Gender: A Wider Lens is a podcast that platforms conservative and anti-transgender activists. It is hosted by anti-trans extremists Stella O’Malley and Sasha Ayad.
2025 episodes
Join Us for Monthly Live & Unfiltered Events with Sasha and Stella – Feb 25th, 2025
205 – What’s Next for Sasha Ayad, Stella O’Malley, and the Gender A Wider Lens Podcast? – Feb 14th, 2025
Premium: There Are a Lot of Doctors Too Focused on Their Own Political Goals – Feb 8th, 2025
204 – Clementine Breen Sues Famous Gender Doctor, After Rushed Medical Transition – Feb 7th, 2025
Premium: The DSM’s Flimsy Criteria for Gender Dysphoria – Feb 1st, 2025
203 – Gender Clinicians Should Take the Family’s Input Into Account, with Marieke den Ouden – Jan 31st, 2025
Premium: How “Trans” Has Changed Over the Years – Jan 25th, 2025
202 – Detransitioned After Three Decades as a Trans Man, with Jessi – Jan 24th, 2025
“Mercilessly Attacked” for Not Wanting to Transition Children, with Rep. Shawn Thierry – Jan 17th, 2025
Premium: Saving the Relationship Without Losing Yourself – Jan 11th, 2025
200 – ROGD Boys Exist! with Lydia – Jan 10th, 2025
Premium: Is Trans Ideology a Surrogate Religion? with Winston Marshall – Jan 4th, 2025
199 – Life After Mumford & Sons with Winston Marshall – Jan 3rd, 2025
2024 Episodes
198 – The Trans Inclusion Controversy That Took Over La Leche League with Helen Joyce & Marian Tompson – Dec 20th, 2024
197 – We Have a BIG Announcement! – Dec 13th, 2024
Premium: Why Are Therapists Transing Away the Gay? – Dec 7th, 2024
196 – Are Puberty Blockers the Next Consumer Fraud Scandal? with Glenna Goldis – Dec 6th, 2024
195 – The Autogynephilia Controversy with Phil Illy – Nov 29th, 2024
Premium: Never Outlaw Homeschooling! – Nov 23rd, 2024
194 – How the Gender Agenda Captured Iceland, with Eldur Smári Kristinsson – Nov 22nd, 2024
Premium: Being Male or Female is Not a Feeling State – Nov 16th, 2024
193 – Frauds, Fetishes, and Frameworks in Today’s Trans Movement, with Dr. Az Hakeem – Nov 15th, 2024
Dysphoria Means Something Different to Different People – Nov 9th, 2024
192 – Paving a Way Back for Detrans Lesbians, with Aaron Kimberly – Nov 8th, 2024
Premium: “People Have the Right to Not Have a Gender Identity” – Nov 2nd, 2024
191 – Holding the Line on Liberal Values, with Helen Pluckrose and Carrie Clark – Nov 1st, 2024
Premium: Does Physical Strength Help Build Psychological Strength? with April Hutchinson – Oct 26th, 2024
190 – From Addict to Champion to Activist, with April Hutchinson – Oct 25th, 2024
189 – What Happened at the Genspect Conference in Lisbon – Oct 18th, 2024
Premium: How to Break Through Thought-Stopping Cliches – Oct 12th, 2024
188 – Why Do People Double Down in the Face of Contrary Evidence? – Oct 11th, 2024
187 – Gender: A Wider Lens Live from Lisbon with Billboard Chris – Oct 4th, 2024
Premium: We Need More Whistleblowers to Come Forward – Sep 28th, 2024
186 – Courage is Contagious, with Whistleblower Vanessa Sivadge –
Sep 27th, 2024
185 – Tales From Genderland with Julie Bindel – Sep 20th, 2024
Premium: When Did Everything Become A Matter of Life or Death? – Sep 14th, 2024
184 – Chanting, Humming, and Silencing–The Attack on Free Speech in NYC Schools with Maud Maron – Sep 13th, 2024
Premium: “It Took War for Me to Contend With My Own Reality” – Sep 11th, 2024
183 – Running From Rockets and Walking Toward Womanhood, with Maia Poet – Sep 10th, 2024
Why Aren’t More Philosophers Delving Into Gender-Affirming Care? – Sep 7th, 2024
182 – What Exactly is a “Transcendent Sense of Gender”? with Alex Byrne – Sep 6th, 2024
Premium: When the Ideology Wanes, But the Dysphoria Remains – Aug 31st, 2024
181 – From Activist to Apostate–A Twisty-Turny “Gender Journey,” with Tali – Aug 30th, 2024
Premium: Parenting A Son with AGP Traits – Aug 28th, 2024
180 – The Many Roots and Presentations of Gender Dysphoria in Males – Aug 28th, 2024
Premium: Boys Need to be Taught About Sacred Masculinity – Aug 24th, 2024
179 – Healing From Sissy Porn and Gender Dysphoria with Shane Cole – Aug 23rd, 2024
Premium: Standing Up for Women in Sports Again and Again, with Jennifer Sey – Aug 17th, 2024
178 – How Brands Influence Culture (For Better or Worse) with Jennifer Sey – Aug 16th, 2024
Premium: How the Danish Rainbow Council Influenced Politics – Aug 10th, 2024
177 – How Gender Ideology Came to Denmark with Jesper Rasmussen – Aug 9th, 2024
Premium: Radical Acceptance is Ice for the Soul with Lynn Chadwick – Aug 3rd, 2024
176 – Funding Lawsuits for Detransitioners with Lynn Chadwick – Aug 2nd, 2024
Premium: What Happens to Mothers and Babies When You Put Cross-Sex Hormones in the Mix? – Jul 27th, 2024
175 – What Really Happens to a Female Body on Testosterone? with Elaine Miller – Jul 26th, 2024
174 – How Porn Can Influence the Desire to Transition, with Forrest – Jul 19th, 2024
Premium: How Gender Ideology Has Infiltrated Art and Culture | with N3VLYNNN – Jul 13th, 2024
173 – Why Are Trans Activists Rewriting History? with N3VLYNNN – Jul 12th, 2024
Premium: “The Lesbian Community Doesn’t Feel Like it Exists Anymore” – Jul 6th, 2024
172 – Arielle Isaac Norman Knows More Than Dave Chappelle – Jul 5th, 2024
171 – Breaking News: The Latest WPATH Scandal, with Lisa Selin Davis – Jul 1st, 2024
Premium: Children Have the Right to Know Their Body is Not Their Enemy – Jun 29th, 2024
170 – The Legal, Emotional and Physical Consequences of Secret Social Transition with Vernadette Broyles – Jun 28th, 2024
Premium: There’s a Struggle for Attention When Your Dad is Trans – Jun 22nd, 2024
169 – Growing up with a Trans Parent, with Emma Thomas from Children of Transitioners – Jun 21st, 2024
Premium: The Trouble with Big Trauma, with Abigail Shrier – Jun 15th, 2024
168 – Bad Therapy and Irreversible Damage with Abigail Shrier – Jun 14th, 2024
Premium: What Can We Learn from Other Legal Precedents? – Jun 8th, 2024
167 – Dawn of the Detransitioner Lawsuits, with Josh Payne – Jun 7th, 2024
Premium: The Top Five Common Mistakes Estranged Parents Make – Jun 1st, 2024
166 – Dr. Joshua Coleman and How Parents Can Heal or Prevent Estrangement – May 31st, 2024
Premium: I’m Glad I Was a Girl in the 70s | Meghan Daum – May 25th, 2024
165 – Meghan Daum Wants Women To Stop Silencing Themselves – May 24th, 2024
Premium: Is It Asexuality, or Is It Anti-Depressants? with Freya India – May 18th, 2024
164 – Gen Z and the Agony of a Screen-based Life with Freya India – May 17th, 2024
Premium: “Men Should Not Be Induced to Produce Something from Their Nipples, That Some People Want to Call Milk” – May 11th, 2024
163 – Trans Ideology is a Restriction of Freedom, Not an Expansion of It, with Heather Heying – May 10th, 2024
Premium: Are Teens Replacing Friends with Therapists? – May 4th, 2024
162 – The Over-treatment of Young People – May 3rd, 2024
Premium: I Was Not Looking to Be An Activist with Tamara Pietzke – Apr 27th, 2024
161 – The Unlikely Whistleblower with Tamara Pietzke – Apr 26th, 2024
Premium: “People Aren’t Born into Some Special Category of Person Called Trans” – Apr 20th, 2024
160 – People Deserve Better Than This “Gender-Affirming Care” with Christina Buttons – Apr 19th, 2024
Premium: When “Helpful” Treatments Harm Patients – Apr 13th, 2024
159 – From Opioids to Gender, How Harmful Policies Scale in our Modern Healthcare System with Dr. Carrie Mendoza – Apr 12th, 2024
Premium: The Ancient Link Between Religion and Mutilation – Apr 6th, 2024
158 – The Little-Known Shocking History of Gender Identity Ideology with Malcolm Clark – Apr 5th, 2024
Premium: From Transmaxxing to Transhumanism – Mar 30th, 2024
157 – Is Our Culture Incentivizing Men to Transition? with Sascha Bailey – Mar 29th, 2024
Premium: How Has WPATH Responded to the Leaked Files? – Mar 23rd, 2024
156 – “WPATH Has No Respect for Medical Ethics” with Mia Hughes – Mar 22nd, 2024
Premium: Tales of a Canceled Evolutionary Biologist – Mar 16th, 2024
155 – Loop de Loops and Deepities of Sex and Gender with Colin Wright – Mar 15th, 2024
Premium: Bringing Androgyny Back – Mar 13th, 2024
154 – “My Entire Childhood Was Medicalized” with Scarlet – Mar 12th, 2024
Premium: Talking About Medical Ethics and the AAP Conference with Laura Becker – Mar 9th, 2024
153 – Why Smart, Quirky, Artistic Girls Take Up the Transition Fantasy w/Laura Becker – Mar 8th, 2024
Premium: Silencing, Shaming and Scapegoating with Kathleen Stock – Mar 2nd, 2024
152 – Trapped in a Language Cul-De-Sac with Kathleen Stock – Mar 1st, 2024
Premium: Like a Daydream Out of a Science Fiction Novel – Feb 24th, 2024
151 – “These Doctors Have Forgotten the Meaning of Medicine” with Dr. Eithan Haim – Feb 23rd, 2024
Premium: The Weaponization of Female Empathy with Dr. Leor Sapir – Feb 17th, 2024
150 – The Consumerism of Gender-Affirming Care with Leor Sapir – Feb 16th, 2024
Premium: Letting Go of the False Promise – Feb 10th, 2024
149: Walking My ROGD Daughter Through Desistance with January Littlejohn – Feb 9th, 2024
Premium: What to do When Kids Cling to their Dysphoria – Feb 3rd, 2024
148 – Identity Indoctrination & the Black Hole of Gender – Feb 2nd, 2024
2023 episodes
147 – Can We Win the Gender Culture War in 2024? – Dec 22nd, 2023
Premium: How can I address my 9-year-old daughter’s growing belief in non-binary gender identities? – Dec 15th, 2023
146 – Myths, Misconceptions, and Exaggerations about Gender – Dec 15th, 2023
Premium: Is gender a framework which limits people’s ability to express themselves fully? – Dec 8th, 2023
145 – Things ROGD Parents Need to Hear (even if they don’t want to) – Dec 8th, 2023
Premium: Graham Linehan shares how he talks about gender ideology IRL? – Dec 1st, 2023
144 – “Glinner is a TERF” with Graham Linehan – Dec 1st, 2023
Premium: Sarah Holmes shares how she talks about “gender” in day to day life – Nov 24th, 2023
143 – The Battle Over the Word Woman with Sarah Holmes – Nov 24th, 2023
142 – When Gender Hits the Holidays Part 2 – Nov 21st, 2023
Premium: Bonus Conversation with Dr. Jillian Spencer – Nov 17th, 2023
141 – Silenced for Asking Questions About Gender Medicine with Dr. Jillian Spencer
140 – Gender: A Wider Lens Live from Denver with Chloe Cole
139 – Sex, Politics, and Double-Standards in Women’s Sports with Coach Linda Blade
138 – The Emotional Lives of Parents Caught in the Gender Maelstrom
137 – Conspiracy Theories, Hoaxes, and the Detransition Time Bomb with Wilfred Reilly
136 – Gender as a Communication, It’s Not What You Think with Maggie Goldsmith
- Guest: “Maggie Goldsmith” of PITT Oct 12, 2023
135 – Intersex, Identity, & Ideology with Aaron Kimberly
134 – Genspect’s “The Bigger Picture” Comes to Denver
133 – Is Trans REALLY the New Gay?
132 – How To Have Impossible Conversations About Gender with Peter Boghossian
131 – Facing Futility: You Can’t Actually Change Sex, with Corinna Cohn
130 – Katie Herzog: Unblocked & Recorded
129 – Is “Gender-Affirming Care” an Oedipus Trap
128 – As Weird as a Chicken Crying: AAP Statement on Pediatric Gender Transition with Dr. Julia Mason
ANNOUNCEMENT | Weekend of Workshops Discount Offer
127 – Help! Gender Is a Mess at My School: For Teachers, Counselors, & Administrators
126 – Hot Takes: Sasha & Stella Revisit Controversies from Season 3
125 – From Gender Expert to Skeptical Dissenter with Sara Stockton
124 – A Culture of Desistance: Schools and Gender w/ Alex Capo
123 – Drag, Drinking and Taking off the Mask with Calvin Lunt
122 – We Wrote a Book: When Kids Say They’re Trans | A Guide for Thoughtful Parents
Follow-Up Episode: 116 Part II – Retraction w/ Dr. Michael Bailey
121 – Practical Advice for Managing Gender Identity in Schools with Dr. Kate Goonan
120 — Pioneer Series: Researching Sexual Behaviors with James Cantor
119 — Who Gets Embroiled in the Gender Debates
118 – Prioritizing Expensive & Invasive Interventions: American Healthcare w/ Zhenya Abbruzzese
117 – Gender, Parents, and Public Schools with Kate Parker
- Guest: Kate Parker Jun 9th, 2023
116 — Identity Politics vs. The Pursuit of Knowledge with Dr. Michael Bailey
115 — How Online Communities Shape Thought, Desire, and Doubt about Transition: with Eliza Mondegreen
114 — The Dutch Protocol: A Deprivation of Sexual Development with Julia Mason and Stephen Levine
113 — Gender A Wider Lens LIVE from Ireland
- Guests: Lisa Marchiano, with Helen Joyce, Colin Wright, Maya Forstater, Jessie Mannisto, Lisa Selin Davis, Malcolm Clark, Laura Becker, Adrian from LGB Alliance, Wesley Yang May 12th, 2023
112 — Jamie Reed: “Every Ethical Line I Drew Was Walked On… We Are Hurting People”
Flashback Episode | 41 – Trans: A Conversation with Helen Joyce
111 — Affirmation Therapy: Necessary, But Not Sufficient
110 — Pathologizing Normal: The Lure of Identity Labels & Diagnoses
109 — What If We Are All Wrong: A Mother’s Regret with Rose
- Guest: “Rose” Apr 7th, 2023
108 — Genspect Vision: The Bigger Picture with Joe Burgo & Alasdair Gunn
107 — What Your Teen is Trying to Tell You
106 — Detransition Awareness: Beyond Identity & Political Narratives
105 — From Rejecting the Body to Finding Female w/ Victoria Smith
- Guest: Victoria Smith Mar 10th, 2023
104 — No Time to Think with Hannah Barnes: The Downfall of GIDS at the Tavistock
103 — Follow the Gender-brick Road: from Bi to Pan to Trans
102 — Dutch Journalists: Words Matter…The Media’s Influence to Share or to Silence
- Guests: Jan Kuitenbrouwer and Peter Vasterman Feb 17th, 2023
101 — Michael Biggs on Puberty Blockers: From Curiosity to Exposé
100 — Falling Down the Gender Rabbit Hole: A Tale of Two Therapists
TOP 5 of 2022 Countdown: #1 EP 93 – A Takedown of Gender Politics with Wesley Yang
TOP 5 of 2022 Countdown: #2 EP 69 – Pioneers Series: Post-Series Analysis & Break!
