Nex Benedict and the rising threat to LGBTQ kids
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2024
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nex Benedict was a nonbinary teenager living near Tulsa. Their family said they were bullied at school before their apparent suicide in February. Advocates warn that a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is putting more young people at risk.
Read more:
Legislatures across the United States have passed a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. In Oklahoma, legislators have proposed more than 50 bills in 2024 alone, more than any other state according to the ACLU, restricting things like restroom access and sex education.
Last year, the state's Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, signed an executive order defining a person's sex as their biological sex at birth.
Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan, with help from Elana Gordon. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Just a heads up, today's episode mentioned suicide. If you or someone that you know needs help, visit |
| 0:09.5 | 988 lifeline.org. |
| 0:12.8 | Recall or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. |
| 0:18.0 | Next Benedict was a 16-year- old sophomore going to a school near Tulsa, Oklahoma. |
| 0:26.0 | Next was non-binary and used they-them pronouns. |
| 0:30.0 | They liked video games, they had a cat named Zeus. They were an animal lover. They had friends and had told family members that they had been bullied at school. |
| 0:43.0 | Molly Hennessy Fisk is a national reporter for the post. |
| 0:47.0 | She says that according to Next Benedict's family, |
| 0:50.0 | Next was bullied at school because of their gender identity. |
| 0:54.0 | And on February 7th, Next got into a fight in a school bathroom. |
| 0:58.8 | We know from family accounts, from police accounts, and then some of the video that police have released |
| 1:06.4 | that Nax went into a bathroom with a friend and then there were several other girls there. |
| 1:13.0 | It was a girls bathroom that they got into a fight |
| 1:16.6 | with those girls that ended up becoming a physical fight. |
| 1:19.8 | So what happened today? |
| 1:21.4 | I got jumped. Tell me about it. |
| 1:24.0 | What happened? |
| 1:25.0 | They've been antagonizing. |
| 1:27.0 | After the fight, next went to the hospital and spoke with police. |
| 1:31.0 | The officer's body cam captured their conversation. |
| 1:34.1 | I don't know their names, I don't know. Okay, so they just up and decided to just start messing |
| 1:41.5 | with you. There was... Yeah, because is the way that we dress okay so you |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Washington Post, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Washington Post and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.