What Washington State Is Telling the Rest of the Country

Informed Dissent — This Week for January 3, 2026This week’s episode marks our return after the holiday break and focuses on Washington State, where sports policy, media framing, parental rights, and direct democracy are converging in real time.Jamie, Cori, and Lauren are together for the full episode, opening with a wide-ranging first segment before turning to an interview from Washington State.Segment One: Washington Post and NYT The episode opens with a discussion about a young man in sports and takes a rather bizarre turn to STI’s and Bacterial Vaginosis. * The conversation begins in Washington State and a recent Washington Post profile of a male athlete competing in girls’ track.🔗 Washington Post (live): “For young transgender runner, racing wasn’t the hardest thing”https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/12/28/transgender-female-athlete-competition-trump/🔗 Washington Post (archived):https://archive.is/2025.12.28-222636/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/12/28/transgender-female-athlete-competition-trump/* Jamie, Cori, and Lauren end discussing a recent New York Times article examining new research suggesting that bacterial vaginosis (BV) may be sexually transmitted, and why the story centers a trans identified woman. 🔗 NYT: “Bacterial Vaginosis May Be Sexually Transmitted, New Research Suggests”https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/health/bacterial-vaginosis-sexually-transmitted-infection.htmlThis post is public so feel free to share it.Segment Two: Ballot initiatives and direct democracyIn the second segment Lauren, Cori and Jamie are joined by Brian Heywood, from Let’s Go Washington. Brian can be found on X @bkheywood (That Damn Mormon) Heywood discusses:* Two Washington ballot initiatives—one restoring sex-based categories in school sports and another advancing parental notification and authority—that have surpassed signature thresholds for the 2026 ballot.* The scale of volunteer participation statewide and the documented intimidation, harassment, and violence directed at signature gatherers.* Why direct democracy has become necessary when institutional actors attempt to close debate rather than resolve it.🔗 Let’s Go Washington: https://letsgowashington.com/We are excited to announce the final counts: IL26-001 Strengthen Communication Between Parents and Schools: 416,201IL26-638 Protecting Fairness in Girls Sports: 445,187 Additional context and referenced voicesThroughout the episode, the hosts also reference:* Reporting on Seattle-area schools administering gender-identity surveys to children and sharing data with third partiesIf you found this episode valuable, please like, subscribe, and share.Your engagement helps more people find the show and keeps these conversations moving forward.As always, thank you for listening. Stay informed—and stay ready to dissent. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe