CNN Scales Back "Breaking News" Hype | Eliot Schrefer

tired of your jokes. CNN is done with breaking news and am a Putin blesses the grains down in Africa? What does that even mean? Plus stay tuned to find out. Plus we've got author Elliott Shrefer on the show to tell us about gay animals. Yeah I said that, So let's do those people. Let's jump straight into today's headlines. Okay. Our first story is all about language. Like when I say the word turkey, what do you think of? Probably a big bird that people eat while arguing with their

family about whether or agendas a spectrum. Right, Yeah, well, the country of Turkey knows that's what you think about when you hear their name and they're sick of that ship. The country of Turkey is ready to change its name. Officials have notified the United Nations asking of the country be referred to as Turkey A the way it's spelled and pronounced in Turkish. It's a way to disassociate its name from the bird and negative connotations that sometimes come

with it. The official request follows the release of an Adkin game promoting the new name. Hey mom, I just landed. Hello Turkey, Turkey, Yeah, Hello Turkey, Yeah, Turkey A. I like this. I like this, and I'm willing. I'm willing to start saying Turkey A. I don't mind, but I refuse to use those little dots over the U. All right, And this has nothing to do with Turkey and everything to do with drawing a line for how many keyboards I'm willing to have on my phone. I'm already three

keyboards deep. I've got emoji keyboards, I've got my gift keyboard, then my symbols keyboarding, a secret symbols keyboard behind that keyboard. Not gonna add another keyboard so I can tap about you with the DUTs that make it look like it's staring at me. It's too much. It's too much turkey A. And I know what some of you are saying right now. You're like, oh, Travor, you don't need another keyboard. You can just hold down the u ke. Yeah, but it's

about the extra effort. If you use your thumbs too much, they're gonna bulk up. I'm trying to get mine long and slender for the summer. Baby, that's right. So I'll say turkey A. But you're gotta help me, help you, and not to you with the ducks. Turkey all right, because no, I get white turkeys doing this. I get it. A country's name is it's brand. Nobody wants their brand associated with an animal that people don't even like that much.

I mean, if you're gonna get mistaken for a bird, at least it would be a bird with some flavor, some juice, you know, Like if their country was named spicy chicken sandwich, they wouldn't be changing anything. I would say, turkeys. You just know this though, Just because they got the u N to agree on this doesn't mean that people are actually gonna start calling them turkey A. It's not that easy, trust me. I know this. Back in middle school, I tried to get everyone to call me Travolva. Yeah,

and they just laughed, like you guys did. Now. I said it was a stupid name, which I guess in retrospect it kind of was, you know, unless you guys like it. No, Okay, you're fine. Travolva, Travolva. NOI is stupid. Forget it. Let's move on. Wait did someone say it was cool? Now? Okay, anyway, I just thought I heard someone say it is cool because it couldn't know all. I actually think this is a good idea, you know what. A lot of countries should be updating their names. Yeah,

just updated to make it modern. Like this isn't the United States of America. Let's be honest, it's more like the states that barely put up with each other of America. Every country like Greece makes it sound messy, but it's not hungary. What if they've eaten. Yeah, well, you need to change that name to be safe. You just need to change that name to be safe. I bet you

right now. Then, losing a ton of white people tourism because there's a lot of white people are too nervous to type that into Expedia It's just like I'm heading to an I g you know what, I'm just gonna Paris. I'm just gonna go to Paris. I'm just gonna Paris. I don't want any trouble here, and you gotta Paris. But let's move on to some other international news, because while Turkey is changing its name, Russia has spent the past three months trying to change Ukraine's name to Russia Jr.

But Ukraine isn't the only country suffering from Russia's invasion. Yeah. What many people might not know is that Ukraine is one of the world's top producers of grain, but as part of its invasion, Russia is blocking Ukraine's ports and intercepting the grain. So now the world is facing a grain shortage which Russia is taking advantage of. The US has given out about fourteen countries the heads up about

stolen Ukrainian grain. US officials say that Russia stole grain from Ukraine and alerted these other countries, mainly in Africa, that Russia will probably sell it. Policy experts say, faced with starvation, most countries in the area likely won't hesitate to buy from Russia. The director of one African think tank told The New York Times quote, this is not a dilemma. Africans don't care where they get their food from.

