Hello, folks, this is Risk, the show where people tell true stories they never thought they

dare to share. I'm Kevin Allison, and this episode is a bit of a surprise. We weren't sure if we were going to drop this one this

week until at the last minute, both our staff and today's storyteller agreed that we really

should. To be blunt, this one we felt should come out before election

date, 2024. To be even more blunt, the question of whether or not to run it came up against

concerns about just how much of a free country will still be living in

after election day, 2024. All year long, I was hoping that my friend Andy could share this story.

Andy is trans and 2020 2024 is the fifth consecutive record-breaking year for the total number

of anti-trans bills that have gone up in America.

It's been 662 bills this year. The MAGA movement seeks to block trans people from receiving

basic health care, education, legal recognition, and the right to publicly exist. Like, you know, speaking as yourself on a podcast.

There's an amazing documentary called Requiem for the American Dream.

I cannot recommend this movie highly enough.

Noam Chomsky shows how throughout the whole history of the United States, the essential

political battle has always basically been anti-democracy advocates versus pro-democracy advocates. All of our rights were one when the people came

together in solidarity to insist on them. We are the guardians of and protagonists for our rights. And different people might have to take

those stands in different ways, depending on their abilities and circumstances. So this is the

third of this little series we've done this month

in which the conversations I was having with people shed light on what's at stake in this election.

If you know someone who hasn't voted yet, but still can,

and you think they might benefit from hearing these conversations,

please, please share them. There was Bucket of Barbies by Zermann Zane and the Terribleness of Now, by Ron Hart.

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