TransLash Podcast with Imara Jones

Trump has promised to target trans rights on his first day back in office. While it remains to be seen what exactly he’ll do, there are several ways trans individuals can start preparing. Imara welcomes Dr. Asa Radix back on the show to walk through the potential threats to gender-affirming care, including changes to federal funding and protections under the Affordable Care Act. They share their advice on managing hormone prescriptions, finding surgeons in the U.S. and abroad, and reducing risk when it comes to DIY HRT. Next, Imara is joined by Toni-Michelle Williams, Executive Director of Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative (SnapCo), to discuss her organization’s efforts to help trans people update their passports and other government documents.

For more information about updating your government documents, check out these resources: 

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the landmark case of U.S. v. Skrmetti, which takes up the question of gender affirming care access for youth. After attending the oral arguments herself, Imara dissects what she heard in the chambers. First, she sits down with lawyer and co-chair of the National Trans Bar Association D Dangaran to get their immediate reaction and analysis. D explains the debate over different types of scrutiny at play, the role of medical pseudoscience, and the dynamics between the Justices and attorneys. 

Next, Imara talks with Allison Scott, the Director of Impact and Innovation at the Campaign for Southern Equality, about the ongoing fight for trans youth in the South. Allison describes what she’s hearing from families in Tennessee and North Carolina and how her organization has been connecting them with care in increasingly hostile environments. 

What can Kamala Harris’ defeat tell us about American attitudes towards Black women and other marginalized genders? This week, Imara is joined by Jamilah King, an editorial director at Mother Jones, to answer this question from a political and personal perspective. The two discuss how the Covid-19 pandemic, rage, and misogyny might have contributed to the election outcome. Jamilah shares her insights about whether Harris really wanted to be president and how her 2024 campaign might have been just another example of a Black woman being set up to fail. 

The Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case that will fundamentally reshape gender affirming care access across the United States. Imara breaks down the stakes of this legal battle with Chase Strangio, the ACLU attorney who will be arguing on behalf of trans youth and their families. The two discuss the Tennessee law and plaintiffs at the heart of the case, how the Court’s ruling could limit 14th amendment protections, and what trans people can do to make their voices heard. Chase also shares what it’s like to be the first openly trans lawyer to argue in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

In the wake of Trump’s stunning victory, Imara grapples with the stakes of this outcome for trans people across the United States. She’s joined by award-winning journalist Katelyn Burns to unpack the Democratic Party failing to counter the GOP’s anti-trans messaging, the election of trans candidates like Sarah McBride, and why trans rights might be first on the chopping block after Trump’s inauguration. Together, they imagine how we can reorient the fight for gender affirming care access in a hostile and uncertain new era of U.S. politics.