Hey there, it's me, Amara Jones. Before we get to the heart of our show, I just wanted to urge you to go check out my new PBS docu-series, American Problems, Trans Solutions.

Through this docu-series, we show how black trans leaders are tackling some of the most pressing issues of our time, including affordable housing, trans rights,

and the plight of immigrants, and they're doing so with hope and real solutions.

So when you have a minute, go to pbs.org, type in American Problems, Transolutions in the search,

sit back, and be inspired.

Hey there, it's me, Amara Jones. Welcome to the Translash podcast, a show where we tell

trans stories to save trans lives.

Well, we just entered Transgender Awareness Month, which will culminate on November 20th, which is Trans Day of Remembrance.

And while during this month, we generally focus on those who have been lost to violence and why they have

been lost to violence and ways that we can prevent that violence. We also know that it is an

important time to give people's flowers while they are here. That's why I'm thrilled that this

episode of the Translash podcast will be a conversation with

Raquel Willis, the one, the only.

To talk about her new book, The Risk It Takes to Bloom, the Risk that It Takes for us to

become the Flowers that we are.

It is a powerful read, written

with trans youth and mind. So I can't wait to get into this conversation with her and for you all

to hear all of the gems that will get you through the darkness of the times that we are living in

right now that will be given through the conversation with Rakello.

I learned that these moments where life fills the hardest

can actually be moments of activation,

and they can actually be moments that we use as fertilizer to hopefully plant seeds that maybe will lead to some kind of blooming down the road.

...