Lehuauakea! Voted 5th best podcast on Grindr Unwrapped!

Hey friends,

Hope you’re all hanging in there. Everyone keeps calling this the liminal week, where no work gets done and nothing happens, but I’m finding myself quite busy?? I think I’m doing this wrong, but I hope you are relaxing and enjoying yourself.

And speaking of relaxing and enjoying yourself… have you considered doing that by attending our live show on February 1? It’s going to be fun and gay, and I’m excited to say that tickets are selling quickly, so grab yours today if you can.

Photo: a graphic that says "Gender Reveal, a live podcast featuring several notable transsexuals." 

Before we go any further, I have to once again mention the incredible thing that happened to the show last week, which is that we were voted 5th best podcast on Grindr Unwrapped. "Voted 5th best podcast on Grindr Unwrapped” is one of the funniest phrases on earth and I can’t believe is true. I have never been prouder.

Speaking of best-of lists! I just wanted to way how grateful I am to Kelsey and Alex for inviting me onto Normal Gossip. Not only has their show made it onto loads of Best of 2022 lists (and deservedly so), but I’ve actually seen ~my~ Normal Gossip episode called out as a favorite! I realize that this is because Kelsey and Alex very kindly saved me an amazing story, but I am taking it as a personal win anyway. Here’s Hot Pod (fancy podcast newsletter) talking up the episode:

Photo: A long excerpt of Hot Pod that ends with, "If you only listen to one episode of Normal Gossip because your friends have been badgering you to do so, make it this one."

And while we’re here talking about great podcasts: Flash Forward (made by Rose Eveleth and produced by our very own Ozzy Llinas Goodman) just closed up shop for good, ending with a really excellent three-part series about… the future! As Rose describes it, “There are poems, conversations with an AI version of myself, people on the street talking about aliens, original dance music, and more.” And yes, it totally works even if you’ve never listened to Flash Forward before.

Oh, and speaking of hope for the future, that’s one of the topics we discuss in this week’s podcast, featuring māhū artist Lehuauakea! We also talk about Native Hawaiian gender concepts; boundary-pushing white art patrons; and the cultural significance of kapa-making. Perhaps most importantly, we give you a little bit of ammo for the next time that somebody you know talks about going to Hawaii….

Photo: Lehua's piece "mana māhū," featuring a rainbow of Oregon earth pigments and plant dyes on hand-beaten kapa.

I gave you a little bit of optional homework last week, which was to check out Lehuauakea’s art before the interview. Your optional homework this week is to listen to this album. :)

OK, time for Links & Stuff:

• Harron wrote about Cat and Casey and LittlePuss Press in the New York Times! I created a gift link so y’all could read it — please ignore the little box of transphobia that the digital editors snuck in there.
• Jana Schmieding did a great interview about diet culture and Indigeneity.
• Eve6 guy's advice column is back and it still slaps. (Like, truly, check this one out.)
• I’m 30 months late to this, but Patricia Lockwood wrote a piece that I appreciated about losing her mind from covid.
• Speaking of being late to things… here’s a 2021 New Gawker piece about how not everything is resistance. (Is everything resistance when you’re trans tho??? Hard to say!)
• I'm sure I'm very late to this but I've been listening to Ivan Cornejo's album Dañado a lot this week.
• My friend Dalton did a Smooth/B-52s mashup(?) cover(?) and it will never ever leave my brain.

That’s it for this week! Here’s your weekly Rhubarb.

Photo: Ruby laying stretched out with her legs extended and toes pointed, so that it looks like she's in mid-leap. Her stomach is exposed and it is SO fluffy. 

Xo,
Yr resident gender detective