In Episode 30 of Queer Storytime, Stevie sits down with Valentina “Vale” Mendoza — a Chicana trans woman, former Wall Street transactional attorney, founder of MeVale, P.C., and a 2026 grassroots congressional candidate running in New Jersey’s 7th District. With a bold platform rooted in economic, racial, and social justice, Vale represents a new generation of political leadership: unapologetically queer, deeply community-grounded, and unwilling to compromise people’s humanity for political convenience.

Stevie opens the episode with a grounding invitation — a reminder to breathe, to reset, and to reconnect with our bodies in a moment when the nation is gripped by fear, fascism, and political instability. From there, this conversation moves between the personal and the political with intention: Vale speaks candidly about growing up the daughter of working-class immigrants, navigating transition, overcoming corporate disillusionment, and finding her purpose through survival, recovery, and community.

Together, Stevie and Vale unpack major questions facing the country today:

• What does liberation actually mean — spiritually, politically, and materially?
• 
  
• Is the U.S. Constitution a living document meant to evolve?
• 
  
• How do we move people out of fight-or-flight long enough to talk about policy?
• 
  
• Where has the Democratic Party abandoned its values — and why is performative allyship a threat?
• 
  
• Why is democratic socialism resonating with new generations of voters?
• 
  
• How can economic, racial, and social justice be pursued as interconnected goals?
• 
  
• What qualifications should be required for elected office?
• 
  
• What does genuine representation look like for queer, trans, disabled, working-class, and immigrant communities?
• 
  

Vale brings forward a vision for systemic change: worker empowerment, class consciousness, dismantling billionaire influence, addressing disability inequities, and building economic systems that honor human dignity rather than extract from it. She also offers sharp reflections on the political center drifting rightward — and why rhetoric from so-called allies harms vulnerable communities as much as overt hate.

As the episode moves into its reflective closing, Vale and Stevie explore purpose, identity, joy, community, and the spiritual dimensions of political work. Vale shares a message for queer and trans youth, a warning for legislators targeting LGBTQ+ lives, and a truth many of us know intimately: trans people become experts at transformation because our survival demands it.

This episode is essential listening for anyone navigating despair in today’s political climate — and for those seeking grounded, intersectional, justice-driven leadership directly from the communities most impacted.

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

#QueerStorytime #TransInPolitics #VoteValli #QueerLiberation #TransRightsAreHumanRights #DemocraticSocialism #QueerPodcast #LGBTQPolitics #TransVoices #ChicanaPride #SocialJusticeNow #ProtectTransKids #AbolishFascism #GrassrootsPower #QueerLeadership #EconomicJustice #RacialJustice #ClassConsciousness

Welcome, dolls, gays, & theys; thank you for tuning in to Queer Story Time. In this episode, Stevie sits down with Dakarai Larriett, a proud son of Alabama, entrepreneur, community volunteer, and U.S. Senate candidate whose campaign was born from a traumatic false arrest. Drawing from a lifetime of lived experience, growing up a Jehovah’s Witness, navigating body dysphoria as a teen with gynecomastia, and building a career before returning home. Dakarai shares how his journey through faith, shame, and resilience shaped his mission to fight for justice, healthcare, and dignity for marginalized communities.

Together, Stevie and Dakarai explore how personal harm transforms into political action. Dakarai recounts the racial and homophobic profiling that led to his arrest and how that experience inspired his Motorist Bill of Rights, calling for greater transparency, access to bodycam footage, and fair policing. The conversation also dives into Alabama’s pressing issues from rural hospital closures and maternal health disparities to education, economic opportunity, and voter suppression, all through the lens of lived experience.

This episode blends intimate truth-telling with bold policy vision, asking what it truly takes to represent people who’ve been pushed to the margins, and how compassion, courage, and representation can change the system from within.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Dakarai’s childhood in Alabama and faith journey away from Jehovah’s Witnesses toward a welcoming UMC community.
• The physical and emotional impact of gynecomastia and why body-related shame matters to public health conversations.
• The false arrest: dashcam/bodycam evidence, dehumanizing language by officers, and the broken accountability system.
• Why Dakarai turned trauma into activism and a Senate run, and what justice means to him.
• Concrete policy proposals: Motorist Bill of Rights, healthcare access (Medicare/Medicaid expansion), maternal health, education investment, and voter access.
• A candid conversation about representation, the politics of the South, and how to build coalitions that protect the most vulnerable.

