Isn't It Queer

Jonny and Craig dig out from under snow and ice to share some contemplatioms on cultural, political, and environmental climates. In the front half of the show, they unpack their experience of the recent great ice storm that paralyzed Southern Illinois. They follow this with the hot times, politicially and environmentally, in LA right now. They turn to the death of Anita Bryant and why some might embrace a climate of celebration given her history. In the back half of the show, they discuss the shifting climate for LGBTQ folks on the Meta platforms, particularly Facebook, and what we can and can't do about it.

Jonny compiles a montage show of interviews, stories, and topics from 2024, painting a picture of what the year lin LGBTQ concerns, particularly in Southern Illinois, sounded like.It is a sampling, incomplete to be sure, but illustrative of 2024 nonetheless.

Jonny and Heather put together a surprise Christmas show thanks to changes in their holiday travel plans. They put aside the news and politics, and current events in favor of some contemplation of Christmas for queer folks, including some shows and some music to enjoy. It's (mostly) holiday themed queer popular culture to enjoy on this day of joy. Find the joy where you can, friends!

Jonny and Heather start off the show by listening to a public statement made by local Carbondale City Councilwoman, Clare Killman, who has a proposal for Illinois to defend itself from federal assaults on bodily autonomy. They then compare the clarity and firmness of her response to Congressional Democrats who seem to lack a spine and are throwing LGB but particularly T under the bus. In the back half of the show they discuss access to healthcare and a revitalized interest in discussing predatory insurance companies. The lesson there is that the assalut on gender-affirming healthcare is really an assault on all of our healthcare.

Jonny and Hearher check in about their busy queer weekend . Less fun, the check in on how that Skrmetti case went in the Supreme Court last week. From that they pull a theme they explore in the back half of the show--how actions are connected and the world is a web of interconnections. While this can be daunting when phobias spread across those strands, it can also be hopeful when justice and resistence do too. With that in mind, the discuss anti trans laws in Alberta, Canada and the regime change in Syria alongside queers preparing for assaults on their marriages and a Ohio elementary school teacher sues her district for a disciplinary action based on homophobia.

Jonny and Heather discuss World AIDS Day, reflecting on their own histories and lessons learned from the disease, including lessons we might take into the future. They discuss new breakthrough medications for the syndrome that approach the level of vaccination. In the back half of the show, they discuss the pending Supreme Court case challenging Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for trans youth. They detail the trans masculine lawyer working for the ACLU and speaking before the court as well as other elected trans officials across the country.

Jonny and Heather dive into the ludicrous new House Rule segregating bathrooms based on transphobic fears...or maybe its just toxic politicking? They turn to the already building evidence of assaults on trans rights as states submit bills for consideration in 2025 and President Trump advertises his first intended Executive Orders. They also look at what detention camps for queer and trans people will likely look like in the new regime, created in ways that might allow cis/het folks to ignore them. In the back half of the show, they turn to the organizations that are already pushing back on these toxic policies as well as ways queer and trans folks can prepare for the worst. They turn to the ways media is already adapting, in good and bad ways, to the incoming administration. They continue to urge listeners to participate in independent community media and local organizations resisting homophobic and transphobic policies.

Jonny and Heather pause to recognize the Trans Day of Remembrance with information about services in Carbondale while also taking a moment to hear the names of the trans folks who have died in the last year in the US. They lean into why times are so rough right now for queer and trans folks with a general discussion of resources avaialble to get through the coming rough(er) times. In the back half of the show they discuss the weaponization of mental illness aganst trans people and how LGBTQ folks are leaving Twitter/X in mass for social media platforms like Blue Sky.

Jonny and Heather discuss the outcome of the 2024 election. They try to avoid finger-pointing and armchair quarterbacking campaign choices and, instead, process their feelings and look to evidence of a shifting political landscape. They find glimmers of hope where they can while preparing for the worst. They note that, while the top of the ticiet and the majorities in Congress are pretty dire, there was considerable good news in state referenda on abortion access and historic elections of LGBTQ candidates. They end with with a call to community and the experienced advice of queer veterans (literally and figuratively) on what we need to do going forward.

Jonny and Heather face the challenge of recording a show on a Monday afternoon before it airs on a Wednesday morning in the first week of November....in a very contentious and signficant election year. Acknowledging the challenge of recording before any results or consequences are yet known, they offer some escapes from election anxiety and, perhaps, a harsh return to one. The review and gush over Disney+ and the MCU's "Agatha All Along." The then turn to reminding folks to check in on how the LGBTQ and 2S candidates in the race, lower down the ballot and out of the likely headlines did in the election. In the back half of the show, the turn to Uganda and the lessons that can be taken from an African nation that has given the death penalty to LGBTQ identities. How the rest of Africa is treating queer refugees from Uganda and the impacts of the policy for Uganda's economy are important lessons for the US to attend to as we flirt with a similar degree of regulation for queer and trans bodies.