Three stories today. Twenty-two states sue the federal government over a new rule stripping Medicare and Medicaid funding from gender-affirming care for minors, set to take effect October 13th. An Idaho minister is found guilty of trespassing after refusing to leave the governor's office during a protest against the state's bathroom ban. And Bolivia records its first same-sex civil marriage after a nearly four-year legal fight.

Listen Up Girl is your daily LGBTQ+ news podcast — keeping you informed, connected, and in the fight.

🎙️ New episodes every weekday 📍 Find us wherever you listen to podcasts

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

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Today on Listen Up Girl: Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey wins his primary by nearly 30 points after making trans rights the centerpiece of his campaign against a challenger who'd questioned defending trans kids. A new EEOC settlement gives thousands of Christian-affiliated employers a permanent shield from gender-identity discrimination claims. A teenager stands trial in the UK for the murder of a gay man in a suspected homophobic attack. Out soccer star Esther González faces backlash for signing with a Saudi club. Mary Austin breaks decades of silence about her life with Freddie Mercury. And King of Drag returns for season two on September 20th.

Listen Up Girl is your daily LGBTQ+ news podcast — keeping you informed, connected, and in the fight.

🎙️ New episodes every weekday

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of Listen Up Girl, Zach Randles-Friedman covers the administration's return to the Supreme Court seeking to reinstate its ban on transgender military service, after a federal appeals court ruled the policy likely unconstitutional — a ban that remains in effect for now regardless of the outcome. The episode then turns to Massachusetts, where hospital systems including Fenway Health, Bay State Health, Outer Cape Health Services, and Greater Lawrence Family Health Care have quietly scaled back or ended gender-affirming care for trans youth despite state law explicitly protecting it, driven by fear of losing federal funding — a case study, advocates say, in how political pressure can succeed without a single law changing. Zach also covers recent comments in which the administration signaled its opposition to trans rights is a permanent strategy rather than a temporary policy position. The episode turns somber with the story of a targeted shooting outside Venture In, a longtime Tucson gay bar, that left two community members dead in what police are investigating as a hate crime. On a more hopeful note, Poland has begun recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere in the EU, even after its constitutional tribunal ruled against doing so — a workaround advocates say opens a crack in the country's marriage equality wall. The episode closes with a celebration: Atlanta's Black Pride weekend, one of the largest Black LGBTQ+ gatherings in the country, kicking off its Labor Day weekend festivities.

Trans military ban goes back to the Supreme Court The administration has asked the Supreme Court to take up its transgender military service ban for a second time, after a federal appeals court ruled in June that the policy is likely unconstitutional. The ban remains in effect for now while litigation continues; trans Americans make up less than 1% of active duty personnel.

Massachusetts hospitals quietly end trans care under political pressure Despite state law protecting gender-affirming care for trans youth, several Massachusetts hospital systems have scaled back or ended that care over fear of losing federal funding. Advocacy group Project Trans Futures has documented months-long wait times and dead-end referrals, and is pushing the state attorney general to investigate.

"The war on trans people will never end" Speaking to Fox News over the weekend, the administration signaled that its opposition to trans rights — including in sports — is a permanent strategy heading into the midterms and beyond, not a temporary policy.

Two killed in targeted shooting outside Tucson gay bar A gunman opened fire outside Venture In, a longtime Tucson gay bar, killing two men before turning the gun on himself. Police found a note listing addresses of LGBTQ+-associated businesses and are investigating the attack as a hate crime. Both victims were bar regulars.

Poland recognizes same-sex marriages despite court ruling Poland's government has begun legally recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other EU countries, even after the country's constitutional tribunal ruled against it — a workaround advocates argue is valid given the tribunal's disputed legitimacy. Marriage equality within Poland itself is still not law.

Atlanta Black Pride kicks off Labor Day weekend One of the largest Black LGBTQ+ gatherings in the country begins its Labor Day weekend celebrations, building toward the free, all-ages Pure Heat Community Festival in Piedmont Park.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's LGBTQ+ news: California lawmakers race today's deadline to get a slate of LGBTQ+ bills — including a fix for injectable PrEP coverage — to Governor Newsom's desk, former NBA player Matt Ryan inserts himself into the WNBA's manufactured trans athlete debate, Georgia Southern University pays $250,000 to settle a lawsuit from a worker fired after pushing for free chest binders for transmasculine students, Moms for Liberty and the Thomas More Society team up to target school anti-outing policies, gay Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader Jackson O'Brien's viral call to his mom, and comedian Amber Ruffin gets "en-gay-ged" to partner Kelsi Cleary-Hammarstedt in a delightfully chaotic double proposal.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's LGBTQ+ news: far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos gets detained by ICE despite years of cheering the agency on, Houston opens its first emergency shelter built for unhoused LGBTQ+ teens, a GOP-led group refuses to correct a misleading voter guide misusing pediatricians' name to sell an anti-trans sports ban, actress Missi Pyle has an unplanned coming-out moment on a Netflix podcast, we look back at the quietly erased love story of sports legend Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and Hunter Biden gets oddly specific about his own sexuality in a new interview.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's episode of Listen Up Girl covers six stories, with two carrying a political throughline. A federal judge in Texas, David Hittner, struck down the state's Senate Bill 12 drag show ban for the second time, ruling it unconstitutionally vague and overly broad enough to sweep up cheerleaders, cosplayers, and celebrity impersonators alongside actual drag performers — and telling anyone who doesn't like drag to simply not attend. Author and former pastor John Pavlovitz went viral this week pushing back on conservatives trying to claim Dolly Parton's legacy after her death, arguing her decades of unconditional support for marginalized people put her values at odds with the MAGA movement now trying to adopt her as a mascot.

The back half of the episode is a mix of celebration and accountability. Wear It Purple Day marked its fifteenth year honoring LGBTQIA+ youth under the theme "Colours of Courage." Everton Blair became Georgia's first openly gay man elected to Congress. A right-wing pundit's inflammatory claim that a "sodomite" couple tried to harm a sick baby collapsed once it turned out the couple wasn't gay at all. And congressional candidate Marni von Wipert, a lawyer who spent her career fighting HIV-related stigma, is now running to turn her district blue.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's episode of Listen Up Girl covers six stories, with only two carrying a political throughline. A Grand Island, New York wastewater treatment plant employee, Timothy Burns, has filed suit against the town, alleging years of homophobic harassment, a false report meant to damage his professional standing, and retaliation tied to a disability accommodation. On the political side, 179 members of Congress — led by Congressional Equality Caucus chair Mark Takano along with Senators Tammy Baldwin and Jeff Merkley — filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold Colorado's nondiscrimination policy for its universal preschool program, in a case set for oral arguments on November 3rd. Separately, Topeka Public Schools in Kansas signed a resolution agreement with the federal Education Department, agreeing to stop creating gender support plans and to let parents view existing ones — ending a yearlong investigation that began not with a parent complaint, but with a filing from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.

The back half of the episode is lighter: Real Housewives of New York City newcomer Hailey Glassman reveals in the season 16 trailer that she's in a "lavender marriage," season two of Adults premieres on Hulu, and New Orleans' Phoenix Bar — cash-only since 1983 — starts accepting credit cards just ahead of Southern Decadence.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's episode of Listen Up Girl covers seven stories spanning politics, law enforcement, entertainment, and remembrance.

The episode opens with Smithsonian curator Katherine Ott, who has spent more than twenty years building LGBTQ+ history collections at the National Museum of American History and is now speaking out about administration pressure to remove or alter that content. Next, a federal judge blocks an attempt to strip gender-affirming care coverage from the Affordable Care Act, keeping trans healthcare coverage intact for now. A 67-year-old woman faces consequences after sending threatening messages to a trans woman, with a sheriff publicly condemning her behavior. A gay police officer alleges he was suspended by his own department after documenting years of harassment by a supervisor, raising questions about how institutions treat officers who report internal misconduct.

The episode shifts tone with a viral clip of a man in a Spider-Man costume punching an anti-LGBTQ+ protestor holding a racist sign, before moving to entertainment news: multiple queer directors have turned down work on HBO's "Harry Potter" series over J.K. Rowling's continued anti-trans activism as an executive producer on the project.

The episode closes with a remembrance of Tim Curry, who died at 80 at his Los Angeles home. Best known for originating Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Show" and its 1975 film adaptation, Curry's fearless, gender-bending performance became a touchstone for generations of queer audiences, decades before mainstream culture had language for what he was doing on stage.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's episode is a tribute episode. We open with an extended remembrance of Dolly Parton, who died August 25 at age 80 after a brief cancer battle, honoring decades of unwavering support for the LGBTQ+ community — from GLAAD galas to early marriage equality advocacy to a catalog of songs about acceptance and outsiders. Then, seven more stories, with only one political story today.

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Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:30 Dolly Parton Tribute 3:15 Record LGBTQ+ Population Data 4:45 WNBA Denounces Trans Debate 6:15 Hadestown Recasting 7:45 London Trans Pride Record Crowd 9:00 GLAAD Martha's Vineyard Panel 10:15 California LGBTQ+ Bills (Political Story) 12:30 KATSEYE Documentary 13:45 Outro

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's episode of Listen Up Girl leads with its single political story: a federal judge in Massachusetts struck down an administration rule that would have removed gender-affirming care from the list of essential health benefits protected under the Affordable Care Act, a ruling brought by a coalition of twenty-one states and hailed as a major legal win, even though the same judge let four other contested provisions in the rule stand. From there, the episode grounds that policy fight in a human story — a trans veteran in Kansas who was left riding an electric trike to provide for her disabled daughter after the state revoked her driver's license under its new anti-trans bathroom law, until a judge temporarily reinstated it on due process grounds. The show then covers a lawsuit filed by a police officer against her own department over a transgender recruit's presence in a shared locker room, highlighting how little evidence such complaints typically require. On a lighter note, the episode spotlights openly LGBTQ+ athletes competing across multiple sports at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The final two segments close on a broader note: a look inside Hungary's Sziget Festival and its decades-old LGBTQ+ venue, Magic Mirror, which remains a rare safe space in a country where same-sex marriage is still banned, and a new meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine finding that trans women's physical performance does not differ meaningfully from cis women's — evidence the researchers say does not support blanket sports bans.

Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman

https://www.listenupgirl.com/

Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/

Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!

GayBFF: the app where making LGBTQ+ friends is finally as easy as swiping — no dating pressure, just your people.

https://gaybff.app/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gaybff-make-real-friends/id6795699619

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.