. Absolutely. The Peace Corps encourages people with disabilities to participate in—as volunteers and, indeed, we have seen so many returned Peace Corps volunteers with disabilities come back and share their experiences. I think I referred earlier to a person who was discouraged from learning a language because she's deaf, and she often shares, she really pushed back against that, insisted she wants to learn French and one of the happy results of her advocating for herself to be able to pursue French despite being discouraged from doing so is it enabled her to be able to serve in the Peace Corps in Francophone Cameroon, which was a life-changing event for her. And, actually, I know that there is an upcoming webinar that's going to be hosted by a Peace Corps staff on volunteers with disabilities that will feature a number of returned Peace Corps volunteers. And so if that—I think that is coming up pretty soon. So I'll share that information with Pearl individually or unless other people are interested I can share with you, Irina. But also the Peace Corps also has opportunities for shorter-term programs for folks with unique expertise and who have a specific area of specialized focus. And so we recently interviewed someone who took part in that program—it's called Peace Corps Response—which worked out really well for her because she has some chronic health conditions and mobility disabilities that made that format work quite well for her. But, yes, we have lots of returned Peace Corps stories on our website about people with different types of disabilities who served and it's really fun to read their stories and just really eye-opening as well. FASKIANOS: Great. So we have another question from Deena Mansour with the Mansfield Center: We've appreciated using some of your resources on our State Department exchanges. Could you speak to some of the most important ways you prepared others in a cohort, a predeparture orientation to support a colleague with disabilities, given that many countries have less—far less exposure and support than we have had in the U.S.? HOLBEN: Mmm hmm. Yeah. I would say—and that's fantastic that you're working with—being able to implement State Department exchanges as well. We're really excited by any time we can provide resources related to, for instance, the Global UGRAD program or the Mandela Fellowship or Fulbright, whatever it might be. And then, as for predeparture orientations, this has been a topic that we've explored both in terms of international students coming to the U.S., which we just kind of put—created some new resources for that. But it sounds like what you're asking is for folks going abroad—maybe coming from the U.S. and going abroad. I think it's just really important that people with disabilities who are preparing to go abroad are—have a chance to research a bit about the country's disability rights—not only disability rights laws but disability culture and context. We really encourage folks to try to do outreach to a disability-led organization, if possible, and some people who've been able to do that it's led to a really fruitful relationship and really enhanced their experience to be able to meet with local people with disabilities who can share kind of the real experience on the ground, what it might be like. I think a lot of people are also—maybe aren't prepared for just the feeling of kind of being—standing out and others are unprepared for—well, just to use an example from our Intersections Abroad publication that I shared earlier, one student who studied abroad who is blind, she really thought that people would only be interested in her blindness and only have questions about her blindness, and she was really surprised that when she arrived people had wanted to know about other things about her, too. And so I think just allowing some room for all aspects of yourself there can be really beneficial. It's something that sounds simple but people might forget. And so kind of evaluating different identities that you have, what you want to get out of the experience. But it sounds like what you're asking about is kind of more just on-the-ground—those logistics, those environmental barriers. And you can't foresee all of them, but I think just one thing that's really helpful is just getting an idea of, how do people in that destination approach disability access because, if you call a hotel or something like that and you say is this going to be disability accessible, I really encourage just trying to get a little bit more specific, because they might say yes because their idea of disability access is having some burly people lift you up over some stairs, whereas that might not be at all your idea of accessibility. And so some of these things you're not going to know until you arrive. But if you can connect with another—a person with a similar disability who has traveled abroad or someone who has gone to the place where you're going that can really be helpful, or talking to locals with disabilities. And then our resource library, that's one of the things that, I think—I really hope is helpful to folks planning their trips abroad is to be able to read about the experiences of other travelers and kind of the types of things unexpected that they encountered during their travels that might help other folks just get into that mindset of what might be on the horizon. FASKIANOS: There's a question from Kwaku Obosu-Mensah at Lorain County Community College: Do students with disabilities need special insurance to travel abroad in an exchange program? HOLBEN: That's a great—thanks for