Feminist Current is a blog and podcast by anti-transgender activist Meghan Murphy. Over time, it has moved from general topics related to feminism to a strong focus on key figures from the anti-transgender movement, including:
Podcast episodes
The woman punched by a counter protester at the 1millionmarch4kids speaks out
Kajsa Ekis Ekman is a Marxist feminist who is speaking out against gender identity in Sweden
- Kajsa Ekis Ekman SEP 12, 2023
Helen Joyce on how the Labour Party changed its stance on gender identity
Jennifer Bilek on the true roots of the transgender movement
Jill Ovens resigned from New Zealand’s Labour Party to start the Women’s Rights Party
Why are dangerous men still being housed in women’s prisons?
- Amanda Stulman and Jennifer Thomas MAY 9, 2023
Pornhub was hosting videos of minors and trafficking victims — what’s next?
- Haley McNamara APR 20, 2023
Beyond a woman’s choice: the real story of prostitution in Canada
- Andrea Heinz and Kathy King MAR 22, 2023
The truth about OnlyFans, with Alix Aharon
Are trans rights really human rights? Robert Wintemute on the trans rights debate and how we got here
Scottish women face a bigger fight as gender self-ID bill passes
- director of For Women Scotland, Susan Smith JAN 2, 2023
Marissa Darlingh was fired as a school counselor for speaking out against gender identity ideology
- Marissa Darlingh DEC 20, 2022
Maryam Namazie on the women’s revolution in Iran
- Maryam Namazie NOV 27, 2022
Sall Grover wanted to create a female-only app — she didn’t know that would make her a target
Beyond Fantasy — Benjamin Nolot exposes the truth about porn, and it is dark
- Beyond Fantasy — Benjamin Nolot OCT 24, 2022
Do feminists need to pick a side? Katy Worley on political purity and Standing for Women
- Katy Worley, also known as DJ Lippy OCT 4, 2022
The Business of Birth Control
- filmmaker, Abby Epstein, and Holly Grigg-Spall, author of Sweetening the Pill: Or How We Got Hooked On Hormonal Birth Control and a producer of The Business of Birth Control SEP 26, 2022
Are gun rights women’s rights? Antonia Okafor Cover offers a feminist argument for gun ownership
- Antonia Okafor Cover, the founder and president of EMPOWERED, sees things differently. Antonia is the National Director of Women’s Outreach and a national spokesperson for Gun Owners of America. SEP 14, 2022
Julie Jaman was banned from a pool for telling a male to leave the change room, but she’s not backing down
Louise Perry thinks sexual liberation didn’t liberate women at all
Christina Ellingsen is facing prison time for saying that men aren’t women
- Christina Ellingsen JUL 21, 2022
Katherine Deves on Australian politics, modern feminism, and why she stood up for girls’ and women’s sport
- Katherine Deves JUL 14, 2022
Mary Lou Singleton on Roe v Wade, the abortion debate, and how we got here
- Mary Lou Singleton JUN 27, 2022
Maya Forstater on her Employment Tribunal win, #respectmysex, and JK Rowling
Does Twitter hate women? Holly Lawford-Smith on ‘Gender Critical Feminism,’ hate speech, and the future of Twitter
Feminists in Quebec are fighting to curb surrogacy
- Clémence Trilling, a member of Pour Des Femmes Québec and WDI Quebec APR 12, 2022
Andrea Heinz worked as an escort, a dominatrix, and a brothel owner in Edmonton — now she educates people about the harms of ‘sex work ideology’
- Andrea Heinz FEB 23, 2022
Child marriage in Mexico persists, despite legislative changes
- Elvira Pablo, regional Policy and Member Engagement Officer for Girls Not Brides JAN 31, 2022
Milli Hill on the Positive Birth Movement and how she was banished from her own community
Natasha Chart on her new book, ‘Practical Politics for Bold Women’
- Natasha Chart NOV 14, 2021
The Famous Artist Birdy Rose
- The Famous Artist Birdy Rose OCT 10, 2021
Feminist Current: Carol Dansereau on gender identity in schools
- Carol Dansereau SEP 9, 2021
Feminist Current: Men are being transferred to women’s prisons and the Liberals don’t care
- Heather Mason of CaWsbar and Alia Pierini of Strength in Sisterhood (SIS) AUG 24, 2021
Jess de Wahls can’t be cancelled
Trans Mission — an interview with Jennifer Lahl
Beth Stelzer is on a mission to save women’s sports
PODCAST: Donna Hughes was denounced by her university for questioning gender identity
Feminist Current: The Limitations of Social Media Feminism
- Jessica Megarry MAR 15, 2021
Feminist Current: Women Picket DC
- Courtney Piper, Women Picket DC FEB 18, 2021
Will President Joe Biden’s Executive Order erase women’s rights?