And if someone is going to moralize about they are mistaken. Okay, okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I get what you're saying. But Africans don't care where they get their food from. Come on, don't put it like that. Yes, some parts of Africa are suffering from famine and their leaders can't afford to take the moral high ground because they need the food. But not just

Africans don't care where they get their food from. It makes it sound like us Africans were just running around on the sidewalk grabbing people's brunches out of their plates, just like, ha, you did not get your brios. It's mine now. And by the way, just in case you're wondering, Africans are going to use the grain to make like bread and ship. Okay, these stories always make it sound like Africans are just gonna eat the grain right out of the sec make it sound like that with us.

This is like we love this. I put that grain in my mouth. Huh. I know that's what you guys are picturing in your heads. I know it. I said, we need grain, and you guys were like, I guess they eat grain. I guess that's what they do. We cook. The situation is really messed up. Not only is Russia stealing Ukraine's grain, they're causing a food shortage in the rest of the world, and then they're gonna sell the grain to make up for the shortage that they're causing.

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge how humiliating this is for Russia. When they started this invasion, Putin was like, our glorious army will go uncle Ukraine for new Russian Empire. And now he's just like, okay, plain by, let's just rub this bitch. Okay, we just look the still. We'll just good to still. Now to be you went from being all high and mighty and now the dudes basically on the corner in Africa, like, you got do you want grain? I got the grain? You want grain?

I got grain. I also got role just the good stuff, just the good stuff. You want the grain? I got the grain. But let's move on from the war in Ukraine to the war zone that is America. Ever since the Uvality School shooting, Congress has been working hard to craft sensible gun safety measures that can be narrowly defeated at the last minute. But a lot of people are trying to make this time difference. I mean, just today, Matthew McConaughey, who's from Uvaldi, was at the White House

pushing for reforms. Unfortunately, though nobody really expects a lot to change now. That's where there is an upside to living in the states that barely put up with each other of America, all right, and that is individual states can break off and past their own gun laws, which is exactly what's happening right here in New York. New York bolstered it's already tough gun laws, some of the

strictest in the nation. Governor Holgill signed a package of gun reform bills yesterday now, Among them a measure that banned the sale of semi automatic rifles to anybody under one New buyers are also required to obtain a permit. Also, red flag laws are expanding. Body armor for civilians is outlawed, and am all for semi automatic handguns is required to be micro stamped to make it easier to trace. HCAL

celebrated the new laws in the Bronx. It just keeps have bid eight shots, ring out, flags come down, and nothing ever changes except here in New York. Wow, Wow, this is this is so weird. A mass shooting happened and then politicians did something. I didn't even know that that was possible. Yeah, it's like I showed up to McDonald's and the mcflurry machine is working. It's just I don't even know how to react to this. Dude, do I clap? Am? I supposed to tip? What's a good

tip for posting gonlow? Ten percent? I'm sure it ten percent? You know what this feels like? This feels like when you're ready to argue with your partner and before you can say anything, they just apologize. Right, Yeah, now you've got a throat full of screams and nothing to do with it. It's like, thank you, I appreciate your apology. I love you. Do and New York made a lot of changes. For instance, it's raising the minimum age on semi automatic rifles, which seems like common sense to me.

You know, although in my opinion, instead of twenty one, I feel like it should be twenty one and four days. Yeah, because I don't want someone buying a gun on the same night that they're slamming ten shots of yeager. Just spread it out. You know, New York is also gonna be banning body armor, and that makes sense. In fact, this is the first state in the country to do it, which is a great idea. In fact, they should also ban under armor. While they added, yeah, it's not about

the shootings. I'm just tired of seeing people's nipples on the train. You know, I get it. You work out your shoot and I know, I know some people are saying, but wait, I'm not a shooter. I just want body armor for my protection. Don't worry. You don't need body armor, all right, If you're not doing anything in the fairies, you don't need body armor. Yeah. There's something I've learned

