In this episode, Linda shares a recent personal experience as the first episode of the 2026 season. After offering to help test a remote astronomy setup at a friend’s request, she was unexpectedly declined—not because of her skills, but because of discomfort with pronouns and LGBTQ-related links in her email signature.

Through a close reading of the email exchange and her response, Linda reflects on the difference between political disagreement and homophobia, and how politeness can still function as exclusion. She explores what it means to avoid engagement entirely, what gets lost when people refuse to interact across differences, and why these quieter forms of rejection can be just as telling as overt hostility.

00:00 Introduction

00:35 Setting the scene

01:13 The request for help

01:44 My emails

02:20 Email signatures

02:45 Help rejected

04:05 My reaction

05:04 My response

06:49 Is it homophobia?

07:41 Unwillingness to interact

10:31 call for viewer experiences