- Lauren Adams, legal director of Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) FEB 4, 2021
Phyllis Chesler on Aileen Wuornos, America’s ‘first female serial killer’
- Phyllis Chesler JAN 3, 2021
PODCAST: The Transsexual Empire revisited — Janice Raymond on transgenderism, yesterday and today
PODCAST: The Women’s Human Rights Campaign launches in the US, fighting to save women’s sex-based rights
- Katherine Acosta and Lauren Levey WHRC USA SEP 18, 2020
PODCAST: Daphna Morell and Luba Fein on the feminist movement in Israel
- Daphna Morell and Luba Fein SEP 5, 2020
PODCAST: Susan Hawthorne — In defense of separatism
- Susan Hawthorne JUL 4, 2020
PODCAST: Prof Kathleen Lowrey didn’t hide her views on gender identity ideology, and was punished for it
- Kathleen Lowrey JUN 15, 2020
PODCAST: Stella Perrett on why free speech and satire should matter to feminists
- Stella Perrett MAY 20, 2020
PODCAST: Women as ‘breeders’ — Renate Klein on the harms of surrogacy
- Renate Klein MAY 11, 2020
PODCAST: A global feminist perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic is needed
- Anna Zobnina APR 30, 2020
PODCAST: Michelle Mara on the truth about the decriminalized sex trade in New Zealand
- Michelle Mara APR 13, 2020
PODCAST: Indian filmmaker Vaishnavi Sundar made a film about sexual harassment, then got cancelled by liberal feminists
- Vaishnavi Sundar MAR 24, 2020
PODCAST: Authorities ignored the girls being exploited by grooming gangs in Northern England; Julie Bindel didn’t
PODCAST: Carol Downer revolutionized the women’s health movement, and refuses to quit, decades later
- Carol Downer JAN 24, 2020
PODCAST: Toxic Beauty — an interview with Phyllis Ellis
- Phyllis Ellis, director of Toxic Beauty DEC 17, 2019
PODCAST: We Can’t Consent To This — Fiona Mackenzie’s campaign to challenge the ‘sex gone wrong’ defence
- Fiona Mackenzie OCT 24, 2019
PODCAST: Dr. Jen Gunter is busting myths about women’s bodies and health
PODCAST: Coercive control is a key aspect of abusive relationships, but still misunderstood
- Elle Kamihira, and executive producer, Laura Richards SEP 21, 2019
PODCAST: Mary Kate Fain has found a woman-centered solution to Twitter censorship in Spinster
PODCAST: Caroline Criado Perez on how living in a world made for men hurts women
- Caroline Criado Perez JUL 4, 2019
PODCAST: Deborah Cameron on feminism — the idea, the theory, and the political movement
- Deborah Cameron JUN 12, 2019
PODCAST: What is ’emotional labour’ and why are women sick of doing it all themselves?
- Gemma Hartley MAY 3, 2019
PODCAST: Lesbians at ground zero — Angela C. Wild on gender identity ideology and lesbian autonomy
- Angela C. Wild APR 11, 2019
PODCAST: Dagny of The Pique Resilience Project on detransitioning
PODCAST: Why sex-segregated sport matters
PODCAST: On International Women’s Day, Indigenous and Women of Colour Rise
- Suzanne Jay and Saba Malik MAR 4, 2019
PODCAST: Kathleen Stock and Natasha Chart discuss the issue of feminists ‘allying with the right’
PODCAST: Why are we still pretending porn is harmless?
