Isn't It Queer

Jonny and Heather celebrate the official debut of Tesserae, Cabondale's premier queer+ choir and the incredible turnout of community support. They then turn from the audible to the visible to discuss the queer stories this week about photo manipulation. In the back half of the show they briefly review the rotten tomato of the Trump Administration's report and advisement policies for trans youth. T...

Jonny and Heather discuss disturbing trends in the US and UK to link neurodivergence like autism and ADHD with queer and trans identity. They explore some of the productive correlations and some of the ones more likely to lead to state-sponsored suppression. In the back half of the show they examine some examples of conflict within movements, resistance and/or LGBTQ+ rights--when they can be produ...

Jonny and Heather start off the show discussing Jonny's rececent recogntion with the SIU Sturgis Award for Community Service. They talk about local community activism and support, including turnout out at this weekend's "Hands Off" protest, again despite the terrible weather. They talk about the Illinois High School Association's support for trans athletes. The then shift to the Deat of Poe Franci...

Jonny and Heather discuss Heather's new novel, Goodbye Hello , an unconventional romance that begins with grief at a funeral. In the back half of the show, they examine new turns in the anti-trans rhetoric of TERFs and transphobes, turns meant to be rebuttals to arguments for trans righs. They offer rebuttals to the rebuttals and note the pervasive function of caricature as a tool of scapegoating...

Jonny and Heather check in on getting through some intense midwest weather, complete with flooding and tornadoes. Despite these challenges, the "Queer Stories, Queer Spaces" oral history installation had a great opening reception in the Sharp Museum on the SIU campus. Also, despite the cancellation of protests in our area due to the weather, great numbers showed up to join the "Hands Off" event in...

Jonny and Heather are joined by Craig as we record this episode on Trans Day of Visibility. We discuss visibility, the good and the bad kind, as Craig conemplates the consequences of the Trump Admin challenging California's laws aganst teachers mandated to report any and all gender variance in students t their parents. The consequences of related grade school traumas stay with us our entire lives....

Jonny interviews Casey and Jamie about their project, "Laveder House," a center for mutual support for the transgender communiy in Carbondale. In the process of sharing information about this resource, Jamie and Casey tell part of their story about living in Florida and why they left. In the back half of the show, Heather and Jonny discuss a new Transgender Spiritual group Heather will be hosting...

Heather sits down with Morgan and Ryland of the Downstate Illinois Transgender Organization (DITO) to talk about the organization, Lavender House, and upcoming Transgender Day of Visibility events. In the back half of the show, Jonny sits down with Alex Socoro and Kelsey Maffett of the Rainbow Cafe to talk about upcoming TDOV events and how the organization is weathering the challenges of the curr...

Jonny and Heaher take a moment to recognize Heather's 20th Anniversary of being married to Kaye and reflect generally on Marriage Equality. They then lead off with some stories of success in the current less than supportive climate. In the back half of the show, they follow President Trump's transgenic mouse down a hole about the biology and neuroscience validating and explaining the existence of...

Jonny and Heather process the Great Ukraine White House Debacle from Friday. They note how the spectacle might be overshadowing other developmensts of unprecedented policy changes worthy of our LGBTQ+ vigilance. Oh yeah, and they note in passing that the Oscars happened ( yawn) . In the back half of the show they look at trends that give us hope as well as tools for using our consumer dollars to b...

Jonny interviews Jordan Badgette about her upcoming performance, "Gender Knobs," an exploration of transgender experience with sound technology. Jordan's performance celebrates queer joy, and in the back half of the show Jonny and Heather lean into the queer joy of stories of resistance and pushback to the Trump Administration. Is the tide finally turning? Maybe. Maybe not. But we take joy in the...

Jonny sits down to interview Scott Johnson the director of Tesserae, Carbondale's premier Queer+ Choir. They discuss the origin, makeup, funding, and upcoming first concert of the project. In the back half of the show, Heather joins Jonny to discuss some particular Carbondale and Southern Illinois protests and pushback against the autocratice and phobic uprising, providing just a few highlights of...