TOP 5 of 2022 Countdown: #3 EP 71 — Gender: The American State of Affairs with Jesse Singal
TOP 5 of 2022 Countdown: #4 EP 88 – Gender: Philosophy, Institutions, and Policy with Leor Sapir
TOP 5 of 2022 Countdown: #5 EP 66 – Pioneers Series: Where it All Started – The Dutch Researchers Steensma & De Vries
2022 episodes
99 — Detransitioned & Damaged by the Dutch Protocol: Teiresias
- Guest: “Teiresias” Dec 9th, 2022
98 — StoicMom: Using Her Child’s Trans Identity for Personal Individuation
- Guest: “StoicMom” Dec 2nd, 2022
97 — The Freedom to Believe or Not To with Rev. Bernard Randall
- Guest: Bernard Randall Nov 25th, 2022
96 — Official Launch: Clinical Guide for Therapists Working with Gender-Questioning Youth
95 — How We Think About Sex: Leonore Tiefer
94 — WPATH’s Bizarre 8th Standards of Care
93 — A Takedown of Gender Politics with Wesley Yang
92 — Brian Belovitch: From Boy to Girl to Woman to Man
- Guest: Brian Belovitch Oct 21st, 2022
91 — Uncovering the GIDS Disaster: Dr. Dave Bell
- Guest: Dave Bell Oct 14th, 2022
90 — Tomboy at Tavistock: Ellie’s Desistance Story
- Guest: “Ellie” Oct 7th, 2022
89 – Ritchie’s Detransition: The Myth of Adult Invulnerability
88 – Gender: Philosophy, Institutions, and Policy with Leor Sapir
87 — Medical Technology & Ethics w Jennifer Lahl
86 – Hormones & Identity with Bob Ostertag
- Guest: Bob Ostertag Sep 9th, 2022
85 — Mother-Daughter Story: “I Didn’t Want to be Yours Anymore” w/ Dr. Maggie Goldsmith
- Guest: “Maggie Goldsmith” Sep 2nd, 2022
84 — Denise Caignon From 4thWaveNow: The View From Behind the Scenes
83 — Trans Widow: Off the Grid with Shannon Thrace
82 – ASD & Gender: Who am I? with Dr. Tony Attwood
- Guest: Tony Attwood Aug 12th, 2022
81 – An Unlikely Court Case w/ Maya Forstater
80 — Desistance Part II — Advice for Parents
79 – Gender Identity: Literally False, Metaphorically True with Dr. Bret Alderman
78 — Affirming Reality for Kids with Stephanie Davies-Arai
77 — Desistance Pt 1 — Accepting Reality: Now vs Then
76 — Detransition Part II — The Emerging Picture in Research
75 – Borderline Personality: Distorted Attempts to Integrate – A Conversation w/ Lisa Duval
74 – Detransition – Part 1: Going Back & Moving Forward
73 – Shame, Narcissism, and the Transition Fantasy w/ Joe Burgo
72 – Disenchanted by Transition
71 – Gender: The American State of Affairs with Jesse Singal
70 – We’re Back! — Parents Lost in a Medical Scandal
69 – Pioneers Series: Post-Series Analysis & Break!
68 – Pioneers Series: Cultural Misunderstandings with Paul L. Vasey
67 – Pioneers Series: Men Trapped in Men’s Bodies, with Anne Lawrence
66 – Pioneers Series: Where It All Started – The Dutch Researchers Steensma & De Vries
65 – Pioneers Series: Gender – The Big Picture with Susan Bradley
64 – Pioneers Series: Psychotherapy Pre- and Post-Transition with Az Hakeem
63 – Pioneers: Mid-Series Analysis
62 – Pioneers Series: Adolescent Identity with Riittakerttu Kaltiala
61 – Pioneers Series: Autogynephilia: Myth and Meaning with Ray Blanchard
60 – Pioneers Series: We Contain Multitudes with Stephen Levine
59 – Pioneers Series: 46 Years of Treating GD in Kids with Kenneth Zucker
58 – Pioneers Series: Male Sexuality with Michael J. Bailey
57 — Pioneers Series: Male Femininity w/Paul L. Vasey
2021 episodes
56 – New Year’s Resolutions & Introducing the “Pioneers Series”
55 – Who Gets to Decide What’s Normal: A Conversation w/ Lisa Selin Davis
54 – Finding a Therapist for Your Gender-Questioning Teen: A Conversation W/ Lisa Marchiano
53 – You Affirmed Your Child’s Gender… How to Roll Back
52 – Gender Dysphoria & Detransition Research: A Conversation W/ Dr. Lisa Littman
51 – Clearing of the Pink Mist: A Conversation w/ Debbie Hayton
50 – When Gender Hits the Holidays
49 – Archives of an Epidemic: A conversation w/ Benjamin Boyce
48 – When an Adult You Love Transitions
47 – When Parents Disagree
46 – Helena Part II: Advice for Parents from a Former Trans Kid
45 – Helena Part 1: Social Justice, Fandoms & FtM Gay Boys
44 – Multiple Meanings of Gender Dysphoria: A Conversation with Aaron Terrell
43 – Sasha & Stella Answer Your Questions: Part 3
42 – ROGD and the Struggle to Grow Up
41 — Trans: A Conversation with Helen Joyce
40 — Social Transition: A Powerful Psychosocial Intervention
39 – Nonbinary Identities
38 – DSDs and the “Sex Spectrum”: A conversation w/ Claire Graham
37 – Womanhood: A Conversation with Milli Hill
36 – Talking Testosterone with Carole Hooven
35 – Communicating About Gender: Translating Between Parent & Child
34 – Gender Dysphoria & Suicide
33 – Beyond the ‘Gifted’ Label: A Conversation w/ Jessie Mannisto
32 – Stereotypes
31 – Silencing Thought: A Conversation with Heather Brunskell-Evans
30 — Sasha & Stella Answer Your Questions: Part 2
29 – Conversion Therapy: A Conversation with Bob Withers
28 – Behind the Curtain: Wrapping Up Gender Exploratory Therapy
27 – Marcus and Sue Evans both worked as clinicians in the Tavistock Centre in London for many years. Noticing red flags since the early 2000s, Sue was the first whistle-blower in the Tavistock Centre and Marcus resigned as its governor
26 – Behind the Curtain: Depth Work in Gender Exploratory Therapy – Part II
25 – Behind the Curtain: Depth Work in Gender Exploratory Therapy
24 – Behind the Curtain: Getting Started In Gender Exploratory Therapy
23 – Sasha & Stella Answer Your Questions
22 — An Unexpected Gender Evolution: A Conversation with Lauren
- Guest: “Lauren” May 7th, 2021
21 – Gender Dysphoria in Boys: Part 2 — A Conversation with Angus Fox
20 – Gender Dysphoria in Boys: Part 1
19 – ADHD & Gender Dysphoria
18 – COVID, Dysphoria & Listener Shout-Outs
17 – Autism and Gender Dysphoria
16 – Gender Dysphoria: What It’s Like For Parents
15 – One Detrans Voice: A Conversation with Carol
- Guest: “Carol” Mar 19th, 2021
14 – The REAL Ways to Manage Gender Dysphoria
13 – Are Brilliant People More Likely Trans?
12 – Identity vs Role Confusion in Adolescence
11 – Sex Therapy & Education: why are all the therapists ‘affirming’?
10 – Queer Theory: Subverting Life’s Categories
9 – The Politicization of Gender
8 – TransGenerational Wisdom: A conversation with Buck Angel
7 – Collective Collusion
6 – Gender Intervention: Treatment or Experiments?
5 – Hormonal Interventions — from Fringe to Mainstream: A conversation with Dr. Will Malone
4 – Why Do People Seek a New Identity?
2020 episodes
3 – Feminine Boy to Gay Man: a Conversation With Arty Morty
2 – Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria
1 – Trans: Identity vs Dysphoria
Gender: A Wider Lens Trailer
“Arty Morty” is the stage name of Robbie Luster, a Canadian bar manager and anti-transgender extremist. Luster is best known for being sidekick to anti-trans extremist Graham Linehan and for co-founding LGB Alliance Canada.
“Arty Morty” is originally a pseudonym that refers to a Sherlock Holmes case.
Self-reported background
note: Luster’s self-reported biographical claims below have not been independently confirmed and should not be treated as facts.
Robbie James Luster was reportedly born in the United States, claiming “my Canadian mother was in the US when she gave birth to me.” Luster claimed this parent, who reportedly died in January 2023, “endured terrible abuse from my late father.”
Luster claimed: “I’ve been a prison rights (and reform) advocate ever since my father was murdered when I was a child and the man who murdered him was sentenced to death,” adding “My father was shot in the head.”
In the late 1990s, Luster reportedly worked at a Toronto bar frequented by trans people.
Independently confirmed details
In the 2010s, Luster was general manager at TRANZAC (originally Toronto Australia New Zealand Club), a nonprofit performing arts venue. Luster stepped down from the manager role in 2018 but continued working at the venue.
In around 2017, Luster moved into public housing managed by Toronto Community Housing Corporation. In March 2024, Luster wrote: “Right now as I write this, I’m sitting in my rental apartment, which has been in a state of construction for over a year. My landlord, an agency of the City of Toronto, has mired my building in a dodgy renovation contract with dubious claims to improve energy efficiency. The project managers evaded building code standards in order to slash costs — even going so far as to doctor the engineering plans in an attempt to circumvent regulators. Now, years of planning and tens of millions of dollars later, the work is halted and my apartment’s stuck in limbo. I’m sitting here writing this amid a heap of exposed wiring, hole-riddled drywall, and mechanical equipment where the finished walls and ceiling of my living room should be.” In June 2024, Luster spoke to CBC about the issue using the pseudonym “Robbie James.”
Anti-trans activism
The Mess We’re In
As “Arty Morty,” Luster was an original sidekick on Graham Linehan’s anti-trans podcast, The Mess We’re In.
YouTube channel
In February, 2020, Luster began a “Arty Morty” YouTube channel that has included interviews with other anti-trans extremists, including
Guest appearances
“Arty Morty” has appeared as a guest in interviews with other anti-trans extremists, including Benjamin Boyce, Sasha Ayad, and Stella O’Malley.
References
Smee, Michael (June 14, 2024). TCHC lowers man’s ceiling below city standard. CBC https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/tchc-lowers-man-s-ceiling-below-city-standards-1.7234196
Girard, Gabe (undated). Sanctum // Inferred Views :: The Tranzac. Weird Canada https://weirdcanada.com/posts/sanctum-inferred-views-the-tranzac
Dagan, Dri (February 27, 2012). The Devil’s Music. The Whole Note https://www.thewholenote.com/index.php/newsroom/beatcolumns-sp-2121861476/intheclubsjazz2/15783-the-devils-music
Anti-trans coverage
White, Sasha (March 5, 2021). “A Lot of Adult Gays and Lesbians Quietly, Secretly Agree” -Arty Morty. Plebity https://www.plebity.org/article/a-lot-of-adult-gays-and-lesbians-quietly-secretly-agree-arty-morty/
Selected writing by Luster
[Luster, Robbie] (March 8, 2024). Forget it, Jake. It’s Canada. Arty Morty’s Substack https://artymorty.substack.com/p/forget-it-jake-its-canada
[Luster, Robbie] (July 26, 2022). Keeping the Faith: Gays played a major part in the founding of trans ideology, but over the last 25 years it’s become a religion that has completely run us over. Arty Morty’s Substack https://artymorty.substack.com/p/keeping-the-faith
Media
CBC with “Robbie James” (June 14, 2024). Toronto Community Housing lowers resident’s ceiling below city standards. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6423582
Gender: A Wider Lens with Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, and “Arty Morty” (December 25, 2020). EPISODE 3 – Feminine Boy to Gay Man: A conversation with Arty Morty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-THqe2_0XE
Resources
YouTube (youtube.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Instagram (nstagram.com)
Gettr (gettr.com)
Urban Dictionary (urbandictionary.com)
- Robbie Luster
- urbandictionary.com/author.php?author=Robbie%20Luster
TRANZAC (tranzac.org) [archive]
Fox News is a conservative American media organization that publishes consistently anti-transgender content. 2025 analysis revealed that Fox News covered anti-trans executive orders from the Trump Administration twice as much as other outlets.
On-air personalities
A number of former and current on-air personalities at Fox News are noted to anti-transgender activism, including:
References
Adamczeski, Ryan (March 12 2025 ). Fox News covers transgender issues almost twice as much as other major networks. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/news/fox-news-transgender-coverage
McNeill, Zane (March 12, 2025). Trump’s Anti-Trans Orders Get Most Airtime on Fox News, Report Finds. Truthout https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-anti-trans-orders-get-most-airtime-on-fox-news-report-finds/
Baragona, Justin (11 March 2025 ). New analysis reveals the extent of Fox News’ obsession with Trump’s anti-trans orders. The independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-transgender-executive-orders-fox-news-cnn-b2712988.html
Tirrell, Alyssa [with Harrison Ray & Rob Savillo] (March 11, 2025). Fox News outstripped CNN and MSNBC in first month covering Trump’s anti-trans executive orders. Median Matters https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-outstripped-cnn-and-msnbc-first-month-covering-trumps-anti-trans-executive-orders
Resources
Fox News (foxnews.com)
- Transgender
- foxnews.com/search-results/search#q=transgender
Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Katie Herzog is an American author and podcaster best known for gender critical views and anti-transgender activism. Herzog co-hosts the anti-trans “drama” podcast Blocked and Reported with Jesse Singal. Herzog’s work includes
- promoting disease models:
- promoting the “ex-trans” movement:
- never correcting or updating reporting on former ex-trans activist Ky Schevers
- sex segregationism regarding sports, incarceration, and other remaining sex-segregated institutions
- signing the anti-trans Harper’s Letter with J.K. Rowling and other anti-trans activists
- criticizing value-neutral and gender-neutral language like pronouns and inclusive medical terminology
- claiming that medical schools are “denying biological sex”
- promoting separatist and binary ideas of sex and sexuality
- criticizing nuanced and nonbinary ideas of sex and sexuality
- promoting LGB separatism and the “lesbian erasure” conspiracy theory
Note: for the trans-supportive artist born in 1979, see Katie Herzog and transgender people.
Background
Catherine Ronan “Katie” Herzog was born on May 18, 1983 in Asheville, North Carolina. Herzog’s parents are both emeritus professors who taught at Western Carolina University: Harold Albert “Hal” Herzog served as a psychology professor, and Mary Jean Ronan Herzog served as an education professor. Katie Herzog graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a bachelor’s degree in English literature and continued to graduate school before dropping out. Herzog has siblings.
Herzog has published writing in numerous outlets, listed below. Herzog got a start as a blogger on Tumblr and on a personal website. Herzog has attempted to delete much of this early work.
Herzog identifies as lesbian and lives in Washington state and North Carolina with spouse Janna Krein, a nurse.