that question. Not always. Some students who have maybe chronic health conditions have been able—sometimes their study abroad program, for instance, has been able to negotiate, like, a group rate of health insurance for—for example, if it's a group of students who are going abroad, in case there's some additional coverage needed related to preexisting conditions or disabilities. However, we're also seeing a best practice in the form of international exchange departments and offices budgeting for some funds to be able to provide for students with disabilities in those instances where something's not going to be covered by. It's kind of an extenuating circumstance, whether it's related to getting access to health care, kind of an emergency fund, or being able to help pay for some private transportation when the local public transportation is not accessible, to use a couple of examples. So I think you're going to have to—it's really important to check with the insurance company and find out what their policies are around that but also to consider negotiating what they're able to cover to be as inclusive as possible. And that's not always going to be able to happen in that way, in which case those contingency funds are going to help supplement whatever the insurance is not able to. FASKIANOS: Great. And people can also raise their hand and ask their questions and share best practices. But I will have another question—written question—from Kimberly Pace, University of Alaska Anchorage, which goes along with Kwaku's question, which was—you just answered about health care for students—faculty with disabilities when engaged in study abroad programs. So it'd be great if you could elaborate on that. HOLBEN: So, with health care, I guess just some additional considerations related to health includes mental health. Some folks with chronic health conditions might need to just get some—do some extra preparation—not only chronic health conditions but other types of disabilities. People with disabilities planning to go abroad will sometimes need to just take some extra steps for preparation, for example, those who are taking medications in the U.S. Certain types of ADHD medications in the U.S. are not legal in certain countries where people study abroad, and so trying to get information about what types of health care you're able to receive abroad, what types of prescriptions you're able to bring into the country abroad, working with your health care professionals about whether or not to adjust any medications prior to travel, and then where are you going to be able to access medical supplies in case yours get depleted or are lost or stolen or break—you know, where to go if your mobility equipment breaks. And we do have some tip sheets kind of on these different types of disability topics related to, what happens if you get into this dilemma, how can you try to, for example, keep your mobility equipment or your medications—how do you travel with those things in such a way that kind of helps mitigate some of the risks of having things break or confiscated or flagged or whatever it might be. So it's not, like, a simple answer but it's absolutely really important predeparture. Part of the —it's part of the research. It's part of the process for going abroad and, unfortunately, it typically means building in some extra time for planning to go abroad. So we always encourage students with disabilities, even if you think you might possibly go abroad at some point in your college career it's not too early to start planning for it now and start looking into some of these questions, and some of the guides that we have on our website are helpful just for thinking through what those questions might be because, as they say, you don't know what you don't know. And people will often think, well, I've got that taken care of, no problem. But they're only considering it from a home environment perspective and not really thinking about how, well, is the host city infrastructure going to be able to support this accessibility software that I use or whatever it might be. So not just in terms of health care but other types of accommodations as well. FASKIANOS: Thank you. Can you elaborate on the difference between access and inclusion? I think it would be helpful to give those. HOLBEN: Well, I don't think there needs to be a broad difference. But one thing that I would want to emphasize is, there's—on one hand, we're talking about disability inclusion and how can we make sure that—they're really—they go hand in hand. Inclusion is how can people with disabilities access these—all of the same programs, all of the same services—really, just kind of everything that nondisabled people can access and—but I think inclusion is not quite the full picture. It's not really enough. And so what we would say is how can we go beyond inclusion—the inclusion piece—which is just making sure can you participate to sometimes you have to kind of take the first step to get people with disabilities to see these things as belonging to them or see these—sometimes people will self-select out of things because they've grown up with these messages that this isn't for them, or they have to wait until it's a special disability-focused program or activity for them to participate. And so one message that we tell people with disabilities is to kind of think of it as an infiltration where you're, like, find these nondisability-focused activities and if you want to be part of it then be part of it. But on the flip side, we're also thinking a lot about reverse infiltration, which is the