Listen Up Girl

SHOW NOTES Story 1: Idaho DNA Bathroom Bill Idaho's House Bill 752, signed by Governor Brad Little, makes it a crime for transgender people to use public restrooms that match their gender identity, with first offenses punishable as a misdemeanor and repeat offenses as a felony. A federal court hearing on a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and Lambda Legal on behalf of six transgender Idahoans revealed...

Thursday, June 11, 2026 — Day 11 of Pride Month Today's stories: Sarah McBride celebrates as Nancy Mace loses South Carolina gubernatorial primary (LGBTQ Nation) Second major hospital opens detransition clinic under DOJ pressure (LGBTQ Nation) New state law bars doctors from asking children about gender (LGBTQ Nation) Republican governors rebrand June as "Nuclear Family Month"; Rep. Andy Ogles dec...

📝 SHOW NOTES Story 1 — World Cup "Pride Match" between Egypt and Iran Seattle organizers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup designated a June 26 match at Lumen Field as an LGBTQ+ "Pride Match," with plans made before the draw. Following the draw and fixture allocation, the June 26 Group G game was confirmed as Egypt vs. Iran — two countries that criminalize homosexuality (Iran carries the death penalty;...

It's Day 9 of Pride, and host Zach Randles-Friedman digs into the sharper stories: a Northwestern study showing voters still penalize candidates who "look or sound gay," a GOP candidate doubling down on an "Anti-Pride Month" platform, a new poll on what Americans actually prioritize, Vivian Wilson walking off a red carpet over Elon Musk, Cara Delevingne claiming "proud lesbian," Russell T. Davies...

Segment 1 — WeHo Pride Grand Marshal: West Hollywood and WeHo Pride producer JJLA named Kathy Hilton as 2026 Grand Marshal Icon, then reversed course after community backlash over her political ties; Indigenous Pride LA withdrew from the June 7 parade. The city, organizers, and Hilton jointly announced no Grand Marshal Icon would be named. Former NFL cheerleaders Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies...

It's Day 7 of Pride, and today's theme is refusing to back down. Host Zach Randles-Friedman covers seven fresh LGBTQ+ stories: an 81-year-old Catholic nun helping parents affirm their trans children, gay Maine Senate candidate Jordan Wood turning a town-hall slur into a Pride Month stand, Seattle's 2026 World Cup "Pride Match" landing on Egypt vs. Iran, a trans bartender facing felonies after defe...

Listen Up Girl | LGBTQ+ Daily News | Saturday, June 6, 2026 — Day 6 of Pride Today on Listen Up Girl, six fresh stories for Day 6 of Pride Month. California primaries sweep — LGBTQ+ congressional candidates swept California's Tuesday primary. State Sen. Scott Wiener took over 42% in the race to replace Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, vowing to defend immigrants and trans people. Trans athlete & the...

Day 5 of Pride Month. Today on Listen Up Girl: Hungarian police clear the 2026 Budapest Pride march to go ahead a year after the government tried to ban it. A Michigan city council cancels a pre-approved drag story time — and the performer holds it anyway. San Ramon, California, fights to keep the Progress Pride flag flying. Chicago and LA unveil their 2026 parade themes and history-making grand m...

Story 1 & 2: Rep. Andy Ogles — "Homosexuality Has No Place in America" Republican Congressman Andy Ogles (R-TN) posted on his official congressional X account on Tuesday: "Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month." The post was deleted and Ogles blamed a staffer. Republicans including Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) condemned the statement, with Lawler cal...

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declares June "Fidelity Month" as a direct counter to Pride. Tennessee and Utah have declared their own alternative June observances.   Ken Paxton releases a "Too Low-T for Texas" attack ad against Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, with backup from Stephen Miller, Jesse Watters, and the orange convicted felon.   California gubernatorial candidate...

Episode: Listen Up Girl — Tuesday, June 2, 2026 Story 1 — Becky Pepper-Jackson Wins State Track Title Becky Pepper-Jackson, 15, the trans student-athlete at the center of West Virginia v. BPJ, won the Class AAA girls' shot put at the West Virginia state track championships and placed fourth in girls' discus. She competes under a federal court injunction while the Supreme Court case awaits a ruling...

Listen Up Girl | June 1, 2026 — Happy Pride Month Segment 1 — Trans Military Ban Ruled Unconstitutional The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 today that the Pentagon's transgender military ban is unconstitutional, finding it was driven by animus toward trans people and violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. The ban remains in effect as litigation continues, and the ruling app...