Anti-trans activism at The Stranger
Herzog worked for Dan Savage as a freelancer for The Stranger, later serving as a staff writer from 2017 to 2020.
In 2017, Herzog wrote “The Detransitioners,” a piece critics considered a biased and flawed article supporting the ex-trans movement. The piece mentioned several people:
- Brynn Tannehill, a trans journalist whose criticism of the ex-trans movement appears to have motivated Herzog’s piece
- Marlo Mack, How to Be a Girl podcaster and supportive parent of a gender diverse child
- John Otto, a happily transitioned trans man
Supporting Herzog’s views were several activists promoting the ex-trans movement:
- James Cantor, a fellow gender critical troll in Toronto and promoter of many disease models of gender identity and expression
- “Jackie” aka “Jackal,” a Seattle area resident who was 25 in 2017 and moderated detransinfo.tumblr.com
- “Jane,” a Southern California resident who was 53 in 2017 and who joined the ex-trans movement after discovering radfem forums online
- “Ryan,” who was 43 in 2017 and who underwent medical transition steps but was not socially transitioned at the time
- “Cass,” who later came out as ex-trans whistleblower Ky Schevers
Schevers was deeply involved in the “gender critical” movement connected to trans-exclusionary radical feminism (TERF):
While hanging out among ourselves, I and other younger members of this scene would jokingly refer to ourselves and each other as “TERFs”, reclaiming what we viewed as a slur. Many of us got a kick out of having a secret life in a subculture outsiders (correctly) viewed as a hate group. We thought such people were ridiculous and misogynistic for seeing us as hateful and we frequently mocked them, acting as if they were ignorant, misled and/or overly sensitive. We would gather at a lesbian-owned coffee shop and complain about how trans activists were a threat to lesbian culture, talk about dangerous and disgusting “autogynephiles” trying to infiltrate “female-only” spaces, and the social forces supposedly pushing lesbians to “dis-identify from femaleness” and identify as trans.
Schevers 2021
Herzog never updated the original piece or covered the subsequent developments. No one has ever independently confirmed Herzog’s claims about “Jackie,” “Jane,” or “Ryan,” and the only one independently confirmed has come out against Herzog’s article and its thesis. This is probably the prime example that Herzog is not an objective source for information on trans issues.
In response, some critics burned copies of The Stranger and distributed stickers that said “Katie Herzog (writer at the stranger) Is A Transphobe.” Herzog claims to have been ostracized by some friends. The New York Times and The New Republic described the reaction to “The Detransitioners” as an example of “cancel culture.”
In 2024, The Stranger allowed Schevers to set the record straight on Herzog’s coverage, but none of Herzog’s other sources have been independently verified.
Relationship with Jesse Singal
Herzog and anti-trans activist Jesse Singal joined forces after both of them wrote pieces promoting the ex-trans movement. Singal’s piece When a Child Says She’s Trans came out in The Atlantic in June 2018. Earlier that month. they both attended the first Heterodox Academy Open Minds Conference in New York, and Herzog logrolled Singal in The Stranger. In April 2019, Singal interviewed Herzog.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Herzog was furloughed and was no longer employed there as of 2020. In 2020, Herzog founded Permabanned Media LLC and in March began the podcast Blocked and Reported with Singal. In July, Singal and Herzog both signed “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate” for Harper’s. That letter was signed by a disproportionate number of anti-transgender extremists.
After leaving The Stranger
Since leaving The Stranger, Herzog has become more outspoken on anti-transgender topics. Herzog has spoken frequently about the alleged cultural shift away from “lesbian” as an identity, promoted the disputed diagnosis “rapid onset gender dysphoria,” and suggested that the increase in trans-identified people is part of a “social contagion.” Herzog has also gotten money and attention for claiming that medical schools are “denying biological sex” by presenting more inclusive and value-neutral scientific terminology. Herzog’s posts on the topic via intellectual dark web promoter Bari Weiss were tagged as unreliable self-published sources by the r/medicine forum on reddit, causing the usual suspects to claim they were being censored.
As with most people who claim to be “canceled,” Herzog has seen an enormous increase in media appearances on conservative and anti-transgender shows and platforms since 2017. They include
Drink Your Way Sober
In 2025, Herzog released a book titled Drink Your Way Sober, which outlined Herzog’s struggles with alcohol use and dependence. Herzog promotes the Sinclair Method, which involves taking the opioid inhibitor naltrexone.
The book was blurbed by a number of other reactionary centrists, including Hadley Freeman, Meghan Daum, Scott Barry Kaufman, Sam Harris, and Nick Gillespie.
References
Schevers, Ky (June 24, 2024). The Reality Behind the Story I Told The Stranger. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/queer-issue-2024/2024/06/05/79545098/the-reality-behind-the-story-i-told-the-stranger
Doyle, Jude Ellison S. (March 15, 2023). The making of a detransitioner. Xtra* https://xtramagazine.com/power/detransition-terf-movement-elisa-shupe-247592
Higgins, Eoin (August 8, 2022). What happened to Glenn Greenwald? The former trans ally now sides with right wing transphobia. Salon https://www.salon.com/2022/08/08/what-happened-to-glenn-greenwald-the-former-trans-ally-now-sides-with-right-wing-transphobia/
Schevers, Ky (March 25, 2021). The Reality Behind the Story I Told: What My Life was Like When I was Interviewed for the Stranger. Medium https://kyschevers.medium.com/the-reality-behind-the-story-i-told-what-my-life-was-like-when-i-was-interviewed-for-the-stranger-2508d595689d
Doyle, Jude Ellison S. (March 24, 2021). What’s So Scary About Detransitioning? GEN. https://gen.medium.com/whats-so-scary-about-detransitioning-a8340daf3132
Stahl, Lynne (March 19, 2021). The latest form of transphobia: Saying lesbians are going extinct. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-latest-form-of-transphobia-saying-lesbians-are-going-extinct/2021/03/18/072a95fc-8786-11eb-82bc-e58213caa38e_story.html
Urquhart, Evan (February 1, 2021). An “Ex-Detransitioner” Disavows the Anti-Trans Movement She Helped Spark. Slate https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/02/detransition-movement-star-ex-gay-explained.html
Grant, Melissa Gira (November 6, 2019). Fixating on “Cancel Culture” in an Age of Transphobia. The New Republic https://newrepublic.com/article/155606/fxating-cancel-culture-age-transphobia
Lieberman, Hallie (May 3, 2019). Why Is Reporting on Trans Issues So Fraught? News-to-Table / Pressland https://medium.com/news-to-table/https-medium-com-news-to-table-why-is-reporting-on-trans-issues-so-fraught-c3b52b4b97c4
Serano, Julia (July 4, 2017). Why my piece won’t be appearing in The Stranger. https://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2017/07/why-my-piece-wont-be-appearing-in.html
Serano, Julia (June 30, 2017). Stop pitting detransitoners against happily transitioned people. https://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2017/06/stop-pitting-detransitoners-against.html
Coverage in anti-trans press
Yang, Wesley (August 11, 2022). The Reporter Who Lost and Gained Everything By Telling the Truth About People Who Aren’t Supposed to Exist. Year Zero https://wesleyyang.substack.com/p/the-reporter-who-lost-and-gained
McFadden, Joey (August 26, 2024). (Il)liberal Gender Ideology Confuses Children and Stifles Discourse. Fair Observer https://www.fairobserver.com/politics/illiberal-gender-ideology-confuses-children-and-stifles-discourse/
McDermott, John (November 2, 2019). Those People We Tried to Cancel? They’re All Hanging Out Together. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/style/what-is-cancel-culture.html
Selected anti-trans writing by Herzog
Herzog, Katie (July 27, 2021). Med Schools Are Now Denying Biological Sex. The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/med-schools-are-now-denying-biological
Herzog, Katie (November 27, 2020). Where Have All The Lesbians Gone? They’re coming out as nonbinary or as men. The Weekly Dish https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/where-have-all-the-lesbians-gone-0a7
Herzog, Katie (February 4, 2020). Controversial Feminist Event at the Library Goes on Despite Threats, Interruptions, and Protests. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/02/04/42751372/controversial-feminist-event-at-the-library-goes-on-despite-threats-interruptions-and-protests
Herzog, Katie (January 13, 2020). Amid Protests, Seattle Public Library Affirms Commitment to Free Speech. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/01/13/42551375/amid-protests-seattle-public-library-affirms-commitment-to-free-speech
Herzog, Katie (October 10, 2019). Supreme Court Case Makes Strange Bedfellows of Conservative Christians and Radical Feminists. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2019/10/10/41649666/supreme-court-case-makes-strange-bedfellows-of-conservative-christians-and-radical-feminists
Herzog, Katie (September 23, 2019). Is the Life Expectancy of Trans Women in the U.S. Just 35? No. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2019/09/23/41471629/is-the-life-expectancy-of-trans-women-in-the-us-just-35-no
Herzog, Katie (September 17, 2019). Cancel Culture: What Exactly Is This Thing? The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2019/09/17/41416013/cancel-culture-what-exactly-is-this-thing
Herzog, Katie (September 3, 2019). Adam Director Rhys Ernst on When Cancel Culture Comes For Your Work. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/film/2019/09/03/41280771/adam-director-rhys-ernst-on-when-cancel-culture-comes-for-your-work
Herzog, Katie (May 17, 2019). Social Media Companies Are Banning Extremists. Others Are Getting Caught in the Crossfire. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/articles/2019/05/17/40234886/social-media-companies-are-banning-extremists-others-are-getting-caught-in-the-crossfire
Herzog, Katie (April 18, 2019 ). The Government Doesn’t Need to Erase History. The Media Is Doing It for Them. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/media/2019/04/18/39941044/the-government-doesnt-need-to-erase-history-the-media-is-doing-it-for-them
Herzog, Katie (November 19, 2018). Study Claims Gender Nonconforming Children Were Different Gender in Their Past Lives. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/lgbtqitslfa/2018/11/19/35865090/study-says-gender-nonconforming-children-were-opposite-sex-in-past-lives
Herzog, Katie (September 6, 2018). “They” Is a Fine Pronoun, But It Ain’t Mine. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/articles/2018/09/06/31903785/they-is-a-fine-pronoun-but-it-aint-mine
Herzog, Katie (November 30, 2018). If the Future Is Nonbinary, It’s a Bleak One for Women. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/the-ladies/2018/11/30/36431918/if-the-future-is-nonbinary-its-a-bleak-one-for-women
Herzog, Katie (July 9, 2018). The Left’s Mischaracterizations of Jordan Peterson Will Make His Followers Turn Right. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/articles/2018/07/09/28930684/the-lefts-mischaracterizations-of-jordan-peterson-will-make-his-followers-turn-right
Herzog, Katie (June 19, 2018). Twitter, Trans Kids, Call-Out Culture, and a $10,000 Blunt. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/lgbtqitslfa/2018/06/19/27872645/twitter-trans-kids-call-out-culture-and-a-10000-blunt
Herzog, Katie (May 31, 2018). Wrongspeak Is a Safe Space for Dangerous Ideas. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/podcasts/2018/05/31/26879132/wrong-speak-is-a-safe-space-for-dangerous-ideas
Herzog, Katie (April 6, 2018). Kevin Williamson Has Terrible Ideas, But He Got One Thing Right. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/media/2018/04/06/26014612/kevin-williamson-has-terrible-ideas-but-he-got-one-thing-right
Herzog, Katie (January 23, 2018). Call-Out Culture Is a Toxic Garbage Dumpster Fire of Trash. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/language/2018/01/23/25741141/call-out-culture-is-a-toxic-garbage-dumpster-fire-of-trash
Herzog, Katie (December 5, 2017). Popular Leftist YouTuber ContraPoints Gets Caught Up in University of British Columbia Free Speech Debate. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/video/2017/12/05/25607468/popular-leftist-youtuber-contrapoints-gets-caught-up-in-university-of-british-columbia-free-speech-debate
Herzog, Katie (August 30, 2017). Philly Trans Health Conference Cancels Sessions on Detransitioning. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/lgbtqitslfa/2017/08/30/25382933/philly-trans-health-conference-cancels-sessions-on-detransitioning
Herzog, Katie (June 28, 2017). The Detransitioners: They Were Transgender, Until They Weren’t. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/features/2017/06/28/25252342/the-detransitioners-they-were-transgender-until-they-werent
Book
Herzog, Katie (2025). Drink Your Way Sober: The Science-Based Method to Break Free from Alcohol. BenBella Books, ISBN 978-1637747391
Media
Hard Knox with Amanda Knox and Katie Herzog (September 16, 2025). How to Drink Your Way Sober (Katie Herzog). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm07K3r5MrM
Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson and Katie Herzog (September 13, 2025). A Controversial New Cure for Alcohol Dependence – Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3m3uCQQ72Y
Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy and Katie Herzog (August 7, 2025). Drink Your Way Sober – Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzYZZdRKdoY
Stonger Weekly / Running Free with Jesse Carrajat, and Katie Herzog (August 4, 2025). Can You Drink Your Way Sober? | Katie Herzog, Author, Journalist, & Host of Blocked and Reported. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A52Y07JWbQ
Random Offense with Ethan Strauss and Katie Herzog (June 27, 2025). Episode 6 with Katie Herzog | Random Offense with Ethan Strauss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHzwrdsMxAU
Brad Polumbo with Katie Herzog (May 17, 2025). “Gen Z is unhinged!”: Brad Polumbo & Katie Herzog talk TikTok & Cancel Culture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTKgdtxGYRE
Unaligned with Ana Kasparian and Katie Herzog (February 14, 2025). Culture Wars and Cancellations In The New Trump Era. Unaligned https://kasparian.substack.com/p/culture-wars-and-cancellations-in
Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps and Katie Herzog (September 30, 2024). “The Alcoholism Myth” with Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfP51cO5Ilk
The Megyn Kelly Show with Megyn Kelly, Katie Herzog, and Jesse Singal (April 25, 2024). Free Speech vs. Harassment, and the State of “Cancel Culture,” with Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UexK-h5meVU