folks that are managing different projects and opportunities and activities sometimes you might have to go out of your way a little bit to invite in people from the disability community, meet them where they are, really make sure that they are expected, anticipated. So it's not really just enough to say, well, we wouldn't turn a person with a disability away so that makes us inclusive but, really, how can you be more proactive and intentional in your strategy to make sure that disability is represented. So I think that that would be one distinction. And then, furthermore, beyond just disability inclusion—are they participating—then I think another important step to look at is disability leadership, and so that's kind of where—why I say we get really excited when people with disabilities are entering leadership positions in higher education, whether that's working in the study abroad office or as faculty leaders and others who are taking part in these decision-making roles and, how can we create kind of a pipeline for people with disabilities to become leaders in these different areas and be that kind of next generation of leadership. So I would keep that at the forefront as well. FASKIANOS: Great. HOLBEN: And, you know— FASKIANOS: Uh-huh. HOLBEN: Oh, go ahead. FASKIANOS: Oh, I was just going to call on Kimberly Pace. She raised her hand. HOLBEN: Oh, perfect. Yes. Looking forward to hear Kimberly. FASKIANOS: From the University of Alaska Anchorage. Q: That's brilliant. Oh, I'm just so appreciative of this forum, and thank you both so much. As a person with a physical disability it never occurred to me as a college student to ever go—even ask the question about study abroad and I—certainly, you're blowing my mind that there are resources to allow students to do this. I teach international relations and comparative politics, and I am just beyond giddy that there—(laughter)—are options for students because that's something that, personally, I, you know, never got to experience and never, certainly, was encouraged to do that. So I'm very excited. I just want to say thank you very much for the information. So thank you. HOLBEN: We're right there with you, Kimberly, as far as the giddy factor. And, you know, thank you so much for sharing that experience because, actually, that is—I think that inclusive, that welcoming, encouraging messaging is so important and we kind of go into detail about that on one of our tip sheets about inclusive recruitment. But even just something as simple as a message on an opportunity that says people with disabilities encouraged to apply, you never know who that's going to make all the difference in the world to and one prime example is our organization, Mobility International USA, might not exist if our CEO, who is a wheelchair rider, hadn't done her Rotary exchange program in Australia, which kind of spawned this idea of what Mobility International USA should be, and what led her to participate in that Rotary exchange program was seeing just a simple ad in the newspaper that said people with disabilities encouraged to apply. And who was responsible for putting in that little line? We're not sure. But it kind of led to this chain of events that kind of brought us to where we are here. And, you know, there are so many folks in the field in higher education who are—they don't have all the answers and they don't have a lot of—they might not have personal experience with disability. But I think if they can help be a champion, an ally, and be kind of someone who says, well, let's figure this out, or let's see what's possible and not shut it down, I think that that's often what has led to all of these amazing outcomes and impact stories from the folks who have shared their experiences with us on our website and then who knows how many more are out there. So, sounds simple, but it can have an important impact. FASKIANOS: So we have a written question from Mark Scheinbaum, who's at the Florida International University: What updates or guidance do you have for students with de jure and/or de facto comfort pets that are needed for completion of usual and customary academic tasks? HOLBEN: If you can leave the questions up a little longer. Then I can— FASKIANOS: Oh, sure. Sure. Sorry. HOLBEN: That's OK. FASKIANOS: I'll put it back. HOLBEN: Well, I would just, first of all, make sure that you're familiarizing yourself with the distinction between—you kind of use two different terms here. So there are comfort animals or emotional support animals, and then there are service animals, which are trained to do a specific service. Comfort animals and emotional support animals aren't necessarily trained to perform a specific service related to a disability-related accommodation whereas a service animal is. So maybe that service is helping to detect the onset of an epileptic seizure, or the service is being able to help the person open doors or pick up items from the floor, or, of course, sight dogs for folks who are blind or visually impaired, for mobility. And so, anyway, that's going to be a really key distinction for whether or not it's going to be appropriate to have a service animal or an emotional support animal in a higher education setting, and especially that becomes more complicated when you're talking about going abroad to another country where you're also considering factors—not just the laws but also the cultural factors whether dogs are welcome in every restaurant or if it's an animal that's very taboo and you don't keep them as pets, let alone travel around with them. And so all of those questions