Informed Dissent — Week of February 14, 2026

With Jamie Reed, Lauren Leggieri, and Cori CohnGuest: Dr. Patrick Hunter

This week on Informed Dissent, Jamie, Lauren, and Cori go back to the Detransitioner lawsuit trying to parse a standard of care when the whole field went off the rails. They discuss weekly headlines and are then joined by Dr. Patrick Hunter for a wide-ranging conversation on pediatric care, standards of practice, and medical ethics.

From Helen Lewis’s piece : “that she’d had her breasts removed at 16, only 11 months after first identifying as male. She had also been diagnosed with autism and had struggled with an eating disorder and anxiety.”

Ben Ryan’s coverage American Society Plastic Surgeons: New York Sun

Ben Ryan’s coverage American Society Plastic Surgeons: Hazard Ratio Substack

Guest Interview — Dr. Patrick Hunter

This week’s guest is Dr. Patrick Hunter, who joins the show for a detailed conversation about clinical practice, pediatric care, and evolving standards in youth gender medicine. You can follow Dr. Hunter on X @PatrickHunterMD

The discussion covers:

* Dr. Hunter’s professional background and clinical experience

* The role of pediatricians and primary care providers in evaluating distress in children

* Why a cautious, slow-moving approach has historically been standard in pediatric medicine

* The importance of careful assessment, watchful waiting, and risk–benefit evaluation when treating minors

* How physicians navigate standards of care amid changing evidence, institutional guidance, and public pressure

* The ethical responsibilities of clinicians working with children, including questions of informed consent, risk, and medical decision-making for minors

* The tension between urgency, patient distress, and the duty to avoid harm in pediatric care

The conversation also introduces key ethical questions surrounding pediatric medicine and clinical responsibility. Because of the importance and complexity of these issues, Dr. Hunter will return to Informed Dissent for a future episode focused specifically on medical ethics and standards of care.

Please like, subscribe, and share to help more listeners find these conversations.

Informed Dissent is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Informed Dissent — Show Notes

This week, Lauren, Jamie, and Cori break down a cascade of developments that unfolded in rapid succession: a New York jury malpractice verdict and major medical organizations reversing course on youth gender surgeries.

We also take a brief look at patient-facing spaces like Reddit to see whether families are already reporting canceled or delayed surgeries, noting that while anecdotal, these discussions often surface institutional shifts before they appear in official statements.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TopSurgery/comments/1qw9l00/comment/o3nyajn/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Taken together, the legal, medical, and cultural signals suggest a consensus once treated as untouchable is now beginning to fracture.

Joining us this week is Gabe Walters, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). We discuss the DIAG case, the free speech and civil liberties issues it raises.

We also touch on FIRE’s recent victory defending a Washington State professor investigated for parodying a university land acknowledgment.

Thanks for reading Informed Dissent! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Relevant links:

* FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression):

https://www.thefire.org/

* DIAG v. Alexi Giannoulias (case page): https://www.thefire.org/cases/democrats-informed-approach-gender-v-alexi-giannoulias/

* FIRE victory in the University of Washington land acknowledgment case:https://www.thefire.org/news/victory-court-vindicates-professor-investigated-parodying-universitys-land-acknowledgment/

If you appreciate this episode, please like, subscribe, and share—and stay informed, and ready to dissent.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Informed Dissent, Jamie, Lauren, and Cori reflect on a week of unexpected moments — travel, testimony, and the decision to speak up when staying quiet would have been easier.

Our deep dive includes a behind-the-scenes conversation about recent legislative hearings and welcoming new voices into the movement.

We’re joined by Dr. Karla Solheim, a board-certified OB/GYN living and practicing in Northeast Iowa. Dr. Solheim is married to her wife of 12 years, and together they are raising three children. She began writing to support and empower other OB/GYNs practicing in rural settings, before turning her attention to the growing influence of gender medicine.

In this episode, Dr. Solheim speaks about professional integrity, medical accountability, and what happens when clinicians decide to speak honestly — even when they hadn’t planned to.

You can read Dr. Solheim’s writing on Substack here:

If you appreciate this podcast, please like, share, and subscribe. These conversations matter, and they only grow when people pass them on.

Stay informed — and stay ready to dissent.

Informed Dissent is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Informed Dissent — January 17, 2026

News of the Week & Deep Dive

This week’s episode moves from state-level political turmoil to Supreme Court oral arguments, with a few unexpected cultural and intellectual detours along the way.

