The Illegal Trans Woman

In this week’s Big Story, I celebrate Chet Hassen, a Michigan college athletic director who proved that empathy is a superpower after he was reinstated following a suspension for defending a trans student-athlete. It’s a powerful reminder of what happens when a community stands up for what’s right. I am then joined by Kat Rohn,… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 74: Reinstating Empathy and the Power of Local Community Support first appeared on AM 950.

In this week’s Big Story, I break down a major legal victory against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Kennedy Declaration,” which sought to strip federal funding from hospitals providing gender-affirming care. We celebrate the recent ruling by Federal Judge Mustafa Kasubhai, who deemed these HHS regulations unconstitutional, restoring life-saving care to families across blue states. I… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 73: A Major Legal Victory Against RFK’s Anti Trans Regulations first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is a groundbreaking look at a legal win for our community in Big Sky Country. I break down a massive Montana Supreme Court decision that upholds the state constitution’s promise of individual dignity, proving that trans discrimination is—at its core—sex discrimination. The Big Interview features Sarah Waller from Big Hill Books… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 72: Montana Upholds Individual Dignity and Book Bans first appeared on AM 950.

For the Big Interview this week I welcome Jules Langlois to the show as he talks about the upcoming nationwide strikes on May 1. Also, I talk about two horrific bills that have been passed in Idaho attacking our trans community. plus News Bits and Random Acts. The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 71: May Day Strike first appeared on AM 950.

This week, The Illegal Trans Woman celebrates a major milestone as we officially expand our reach to the humans of Chicago on WCPT 820 AM. For our Big Interview, I sit down with Asheville journalist David Forbes to discuss a truly eye-opening report on the Catholic Church’s quiet grip on the American healthcare system. We… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 70: Expanding to Chicago & Catholic Gender Affirming Care Ban first appeared on AM 950.

This week, I’m preparing to head West to Fargo and Moorhead, continuing my mission to bring visibility to places where our community is often kept in the shadows. In this “Talking Head” show, the first Big Story focuses on a disturbing new trend of anti-trans ballot measures in Washington and Maine that seek to ban… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 69: Heading to North Dakota for Trans Visibility and Advocacy first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is a series of draconian hits to the trans community, starting in Idaho where the legislature passed HB 752, a bathroom bill that attaches a felony charge and up to five years in prison for a second “offense” of a trans person simply using a restroom that aligns with their identity.… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 68: Zen Buddhism and the Fight for Trans Rights in Idaho first appeared on AM 950.

I’m diving deep into a West Virginia federal appeals court ruling that has me absolutely floored. The court decided to deny Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming surgeries, and what’s truly chilling is the judge’s reasoning. He essentially argued that it’s rational for a legislature to encourage citizens to “appreciate” their sex rather than becoming “disdainful” of… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 67: West Virginia Legal Blows and the Fight for Assigned Media first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is a heavy one as we look at the literal onslaught of anti-trans legislation sweeping through statehouses and even reaching the Supreme Court. We’re tracking over 700 bills—from Utah’s move to allow housing discrimination to Wisconsin’s attack on trans students’ names. It is a firehose of oppression, but we aren’t backing… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 66: The Fight for Identity and Resistance in Kansas first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is a sobering look at how history is repeating itself in America. Ellie breaks down the chilling similarities between current anti-trans legislation in states like Kansas and the Nazi-era Nuremberg Laws that systematically stripped Jewish people of their dignity and legal identities. The Big Interview features Lee Wade, a transgender radio… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 65: Stripping Dignity in Kansas and the Power of Trans Voices first appeared on AM 950.

In this week’s Big Story, I dive into the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025” and the alarming comments made by its president, Kevin Roberts, regarding the future of gender-affirming care for adults. We listen to a chilling clip where Roberts suggests outlawing transition-related healthcare entirely, regardless of age. I also cover the disturbing shift in ICE… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 64: The Chilling New War on Transgender Adults first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story starts with a bit of a sidebar on ICE purportedly drawing down its agents in Minnesota. While the Trump administration claims it’s because the state has finally started “cooperating,” the reality on the ground in Chaska tells a different story. The much heavier news is that Children’s Minnesota—the largest children’s hospital… The post The Illegal Trans Woman Ep. 63: Truth, ICE, and Local Governance with Trustee Amy Hootmaker first appeared on AM 950.

