TransLash Podcast with Imara Jones

As the TransLash Podcast takes a break for the holidays, we’re sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive. In this replay from 2022, Imara has an eye opening conversation with the one and only Janelle Monaé, an 8-time Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and one of the most celebrated voices of our time. In the interview, Janelle opens up about the challenges of exploring her queerness in the public eye, how she learned she didn’t need to prove herself to anyone, and her brand new book, The Memory Librarian.  Imara and Janelle also talk about the necessity to break free from our past in order to create the future we all want;  moving beyond conventional ideas of sexual orientation and gender identity.Follow TransLash Media @translashmedia on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, and Facebook.Follow Imara Jones on Instagram (@Imara_jones_), Threads (@imara_jones_), Bluesky (@imarajones.bsky.social), X (@ImaraJones)Send your trans joy recommendations to translash_podcast@translash.org Follow Janelle Monaé on social media and check out the Memory Librarian: Janelle Monaé: @JanelleMonae (Twitter), @janellemonae (Instagram)The Memory Librarian: https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/the-memory-librarianTransLash Podcast is produced by Translash Media.Translash Team: Imara Jones, Oliver-Ash Kleine, Aubrey Calaway. Xander Adams is our senior sound engineer and a contributing producer.

As the TransLash Podcast takes a break for the holidays, we’re sharing some of our favorite episodes from the archive. In this replay from 2022, Imara discusses how the idea of Black civil rights has been reduced to the idea of changes in specific laws, but the civil rights movement also included the ideas of what we now call Black liberation: a specific revisioning of what our society should look like steeped in racial justice. That’s why she wanted to talk with Black trans leaders about what a new agenda for Black civil rights should look like. First, she’s joined by Qween Jean, the founder of Black Trans Liberation. She’s an activist and artist whose critical work centers Black trans people in the fight for racial equity. Then Imara talks to Kayla Gore, the co-founder of My Sistah’s House, a fully fledged aid and advocate organization that started as an emergency shelter with 8 beds.Follow TransLash Media @translashmedia on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, and Facebook.Follow Imara Jones on Instagram (@Imara_jones_), Threads (@imara_jones_), Bluesky (@imarajones.bsky.social), X (@ImaraJones)Send your trans joy recommendations to translash_podcast@translash.org Follow our guests on social media!Qween Jean: Instagram (@qween_jean) Kayla Gore: Instagram (@ms_kaylagore) TransLash Podcast is produced by Translash Media.Translash Team: Imara Jones, Oliver-Ash Kleine, Aubrey Calaway. Xander Adams is our senior sound engineer and a contributing producer.

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: State DepartmentTrans Equality ID Documents CenterTransLifeline ID Change LibrarySend your trans joy recommendations to translash_podcast@translash.org Follow TransLash Media @translashmedia on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, and Facebook.Follow Imara Jones on Instagram (@Imara_jones_), Threads (@imara_jones_), Bluesky (@imarajones.bsky.social), X (@ImaraJones)Follow our guests on social media!Victor Valencia: Instagram (@valenciadesigns) (@buildingout)Dr. Asa Radix: X (@AsaRadix)Toni-Michelle Williams: X (@misstoniluv) and Instagram (@misstonimichelle)TransLash Podcast is produced by Translash Media.Translash Team: Imara Jones, Oliver-Ash Kleine, Aubrey Calaway. Xander Adams is our senior sound engineer and a contributing producer.

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. Send your trans joy recommendations to translash_podcast@translash.org Follow TransLash Media @translashmedia on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, and Facebook.Follow Imara Jones on Instagram (@Imara_jones_), Threads (@imara_jones_), Bluesky (@imarajones.bsky.social), X (@ImaraJones)Follow our guests on social media!Emma Curtis: Instagram (@emmacurtislex) and Threads (@emmacurtislex)D Dangaran: Instagram (@ddangaran.esq)Allison Scott: Instagram (@allisonscottnc) and X (@allisonscottnc)TransLash Podcast is produced by Translash Media.Translash Team: Imara Jones, Oliver-Ash Kleine, Aubrey Calaway. Xander Adams is our senior sound engineer and a contributing producer.This episode was engineered with help from Lucy Little.

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. Send your trans joy recommendations to translash_podcast@translash.org Follow TransLash Media @translashmedia on TikTok, Instagram, Threads,  X, and Facebook.Follow Imara Jones on X (@ImaraJones) and Instagram (@Imara_jones_)Follow our guests on social media!Jo Miller: Instagram (@jo.miller.sj)Jamilah King: X (@jamilahking) and Instagram (@jamilahking)TransLash Podcast is produced by Translash Media.Translash Team: Imara Jones, Oliver-Ash Kleine, Aubrey Calaway. Xander Adams is our senior sound engineer and a contributing producer.This episode was engineered by Lucy Little.

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.Send your trans joy recommendations to translash_podcast@translash.org. Follow TransLash Media @translashmedia on TikTok, Instagram, Threads,  X, and Facebook.Follow Imara Jones on X (@ImaraJones) and Instagram (@Imara_jones_)Follow our guests on social media!Angelito Collective: Instagram (@angelito.collective)Katelyn Burns: X (@transscribe)TransLash Podcast is produced by Translash Media.Translash Team: Imara Jones, Oliver-Ash Kleine, Aubrey Calaway. Xander Adams is our senior sound engineer and a contributing producer.This episode was engineered by Lucy Little.

In the last few days of the 2024 presidential campaign, Imara breaks down the ways that trans issues have taken center stage this election season. She’s joined by journalist and Them.us contributing writer Samantha Riedel to dissect Trump’s escalating rhetoric, from his “Kamala for they/them” ad to the fusion of anti-immigrant and anti-trans messaging. The two also chat about why Harris has been so cautious on trans issues and how Samantha is preparing for the election outcome by staying rooted in community. Vote for “American Problems, Trans Solutions” and “Artistic Legacies: Black Trans Femmes in the Arts” for the Anthem Awards by Oct 31st: https://celebrate.anthemawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/diversity-equity-inclusion/awareness-categories/non-profitFor information for trans voters, check out: https://transformthevote.org/ And make sure to take a listen to season three of the Anti-Trans Hate Machine wherever you get your podcasts.Follow TransLash Media @translashmedia on TikTok, Instagram, Threads,  X, and Facebook.Follow Imara Jones on X (@ImaraJones) and Instagram (@Imara_jones_)Follow our guests on social media!Ari Faber: X (@ariforohio) and Instagram (@faberforohio)Samantha Riedel: X (@SamusMcQueen)TransLash Podcast is produced by Translash Media.Translash Team: Imara Jones, Oliver-Ash Kleine, Aubrey Calaway. Xander Adams is our senior sound engineer and a contributing producer.

In Episode 3 of the Anti-Trans Hate Machine, Imara Jones explores how paramilitary groups like Patriot Front are modernizing and intensifying their anti-LGBTQ tactics. Working in tandem with local politicians, right-wing think tanks, and influential online actors like Libs of Tik-Tok, these groups are radicalizing American politics from the ground up, weaponizing transphobia to destabilize local communities. In this episode we’ll show how these dangerous synergies are spreading and learn about how Idaho is the testing ground for this new wave of far-right extremism, raising urgent questions about the future of democracy in America.To learn more, visit translash.org/ATHM.  Follow TransLash Media @translashmedia on Instagram, Threads, X, and Facebook.Follow Imara Jones on X (@ImaraJones) and Instagram (@Imara_jones_)The Anti-Trans Hate Machine is produced by TransLash Media.