I've got updates and a recap of my Riley Gaines reporting in this week's Reveal episode! Also featuring a dive into the science of trans athletes by @holarascon.bsky.social and a powerful profile of one of the last trans women to swim in the NCAA, by Imogen Sayers www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

words to listen to

everyone should go listen to this comprehensive episode on trans athletes and take note! everyone involved did a great job of digging into how trans women ended up banned from athletics -- and a profile by me of the last openly trans woman to swim as a woman in the NCAA

At a dr’s office & a super nice nurse just told me “I’m going to warn you. We try to keep time but there are often delays & we fail, we fail terribly. I always tell ppl it’s in the nature of the work we do. We just can’t keep to that schedule” & friends this is going DIRECTLY into my editorial spiel

SCOOP: Sources tell me Donald Trump's name was added to the exterior of the US Institute of Peace building ahead of Thursday's peace agreement signing between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which will be held inside the building. Confirming if it's been officially renamed.

groundbreaking.

my friends over at nyu have done something amazing in creating a show called The Sonic Lab. you should go and check it out, especially if you're into breathing or dancing. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Conservative Christian groups are turning to the courts to bring conversion therapy back to the brink of legitimacy. How will it impact our legal system? Check out Tom Sayers' (@tomatoslayers.bsky.social) "We Need to Talk About Conversion Therapy." therevealer.org/we-need-to-t...

bringing this statement over from Alice’s Twitter. it appears the below was Alice’s last post before passing. I am heartbroken

The far-right are weaponizing your freedom of speech to give themselves legal permission to try and cure people of queerness. But that's not possible, nor does it need to be.

if you cut lily allen open she'd bleed london wtf was she ever doing in new york anyways

lily allen's new album

brilliant read about how american exceptionalism is the very thing that will bring american downfall

So grateful to everyone who shared and supported this fundraiser. In the first month, we’ve reported some relevant and important stories, with plenty more to come! 🏳️‍⚧️🩷🎉🍾

Wow--we just hit our extended goal of $20,000 for our launch fundraiser! A huge thank you to our generous donors and supporters who have brought us to this point. This money will provide us with at least 6 months of operations and allows us to focus on hard-hitting journalism.

Hey y'all, do you know how often over the years I've pitched pieces about trans realities in the South and gotten nowhere? Instead TNN paid for and supported my latest, on what we're up against in NC and all the history behind it. If you want to see more unapologetic trans journalism, donate here.

Ever since she was little, Kenzie knew she was queer. She also remembers dragging her feet as her mom sent her off to American Heritage Girls, a Christian extremist alternative to the Girl Scouts. “I describe it as Girl Scouts but indoctrination," she told me.

did you go to american heritage girls or trail life usa? DM me #journorequest

DM me with your scouting stories if you’re trans and forced into the wrong gender troop 🫶🏻

the US profoundly needs a children's rights movement. children are not property... they deserve opportunity and learning and autonomy and security.... and our country just does not acknowledge this

Come forward if you had any bad experience as a trans person in any scouting group, actually! I need your stories for piece I’m writing #journorequest

hi, i'm looking for someone who is queer or trans or both and went to american heritage girls when you were younger for a story about the strict gender roles they force upon children. i'd love to hear your story & you can remain anonymous #journorequest

also last week my sound art was part of @auntnellproduction.bsky.social's new project, The Sound of Trans Freedom which explores the archive of Press for Change, a formative lobbying group that brought about the Gender Recognition Act in the United Kingdom Listen now 🎧🔊

ICYMI last week I sat down with Rep. Seth Moulton's new competitor @beth4ma.bsky.social for @transnews.network in MA to talk grassroots campaigns, Dem support for trans rights and Palestine, and the fact that America could have nice things

from the river to sea, palestine will be free

Several anti-trans bills with sweeping implications are moving through Congress rapidly, with provisions that would fully ban gender affirming care for undocumented immigrants, federal workers, and more. Written by @thefreeradical.org, edited by @madycast.com & @davidforbes.bsky.social Thread 🧵

So cool to sit down with @beth4ma.bsky.social this week talking Dem support for trans rights and what America could have AND bag the first story for @transnews.network under the new name all in one week! Read the story and full interview below 👇🏻

madycast.com is dead, long live the TRANS NEWS NETWORK!!! This effort and relaunch has taken months of collective effort to prepare for and put together. We really appreciate your support!!!! Thank you so much for getting us this far.

Please donate to our LAUNCH fundraiser here with FREE gifts! Your tax deductible donations serve a dual purpose: Keeping trans journalists out of poverty, and funding high-quality exclusive journalism the trans community needs that you won't find anywhere else. Share it with your friends!

