Vico is booked and busyyy prepping for their solo show (premiering in NYC this weekend!) so we’ve got a guest host for today — one of our co-producers, Linh! It’s a different vibe with Nay and Linh, who consider themselves part of an evil triplet with our EP and editor Lauren, so you can only imagine how many inappropriate giggles there are in this episode. There’s something about a fight club, Linh’s “love of the game” move franchise, and Nay’s growing list of observations of the TiG team!

In anticipation of June (GAY MONTH!!), we’ve already seen some celebrations kick off. WorldPride is in Washington, D.C. this year, which is sort of a big yikes considering the political climate, but it started off its celebrations in honor of the trans community. WorldPride hosted the largest trans-led art project in history — and they didn’t need dirty corporate money to do that. This year’s WorldPride might be smaller but it’s also a whole lot more political. And honestly? That’s something to celebrate.

In Texas, however, there’s some fuckery going on because a federal judge decided that LGBTQIA+ people can be discriminated against at work. Like??? Judge Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointee, said that using the wrong pronouns for an employee, denying them access to bathrooms that match their gender identity, or enforcing dress codes that prevent people from dressing according to their identity — none of that qualifies as workplace harassment. It’s hard enough as it is to prove discrimination under the law… that’s why Linh thinks we need a judge fight club.

Because we’re putting our money on Judge Marks, a judge in Montana who came through big time for trans kids and their right to healthcare. Judge Marks struck down SB 99, a 2023 Montana law that banned life-saving healthcare for transgender youth, saying that banning gender-affirming care for minors is unconstitutional. He pointed out that Montana does not ban other medical treatments based on potential risks or inadequate evidence of efficacy, which is facts! That’s why Linh neeeeds to see Marks rock Kacsmaryk’s s**t. And she’s saying that as a lawyer.

And it didn’t feel right to pull a Wildcard Wednesday without Vico, so Nay goes deeper on her Final Destination thoughts. Hope you enjoy! If not, you'll be hearing from our lawyer (Linh)

♥︎ TiG Team

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

We’re baaack!! Last week, the show was on hiatus for Mental Health Awareness week – our first week off since beginning on January 1! Unfortunately, the news didn’t stop just because we did, so Nay and Vico have got a professional to help guide us back into the madness and find some hope in it.

Today, we’re joined by award-winning, LA-based journalist Cerise Castle. She recently published three pieces for Capital & Main that dig into how anti-trans rhetoric is showing up in the Southern California Jurupa Valley and the Chino Valley Unified School District. And at the center of these stories is trans student-athlete AB Hernandez, who got thrown into the national spotlight when she was doxxed by a California official.

Cerise guides us through all the twists and turns of AB’s story, showing us how the Right’s anti-trans strategy is hurting everyone — regardless of political affiliation. A narrative they could never push, though? That they aren’t losers.

Please enjoy this riveting conversation, with an incredible journalist, about a subject we cover A LOT!

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Capital & Main: Inside the Plan to Use Trans Student-Athletes to Push Voters to the Right

Capital & Main: Trans Student Athlete AB Hernandez Finds Support in Her Town That Elected Trump

Capital & Main: A League of Her Own: Transgender Athlete AB Hernandez Faces Down Hecklers

Cerise Castle: Website

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Today in Gay is brought to you in part by:

➤ Jasmin Savoy Brown (IG) - Co-Creator / Executive Producer

➤ Nay Bever (IG) - Co-Creator / Executive Producer / Host

➤ Lauren Klein (IG) - Executive Producer / Editor / Composer

➤ Vico Ortiz (IG / Substack) - Host / Associate Producer

➤ Linh Nguyen (IG) - Co-Producer

➤ Andrés Pacheco Girón (Web) - Researcher / Associate Producer

➤ Maritza Navarro (IG) - Supervising Producer

➤ Jax Ko (Web) - Creative Director

♥︎ TiG Team

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

We’re baaack! We hope you enjoyed yesterday’s Substack post — a writeup on the headlines because we couldn’t hop on the mic. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out! We’re pretty proud of our pivot (inside joke if you’ve read the post).