- Rebecca Whisnant FEB 7, 2019
PODCAST: Posie Parker — Standing for Women
PODCAST: Phyllis Chesler remains steadfast in being ‘politically incorrect’
- Phyllis Chesler DEC 14, 2018
PODCAST: Nicole Jardim on hormone health and how to understand your cycle
- Nicole Jardim NOV 12, 2018
PODCAST: Dawn Wilcox is counting women murdered by men in the United States, and the results are grim
PODCAST: The Pussy Church of Modern Witchcraft is coming soon to a town near you
- Sister Dandelion AUG 29, 2018
PODCAST: What does the Trump administration’s refugee policy mean for women and how can Canada help?
- Jaymie Heilman and Maria Walker JUN 27, 2018
PODCAST: Canada’s Divorce Act may be changing — how will women be impacted?
PODCAST: Why sex matters in law
- Andrea Orwoll APR 11, 2018
PODCAST: Heather Brunskell-Evans wants to talk about the idea of ‘trans kids’
PODCAST: What can humans learn from female-centric animal societies?
- Caitlin Starowicz FEB 26, 2018
PODCAST: ‘Good, giving, and game’ — how sex advice and sex therapy perpetuate rape culture
- Meagan Tyler JAN 20, 2018
PODCAST: What happens when your husband decides he’s a woman?
PODCAST: Hillary McBride on body image, eating disorders, and feminist therapy
- Hillary McBride NOV 27, 2017
PODCAST: Daisy Kler on the way racism and misogyny play out in Canada to doubly harm women
PODCAST: Eleanor Pam remembers the late, great, Kate Millett
PODCAST: Ninotchka Rosca on intersectionality, the Philippine women’s movement, and the future of feminism
- Ninotchka Rosca AUG 24, 2017
PODCAST: Toward reproductive sovereignty, not reproductive rights
- Mary Lou Singleton AUG 3, 2017
PODCAST: ‘Birthright: A War Story’
- Civia Tamarkin JUL 14, 2017
PODCAST: Finn Mackay on the revolutionary past and future of radical feminist activism
PODCAST: The Women’s March was a powerful feminist uprising — what comes next?
PODCAST: Blair Braverman talks dog-sledding and navigating male dominance on a glacier
- Blair Braverman JUL 5, 2016
PODCAST: Orlando mass shooting fueled by anti-gay bigotry, unbridled masculinity, and misogyny
PODCAST: Max Dashu reveals the suppressed truth behind the witch hunts (and the implications for women today)
PODCAST: Dietland author Sarai Walker talks fat, fuckability, and liberation
- Sarai Walker MAY 18, 2016
PODCAST: Doctors still won’t let women choose sterilization as a permanent birth control method
PODCAST: Economic & sexual violence as barriers to sustainable development
PODCAST: Empowerment and body positivity in the selfie age
PODCAST: Why must Maryam Namazie take on the left in her critiques of Islamic extremism?
PODCAST: The Guerrilla Feminist Collective vs. Roosh V.
PODCAST: Women’s solidarity, the Montreal Massacre, & fighting violence against women today
PODCAST: Milk — A documentary about birth & breastfeeding
PODCAST: What could a Liberal majority mean for Indigenous communities?
PODCAST: Chris Hedges on the death of journalism & critical thought in the internet age
PODCAST: Aftermath by Andrea Dworkin
Gary L. Francione is an American animal rights activist and anti-transgender activist. Francione claims transgender people hold “metaphysical spiritual beliefs,” so “it is not ‘transphobic’ to refuse to embrace trans belief claims.”
Background
Gary Lawrence Francione was born in May 1954. Francione earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Rochester, followed by master’s and law degrees from University of Virginia.
After clerking for judge Albert Tate, Jr., and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Francione practiced at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
In 1984, Francione joined the faculty of University of Pennsylvania Law School, earning tenure in 1987. While there, Francione began teaching animal rights jurisprudence. In 1989, Francione took an appointment at Rutgers. In 1990, Francione co-founded the Rutgers Animal Rights Law Project with Anna Charlton, and it ran for about a decade. Francione developed the abolitionist theory of animal rights, which holds that the foundational right of animals is not to be property.
Anti-transgender activism
Francione is a sex segregationist who opposes restructuring social institutions to eliminate the remaining vestiges of sex segregation. Francione’s litany of anti-transgender complaints reveal a deep involvement in the anti-trans movement. Most of Francione’s complaints come down to “protection for women.”
