Jonny interviews Dr. Joseph "Joey" Richards, who will be presenting their one-person show, "Breaking up with Jesus," in the Marion Kleinau Theatre on Thursday, October 29 at 7 pm. This performance and the workshop, "Reading the Room," the next day at 4:30 in the same theatre, are supported by the SIU Fine Arts Activity Fee and are, therefore, free and open to the public. Jonny and Joey get deep into theories about stand up comedy and why it is a useful tool for exploring queer resistance to an evangelical upbringing. 

Jonny and Heather recover from a busy SIU Homecoming Weekend that (for them at least) had nothing to do with homecoming. They check in on more October surprises in the run up to the Midterm elections, including an allegation that Trans Witches are impacting the election (very Halloween, Sen. Cruz!). In the back half of the show they review access to the podcast and how to listen to it without ads. They also share some of the AI invitations they have received for the show and why they are not taking them. In the spirit of AI awareness, they check in on the queer cast of Visionquest on Disney+.

Jonny interviews Mackie Obando who just released his first original queer-themed song and music video, "Desprederse de la Luna." You can check out the video https://youtu.be/ocpiY7Xs6k4?si=9apre1zS3SEu6ThW. In the back half of the show Jonny is joined by Heather to talk about the wild lies coming up as October Surprises and how they really don't seem to be working. At the center of most of the drama is misuse of new technologies. On this theme, Jonny provides information about his upcoming show in the Kleinau Theatre, "AI, Robot." Devised with a cast of four, the show explores how how long lasting fascination with robots and AI has created a lot of stories that are more about what it means to be human than they are about machines. Several robot stories play important roles in confirming nonormative sexualities and nonbinary genders.

Jonny and Heather lean into Banned Book Week with some contemplation about what illusion of control book bans give. In the back half of the show, they discuss the court cases on the Supreme Court's fall docket that are likely to impact the LGBTQ+ community. They find some hope that when these distractions from the real problems in the country by targetting queer and trans people finally are revealed for what they are, the support for the LGBTQ+ community will grow. With reference to historical precedent for that hope, they share information about upcoming LGBTQ+ History Month events. You can find a complete schedule here: https://smrc.siu.edu/lgbtq/programming/lgbtqia-history-month-2026/ If you are interested in winning a pair of free tickets to the Drag Ball, send an answer to this question by 12 pm CT on Friday 10/9  to isntitqueer@gmail.com: "Which communities' histories overlap in Drag history, especially Drag Balls?"

Jonny and Heather check back in on the Trumpfoolery. Is it the end of the nation or the end of this authoritarian grab? White shoes? In this stormy political wheather, they check in on the double whammy LGBTQ+ students received this week as the Department of Education removes Title IX protections against discrimination for queer and trans students , and it is also firming up its federal loan limits on degrees that don't lead to professions earning enoungh money--so sorry if you wanted to major in music, art, social work, or (checks notes)...education??? In the back half of the show they revew latest evidence that transphobia isn't earning as much campaign punch as it used to. Take note, Ohio! So, is it better to not throw trans people under the bus because it is politically ineffective or morally wrong? White shoes?

Jonny and Heather welcome Juniper Oxford to the show. Juniper is the coordinator for Southern Illinois University's Paulette Curkin Pride Resource Center and responsibe for planning the university's events for LGBTQIA+ History Month. We take this opportunity to check in on how the Resource Center and DEI programs, in general, are doing in Southern Illinois despite a national assault on such support. This year's history month continues a four year trend of increasing in size as our community comes together to celebrate its history. Link to the schedule forthcoming, but trust that we will keep you posted throughout the coming month about the myriad events on the calendar.

Jonny and Heather welcome back Dan and Rey, who are visiting Southern Illinois again from Texas. They share their enthsiasm for the queer supporting communities of Southern Illinois and offer some insider perspectives on various political struggles in Texas. The four of them discuss Trumpapalooza, Ken Paxton, James Talarico, Governor Abbot, and the growing hopes that the blue side of purple Texas might make some serious gains in 2026. Along the way, there is also some talk of cryptids, armadillos, improv comedy, hot weather, and lots of woodland adventures.

Jonny and Heather honor the legacy of Gloria Steinem. They note her significant contributions to women's rights as well as some slower points of development in her inclusivity with that struggle. They then turn from mourning Steinem to celebrating the birth of Heather O'Malley -- 58 years old, 25 of them living post transition. They use Heather's story to make the case for how trans rights are part of the women's rights movement, both are liberatory feminism challenging the oppressive norms of patriarchy. Along the way, they celebrate a recent song by Rosie O'Donnell and friends, the hypocrisy of Milo Yiannopoulos, and local performance opportunities--all with references to Judith Butler and J.L. Austin on performativity.

Jonny amd Heather lament the recent loss of Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Peter Cullen. They review the significant contributions these performers have made to LGBTQ+ advocacy and identity. In the back half of the show, Jonny taps into Heather's military expertise to explain the consequesnces of some of the recent developments with the Pentagon, focusing initially on continued persecution of trans service people but extending beyond that to what are the possible consequesnces of firings and court cases.

Jonny and Heather celebrate the 16th Birthday of Isn't it Queer (8/24) by leaning into the queer joy of our community. They extend an invitation to others to come on the show and share their passions and interests and informations about events and organizations. In the back half of the show, Heather interviews YouTube creators and anmiation producers Elijah "https://www.youtube.com/@notsoaveragefangirl" and Mosco "https://www.youtube.com/@WeeLassReacts" of https://www.youtube.com/@Dragon.Fly.Creations.

Listen, this episode is as delightful as it sounds. Audiophile Stacey Copeland tells me all about feminist soundwork, radical radio, and lesbian podcasts – all of which Stacey writes about in the excellent new book Lavender Sounds. Tune in for the sonic histories, stay for the moment when Stacey illustrating the crafted intimacy of podcasts will make you a little weak in the knees. If you are interested in the politics and potential of audio media, you will absolutely love this episode.     References:  Stacey Copeland’s Lavender Sounds: From Lesbian Radio to Queer Feminist Soundwork (University of Michigan Press, 2026) Amplify Network Copeland, Stacey "Sustaining queer joy and potentiality: Through independent production with homoground music podcast." Journal of popular music studies 35.4 (2023): 111-124. Betty Friedan Lavender Menace Michele Hilmes Bluestockings Cooperative bell hooks Hannah McGregor The Lesbian Show Fonds are held at the City of Vancouver Archives https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/the-lesbian-show Kaitlin Prest Jennifer Lynn Stoever’s The Sonic Color Line (NYU Press, 2016) Silva Tenenbein’s original interview with Stacey aired on FemRadio in 2018 https://soundcloud.com/scopeatryerson/the-lesbian-show Dykes on Mykes is back on the airwaves at CKUT Montreal https://ckut.ca/playlists/DM The ArQuives - https://arquives.ca/ ‘Temporal drag’ is a reference from Elizabeth Freeman’s Time Binds: Queer Temporalities, Queer Histories (Duke University Press, 2010) The Heart’s “Lesbian Separatism is Inevitable” - https://www.theheartradio.org/solos/2020/1/15/lesbian-separatism-is-inevitable NK (Nicole Kelly) Phoebe Unter staceycopeland.com Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives - https://www.nfb.ca/film/forbidden_love/ Studio D – The women’s film studio founded in 1974 under the NFB (National Film Board of Canada)    Questions you should be able to respond to after listening: -      How does Stacey define lavender sounds and why is the colour lavender connected to queerness, historically and politically? -      What is soundwork? What is feminist soundwork? -      Why is audibility important to consider, not just visibility? -      What does Stacey mean when speaking about the everydayness of soundwork? -      Why does radio hold radical potential? -      How does sound relate to time in Stacey’s work?

Jonny interviews local, former SIU research Professor, Kyle, who was the target last year of a Libs of TikTok smear campaign. With only Libs of TikTok's doctored screen shots, Kyle was put on administrative leave and charged by local police with indecent exposure. Locals community members made a web page called The Saluki Stroker, tracking down the sites of the screen shots and otherwise sensationalizing the case. A year and a half later, the plea deal with the court has been reached and Kyle is able to talk about the impacts of this event. We did not cover this story on air at the time because it was clearly, to us, a hate-based media campaign meant to stir up the community. Instead, we made https://isntitqueerwdbxsoil.blogspot.com/2025/03/siuc-research-professor-targeted-for.html on our web page.Now that the legal machinations are seemingly over, we are honored to talk with Kyle about his experience. In general, this whole kerfuffle is a caution about the legal system used as a weapon even when prosecutors don't have a strong case. It is also a lesson about the dangers of communities rushing to judgement.

Jonny and Heather bid farewell to summer, at least on an academic calendar. They posit that while things aren't great for the LGBTQ+ community in the US right now, there are plenty of places around the planet that demonstrate things could be worse. They then use this frame to examine how assaults on our rights aren't really working well lately while the pushback is getting stronger and more effective. In the back half of the show they consider new AG Todd Blanche and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as evidence of bad choices on the Right and good choices on the Left for making things even better. They then invite listeners to respond to https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/08/lgbtq-nation-wants-to-know-how-will-this-election-affect-you/for how we think the midterm elections will affect us. Follow the link and share your opinons.

Heather is back from a very busy, very exhausting, very good weekend at Gen Con. She and Jonny touch base about the amazing out and proud queer and trans presence at the con. They then turn to the assertions of the current administration that don't stand up to evidentiary tests--from vandalism in the reflecting pool to Dr. Fauci as a disease wielding supervillain to the lasting impacts of puberty blockers. In the back half of the show they connect this "freedom from reality" to the decline in academic freedom in the US compared with other countries around the world. They also elaborate several examples of how, while good things still happen, these freedom-from-supporting-evidence practices lead to considerable harm--globally, nationally, locally. It's a mixed bag of good and bad news, but at the core of it all is our relationship with facts that can be proven. 

Heather and Jonny are barely surviving the latest heatwave in Southern Illinois. They seek comfort in some international Pride celebrations, despite the violence at the Berlin Pride March. In the back half of the show they demonstrate how pretty much all protests, legislation, and bigotry against LGBTQ+ people and concerns are motivated by patriarchy. The most toxic versions of that are finally starting to reveal themselves as incompetent and harmful for most of us. At their core, mysogyny, homophobia and transphobia all try to solve a you problem by making it about subjugating someone else. 

Jonny and Heather weigh in on Pete Hegseth's decision to mandate testosterone testing for all soldiers over the age of thirty and offer free testosterone therapy if they are deemed to be "low T." Yep, that is Defense Department sanctioned gender affirming therapy. But it is also pretty misguded for military preparation, driven by what seems to be Hegseth's vision of hypermasculine, buff male bodies. This is not the only story this week of hypermasculine absurdity. The vice president judges the former administration for how they eat ice cream; the Tate brothers were arrested in the "manoscape" of Miami; George Santos is bidding for a comeback on a reality show about severe military training; Fox host Jesse Watters opines that a vasectomy lessens ones manhood; and would-be Attourney General Todd Blanche finally mans up enough to meet with Epstein File victims (sort of). These stories provide some hope that hypermasculiity may finally have "jumped the shark," demonstrating to all that it is time for that show to be cancelled.