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

#QueerStorytime #DakaraiLarriett #LGBTQPolitics #CriminalJusticeReform #MotoristBillOfRights #AlabamaPolitics #PoliceAccountability #TransRights #HealthcareJustice #VoteForChange

In this powerful and deeply moving episode, I’m joined by Renee Thibeau, a devoted mother, passionate advocate, and fierce ally to the transgender community. Renee is the proud mom of three incredible children: her oldest, a 25-year-old cisgender daughter; her 17-year-old son, who is autistic and full of love and light; and her courageous transgender daughter — the reason she has stepped so fully into public advocacy.

Renee’s journey began when her ten-year-old child shared that she was a girl living in a boy’s body and, heartbreakingly, had contemplated ending her own life. Faced with this reality, Renee chose love, acceptance, and action. By affirming her daughter’s truth, advocating for her well-being, and surrounding her with support, Renee helped transform despair into hope and fear into thriving.

Now, Renee speaks out publicly to share their story — not for recognition, but because she knows the stakes. Every child deserves to be seen and accepted for who they truly are, and every parent has the power to save a life with love. Through her writing, speaking, and tireless advocacy, Renee proves that empathy and understanding are life-saving acts, and that true success is measured not by accolades but by the lives we protect.

Together, we dive deep into:

• The myths and false narratives fueling anti-trans rhetoric in politics and religion
• Renee’s personal journey as a parent and the unconditional love that guided her through her daughter’s transition
• Stories of support, including her late Aunt Sylvia—a nun whose unwavering affirmation reminds us of the true meaning of faith
• The dangerous hypocrisy of lawmakers who legislate against the LGBTQ+ community while hiding their own truths
• How complacency and societal blind spots have contributed to the rise of harmful cultural narratives
• Why hormone therapy is reversible, but suicide is not — a stark reality we cannot ignore
• What it means to raise trans kids with joy, love, and dignity, while preparing them for futures full of hope

Renee shares her heart, her advocacy, and her unapologetic truth, reminding us that being an ally isn’t passive — it’s about showing up, speaking out, and protecting the most vulnerable among us.

This is a deeply moving, fiery, and inspiring conversation you won’t want to miss.

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Correction: I misspoke at the end, I meant to say that I have congressional *candidates* running in the 2026 campaign joining us here on QST this Fall 2025. Stay tuned!

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

Welcome back to Queer Story Time The Podcast where we honor the lived experiences, wisdom, and resilience of LGBTQ+ individuals across generations. I’m your host, Stevie, and today’s episode features a very special guest: Wendy Cole (she/her), a 77-year-old transgender woman whose life and voice are a beacon for so many in our community—especially those navigating transition later in life.

Wendy is a transition mentor, public speaker, podcast host, and truth-teller whose work is rooted in compassion, candor, and fierce advocacy. After beginning her transition in her late 60s, Wendy has made it her mission to support and guide other trans people through their own journeys—offering not only practical tools and emotional accountability, but also the kind of lived wisdom that only comes from doing the hard work of becoming your full self.

Wendy co-hosts Demystifying The Transgender Journey Podcast and is a visible presence across social media and public speaking platforms, using her voice to humanize trans experiences, challenge harmful narratives, and affirm that authenticity has no expiration date. Whether she’s speaking to a room full of allies, mentoring one-on-one, or pushing back against legislative attacks, Wendy’s message is clear: we’ve always been here, and we are not going back into hiding.

💬 In This Episode:

• What it’s like to begin your transition in your late 60s—and why it’s never too late
• Wendy’s radical message to lawmakers and anti-trans legislation: “You can’t legislate us out of existence”
• Why trans youth need support, mentorship, and guidance—not fear
• How conditional love from family shapes our journey—and what real love requires
• Humanizing trans experiences: why everyday conversation creates change
• Wendy’s unapologetic take on transition, sexuality, dating, and self-acceptance
• Hormone therapy, blockers, and the double standard for cisgender vs. trans people
• Why “being afraid” is not the problem—but being uncommitted is
• How Wendy went from stuck to fully transitioned in six months
• A vision for the future: TV, dating, public speaking—and whatever comes next

Wendy’s Links:

• WendyColeGTM.Net
• Demystifying The Transgender Journey Podcast

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

In this deeply moving Pride Month episode of Queer Storytime, we center community voices and the power of storytelling to uplift, reflect, and affirm our shared humanity. Host Stevie, shares five personal messages from queer and trans individuals, and their loved ones. Highlighting the resilience, growth, and connection that define our community.

🌈 Featuring messages from:

• Alex – A trans parent of a trans child, sharing a powerful reminder that self-reflection is the most anti-oppressive thing we can do.
• Jackson – A trans man celebrating six years of living as himself, offering a heartfelt message of love and strength for queer and trans youth.
• Jana – A Christian parent whose journey from rejection to unconditional love for her trans son is both sobering and inspiring.
• And more voices affirming that you are not alone.

💬 This episode explores:

• Why inward reflection is essential in the fight against oppression
• The deep need for community support—especially for queer and trans youth
• Stories of transformation, survival, and the power of chosen family
• How allies and parents can show up with love and growth

💖 “If there’s one thing we know to be true—not only presently, but historically—it’s this: We take care of our own.”

✨ Resources Mentioned:

• Listen to Jackson’s full story in Episode 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1muXT9ORP4c (Feb 2024)
• Listen to Jana’s full story in Episode 9:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at6ttAS5th0 (May 2024)

• Read the essay: What I Know to Be True as a Queer and Trans Podcast Host (linked in the episode description)
• Mutual Aid: Apply for care or support the cause via the Rainbow Care Fund 2025

🔗 Resources & Links:

• Support the Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Read the original blog post at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

🌟 Happy Pride, everyone. May this episode remind you that you are seen, you are held, and you are deeply loved.

Happy Pride to all the dolls, gays, theys, and beyond! We’re celebrating two major milestones in this episode: Pride 2025 coincides with our 25th episode! Host Stevie Inghram takes the mic solo in this heartfelt reflection, offering eight profound truths learned from over a year of powerful conversations with queer and trans guests from around the world.

Based on a widely loved blog post from her new site www.futuredrstevie.com, this episode explores the resilience, wisdom, and beauty within the LGBTQIA+ community and the healing power of storytelling, science, and chosen family.

From our century old fight for survival and the impact of white supremacy on queer existence to the truth that not all queer people can - or should - come out, Stevie’s words are an invitation to deepen our understanding, reframe pride, and commit to a shared vision of healing and liberation.

✨ Key themes include:

• Why queer and trans people simply want to grow old in peace
• The myth that politicians can erase our existence
• How community transforms trauma
• What respect actually looks like
• The importance of allowing queer folks to choose not to come out
• Why your own inner work supports the liberation of others
• The universal possibility of embodying your true self at any age

💖 Plus, two exciting announcements:

1. The launch of a FREE monthly online QST Community Connection group (open to all, including allies!)
2. The debut of the Rainbow Care Fund by Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective—a new initiative providing holistic, affirming care for LGBTQIA+ folks through a mutual aid model - https://givebutter.com/rainbowcarefund

Join us for this powerful solo episode that celebrates resistance, joy, healing, and collective care because Pride is about so much more than rainbows.

🎉 Whether you’re out and proud, quietly surviving, or somewhere in between, you belong here in the Queer Story Time Community!

🔗 Resources & Links:

• Support the Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Read the original blog post at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

🚨 Content Warning: This episode discusses conversion therapy, religious trauma, and anti-LGBTQ+ practices. Listener discretion is advised.

Beautiful queer & trans fam, thank you for your patience with the release of this episode! Join me for this deeply important episode where we hear from a powerful voice who is a queer survivor, activist, and scholar. Today’s guest, Dr. Lucas Wilson (he/him), shares his experience escaping the grips of evangelical “ex-gay” conversion therapy and his ongoing mission to expose how religion — especially the New Christian Right — harms LGBTQ+ folks.