Ellie discusses the new guidance from the American Association of Plastic Surgeons now recommending no gender-affirming care for peopel under 18; Isaac Johnson of TransLawrence Coalition in Lawrence, Kansas is the Big Interview; Trump administration diminishing the history of the murder of Medgar Evers. The post The Illegal Trans Woman Ep. 62 – Alarming New Guidance on Gender Affirming Care for Minors; Isaac Johnsom of TransLawrence Coalition first appeared on AM 950.

The Big Story is about the US Air Force retracting pension-award letters to a dozen transgender service members with 15-18 years of service who were being drummed out of the military due to Trump’s ban. The Air Force said it had “made a mistake” in granting the service members pensions; my take is that it… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 61 (Encore): Trans Lives in Uniform and on the Ice first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is split into two disturbing reports: the escalating and ominous actions of ICE agents in Minnesota—including the abduction of observers—and the Trump administration’s targeting of transgender gun owners through potential changes to federal forms. For the Big Interview, I’m thrilled to be joined by acclaimed author and writer Lyz Lenz to… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 60: Lyz Lenz on “Why Minnesota” and Resisting the ICE crackdown first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story covers the terrifying ICE raids sweeping the Twin Cities and my concerns regarding the Supreme Court’s recent arguments on transgender student athletes. For the Big Interview, I speak with Becky and Monique, two courageous activists from Carver County who detail how they successfully rallied their community to stop the local Sheriff… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 59: ICE Raids, SCOTUS Arguments, and a Grassroots Victory in Carver County first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story focuses on the tragic murder of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent, a horrific act that highlights the dangers facing our community and the need for accountability. For the Big Interview, I speak with Gwen Howerton, a reporter for Chron.com, about the city of Arlington, Texas, inexplicably repealing its LGBTQ+… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 58: Justice for Renee Good & Arlington, TX Repeals Protections first appeared on AM 950.

I kick off 2026 by diving into a disturbing story at the University of Oklahoma where a trans teaching assistant was fired after giving a zero to a student who used AI to write a hateful, religiously charged paper—absolute insanity! The Big Interview features investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy, who joins me to expose how the… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 57: OU Fires Trans TA and Texas Tracks Trans Drivers first appeared on AM 950.

This episode originally aired December 21, 2024: The Big Story this week is a continuation of last week’s BS (literally, that’s what it is BS) with 37 Democratic Senators voting to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, including MN’s two Senators, Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar. As with the House version, the bill passed by… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 56 (Encore): Battles, Bias, and Big Hearts first appeared on AM 950.

I admit right away that I am not in the holiday spirit because our community is facing a “ten-alarm fire” with the passage of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s horrific “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” and a new HHS rule threatening hospital funding. My Big Interview is with Ryan Cooper from The American Prospect, who joins me to… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 55: A Ten-Alarm Fire and The Transphobic Mask Is Off first appeared on AM 950.

In this episode, I dedicate the Big Story to the political firestorm surrounding Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “Protect Children’s Innocence Act,” which aims to federally criminalize gender-affirming care for minors and is set for a floor vote next week—a shocking display of hypocrisy and an architecture for a police state. I then introduce my Big Interview… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 54: MTG’s Federal Ban & The Trans News Initiative first appeared on AM 950.

It’s the show’s first anniversary! We do a review of the year, highlighting various interviews with the likes of U of Chicago behavioral scientist Nick Eppley and friend-of-the-show, Vanessa Tenneyson. The Big Interview is with Bella and Trish Tousignant, who talk about how their 39-year marriage not only survived, but blossomed when Bella came out… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 53: The One-Year Anniversary first appeared on AM 950.

This episode originally aired May 3, 2025: It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head Show! The Big Story is about how Robert Kennedy Jr.’s HHS has issued a report on gender affirming care for transgender youth and—surprise—it claims that that crucial medical care is harming children! Other stories have transgender people participating in the funeral for Pope… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 52 (Encore): When Politics Trumps Science (Again) first appeared on AM 950.

We begin this Ellie’s Talking Head show by remembering President John F. Kennedy on the 62nd anniversary of his assignation and contrasting his leadership with that of Donald Trump. The first Big Story is about how the Trump administration is preventing transgender and nonbinary persons from obtaining passports that match their gender identities. Big Story… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 51: Passports, Subpoenas, and the Power of a Note first appeared on AM 950.

We’ve hit the half-century mark with Episode No. 50! I begin by highlighting Transgender Day of Remembrance, November 20th every year, and share about how TGDOR came into existence (in 1999, to honor transgender and nonbinary persons lost to violence or suicide in the preceding year). This November 20th, please tell a trans or nonbinary… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 50: The 50th Show: TDOR & Moms for Liberty first appeared on AM 950.