ANNOUNCEMENT: MadyCast News is now the Trans News Network, a non-profit worker-run newsroom under our 501c(3) host, Community Partners. The need for trans journalism that is unapologetic, hard-hitting, radical and high quality is greater than ever. We need your help to do it.

and fund trans journalism

support trans journalism

Hey y'all, please support our comrades @transnews.network (including Blade co-op editor @davidforbes.bsky.social) launching a worker-run newsroom that's focused on unapologetic trans journalism.

Over the last year, Apple, Alphabet, Netflix, JPMorganChase, PayPal, Costco, Goldman Sachs, Berkshire Hathaway, Walmart, Kroger and Coca-Cola have all received proposals to review or report on DEI policies, cut connections with LGBTQ advocacy organizations or cease DEI efforts altogether

So-called non-political religious education organization LifeWise Academy has been awarded a “Heritage Innovation Prize” by the authors of Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation…

i'm on holiday but i have work and i love writing and it feels like the perfect thing to do while by the seaside but i don't fancy writing about corporate facism while i inhabit the coast. but i did see a lesbian art hut on the beach, so there's something.

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 My LifeWise Academy story for @unclosetedmedia.bsky.social exposing the transphobic and homophobic rhetoric being taught to kids as young as elementary age was just repub’d by @msmagazine.com Read more 👇🏻 msmagazine.com/2025/05/22/l... #journalism

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 My LifeWise Academy story for @unclosetedmedia.bsky.social exposing the transphobic and homophobic rhetoric being taught to kids as young as elementary age was just repub’d by @msmagazine.com Read more 👇🏻 msmagazine.com/2025/05/22/l... #journalism

in probably my most fascinating investigation yet, i've taken a look at what LifeWise Academy is teaching kids across 591 american public schools...and it's rooted—in part—in homophobia and transphobia #journalism

in probably my most fascinating investigation yet, i've taken a look at what LifeWise Academy is teaching kids across 591 american public schools...and it's rooted—in part—in homophobia and transphobia #journalism

9. Strong legislative and executive action is required immediately--this has been an "urgent" problem for years, according to Jamie Grace Alexander, who works with the Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition. Marylanders must directly take action so politicians can't ignore it-- bsky.app/profile/mady...

8. Maryland legislators had an opportunity to codify protections for trans prisoners in 2023, but they did not vote on the bill. Instead, they have hoped the agency will reform itself with hearings and pressure, which has not happened. Pictured: Gov Moore with the legislative LGBTQ+ caucus.

7. Chloe: "I was ridiculed 24 hours a day....I was constantly pressured and threatened for sex, and it became a struggle just to survive day-to-day." After leaving solitary: "I immediately was placed...with a 290-pound convicted sex offender who immediately... attempted to rape me."

6. Other instances of alleged mistreatment include forcing trans women to shower with men, against department policy, and overt threats of retaliation for filing the lawsuit. In one shocking event, Judge Maddox ordered prison staff not to retaliate after Chloe alleged retaliation minutes a hearing:

5. Chloe and other inmates also alleged they were put in danger of rape by prison guards, placed in solitary confinement for months as "protection," and denied hormones and prison jobs. Their lawyers say these experiences impact "virtually all" trans prisoners in Maryland, often housed by genitalia

4. AG Brown's office has spent years mounting a "vigorous" defense against her lawsuit, including spending months trying to deny Chloe $5 hair removal cream, citing fears that it could be used as "a weapon." She received the cream two weeks before a hearing on a motion to enforce the TRO.

3. Chloe Grey, a trans prisoner in Maryland, won a TRO for her healthcare and housing in a ruling by Judge Maddox in late 2023. But prison staff openly violated the order by sending her to a *more* dangerous prison--and the judge found the state not to be in compliance with his order in 2024.

2. AG Brown says he "wants transgender residents of our State to know they belong, they matter, and our Office will fight for their rights and safety." But this support conflicts with legal actions of his office and @govwesmoore.bsky.social's DPSCS, which has settled for $850k with trans prisoners.

1. INVESTIGATION: (w/@tomatoslayers.bsky.social) Maryland trans prisoners have alleged rape, detransition, defied court orders, and torture, despite AG’s (@oagmaryland.bsky.social) statement supporting trans prisoners being housed by gender identity. Subscribe! www.madycast.com/p/absolute-t...

new investigation from me and @madycast.com -- it's the deepest pits of hell for trans women incarcerated in Maryland. read the thread & the article here 🧵