In 2023, Francione posted an anti-trans manifesto on Medium, which promptly removed it it for being “content that may undermine the dignity and rights of transgender and/or non-binary individuals.” According to Francione, “I apparently violated the rules because I stated the fact that trans women are biological males.” Francione then reposted it on a personal blog.
Francione cites the work of other anti-trans activists, including Kathleen Stock, Holly Lawford-Smith, Helen Joyce, Colin Wright, Kenneth Zucker, Jo Bartosch, JK Rowling, Sonia Sodha, and Andrew Doyle. Francione also cites conservative trans people like Debbie Hayton.
Francione’s primary point is that the categories of “male” and “female” represent “biological reality.” Like many anti-trans people, Francione blames postmodernism for the current advances and refinements in thinking among biologists. Francione is especially anxious about advances in reproductive technology that threaten the sex segregationist worldview: “If you want to have offspring, you must find a member of the opposite sex.” Tell that to Dolly the Sheep. By the end of this century, the way people like Francione currently think about reproduction will be irrelevant.
Francione seems to be more annoyed and offended by transfeminine people than transmasculine people, attacking transgender athletes, transgender prisoners, “academic freedom,” and other anti-trans chestnuts. Francione finds the existence of same-gender loving trans people to be vexing and argues that refusing to date an entire group of people is not biased or prejudiced.
Francione is correct that single-occupancy toilets, changing rooms, and showering facilities for everyone are part of our movement’s goals.
References
Francione, Gary L. (August 2, 2023). The Trans Rights Issue: Equality Claims and Belief Claims. Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach https://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-trans-rights-issue-equality-claims-and-belief-claims/
- Original banned post: https://gary-francione.medium.com/the-trans-rights-issue-equality-claims-and-belief-claims-6511da0c843c [archive]
Francione, Gary L. (August 2, 2023). The Six Principles of the Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights. Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach https://www.abolitionistapproach.com/about/the-six-principles-of-the-abolitionist-approach-to-animal-rights/
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Candice Horbacz is an American adult entertainer who performed as Eva Lovia. Horbacz frequently platforms conservative and anti-transgender guests.
Podcast
Horbacz has hosted Chatting with Candice since 2020. Conservative and anti-transgender guests include:
- Debra Soh (November 10, 2020)
- Buck Angel (December 8, 2020)
- Gad Saad (December 15, 2020)
- Scott Barry Kaufman (January 19, 2021)
- James Lindsay (January 29, 2021)
- Debra Soh (February 16, 2021)
- Sall Grover (March 17, 2021)
- Benjamin Boyce (May 22, 2021)
- Colin Wright (May 25, 2021)
- Geoffrey Miller (February 16, 2022)
- David J. Ley (April 29, 2022)
- Sara Higdon (February 20, 2023)
- James Esses (February 28, 2023)
- Gad Saad (July 25, 2023)
Resources
Eva Lovia (evasthings.com)
Chatting with Candice (chattingwithcandice.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
OnlyFans (onlyfans.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Laurence Fox is an English actor and conservative activist. Fox has made a number of provocative statements attacking sex and gender minorities.
Background
Laurence Paul Fox was born May 26, 1978.
Fox graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Fox appeared in several film and television roles, including The Hole, Gosford Park, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Lewis, and W.E.
Fox was married to Billie Piper from 2007 to 2016. They have two children.
Activism
Fox has disparaged the Progress Pride flag, sharing an image of it distorted into a swastika. Fox also set one on fire.
Fox has appeared on many conservative and anti-trans platforms, including Debra Soh’s podcast.
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Jonathan Chait is an American writer and anti-transgender activist. Chait defended the New York Times and their decades of anti-trans coverage. Chait frequently promotes and logrolls for other anti-trans activists, including Jamie Reed, Hannah Barnes, and Jesse Singal.
Background
Jonathan Benjamin “Jon” Chait was born on May 1, 1972 to Illene Seidman Chait and David Chait.
Chait is a writer for New York since 2011, including their newsletter titled “&c.”
Chait’s spouse Robin Joy Bouckris Chait (born 1972) is a “school choice” activist.