The Megyn Kelly Show with Megyn Kelly, Katie Herzog, and Jesse Singal (April 25, 2024). Are We Past the Worst of the Cancelations in Our Culture? With Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jDJcyzmQp4
The Megyn Kelly Show with Megyn Kelly, Katie Herzog, and Jesse Singal (April 25, 2024). Truth About “Trans Athletes” Bill in New Hampshire, with Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQic52fz-3E
Brad Polumbo with Katie Herzog (March 10, 2024). ‘The queer community KICKED me OUT!’ (ft. Katie Herzog). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p4avZ6ccUw
Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry and Katie Herzog (February 26, 2024). Will the Trans Craze Ever End? – Katie Herzog | Maiden Mother Matriarch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCJrIgQz09c
Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry and Katie Herzog (February 18, 2024). Where Have All the Lesbians Gone? – Katie Herzog | Maiden Mother Matriarch 53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-WsqWMGxzU
Gender: A Wider Lens with Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, and Katie Herzog (September 8, 2023). EP 130: Katie Herzog: Unblocked and Recorded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vaI4NDcd4A
System Update witth Glenn Greenwald and Katie Herzog (January 24, 2023). How the Toxic Debates Around Trans Issues May Be Improving, with Katie Herzog | SYSTEM UPDATE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcM31UEGB0Y
A Special Place in Hell with Meghan Daum, Sarah Haider, and Katie Herzog (November 20, 2022). Katie Herzog Visits Hell. https://aspecialplace.substack.com/p/katie-herzog-visits-hell
Coleman Hughes with Katie Herzog (July 17, 2022). Defining Genders: What Does It Mean To Identify With a Gender? with Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Kmn_feSCw
Coleman Hughes and Katie Herzog (July 16, 2022). The Pride Generation with Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruvlgINs70c
Coleman Hughes and Katie Herzog (July 10, 2022). “The Gender Identity Conversation” with Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExwWYLKqftc
Transparency with Aaron Kimberly, Aaron Terrell, and Katie Herzog (July 3, 2022). EP40 – I should send them a fruit basket – with Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3eZjJkNCRc
Real Time with Bill Maher, Andrew Sullivan, Katie Herzog, and Christine Emba (June 24, 2022). Overtime: Andrew Sullivan, Katie Herzog, Christine Emba | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7QITC__mV4
The Veritas Podcast with Scott Veritas and Katie Herzog (March 29, 2022). Navigating the Transgender Discourse Minefield | Katie Herzog | The Veritas Podcast #19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdbXEd_9Xkc
Lou Perez with Katie Herzog (February 24, 2022). The Lou Perez Podcast Episode 48 – Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej8VjfgAlgc
Rebel Wisdom with David Fuller and Katie Herzog (Ocober 20, 2021). Chappelle & Trans Activism, Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dlunZ082AA
Matt Lewis with Katie Herzog (October 13, 2021). Matt Lewis Interviews Katie Herzog about Dave Chappelle’s Netflix Special. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsQT5n61eg8
The Megyn Kelly Show with Megyn Kelly and Katie Herzog (October 4, 2021). Woke Push Against Biological Sex in the Medical Industry, with Katie Herzog | The Megyn Kelly Show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeU4BP8XzPU
spiked / The Brendan O’Neill Show with Brendan O’Neill and Katie Herzog (September 2, 2021). Wokeness is bad for your health, with Katie Herzog | The Brendan O’Neill Show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0o7_7CyjrI
Independent Women / High Noon with Inez Stepman and Katie Herzog (August 11, 2021). High Noon | Episode 15: Katie Herzog – On Woke Medicine and Moral Panic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4stsVkEupk
Andrew Sullivan with Katie Herzog and Jamie Kirchick (July 2, 2021). The problems with the “Q.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj_atHF9YZI
Trish Wood is Critical with Trish Wood and Katie Herzog (June 26, 2021). Katie Herzog Cancels Woke Medicine. https://www.trishwoodpodcast.com/podcast/episode-59-katie-herzog-cancels-woke-medicine
Free Speech Champions with Inaya Folarin Iman, Bari Weiss, Helen Lewis, Katie Herzog, and Mick Hume (May 22, 2021). Can truth survive the new journalism? Feat. Bari Weiss, Helen Lewis, Katie Herzog & Mick Hume. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2wz6SuQSuY
Useful Idiots with Matt Taibbi, Katie Halper, Jesse Singal, and Katie Herzog (March 22, 2021). Substack Cancel Wars With Jesse Singal & Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB6BIhnQJuo
System Updare with Glenn Greenwald and Katie Herzog (March 18, 2021). The Role of Claimed LGBT Identity in Political Discourse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt8BZzLFpzA
The Femsplainers with Danielle Crittenden, Christina Hoff Sommers and Katie Herzog (February 5, 2021). Katie Herzog: Why Lesbians Are Endangered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GsBSpC4ZlE
Unregistered with Thaddeus Russell and Katie Herzog (January 16, 2021). Unregistered 148: Katie Herzog (VIDEO). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3JW-Djf2I
reNEWS with Amy Selwyn, Jonathan Haidt, Bari Weiss, Katie Herzog, and Suzanne Moore (January 15, 2021). Are Culture Wars Co-opting the Mainstream Narrative? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLRgTlsSg8M
Matt Lewis with Katie Herzog (November 9, 2020). Katie Herzog on What the Media and the Left Get Wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt1i_8k2g5E
spiked / Culture Wars with Andrew Doyle, Katie Herzog, and Jesse Singal (October 22, 2020). America is exhausted, with Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxVd-UyaSQg
Uncertain Things with Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Vanessa Quirk, and Katie Herzog (October 7, 2020). Why Everything Is a Culture War Thing (w/ Katie Herzog). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thoST58sb-A
The Unspeakable with Meghan Daum and Katie Herzog (September 27, 2020). #10 Katie Herzog On Why Exposing Social Media Hypocrisy Feels So Damn Good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_AOiAUiM1Q
Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy and Katie Herzog (September 20, 2020). Walk-Ins Welcome Podcast #95 – Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWFA_NrI720
Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy and Katie Herzog (September 3, 2020). Katie Herzog Never Expected the Concept of “Theybies” to Spread the Way It Has https://ricochet.com/podcast/walk-ins-welcome-bridget-phetasy/katie-herzog-never-expected-the-concept-of-theybies-to-spread-the-way-it-has/
The Federalist with Ben Domenech and Katie Herzog (August 8, 2020). Journalist Katie Herzog On The Insanity Of Cancel Culture And False Media Narratives. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WYPugy7nhM
Johnson, Jeremiah (August 7, 2020). Cancel Culture ft. Katie Herzog & Jesse Singal. The New Liberal Podcast https://www.patreon.com/posts/cancel-culture-38561642
Nonzero /Culturally Determined with Aryeh Cohen-Wade and Katie Herzog (July 15, 2020). Open Letters | Aryeh Cohen-Wade & Katie Herzog [Culturally Determined]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RdX6McwoOU
The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry Kaufman, Katie Herzog, and Jesse Singal (July 9, 2020). Uncancellable with Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal || The Psychology Podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4yALKu3RrE
The Backchannel with Kmele Foster and Katie Herzog (July 1, 2020). Shattering the “White Fragility” Myth, with Kmele Foster and Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAdzsh0HsqM
Rebel Wisdom with David Fuller, Katie Herzog, and Jesse Singal (June 19, 2020). The Death of Journalism? Katie Herzog & Jesse Singal, Sensemaking Series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9AVo3jXjN8
- PhilosophyInsights (June 19, 2020). [Edit] The Moral Panic and the Corruption of Journalism. YouTube / PhilosophyInsights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjT9NVOQW10 [deleted]
The Tim Dillon Show with Tim Dillon and Katie Herzog (June 14, 2020). #204 – Katie Herzog | The Tim Dillon Show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75N9DV8kGPg
My Northwest with Jason Rantz and Katie Herzog (June 11, 2020). Katie Herzog (Blocked and Reported host) on “cancel culture” in Seattle and at the New York Times. https://mynorthwest.com/1935924/cancel-culture-seattle-herzog/?
Michael Tracey with Katie Herzog (June 11, 2020). When did all left-wing activists become trans? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGo4glpvGYc
Calmversations with Benjamin Boyce and Katie Herzog (April 1, 2020). Quarantine Conversations: Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfLoXgrfiio
Nonzero with Kat Rosenfield, Phoebe Maltz Bovy, and Katie Herzog (March 12, 2020). Critiquing “Ugh-Men” Feminism | Kat Rosenfield, Phoebe Maltz Bovy, & Katie Herzog [Feminine Chaos]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4593zo615iE
We The Internet TV with Bret Weinstein, Heather Heying, and Katie Herzog (February 7, 2020). We The Internet TV Live in Portland with Bret Weinstein, Heather Heying, and Katie Herzog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1sqivHa3sA
DarkHorse with Bret Weinstein and Katie Herzog (November 14, 2019). Katie Herzog | Bret Weinstein’s DarkHorse Podcast #6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjELREOrtDc
The Versus Media Podcast with Stephen L. Miller and Katie Herzog (November 3, 2019). Episode 2 – The Very Cancelled Katie Herzog. https://millerversusmedia.substack.com/p/episode-2-the-very-cancelled-katie-aea
Singal-Minded with Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog (April 19, 2019) Singal-Minded, The Interview: Katie Herzog. Substack / Singal-Minded. https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/singal-minded-the-interview-katie
The Same Drugs with Meghan Murphy and Katie Herzog (February 8, 2019). Taking the white pill: Katie Herzog refuses to be put into a box. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR5DmKCjgVg
Unregistered with Thaddeus Russell and Katie Herzog (January 11, 2019). Episode 74: Katie Herzog. http://www.thaddeusrussell.com/podcast/74
Nonzero with Kat Rosenfield and Katie Herzog (December 4, 2018). Gender Transitions, Identity, and Catpeople | Kat Rosenfield & Katie Herzog [Feminine Chaos]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTo7o1sTHMs
Nonzero Clips / Culturally Determined with Aryeh Cohen-Wade and Katie Herzog (July 29, 2018). Jordan Peterson and Detransitioning | Aryeh Cohen-Wade & Katie Herzog [Culturally Determined]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IRAKuB1JI8
Resources
Trans Data Library (transdatalibrary.org)
Katie Herzog (katieherzog.info) [archive]
Katie Herzog (katieherzog.org) [archive]
Drink Your Way Sober (drinkyourwaysober.com)
Twenty Twenty Hindsight (twentytwentyhindsight.com) [archive removed]
Tumblr (tumblr.com)
- Babes of NPR
- babesofnpr.tumblr.com [archive removed]
- Don’t Ask, Do Tell
- https://dontaskdotell.tumblr.com/
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Splice Today (splicetoday.com)
- Katie Herzog
- splicetoday.com/authors/Katie%20Herzog [removed from archives]
- splicetoday.com/profiles/katie-herzog [archive]
Thought Catalog (thoughtcatalog.com)
- Katie Herzog
- thoughtcatalog.com/author/katie-herzog/ [archive]
Substack (substack.com)
- katieherzog
- Moose Nuggets
- moosenuggets.substack.com
- Chapter One: “And then I met Janna, the woman who would become my wife, and not only did I change my mind about dog fanatics, I’m ashamed to say I even became one myself.”
- Blocked and Reported
- blockedandreported.org
- alt url: blockedandreported.substack.com
The Free Press (thefp.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
The Stranger (thestranger.com)
Medium / Arc Digital (medium.com / arcdigital.media)
Portland Mercury (portlandmercury.com)
The Atlantic (theatlantic.com)
Salon (salon.com)
Mother Jones (motherjones.com)
Buzzfeed News (buzzfeednews.com)
The Guardian (theguardian.com)
Slate (slate.com)
Grist (grist.org)
Reason (reason.com)
This profile originally misstated Herzog’s birthday. In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.
Your Welcome is a podcast founded in 2017 by troll “Michael Malice.” Guests include many key figures in conservative and anti-transgender activism.
Below is a full episode list through 2023.
2023
- Dave Smith and Will Chamberlain December 20, 2023
- Alex Jones December 13, 2023
- Ian Crossland and Jack Angeli-Chansley December 6, 2023
- James Lindsay November 29, 2023
- Dinesh D’Souza November 21, 2023
- Magatte Wade November 15, 2023
- Dave Landau November 8, 2023
- Luke Rudkowski November 1, 2023
- Moms for Liberty Tina Descovich October 25, 2023
- Kurt Schlichter October 18, 2023
- Cody Wilson & Jessica Solce October 11, 2023
- Dave Smith October 4, 2023
- Scott Adams September 27, 2023
- Kurt Metzger September 20, 2023
- Cenk Uygur September 13, 2023
- Ethan Van Sciver September 6, 2023
- Chaya Raichik (“Libs of TikTok”) August 30, 2023
- Gabriel Shipton August 23, 2023
- Gad Saad August 16, 2023
- Jake Angeli August 9, 2023
- Destiny August 2, 2023
- Carol Roth July 26, 2023
- Matt Lewis July 19, 2023
- Amanda Milius July 12, 2023
- Robert Barnes July 5, 2023
- Cody Wilson June 28, 2023
- Joseph McBride June 21, 2023
- Dave Rubin June 14, 2023
- Raheem Kassam June 7, 2023
- Roseanne Barr May 31, 2023
- Dave Smith & Konstantin Kisin May 24, 2023
- Andy Ngo May 17, 2023
- James O’Keefe May 10, 2023
- Martin Shkreli May 3, 2023
- Jack Posobiec March 29, 2023
- Natalie Sideserf March 22, 2023
- Karol Markowicz March 16, 2023
- Carpe Donktum March 8, 2023
- Dave Smith March 1, 2023
- Bridget Phetasy February 22, 2023
- Yeonmi Park February 15, 2023
- Kari Lake February 8, 2023
- Colin Moriarty February 1, 2023
- Mike Cernovich January 25, 2023
- Roger Stone January 18, 2023
- Curtis Yarvin and Dave Smith January 11, 2023
- Carl Benjamin January 4, 2023
2022
- Tom Woods December 28, 2022
- Alex Stein December 21, 2022
- Alex Jones December 15, 2022
- Jimmy Dore December 7, 2022
- Ben Askren November 30, 2022
- Lora Logic November 23, 2022
- Dave Smith November 16, 2022
- Razib Khan November 9, 2022
- James O’Keefe November 2, 2022
- Ryan James Girdusky October 26, 2022
- Antoine Vaillant October 19, 2022
- Sour Patch Lyds October 12, 2022
- Matt Iseman September 28, 2022
- James Lindsay September 21, 2022
- David Pietrusza September 14, 2022
- Lou Perez September 7, 2022
- Seamus Coughlin August 31, 2022
- Auron MacIntyre August 24, 2022
- Robert Barnes August 17, 2022
- Dave Smith August 10, 2022
- Charlie Kirk August 3, 2022
- Alex Jones July 27, 2022
- Kari Lake July 20, 2022
- Kurt Schlichter July 13, 2022
- Sara Gonzales July 6, 2022
- Glenn Greenwald June 29, 2022
- Blaire White June 22, 2022
- Marc Andreessen June 15, 2022
- Dave Smith June 8, 2022
- Angela McArdle June 1, 2022
- Eric July May 25, 2022
- Hotep Jesus May 18, 2022
- Dave Smith May 11, 2022
- Sydney Watson May 4, 2022
- Dave Rubin March 30, 2022
- Aaron Berg March 23, 2022
- Lauren Southern March 16, 2022