are going to come into play. We do have some tip sheets on our website that go into more detail around some preparation for bringing animals abroad, what you should know related to quarantine, vaccinations, and things like that. So search for animals on the MIUSA website to access some of those tips. FASKIANOS: Great, and we'll send out links to that section, Ashley, after this so people can access it easier. HOLBEN: Oh, great. Yeah. FASKIANOS: So another written question from Erin Reed, and I will leave it up so you can see it— HOLBEN: Oh, thanks. FASKIANOS:—who's the student services and admissions advisor/DSO at California State University San Marcos: What are your suggestions for a university study abroad program that is not made aware of a student's disability prior to the student's arrival? HOLBEN: I think my number-one suggestion would be rather than waiting for one student to participate start thinking about it now what are some ways we can build in some inclusive practices into our programming. So one thing that some programs might do is, well, maybe people aren't disclosing their disability because we're not giving them the opportunity to do so. So including questions in some of those post-acceptance forums that ask how can we make this program—how can we help set you up for success in this program. Might also ask specifically, including related to disability accommodations so that folks know that—I think it's really important for prospective students or otherwise to just know that they're being anticipated, that someone is thinking, yes, like, we're totally expecting that at some point some students with disabilities will participate in this program. And I think that that can be—really signal to students, OK, this—we're coming from a place that or we're going to be interacting with folks who are anticipating me and, even if they don't know all the answers to my questions they're not going to shut me down. So I think that some of those types of—whether it's just amending some of your forms or putting information on your program website, having inclusive images such as if there are images of people with apparent disabilities participating in the program, seeing themselves reflected in those images can be just as important as an inclusive written message. Let me go back to that question. Sorry. It went away again. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: If you click on the answered question. HOLBEN: I got it. Yeah. FASKIANOS: OK. And then I have two more written questions. Everybody's sending in their questions at the end here. (Laughs.) HOLBEN: But just also, going back to Erin Reed's question, if the program—it sounds like, we didn't know that there was a student with a disability planning to arrive. Now we—we have this—these things that we need to figure out in the meantime. One more thing I'll just say about how to maybe avoid that situation is working with—oh, this is so important—collaborating with the disability services office and other similar services on the campus to be able to arrange some kind of system. So a lot of institutions—for example, their study abroad offices will share a list of all of the students who are enrolled in study abroad for that upcoming semester and they'll share it with the disability services office so that they can kind of go through and say, oh, well, we recognize—and this is all just privately on the disability services side to protect the students' privacy—but they will kind of flag, oh, this is a student that we work with. And so what they might then do is connect with that student directly and say, hey, we learned that you're going abroad—do you want to talk about some of the questions you might have or is there anything that we can do to support you and can we—are you comfortable with inviting those—the international advisors into this conversation so that we can just kind of put everything out in the open and we can figure out all the best ways to support the—that student. So, I would say, that's so important that we used to at NCDE pay people to take each other to lunch from the study abroad office and the disability services office because too often we heard, oh, yeah, they're just right across the—you know, their office is literally right over there. I can see them from our office. But we've never talked to them or—and we don't really know what they do. So I think just to have it breaking some of that ice early on and not waiting for the time when there's a student with a disability there but just kind of building that into your process, and that can also be helpful for collecting data as well. The Institute for International Education has an annual Open Door survey that provides data and statistics around who is participating in an international exchange and they've started including a question—some questions related to disability so that, hopefully, over time we can kind of see is disability—are people with disabilities being represented in international exchange in greater numbers, what types of disabilities do they have, and so on. So working with the disability support office is one great way to also collect that type of information too, which is going to really help the field and, hopefully, help more people with disabilities to be able to participate in international exchange. FASKIANOS: So we have a question from Andrew Moran from London Metropolitan University: In the U.K. inclusion is not just about access or being in a classroom. It is also about inclusive assessment methods. I wonder if you have any resources—if you know of any resources