One half of one percent of Americans identify as a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth. And yet our state legislatures found the time to propose more than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2023, with over 80 passed into law and nearly all focused narrowly on restricting trans rights. According to Human Rights Watch, since the Transgender Day of Remembrance in November of 2022, at least 33 transgender and gender non-conforming people have been killed in the United States. In 2024, state legislatures are on pace to drop even more legislation.
To help us wrap our minds around the challenges facing the trans community, I spoke with Jeff Main, executive director of Point of Pride, an organization dedicated to helping trans youth and adults access necessary, life-saving health and wellness services. Point of Pride’s vision is a world where trans and gender diverse people see a bright future for themselves—living their authentic truth.
Resources
Point of Pride
Point of Pride Instagram
Point of Pride Facebook
Mercury Stardust Instagram
Alluring Skull Instagram
Erin Reed Substack
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If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR
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Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.
Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.
Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com) and Hold Fast (holdfastband.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®." Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftr See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phone A Friend: Jeff Main, Executive Director of Point of Pride.

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 
Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 
As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 
Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

News

Politics

Government

I’m still catching my breath from the immigration series, slew of Phone A Friends and topical political stories these past couple of weeks. The upcoming episodes are all pretty exciting and intense so I decided to take a moment to have a family meeting with Unf*ckers in another “Max Unfiltered.”
Resources
UNFTR: Over The Borderline: Intro.
UNFTR: Phone A Friend: Rev. Roger Williams.
UNFTR: Phone A Friend: Ben Burgis.
UNFTR: Phone A Friend: Briahna Joy Gray.
UNFTR: On Protest and Anti-Semitism.
Al Jazeera: ‘Hell on Earth’ as violence escalates in Sudan’s el-Fasher
The Washington Post: ChatGPT provided better customer service than his staff. He fired them.
Bernie Sanders: Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act
The Hill: Corporate profits hit record high as economy boomed in fourth quarter of 2023
ITEP: Corporate Taxes Before and After the Trump Tax Law
UNFTR: Project 2025.
UNFTR: Phone A Friend: Jeff Main.
UNFTR: Phone A Friend: Tad DeLay.
--
If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR
Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.
Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com.
Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.
Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.
Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com) and Hold Fast (holdfastband.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®." Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftr See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pause. Reset. Where do we go from here? Max Unfiltered.

Max takes aim at NYU professor Scott Galloway who recently appeared on CNN to criticize student protests with the most bizarre analysis that smacks of laziness and propaganda. While “takedowns” and “gotchas” aren’t Max’s favorite thing, he makes an exception for Galloway because of the space he occupies in the media ecosystem and on the spectrum of white male bro-influencers with independent platforms that are poisoning the media. Max also provides closing thoughts on the rise of anti-Semitism and the dangers of conflating Judaism with the far-right ruling government in Israel. 
Chapters
Intro: 00:01:34
Section One: 00:11:05
Section Two: 00:17:11
Section Three: 00:19:01
Section Four: 00:20:25
Section Five: 00:25:40
Post Show Musings: 00:39:30
Outro: 00:48:32
Resources
CNN: Why NYU professor says instructors who are protesting should be fired
ACLU: Know Your Rights: Students in Higher Education & the First Amendment
ACLU: Defending Speech We Hate
Axios: Over 2,000 protesters arrested at college campuses across the U.S.
Los Angeles Times: Striking deals to end campus protests, some colleges invite discussion of their investments
PBS: Protests and Backlash
Niche.com: Most Conservative Colleges in the U.S.
Common Dreams: Israeli Finance Minister Denounced for Calling for 'Total Annihilation' of Gaza
Haaretz: They Incited Rabin’s Murder. Now They’re Murdering Israel’s Democracy
Vox: TikTok isn’t creating false support for Palestine. It’s just reflecting what’s already there.
The Baffler: Parting Waters: Passover at the Columbia encampment
--
If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR
Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.
Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com.
Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.
Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.
Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com) and Hold Fast (holdfastband.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®." Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftr See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Protest and Anti-Semitism: Listening through propaganda.

In today's Show Notes, Max and 99 get into many spirited discussions inspired by Unf*cker feedback—from climate change to faux intellectual influencers. Additionally, they touch on some topical headlines relevant to the Over The Borderline Series and Point of Pride Phone A Friend. Enjoy!
Chapters
Intro: 00:00:20
Emails: 00:34:25
Outro: 01:30:00
Resources
Phone A Friend: Jeff Main, Executive Director of Point of Pride.
Point of Pride Resource Library
Erin Reed Substack, @erininthemorn on Twitter and TikTok
 @pointofprideorg on Instagram, @pointofpride on Facebook
BBC: José Raúl Mulino: Stand-in for convicted candidate wins Panama presidency
New York Magazine: Andrew Huberman’s Mechanisms of Control
Phone A Friend: Tad Delay, author of Future of Denial.
UNFTR Episode: A (Mostly) Vegan World.
UNFTR Episode: Building the Climate Industrial Complex.
Highland Lakes Canine Rescue (HLCR)
@hlcaninerescue on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
Unf*cker Recommendations
George Orwell: The Road to Wigan Pier
Jacobin Radio: Behind the News: Criminalizing Protest w/ Adam Federman
--
If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR
Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.
Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com.
Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.
Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.
Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com) and Hold Fast (holdfastband.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®." Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftr See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Show Notes [Over The Borderline: Part Three. + Phone A Friend: Jeff Main.]

Our third and final installment of Over The Borderline stays below the U.S. southern border to look at the economic factors that contribute to mass migration from Central and South American countries specifically. We look at the root economic causes of migration, the U.S. failure to meaningfully partner with LAC nations to promote mutually beneficial economic conditions and the expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Latin America and the geopolitical impact that’s having on our relationships.
Chapters
Intro: 00:01:01
Chapter One: 00:02:45
Chapter Two: 00:10:19
Chapter Three: 00:22:16
Chapter Four: 00:31:02
Post Show Musings: 00:38:18
Outro: 00:53:01
Book Love
Alan McPherson: A Short History of U.S. Interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean
Carol Wise: Dragonomics: How Latin America is Maximizing (or Missing Out on) China’s International Development Strategy
Tad DeLay: Future of Denial: The Ideologies of Climate Change
Imperialism, Neoliberalism, And Social Struggles in Latin America
Resources
El Pais: Mexican Tycoon Carlos Slim Takes Stock of the last six years…
Congressional Research Service: Central American Migration
U.S. State Department: Dollar Diplomacy
World Population Review: Country Rank by GDP
World Bank: Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Review (LACER); April, 2024 
Council on Foreign Relations: China’s Massive Belt and Road Initiative
UNFTR Episode Resources
 The Washington Consensus
--
If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR
Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.
Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com.
Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.
Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.
Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com) and Hold Fast (holdfastband.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®." Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftr See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phone A Friend: Jeff Main, Executive Director of Point of Pride.

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