- Curtis Yarvin March 9, 2022
- Mike Cernovich March 2, 2022
- Lily Tang Williams February 23, 2022
- Dave Smith February 16, 2022
- Thaddeus Russell February 9, 2022
- Corey DeAngelis February 2, 2022
- Count Dankula January 26, 2022
- Cody Wilson January 19, 2022
- Dave Smith January 12, 2022
2021
- Ethan Nicolle December 23, 2021
- Glenn Beck December 16, 2021
- Dave Smith December 9, 2021
- Chris Williamson December 2, 2021
- Mark Hemingway November 24, 2021
- Robert Barnes November 17, 2021
- James Lindsay November 3, 2021
- Siraj Hashmi September 28, 2021
- Yaron Brook September 21, 2021
- Maxime Bernier September 14, 2021
- Kurt Schlichter September 7, 2021
- Dave Smith August 24, 2021
- Curtis Yarvin August 10, 2021
- Ron Coleman August 3, 2021
- Dave Smith July 27, 2021
- Kmele Foster July 20, 2021
- Carol Roth July 13, 2021
- Alex Jones July 6, 2021
- Dave Smith June 29, 2021
- Adam Curry June 22, 2021
- Elizabeth Spiers June 15, 2021
- Jack Posobiec June 8, 2021
- Dave Smith June 1, 2021
- Eliza Bleu May 25, 2021
- David Pietrusza May 18, 2021
- Kristin Tate May 11, 2021
- Dave Smith May 4, 2021
- Mark Pellegrino April 27, 2021
- Corey DeAngelis April 13, 2021
- Dave Smith April 6, 2021
- James Lindsay March 30, 2021
- Tim Young March 23, 2021
- Bridget Phetasy March 16, 2021
- Dave Smith March 9, 2021
- Madison Cawthorn March 1, 2021
- Justin Amash February 23, 2021
- Lauren Chen February 16, 2021
- Yeon-mi Park February 9, 2021
- Dave Smith February 2, 2021
- Tom Woods January 26, 2021
- Lauren Southern January 19, 2021
- Chris Williamson January 12, 2021
- Dave Smith January 5, 2021
2020
- Adrianne Curry December 22, 2020
- Dave Smith December 15, 2020
- Mike Cernovich December 8, 2020
- Tom Woods December 1, 2020
- Glenn Greenwald November 24, 2020
- Dave Smith November 17, 2020
- Phil Labonte November 10, 2020
- Chris DeRose November 3, 2020
- Douglas Murray October 27, 2020
- Kurt Metzger October 20, 2020
- Dave Smith October 20, 2020
- Dave Smith October 20, 2020
- Laura Loomer October 6, 2020
- Joe Machi September 29, 2020
- Dave Smith September 23, 2020
- Tucker Max September 16, 2020
- Cody Wilson September 8, 2020
- Mikhaila Peterson September 1, 2020
- Chrissie Mayr August 24, 2020
- Stu Burguiere August 18, 2020
- Ashley St. Clair August 11, 2020
- Thaddeus Russell August 4, 2020
- Dave Smith July 23, 2020
- Chrissie Mayr July 21, 2020
- Dave Smith July 14, 2020
- Kurt Schlichter July 7, 2020
- Dave Smith June 30, 2020
- Dave Smith June 24, 2020
- Dave Smith June 23, 2020
- Dave Smith June 16, 2020
- Dave Smith June 9, 2020
- Dave Smith June 2, 2020
- Edward Stringham May 26, 2020
- Dave Smith May 19, 2020
- Dave Smith May 11, 2020
- Dave Smith May 5, 2020
- Dave Rubin April 29, 2020
- Dave Smith April 22, 2020
- Dave Smith April 15, 2020
- Dave Smith April 7, 2020
- Tom Woods March 31, 2020
- Jessica Tarlov March 24, 2020
- Mollie Hemingway March 17, 2020
- Matt Taylor March 10, 2020
- Amanda Lenox March 3, 2020
- Lou Perez February 18, 2020
- Matt McClowry February 11, 2020
- Geno Bisconte February 4, 2020
- Ethan Suplee January 30, 2020
- Dave Landau January 23, 2020
- Lisa De Pasquale January 16, 2020
- Buck Sexton January 9, 2020
- Richard Aldous January 2, 2020
2019
- Heidi Matthews December 26, 2019
- Kmele Foster December 19, 2019
- Arthur Herman December 12, 2019
- Joe DeVito December 5, 2019
- David Pietrusza November 28, 2019
- Jason Stapleton November 21, 2019
- Jack Posobiec November 14, 2019
- Zuby November 7, 2019
- Dave Smith October 29, 2019
- Mark Hyman October 22, 2019
- John Carney October 15, 2019
- Big “Jay” Oakerson October 8, 2019
- Terry Schappert October 1, 2019
- Karol Markowicz September 24, 2019
- Andrew Pollack & Max Eden September 17, 2019
- Dan Soder September 10, 2019
- Dave Landau September 3, 2019
- Zac Amico August 27, 2019
- Hotep Jesus August 20, 2019
- Ben Howe August 13, 2019
- Vit Jedlicka August 6, 2019
- Charlie Nash July 30, 2019
- Bridget Phetasy July 23, 2019
- Thaddeus Russell July 16, 2019
- Melissa Chen July 9, 2019
- Ben Domenech July 2, 2019
- Janae Marie Kroc June 25, 2019
- Luis J. Gomez June 18, 2019
- Lyn Ulbricht June 11, 2019
- Joey Salads June 4, 2019
- Ethan Nicolle May 28, 2019
- Ethan Suplee May 21, 2019
- [no guest] May 14, 2019
- Michael Wolf April 30, 2019
- Faith Goldy April 30, 2019
- Brandon Straka April 23, 2019
- Nick Searcy April 16, 2019
- Titania McGrath April 9, 2019
- Will Chamberlain April 2, 2019
- David Reaboi March 26, 2019
- Nick Monroe March 19, 2019
- Ron Coleman. March 12, 2019
- Bill Schulz and Joanne Nosuchinsky March 5, 2019
- John DeVore February 26, 2019
- Kristin Tate February 19, 2019
- Dave Smith February 12, 2019
- Maj Toure February 5, 2019
- Dick Manitoba January 29, 2019
- Michael Tracey January 22, 2019
- Jake Sabawini January 15, 2019
- Nomiki Konst January 8, 2019
- Tom Woods January 1, 2019
2018
- Allum Bokhari December 25, 2018
- Brandon Svarc and Bahzad Trinos December 18, 2018
- Count Dankula December 11, 2018
- Lux Alptraum December 4, 2018
- Imam Tawhidi November 27, 2018
- Anthony Cumia November 20, 2018
- Justin Silver November 13, 2018
- Marion Smith November 6, 2018
- Arthur Herman October 30, 2018
- Juanita Broaddrick October 23, 2018
- Ralph Sutton October 16, 2018
- Stephen Miller October 9, 2018
- Kurt Schlichter October 2, 2018
- Hans-Hermann Hoppe September 25, 2018
- Robert Epstein and Matt Taylor September 18, 2018
- David Pietrusza September 11, 2018
- Shane O’Mara September 4, 2018
- Rucka Rucka Ali August 28, 2018
- John Stossel August 21, 2018
- Freddy Lim August 14, 2018
- Matt Welch & Tom Woods August 7, 2018
- Mike Cernovich July 31, 2018
- Jessica Tarlov July 24, 2018
- Cody Wilson July 17, 2018
- Lauren Southern July 10, 2018
- Cathy Young July 3, 2018
- Ryan Holiday June 26, 2018
- Joe Machi June 19, 2018
- Scott Adams June 12, 2018
- Anthony Cumia June 5, 2018
- Stephan Kinsella May 29, 2018
- Geno Bisconte May 23, 2018
- Bethany Mandel May 16, 2018
- Lux Alptraum May 9, 2018
- Hotep Jesus May 2, 2018
- Aaron Berg April 25, 2018
- Kevin Gutzman April 18, 2018
- Karol Markowicz April 11, 2018
- Ed March 28, 2018
- March 21, 2018 Kristin Tate
- Pat Flynn March 14, 2018
- Tom Woods March 7, 2018
- [no guest] February 28, 2018
- Dave Rubin February 21, 2018
- Matt Iseman February 14, 2018
- Dan Gluck and Serge Becker February 7, 2018
- Frederick Bouchardy January 31, 2018
- [no guest] January 24, 2018 A Night for Freedom Mike Cernovich, Gavin McInness, Stefan Molyneux, Owen Benjamin
- Buck Sexton January 17, 2018
- Matt Welch January 10, 2018
- Owen Benjamin January 3, 2018
2017
- John DeVore December 27, 2017
- Ed Stringham December 20, 2017
- Janice Erlbaum December 13, 2017
- Brett Veinotte December 6, 2017
- Arthur Herman November 29, 2017
- Luis J. Gomez November 22, 2017
- Laura Loomer November 15, 2017
- David Pietrusza November 8, 2017
- Jeremie Ruby-Strauss November 1, 2017
- Tim Pool October 25, 2017
- Maddox October 18, 2017
- Kirsten Haglund October 11, 2017
- [no guest] October 4, 2017
- Lisa De Pasquale September 27, 2017
- Tom Ciccotta September 20, 2017
- Dave Smith September 13, 2017
- Stephen Miller September 6, 2017
- Gavin McInnes August 23, 2017
- Eliza Orlins August 16, 2017
- Thaddeus Russell August 9, 2017
- John Basedow August 2, 2017
- Don Caldwell July 26, 2017
- Kmele Foster July 19, 2017
- [no guest] July 12, 2017
- Jay Irwin (4chan) June 28, 2017
- Tom Shillue June 21, 2017
- Pax Dickinson June 14, 2017
- Tom Woods June 7, 2017
The Washington Free Beacon is a conservative American group blog. It publishes consistently anti-transgender content. Notable anti-trans contributors include Stanley Goldfarb, Charles Fain Lehman, Aaron Sibarium, Robert VerBruggen, and Matt Walsh.
Background
The Free Beacon was founded in 2012 by Michael Goldfarb (child of anti-trans activist Stanley Goldfarb of Do No Harm), Aaron Harrison, and Matthew Continetti (who is married to one of Bill Kristol’s children and was founding editor until 2019). Funding for the site originally came from billionaire Republican donors, which has drawn scrutiny and discussion regarding potential influence on editorial direction.
The site covers a wide range of topics, including federal government activities, congressional politics, elections, foreign policy, and national security. Its reporting has sometimes attracted attention for publishing stories critical of Democratic politicians, though it also occasionally covers controversies involving Republicans.
Over time, the outlet has expanded its staff and increased its coverage scope, including investigative journalism into lobbying, campaign finance, and policy decisions. While its content includes original reporting, it also features opinion columns from conservative commentators.
People
Founders
Masthead (2025)
- Eliana Johnson Editor in Chief (since 2019)
- Collin Anderson Executive Editor
- Vic Matus Arts & Culture Editor
- Peter Hasson Editor
- Ethan Barton Editor
- Zach Kessel Politics Editor
- Karl Salzmann News Editor
- Jameson Mitrovich Assistant Editor
- Alex Welz Assistant Editor
- Edwin Carlson Assistant Editor
- Adam Kredo Senior Writer
- Andrew Stiles Senior Writer
- Alana Goodman Senior Investigative Reporter
- Andrew Kerr Senior Investigative Reporter
- Chuck Ross Senior Investigative Reporter
- Jon Levine Political Reporter
- Aaron Sibarium Staff Writer
- Meghan Blonder Staff Writer
- Jessica Costescu Staff Writer
- Thomas Catenacci Staff Writer
- Jessica Schwalb Staff Writer
- Matthew Xiao Breaking News Writer
- Thaleigha Rampersad Multimedia Manager
- Matthew Continetti Founding Editor (2012–2019)
Contributors who have written about trans issues include:
References
Borchers, Callum (October 27, 2017). Analysis | Washington Free Beacon reported ‘an unknown GOP client’ funded Fusion GPS. It was the Beacon. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/10/27/the-washington-free-beacon-reported-an-unknown-gop-client-funded-fusion-gps-it-was-the-washington-free-beacon/
Selected writing
Sibarium, Aaron (November 3, 2025). ‘Citation Diversity Statement’: A Renowned Chemist Sounds Off On Her Boycott of a Premier Scientific Journal. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/america/citation-diversity-statement-a-renowned-chemist-sounds-off-on-her-boycott-of-a-premier-scientific-journal/
Sibarium, Aaron (October 13, 2025). The Problem With Conversion Therapy Bans. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/america/the-problem-with-conversion-therapy-bans/
Sibarium, Aaron (September 15, 2025). EXCLUSIVE: FBI Investigating Social Media Accounts That Appeared To Indicate Foreknowledge of Kirk Assassination. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/politics/exclusive-fbi-investigating-social-media-accounts-that-appeared-to-indicate-foreknowledge-of-kirk-assassination/
Goldfarb, Stanley (June 8, 2025). REVIEW: ‘The Age of Diagnosis: How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker’ by Suzanne O’Sullivan. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-diagnosis-dilemma/
Sibarium, Aaron (January 16, 2025). Penn Professor’s Fight for Free Speech Heads to Federal Court. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/penn-professors-fight-for-free-speech-heads-to-federal-court/
Sibarium, Aaron (December 4, 2024). What Went Down at the Supreme Court Hearing on Tennessee’s Ban on Pediatric Gender Medicine. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/courts/what-went-down-at-the-supreme-court-hearing-on-tennessees-ban-on-pediatric-gender-medicine/
Goldfarb, Stanley (November 24, 2024). In Search of a Second Opinion. REVIEW: ‘Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health’ by Marty Makary. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/in-search-of-a-second-opinion/
Sibarium, Aaron (July 23, 2024). Top Transgender Health Group Said Hormones, Surgeries Were ‘Medically Necessary’ So That Insurance Would Cover Them, Documents Show. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/courts/top-transgender-health-group-said-hormones-surgeries-were-medically-necessary-so-that-insurance-would-cover-them-documents-show/
Sibarium, Aaron (October 4, 2023). Planned Parenthood is Helping Teenagers Transition After a 30 Minute Consult. Parents and Doctors are Sounding the Alarm. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/planned-parenthood-is-helping-teenagers-transition-after-a-30-minute-consult-parents-and-doctors-are-sounding-the-alarm/
Sibarium, Aaron (August 11, 2023). They Support Sex Changes for Children, With Safeguards. A Top Child Psychiatry Group Won’t Let Them Speak at Its Annual Conference. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/they-support-sex-changes-for-children-with-safeguards-a-top-child-psychiatry-group-wont-let-them-speak-at-its-annual-conference/
Sibarium, Aaron (May 15, 2023). How A Left-Wing Activist Group Teamed Up With Big Pharma To Push Radical Gender Ideology on American Hospitals. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/how-left-wing-activist-group-teamed-up-with-big-pharma-to-push-radical-gender-ideology-on-american-hospitals/
Sibarium, Aaron (March 3, 2023). Yale Law School Invites Drag Queen To Read Ibram X. Kendi Out Loud to Students. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/yale-law-school-invites-drag-queen-to-read-ibram-x-kendi-out-loud-to-students/
Sibarium, Aaron (February 17, 2023). Is Your Baby ‘Nonbinary’? Social Workers in Pennsylvania Are Now Required To Say. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/is-your-baby-nonbinary-social-workers-in-pennsylvania-are-now-required-to-say/
Sibarium, Aaron (December 7, 2022). The Hijacking of Pediatric Medicine. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/the-hijacking-of-pediatric-medicine/
Sibarium, Aaron (June 28, 2022). A Gay Activist Group Gave Free Bus Tickets to Minorities and Trans People. It Likely Violated Civil Rights Law. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/a-gay-activist-group-gave-free-bus-tickets-to-minorities-and-trans-people-it-likely-violated-civil-rights-law/
Walsh, Matt (June 18, 2022). How Transgenderism Moved From Sideshow to the Main Stage: An excerpt from Matt Walsh’s new book, ‘What Is a Woman?’ Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/how-transgenderism-moved-from-sideshow-to-the-main-stage/
Sibarium, Aaron (June 29, 2021). In the UK, Resistance to Transgender Activism Is Fueled by Socialized Medicine and Feminist Wine Moms. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/in-the-uk-resistance-to-transgender-activism-is-fueled-by-socialized-medicine-and-feminist-wine-moms/
Continetti, Matthew; Goldfarb, Michael (October 27, 2017). Fusion GPS and the Washington Free Beacon: A note to our readers. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/uncategorized/fusion-gps-washington-free-beacon/
Resources
The Washington Free Beacon (freebeacon.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Ad Fontes (adfontesmedia.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
AllSides (allsides.com)
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
PolitiFact (politifact.com)
Aaron Sibarium is an American opinion writer and anti-transgender activist. Sibarium has written for a number of anti-trans publications, including Washington Free Beacon, New York Post, The Free Press, City Journal, Quillette, and National Review.