from American movies. It's that you just need to keep precious Emily a loom on your body that stops any bullets. Any times it's like, bah, thank god, my mom's Bible stop the bullets. Oh bah bah, Oh, thank goodness. My grandpa's pocket watch saved me. Oh thank god. I carry Grandma's Cherish dildo with me all the time. Saved my life. Once again. Thank you, Grandma, Thank you. So much. I'm just gonna let that soak in for a second. Monk. All right, Finally, let's move on to a story about CNN,

which stands for Cable News Ninja's anyway. For years, CNN has been notorious for overhyping every story like it's you know, the zombie apocalypse, it's like breaking news. The mid term elections are now six months away, and not surprisingly, this approach has started to backfire as viewers have learned to tune it out, you know, like the boy who cried wolf, or in this case, the wolf who cried wolf. So because of that, because of that, CNN is making a

big change. We start here with breaking news about breaking news involving CNN. The network has a new boss, and he says CNN is now cutting back on over hyping everything is quote breaking news so much so that's in and has actually added a breaking news guideline to its style book, so you'll soon see a lot less of

that breaking news banner at the bottom of the TV screen. Yes, CNN is cutting back on the over use of breaking news, and to celebrates it, immediately put up a countdown clock to the moment when it will officially reduce the amount of breaking news very exciting, one thing at a time. Cook. Look, people, the truth is, the truth is most stories on giant news in that way. I'm glad they're doing this. You know,

great job, Chris Leech. There's only been like three breaking news stories of the past two decades, Let's be honest, like coronavirus and time that guy put salt on his food, but from up here. Yeah, most people put the salt from like down here, but he did it from up here. Y'all do change the game. It's a technique, it's a whole thing. And now that Sanna is acknowledging this, now

that they're acknowledging them, not everything is breaking news. Maybe, just maybe all of cable news can acknowledge that maybe news doesn't need to be twenty four hours. Maybe, uh, it's not necessary. You know, maybe you can wait to get all the facts and tell us the correct story at the end of the day. Just me possibly, how do you think about it? Think about it? Think about it. Honestly, the first ten hours of any news story on cable

news is just speculation. Breaking news. We're hearing that a tiger has escaped from the zoo and mald tan people as a sad hold on, hold on, slight clarification. We're now hearing that the tire was in the mall, and the mall has ten people. Everybody is alive, and oh, hold on, our our sources on the ground are telling us it's not a tiger, it's a Panda Express. There is a Panda Express in the mall. We're gonna stay on top of the story for the next twenty four hours.

Breaking news gets a thing. Even when there is news, most of it isn't that exciting. It's just everyday stuff that's boring but important. The economy is up, the economy is down. The government is doing something more likely not doing something, you know. So this is good and to lower expectations, CNN is actually replacing breaking news with a new graphic for stories that are just normal stuff. And we have an exclusive look at what that will be.

It's perfect. I think they did a great job. All right, that's it for the headlines before we go to a break, and let's check in on the stock market with our finance expert, Michael cost To everybody's roll around, mirkeat more important, more important in Michael, what's happening in the market today. Well, I am crushing the markets. I mean I I crush all markets, financial markets, whole foods market where I actually had to get a second job. But I have a

hot tip. I'm gonna share it with you. Hot tip. I'm gonna share a hot tip with you. So we'll get into the markets. Here we go at actually before we do that, that story about the African nations buying the grain, you know, I mean, why do we put this responsibility on them to know where their grain comes from? I mean, we don't even know where our food comes from. You know. I've probably enjoyed multiple avocados from the center Oa cartel, you know, and I I sleep fine at night.

But I would say this to these African nations. Don't love this grain too much. This is white people grain, and you might develop a gluten intolerance. Okay, now look, it's not gonna kill you, but it's gonna make you very annoying. All right, next thing, you know, you're gonna be in Tanzania doing yoga with Gwyneth Paltrow while Vagina candle is lit in the back. So all right now, these markets. Oh oh, and Turkey, Turkey changing its name.

I love this I love I love this. It got me thinking, I feel like South Africa should do this. I do. Look, part of what's great about being a country in Africa is you get to have this beautiful name Uganda, Senegal, now Mabia, South Africa. I mean, what happened with South Africa just went off the top of your head, Trevor, You're you're from You're from the Yeah, but it's not like I named I didn't name it. Look, I'm just I'm other other people from South Africa and yeah,

there's great. All right, okay, okay, alright, great, let's get to the market. Um so, look, this is volatile. It's almost as volatile as a teenage Michael Costa at a three eleven concert. But look, when you step back, take a look at all of this, what do you see dominating? I see this green line dominating. It's the least volatile of everything here, which is why I advise you be the green line right when you have your money, be the green line. Second thing to think about, you see

these squares right here. Now, I have spent a lot of time analyzing the dimensions the field, the size of each square. Okay, now these squares, they don't mean anything. Okay, last thing you see all this red. Typically red is bad and finances. But Michael costa financial expert, will tell you when you have red, like a stoplight, stop wait till it turns green. Okay. So in summary, all right, green lines, no squares, red turns green. Boom. Now here's

my hot tip. This is hot tip, Trevor. Okay, invest in turkey boom? Wait wait wait wait talky the food choking the country. Well that is the million dollar question. Okay, Now I gotta go. I gotta go to Whole Foods for a shift, Steve and produce got covid. So I don't know why you have back to Trevor, why do you need another job? Michael clock to everybody, don't go away. So when we come back, what would Jr? I'm gonna

try to make friends with, right, hang a, TRENI. You don't want me to welcome back to within the show. You know, politics is so polarized in this country that American needs a leader who can bring the two sides together. But instead we'll have to settle for Roy Wood Jr. And a new segment we call Disagree to Disagree. America is too divided, Republicans versus Democrats, billionaires versus billions of

the rest of US, broke bastards, Karen's versus everybody. That's why I'm reaching out to the other side to see if I can't find common ground with people I disagree with strongly. For this story, I traveled to Idaho or Montana or Wyoming, somewhere with no black people to meet anti government extremists and bighead enthusiasts am and Bundy and see if I could get him to agreed to disagree. It doesn't matter if they call it Republican or Democrat.

It is poison to liberty. You might remember Bundy from a standoff with the government over grazing rights, or from a standoff with the government at a nature preserve in am And Bundy who pointed guns at law enforcement in Arizona. Now he's doing it in Oregon, or from his protests against state COVID restrictions in Idaho. This dude is in

a lot of standoffs. And now a guy who spent two years in prison for fighting the federal government before getting out on the mistrial is running for governor of Idaho. As governor, I will keep Idaho Idaho. The hell does that mean besides growing potatoes. I decided to talk to some of Bundy's supporters, am and it's definitely a threat to the old boy network in Idaho. Why you know, I don't need the government to tell me how to act. So m and Bundy for less governor. Yes, our rights

don't come from the government. Our rights come from God. Okay. And certain people have said, you know what, the buck has to stop somewhere. Okay, But you are blacking in Idaho. How did that happen? So I'm like third generation here. I'm in Bundy is willing to do what it takes to defend liberty, just like Rosa Parks did on the bus I had to meet with this white male version of sister Rosa. Okay, so you've been called a militia leader,

you have been called the T word domestic, domestic. How do you not come across as an anti government person who's now becoming part of the government. Well, I want people to use the land as God intended and for the government just to leave them alone other than to protect them. You know, like when you were a child, your daddy be all in your is it's coming your room. Go through your toys. That's that's government. Now, what we really want is a stepdaddy government that comes in and

just goes, hey, don't kill each other. I'll be outside drinking. Well yeah, unless one of them tries to infringe upon another person's right. Clearly, finding common ground would not be easy, and sure enough, Bundy and I disagreed on a range of issues. From taxes, I don't believe that property tax is a moral tax to the social safety net. Never should I say, look, Joe over here is needing help, and I'm going to force you with the barrel of the gun to give me a hundred and fifty dollars

so I can give it to Joe. It's in moral and the definition of slavery. And then pretty soon you end up with thirty of the people providing for the other seventy. That's slavery. And that's all before we got to the keen cong of divisive issues. Today, COVID government will go as far as they people allow them to go, which is all the way to genocide. Explain Genesci. Let's look at the nineteen thirties. What was the Nazis claiming?