Today, we’ve got our very own Jasmin Savoy Brown on the pod! Jasmin and Nay are letting their “fleek flags” fly — which means a whole lot of laughter, and also Nay having to stop Jasmin from driving to Boise, Idaho to declare her love to Mayor McLean (a lesson all lesbians can learn from)! It’s the same chaos as always but just a different flavor today. Vico will be back soon with the impressions and the bird calls, don’t worry!

Headlines today include Arizona governor Katie Hobbs shutting down a whole slate of prejudiced bills inspired by Tr*mp’s anti-trans executive orders. You, me, and Hobbs all know these hateful laws don’t actually help anyone. You can even say they’re LUDACRIS!

Meanwhile in Colorado, the Kelly Loving Act — the state’s trans rights bill — is advancing through the state’s Senate, but it’s in the midst of some compromises between conservatives and certain LGBTQIA+ groups. Don’t worry though, despite changes to the bill, these efforts are made with the goal to “bulletproof” the law — aka making it harder for conservatives to tear it down.

Speaking of sticking it to conservatives: Boise, Idaho said biiiiiiitch to the state’s flag ban. Since April, Idaho state law prevents government buildings from flying anything other than local, state, or federal flags. Boise’s mayor (Jasmin’s new crush), Lauren McLean, called Idaho out: “We know that this bill was about just one flag.” If they can only fly city flags, Boise decided to make the pride flag an official city flag. Iconic behavior, honestly.

We’ve also got ANOTHER special guest on the pod today: founder of the Everywhere is Queer app, Charlie Sprinkman! Y’all gotta check it out. It’s a free app that helps connect the LGBTQIA2S+ community to welcoming, queer-owned businesses. We’re big fans!

The next time you’ll hear us in your ears will be May 19th! The pod is taking a 1 week break next week (our first since we launched), which is also happens to be Mental Health Awareness Week. We want to emphasize that the health of our bodies (and that includes our minds!) are never worth compromising. So, we’re giving our tireless team time to rest! Thank you for understanding that sometimes, we need a break! We’ll be lightly posting on IG, and preparing for some truly exciting things happening in the coming weeks! Tomorrow, be on the lookout for a very sweet written piece on our Substack!

♥︎ TiG Team

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, hello! It’s Wednesday, and if you’ve been listening to the podcast, you know we love to make Wednesdays as unpredictable as possible (see: Wildcard Wednesdays). True to its name — we are mixing things up today!

Today we had to prioritize the health of a team member, instead of the recording. We are only human after all… However, it’s important to us to still share the headlines of the day, to keep our community informed. Please enjoy today’s edition of the headlines in this new format, and we’ll see you tomorrow back on the pod (perhaps with a special guest!)

Today's headlines:

• Twenty cops raided a gay bar in Pittsburgh. The queers? They sang through it.

• A gay Republican candidate is at the center of a GOP feud in Virginia — and it involves nudes.

• Florida just shut down every single anti-LGBTQ bill this session!

To get the full scoop for today, head to our Substack post!

On Wednesdays, We Pivot...

Thanks for pivoting with us! We will see you tomorrow on the pod, with a very special guest! 👀

♥︎ TiG Team

Today in Gay is brought to you in part by:

➤ Jasmin Savoy Brown (IG) - Co-Creator / Executive Producer

➤ Nay Bever (IG) - Co-Creator / Executive Producer / Host

➤ Lauren Klein (IG) - Executive Producer / Editor / Composer

➤ Vico Ortiz (IG / Substack) - Host / Associate Producer

➤ Linh Nguyen (IG) - Co-Producer

➤ Andrés Pacheco Girón (Web) - Researcher / Associate Producer

➤ Maritza Navarro (IG) - Supervising Producer

➤ Jax Ko (Web) - Creative Director

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

It’s just another Tuesday at Today in Gay – so that means….Vico can talk to birds, Nay’s got a migraine this morning, and we’re doing this whole episode with our eyes closed in solidarity! Not to mention we are still buzzing from our interview with Tracy Gilchrist (have you watched it yet?!), it’s getting us through these headlines this morning!

