I’m joined by show friend Vanessa Tennyson for our big interview, where she shares her immense wisdom on surviving the current political environment. Vanessa, a professional coach, discusses her work helping people across the spectrum, including those within the queer community, and emphasizes the power of awareness over fear. I also have an important News Bite on the eruption of the transgender athlete controversy here in Minnesota, prompted by a federal order threatening to pull school funding if the state doesn’t comply with anti-trans policies. This dispute has been amplified by 19 Republican Attorneys General who filed a brief with the Eighth Circuit, leading me to write a counter-op-ed in the Star Tribune.

The News Bite also covers the disappointing news that Fenway Health in Boston—a historic pioneer in LGBTQ+ healthcare—has announced it will discontinue gender-affirming care (hormones and puberty blockers) for youth under 19, which I find incredibly upsetting given their long-standing mission to ensure healthcare as a right, not a privilege. Fenway Health was founded in 1971 and was one of the first LGBTQ+ health organizations in the country, even making the first diagnosis of AIDS in New England in 1981. Finally, in Random Acts, I talk about a personal triumph of exercising my right to protest and the importance of continued activism, sharing my personal commitment to fighting for transgender rights.