Hi, fam. It's Amara Jones. Welcome to the Translash podcast, a show where we tell trans

stories to save trans lives discussing news, politics and culture in a way that is deeply relevant for our community,

or at least we hope so, and those who care about us. I have to tell y'all that I am thrilled to be

back with you for our regular podcast conversation. You can clearly hear it in my voice.

You know, those are the types of conversations we like to have here.

They spotlight the incredible insights that trans people have and how we're reimagining and remaking the world around us.

Now, we hear a trans-lash podcast departed from this normal format over the summer because

we thought it was so important to reveal the fact that

the forces, which managed to introduce nearly 130 anti-trans bills in almost 40 states didn't come

out of nowhere. We laid that all out in our special series, the anti-trans hate machine,

applaud against equality, and we're so grateful that you embraced it.

Your comments and positive feedback kept us going through what were some really difficult moments

and talking about some really tough things.

So, I know I speak for everyone at Transflash, however, when I say that leaving behind the strange world of dark money,

secret organizations, and extreme religious ideology to come back into the light of our regular

podcast is truly making our fault. This week, in our first week, back since June, we're diving

into a topic that's been on everyone's minds for more than a year.

We're talking about COVID-19.

That seemingly never-ending story.

I know things haven't been looking great as the Delta variant surges across the country.

It leaves many of us looking for ways to protect ourselves.

But the good news is that there is someone from our very own community who is now responsible for helping us get out of

...