Isnt It Queer

Jonny sits down with Janine Armstrong and Daniel Killins, both members of the Southern Illinois University Registered Student Organization (RSO), The Intersectionality Project (TIP), to discuss the Black and Queer Roundtable. They discuss very personal experiences of intersectional identities and articulate why identiy affirming organizations that explore intersectionality are so important for students in higher education. The queerness is real. The Blackness is real! And all of it is real together!

Jonny and Heather remember their mothers through sharing stories. They also celebrate new episodes of Doctor Who. Then they lean into how both of these sets of stories reveal something about the centrality of story telling and world making to queer and trans advocacy. They end with descriptions of two upcoming events in Southern Illinois that feature queer storytelling.

Jonny and Heather weave together a whole lotta stories around the theme of the seasonal return of storms. Primary attention is given to the return of trans bans in bathrooms and a forgotten/erased history of trans folks as the UK celebrates its first Trans+ History Week. Along the way, we blow by Stormy Daniels, Elon Musk and JK Rowling, a shortened Chicago Pride Parade, and David Tennant telling transphobes to f##k off. It's a whirlwind of a show!

Jonny and Heather discuss some good legislative and judicial news for LGBTQ+ folks, including Biden EOs that explicitly include LGBTQ+ folks in Title IX and the Affordable Care Act. We also look at a good decision on trans health coverage from the fourth district court of appeals and great news about Maine becoming a transgender and reproductive health sanctuary state. Across all of these stories, we recognize the benefit of waiting and the patience to get the legislation right, even at a time when we want immediate action. We end the show with some exciting news about returing drag queens--one excellent, one quite quite sketchy.

Jonny, on his own this week, reflects on Earth Day and the queer leadership behind the All Species Puppet Parade as an entry into a broader consideration of Queer Ecology. Queer and trans folks, as it turns out, have a lot to offer to environmental advocacy and policy.

Jonny and Heather, in the wake of Tax Day, discuss a variety of current events including the start of the Trump trial in New York, Arizona's new/old abortion law from the 19th Century, and the latest excuses from JK Rowling. In the back half of the show they discuss the difference in how the major Presidential campaigns are appealing to LGBTQ+ voters. They also cover new drivers license policy in Illinois as well as end of the school year LGBTQ+ events in Southern Illinois.

Jonny and Heather recover from the spiritual and scientific celebration of a total eclipse of the sun. They share their experiences of it as well as the Trans Easter Service Heather helped create at the Carbondale Unitarian Fellowship, They go off on the hypocrisy of conservative so-called "Christians" who use theur alleged faith to justify hate, discrimination, and prejudice, In the back half of the show, they lean into championing diversity and wind up full circle, back at the eclipse,

Jonny talks with Morgan Robertson of the Gender Affirming Voice Clinic at the SIU Clinical Center about transgender vocal therapy. They also recap the Rainbow Cafe's Transgender Resource fair this last weekend and weigh in on the the Rightwing outrage over the Biden acknowledgement of both TDOV and Easter happening on the same day. If you are interested in the Gender Affirming Voice Clinic, you can reach the clinic at 618-453-2361 or contact Morgan at morgan.robertson@siu.edu

Jonny and Heather pair the good news with the bad news while setting up announcements of various observations of Trans Day of Visibility in Southern Illinois. There is much in the day and in the news to celebrate while also keeping our eyes on the ways it is hard out here for the LGBTQ+ community.

Jonny interviews Craig Gingrich-Philbrook about his upcoming show, "Ways To Say Goodbye" in the Marion Kleinau Theatre. This is queer autobiographical performance art exploring some of the root causes of Craig's struggle with Functional Neurological Disorder. 

Jonny recaps last week's LGBTQ Town Hall sponsored by Equality Illinois and Rainbow Cafe and held in the Carbondale Civic Center.

