Isn't It Queer

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,