On this Ellie’s Talking Head show we begin with how Trump’s MAGA DOJ has subpoenaed multiple Blue state hospitals seeking confidential patient information of transgender children and youth who have received gender affirming care. It’s all an effort to chill those hospitals from providing such care. I also share an influencer’s take about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and how MAGA has caused Americans to fear the loss of their most basic needs—safety, security, and food—thus preventing them from being more empathetic to those who are “other” and in need. And then I talk about the “whites only” town being built in Arkansas. Of course.

Ellie Krug is the host of The Illegal Trans Woman, airing at 4 PM Saturdays on AM950 and also a noted author having just released her new memoir Being Ellen: A Second Chance at Lifw.

The Big Story is about the US Air Force retracting pension-award letters to a dozen transgender service members with 15-18 years of service who were being drummed out of the military due to Trump’s ban. The Air Force said it had “made a mistake” in granting the service members pensions; my take is that it was just plain up cruelty toward people who had diligently risked their lives to protect us. God. The Big Interview is with Brianne Bricker, a trans woman who transitioned in her mid-fifties and who is a board member of “Team Trans,” a US-CN hockey league of 700 trans and nonbinary players. Brianne also talks about her forthcoming book, Skating Out of the Vault: A Trans Woman’s Escape from the Game of Masculinity.

Dr. Samuel Huneke, Associate Professor of History at George Mason, joins us monthly and today he’s in conversation with our guest host: Ellie Krug. Get Samuel’s books and learn more about his work here: samuelcloweshuneke.com. Check out Ellie’s weekly show The Illegal Trans Woman weekly Saturdays at 4pm on AM950 and everywhere you get your podcasts!

This episode originally aired March 8, 2025:

The Big Story is about politicians who do the right thing (Senate Democrats who blocked a national trans youth sports ban) and those who don’t (CA Gov. Gavin Newsom, who in a podcast interview with right wing pundit Charlie Kirk threw trans athletes under the bus). The Big Interview will rock you—it’s with Pastor Luke Springer from Plymouth United Church of Christ in Des Moines who talks about the dismal state of legal protections for transgender Iowans and about religious intolerance of trans folks (he also prays for Brett and me!). In Random Acts, I shout out to Rep. Al Green for standing up to Trump. Too bad more Dems can’t be like him!

Ellie Krug is the host of The Illegal Trans Woman, airing Saturdays at 4 PM on AM950.

It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head show, beginning with how the Trump administration is targeting 50-60 colleges and universities with investigations for alleged antisemitism—which is a ploy to simply control how the schools admit students and create curricula. First Columbia caved; this week it was Brown University; undoubtedly there will be many others, which will send a chill across academia and the smaller colleges in America. We then return to the debate about female trans athletes with the story of Rebekah, a 14-year-old trans field hockey player. And of course, there a multiple News Bites!

Unfortunately, the Big Story is about how multiple Blue state health care providers are closing their gender affirming care clinics for transgender children and youth despite there being no federal law mandating closures; they’re just caving to fear of federal subpoenas and investigations. Horrible! The Big Interview is with award-winning journalist Varsha Bansal who reports on interviewing Jo Ellis, a transgender VA National Guard helicopter pilot who was wrongly accused of causing the Blackhawk-American Airlines crash in January 2025. We also have a larger conversation around how trans people are being set up as violent scapegoats for purposes of making our erasure easier.

This week’s Big Story is about how US Secy of Defense Pete Hegseth’s efforts against “wokeism” resulted in passing over a rear admiral for promotion because nearly a decade ago there were drag shows on the aircraft carrier the admiral commanded. Hegseth also ordered that a Navy oil tender named after gay rights icon Harvey Milk be renamed—and he ordered that at the start of Pride Month to make a point about how queer people don’t matter to him. The Big Interview is with Nick Alm of Mossier, who talks about identifying as nonbinary and how DEI leaders have “betrayed” the mission to change organizations for the better.