that suggest assessment methods that would allow neurodiverse or physically disabled students to fully engage and not be excluded. They've done away with exams because you can't rely on an elevator to work to get to an exam room, let alone the barriers in the exam might pose for neurodiverse students. And he's leading a working group on allowing students to choose, create their own assessment method to enable greater diversity and meet students' needs but always looking for new ideas. HOLBEN: Oh, that's really interesting. Thanks so much for sharing that, Andrew, and for sharing the example at your own institution as well. And I would love to hear other folks respond to this, too. As far as—one, again, I would really encourage you to check out Think College as a prospective resource for—especially just because you mention neurodiverse students. So Think College operates at different campuses right now—for now, I think, only in the U.S. Perhaps their network is growing beyond that as well. But it's kind of this network of professionals who work with—to try to get students not only with intellectual disabilities but also those who are neurodiverse, including those who are on the autism spectrum. And so they are really a fantastic source of expertise for everything from inclusive education or specialized support and accommodations and pedagogy. So I think that they would be probably the ones to connect with about this question in particular. But if other folks have other ideas in response to Andrew, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it. And maybe while we're thinking of that, we'll check out this next one. FASKIANOS: Right. McKennah Andrews with the Mansfield Center: We have a blind participant on an upcoming international program taking place here in the U.S., and MIUSA's resources have been so valuable. Can we touch on the topic of personal assistants? What advice or testimonies might you have regarding engaging with personal assistants during a program? HOLBEN: Yes, absolutely. So personal assistants can look like a couple—many different things, actually. You might even—since you mentioned having a blind participant, this might not be what you meant but some—for some folks who are blind they may have had some sighted guides during their exchange programs abroad. So that's another example where a student who—or a person who is used to one type of access accommodation or assistive devices or technology in their home environment might have to look into some different ones for their host environment. So we've known some people who are really—have great cane skills for orientation and mobility and strong independent mobility skills in their home environment but have felt more comfortable having the program help arrange a sighted guide for them when they're going to, perhaps, countries where—or environments that are a little more chaotic or where, for whatever reason, their usual skills might not work out. Or, again, if that person uses a service dog in—or service animal in their home environment and that wouldn't really be feasible in the home environment then having that kind of human guide or a personal assistant might be one method that they look into. Personal assistants might also provide everyday living services—you know, feeding or using the bathroom or just getting ready throughout the day, assisting with lifting and transferring, and that's going to—might—again, as somebody who—we've seen some instances where people in the U.S. who don't use personal assistant services might opt for that when they're going to a place where, you know, they might need to be lifted more often because the infrastructure is not as—going to be as smooth or not as accessible. And so we've seen different situations where sometimes they are—the personal assistant in question is someone they've worked with a long time in the U.S. Sometimes it might be a peer who attends their school. Sometimes it's a parent who travels. I've definitely seen all kind of different types of—oh, and also a local person that's hired in the country to provide personal assistant care. So it's really interesting just to kind of be aware of all of the different ways that that might look and check out—again, we have a specific tip sheet about that—actually, a series related to personal assistant services. So, yes, we can talk about personal assistant services and we have kind of a suite of resources related to that so there's a lot that can be said. So thanks for bringing that up. FASKIANOS: Terrific. We are almost out of time, and I did see that there was a raised hand from Justice Chuckwu— HOLBEN: Fantastic. Let's hear from Justice. FASKIANOS: —disability rights, Oregon. He lowered his hand but—oh, there we go. And if you can ask it quickly and unmute yourself that would be great. HOLBEN: I think we've met before, Justice. Hello. HOLBEN: Oh, hi. There's Justice. Q: Hello. HOLBEN: Hello. Q: Yeah, I think we met a couple times. Yeah. So my name is Justice and, yeah, I'm so much appreciative of this program. And I always have a simple question and the question is how do we—how do we unify orientation for international students with disabilities, given the fact that they come from different backgrounds and most times there are just maybe one or two or three in one university or one college and may not be able to really understand the environment early enough. Maybe by the time they would get to understand the environment they might be getting to the mid-semester. So my question is, is there a way to kind of unify the orientation, especially since we now have online—things could be done online to unify the orientation to make sure that students—international students with disabilities are not left behind. HOLBEN: Mmm hmm. Yes. Thank you, Justice. And, actually, it was your bringing that to light that kind of got—we started incorporating that question into some of our resources and, in fact, you helped contribute to one of our webinars on this very topic of support for international students with disabilities coming to different campuses in which you kind of described that feeling of how do I connect with other people with disabilities, especially other international students with disabilities, who might be able to share in some of these experiences so I don't feel so alone in this. And I really—that really sparked a lot of ideas but one of which is, might there be some kind of opportunity for a student group of international students with disabilities but bringing together students from different campuses to be able to share their experiences. And so that's something that we at the NCDE are exploring more. But as for existing resources, in addition to the webinar that Justice contributed to we also added some others related to just sharing some best practices from our—MIUSA leads an orientation for high school exchange students with disabilities who are arriving to the U.S. for a State Department-funded scholarship program and we—as part of this orientation we incorporate information about your rights as a person with disabilities while you're in the U.S. and how to advocate for yourself if there's something that you need but aren't getting, how to fully participate in all of the opportunities while you're there. So I think that those are the—some of the same messages that could be really beneficial to folks entering U.S. higher education from different parts of the world and just learning about U.S. disability culture and those steps for taking advantage of all of the resources available to you. So, yeah, you're absolutely right, Justice. There's more work to be done, and I think folks like you who are voicing kind of those needs—those firsthand gaps that you've identified is kind of one of the first steps in helping to build out some of these resources. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. Well, we are out of time. In fact, we're a little over. HOLBEN: Oh. (Laughs.) FASKIANOS: So, Ashley Holben, thank you so much for doing this. We really appreciate it, and to all of you for your questions and comments. Again, we will be sending out a link to this webinar transcript as well as to the resources that Ashley mentioned. So stay tuned for that. Our next Higher Education Webinar will be on Wednesday, February 22, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time with Jeremi Suri, who will lead a conversation on teaching the history of American democracy. And just please do follow us at @CFR_Academic and visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for research and analysis on global issues. Ashley, again, thank you very much for doing this. We appreciate it. HOLBEN: Thank you. Thank you for—to everyone who attended for your time and thanks to CFR for getting this on the agenda. I really appreciate it also. FASKIANOS: Great. We look forward to everybody continuing to participate in this Higher Education Webinar series. Have a good rest of your day. (END)

This week, Joshua Holland kicks off the show with a short rant about how observers tend to ignore the death toll that has resulted from the proliferation of right-wing conspiracy theories. Then we're joined by The Washington Post's Paul Waldman to talk about the Republican civil wars growing in intensity--and how the party's disarray may constrain its ability to leverage its control of the House to advance its agenda. And then Erin Reed, who writes the Erin in the Morning newsletter, offers us a bird's eye view of the dozens of bills Republican legislatures across the country are considering to target transgender people--and their families and support networks--in ways that should shock you.  PlaylistViagra Boys: "Punk Rock Loser"Cody Brooks: "First World Problems"Citizen Cope: "Brother Lee" 

We have far too many examples in recent years of hate speech sparking riots, mobs and individual attacks. One group at particular risk is the transgender community. This year, at least 35 people in the trans community were “fatally shot or killed by other violent means,” according to the Human Rights Campaign. And a recent report from the HRC Foundation found highly organized online attacks against hospitals and health care providers in 21 states targeting facilities and doctors that provide gender-affirming care. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with Erin Reed, a legislative researcher and a trans rights activist who’s been following these patterns for the last three years.

We have far too many examples in recent years of hate speech sparking riots, mobs and individual attacks. One group at particular risk is the transgender community. This year, at least 35 people in the trans community were “fatally shot or killed by other violent means,” according to the Human Rights Campaign. And a recent report from the HRC Foundation found highly organized online attacks against hospitals and health care providers in 21 states targeting facilities and doctors that provide gender-affirming care. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with Erin Reed, a legislative researcher and a trans rights activist who’s been following these patterns for the last three years.

