I start the show’s Big Story with talking about fear—those who are afraid of what Trump 2 will do; and those who so care about me that they’ve required a list of emergency contacts in case I go missing. The Big Interview is with Jordan Rubin from MSNBC and the curator of Deadline: Legal Blog who talks about the Executive Orders targeting law firms and how lawyers are so needed to preserve the rule of law. In Random Acts, I share an audio from Waldo County ME re: a neighbor who went missing due t...
Mar 31, 2025•47 min
This week’s Big Story is about federal Judge Ana Reyes and her stinging rebuke of the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender service members; wow! The Big Interview is with Nick Epley, a University of Chicago behavioral scientist who talks about social isolation and the rewards of taking a risk to reach out to someone who is “other”—like a trans person. In News Bites, I talk about how the mega law firm, Paul Weiss, bent a knee to Trump, setting a dangerous precedent for the legal profession a...
Mar 24, 2025•47 min
It’s the first Live TITW show, ever! The Big Story is how TX Attorney General Ken Paxton has ordered TX state agencies to ignore court orders re: changing gender markers and birth certificates for transgender people—the rule of law is now dead in the Lone Star state! Other stories include highlighting the bravery of attorney Marc Elias (formerly counsel for the Biden campaign who defeated 60 cases where Trump post-election claimed fraud) in the face of Trump now targeting him. We also praise an ...
Mar 15, 2025•43 min
The Big Story is about politicians who do the right thing (Senate Democrats who blocked a national trans youth sports ban) and those who don’t (CA Gov. Gavin Newsom, who in a podcast interview with right wing pundit Charlie Kirk threw trans athletes under the bus). The Big Interview will rock you—it’s with Pastor Luke Springer from Plymouth United Church of Christ in Des Moines who talks about the dismal state of legal protections for transgender Iowans and about religious intolerance of trans f...
Mar 10, 2025•45 min
It’s completely unfortunate and heart-wrenching that this week’s Big Story is about how Iowa—my beloved home state—this week rolled back legal protections for transgender humans, literally altering its state civil rights act to remove our us from the law! Unbelievable. The Big Interview is with NYT columnist/mainstream media commentator, Jamelle Bouie, who talks about the Trump Administration’s efforts to roll back 60-year-old civil rights protections. In Random Acts, I share an eloquent speech ...
Mar 03, 2025•47 min
This week’s Big Story is about former MN Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and his act of civil disobedience when the Huntington Beach CA library system decided to go all-MAGA—we need more leadership like that! The Big interview is with USA Today sports journalist Nancy Armour, who talks about the unfairness (and ridiculousness) of banning transgender women athletes. In Random Acts, I talk about how a neighbor’s gift of a Gerber Daisy brightened my day! The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 12: Chris ...
Feb 24, 2025•46 min
It’s me broadcasting from home as I get over a mild case of pneumonia! The Big Story is how the National Park Service has removed “TQ+” from “LGBTQ+” at the Stonewall Inn National Monument—it’s more about erasing trans people from public life. The Big Interview is with Dr. Donald Haider-Markel, a University of Kansas professor who co-authored, The Remarkable Rise of Transgender Rights , and who talks about how trans people became a huge target for the MAGA right. In Random Acts I read a lovely n...
Feb 15, 2025•46 min
We begin with Trump signing two more executive orders this week. One banned trans girls/young women from participating in women’s sports across the country (and the NCAA immediately agreed to ban trans athletes). The second EO creates a “Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias” with Attorney General Pam Bondi heading it. The EO in part references how Christians have been “forced” to “affirm radical transgender ideology”—no doubt signaling that soon there will be federal licensing of religiou...
Feb 10, 2025•46 min
We taped the show on January 31, which marked the 35th anniversary of when my father took his life, so the Big Interview is with Ryan Fouts, the executive director of Reclaim, a Twin Cities mental health nonprofit that serves LGBTQ+ youth. Ryan shares some grim statistics re: the attempted suicide/completed suicide rate for queer youth, and gives some tips if someone in your life seems to be thinking of hurting themself. The Big Story, of course, is about the barrage of Trump executive orders ai...
