This is the first mini episode of Talking About Kids for summer 2024. In it, I share some little-known facts about kids in the U.S., and I present the theme for the remaining summer episodes: namely positive facts about kids to help us through the stress and fear-mongering that are all too present today. Links to some of the research I cite are are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return in the Fall.

Divorce is hard on kids. My guest this episode is the attorney Charles Jamieson. Charles has spent over 40 years using his skills and considerable experience to help families around the country mitigate the damage divorce proceedings can cause. His insights are as practical as they are valuable, and I am grateful that he found the time to share them here. More information about Charles and his practice is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Nationwide, school libraries – often refuges for students who are being othered by their classmates – are being weaponized. In this final Pride Month installment of 2024, I asked several of the Grand Marshals of the 2024 NYC Pride March to react to the growing movement to deny students access to books with queer and trans voices.

In this episode you will hear:

- Robin Drake, Afrolatino trans male, advocate, and professional with the Hetrick-Martin Institute

- Eshe Ukweli, writer, content creator, and digital strategist

- DaShawn Usher, Senior Director of Communities of Color and Media at GLAAD and Founder and Executive Director of Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI)

- Baddie Brooks, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and champion for queer and transgender communities

- Miss Major, author, pioneering activist, and community organizer for transgender rights; and

- Michelle Visage, singer, producer, and permanent judge on RuPaul's Drag Race

More information about these activists, including links to their organizations, is at talkingaboutkids.com.