Anti-transgender activism
Chait credulously repeats the claims of anti-trans friends, most notably former coworker Jesse Singal.
After anti-trans activist Jamie Reed began the process of getting trans healthcare criminalized in Missouri, Chait approvingly cited fawning articles about Reed.
Reed’s article went viral on social media, and was cited by numerous conservatives and transphobes as conclusive proof that too many kids are getting transition care. A couple of prominent liberals joined in as well. Matthew Yglesias cited it as credible on Twitter and Substack. “The picture she paints of the clinic’s treatment of children is ghastly. The affidavit she signed is even worse,” wrote Jonathan Chait at New York magazine. (It’s of a piece with an ongoing trend in liberal and centrist publications of writing anxious articles raising questions about youth transition care.)
Cooper (2023)
In Splice, Noah Berlatsky noted:
Chait has embraced the idea that trans children are able to access health care too easily. In a recent New York article, he told his readers of reports that young people were coming into trans health care clinics claiming to be rocks or mushrooms, and immediately being given hormones.
This raises questions. What hormones would you give a rock? Why would you use your platform to spew unconfirmed and nonsensical rumors? Chait’s claims were quickly debunked by local reporting in St. Louis. At which point Chait wandered onto Twitter to say he was updating his “Bayesian priors” and whine because people were mocking him for being a credulous and bigoted fool. […]
Reactionary centrists like Chait want to have it both ways. They want to oppose fascism without having to stand with marginalized people, who make them uncomfortable, or just seem less respectable than middle-aged white male pundits with sinecures at major magazines. Why can’t you fight fascism and deny trans people health care? “Both sides!” Chait bellows, as he bashes out a column warning of the dangers of the powerful governor of Florida and then turns around and bashes out a column about the dangers of human rights for a despised, marginalized minority.
Berlasky (2023)
Hanna Phifer noted in The Nation:
Jonathan Chait of New York’s The Intelligencer published a piece saying that the suggestion that the Times, or any publication for that matter, has any systemic influence, is “unhinged” and that the blame “lies first with politicians and the party that pass them.” But as the open letter pointed out, that is demonstratively untrue “As recently as February 8th, 2023, attorney David Begley’s invited testimony to the Nebraska state legislature in support of a similar bill approvingly cited the Times’ reporting and relied on its reputation as the ‘paper of record’ to justify criminalizing gender-affirming care.”
Phifer (2023)
References
Phifer, Hanna (February 23, 2023). I Signed the New York Times Open Letter. I Have More to Say. The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/society/new-york-times-open-letter-more-to-say/
Berlatsky, Noah (March 3, 2023). Jonathan Chait Tries to Be Both Anti-DeSantis and Anti-Trans. Splice Today https://www.splicetoday.com/politics-and-media/jonathan-chait-tries-to-be-both-anti-desantis-and-anti-trans
Cooper, Ryan (March 2, 2023). The Useful Idiots Fueling the Right-Wing Transphobia Panic. The American Prospect https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-03-02-right-wing-transphobia-panic/
Urquhart, Evan (February 17, 2023) Jonathan Chait, Tavistock, and the Truth. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/jonathan-chait-tavistock-and-the-truth
Chait, Jonathan (February 17, 2023). Fight the Anti-Trans Backlash With Accountability, Not Silence. Intelligencer https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/nytimes-letter-trans-gender-youth-accountability.html
Jonathan, Chait; Singal, Jesse (November 16, 2016). How Alarmed Should American Jews Be Right Now? Two Jews Kibitz. New York Magazine https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/11/is-there-a-new-american-antisemitism.html
Media
Chait, Jonathan (2007). The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics. ISBN 978-0618685400
Chait, Jonathan (2017). Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics and Created a Legacy that Will Prevail. ISBN 978-0062426970
Resources
New York Magazine (nymag.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Facebook (facebook.com)
James Esses is a British anti-transgender activist who was expelled from a university course for creating an anti-trans petition.
Esses is a founder of anti-trans trande group Thoughtful Therapists.
Background
Esses was a criminal defence barrister, later moving to civil service focused on criminal justice.
Esses was in a master’s program at Metanoia Institute. In 2021, Esses published an anti-trans petition to the UK government titled “Safeguard evidence-based therapy for children struggling with gender dysphoria.” This was in response to UK proposals to ban conversion therapies, including anti-transgender therapies.
Esses sued Metanoia after being expelled. Esses was represented by barrister Akua Reindorf and solicitor Peter Daly. Daly also represented anti-trans activists Maya Forstater, Allison Bailey, Raquel Rosario Sanchez, and Katie Alcock.
Declaration for Biological Reality
Esses promotes the anti-trans manifesto “Declaration for Biological Reality.” It is supported by numerous anti-trans organizations, including:
- Bad Law Project
- Critical Therapy Antidote
- Don’t Divide Us
- Evidence-Based Social Work Alliance (EBSWA)
- Fair Cop
- Family Education Trust
- Genspect
- HART
- LGB Christians
- Male Allies Challenging Sexism
- New Culture Forum
- Object!
- Our Duty
- Psychreg
- Reclaim Party
- Reduxx
- Reform UK
- ScotPAG
- Scottish Feminist Network
- Scottish Union For Education
- Social Democratic Party
- Thoughtful Therapists
- UsForThem
- Women’s Rights Network
- WomenWon’tWheesht
Resources
Twitter (twitter.com)
Declaration for Biological Reality (declarationforbiologicalreality.org)
Thoughtful Therapists (thoughtfultherapists.org)
David French is an American lawyer, writer, and anti-transgender extremist.
French is an initial signatory of the transphobic 2017 Nashville Statement.
In 2023, Kathleen Kingsbury and Patrick Healy brought French on to the notoriously transphobic Opinion section at the New York Times. Their decision was a major event in the Times’ anti-transgender coverage crisis of the 2020s.
Background
David Austin French was born on January 24, 1969 in Opelika, Alabama.
French earned a bachelor’s degree from Lipscomb University in 1991 and a law degree from Harvard in 1994.
French has been a prominent conservative activist. French served as legal counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom. French was president of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) until 2005. From 2007 to 2014 French served in the Army as a judge-advocate general officer stationed in Iraq.
Following discharge, French wrote for National Review from 2015 to 2019 and was a senior fellow at the National Review Institute. French is a senior editor for The Dispatch and has authored several books.
French and spouse Nancy live in Franklin, Tennessee and have three adult children.
2017 Nashville Statement
French was a signatory of the homophobic and transphobic Nashville Statement. Other anti-trans signatories include:
- James Dobson, psychologist, founder of Focus on the Family
- Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council
- Ken Ham, young-earth creationist and founder, CEO, and president of Answers in Genesis
References
Staff report (January 4, 2023). GLAAD responds to New York Times hiring anti-LGBTQ attorney as opinion columnist. GLAAD https://glaad.org/releases/glaad-responds-new-york-times-hiring-anti-lgbtq-attorney-opinion-columnist/
Kingsbury, Katie; Healy, Patrick (January 3, 2023). David French Joins The Times as an Opinion Columnist. New York Times Company https://www.nytco.com/press/david-french-joins-the-times-as-an-opinion-columnist/
Resources
The Dispatch (thedispatch.com)
Nancy French (nancyfrench.com)
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (cbmw.org)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
National Review (nationalreview.com)
New York Times (nytimes.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Joe Rogan is an American entertainer and one of the most influential figures in promoting and platforming conservative and anti-transgender views. Rogan is the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, which has disproportionately presented anti-trans beliefs and guests.
Background
Joseph James Rogan was born on August 11, 1967 in Newark, New Jersey. Rogan’s Catholic parents divorced when Rogan was five. Rogan lived in San Francisco and Gainesville, Florida before moving to Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts. Rogan got involved in martial arts competitions as a teen and continued until age 21.
After graduating high school in 1985, Rogan briefly attended University of Massachusetts Boston. In 1988, Rogan began performing stand-up comedy, moving to New York City in 1990 to pursue it. In 1994 Rogan moved to Los Angeles and began acting while continuing stand-up, soon becoming a regular at The Comedy Store. Rogan starred in the sitcom NewsRadio from 1995 to 1999 and continued developing possible shows. In 1997, Rogan began a professional relationship with UFC as an interviewer and color commentator.