Segment One — New Jersey at a Crossroads

We open with the unfolding conflict inside New Jersey’s political and advocacy landscape, where a proposed “gender health care shield law” failed to pass before the close of the legislative session. That story, and the broader institutional turmoil at Garden State Equality, set the stage for a deeper conversation about how organizations respond to internal contradiction, external pressure, and reputational risk.

Along the way, we take a few side roads:

* What a zombie apocalypse in World War Z can teach us about cascading institutional failure.

* Why Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring still matters when thinking about how societies respond to environmental and systemic risk.

* Chris Argyris’ Overcoming Organizational Defenses and how organizations protect themselves from information they do not want to hear.

* A brief discussion of Jennifer Bilek’s reporting on networked advocacy influence in the gender policy space.

If you want the full written breakdown of the New Jersey story, we covered it here:

Segment Two — Supreme Court Sports Cases

In the second half, returning guest Glenna Goldis lawyer and author of Bad Facts

joins us for legal analysis of the two cases argued this week at the U.S. Supreme Court:

* Little v. Hecox (Idaho)

* West Virginia v. B.P.J.

We unpack the constitutional questions before the Court, Title IX implications, standards of review, and what oral argument signals about where the justices may be headed. We also discuss how these cases fit into the wider national strategy around sex-based protections in law and sport.

Closing Reflections

As always, we wrap by reflecting on the growing community around this show, the people showing up in real life at hearings and rallies, and the many listeners quietly processing complex family and cultural conflicts alongside us each week.

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share Informed Dissent. Independent media only works when listeners help build the audience and the impact.

And as always — stay informed, and stay ready to dissent.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Informed Dissent we tackle the New York Times, men in women’s sports, Trans News Network, and the 37th Annual GLAAD Media Award nominees.

We also discuss shoe sizes (is a women’s 11½ an outlier?), the independent media nominees all being either trans, queer, or aligned with that side of the movement, and why Jamie can’t pronoun Brad Polumbo’s name.

In our second segment we were joined by guest Ben Appel.

Ben Appel is the author of Cis White Gay: The Making of a Gender Heretic. He’s written for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Newsweek, UnHerd, and many other publications.

Links:

Cis White Gay:

https://www.amazon.com/Cis-White-Gay-Making-Heretic-ebook/dp/B0FJ2PVZCP

X: https://x.com/benappel

Substack:

Website:

https://www.benappelwrites.com/

Like, subscribe, share, and comment.

Independent media only works if we share it and support it—and since we’ll probably never win a GLAAD Award, tell us in the comments who you think should be nominated for an independent media award.

As always, stay informed and ready to dissent.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Informed Dissent — This Week for January 3, 2026

This week’s episode marks our return after the holiday break and focuses on Washington State, where sports policy, media framing, parental rights, and direct democracy are converging in real time.

Jamie, Cori, and Lauren are together for the full episode, opening with a wide-ranging first segment before turning to an interview from Washington State.

Segment One: Washington Post and NYT

The episode opens with a discussion about a young man in sports and takes a rather bizarre turn to STI’s and Bacterial Vaginosis.

* The conversation begins in Washington State and a recent Washington Post profile of a male athlete competing in girls’ track.🔗 Washington Post (live): “For young transgender runner, racing wasn’t the hardest thing”https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/12/28/transgender-female-athlete-competition-trump/🔗 Washington Post (archived):https://archive.is/2025.12.28-222636/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/12/28/transgender-female-athlete-competition-trump/

* Jamie, Cori, and Lauren end discussing a recent New York Times article examining new research suggesting that bacterial vaginosis (BV) may be sexually transmitted, and why the story centers a trans identified woman. 🔗 NYT: “Bacterial Vaginosis May Be Sexually Transmitted, New Research Suggests”https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/health/bacterial-vaginosis-sexually-transmitted-infection.html

This post is public so feel free to share it.

Segment Two: Ballot initiatives and direct democracy

In the second segment Lauren, Cori and Jamie are joined by Brian Heywood, from Let’s Go Washington. Brian can be found on X @bkheywood (That Damn Mormon)

Heywood discusses:

* Two Washington ballot initiatives—one restoring sex-based categories in school sports and another advancing parental notification and authority—that have surpassed signature thresholds for the 2026 ballot.