Special guest Erin Reed, Executive Director of the Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston, shares about the organization's soup kitchen, pantry, day shelter, resource center, and refugee integration program. Located at 53 Spruce Street in Lewiston, Trinity Jubilee Center has been serving the public since 1991. The Center is currently open 6 days a week and serves more than 1,000 people each week.   For more information on program hours, resources, and how you can get involved, visit the Center's website at: www.trinityjubileecenter.orgSpecial thanks to Williams Broadcasting for producing our show. Follow CCI online and on social media:FacebookInstagramTwitterCommunity Concepts is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

TRAGEDY -- Club Q. Colorado Springs, Colorado 11:53pm MST Saturday November 19, 2022. Hate and heroism. CONTROVERSY -- FIFA World Cup 2022. Qatar. Rainbows met resistance as soccer's world championship continues RESILIENCY -- Karleigh Webb sits down with noted policy researcher, media analyst and influencer Erin Reed (aka "Erin In The Morning) to look at the legislative outlook for trans rights, how the media has covered the issues including this weekend's shooting in Colorado, and her formidable work in the community. VICTORY -- You could say she was the "sleeper hit" of 2022. Karleigh's last call looks at how a trivia whiz won a lot of heart and was someone we were thankful for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're joined by queer activist and legislative researcher Erin Reed to bust just a few of the many myths and misconceptions used to dehumanize trans people in our society. You don't want to miss this one! Follow Erin on her multiple platforms!

This episode is all about decaffeinated coffee. Kenneth tells you about the history, the 5 most common processes that are used to produce it, and some of the pros and cons of this style of coffee. He then digs deep into how the Swiss Water method was developed with Erin Reed from Swiss Water. She is part of a dedicated team of people who make high quality decaffeinated coffees using a process that is 100% chemical free.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Caffeine was first extracted from coffee beans in 1820. There are at least five ways to remove the caffeine from coffee beans.  In Brazil, they are working on developing a coffee tree variety that would produce caffeine free beans. Decaffeinated beans roast a little differently. Kenneth explains those differences. Methylene chloride or ethyl acetate can be used in both chemical extraction processes, but only tiny amounts are left behind by the end of those processes. The Swiss Water method achieves caffeine removal rates of around 99.9%.   BEST MOMENTS ‘Sanka is one of the oldest established coffee decaf varieties.' ‘You can't actually remove 100% of caffeine from coffee.' ‘At Swiss Water, they cup (taste) every single batch of coffee pre and post decaffeination for quality assurance.'   GUEST RESOURCES Website: https://www.swisswater.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swisswater/   VALUABLE RESOURCES Award-winningsingle-origin specialty coffee:https://umblecoffee.com/ You're disciplined and high achieving. You never settle. Shouldn't the fuel that helps you reach your goals be held to those same standards? Instead of a crash-inducing cup of jo, you need coffee with optimal antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. A coffee so good that you can drink it black. At Umble Coffee, we only roast specialty-grade arabica coffee from around the world with cupping scores 84 and above. Don't sabotage yourself in pursuing your goals - drink coffee that tastes better and is better for you. No crash, great taste, and better long-term health benefits. That's Umble Coffee.    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/umblecoffee/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/umblecoffee/ Twitter:https://mobile.twitter.com/umblecoffee   ABOUT THE HOST As a coffee lover, physician, chemical engineer, serial entrepreneur, competitive runner, writer, and family man, Kenneth knows what it's like to push yourself to achieve goals very few accomplish. He's one of the best specialty coffee roasters in the United States as he's a multi-year US Coffee Roasters' Competition Finalist. He created Umble Coffee Co with the belief that, if sourced and roasted right, coffee can taste phenomenal and be good for you. “Life's too short to drink bad coffee.”   