Background
Aaron Julian Sibarium was born January 9, 1996. Sibarium’s parents are Michael Sibarium, a lawyer, and Laura Govoni-Sibarium, a nursing consultant and synagogue volunteer. Sibarium and sibling Ely (born January 24, 1999) both attended St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and Yale. Ely Sibarium has published work about gender diversity and neurodiversity with John Strang and Scott Leibowitz.
Sibarium earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 2018. Sibarium interned at the center-right American Enterprise Institute and was an editor at The American Interest prior to its closure. Sibarium is an associate editor at the Washington Free Beacon.
In 2023, Sibarium reported on instances of plagiarism by Harvard President Claudine Gay, which contributed to Gay’s resignation.
Anti-transgender activism
While working as an opinion columnist at the Yale Daily News in 2017, Sibarium was triggered by Yale’s move to the term first-years vs. freshmen.
Sibarium has published anti-trans work in the New York Post, the Free Beacon, and in the Bari Weiss anti-trans publication Common Sense (now Free Press). The Free Press piece attacked the American Academy of Pediatrics for their guidance on COVID and trans healthcare, singling out APA members Morissa Ladinsky, Jason Rafferty, Brittany Allen, Michelle Forcier, and Ilana Sherer for criticism for their role in supporting trans minors. Sibarium praises Julia Mason of hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, as well as COVID skeptics Marty Makary and Vinay Prasad among others.
Sibarium and Charles Fain Lehman co-hosted the Manhattan Institute podcast Institutionalized.
References
Princeton University James Madison Program (February 18, 2026). Free Speech Initiative Event with Aaron Sibarium, John Sailer, and Greg Conti. https://jmp.princeton.edu/events/2026/free-speech-initiative-event-aaron-sibarium-john-sailer-and-greg-conti
Abramson, Jill (July 15, 2025). The conservative weapon bringing down university presidents and law reviews. The Boston Globe https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/15/opinion/washington-free-beacons-aaron-sibarium-combat-journalism-conservative/
Poynter Fellowship in Journalism (April 15, 2025). Jonah Goldberg, Robert Shibley and Aaron Sibarium. Bridging the Divide: Trust in Higher Education and Media Through Conservative Lenses. https://poynter.yale.edu/events/2025-04-15-jonah-goldberg-robert-shibley-and-aaron-sibarium
Sommer. Will (January 4, 2024). Harvard resignation is a win for conservative Washington Free Beacon. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/01/04/free-beacon-harvard-claudine-gay/
Vlamis, Kelsey (January 3, 2024). Elise Stefanik took credit for Claudine Gay’s resignation, but it was in large part due to a Gen Z reporter who says liberals should care about this story too. Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-reporter-aaron-sibarium-harvard-president-claudine-gay-plagiarism-2024-1
Novicoff, Marc (November 25, 2023). This Gen Z Investigative Reporter Is Rocking Conservative Media. Politico https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/25/aaron-sibarium-conservative-media-00117899
Urquhart, Evan (October 5, 2023). Adult’s Transition Decision Portrayed as Scandal by Anti-Trans Right. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/adults-transition-decision-portrayed-as-scandal-by-anti-trans-right
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (March 1, 2017). Sibarium ’17 to join brother at Yale. https://www.saes.org/news-detail?pk=915177
Selected writing by Sibarium
Sibarium, Aaron (November 3, 2025). ‘Citation Diversity Statement’: A Renowned Chemist Sounds Off On Her Boycott of a Premier Scientific Journal. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/america/citation-diversity-statement-a-renowned-chemist-sounds-off-on-her-boycott-of-a-premier-scientific-journal/
Sibarium, Aaron (October 13, 2025). The Problem With Conversion Therapy Bans. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/america/the-problem-with-conversion-therapy-bans/
Sibarium, Aaron (September 15, 2025). EXCLUSIVE: FBI Investigating Social Media Accounts That Appeared To Indicate Foreknowledge of Kirk Assassination. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/politics/exclusive-fbi-investigating-social-media-accounts-that-appeared-to-indicate-foreknowledge-of-kirk-assassination/
Sibarium, Aaron (January 16, 2025). Penn Professor’s Fight for Free Speech Heads to Federal Court. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/penn-professors-fight-for-free-speech-heads-to-federal-court/
Sibarium, Aaron (December 4, 2024). What Went Down at the Supreme Court Hearing on Tennessee’s Ban on Pediatric Gender Medicine. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/courts/what-went-down-at-the-supreme-court-hearing-on-tennessees-ban-on-pediatric-gender-medicine/
Sibarium, Aaron (July 23, 2024). Top Transgender Health Group Said Hormones, Surgeries Were ‘Medically Necessary’ So That Insurance Would Cover Them, Documents Show. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/courts/top-transgender-health-group-said-hormones-surgeries-were-medically-necessary-so-that-insurance-would-cover-them-documents-show/
Sibarium, Aaron (October 4, 2023). Planned Parenthood is Helping Teenagers Transition After a 30 Minute Consult. Parents and Doctors are Sounding the Alarm. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/planned-parenthood-is-helping-teenagers-transition-after-a-30-minute-consult-parents-and-doctors-are-sounding-the-alarm/
Sibarium, Aaron (August 11, 2023). They Support Sex Changes for Children, With Safeguards. A Top Child Psychiatry Group Won’t Let Them Speak at Its Annual Conference. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/they-support-sex-changes-for-children-with-safeguards-a-top-child-psychiatry-group-wont-let-them-speak-at-its-annual-conference/
Sibarium, Aaron (May 15, 2023). How A Left-Wing Activist Group Teamed Up With Big Pharma To Push Radical Gender Ideology on American Hospitals. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/how-left-wing-activist-group-teamed-up-with-big-pharma-to-push-radical-gender-ideology-on-american-hospitals/
Sibarium, Aaron (March 3, 2023). Yale Law School Invites Drag Queen To Read Ibram X. Kendi Out Loud to Students. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/campus/yale-law-school-invites-drag-queen-to-read-ibram-x-kendi-out-loud-to-students/
Sibarium, Aaron (February 17, 2023). Is Your Baby ‘Nonbinary’? Social Workers in Pennsylvania Are Now Required To Say. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/is-your-baby-nonbinary-social-workers-in-pennsylvania-are-now-required-to-say/
Sibarium, Aaron (December 7, 2022). Opinion: Pediatric group says kids should talk to their parents about tattoos — but not puberty blockers. New York Post https://nypost.com/2022/12/07/pediatric-group-says-kids-should-not-talk-to-parents-about-puberty-blockers/
Sibarium, Aaron (December 7, 2022). The Hijacking of Pediatric Medicine. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/coronavirus/the-hijacking-of-pediatric-medicine/
- Simultaneously published on Common Sense (now The Free Press) https://www.thefp.com/p/the-hijacking-of-pediatric-medicine
Sibarium, Aaron (June 28, 2022). A Gay Activist Group Gave Free Bus Tickets to Minorities and Trans People. It Likely Violated Civil Rights Law. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/a-gay-activist-group-gave-free-bus-tickets-to-minorities-and-trans-people-it-likely-violated-civil-rights-law/
Sibarium, Aaron (June 29, 2021). In the UK, Resistance to Transgender Activism Is Fueled by Socialized Medicine and Feminist Wine Moms. Washington Free Beacon https://freebeacon.com/culture/in-the-uk-resistance-to-transgender-activism-is-fueled-by-socialized-medicine-and-feminist-wine-moms/
Sibarium, Aaron (April 13, 2017). SIBARIUM: Why I’m an a–hole. Yale Daily News https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/04/13/sibarium-why-im-an-a-hole/
Sibarium, Aaron (March 30, 2017). SIBARIUM: Humyn resources. Yale Daily News https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/03/30/sibarium-humyn-resources/
Media
The Gist with Mike Pesca and Aaron Sibarium (September 11, 2025). Aaron Sibarium on Charlie Kirk, Retribution, and the Cycle of Violence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJcaUoYe8uA
The Charlie Kirk Show (September 5, 2025). The Reporter Who Brings Down Harvard Presidents ft. Aaron Sibarium. https://thecharliekirkshow.com/podcasts/the-charlie-kirk-show/the-reporter-who-brings-down-harvard-presidents-ft-aaron-sibarium
The Good Fight with Yascha Mounk and Aaron Sibarium (March 27, 2025). Aaron Sibarium on Identity Politics under Joe Biden and Donald Trump. https://yaschamounk.substack.com/p/aaron-sibarium-on-identity-politics
Karol Markowicz Show with Karol Markowicz and Aaron Sibarium (March 19, 2025). The Beat of Wokeness and Institutional Capture with Aaron Sibarium. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/karol-markowicz-show-the-beat-of-wokeness/id1709905477?i=1000699793167
Reason / Just Asking Questions with Zach Weissmueller, Liz Wolfe, and Aaron Sibarium (February 13, 2025). Aaron Sibarium: Is DEI over? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9W_YwEBCdo
Higher Ed Now / On the Record with Steve McGuire and Aaron Sibarium (December 20, 2024). Aaron Sibarium – On the Record https://higher-ed-now.libsyn.com/aaron-sibarium-on-the-record
Do No Harm podcast (September 17, 2024). S3E1b: Navigating the Voter Pulse on Pediatric Gender Medicine and DEI (Part 2/2) with Aaron Sibarium & Leor Sapir
Do No Harm podcast (September 10, 2024). S3E1: What Do Voters Think About on Identity Politics? (Part 1/2) with Aaron Sibarium & Leor Sapir
Hoover Institution / Independent Institute with Scott Atlas and Aaron Sibarium (June 27, 2024). Aaron Sibarium: Redefining Investigative Reporting | Ep. 29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_lBL7rBGFI
The Fifth Column with Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, Matt Welch, and Aaron Sibarium (May 24, 2024). #456 – Hoops, Sneks, and Very Bad Doctors (w/ Aaron Sibarium). https://www.wethefifth.com/p/456-hoops-sneks-and-very-bad-doctors
Wisdom of Crowds with Damir Marusic, Shadi Hamid, and Aaron Sibarium (January 8, 2024). Claudine Gay and the Culture Wars. https://wisdomofcrowds.live/p/claudine-gay-and-the-culture-wars
Independent Women / At the Bar with Inez Stepman, Jennifer C. Braceras, Wen Fa, and Aaron Sibarium (Jan 13, 2022). At The Bar: Race-Based Preferential COVID Treatments. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omrxykKaJi4
Manhattan Institute / Institutionalized with Aaron Sibarium, Charles Fain Lehman, and Leor Sapir (August 17, 2022). Transgender Issues and the Civil Rights State with Leor Sapir. https://manhattan.institute/multimedia/institutionalized-transgender-issues-and-the-civil-rights-state-with-leor-sapir
The CSPI Podcast with Richard Hanania and Aaron Sibarium (December 5, 2022). The Right-Wing Echo Chamber | Aaron Sibarium & Richard Hanania.
Manhattan Institute / Institutionalized with Aaron Sibarium, Charles Fain Lehman, and Michael Biggs (July 6, 2022). Institutionalized: Transgenderism with Michael Briggs [sic]. https://manhattan.institute/multimedia/institutionalized-transgenderism-with-michael-briggs
Subversive Podcast with Alex Kaschuta and Aaron Sibarium (May 31, 2021). Aaron Sibarium: Liberalism’s time to sober up. https://www.alexkaschuta.com/p/subversive-podcast-aaron-sibarium
Know Your Enemy with Matt Sitman, Sam Adler-Bell, and Aaron Sibarium (Dec 5, 2020). A Working Class GOP? (w/ Aaron Sibarium). https://www.patreon.com/posts/working-class-w-44702097
Quillette Podcast 38 (June 19, 2019). Jonah Goldberg & Aaron Sibarium with Toby Young
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Substack (substack.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Washington Free Beacon (freebeacon.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Yale Daily News (yaledailynews.com)
The American Compass (americancompass.org)
- Aaron Sibarium
- americancompass.org/browse-our-library/?_sfm_authors=53
The New Atlantis (thenewatlantis.com)
The American Interest (the-american-interest.com)
New York Post (nypost.com)
City Journal (city-journal.org)
Manhattan Institute (manhattan.institute)
Quillette (quillette.com)
Minding the Campus (mindingthecampus.org)
The Free Press (thefp.com)
National Review (nationalreview.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
AllSides (allsides.com)
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
.
Richard Hanania is an American political scientist, right-wing eugenicist, and anti-transgender extremist.
In 2021 Hanania began hosting a podcast via Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology (CSPI). It was called The Richard Hanania Show through 2023. and later renamed CSPI Podcast.
Guests include other anti-trans extremists, including Chris Rufo, Aaron Sibarium, Eric Kaufmann, Michael Shellenberger, Razib Khan, Steven Pinker, and Jesse Singal.
2025
- Jesse Arm of Manhattan Institute NOV 24, 2025
- Laurenz Guenther AUG 27, 2025
- Philip Wallach MAR 15, 2025
2024
- Stephen Goldstein DEC 17, 2024
- Eric Kaufmann JUL 15, 2024
- Bess Stillman JUN 17, 2024
- Rob Henderson MAY 6, 2024
- Romina Boccia APR 1, 2024
- Brian Chau MAR 18, 2024
- Andrew Roberts JAN 22, 2024
2023
- [Jessica] Riedl NOV 20, 2023
- Niklas Anzinger OCT 30, 2023
- Chris Rufo JUL 24, 2023
- Leopold Aschenbrenner MAY 15, 2023
- Bryan Caplan MAY 1, 2023
- Robin Hanson MAR 13, 2023
- Nicholas Bagley FEB 27, 2023
- Tim Miller FEB 13, 2023
- Jobst Landgrebe, Barry Smith JAN 30, 2023
- Joe Henrich JAN 16, 2023
- Garett Jones JAN 2, 2023
2022
- Alexander Young DEC 19, 2022
- Aaron Sibarium DEC 5, 2022
- Jonathan Anomaly NOV 21, 2022
- Rob Henderson, Zach Goldberg NOV 7, 2022
- Eric Kaufmann OCT 24, 2022
- Alex Tabarrok OCT 10, 2022
- Bryan Caplan SEP 26, 2022
- Tyler Cowen SEP 12, 2022
- Amy Wax AUG 29, 2022
- Stephen Grugett, James Grugett AUG 15, 2022
- Andrew Kenneson, Maxwell Tabarrok, Brent Skorup AUG 1, 2022
- Richard Lowery JUL 18, 2022
- David Bernstein JUL 4, 2022
- Seth Stephens-Davidowitz JUN 20, 2022
- Eric Kaufmann JUN 6, 2022
- Bryan Caplan MAY 23, 2022
- Eron Wolf MAY 18, 2022
- Jordan Lasker MAY 9, 2022
- Philippe Lemoine APR 25, 2022
- Gail Heriot APR 11, 2022
- Noah Carl MAR 28, 2022
- Steve Hsu MAR 14, 2022
- Jimmy Soni FEB 28, 2022
- Steve Hsu FEB 14, 2022
- Alec Stapp JAN 31, 2022
- Freddie deBoer JAN 17, 2022
- Jonah Davids JAN 3, 2022
2021
- Charles Fain Lehman, Gabriel Rossman DEC 20, 2021
- Philippe Lemoine DEC 6, 2021
- Leif Rasmussen NOV 22, 2021
- Robert Plomin NOV 8, 2021
- Michael Shellenberger OCT 25, 2021
- Razib Khan OCT 11, 2021
- Steven Pinker SEP 27, 2021
- Robin Hanson SEP 13, 2021
- Noor Siddiqui AUG 30, 2021
- Marc Andreessen AUG 16, 2021
- Philippe Lemoine AUG 2, 2021
- Eric Posner JUL 19, 2021
- Razib Khan JUL 5, 2021
- Mark Lutter JUN 21, 2021
- Sean McMeekin JUN 7, 2021
- Jesse Singal MAY 24, 2021
- Bryan Caplan MAY 10, 2021
- Garett Jones APR 26, 2021
- John Mueller APR 12, 2021
- Philippe Lemoine MAR 15, 2021
- Eric Kaufmann MAR 2, 2021 & MAR 29, 2021
- Razib Khan FEB 4, 2021
- Zach Goldberg JAN 22, 2021
- George Hawley JAN 9, 2021
Abigail Shrier is an American author and anti-transgender extremist. Shrier is a key historical figure in the oppression of trans and gender diverse youth.