It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head show, and we start with a just-delivered 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision holding that an Ohio school district could not discipline students who claimed that their religious beliefs prevented them from according pronouns to transgender students that align with their gender identity. In other words, under the guise of… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 49: A Rebuke to MAGA, An Attack from the Courts first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is how the Trump Dept. of HHS plans to issue three rules that will bar federal Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements to any hospital/medical facility that provides gender affirming care to any trans person younger than 18 (and in one case, 19). This is essentially an attack on all blue state hospital… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 48: RFK Jr.’s HHS Targets Trans Youth first appeared on AM 950.

We split the Big Story between two stories; one is about a landmark civil rights case where the MN Supreme Court held in favor of an adult female trans weightlifter who was barred from competing with other women due to her gender identity. The other case is about an Oregon federal judge ruling to block… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 47: Two Significant Wins for Trans Rights first appeared on AM 950.

It’s No Kings Day No. 2 and I urge listeners to get out and exercise their First Amendment rights! The Big Story is about the current status of a federal lawsuit seeking to block MN transgender student athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity. (So far, we’re winning!). The Big Interview… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 46: Fear, Allies, and Trans Athletes first appeared on AM 950.

Today is National Coming Out Day, to honor members of the LGBTQ+ community who have come out to the world as their true, authentic selves. For this week’s Big Story, I talk about the historic origins of NCOD dating to October 11, 1988. The Big Interview is with Orion Rummler from The 19th who talks… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 45: The Power of Coming Out Day first appeared on AM 950.

Our Big Story this week is how the Veterans Administration has prohibited its therapists and doctors from providing referral letters for transgender Vets who seek to obtain gender confirmation surgery using their own funds or via private insurance. Without a referral letter, a surgeon who performs confirmation surgery won’t go forward (such letters confirm the… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 44: Denied Care Trans Veterans and the Fight for Dignity first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is about transgender people fighting back—two female trans athletes suing universities and the NCAA for denying them the right to compete, and five trans youth/their families and adults suing the University of PA Medical Center for denying them gender affirming care. Good for them and for the brave lawyers taking their… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 43: From Courts to Kindness: Trans Resistance and Community Support first appeared on AM 950.

This is my first chance to talk about Charlie Kirk’s murder—how horrific, and my condolences to his family and friends! Violence is never the answer! I talk about how MAGA desperately wants to tie transgender people to Kirk’s murder, and they’re doing so by asserting that the alleged shooter was poisoned by the ideology of… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 42: Scapegoating Trans Lives first appeared on AM 950.

With this Ellie’s Talking Head show we cover how Boston Children’s Hospital convinced a federal judge in my old stomping grounds (Boston is where I learned to be a civil trial lawyer) to quash a Trump DOJ subpoena that sought to intimidate BCH into dropping its gender affirming care program for trans kids/youth. Way to… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 41: Fighting for Trans Youth: Courts, Care, and Challenges Ahead first appeared on AM 950.

We begin with the Big Story of how some public school systems are fighting back against Trump’s DOJ/Department of Education edicts that seek to bar trans students from restrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. Some  districts in Virginia are suing and in Denver, the school superintendent, Dr. Alex Morrero, has issued… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 40: Debunking Trans Myths and Defending Queer Students first appeared on AM 950.

It’s a very somber show in the wake of the Annunciation Catholic church/school shooting—my heart goes out to the victims of that senseless attack! What horror for them and for our community! However, the attack, by a transgender person, may turn out to be the watershed moment MAGA extremists have been looking for; they could… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 39: After the Shooting: What’s at Stake for Trans Lives first appeared on AM 950.

On this Ellie’s Talking Head show we begin with how Trump’s MAGA DOJ has subpoenaed multiple Blue state hospitals seeking confidential patient information of transgender children and youth who have received gender affirming care. It’s all an effort to chill those hospitals from providing such care. I also share an influencer’s take about Maslow’s Hierarchy… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 38: Ellie’s Talking Head: Chilling Care, Chilling Fear first appeared on AM 950.

The Big Story is about the US Air Force retracting pension-award letters to a dozen transgender service members with 15-18 years of service who were being drummed out of the military due to Trump’s ban. The Air Force said it had “made a mistake” in granting the service members pensions; my take is that it… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 37: Trans Lives in Uniform and on the Ice first appeared on AM 950.