Jonny is back from a meditation retreat this week while Heather is off at a writer's conference in Chicago. Still, they put together a show. Jonny recounts how flashfloods in Missouri resulted in a traumatic end to the retreat. This sets the stage for a reimmersion into the news, where nominally related stories of trauma and allegations impacting politcians caught his raw attention. In the back half of the show, Heather interviews local LGBTQ+ community advocate, Carrie Vine, about her own medical traumas and how they have and also are not impacting her work for the community. They end the episode with a promo for this coming weekend's Community Restroom Access Project (CRAP) rally on Saturday, July 18th from 11-3 at the Lost Forest Coffeehouse and Pub in Carbondale, IL (concurrent with a similar event at The Hideout in Chicago).

Jonny interviews Carbondale native, Ben. Ben was born in Carbondale and spent a significant chunk of his early life here before traveling to Peru and then settling down in Chicago. During CoVid, he returned to Carbondale. He and Jonny discuss their preference for being a rural queers and what queer even means, including neuroqueer and queer spirituality. In the back half of the show, Ben shares and digitally debuts his song, "Bullheaded and Blind." Jonny closes out the episode with an enthusiastic review of TJ Klune's We Burned So Bright.

Jonny and Heather review some of the recent Supreme Court decisions, celebating the surprisiningly good ones while also giving space to concerns and frustrations about decisions that immediately impact our lives as SCOTUS ties Title IX to "biological sex" and not gender, setting a dangerous precedent. In the back half of the show, they turn to evidence that a significant portion of the Democratice party is pushing further to the Left, with transformative ideas that may start to undo some of the damage done to freedom in our country. You know, if they can get elected and form a cohesive majority in the Senate and/or House. Along the way, they share some of the victories for queer and trans rights that have also recently been in the news.

Jonny and Heather respond to data that suggests worldwide LGBTQ+ rights advanced in the 2010s but are stagnating in the 2020s. To put a little more hopeful spin on this news, they note how the anti-LGBTQ+ movements seem to be stagnating more recently, too. They start with the failures of the Trump Administration that have been piling up. In the back half of the show they turn to some international stories that seem to give ample evidence of advances rather than stagnation. They end with a brief discussion of animation and how independent creators seem to be demonstrating advances more so than current mainstream media. In all, they see power and need in independent content creators to push forward with advancing all human rights.  

Jonny and Heather offer a brief recap of their Pride on the Strip, Carbondale PrideFest experiences before moving on to other festive events that happened this weekend. One such event on the White House lawn (next to the slimy green reflecting pool!) demonstrated how our current administration has normalized misgendering as a political insult. They contemplate that moment and point out other similar instances that have occured recently. In the back half of the show, they examine some results from recent primary elections that demonstrate how the GOP still clings to queer and trans as a distraction, even though it isn't really working that well. Meanwhile, certain Democrats are demonstrating how queer and trans can be included in pragmatic and progressive policies and campaign agendas with significant advantage. They find evidence of hope in both the failures and the successes. 

As part of Pride Month, Jonny and Heather conduct interviews with local LGBTQ+ advocates. In the front half of the shaow, Jonny interviews Father Jerry Anderson, author of https://www.amazon.com/Ordained-Angels-Memoir-Aids-Chaplain/dp/0578401088. Father Anderson, a native of Southern Illinoi and co-founder of The Episcopal Caring Response to AIDS (ECRA), will be giving a reading from his book at 11:30am this Sunday (June 14th) at the St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Mill Street in Carbondale. He will also be givig the sermon there (referencing Matthew Shepard) at 10am. In the back half of the show, Heather interviews Lindsay Church, a recent independent candidate for US Representative from Illinois District 4. Lindsay Church is a Navy veteran and co-founder of https://www.minorityvets.org/

Jonny interviews local drag superstar Leah Fantasy about their life, their experiences growing up nonbinary and Southern Illinois, and their amazing performances in local venues. They discuss the vibe needed for this year's Pride and how to generate it. In the back third of the show, Heather and Jonny discuss the flexibility of labels in the Alphabet Soup and why we need to claim and deploy them gently.