Isn't It Queer

Jonny and Heather hike into the landscape of major media stories dropped in just the last week. We know President Trump saturates the airwaves in order to both benefit from the attention economy and distract from his administration's more nefarious moves. Using Heather's background in Army Intelligence, they look for patterns across the stories, and they find evidence of severe vulnerabilities. In...

Jonny interviews Rosie in the first half of the show, a co-director of a local presentation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a shadow cast leading audience participation at The Varisty Center ( https://thevarsitycenter.org /). In the back half of the show, Heather and Jonny use one of the show's songs to frame some of our current anti-LGBTQ+ issues as conflict between reality and perception.

Jonny and Heather start out the show reveling in some new media that shows representations of queer and trans identities are still prevalent in popular culture. Even where books and professors have been silenced, there are signs of successful resistance. In the back half of the show they discuss the recent No Kings protest and how the Trump Administration's and GOP's responses to it reveal how wea...

Jonny and Heather examine what appear to be cracks forming in and between the GOP and the Trump Administration. Although the authoritarian state still continues to form, it is hitting some serious snags. They discuss a wide range of responses to trans rights across a wide political spectrum. The look into military airplanes from Qatar and Texas taking up Florida's obsession with rainbow crosswalks...

Jonny relies on Heather's military background to explain just how awful the Secretary Hegseth and President Trump addresses to the military flag officers was. Heather corrects Pete on what a real "warrior ehtic" is. Despite the abuse of military power, especially in attempts to turn it on the so-called "enemy within" in US cities like Chicago and Portland, the real message is one of weakness. In t...

Heather and Jonny briefly check in on recent assaults on LGBTQIA+ rights, particularly Trans Rights. They quickly move to a celebration of upcoming events this weekend kicking off LGBTQIA+ History Month and other Southern Illinois Pride festivities. In the back half of the show, Jonny interviews Dr. Desiree Rowe about her guest artist visit to the SIU, including her presentation of "Wave 01.12.22"...

Jonny interviews Billy of Golden Rainbows of Illinois South (GRIS) and Juniper, the coordinator of the Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Cente r--Southern Illinois University's LGBTQIA+ resource center. They discuss the upcoming events for LGBTQIA+ History Month in October. In the Back half of the show, Jonny talks with nomadic co-host Heather from the RV about disturbing developments for the trans c...

Jonny and Heather are joined by Rey and Dan who are visiting Carbondale from Central Texas where they listen to the show. They join the team while they are on vacation to dive back into news they have otherwise successfully avoided for a week. Together, the foursome parse the consequences of Charlie Kirk's assassination last week. In the back half of the show they turn to victories, however small,...

Jonny and Heather celebrate Heather's birthday by diving into the rights being taken from trans folks, from right to possess firearms to the right to use the bathroom. They also discuss the current threats to Marriage Equality and some of the ludicrous positions for its dismantlement. In the back half of the show, the move to a recounting of successful protests and challenges to the increasingly t...

Jonny and Heather discuss the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School last week and the attemps on the Right to make the tragedy about the "mental illness" of transgender identity. In the back half of the show, in the spirit of Labor Day when the show was recorded, they lean into the impacts the current administration is having on labor in the nation. They also consider the consequences of loss o...

Jonny and Heather review some of the recent developments in the US's devolution into authoritarianism, with a focus on impacts to LGBTQ+ communities. It's dire af, y'all! In the back half of the show, they examine some queer heroes or "queeroes" stepping up to the plate. Some of them may be anti-queeroes and none of them are pure queer angels (well, almost none), but the battle is real and how we...

Jonny and Heather review some recent stories about the impact of AI on the LGBTQ+ community. While some of that is chatbot horror stories, much of it also shows possibilities for building stronger communities. In that latter vein, in the back half of the show Jonny interviews Jaron Soh, co-creator of Voda, a mental health app for the LGBTQIA+ community. They discuss what Voda provides, how AI ethi...