Shrier is author of the 2020 book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters and testified against the Equality Act before Congress in 2021. Shrier has contributed to numerous anti-trans publications, including The Wall Street Journal and group blogs Quillette and The Free Press. Shrier was affiliated with PragerU and is a fellow of Manhattan Institute, an anti-trans think tank.
Background
Abigail Brett Krauser Shrier was born June 21, 1978 and grew up in College Park, Maryland. Shrier’s parents are Sherrie L. Krauser, a judge of the Circuit Court of Maryland, and Peter B. Krauser, a judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.
Shrier attended Sheridan School and Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 2000, Shrier earned a bachelor’s degree from Oxford in 2002. Shrier then earned a law degree from Yale University in 2005. After clerking for Judith W. Rogers and Chief Justice Aharon Barak of the Supreme Court of Israel, Shrier was admitted to the New York Bar in 2006 and the California Bar in 2007. Shrier was an associate attorney at Irell & Manella from 2006 to 2008 before becoming a full-time writer in 2009. Shrier’s California license became inactive in 2009.
Shrier is a registered Republican and married wealth manager Zachary Loren Shrier in 2007.
Anti-trans activism
Shrier’s anti-trans activism focuses on:
Wall Street Journal (2018–2021)
From 2018 through 2021, Shrier wrote opinion pieces for the Wall Street Journal. Topics included:
Selected articles by Shrier:
- (August 29, 2018) The Transgender Language War: California threatens to jail health workers who refuse to use ‘preferred’ pronouns.
- (January 6, 2019) When Your Daughter Defies Biology: The burden of mothers whose children suffer from ‘rapid onset gender dysphoria.’
- (March 26, 2019) The Transgender War on Women: The Equality Act sacrifices female safety in restrooms, locker rooms and even domestic-violence shelters.
- (May 3, 2019) Standing Against Psychiatry’s Crazes: In 1979 Dr. Paul McHugh closed the sex-change clinic at Johns Hopkins. In the ’80s he testified against phony ‘recovered memories.’ He hasn’t given up the fight.
- (June 22, 2020) Amazon Enforces ‘Trans’ Orthodoxy: The company won’t allow a publisher’s ads for my skeptical book.
- (November 15, 2020) Does the ACLU Want to Ban My Book? Target stopped selling it in response to two Twitter complaints. A professor even wants to burn it.
- (January 22, 2021) Joe Biden’s First Day Began the End of Girls’ Sports.
- (May 14, 2021) To Be Young and Pessimistic in America: Generation Z is lonelier than millennials and more reluctant to embrace the responsibilities and joys of adulthood. Life online seems to be a reason.
- (May 31, 2021) Male Inmates in Women’s Prisons: If Congress passes the Equality Act, California’s dangerous policy would go nationwide.
- (August 9, 2021) A Pediatric Association Stifles Debate on Gender Dysphoria: Doctors who question the orthodoxy won’t be allowed to set up a booth at its annual conference.
Irreversible Damage (2020)
In January 2019, Shrier published a opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal promoting “rapid onset gender dysphoria.” Titled “When Your Daughter Defies Biology: The burden of mothers whose children suffer from ‘rapid onset gender dysphoria,” that article claims that increase in trans visibility is part of a “social contagion.” The piece received so much response that Shrier turned it into a book for conservative publisher Regnery. The op-ed was first promoted by Shrier’s PragerU colleague Candace Owens, followed by Ben Shapiro at the Daily Wire and Benjamin A. Boyce at Calmversations.
The book’s cover depicts a young girl with a void where her reproductive organs would be. One historian linked it to Nazi propaganda. The book was blurbed by other key anti-trans extremists, including:
Following the book’s release on June 30, 2020, Shrier appeared on BlazeTV with Steve Deace and on the podcast Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy. Amazon declined to run ads for the book on their site, which led to claims of censorship.
Shrier and the book got an enormous boost on July 16 after Shrier appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience. Philip Ellis noted in Men’s Health:
“Shrier invalidated the lived experience of trans and nonbinary kids and teens, and made numerous dangerous, entirely unsound false equivalencies. She compared transitioning among teenagers to historic adolescent phenomena such as eating disorders, self-harm, and (bafflingly) the occult, calling this age group ‘the same population that gets involved in cutting, demonic possession, witchcraft, anorexia, bulimia.’ She even described wanting to transition as a ‘contagion’ with the potential to infect other children with the same ideas, drawing yet more scientifically baseless parallels with eating disorders.”
Target briefly pulled the book in response to concerns, which led to more claims of censorship. Several book launches were canceled, leading to more claims of censorship. Several local libraries faced backlash after including it. After lawyer Chase Strangio posted support for banning the book, conservatives claimed this was the view of Strangio’s employer, the ACLU. Some translators refused to translate the book into other languages. In July 2021, the American Booksellers Association apologized after including the book in a monthly mailing.
The book is notable for how a network of anti-trans academics and media figures worked together to present Shrier as a free speech martyr being “candeled” by the “trans mob,” similar to how the 2003 anti-trans book The Man Who Woould Be Queen was promoted.
Quillette (2020–present)
Around the time Irreversible Damage was released, Shrier began posting self-promotional pieces on anti-trans group blog Quillette, including:
The Free Press (2021–present)
Shrier’s friend Bari Weiss hired Shrier to write for anti-trans group blog The Free Press in 2021. On October 5 of that year, Shrier published a piece featuring Erica Anderson and Marci Bowers where they “sound off on puberty blockers, ‘affirmative’ care, the inhibition of sexual pleasure, and the suppression of dissent in their field.” Many of Bowers’ peers were stunned by the report, and both WPATH and USPATH released a statement in the wake of negative community response.
- (June 26, 2021) The Books Are Already Burning The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/the-books-are-already-burning
- (October 4, 2021) Top Trans Doctors Blow the Whistle on ‘Sloppy’ Care https://www.thefp.com/p/top-trans-doctors-blow-the-whistle
- (December 21, 2021) Abigail Shrier on Freedom in an Age of Fear https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-on-freedom-in-an-age
- (June 19, 2022) Abigail Shrier: In Defense of Political Escalation https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-in-defense-of-political
- (February 27, 2024) How Bad Therapy Hijacked Our Nation’s Schools https://www.thefp.com/p/how-bad-therapy-hijacked-american-schools
- (May 2, 2024) Abigail Shrier: There Are Two Sets of Rules for Speech https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-there-are-two-sets
- (July 18, 2024) Abigail Shrier: California’s New Law Lets Schools Keep Secrets from Parents https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-california-gender-law-newsom
- (July 31, 2024) Abigail Shrier: Republicans, You’re Going After Kamala All Wrong https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-republicans-kamala
- (September 2, 2024) Abigail Shrier: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Our Government Censors https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-elon-musk-mark-zuckerberg
- (October 31, 2024) Abigail Shrier: The Kindergarten Intifada https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-the-kinderfada-revolution
- (January 30, 2025) Abigail Shrier: How the Gender Fever Finally Broke https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-how-the-gender-fever-broke-trump-executive-order
References
Gessen, M (November 22, 2024). What Democrats Are Getting Wrong About Transgender Rights. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/opinion/trans-rights-donald-trump.html alt title: The Secret Behind America’s Moral Panic
Cass Eris (April 26, 2024). Introduction to “Bad Therapy”, Abigail Shrier’s latest book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDR64_LVojI
Staff report (December 6, 2023). Japan firm nixes translation of U.S. Book questioning trans surgery. Kyodo News https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/45155
Jones, Imara (July 26, 2023). Episode 4: ‘A Voice for Anti-Trans, Mass Media’ | The Anti-Trans Hate Machine. Translash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv0bTrNdBNo Transcript https://translash.org/articles/a-voice-for-anti-trans-mass-media-animated-short/
Harkov, Lahav (May 23, 2023). Trans activists shut down book launch, sparking free speech debate. The Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/article-743968
Fox, Max (October 26, 2022). Learning From the “Bad Gays” of History. The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/bad-gays-podcast-interview/
Hsu, V. J. (2022). Irreducible Damage: The Affective Drift of Race, Gender, and Disability in Anti-Trans Rhetorics. Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 52(1), 62–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/02773945.2021.1990381
Bokat-Lindell, Spencer (April 8, 2021). How Trans Children Became a Political Football. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/opinion/transgender-children-sports-medical.html
Samantha Lux (April 1, 2021). Reacting To A Transphobic Prager U Video ft. Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uou_PDNmoCo
Cass Eris (January 1, 2021). “Irreversible Damage” – Introduction, from a cognitive psychologist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OLNEiECN24
- (Jan 29, 2021). Rapid-onset gender dysphoria? | “Irreversible Damage” from a cognitive psychology perspective
Eckert AJ (July 18, 2021). Irreversible Damage to the Trans Community: A Critical Review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (Part Two). Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/irreversible-damage-to-the-trans-community-a-critical-review-of-abigail-shriers-book-irreversible-damage-the-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters-part-two/
Iati, Marisa (July 16, 2021). Booksellers association apologizes for ‘violent’ distribution of ‘anti-trans’ title. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/07/16/irreversible-damage-anti-trans-booksellers-association/
Italie, Hillel (July 15, 2021). Booksellers association apologizes for anti-trans mailing. AP News https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-entertainment-business-arts-and-entertainment-amazoncom-inc-26035c9ee8c2720d1bd2dc7983b035f3
Eckert AJ (July 4, 2021). Irreversible Damage to the Trans Community: A Critical Review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage (Part One). Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/irreversible-damage-to-the-trans-community-a-critical-review-of-abigail-shriers-book-irreversible-damage-part-one/
Lovell, Rose (July 2, 2021). Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: A Wealth of Irreversible Misinformation. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/abigail-shriers-irreversible-damage-a-wealth-of-irreversible-misinformation/
Novella, Steven (June 30, 2021). The Science of Transgender Treatment. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-science-of-transgender-treatment/
Ryan, Haley (May 30, 2021). Pride breaks with Halifax libraries after controversial book kept on shelves. CBC https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/pride-breaks-with-halifax-libraries-after-controversial-book-kept-on-shelves-1.6045823
Gill-Peterson, Jules (April 5, 2021). Transgender Childhood Is Not a ‘Trend.’ New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/opinion/transgender-children.html
Ferguson CJ (January 19, 2021). A Review of “Irreversible Damage” by Abigail Shrier. Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/checkpoints/202101/review-irreversible-damage-abigail-shrier
Fonseca, Sarah (January 17, 2021). The Constitutional Conflationists: On Abigail Shrier’s ‘Irreversible Damage’ and the Dangerous Absurdity of Anti-Trans Trolls. Los Angeles Review of Books https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-constitutional-conflationists-on-abigail-shriers-irreversible-damage-and-the-dangerous-absurdity-of-anti-trans-trolls/
Sarcasmnation (December 31, 2020). Abigail Shrier Is Yelling ‘Fire’ In A Crowded Theater. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vDtohokRJY
Tracy, Matt (November 13, 2020). Bigots Swarm Twitter as Target Flip-Flops on Transphobic Book. Gay City News https://www.gaycitynews.com/bigots-swarm-twitter-as-target-flip-flops-on-transphobic-book/
Turban, Jack (December 6, 2020). New Book “Irreversible Damage” Is Full of Misinformation. Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/political-minds/202012/new-book-irreversible-damage-is-full-of-misinformation
Factora, James (November 17, 2020). Target Removed a Transphobic Book From Shelves — Then Replaced It a Day Later. them https://www.them.us/story/target-transphobic-book-removed-irreversable-damage-abigail-shrier
Valens, Ana (November 16, 2020). Target restocked a transphobic book because of money—not “censorship.” The Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/target-transphobia-book/
Valens, Ana (November 13, 2020). Bari Weiss Defends Transphobic Book Pulled From Target. The Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/bari-weiss-transphobic-book-target/
Quah, Nicholas (November 3, 2020). Should Spotify Be Responsible for What Joe Rogan Does? Vulture https://www.vulture.com/2020/11/spotify-responsible-joe-rogan.html
Cox, Joseph; Maiberg, Emanuel (September 16, 2020). Spotify CEO Defends Keeping Transphobic Joe Rogan Podcasts Online. VICE https://www.vice.com/en/article/spotify-joe-rogan-transphobic/
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/
Princess JelyFish (August 30, 2020). I Read Abigail Shrier’s Book So You Didn’t Have To. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W54nEWcoWvk
Jella Joie (July 29, 2020). Joe Rogan X Abigail Shrier Transgender Podcast Reaction/Commentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPJ-EZhig1Q
Parsons, Vic (June 23, 2020). Amazon refuses to advertise renowned anti-trans journalist’s book suggesting trans teens are a ‘contagion’. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/06/23/amazon-abigail-shrier-book-refuse-adverts-regnery-publishing/
Boylan, Jennifer Finney (January 8, 2019). Coming Out as Trans Isn’t a Teenage Fad. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/opinion/trans-teen-transition.html
Staff report (June 10, 2007). Achievement and Reasonable Pride. PrawfsBlawg https://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2007/06/achievement_and.html
Coverage in anti-trans press
Editors (December 17, 2024). Abigail Shrier Was Vilified. Now She’s Been Vindicated. The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-was-vilified-youth-gender-care
Williamson, Elizabeth (February 3, 2024). ‘My Heart Sank’: In Maine, a Challenge to a Book, and to a Town’s Self-Image. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/03/us/libraries-book-bans.html
Bazelon, Emily (March 17, 2023). The Battle Over Gender Therapy. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/magazine/gender-therapy.html
Gil, Vincent E. (January 2023). Review: Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. On Knowing Humanity Journal 7(1), January 2023 https://doi.org/10.18251/okh.v7i1.182
Paul, Pamela (July 24, 2022). There’s More Than One Way to Ban a Book. New York Times https://nytimes.com/2022/07/24/opinion/book-banning-censorship.html
Hall, Harriet (July 2021). Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents. https://www.skepdoc.info/gender-dysphoria-in-adolescents/
O’Donovan, Caroline (June 1, 2022). Amazon employees protest the sale of books they say are anti-trans. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/01/amazon-trans-pride-month-books-protest/
Long, Katherine Anne (May 3, 2021). Amazon overrules employees’ calls to stop selling book questioning mainstream treatment for transgender youth. The Seattle Times https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-overrules-employees-calls-to-stop-selling-book-questioning-controversial-treatment-for-transgender-youth/
Strimpel, Zoe (April 30, 2022). Abigail Shrier: Taking on the trans lobby has made me Public Enemy No 1. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/abigail-shrier-taking-trans-lobby-has-made-public-enemy-no-1/
Hall, Harriet (June 17, 2021). Trans Science: A review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Skeptic https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/trans-science-review-of-abigail-shier-irreversible-damage-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters/
Kirchick, James (March 31, 2021). The Disintegration of the ACLU. Tablet https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-disintegration-of-the-aclu-james-kirchick
Beattie, Tina (March 10, 2021). No Turning Back. The Tablet https://www.thetablet.co.uk/books/10/19579/no-turning-back-polemicist-abigail-shrier-on-transgenderism