What was their excuse? There was a national health emergency that the Jews and the Blacks that their genes were inferior, and ultimately decided that they needed even put them to death, so like they weren't like Jews and Black's dying in droves before Hitler came in and did what he did. He chose to start doing it, whereas at least with COVID, there was oh, there's a bunch of dead people, how do we stop this? People are dying? So do you?

You're saying you believe what the government is saying? You believe the reports because they're so honest, right, and they're so good. How do I get the information you got? You can get it because anytime people go I've done the research, they never say where it's everywhere? And no, that's not an answer where to give it. I can give it to you if you want. I mean, do you want to go over right here? On my phone? Everybody said he'd done the research, but they could never

give me a www. And I hadn't even asked Bundy about his history of arms standoffs against the govern Well, so these accusations of me associating with Violet groups, never once have we ever done anything violent You're like a Gandhi of the Rocky Mountains. I just can't get down with armed occupations, especially when they end with death. In prison, it seems like finding common ground was just too hard.

But then Bundy surprised me. I was in prison for two years, federal prison, and you've got the wide throws over here, and you've got the Mexicans and the Native Americans. Everybody sticks with their own. Yes, I know, I didn't feel that way. Next thing I know, I'm out playing basketball with black guys and no problem. Right, Um, the white guys might have a little bit of a problem

with it. So I go back there and I talked to them and say, hey, look, I'm sorry, this is the way I roll, but we're playing basketball and I really want to win. Now the guards and the prison gets all concerned because the way they can keep us uh in the prison is keep us divided, and that to what's happening in society. As someone who also felt abused by the criminal justice system, Bundy was even supportive of a movement on the opposite side of the spectrum.

You must have a problem in your mind if you think that somehow the Black Lives Matter is more dangerous than the police. What this cowboy headed, beef sweating constitutionalists was siding with Black Lives Matter and not the police. What I'm hearing is a brother who's some of his views kind of line up with Black Lives Matter. Well, I think they might line up with black people, and I think they might line up with white people too.

And I guarantee that if I was to be able to communicate openly with the majority of the people in Black Lives Matter, that probably of of our beliefs would would align with each other. I think that's some common ground. Maybe America is headed towards a civil war, but for a moment to Americans who vehemently disagree, found a way to be civil. Okay, it's a brief. You know. We don't agree on everything. I just think it's okay when I just want to just take that. Okay, you're talking

to me, and there's something else we agree on. I look damn good in the cowboy hat. Thank you much, were Junior. All right, when we come back, we're gonna be celebrating Pride Month with author Elliott Trafa. You do know what I'm to say, talk about the new Gaining show. My desiz is Neil kind of besselling author and his trifer. He's going to talk about his new book, Quilt and the animals he had on and triform. Welcome to the show, it is I am so happy to be here. I'm

so happy to have you. This is one of the most fun books I've ever read about science, about nature, about animals, about the human condition. Let's jump straight into it. Queer ducts and other animals. This seems like a joke, and the book is very funny, which is great. But you're learning about the side of the animal kingdom that many people haven't talked about. So let's start with the why why did you decide to write a book about queer ducks and other animals? Yea fair enough. I was

surprised by the topic. Two Um. I come from a back kind of studying evolution, and I'd always assumed that that queer behavior was a sort of dead end for animals. Behaviors that wouldn't cause their genes to proper get into the next generation, wouldn't spread. Um. And yet Nature did a study three years ago that put the number at species and counting that have significant peer researched same sex sexual behavior in the wild, and so the question that

was on my mind was why, right, why is this happening? Um? And the basic version of the story is that we got the story of animal sex wrong, UM, that we think of it as procreation only the humans. Sure, humans, we have a wide variety of reasons for having sex, but animals, animals just dutifully like walk up to the Noah's Ark and their male female pairs and they have