Tracy Gilchrist on the Queer Historical Record, Our Ever Changing Cultural Landscape, and Getting Back to Community

We all know Wicked was a cultural phenomenon, there were a thousand memes — “holding space” arguably the most popular, but if you stopped there with Tracy Gilchrist, you’d be missing out. Behind the meme is a journalist, a walking queer archive, and a community-forward cultural documentarian.

Today, we’ve got an update on Maine’s legal battle with Trump over trans athletes. If you’ve been following along, you know Governor Janet Mills told Trump, “See you in court.” Looks like the governor is bark and bite! The Administration has now backed down, agreeing to restore federal funding for education programs in Maine, settling the lawsuit that was filed last month.

When you’re getting sued up the ass, and losing said legal battles, it’s important to spend your precious time doing presidential things — like giving the commencement address at the University of Alabama, and going on a transphobic rant… against a cis woman… who’s an Olympic boxer from Algeria? Don’t forget to throw in some casual misogyny, too, even if Melania tells you not to…

And to round things out — Charli XCX, Olly Alexander, and other notable UK musicians signed an open letter supporting the trans community, in the ongoing rally against their Supreme Court’s decision to give the word “woman” a transphobic legal definition. They join UK writers and UK film and television industry professionals in calling out the country’s prejudice. You can check out the letter below:

An Open Letter of solidarity to the trans community from the UK Music Industry

Nay and Vico also share their most recent media obsessions. Try to match who watched what: Conclave, Gladiator II, and You. And after you listen, be sure to drop us a line and leave a voicemail to shout out your favorite queer-owned business! You just might hear your message in an episode this week…

☏ +1 (551) 333-5247

♥︎ TiG Team

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

We all know Wicked was a cultural phenomenon, there were a thousand memes — “holding space” arguably the most popular, but if you stopped there with Tracy Gilchrist, you’d be missing out. Behind the meme is a journalist, a walking queer archive, and a community-forward cultural documentarian.

Gilchrist revisits her queer historical record with Nay and Vico, taking us back to high school, to a club bumping Erasure (80s hair and all), to the days when lesbian bars weren’t a scarcity. It’s a ride from scissoring to queer censorship to the wisdom that “not everything is so serious, right? But it is big.” You are part of the historical record. We’re part of the historical record. And we can take history a bit further by continuing to protest, by not needing corporate sponsors to host Pride events, and by stepping up if you are a person of privilege because we need to get back to community, y’all

Thank you so much, Tracy! This conversation was rich with stories from your impressive career but also had us going down some juicy tangents. Talking with you was a refueling. Thank you for your wisdom and all that you shared with us.

WATCH the full interview on our Substack!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

It’s a new day!

Vico is reeling from the movie they watched last night — Nay’s film recommendation, Benedetta! Nay promised “lesbian yearning," and Vico is here to say, “there is no lesbian yearning in this movie…but it starts, and it starts HOT! (Reminder to save your precious friends’ voice notes!)

Anyways! Some good news from our fellow Brits this morning: the first openly trans judge in the UK will appeal that dusty, gross Supreme Court ruling on biological sex to the European Court of Human Rights. It’s giving… Janet Mills “see you in court, haters.”

Now, on the b******t front — Canadian trans artists are canceling their shows in the US, because in Trump’s America, folks with an X on their passport are scared their visas will get denied and their rights treated like a debate. People are getting refunds, and confusion is high about what to do if you’re trans and traveling to the US.

Meanwhile, TV rankings in South Korea show we are hungry for more queer dating (not baiting) reality TV. The first-ever lesbian dating reality show, ToGetHer, just premiered on WAVVE, and the ratings are looking solid. You know us LGBTQuahs: we’re smart, but we love to brain rot from time to time too.

And today In the Loo...p — it’s Thursday, and that means literature! Vico finished He Who Became the Sun for their book club pick. Afterwards, they claimed to be “destroyed” and also convinced a random dude at the airport to read it. The gay agenda is real. Nay’s been writing a lot and getting compliments from other writers 👀… So if you wanna join her fan club, make sure to read her words here on our Substack!

And in Good Gay News™️, Vico is booked and busy, and Nay just got her flight to see Vico’s solo show in NYC! It’s gonna be a kiki in the city — and Andrés is hoping that by writing this copy, it gets him an invite! (obvs, babe!)

♥︎ TiG Team

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

Time flies when the world is descending into fascism. It’s been 100 days since Trump took office and our community — our trans siblings — have been hit the hardest. But something queer people have got over conservatives and cowardly democrats is this: we remember. We have learned from our history that the way we make it through this and come out the better for it is to rely on each other. That’s why we need LGBTQIA+ journalism now more than ever.

We’re tackling Trump’s 100 days with Uncloseted Media, a friend of the pod delivering rigorous, nonpartisan, LGBTQ-focused accountability journalism. It’s damn impressive and you’ve heard us cite their reporting before! They’ve traced every move the Trump Administration has made on LGBTQ issues in its first 100 days and we’ll be diving into it this Friday, May 2nd at 12:00pm PT with Spencer Macnaughton, founder of Uncloseted Media, on Substack LIVE. Be sure to tune in!

BUT HEY! It’s not Today in Gay without some JOY sprinkled in there, too! Check out our Substack post for this episode, for a special written edition of your (and Vico’s!) favorite: Wildcard Wednesday!

Check out Uncloseted Media – Every Move the Trump Administration has Made on LGBTQ Issues in Its First 100 Days

♥︎ TiG Team

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

It’s a big week here at Today in Gay, lots of collaborations on the horizon! Yesterday, we published Nay’s interview with Karamo — have you watched it?! More great conversations coming this week!

Today, birds are singing outside Vico’s window, while we manifest our future as birdwatchers. Bird costume required, right?

And it’s not just bird season, it’s also 100-days-after-Trump-got-elected season… though honestly, it feels like a thousand. We got 99 problems, and b***h, he is all of them.

Across the pond, there’s been a lot of love coming from the streets and some very unexpected institutions. Shoutout to the Crab Museum and the Vagina Museum in England, who teamed up to support trans folks. Like they said: biology is everything — but it sure ain’t binary. A bunch of dusty judges can’t erase the facts.

Meanwhile, back in Trump’s America, the “war on wokeness” is coming for World Pride in DC. Trump, who apparently still finds time to be chairman of the Kennedy Center (seriously, when does he actually work?), cancelled a week’s worth of World Pride events there. But, you know how we do — we stay resourceful. New venues, new vibes. Thank you, next.

Plus, a shoutout to Minnesota, who’s suing Trump to protect trans girls in sports, before he doubles down on bullying the states that dare to stand up for trans rights. And because it’s TV Tuesday, Nay talks about her current obsessions: You and Love on the Spectrum — and yes, she would absolutely “ride the T” with Pari in Boston. Plus, Vico’s been watching Dying for Sex, and there’s even some tea about an audition they did for the show!

♥︎ TiG Team

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit todayingay.substack.com/subscribe

Emmy winner, actor, and author Karamo Brown is the host of his own nationally syndicated daytime talk show entitled Karamo and is well-known as the Culture Expert on Netflix’s international, six-time, Emmy-winning series Queer Eye.

In case you didn't know, Karamo and Nay go way back. You can try not to blush at the admiration they have for one another but you’d be hard pressed. As sweet as this flirty-ass friendship may be, the constant dynamic between them while they reminisce is also full of support and honesty!

Watch the full video interview on our Substack!

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Subscribe to our Substack!

https://todayingaypod.substack.com

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