Jonny digs into the IIQ archive to revive a 2021 interview with Clare Killman about the word "queer" and "queer liberation." This revisit is in anticipation of now Councilwoman Clare Killman's participation in a Town Hall Meeting later this week. In the back half of the show, Jonny puts Clare's thoughts in dialogue with recent proposed legislation coming out of her home state, Missouri, and announces a local vigil for Nex Benedict.

Jonny and Heather pair up the Alabama Supreme Court decision affecting IVF with the Oklahoma death of Nex Benedict, a victim of bullying brought about by a discrimintatory bathroom law. In both cases, absolutist and extreme moralizing policies were put in place with little thought of the consequences, and the lawmakers are scrambling to justify (or double down on) their hate. In the back half of the show, Jonny and Heather cover some stories of more moderate and compassionate legislation and evidence that folks are not happy with and are pushing back against discriminatory legislation based on hate.

Jonny and Heather discuss the continued move by states to become sanctuaries for gender affirming care (Maryland is the latest addition) alongside the inclusion of gender and sexuality questions in the latest US Census survey and why it matters. In the back half of the show they discuss what the NYT and other journalistic venues are getting wrong by treating Gender Critical as a reasonable countervoice to the basic human rights of transgender people. They close out the show with a celebration of Marriage Equality in Greece and the announcement of local community opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community in Southern Illinois.

Jonny, alone on Valentines Day, puts several stories in dialogue to ask if things are getting better for the LGBTQ+ community. It's a bit of a mixed verdict, but one thing is clear: as things seem to be doing better for the restof the country, LGBTQ+ are increasingly targetted as the old,familiar wedge issue for political gain. In the back half of the show, Jonny puts two stories in dialogue that remind us it is important to remember those queers who are no longer with us, to preserve their visibility in history and in memorials.

Jonny and Heather queer the Southern Border and the so-called immigration crisis by showing how the politicization of the problem mirrors how gender afirming care has been politicized. They discuss rebuttals to Pamela Paul's recent op ed in the New York Times as well as recent anti-trans policy initiaitices in Iowa and Alberta. In the back half of the show they link recent assaults on a St Louis gay bar to president Trump's legal loss on the issue of permanent and universal immunity, taking the opportunity to explore how "inalienable rights" might more effectively be expanded in the modern world.

Jonny and Heather discuss the Trangender American Veterans Association's law suit brought against the Department of Veteran Affairs to get them to respond to a petition to have the VA include surgical gender confirmation therapies in VA insurance coverage of transgender veterans. Heather serves on the board of TAVA and uses her own experience as a transgender veteran to explain the suit and what led up to it. In the back half of the show, Jonny and Heather discuss their disappointment in Maine abandoning its bid to be a transgender sanctuary state and in breaking news about new anti-trans policy in Florida. They leave on an upbeat note, showing the connection between Trump's $83.3 legal fine in the Carroll defamation case and a lawyer significantly responsible for Marriage Equality.

Jonny is on his own this week searching for that silver lining to the storm of anti-LGBTQ legislation. H finds it in evidence of a bisexual gene, in increased reportings of gender dysphoria, and increased numbers of folks identifying as LGBTQ+. He also finds it in clear evidence that anti-LGBTQ+ governors Abbot and Desantis are encountering backlash to their legislative overreach. there is evidence the fighting back is working and may have significant effects this election year.

Due to winter weather impacting travel and access to our recording studio, this week we bring you a rebroadcast of Jonny's interview of T. Brown in early October 2023. In the interview they discuss a web site sharing survivor stories of those who got out of a local cult in Carbondale as well as T's first expereice at GSV and how that differs from a cult.

Jonny and Heather discuss the consequences of book bans and other limitations on representation and sharing inormation. They cover information about the Queer Liberation Library, set up to combat LGBTQ book bans with a digital alternative. They discuss the consequences of bans on teaching Black history as part of a misguided labeling of them "Critical Race Theory." They also parse the difference between legislative bans and so-called "cancel culture."