H-Town Progressive

The 86th Texas Legislative Session has come and gone, and well, we’re ready for a recap! What did they fix? What did they break? What did they kick down the road to 2021? Join us this week as we recap this year’s Lege with Representative Jon Rosenthal!

Much like our trans siblings, our intersex siblings are regularly the victims of terrible violence. If your natural body does not reflect the culturally defined sex binary, then your body, often at a very young age,  is likely to be mutilated and forced into that binary without your consent. Join us this week as we discuss Houston's intersex community with Mo Cortez.

We have a crisis in this country: transgender women of color are regularly held victim to violence and murder, and it seems that hardly anyone is talking about it - there is a silence, a toxic silence. Join us this week as we discuss with Dr. William T. Hoston, author of the book, "Toxic Silence: Race, Black Gender Identity, and Addressing the Violence against Black Transgender Women in Houston."

Much progress has been made in the battle to ensure dignity, respect and equality for the LGBTQIA+ community. But there is still much work to be done. In particular, often left out of the equation is those who identify as transgender or non-binary. So join us as we focus this episode on the interests of Houston’s trans and non-binary community with Lou Weaver.

Advocacy through Art is powerful and personal. And so in our first episode this Pride Month focusing on LGBTQIA+ issues, Eric Edward Schell, the founder and sole photographer of Pride Portraits, shares with us his very personal story of how he came to create the treasure that is Pride Portraits.

It is an unbelievable shame that slavery, in the form of human trafficking, not only exists, but thrives in Houston. Right under our noses, children are being bought and sold for sex. As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. So join us as we talk in detail with anti-human trafficking attorney, Ann Johnson, about this horrible problem in our great city.

This week we look again at the broken US immigration system, this time from the perspective of local Houston immigration attorney, Ruby Powers. From the shameful policy of family separation to the endless backlog on naturalization, please join us as we go in-depth on immigration and how it has affected and continues to affect Houstonians.

Gun violence is everywhere in our society. From our schools to our places of worship, the blood keeps spilling. It has become a matter of public health. And like any matter of public health, we must listen first to those who serve on the front lines, those who see the epidemic every day for what it is. They’ve been told to stay “in their lane,” but doctors around the country are speaking up. Our guest this week is Dr. Cedric Dark, one of those doctors who refuses to be silenced.

MEASLES! DIPHTHERIA! POLIO! RUBELLA! MUMPS! SMALLPOX! TUBERCULOSIS! WHOOPING COUGH! There’s a reason you probably have not had any of these diseases: Vaccines. Communicable disease is a public health issue that requires collective action through public policy. Join us this week as we discuss the importance of vaccinations in public health policy with family physician Dr. Bich-May Nguyen.

This week we continue our discussion around abortion. As the fight to shape and reshape the law rages on in state legislatures and federal courts across the land, the day-to-day work of actually providing healthcare in this climate continues. Today we talk to someone providing this crucial care, Houston family physician Dr. Bhavik Kumar of Planned Parenthood, for his perspective on this incredibly important public policy issue.