* The scale of volunteer participation statewide and the documented intimidation, harassment, and violence directed at signature gatherers.

* Why direct democracy has become necessary when institutional actors attempt to close debate rather than resolve it.

🔗 Let’s Go Washington: https://letsgowashington.com/

We are excited to announce the final counts:

IL26-001 Strengthen Communication Between Parents and Schools: 416,201

IL26-638 Protecting Fairness in Girls Sports: 445,187

Additional context and referenced voices

Throughout the episode, the hosts also reference:

* Reporting on Seattle-area schools administering gender-identity surveys to children and sharing data with third parties

If you found this episode valuable, please like, subscribe, and share.Your engagement helps more people find the show and keeps these conversations moving forward.

As always, thank you for listening. Stay informed—and stay ready to dissent.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Informed Dissent — This Week for December 20, 2025

This week’s episode moved fast and covered a lot of ground. Cori and Jamie opened with a wide-angle look at where things actually stand right now—before turning to a guest conversation that tested the limits of dialogue across disagreement.

Policy, politics, and what’s winning

Cori and Jamie begin the episode by breaking down several developments shaping the current moment, while also taking a trip down memory holed land into the world of the AAP and Peanuts.

* A discussion of proposed rules from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services related to Medicaid, including what these changes could mean in practice and where leverage points may exist.

* An overview of House legislation introduced by Marjorie Taylor Greene and Dan Crenshaw, with attention to political signaling, strategy, and how these efforts fit into the broader legislative landscape.

* A grounded conversation between Cori and Jamie about what is winning right now—distinguishing institutional progress from rhetorical noise, and identifying where momentum is translating into real-world outcomes.

Guest: Dr. Laura Targownik

Dr. Laura Targownik is a gastroenterologist and clinician-researcher in the University of Toronto Department of Medicine. Dr. Targownik holds a Master of Science in Health Services from UCLA and is the author of more than 230 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Targownik is internationally recognized for work in the epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease and in health economics.

Four years ago, Dr. Targownik publicly shared a history of transition. Since that time, Dr. Targownik has become an advocate for trans rights, drawing on personal experience to present a vision of trans coexistence that emphasizes integration, civic participation, and contribution to the common good. Writing by Dr. Targownik has appeared in the The Globe and Mail and the Canadian Health Network.

X (Twitter): @datadriven_tdoc

Tweet of the Week:A satirical clip from Women Are Real that circulated widely this week and sparked discussion about how political conflict and cultural critique now travel through humor, shorthand, and viral media.

Programming note

We’ll be taking next week off for the holiday and will return the following week.

If you value this show—even when it’s imperfect—please like, subscribe, rate, and share. That support keeps these conversations going.

As always: stay informed—and stay ready to dissent.

Informed Dissent is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Informed Dissent — This Week’s Episode

This week on Informed Dissent, we’re joined by Alasdair Gunn and Harrison Tinsley for a wide-ranging and deeply human conversation about health, survival, fatherhood, civic responsibility, and what it means to protect children in a culture that often resists restraint.

We discuss how lived experience—serious illness, custody battles, and advocacy—reshapes moral clarity, and why real compassion requires honesty, boundaries, and the courage to act when institutions fail.

Guests

Alasdair GunnX: @ngusdairAlasdair Gunn is a long-time gender-critical writer and commentator who was early to recognize the harms being done to boys and young men in gender medicine. In this conversation, Alasdair reflects on how surviving a life-threatening cancer diagnosis clarified his understanding of consent, care, and health—especially when supporting people who are deeply vulnerable and suffering.

Harrison TinsleyX: @HarrisontinzHarrison Tinsley is a father who successfully fought for custody of his son, in part over concerns related to gender ideology. Harrison joins the show to discuss fatherhood, the legal realities parents face when protecting their children, and why supporting others matters—especially when the stakes are this high.

Please note: Informed Dissent will take a brief break the week of December 27. The news never seems to stop, but our underpaid—and often unpaid—volunteers have officially demanded one day off this year. We honor the request.

Please enjoy an episode from our back catalogue that day, or you can always revisit the Mariah Carey 1994 Christmas album.

Thanks for listening to Informed Dissent!

Thank You

Thank you to Harrison and Alasdair for joining us, and to our listeners for continuing to engage thoughtfully and respectfully. If you have a guest suggestions for 2026 please drop it in the comments below.

As always, please like, subscribe, share, and leave a comment—it helps more than you know.