Jonny welcomes Heather back with a brief discussion of the Superb Owl, which neither of them watched. They then turn to a brief chronicle of the anti-LGBTQ moves and rhetoric in the government and beyond this past week. In the back half of the show, they share two examples of the consequenses of this political climate before moving on to recommendations for acting up and pushing back, some of them...

Jonny and Craig discuss DEI. They start with a focus on the local, plugging artistic work in Carbondale with the upcoming Kleinau Theatre production of "Epiphanies," an adaptation of Flash Fiction by local writer, Epiphany Ferrell. They then turn to recent attacks by the Trump Administration on DEI and what that might mean for the university where they teach (SIU). They then discuss the Grammies a...

Jonny and Heather check in with each other after a rough first week of Trump Administration 2.0. They then explore how right wing pundits and trolls make really convoluted excuses to support their president, pairing the controversy over Elon Musk's "Roman" gesture and outrage over Bishop Budde's blessing at the Washington Cathedral. In the back half of the show, they discuss the conflict of policy...

Jonny and Heather take a look at some of the anticipated executive orders of the incoming Trump administration, especially those targetting trans people. They contrast this with some of Biden's initial executive orders and other efforts of his administration to support LGBTQ folks. They then look at evidence in Congress and elsewhere that Trump's base is showing some serious cracks and divides. In...

Jonny and Craig dig out from under snow and ice to share some contemplatioms on cultural, political, and environmental climates. In the front half of the show, they unpack their experience of the recent great ice storm that paralyzed Southern Illinois. They follow this with the hot times, politicially and environmentally, in LA right now. They turn to the death of Anita Bryant and why some might e...

Jonny compiles a montage show of interviews, stories, and topics from 2024, painting a picture of what the year lin LGBTQ concerns, particularly in Southern Illinois, sounded like. It is a sampling, incomplete to be sure, but illustrative of 2024 nonetheless.

Jonny and Heather put together a surprise Christmas show thanks to changes in their holiday travel plans. They put aside the news and politics, and current events in favor of some contemplation of Christmas for queer folks, including some shows and some music to enjoy. It's (mostly) holiday themed queer popular culture to enjoy on this day of joy. Find the joy where you can, friends! 

Jonny and Heather start off the show by listening to a public statement made by local Carbondale City Councilwoman, Clare Killman, who has a proposal for Illinois to defend itself from federal assaults on bodily autonomy. They then compare the clarity and firmness of her response to Congressional Democrats who seem to lack a spine and are throwing LGB but particularly T under the bus. In the back...

Jonny and Hearher check in about their busy queer weekend . Less fun, the check in on how that Skrmetti case went in the Supreme Court last week. From that they pull a theme they explore in the back half of the show--how actions are connected and the world is a web of interconnections. While this can be daunting when phobias spread across those strands, it can also be hopeful when justice and resi...

Jonny and Heather discuss World AIDS Day, reflecting on their own histories and lessons learned from the disease, including lessons we might take into the future. They discuss new breakthrough medications for the syndrome that approach the level of vaccination. In the back half of the show, they discuss the pending Supreme Court case challenging Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for trans y...

Jonny and Heather dive into the ludicrous new House Rule segregating bathrooms based on transphobic fears...or maybe its just toxic politicking? They turn to the already building evidence of assaults on trans rights as states submit bills for consideration in 2025 and President Trump advertises his first intended Executive Orders. They also look at what detention camps for queer and trans people w...

Jonny and Heather pause to recognize the Trans Day of Remembrance with information about services in Carbondale while also taking a moment to hear the names of the trans folks who have died in the last year in the US. They lean into why times are so rough right now for queer and trans folks with a general discussion of resources avaialble to get through the coming rough(er) times. In the back half...

Jonny and Heather discuss the outcome of the 2024 election. They try to avoid finger-pointing and armchair quarterbacking campaign choices and, instead, process their feelings and look to evidence of a shifting political landscape. They find glimmers of hope where they can while preparing for the worst. They note that, while the top of the ticiet and the majorities in Congress are pretty dire, the...