Hi there, it's me, Amara. Welcome to the TransLash podcast, a show where we tell

trans stories to save trans lives. Well, at a time when surveillance is expanding and our

rights are under attack, concerns about protecting the privacy of queer

and trans people has never been more urgent, especially in the wake of the assassination of Charlie

Kirk, where the government has promised a crackdown on the so-called left. That's why the Department

of Homeland Security's recent decision to strip away the restriction

of government surveillance solely based on gender and sexuality is so alarming.

And it raises critical questions about how the federal government's digital monitoring

resources could be easily weaponized against the entire queer community.

That is why in this episode we're going to dig

into just how we got here, as well as what's at stake in this historic shift. First, I talk with

Kate Redburn, a legal historian who helps us understand how the rollback of these safeguards

fits into a much longer story of government control.

I think, you know, one way to think about the history of surveillance is that the flip side is always demands for visibility in order to obtain the kinds of social provision that people need to live their lives.

Then I speak with Renee Clayditch, senior investigator at the Project on Government Oversight about how this policy change could actually play out.

Fear is a key tool, like the knowledge that you could be being watched and how it changes behavior, has a profound effect on a much larger number of people than the actual person who's subjected to the Enforcement Act.

But before we get into all of this, let's start out as always with some trans joy.

Thank you. Some journeys test endurance and others make history.

Taylin Stolting is doing both as the first openly trans person to row across an ocean. Alongside their team or the Rainbow, Taylan took on a 2,800-mile race across the Pacific,

from Monterey Bay to Kauai this summer.

They did all of this while also raising funds for groups like Doctors Without Borders, an athlete ally.

And Taylin just isn't a record-breaking power rower.

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