Stay informed. And stay ready to dissent.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Informed Dissent News for the Week December 6, 2025

Segment One — Conversation with Glenna Goldis

We open the episode with Glenna Goldis and a breakdown of the week’s biggest stories:

* The New York Times piece on the secretly recorded surgery consultation

* Chase Strangio, taking one for the team with a public-facing optimism that change is possible within current advocacy structures — and why that message feels (because it is) another kind of fake believe.

Glenna provides legally grounded analysis, highlighting how weak or ideologically driven legal defense strategies can create long-term consequences for everyone — eroding public trust, distorting precedent, and reshaping the legal landscape in ways that harm both patients and professionals. Her critique underscores how fragile the rule of law becomes when institutions abandon rigor.

Segment Two — Interview with Journalist Ben Ryan

Next, we sit down with journalist Ben Ryan for an in-depth historical and cultural discussion of the HIV landscape:

* The origins and development of AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs)

* How these organizations became federally funded and what that funding structure meant for their long-term mission and operations

* The history, promise, and limitations of PrEP, including how it reshaped the HIV prevention paradigm

* How medical interventions, public-health messaging, and funding priorities can influence — and sometimes transform — community culture, norms, and expectations

Ben offers rich historical context and a nuanced understanding of how institutions evolve, how public-health decisions ripple outward, and how medicine can shape a community’s identity and trajectory.

Our Guest: Journalist Ben Ryan

Ben Ryan is an independent journalist specializing in science and health care coverage. You can find more here: http://www.benryan.net/bio.html

Bluesky: @benryanwriter

Twitter: @benryanwriter

Substack: Hazard Ratio

Additional Notes: Guest Glenna Goldis

Here’s her 2024 piece on Chase Strangio that quotes her saying gender identity isn’t real, etc. -

Glenna on X:

https://x.com/glennagoldis

Thank you for joining us this week.

Please subscribe (it’s free!) wherever you get your podcasts, and don’t forget to like, rate, review, and share — it truly helps the show grow.

As always:Stay informed, and stay ready to dissent.

Thanks for listening to Informed Dissent!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Informed Dissent —

News of the Week

• Nex Dagny Benedict

We cover the ongoing developments in the Nex Dagny Benedict case and the layers of narrative, reporting, and political framing that continue to emerge.

• New Research Study — Covered by Ben Ryan

We discuss the newly released study on youth suicidality and cross-sex hormones, along with journalist Ben Ryan’s detailed analysis of its methods and conclusions.🔗 Ben Ryan’s article:

Conversation Notes

* Helen Webberley and her many media hits

* UK Pathways Puberty Blocker Study

* Wheeler’s early political identity and public presence

* His decision to break with party leadership on gender-related legislation

* The political and cultural pressures surrounding those moments

* How his past speeches and civic work reveal a through-line in his values

* The broader landscape of youth gender medicine and how Wheeler situates himself within it

PLEASE NOTE!

After the show was recorded, Jamie spent the day reading all of the arms of the PATHWAYS studies and wrote a detailed tweet thread breaking it down.🔗 https://x.com/JamieWhistle/status/1994546772656431274?s=20

Guest: Jonah Orion Wheeler

Our guest this week is New Hampshire State Representative Jonah Orion Wheeler, whose public service and recent high-profile decisions have made him a central figure in the current gender-medicine debate.

Background & Featured Clips

• Local TV Interview (December)21-year-old State Representative Jonah Wheeler makes mark at State House | CloseUp🔗

• Speaking for Women — March 20, 2025NH Rep Jonah Wheeler breaks ranks with Democrats to stand up for women — HB148🔗

• Confrontation After the Internet-Outage HearingRepresentative Jonah Wheeler Faces Down Angry Crowd in New Hampshire🔗

If you enjoy Informed Dissent, please:

* Subscribe — it’s free wherever you get your podcasts

* Like, rate, and review the show (especially on Apple Podcasts, which helps boost visibility)

* Share this episode with friends, colleagues, and anyone following the gender-policy landscape

* Drop us a note — we love hearing your thoughts and reading the discussion in the comments

You can also support our work by visiting the LGB Courage Coalition merch store at LGBcourage.org — and stay tuned: an Informed Dissent merch store is on the way. Everyone needs a new coffee mug.

Stay informed — and stay ready to dissent.

Informed Dissent is a reader-supported publication. To support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe