Trandescendant
Father/daughter duo, Joe and Rya, discuss LGBTQ family issues and how to preserve positive relationships
Episodes
196 episodes
Unexpected Gifts of Being LGBTQ+
Most stories about being LGBTQ+ start with what it costs. But ask a queer person if they'd trade it, and most won't. The road that demands so much also gives so much back. And the gifts are not small. You may be carrying something you once wish...
Pride Has Won and Pride Has Failed
Stonewall was a riot, not a parade. Fifty-seven years later, that fact still shapes every argument about what Pride should be. The people inside the LGBTQ+ community disagree more than you might think. A gay man who fought for marriage equality...
The One Practice That Makes Hard Things Easier and Good Things Better
Some relationships feel harder than they should be. The conversations that used to flow now feel careful. The distance keeps quietly growing. Most advice tells you to talk it out, set boundaries, communicate better, pick the right words. But wh...
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The Transgender Millionaire You've Never Heard Of
Reed Erickson used his fortune to quietly build the foundation of transgender healthcare in America. The first gender clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital existed because of his funding. So do many of the medical pathways trans people still rely on...
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How to Actually Change Someone's Mind About LGBTQ+ Issues
At some time in your life, you've probably tried to convince someone that LGBTQ+ people deserve respect and equality. You presented facts, you raised your voice, and you walked away more frustrated than when you started. It's so easy to assume ...
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Joe & Rya TAKE FIVE: Watertown LGBTQ School Board Scandal
Students rehearsed Omar Thomas's "A Mother of a Revolution" for months. Then their school board banned it. Joe and Rya unpack the Watertown Wisconsin controversy that's now national news and ask the real question underneath it: can honoring LGB...
The Bible's Famous Marriage Vow Is Quietly Queer
You probably know the words "Where you go, I will go." Maybe you've heard them at a wedding. What most people don't realize is that this famous wedding vow was spoken in the Bible between two women, and the book it comes from is queer in ways m...
Avoid These 4 Toxic Patterns Before They Destroy Your Loving Family
You love your family. But love alone does not protect a relationship from the patterns that tear families apart. Research shows that four specific toxic patterns can predict whether a relationship will survive or fall apart, and most people nev...
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What We've Learned About Hard Family Conversations, 10,000 Downloads Later
What does it actually take to hold a family together across a divide most people would call too wide? After over three years of conversations with parents, children, pastors, priests, scientists, scholars, and LGBTQ+ people from across the spec...
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How Other People's Words Almost Destroyed Me
What if the voice telling you you're not good enough isn't even yours? Professional figure skater, Stef Vachon came out at 18 and thought the hard part was over. But years of bullying had already buried themselves so deep that freedom didn't fe...
How Small Town Allies Can Make a Big Impact
You probably imagine the worst when you think about LGBTQ+ life in a small town. Rya lives in a Midwestern town of 1,300 people where she knows her neighbors knows their dog by name. Most people there just don't care that she's trans. They've g...
We Asked a Scientist If Being Gay Is Natural
"Being gay is unnatural." If you've ever had someone throw that line at you in a conversation about LGBTQ+ people, you know how hard it is to respond in the moment. Do you have the facts to tell them why they are wrong? Dr. Pete Gasper, a veter...
A History of Cross-Dressing Laws
In 1863, San Francisco made it a crime to wear clothing "not belonging to your sex," with a fine of up to $500. That and other laws gave police the power to arrest drag queens and anyone who didn't look "right." And while the specific statutes ...
The Bible Is Full of People Who Broke Gender Rules
If you've ever been told the Bible has no place for people like you, you're not alone. For many who don't fit neatly into male or female categories, scripture has been used as a weapon of exclusion. But what if that's not the whole story? Joe a...
The Stone Between Us: What Easter Teaches LGBTQ Families About New Life
There is a stone between you and someone you love. Maybe one of you placed it there out of fear that faith has no room for who the other is becoming. Or maybe the stone was placed by silence, weeks and months where the real conversation never h...
The One Mistake Good Parents Make That Pushes Kids Away
You love your child. You're trying to protect them. But what if the way you are treating the relationship is the very thing driving them away. Most parents who lose their relationship with their LGBTQ child never saw it coming because everythin...
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Small Towns That Surprise: Acceptance is More Common Than You Think
When you think of LGBTQ-friendly places, small towns probably aren't the first thing that comes to mind. But what if the stereotype is wrong? Across America, towns with populations under 6,000 are becoming more and more welcoming. Joe and Rya s...
Warning: Anti-Trans Cruelty Legislation Is More Devastating Than We Feared
What happens when a state passes a law designed not to protect anyone, but to attack people who already exist? Kansas just showed us. And if you think it stops there, you're not paying attention. If you or someone you love are love are trans, o...
How to find an LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapist
You've been meaning to find a therapist. But every time you think about it, the questions pile up: Can I trust them? Can I afford it? How do I know if I've found the right person? It's enough to make you put it off another month. Another year. ...
The Bible and Trans Identity: What Does Genesis Actually Say?
"God made them male and female." It's one of the first verses people reach for when they want to argue that being transgender goes against God's design. Rya spent two decades not knowing how to reconcile her gender struggles with what the Bible...
Stop Waiting to Reconnect — You Make the First Move
Maybe you're having a hard time accepting a loved one who came out. Maybe you're the one who came out. Either way, the relationship feels stuck and you're both waiting for the other person to make it better. It's too easy for us to fall into a ...
What Your LGBTQ+ Loved One Actually Needs
So much of what we've been told about "the gay agenda" is overblown. Most LGBTQ+ people aren't asking for you to change who you are. But here's the hard truth that loving families need to hear: good intentions don't cancel harm caused You can l...
Protect the Children? How Fear is Used to Target Trans People
“We're just trying to protect the children.” It sounds so reasonable. But throughout history, this same phrase has been used to justify targeting marginalized people. When lawmakers claim to protect kids while ignoring actual trans children, pr...
A Dad's Honest Advice for Struggling Parents
When your child comes out, the fear you feel isn't really fear. It's just uncertainty. Joe knows because he lived it when Rya came out. His struggle for acceptance wasn't instant. He knew their relationship would go through challenges. But what...
The Group of Misfits who Taught a School to be Kind
In 2001, a book told the story of outcasts who were mocked for their height, their weight, and how they looked. They ran for student council, called themselves the No Name Party, and lost. But they convinced their principal to start somet...