Episode: Listen Up Girl — Saturday, May 31, 2026 Today's stories: O'Shae Sibley Murder Trial — Defendant Dmitriy Popov testifies in his own defense, denying hate crime motive as trial continues in Brooklyn. Sibley was a professional dancer fatally stabbed at a Brooklyn gas station in July 2023. Italy's Catholic Scouts Allow LGBTQ+ Leaders — AGESCI, Italy's largest Catholic scouting association wit...

Listen Up Girl | May 30, 2026 Today's episode covers five major LGBTQ+ news stories: Pete Buttigieg Leads 2028 Democratic Poll — A new Emerson College survey puts the former Transportation Secretary at 18% support among likely Democratic primary voters, ahead of Gavin Newsom, AOC, Josh Shapiro, and Kamala Harris. Brandon Wolf Returns to Equality Florida — The Pulse survivor and national advocate h...

Listen Up Girl | Global LGBTQ+ News | May 29, 2026 Today on Listen Up Girl, your daily LGBTQ+ news podcast, we're going global with five major international stories. In Russia, Human Rights Watch reports that nine LGBTQ+ support organizations — including Coming Out, the Russian LGBT Network, and Centre T — have been banned as "extremist" between March and May 2026, part of an escalating crackdown...

Six stories as we count down to Pride Month: Maine's Secretary of State killed an anti-trans ballot measure after more than 12,500 petition signatures were found to be invalid or forged — leaving the campaign funded by out-of-state billionaire Richard Uihlein just 532 signatures short. New research reveals that more than a quarter of LGBTQ+ people feel underrepresented or excluded by mainstream Pr...

Episode Notes: Kenya High Court Trans Ruling — Justice Bahati Mwamuye ruled May 20, 2026 that existing Kenyan law does not prohibit transgender people from applying to change gender markers on official documents. The case was brought by activist Audrey Mbugua Ithibu and two others in 2020. State agencies were ordered to consider applications within 60 days. Same-sex relationships remain criminaliz...

We open with Garrett Snoeyenbos — a former college offensive lineman who played at Vanderbilt, the Naval Academy, and the University of Tennessee — and the moment after graduation when he could no longer hide who he was. It's a story about the weight of the closet and what it costs to finally put it down. Our Pride Pioneer spotlight looks back at Penn State hockey player Voight Demeester, who came...

Alan Chambers, former president of Exodus International, was arrested May 19, 2026 in Orlando on charges of solicitation of a minor via computer, sending harmful material to a minor, and illegal use of a two-way communication device. Barney Frank became the first openly gay member of Congress in 1987 and the first sitting member of Congress to marry someone of the same sex in 2012. He died Tuesday...

Title: Trans Porta-Potty Law, Smith College Probe, GOP Groomer Arrested & Pete Buttigieg Claps Back Episode Summary: Seven stories from the front lines of LGBTQ+ rights — South Carolina's shocking new trans bathroom law, the federal government targeting Smith College, a Republican "groomer" accuser arrested for soliciting a child, the Supreme Court gutting conversion therapy bans, Colorado's gay g...

Story 1 — Rhode Island Judge Blocks DOJ Trans Youth Records U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy voided a DOJ subpoena demanding six years of medical records from Rhode Island Hospital for trans minor patients. In a 24-page ruling, she called it a "bad faith fishing expedition" and accused the DOJ of misrepresenting facts under oath to a Texas judge. The DOJ immediately appealed to the First Circuit....

Story 1 — Texas Children's Hospital Detransition Clinic Texas Children's Hospital agreed to open the nation's first "detransition clinic," pay $10 million, and fire five physicians as part of a settlement with Texas AG Ken Paxton and the Trump DOJ. The hospital denies wrongdoing and says it settled to avoid ongoing litigation. Sources: Texas Tribune, Axios Houston, Houston Public Media. Story 2 —...

King Charles included a trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban in his King's Speech on May 13th — covering both sexual orientation and gender identity. Advocates are cautiously hopeful but note the UK has been promising this since 2018. NYU Langone is facing pressure from elected officials and LGBTQ+ organizers to reject a subpoena seeking medical records of transgender youth. Texas Attorney Gener...

Happy International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia! On Episode 1 of today's Listen Up Girl: Niecy Nash calls for more stories about masculine-identified queer women in parenting roles. Charles Barkley calls out homophobia in sports at the NBA Tip-Off. FKA Twigs is cast as bisexual icon Josephine Baker in a new biopic. Netflix renews Big Mistakes and signs Dan Levy. Russell Tovey...

Today's episode covers seven stories from across the LGBTQ+ world. The Pennsylvania House passed House Bill 2103 by a razor-thin 101–100 vote, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state's Human Relations Act — a victory 22 years in the making. The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate. Botswana formally removed colonial-era anti-sodomy provisions from its Penal Code, f...