sex only to have offspring. And at the end of the story, when there's actually a wide range of animals where it different reasons for having saying sex sexual behaviors. Yeahs As I read through the book, I mean my mind was blown by some of the stories you were telling. And and I think if we start with it from from the angle of you know, with its governments, with its churches, where it's just like society saying we don't

want this out there. There were researchers who are discovering this for decades and they had to hide that research because just people didn't accept it. You know, Like, what do you think has changed in academia? What do you think has changed in the world of science and in research where people are now willing to accept these things

and put them out there. Yeah. Well, there's a famous rich shape research and nafare disgeist who studied big horn sheep in the nineteen sixties, and at that time he realized that sheep basically lived in a mostly homosexual society. So a big horn sheeper and there's a male group and a female group, and for most of the year they're just having sex within those groups. Uh. And then they'll come together during the rudding season and males and

females will have sex. But he didn't publish on that finding because in the nineteen sixties, he said later in his memoir, he couldn't conceive of these magnificent beasts as queers, right, Like, he loved this animal and didn't want to propagate this story around the species that he loved. And then years later in his memoir, you know sort of came out about having hidden the same sex sexual behavior and sheep. And that's kind of a story that goes from animal

species to animal species. Even in the eighteen thirties, German entomologists were discovering same sex sexual behavior in cockcha for beetles also known as doodlebugs. Uh. And that was within the entomology circles, like anyone who knew their bugs was talking about it. But they were also accused of perversion or having like an natural interest in cockbugs. And then like everyone everyone's brain seems basically by naming it a cockchafer,

you've already I'm just saying, I'm just saying, um. You know. You know what what makes this book fascinating, and the research behind the book as well, is the fact that for so long people would would use, you know, like the cudgel they would use against any member of the LGBTQ communities. They would say the same thing. They would go, it's not natural. You cannot be gay. It's not natural. Why wouldn't it be in nature? God didn't create that?

And then now the science has shown that it is natural. The irony is then you have people now saying that, but we're not animals were better than them, We're different. And what I do enjoy the book is this, You're really careful to not make it a blanket. You're not saying, hey, we are the same as the animals. Animals are the same as us. You're just giving us an insight into a world that we didn't think existed. One of the

more fascinating stories for ins was the bottleneck dolphins. It feels like a very intentional world that they're living in. You know that that that that you speak about. Tell me more about that. Yeah, the bottom those dolphins were one of my early examples because they are the closest we come to actually having a gay animal um. There are some bottle those dolphin males who only have sex with other males are only here for the males and

not the females. But the majority of them are I guess we would say bisexual and like the basically the spoiler alert is most animals are some version of bisexual um and exclusive homosexual preference is very rare. But there's some dolphins that that behave that way. And is there is there a logic behind it? Because you know, as you said, you study evolution, Why would they do that? Do we have any idea? Doesn't you know, doesn't just hit a brick wool of Oh they don't want to

procreate anymore? Is it just because of pleasure? What are the reasons? Yeah? So we bottom those dolphins. The male union is actually the only last thing union within their society, So males and females will come together for a week or two and have sex. The female will go and raise her calf by herself or with other females. But the males bonded through having really frequent sex, like about two point four times an hour on average. What what what sex does is it produces oxytocin, which is known

as the bonding hormone. And so that's why when you first make out with someone when you're thirteen, you feel like, I got to spend my life with this person. This is amazing, I love them. You haven't gotten crazy, it's just oxytocin is flooding your system for the first time. I've never made up when I was just like wait the first time. So they're taking advantage of this to form this this intense alliance between the two male dolphins,

which gives them power within the dolphins society. So they still have procreative sex with female dolphins, but they're so close together because of this oxytocin rush from all the frequent sex that they are like an intensely strong sexual friendship. So they found different reasons for the sex. It's almost more intentional. It's almost like that that's sort of like you chalk about with is it the be noble monkeys where they would you they would use orgies to like,