This episode originally aired March 8, 2025: The Big Story is about politicians who do the right thing (Senate Democrats who blocked a national trans youth sports ban) and those who don’t (CA Gov. Gavin Newsom, who in a podcast interview with right wing pundit Charlie Kirk threw trans athletes under the bus). The Big… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 36: Revisiting with Pastor Luke Springer (Encore) first appeared on AM 950.

It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head show, beginning with how the Trump administration is targeting 50-60 colleges and universities with investigations for alleged antisemitism—which is a ploy to simply control how the schools admit students and create curricula. First Columbia caved; this week it was Brown University; undoubtedly there will be many others, which will send… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 35: Antisemitism or Agenda? Ellie on Colleges, Control, and Curricula first appeared on AM 950.

Unfortunately, the Big Story is about how multiple Blue state health care providers are closing their gender affirming care clinics for transgender children and youth despite there being no federal law mandating closures; they’re just caving to fear of federal subpoenas and investigations. Horrible! The Big Interview is with award-winning journalist Varsha Bansal who reports… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 34: Fear Without Cause, Blame Without Proof first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is about how US Secy of Defense Pete Hegseth’s efforts against “wokeism” resulted in passing over a rear admiral for promotion because nearly a decade ago there were drag shows on the aircraft carrier the admiral commanded. Hegseth also ordered that a Navy oil tender named after gay rights icon Harvey… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 33: Hegseth’s Anti-Woke Crusade + Progress Lost with Nick Alm first appeared on AM 950.

It’s an Ellie’s Talking Head show where I cover the multiple MAGA attacks on transgender health care—such as Ohio banning trans youth and adults  on Medicaid from accessing mental health resources or Pam Bondi’s DOJ subpoenaing medical records from 20 Blue state doctors and hospitals that treated trans patients. But there’s always some light, and… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 32: MAGA’s War on Trans Health—and a Call for Allies first appeared on AM 950.

This is an encore of episode 6 from January 11, 2025: The Big Story this week is Meta’s decision to discontinue fact checking and how, inevitably, that will result in more transphobic postings and the risk of cascading marginalization of transgender and gender expansive people. The Big Interview is with Leigh Finke, the first out… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 31: Encore of Meta’s Misinformation, Leigh Finke’s Trans Refuge Policy, and Chris Hayes’ Allyship first appeared on AM 950.

It’s a live show from Pride 2025 at Loring Park in Minneapolis! I share about how it was Pride 2008 when I first went out in public as my true self, as Ellie. I visited a bar named Pi (now long closed) where the doorway person said, “Welcome, we’re happy that you’re here.” It made… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 30: Live at Twin Cities Pride first appeared on AM 950.

We spend most of the show talking about US v. Skrmetti, in which the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Tennessee’s ban on gender affirming care (GAC) for transgender minors and youth under 18. This was a horrible decision for my community, and we have Terri Nelson, the Legal Director for the MN ACLU,… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 29: SCOTUS, Trans Rights, and the Fallout of Skrmetti first appeared on AM 950.

The Big Story is about the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital deciding to shutter gender affirming care services for youth and younger adults, all because its CEO has become fearful of threats by the Trump administration; this most certainly will chill other s Blue state clinics that provide similar care. Ugh! The Big Interview is with… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 28: Fear, Clinics, and the Fight for Trans Health first appeared on AM 950.

This is an encore of episode 10 from February 8, 2025: We begin with Trump signing two more executive orders this week. One banned trans girls/young women from participating in women’s sports across the country (and the NCAA immediately agreed to ban trans athletes). The second EO creates a “Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias”… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 27: Encore of Bans, Anti-LGBTQ Bias & Becoming Vanessa first appeared on AM 950.

This week’s Big Story is about how the California Interscholastic Federation has buckled to anti-trans athlete pressure by announcing that any cisgender female athlete who loses to a transgender female athlete will be automatically deemed to have made the cut/placed for purposes of qualifying for a competition. Given how California leads the nation in so… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 26: Trans Athletes, California Backtracks, Henry Fiximer first appeared on AM 950.

The Big Story comes out of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and how in the dead of night, MAGA Republicans added a provision to strip gender affirming care from every transgender person on Medicaid. God. The Big Interview is with Katelyn Burns, a political reporter/journalist who offers her take on what’s happening to trans people in… The post The Illegal Trans Woman – Ep. 25: Trump’s Bill and the War on Trans Lives first appeared on AM 950.