Feb 03, 2025•47 min
We spend most of the show talking about the destruction since the Inauguration, via Trump Executive Order 13988 re: “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” aka, “The Let’s-Hound-Transgender-People-Out-of-Existence order.” The Big Interview is with attorney Jess Braverman from Gender Justice who talks about some of the legal consequences/implications of the executive order. In Random Acts, I speak of all the people who have come f...
Jan 27, 2025•46 min
It’s a great show with my interview of Dr. Harry Barbee from Johns Hopkins who reports on research showing that that the regret rate for gender confirmation surgery is much, much less than that for cisgender (non-transgender) people. In News Bites, I talk about an empowered man who attacked a woman, and how the Montana House of Representatives wants to force Ellie Krug into the men’s restroom. And wow, what a great Random Act—you need to listen! The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 7: Gender, ...
Jan 20, 2025•45 min
The Big Story this week is Meta’s decision to discontinue fact checking and how, inevitably, that will result in more transphobic postings and the risk of cascading marginalization of transgender and gender expansive people. The Big Interview is with Leigh Finke, the first out transgender person elected to the Minnesota Legislature, who offers unique perspective on the legislation that she sponsored to make MN a trans refuge state. Finally, this week’s Random Acts tips its hat to Chris Hayes of ...
Jan 13, 2025•45 min
The first show of ’25 for a podcast fighting Project 2025! The Big Story is about Costco pushing back at efforts to shut down its DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs. The Big Interview is with Aime Wichtendahl, the first transgender person ever elected to the Iowa Legislature. I also rail against J.K. Rowling because of her transphobia and this week’s Random Acts has me talking about being seen as a voice for the trans community. For sure, I’m trying like hell to be that person! The p...
Jan 06, 2025•44 min
This week’s Big Story is about Trump’s vow to end “the transgender lunacy” and promise to define gender as only “male” and “female,” which would effectively erase transgender-identifying humans from official governmental recognition. We also talk about how this makes “reversion” possible—where the government takes away your true gender identity, like the gender marker on a driver’s license, and forces you to go back to the gender identity assigned at birth. The Big Interview is with Joe Scott, a...
Dec 30, 2024•43 min
The Big Story this week is a continuation of last week’s BS (literally, that’s what it is BS) with 37 Democratic Senators voting to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, including MN’s two Senators, Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar. As with the House version, the bill passed by the Senate included a provision wiping gender affirming care for transgender youth/dependents of U.S. service members. The Big Interview is with Jules Rayne of Equality Florida who talks about a literal laundry list of...
Dec 26, 2024•44 min
In this week’s show, we cover how 81 Democrats—Including MN’s Dean Phillips—voted along with House Republicans to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (e.g., the U.S. Defense budget), which included a provision that prohibits TRICARE, the medical provider for service member family members, from offering gender affirming care to trans youth. This defection of support/loss of allyship for trans humans is a harbinger of things to come…The Big Interview is with Ryan Berg, who talks about Conn...
Dec 16, 2024•45 min
Our inaugural show. I lay out the show’s mission, share a little of my background, and address why “Illegal” is part of the show’s name (hint: Project 2025 seeks to outlaw “transgender ideology” whatever the hell that is…). We also cover this week’s oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, which deals with the question of whether a state can prohibit gender affirming care for transgender youth—and from how the court asked questions, it doesn’t look good. The show will be one of my vehicles to advocat...
Dec 09, 2024•44 min
Is America at risk of erasing transgender people? Host Ellie Krug tackles this urgent question in her show, The Illegal Trans Woman, while confronting the growing threats to the LGBTQ+ community and the very existence of trans and gender variant individuals. A transgender woman herself, Ellie is a passionate advocate for her community, dedicated to fighting back against intolerance while fostering understanding and compassion for all humans. With a focus on bridging differences, Ellie invites di...
Dec 05, 2024•30 sec