About Today’s Guest

Dr Lucas Wilson is a Canadian academic, author, and proud survivor of a secretive conversion therapy program at Liberty University. He’s now a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto–Mississauga and an outspoken advocate who brings scholarly activism to the conversation around evangelicalism, queerness, and systemic discrimination. His work shines a light on the many harms inflicted on sexual and gender minorities by religious extremism and works to give voice to those lived experiences — all while fighting back through both academic and creative avenues.

What We Talk About

• Lucas’s journey from evangelical faith to living authentically as a gay man
• His complicated feelings around spirituality, identity, and self-acceptance
• The role of evangelicalism in shaping anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice and discrimination
• The pain, trauma, and erasure experienced by queer folks in religious communities
• The importance of exposing conversion therapy and extremist religious politics
• Advice for queer and trans youth on confidence, community, and self-love
• A call to lawmakers and society to stop legislating against queer and trans lives
• Lucas’s upcoming projects highlighting queer experiences in Christian higher education

Key Takeaways

• Identity is complex; for Lucas, “Jesus” once defined him, but now he finds peace without needing to replace that spirituality.
• Evangelicalism can breed rigid, harmful thinking, but breaking free allows authentic living and greater joy.
• Queerness offers freedom from societal “scripts” — an invitation to create your own path.
• Conversion therapy and anti-LGBTQ+ laws inflict real harm, and those responsible should be held accountable.
• Confidence paired with empathy and community can be life-saving for queer and trans youth.
• Scholarly activism is a powerful tool to expose and dismantle oppressive systems from within.

Guest Links/Resources for Dr. Lucas:

• Instagram: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• BlueSky: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• Threads: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• Twitter: @Wilson_fw
• LinkedIn: Lucas Wilson
• Facebook: Luke Wilson
• Submit Your Story: Lucas is collecting stories of queer experiences from Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries for his next project. Reach out to him via social media if you want to share.

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

In this powerful episode of Queer Storytime, we dive deep into the urgent and historical topic of mutual aid within the LGBTQIA+ community. From the Stonewall era to the HIV/AIDS crisis and today’s escalating attacks on gender and sexually affirming health care, mutual aid has been a lifeline for queer and trans folks.

Stevie lays out the distinction between charity and solidarity, highlighting why institutional approaches often fall short. As mainstream LGBTQIA+ organizations amass wealth, the most vulnerable in our community — Black and Brown trans folks, unhoused queer youth, disabled queer individuals, and those living under oppressive legal systems — are left behind.

This episode announces a groundbreaking new initiative: A Mutual Aid Collective for LGBTQIA+ Health & Wellbeing. This network will provide access to holistic health resources, guidance, and sliding-scale services for queer and trans individuals, especially those living in states where affirming healthcare is under attack.

Listen now to learn about our community’s resilience, why we need to reclaim the true spirit of mutual aid, and how you can support this collective effort. Remember, our survival is the ultimate act of resistance.

Key Topics Covered:

• The historical precedent of mutual aid within the LGBTQIA+ community.
• The distinction between charity and solidarity.
• Criticism of mainstream LGBTQIA+ organizations hoarding wealth.
• Introduction of the Mutual Aid Collective for LGBTQIA+ Health & Wellbeing.
• How listeners can support or access this new initiative.
• Calls for community-based, nonhierarchical, direct aid over bureaucratic charity models.

✨ Get Involved: If you’re in a position to contribute financially, share skills, or simply spread the word, support the Mutual Aid Collective by visiting here - https://givebutter.com/rainbowcarefund

💖 Need Support? If you are queer or trans and need holistic health services, don’t hesitate to reach out. This initiative is designed for you.

🔗 QST Resources & Links:

• Support Queer Trans Thriving Mutual Aid Collective's 2025 Rainbow Care Fund on GiveButter
• Find QSTs Website Home at FutureDrStevie.com

📣 Spread the Word, Leave A Review, & Follow QST:

If this episode resonated with you, Stevie encourages you to share it widely! This will also help QST expand to an even bigger audience globally. We would also appreciate you leaving a written/star review to help us build our collective effort to liberate queer and trans people globally.

✨ Join the QST Podcast Community & Get In-Touch:

Looking to see everything happening in our community? Come reach out, connect, and celebrate queer & trans joy together! You can find all QST resources here: https://beacons.ai/qstpodcast

Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)