Podcast Description Coffee 101 is an educational show on all things coffee. The host, Kenneth Thomas, starts with the most basic questions about coffee and builds your knowledge from there. If you love coffee, are curious about coffee, or you're a business just looking for a resource to train your team, Coffee 101 is without question the show for you! Season 1 is all about coffee's journey from seed to shelf.BUY COFFEE!: https://umblecoffee.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another day, another millionaire comedian or right-wing politician targets trans people. While one might seem like easy laughs, it's hard not to look around at the hundreds of anti-trans bills sweeping the country and still muster a chuckle. Republicans are fixated on preventing trans girls participate in sports and trans kids overall from receiving any gender-affirming care. Founder of the Trans Formations Project Erin Reed joins Francesca to detail the impact of stopping trans children from receiving care, what “informed consent” is, and why it is that the GOP is so obsessed. Plus comedian Jaye McBride takes down Bill Maher's latest “old man doesn't get the gays” rant, and what strange spell compels Caitlyn Jenner continues to throw other trans people under the bus. Plus, Jaye stays on for a BONUS episode all about Ricky Gervais and Dave Chappelle's anti-trans comedy and tells the story of working at the Comedy Cellar while Dave Chappelle was performing and he made her get on stage. Do not miss this incredible and super awkward encounter. Join the Patreon at www.patreon.com/bitchuationroom to get access and a special bonus RSS feed with bonus content every episode.Featuring:Jaye McBride, comedian https://twitter.com/jayemcbrideErin Reed, Trans Formations Projecthttps://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another day, another millionaire comedian or right-wing politician targets trans people. While one might seem like easy laughs, it's hard not to look around at the hundreds of anti-trans bills sweeping the country and still muster a chuckle. Republicans are fixated on preventing trans girls participate in sports and trans kids overall from receiving any gender-affirming care. Founder of the Trans Formations Project Erin Reed joins Francesca to detail the impact of stopping trans children from receiving care, what “informed consent” is, and why it is that the GOP is so obsessed. Plus comedian Jaye McBride takes down Bill Maher's latest “old man doesn't get the gays” rant, and what strange spell compels Caitlyn Jenner continues to throw other trans people under the bus. Plus, Jaye stays on for a BONUS episode all about Ricky Gervais and Dave Chappelle's anti-trans comedy and tells the story of working at the Comedy Cellar while Dave Chappelle was performing and he made her get on stage. Do not miss this incredible and super awkward encounter. Join the Patreon at www.patreon.com/bitchuationroom to get access and a special bonus RSS feed with bonus content every episode.Featuring:Jaye McBride, comedian https://twitter.com/jayemcbrideErin Reed, Trans Formations Projecthttps://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode, Conner, Mae, and Jason run through Gopher sports and have a fascinating discussion on unbelievable sports stats. Also, they are joined by Erin Reed and Elizabeth Sullivan to discuss their marathon experiences from last weekend.

When an innocent teenager is murdered, family members are left devastated and heartbroken. The closest these loved-ones can get to some kind of closure is when the person or persons responsible are apprehended and convicted of the crime. Sometimes that just never happens, even when we know who did it. In 1992, 13-year-old Brandy Myers left her home in Phoenix, Arizona to walk door-to-door and collect money for a book-a-thon. She never returned home. Police know who did it, but they won't be prosecuting him. This is the second installment of our summer series about mysterious crimes and disappearances from around the globe and the people who fight to get justice for victims and their families.   In this episode Dakota Spotlight speaks with Erin Reed, victims advocate and producer/host of Sipping on Some Crime podcast.  Justice for Brandy Myers Facebook page Sipping on Some crime Podcast Looking for a licensed therapist? Check out https://betterhelp.com/dakota Podcast home  Dakota Spotlight        

With Springtime comes the anticipation of being able to utilize our beautiful Trails System. Executive Director Erin Reed proudly talks about work completed on the Rails Project and Trial Head during the Pandemic year and big plans for the Trestle and the process of connecting with Clay County Trail System. YouTube Video at https://youtu.be/CTa7rDdPDxM