Isnt It Queer

Jonny is joined by his husband, Craig, to discuss the slew of recent political dramas at the national level. They use their perspective as scholars of Performance Studies (and queer theory and popular culture and...) to review the Republican National Convention, the selection of J.D. Vance as the GOP Vice President candidate, and the elevation of Kamala Harris to potential Democratic Presidential nominee after the stepping down of Joe Biden from the ticket. 

Jonny interviews Dr. Joe Hassert who was a resident of Carbondale from 2000 to 2012 and was remarkably active in making community art projects happen here. Joe now lives in Las Vegas where he is a professor of Communication Studies at the College of Southern Nevada. He is the current president of the queer faculty and staff advocacy group there and works with students in the student LGBTQ organization to bring about positive, material change in their institution. Jonny and Joe talk about life in the desert, the queer scene in Las Vegas, what Joe learned from his time in Southern Illinois, LGBTQ advocacy, mass shootings, politics, and pragmatic activism. 

Jonny yields the microphone (mostly) to SIU's The Intersectuionality Project and the Black and Queer Roundtable for a discussion of the importance of education and the educational disparities that face Black, Brown, and queer youth. Daniel, Janine, and Mendez pull from their own experience and recent research to drive a lively and informative discussion.

Jonny and Heather process their desire for a month of hibernation following a very active Pride Month. They then turn their attention to recent developments in presidential politics and connections between agism and homophobia/transphobia. Also, maybe why presidential immunity isn't such a good thing. In the back half of the show, they review a SCOTUS decision on states' rights when dealing with unhoused people on public lands and connect that to trans-advocacy, including trans- and empathy-advocacy on Dr. Who.

Jonny interviews Jo Clifford, playwright and performer of "The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven," being presented at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Carbondale in the coming week (June 29 and July 2). They discuss the topic of the play, which considers,"What would happen if Jesus did come back to earth in the present day as a trans woman?" In the back third of the show, Heather and Jonny review two legal developments for the LGBTQ community, one that seems like pretty good news for veterans expelled from the military under "Don't Ask Don's Tell," the other somewhat trepidatious news as the SCOTUS takes up a case on Tennessee's ban of gender affirming care for trans youth.

Jonny and Heather interview Shay Miller, the director of Mae West's "The Drag," a Stage Company performance coming up for the last two weekends of Pride Month. A 1931 play by queer icon Mae West adapted by Darrin J. Pufall Purdy and Minerva Jayne, "The Drag" has many resonances with current attempts to ban drag performance. While focusing on the play, Jonny, Heather, and Shay also touch on other events going on in Southern Illinois to celebrate Pride.

Jonny interviews Carrie Vine of Rainbow Cafe and the Southern Illinois Pride Collective about the incredibly full weekend of SI PrideFest activities in Carbondale this coming weekend (June 15). In the back half of the show, he and Heather discuss some recent "historical moments" impacting the LGBTQ community. 

Jonny and Heather update on some upcoming Pride events in Carbondale and respond to some in the community's disdain for Pride Month. They then turn to the Trump's "hush money" court case and the jury's verdict of guilty on all 34 counts. They link this to other court cases, Congressional hearings, and current events where attention to actual evidence and due process yield meaningful and believable results. And yes, this all ties back to queer identity and advocacy.

After a brief digression on the challenges of travel on aging queer bodies, Jonny and Heather review the slew of Pride activities coming up in Southern Illinois in June. In the back half of the show, th discuss "rules" for those non-queer folks resistant to Pride festivities and some of the various people or practices banned from Pride. They conclude with a study of the obvious, that X (formerly Twitter) is the most hostile social media platform for LGBTQ+ folks.

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.