TransLash Podcast with Imara Jones

The holiday season is upon us and we wanted to take a moment to highlight trans owned small businesses that you can check out for your last minute holiday shopping. First, Auston Bjorkman, founder and creative director behind Transguy Supply shares that there's no single path to starting a business and having community can help get dreams started off the ground. Then, Imara speaks with the founder of Ms. Tea, Laurel Birch, an herba...

Trans people are more likely to experience homelessness than others. Which means trans folks are impacted at a higher rate by new federal policies that target people living in precarious housing situations. In this episode, Imara speaks with Dr. Dilara Yarbrough, an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Studies at San Francisco State University, who helps unpack Trump’s recent crackdown on homeless encampments in D.C. and the lar...

Happy Thanksgiving from TransLash. We’re grateful for all the trailblazers who continue to break ground in every field all across the country. In today's episode, Imara speaks to one of those stars, Breanna Sinclairé, a professional opera singer and soprano, about her journey into the opera world. She has performed around the world and she was even the first trans woman to sing the US national anthem for a national sporting event. ...

On Trans Day of Remembrance, we honor the trans people who have had their lives cut short by violence. Imara speaks with notable changemaker in the trans rights movement Kylar Broadus. Kylar was the first out transgender American to testify before the United States Senate and has been honored for his legal work by the City of New York and the LGBT Bar Association of Los Angeles, among others. Together, they process what it means to...

This month’s elections were a resounding victory for Democrats and a rare sign of hope for many during a dark time where authoritarianism is on the rise. In this episode, Imara dives into the big stories from the recent 2025 election and what they mean for the trans community. First, Charlotte Rene Woods, a politics, health, & housing reporter for The Virginia Mercury helps us understand how anti-trans rhetoric became a losing ...

This week on the TransLash Podcast, Imara shares the latest season of The Anti-Trans Hate Machine, TransLash Media’s investigative series. In this final episode, she and her team investigate how the anti-trans attacks on schools are part of a larger strategy to dismantle public education, and they’re being driven by the most powerful coalition on the right. Join Imara as she learns how the plan to privatize education is flourishing...

This week on the TransLash Podcast, Imara shares Season 4 of The Anti-Trans Hate Machine, TransLash Media’s investigative series about the surge of anti-trans attacks in education and how it’s part of a strategy to upend democracy. In this second episode, Imara travels to Florida, ground zero for the modern anti-trans movement in schools. Join her as she travels to the belly of the beast, exploring the origin and spread of Moms for...

This week on the TransLash Podcast, Imara shares Season 4 of The Anti-Trans Hate Machine, TransLash Media’s investigative series about the surge of anti-trans attacks in education. Join her as she discovers these right-wing attacks are part of a larger strategy to destroy democracy by dismantling public education. She’ll expose the inner workings of this movement and take you into communities fighting back to preserve this critical...

Far-right activists have been targeting schools across the country with anti-trans attacks. As we’ve shown in the latest season of The Anti-Trans Hate Machine podcast, their efforts are part of a larger strategy to sow distrust in public education and ultimately privatize it. Today, Imara speaks with two critical sources from TransLash’s investigative series. First, she talks to Eliza Byard, an advocate for LGBTQ+ kids in schools, ...

It's clear that tech billionaires want AI to be the next tech revolution to change society. How it's being developed and used raises serious questions and concerns around the impact on trans people, especially given the key companies developing these products have very close ties to the Trump administration. First, Imara speaks with Karen Hao, a journalist and bestselling author of Empire of AI, a sweeping investigation into the ri...

Last month, reports surfaced that the FBI is considering a new domestic terrorism category: “Transgender Ideology-Inspired Violence and Extremism,” or TIVE. In today’s episode, Imara unpacks what that means—and why it’s so dangerous. First, Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss lays out the state of violent extremism across the political spectrum and why the far-right has turned trans people into scapegoats. Then, R.G. Cravens from the Souther...

Today, we honor the life and legacy of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (1940-2025), an incomparable leader in the fight for trans liberation. In remembrance, we revisit Imara’s conversation with Miss Major from 2023, in which she reflects on her more than 50 years of activism. Miss Major speaks candidly about the importance of family, the impact of Stonewall, and what it means to sustain a movement in the face of increasing political host...

As the political landscape becomes increasingly hostile, it’s more important than ever to source hope from within ourselves and our communities. This week, Imara uncovers some never-before-heard gems from the trans joy archives. With a focus on the incredible community builders we’ve interviewed over the years, this special episode celebrates strengthening connections, sharing resources, and creating stronger networks of care and r...

Some stories of transformation are so powerful they transcend time and place. In this episode, Imara talks with Brazilian actress, writer, and producer Darwin Del Fabro about her career and new solo play Lili/Darwin. The one-woman show intertwines her own journey with that of Lili Elbe, one of the first people to undergo gender confirmation surgery. Darwin reflects on the similarities between Brazil and the U.S. when it comes to tr...

Introducing The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: The Destruction of Public Schools

Right wing forces have taken aim at trans kids in schools, relentlessly targeting some of our country’s most vulnerable youth. In this season, journalist and host Imara Jones investigates this movement, uncovering how these attacks are part of a larger plan to dismantle public education and shatter democracy itself. Join her as she travels across the coun...

The Department of Homeland Security has quietly rolled back policies that limited surveillance based on gender identity and sexual orientation, raising urgent questions about privacy and government overreach. In this episode, Imara unpacks the history, legal implications, and potential consequences of this shift. First she speaks with legal historian Kate Redburn, who traces the changes in government surveillance of queer communiti...

Music has always carried the stories of trans lives, yet so much of that history is at risk of being lost. In this episode, Imara speaks with the co-founders of the Trans Music Archive, Ariel Loh and Rowan McDonald, about their groundbreaking endeavor to preserve and celebrate music made by trans artists. Ariel and Rowan share the fateful moment that inspired them to launch the project and why they chose to use vinyl pressings to b...

Across the United States, anti-trans laws and rising hostility have forced some families into a heartwrenching decision: leaving their homes behind to keep their children safe. In the newest episode of our ongoing “Families” series, Imara speaks with parents and advocates Lizette and Jose Trujillo about their journey relocating outside the country with their trans son. They share the grief and hope of starting over, the challenges ...