Isn't It Queer

Jonny interviews Rosie in the first half of the show, a co-director of a local presentation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a shadow cast leading audience participation at The Varisty Center (https://thevarsitycenter.org/). In the back half of the show, Heather and Jonny use one of the show's songs to frame some of our current anti-LGBTQ+ issues as conflict between reality and perception.

Jonny and Heather start out the show reveling in some new media that shows representations of queer and trans identities are still prevalent in popular culture. Even where books and professors have been silenced, there are signs of successful resistance. In the back half of the show they discuss the recent No Kings protest and how the Trump Administration's and GOP's responses to it reveal how weak they really are.

Jonny and Heather examine what appear to be cracks forming in and between the GOP and the Trump Administration. Although the authoritarian state still continues to form, it is hitting some serious snags. They discuss a wide range of responses to trans rights across a wide political spectrum. The look into military airplanes from Qatar and Texas taking up Florida's obsession with rainbow crosswalks. In the back half of the show they do a quick review of some SCOTUS questioning about conversion therapy. They also lament the power position lesbian TERF Bari Weiss will have over CBS News. They shift to good news, including a history of ice cream in LGBTQ+ protests, and end with some announcements of upcoming events in Southern Illinois.

Jonny relies on Heather's military background to explain just how awful the Secretary Hegseth and President Trump addresses to the military flag officers was. Heather corrects Pete on what a real "warrior ehtic" is. Despite the abuse of military power, especially in attempts to turn it on the so-called "enemy within" in US cities like Chicago and Portland, the real message is one of weakness. In the back half of the show, they discuss the comedy of errors that is the government shutdown and how it, too, is a sign of growing weakness in the Trump Administration. They then turn to some stories about actual commedians before ending with a revised schedule of upcoming LGBTQ+ History Month events in the Carbondale, IL area.

Heather and Jonny briefly check in on recent assaults on LGBTQIA+ rights, particularly Trans Rights. They quickly move to a celebration of upcoming events this weekend kicking off LGBTQIA+ History Month and other Southern Illinois Pride festivities. In the back half of the show, Jonny interviews Dr. Desiree Rowe about her guest artist visit to the SIU, including her presentation of "Wave 01.12.22"--a performance about grief in the wake of CoVid 19 and the persistence of anti-vax practices within the on-going pandemic. 

Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center LGBTQIA+ History Month event schedule: https://smrc.siu.edu/lgbtq/programming/

Rainbow Space Magic free online conference: https://www.eventbookings.com/b/event/rainbow-space-magic-2025?occurrence=3b31c1

Jonny interviews Billy of Golden Rainbows of Illinois South (GRIS) and Juniper, the coordinator of the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center--Southern Illinois University's LGBTQIA+ resource center. They discuss the upcoming events for LGBTQIA+ History Month in October. In the Back half of the show, Jonny talks with nomadic co-host Heather from the RV about disturbing developments for the trans community in the last week. 

At the time of posting, the calendar of October events is not yet up. Please connect with the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center (https://smrc.siu.edu/lgbtq/) or the Isn't it Queer website (https://isntitqueerwdbxsoil.blogspot.com/) for details and dates about October's MANY events!

Jonny and Heather are joined by Rey and Dan who are visiting Carbondale from Central Texas where they listen to the show. They join the team while they are on vacation to dive back into news they have otherwise successfully avoided for a week. Together, the foursome parse the consequences of Charlie Kirk's assassination last week. In the back half of the show they turn to victories, however small, for the LGBTQ+ community in this increasing hotile environment..

Jonny and Heather celebrate Heather's birthday by diving into the rights being taken from trans folks, from right to possess firearms to the right to use the bathroom. They also discuss the current threats to Marriage Equality and some of the ludicrous positions for its dismantlement. In the back half of the show, the move to a recounting of successful protests and challenges to the increasingly threatening choices of the current administration. They also offer resources on enhancing queer independent media.

Jonny and Heather discuss the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School last week and the attemps on the Right to make the tragedy about the "mental illness" of transgender identity. In the back half of the show, in the spirit of Labor Day when the show was recorded, they lean into the impacts the current administration is having on labor in the nation. They also consider the consequences of loss of expertise in the CDC and the sciences in general all while rumors of President Trump's death circulate on the internet.

Jonny and Heather review some of the recent developments in the US's devolution into authoritarianism, with a focus on impacts to LGBTQ+ communities. It's dire af, y'all! In the back half of the show, they examine some queer heroes or "queeroes" stepping up to the plate. Some of them may be anti-queeroes and none of them are pure queer angels (well, almost none), but the battle is real and how we fight and defend ourselves is what matters most.