Rogan was an early online adopter among comedians, uploading blog posts and later video clips at joerogan.com starting in 1999. In 2000, Rogan released a comedy album. From 2001 to 2006 Rogan hosted reality show Fear Factor, and in 2003 Rogan co-hosted one season of The Man Show. In 2007 Rogan released a second stand-up special.
Rogan and Jessica Ditzel married in 2009 and have three children, one of whom is from Ditzel’s previous relationship. Rogan relocated to Austin, Texas in 2020 and opened the nightclub Comedy Mothership there in 2022.
The Joe Rogan Experience
In 2009, Rogan and Brian Redban began a podcast later titled The Joe Rogan Experience. In 2011, the podcast was picked up by SiriusXM. In 2020, Rogan made a deal with Spotify to move all but 42 episodes to their platform, with exclusive episodes starting in 2021. In 2022, about 70 additional episodes containing racially insensitive language were removed.
The podcast quickly became a key platform for laundering right-wing and anti-transgender extremism into mainstream media. A 2018 report by Data & Society found that the show was part of a network of YouTube channels logrolling alt-right and intellectual dark web extremism: “By connecting to and interacting with one another through YouTube videos, influencers with mainstream audiences lend their credibility to openly white nationalist and other extremist content creators.” Rogan dismissed the report as “guilt by association.”
See this list of selected conservative and anti-transgender guests. Themes of Rogan’s anti-trans guests include evolutionary psychology, biological essentialism, maintaining sex segregation (especially regarding transgender athletes), and attacks on policies and healthcare supporting trans and gender diverse youth. In contrast, the show has had far fewer guests with moderate or progressive views about trans people.
References
Lewis, Rebecca (September 18, 2018). Alternative Influence: Broadcasting the Reactionary Right on YouTube. Data & Society https://datasociety.net/library/alternative-influence/ [PDF]
Ellis, Philip (July 22, 2020). Joe Rogan Is Spreading Transphobic Hate Speech and It’s Putting Lives in Danger. Men’s Health https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a33391944/joe-rogan-abigail-shrier-interview-transphobia/
Shatto, Rachel (January 31, 2022). Joe Rogan Continues to Spew Anti-Trans Rhetoric on His Spotify Podcast. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/1/31/joe-rogan-continues-spew-anti-trans-rhetoric-his-spotify-podcast
Factora, James (January 31, 2022). Joe Rogan, Who Is Literally On Testosterone, Says Trans People Will Cause Societal Collapse. them. https://www.them.us/story/joe-rogan-trans-people-societal-collapse-testosterone-jordan-peterson
Factora, James (November 10, 2022). Nightmare Pairing Joe Rogan and Matt Walsh Compared Transness to Being in a Cult. them. https://www.them.us/story/joe-rogan-matt-walsh-transphobia
Resources
GLAAD (glaad.org)
Joe Rogan (joerogan.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Spotify (open.spotify.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
The Joe Rogan Experience is an influential podcast hosted by entertainer Joe Rogan. It is notable for hosting a disproportionate number of conservative and anti-transgender guests, including:
- Tim Ferriss (removed by Spotify)
- Lex Fridman
- Tulsi Gabbard
- Glenn Greenwald
- Collins Iyare Idehen Jr. / “Colion Noir”
Trans and gender diverse guests
Rogan’s guests from the community hold moderate to conservative views about trans topics.
References
JRELibrary (May 26, 2022). Spotify’s Missing Episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast. https://jrelibrary.com/articles/spotifys-missing-episodes-of-the-joe-rogan-experience-podcast/
Tim Pool is an American right-wing podcaster and anti-transgender extremist.
Background
Timothy Daniel “Tim” Pool was born on March 9, 1986. Pool’s parent Michael D. “Mike” Pool (born 1959) was a Chicago firefighter. Tim Pool’s siblings include:
- Christopher Michael “Chris” Pool (born 1984): works with Tim, and was known on YouTube as “Reactor”. The two had a dispute over the trademark for Subverse, later renamed SCNR (pronounced “scanner”)
- Lisa Brady Pool (born 1980): briefly worked for Tim
Pool’s parents divorced. Pool attended a Catholic school until completing the fifth grade and later left school at age 14.