let like just I guess for stress relief. They're just like a really stressful day everybody pretty much. Yeah, yeah, And the most frequent sex activity among bonobos is between females, and this animal is tied with chimpanzees as our closest relative. They share of their DNA with us um, and the females will have sex with males. They'll still have offspring, but they have really really frequent female female sex and that produces this oxytocin rush um, and it produced a

feeling of peace and bonding. So um. You know, if they introduce a food source, the bonobos won't eat it right away, they'll have sex first, so everyone's feeling good with each other. Okay. When you think of it as like this is our closest relative with the chimps, you know, it's kind of a model for how we might be. I've I've often thought that. I've often thought, if I have sex with all my friends before we eat, people are less likely to fight over who pays the bill.

How do you propose them? Just like, I mean, now that I have the research behind it, before I let you go. Though Before I let you go, you you have a I think you have a really beautiful reason that goes beyond the research in writing the book, a personal connection with it and with what's going on in America right now. Um, I'd love to know how much of that inspired you to write the book. So when I was eleven, I realized I was gay. And it was like the moment puberty hit. It was utterly clear.

I just lingered over the fruit of the loom ads and my brother is rolling stone and I was like, which you know, which one do I want to be my special friend? Um? And it was just it was just who I was. But it's surreal if you're not someone who I lives this identity. It's surreal because the day before it was not true. And all of a sudden I was gay and which this was in the early nineties, and it was everything I'd heard about it was that it was terrible thing to be right, that

it was unnatural or something wrong with it. And so I was a nerdy little kid, which would be no surprise. I went to the encyclopedia and I looked up homosexuality in this volume paper and Kipedia and The story I got was that it's a psychological aberration unique to humans, caused by too much attachment to mother father, maybe too little attachment. No one was quite sure, but something went wrong. Um. And I you know, that was a lot to wrestle with. And I came out on the other side of it

by sort of loving my gayness. Right. I was like, it's unnatural and that's great, Like who needs natural? Like this is who cares? Right? Like we read books that's not natural and that's fine, Like this is this is just who I am. And it just it would have shortened that journey to health acceptance, which a lot of l g B t Q kids do not survive, right, Um, it would have shortened that journey to know the research that's in Queer Ducks. And so I wrote it towards

that eleven year old version of me that needed it. Um. Which is what makes it makes it so at seven to see these challenge is these schools and libraries now, um And I know because I lived that logic. I

was lived in a purple area in Tampa Bay. And you know, in just in the cheerfully in the cafeteria, we would talk about, yeah, we should send all the gates when island to die right, Like, that was just the way we talked about it as middle school kids and high school kids, um and the like it's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, right, which rhyme, So it had to be true. That's like kid logic, UM.

And so I understand the thinking, which is basically that the idea is if if you believe that this is an outside source, it's a contagion that comes into people that they read the wrong book that has a lesbian character, and now my daughter is going to become a lesbian UM. If you that is truly your belief, then it's also

your belief that you can wall it out. Right If in our town there's in a single book that has a lesbian character, if there's I'm not letting my kid watch TV shows that have them, then it's impossible that

she will become a lesbian UM. And the one thing that's coming out of this, all this abundant research, it's explosion of research into same sex sexual behavior across the animal kingdom invertebrates, vertebrates, primates, dolphins, fish, is that you can't wall it out because it's coming from inside it is like it is our heritage as animals is to have this as part of us, right, this like huge diversity in the ways to express sex and to to

be with other organisms. Um so, even if your kid doesn't read a book with a lesbian in it, they come from the natural history of of animal kind and that the possibilities in there. Just look at a bonobo or a Japanese macaque monkey or any of it. But if they do read a book about it, they should definitely read this one. That's kind of it. I already do what already giving it. Thank you so much to do to fool that's such a treble, which is too much fun, I remembers Sting Brett. We have got to

be available right now. We want to take a stick break. Well, the right sat possible, that's real, that's all right, Well, that's all fulf that you like, fuck before we go, Before we go, please come sort of supporting trans Lifeline, there are Rossroots Topline offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis, for the trans community and

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