Jonny and Heather adapt to warming conditions and the failure of AC in their ecording studio, bringing an episode made in the virtual space of a Zoom meeting. They assess some particularly aggregious new assaults on trans rights, including the failure to honor the retirement benefits of Air Force members forced into early retirement for being trans. They also weigh in on Pete Buttigieg's mixed mes...

Jonny and Heather are back from their different trips. They pick up stories they missed while away and tie a common thread through them of the problem with manipulating data when you don't agree with the findings. While this has been common practice when justifying homophobic and transphobic legislation, it is now increasingly becoming the borader practice of an emerging authoritarian state.

Jonny and Heather ponder the many unsuccessful attempts by the Trump Administration to distract the public from the persistent scandal of the Epstein Files. In the process, they ponder what other important stories the current fascination with that conspiracy might be eclipsing. They look at recent disturbing developments in military and athletic trans-bans. In the back half of the show, they updat...

Jonny is joined by Craig to discuss recent developments that suggest reality is starting to beat attempts to shape it through rhetoric, albeit all while relying on narrative. They look at the pushback against Alligator Alcatraz, the persistence of the Epstein Lists conspiracy, and the pushback on an Indianapolis pastor calling for the execution of LGBTQ+ people as evidence that ideologues can go t...

Jonny and Heather begin with a thesis that the weather is transphobic. This not-entirely-serious claim is used as a foil to discuss disinformation and misinformation campaigns. They examine several current event stories impacted by such spin, including: the Texas floods, the Everglades detention center, myths about undocumented immigration, and trans ban legislation. In the back half of the show,...

Jonny and Heather celebrate the end of a very busy and very good Pride Month while also taking stock of a lot of bad news for the LGBTQ+ community this past weekend. After reviewing SCOTUS decisions and developments in the BBB, in the back half of the show they turn to why visibility matters, especially at a time when people are trying to erase us.

Jonny and Heather process their weekend, which included domestic packing, Pride celebrations, and the threat of WWIII starting in the Middle East. They turn from this big bomb to the bombshell the SCOTUS dropped in its US v. Skrmetti decision. There is quite a lot of fallout already from that explosive ruling. In the back half of the show they explore queer and trans joy as activists' strategy and...

Jonny and  Heather are joined by local queer and trans artist, Brooke Yandle, creator of Hawthorne Art. Together, they discuss the challenges of making a living as an artist in a small town before turning their attention to assessing this past weekend's Pride on the Strip events, No Kings protest rally, and Trump's Washington DC parade ostensibly honoring the 250th birthday of the US Military. Vet...

Jonny and Heather start off with a little reflection on the street actions during Pride Month so far. This includes various offcial Pride maches and activities as well as unrelated yet akin protests in LA. And then, well, the big Pride Month break up of a same sex marriage at the federal level. Shade! They eschew the drama on the streets for drama on the page, reviewing and recommending some trans...

Jonny digs into the archive pulling an episode about queer ecology from Earth Day (April 22) 2024. Jonny and Heather are on the road and unable to make a new episode this week.

Jonny and Heatherreflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day and why it is a somber holiday of remembrance. They offer a queer and trans infused contemplation of the military in contrast to the Trump Administration's approach, and link their focus to the real purpose of Pride. In the back half of the show they take a deeper look at the Big "Beautiful" Bill that narrowly passed the House and appear...

Jonny and Heather lead off with recognition of the Agender Day of Visibility (Monday, May 19). They then turn to issues of local concern in Southern Illinois, including recent deadly tornadoes, current summer Pride plans, Governor Pritzker's visit, and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton's endorsement by 50 Illinois LGBTQ leaders in her bid for the US Senate. In the back half of the show they discuss th...

Jonny and Craig give their recap on Mothers Day. They then turn to a hopeful analysis of the Catholic Church's new Pope, Pope Leo XIV. In the back half of the show, they turn to a discussion of how Trump's federal funding restrictions impact the services national support groups can provide, with a focus on Craig's recent struggles with FND Hope.