Pool became involved in the Occupy movement and produced media using innovative techniques.
Pool was reportedly dating Alison Neubauer.
Podcast
Timcast IRL is an influential podcast hosted by Pool. It is notable for hosting a disproportionate number of conservative and anti-transgender guests.
The podcast quickly became a key platform for laundering right-wing and anti-transgender extremism into mainstream media. A 2018 report by Data & Society found that the show was part of a network of YouTube channels logrolling alt-right and intellectual dark web extremism: “By connecting to and interacting with one another through YouTube videos, influencers with mainstream audiences lend their credibility to openly white nationalist and other extremist content creators.”
- Tom Fitton
- David ‘Viva’ Freihert
- Nick Freitas
- Matt Gaetz
- Marjorie Taylor Greene
- Tayler Hansen
- Drew Hernandez
- Sara Higdon
- The HodgeTwins
- Zaid Jilani
- Benny Johnson
- Alex Jones
- Michael Malice
- Bethany Mandel
- Jaimee Michell
- Chadwick Moore
- Jack Murphy
- Jack Posobiec
- Dennis Prager
- Enrique Tarrio
- Connor Tomlinson
- Andrew Torba
- Donald Trump Jr.
On a YouTube channel, Mike Pool has apologized for the division and hate Tim Pool displays toward trans people.
References
Captain, Sean (January 6, 2012). Threat Level: Livestreaming Journalists Want to Occupy the Skies With Cheap Drones. Wired https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/occupy-drones/
Dredge, Stuart (July 30, 2013). How Vice’s Tim Pool used Google Glass to cover Istanbul protests. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jul/30/google-glass-istanbul-protests-vice
Marantz, Andrew (December 4, 2017). The Live-Streamers Who Are Challenging Traditional Journalism. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/the-live-streamers-who-are-challenging-traditional-journalism
Lewis, Rebecca (September 18, 2018). Alternative Influence: Broadcasting the Reactionary Right on YouTube.Data & Society https://datasociety.net/library/alternative-influence/ [PDF]
Makuch, Ben (July 10, 2019). Trump Invites Fringe Social Media Company Popular With Nazis to the White House. Vice https://www.vice.com/en/article/qv7q87/trump-invites-fringe-social-media-company-popular-with-nazis-to-the-white-house
Pool, Christopher (February 5, 2020). I need help with legal fees. GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/txe8r-i-need-help-with-legal-fees
Basko, Susan (April 2020). Tim Pool, Chris Pool, and the Subverse Trademark. https://suebasko.blogspot.com/2020/04/tim-pool-chris-pool-and-subverse.html
Paul, Kari (March 5, 2021). A few rightwing ‘super-spreaders’ fueled bulk of election falsehoods, study says. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/05/election-misinformation-trump-rightwing-super-spreader-study
Sommer, Will (March 11, 2021). YouTube Star Tim Pool’s News Site Collapses Amid Allegations He Took a Cat Hostage. Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/youtube-star-tim-pools-news-site-collapses-amid-allegations-he-took-a-cat-hostage
Silverman, Robert (August 1, 2021). How ‘Coward and Phony’ Tim Pool Became One of the Biggest Political YouTubers on the Planet. Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-coward-and-phony-tim-pool-became-one-of-the-biggest-political-youtubers-on-the-planet
Edison Hayden, Michael (July 7, 2021). ‘We Make Mistakes’: Twitter’s Embrace of the Extreme Far Right. Southern Poverty Law Center https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/07/07/we-make-mistakes-twitters-embrace-extreme-far-right
Pool, Tim (July 13, 2022). The January 6 Committee Misrepresented Me. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/january-6-committee-misrepresented-me-opinion-1724357
Media
Mike Pool (February 17, 2023). Tim Pool’s Dad sends a message. YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQajMrkCzRc
Resources
Tim Pool (timcast.com)
Subverse (subverse.net)
SCNR (scnr.com)
Wikitubia (youtube.fandom.com)
- Tim Pool
- youtube.fandom.com/wiki/Tim_Pool
Wikpedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Facebook (facebook.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
- Timcast
- https://www.youtube.com/subversenews
Minds (minds.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)