Hourican, Emily (January 17, 2021). Girls who would be boys: The rise in teen gender dysphoria. The Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/girls-who-would-be-boys-the-rise-in-teen-gender-dysphoria-39975855.html
Cater, Nick (January 30, 2021). Queer Teen Craze. The Spectator Australia https://www.spectator.com.au/2021/01/queer-teen-craze/
Patterson, Christina (January 3, 2021). Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier review — the risks of transgender activism. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/article/irreversible-damage-by-abigail-shrier-review-the-risks-of-transgender-activism-tmlwhpdm9
Turner, Janice (December 30, 2020). Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier review — resisting the ‘transgender craze.’ The Times https://www.thetimes.com/article/irreversible-damage-by-abigail-shrier-review-resisting-the-transgender-craze-8mzrt3gk9
Staff report (December 3, 2020). Cold comforts – Our books of the year. The Economist https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/12/03/our-books-of-the-year
Staff (November 26, 2020). Miss gender – A book on transitioning girls is denounced as transphobic. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/11/26/a-book-on-transitioning-girls-is-denounced-as-transphobic
Pavia, Will (November 21, 2020). Author Abigail Shrier faces threats after warning of trans epidemic. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/author-abigail-shrier-faces-threats-after-warning-of-trans-epidemic-sd6qjt8ww
Halon, Yael (November 16, 2020). Author accuses Target of caving to ‘woke activists’ by briefly pulling book deemed ‘transphobic’ on Twitter. Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/abigail-shrier-book-deemed-transphobic-target-pulls
Steele, Anne (October 31, 2020). Joe Rogan’s Podcast Sparks Tensions Inside Spotify. The Wall Street Journal https://archive.today/20201031153328/https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-rogans-podcast-sparks-tensions-inside-spotify-11604156400
Kearns, Madeleine (October 19, 2020). The Beginning of Gender. National Review https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/10/19/transgender-craze-harms-young-women-especially/
Riley, Naomi Schaefer (June 16, 2020). The Trans Cult. Commentary https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/naomi-schaefer-riley/transgender-children-craze/
Golden, Sheri (2020). Review of Abigail Shrier’s (2020) Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Journal of Human Sexuality Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity Volume 11, p. 122ff https://www.journalofhumansexuality.com/_files/ugd/ec16e9_0946e401cbb54e20a6f78207667dc190.pdf
Selected anti-trans material by Shrier
Shrier, Abigail (2024). Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up. Sentinel, ISBN 978-0593542927
Shrier, Abigail (August 9, 2021). A Pediatric Association Stifles Debate on Gender Dysphoria: Doctors who question the orthodoxy won’t be allowed to set up a booth at its annual conference. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/pediatric-association-gender-dysphoria-children-transgender-cancel-culture-11628540553
Shrier, Abigail (June 2021). Gender ideology run amok. Imprimis June/July 2021 | Volume 50, Issue 6/7 https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/gender-ideology-run-amok/ reprint: https://endeavourforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2022-12-01_EFN_No180_Dec2022.pdf
Shrier, Abigail (May 31, 2021). Male Inmates in Women’s Prisons: If Congress passes the Equality Act, California’s dangerous policy would go nationwide. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/male-inmates-in-womens-prisons-11622474215
Shrier, Abigail (May 14, 2021). To Be Young and Pessimistic in America: Generation Z is lonelier than millennials and more reluctant to embrace the responsibilities and joys of adulthood. Life online seems to be a reason. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/to-be-young-and-pessimistic-in-america-11621019488
Shrier, Abigail (March 15, 2021). Equality Act testimony. (video) https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Shrier%20EQUALITY%20ACT%20TESTIMONY%20-%20%203-15-21.pdf
Shrier, Abigail (January 22, 2021). Joe Biden’s First Day Began the End of Girls’ Sports. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/joe-bidens-first-day-began-the-end-of-girls-sports-11611341066
Shrier, Abigail (November 15, 2020). Does the ACLU Want to Ban My Book?: Target stopped selling it in response to two Twitter complaints. A professor even wants to burn it. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/does-the-aclu-want-to-ban-my-book-11605475898
Shrier, Abigail (November 7, 2020). Gender Activists Are Trying to Cancel My Book. Why is Silicon Valley Helping Them? Quillette https://quillette.com/2020/11/07/gender-activists-are-trying-to-cancel-my-book-why-is-silicon-valley-helping-them/
Shrier, Abigail (July 8, 2020). Discovering the Link Between Gender Identity and Peer Contagion. Quillette https://quillette.com/2020/07/08/discovering-the-link-between-gender-identity-and-peer-contagion/
Shrier, Abigail (June 22, 2020). Amazon Enforces ‘Trans’ Orthodoxy: The company won’t allow a publisher’s ads for my skeptical book. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-enforces-trans-orthodoxy-11592865818
Shrier, Abigail (June 2020). Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Regnery, ISBN 978-1684510313
Shrier, Abigail (May 3, 2019). Standing Against Psychiatry’s Crazes: In 1979 Dr. Paul McHugh closed the sex-change clinic at Johns Hopkins. In the ’80s he testified against phony ‘recovered memories.’ He hasn’t given up the fight. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/standing-against-psychiatrys-crazes-11556920766
Shrier, Abigail (March 26, 2019). The Transgender War on Women: The Equality Act sacrifices female safety in restrooms, locker rooms and even domestic-violence shelters. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-transgender-war-on-women-11553640683
Shrier, Abigail (January 6, 2019). When Your Daughter Defies Biology: The burden of mothers whose children suffer from ‘rapid onset gender dysphoria.’ Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-your-daughter-defies-biology-11546804848
Shrier, Abigail (August 29, 2018). The Transgender Language War: California threatens to jail health workers who refuse to use ‘preferred’ pronouns. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-transgender-language-war-1535582272
Media supporting Shrier
The Spectator with Freddy Gray and Abigail Shrier (March 11, 2025). The truth about child therapy – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVvkO8CsYPA
Macdonald-Laurier Institute with Coleman Hughes, Mia Hughes, and Abigail Shrier (January 17, 2025). Coleman Hughes and Abigail Shrier on Identity, Speech, and Policy / MLI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Vt3EkSjvs
PragerU with Marissa Streit and Abilgail Shrier (Aug 7, 2024). Have America’s Classrooms Become Profit Centers for the Mental Health Industry? | Real Talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGXDZXpNHvI
PowerfulJRE with Joe Rogan and Abigail Shrier (June 27, 2024). Joe Rogan Experience #2109 – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTNjc8HyOaE
Gad Saad (April 2, 2024). My Chat with Abigail Shrier, Bestselling Author of “Bad Therapy” (THE SAAD TRUTH_1665). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzMNVGluc0E
Gender: A Wider Lens with Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, and Abigail Shrier (June 14, 2024). Bad Therapy and Irreversible Damage with Abigail Shrier | Episode 168. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xxrs1VrE38
Real Time with Bill Maher, Matt Welch, and Abigail Shrier (June 7, 2024). Overtime: Matt Welch, Abigail Shrier | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW9_J76MQRE
Ben Shapiro (May 5, 2024). Resisting Indoctrination | Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qNK7jN9vdo
Chris Williamson (April 20, 2024). Debating Therapy Culture & Gen Z – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5YuHvB2eso
Reason TV with Nick Gillespie and Abigail Shrier (April 10, 2024). Stop obsessing over our children’s happiness | Abigail Shrier | The Reason Interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwfIKOrWXCk
Real Alex Clark (April 4, 2024). “Therapy Is Preventing Kids From Growing Up.” – Author Abigail Shrier | The Spillover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_7Me9clH4g
Praxis Circle (March 29, 2024). Warning to Parents: The Value Vacuum Is Hurting Your Kids | Abigail Shrier Interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjfWAW3sqjg
Andrew Klavan (March 27, 2024). Why Gen Z Struggles So Much With Mental Health | With Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYXLeFU8ocs
UnHerd with Flo Read and Abigail Shrier.(March 19, 2024). Abigail Shrier: How therapy culture creates victims. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJMhyG50N-Y
Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry (March 17, 2024). The Mental Health Industrial Complex – Abigail Shrier | Maiden Mother Matriarch 61. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaIWsR0Qlac
Glenn Beck (March 16, 2024). Is Too Much Therapy Hurting Our Kids? | Abigail Shrier | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 213. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubnyW3kkhE0
Manhattan Insights with Yael Hungerford and Abigail Shrier (March 7, 2024). Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up | A Conversation with Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHBILSnloCc
Spiked with Brendan O’Neill and Abigail Shrier (March 7, 2024). Abigail Shrier: Bad therapy is hurting our kids. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYy28tK5z_0
Allie Beth Stuckey (March 6, 2024). How Gentle Parenting Hurts Kids | Guest: Abigail Shrier | Ep 963. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s0PO57rs00
Coleman Hughes (March 1, 2024). Is Therapy Bad for You? with Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvBk5huq8w0
Jordan B Peterson (February 29, 2024). Bad Therapy, Weak Parenting, Broken Children | Abigail Shrier | EP 427. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4roLI_Gb12I
Bridget Phetasy (February 29, 2024). Bad Therapy: Why The Kids Aren’t Growing Up – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIAlYi22b08
“YOUR WELCOME” with Michael Malice (February 28, 2024). “YOUR WELCOME” with Michael Malice #300: Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sw87u86i2E
Sitch & Adam Show with “Adam Friended” and “PSA Sitch” (October 30, 2022). John Oliver GASLIGHTS Trans Children – Debunking “Last Week Tonight” LIES LIES LIES : Show 215. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLFlZ4XnpbI
Misha Petrov (September 9, 2022). The “Transgender Epidemic” – Why So Many Young Girls Are Transitioning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ0x5xJL_X8
Turning Point USA with Alex Clark and Abigail Shrier (April 1, 2022). Abigail Shrier exposes the TRUTH to Parents about the Trans Movement in Schools Across America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Rj5SIbfvw
FAIR with Bion Bartning, Abigail Shrier, Colin Wright, Zander Keig, Carrie Mendoza, Candice Jackson, & Miriam Grossman (Dec 17, 2021). FAIR’s Gender Webinar with Abigail Shrier, Colin Wright, Zander Keig, and more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XYzCE1ph5s
John Anderson Media (August 6, 2021). Abigail Shrier | Social Contagion and Gender Identity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlekg5imwjQ
Glenn Beck (July 16, 2021). Trans Activism Will End Your Parental Rights | Abigail Shrier | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 110. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlGxrN7SLeU
ReasonTV with Nick Gillespie and Abigail Shrier (July 13, 2021). Abigail Shrier Worries Teenage Gender Transitions Lead to ‘Irreversible Damage.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk-1iqa1jbY
Matt Walsh (July 6, 2021). The Transgender Craze Seducing America: An Interview With Author Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ2I_pzOvJU
Gad Saad (June 24, 2021). Tomorrow’s Guest, Abigail Shrier, Has Sent Me Into Hiding (THE SAAD TRUTH_1263). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69vd_uB8vPM
Hillsdale College (May 12, 2021). Science, the Transgender Phenomenon, and the Young | Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWbxIFC0Q2o
PragerU with Georgia Howe and Abigail Shrier (May 7, 2021). Transgenderism: The Unintended Victims | Interviews. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGfYOPFrvXU
PragerU with Abigail Shrier (March 29, 2021). Are Schools Telling Girls to Become Boys? | 5 Minute Video | PragerU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bMJd_QAXs
Jordan B Peterson (March 22, 2021). Irreversible Damage? | Abigail Shrier | EP 159. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSKQfATa-1I
PBS NewsHour (March 17, 2021). WATCH LIVE: Senate Judiciary committee holds hearing on Equality Act for LGBTQ rights. https://youtu.be/iK7eOudkkZg?t=4486
Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University (February 15, 2021). C-SPAN Book TV: Irreversible Damage. https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/irreversible-damage/589785
TRIGGERnometry with Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster, and Abigail Shrier (January 24, 2021). Abigail Shrier: “The Trans Issue Shouldn’t Be Political.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqht5dcJAI
Skeptic with Michael Shermer and Abigail Shrier (Feb 27, 2021). Michael Shermer w/ Abigail Shrier—Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFQKFYPL0tc
The Babylon Bee with Kyle Mann, Ethan Nicolle, and Abigail Shrier (January 12, 2021). Abigail Shrier Interview: The Truth Behind Trans Children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C6YTHGg0fA
The Rubin Report with Dave Rubin and Abigail Shrier (December 20, 2020). Exposing the Reality of the Transgender Craze in Teen Girls | Abigail Shrier | WOMEN | Rubin Report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIFdWhRwfFg
Quillette with Jonathan Kay and Abigail Shrier (December 6, 2020). PODCAST 126: Abigail Shrier on Her New Book About Peer Contagion and Gender Dysphoria. https://quillette.com/2020/12/06/podcast-126-abigail-shrier-on-her-new-book-about-peer-contagion-and-gender-dysphoria/
Mellen Baker (November 25, 2020). Book review: Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rafnOvvkRNc
Ben Shapiro (November 22, 2020). Abigail Shrier | The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 108. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uSlmfp7euo
Family Research Council with Tony Perkins and Abigail Shrier (October 30, 2020). Abigail Shrier details the heartbreaking dangers of the transgender movement on young girls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl3WyPtnFTU
The Same Drugs with Meghan Murphy and Abigail Shrier (October 16, 2020). The Same Drugs: Abigail Shrier on girls and the trans trend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c7G4dGBGFI
Benjamin Boyce with Debra Soh and Abigail Shrier (October 1, 2020). The Gender Trap | with Dr. Debra Soh & Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNhn2ufmSVg
“Waffling Willow” (September 5, 2020). “Irreversible Damage” by Abigail Shrier || Intro (Book Review by FtM Detransitioner). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PllbYA56Uzg
Isaac Butterfield (September 3, 2020). The Transgender Craze – Abigail Shrier – The Butterfield Effect Podcast 041. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD4jyEBjmKQ
Graham Linehan (August 26, 2020). A chat with Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH5wKHxF-bA
Wild at Heart with Morgan Snyder and Abigail Shrier (August 11, 2020). Become Good Soil Interview – Abigail Shrier on Dignity Restored to Masculinity and Feminity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrNRypyrRyc
The Federalist with Emily Jashinsky and Abigail Shrier (July 31, 2020). Why Transgenderism Is Exploding Among Teenage Girls: Abigail Shrier Explains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH_-p0oPtXA
Patrick Coffin (July 21, 2020). 190: The Trans Attack On Our Daughters with guest Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91-uj-6CezM
Andrew Klavan (July 19, 2020). Abigail Shrier On The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-6JoXKvaVg
PowerfulJRE with Joe Rogan and Abigail Shrier (July 16, 2020). Joe Rogan Experience #1509 – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtftWcgXjdg
Bridget Phetasy (July 15, 2020). Walk-Ins Welcome Podcast #86 – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GikPmEv6_UE
BlazeTV with Steve Deace and Abigail Shrier (July 7, 2020). The Second Wave Scam | Guest: Abigail Shrier | 7/7/20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bHFvHA8iHc
Benjamin A. Boyce (July 4, 2020). What’s the Matter with Girls Today? | with Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdtxUcvkJWA
Ben Shapiro (June 28, 2020). How the Supreme Court Transgender Ruling is Harming Women, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86t46InP3qw
Save Women’s Sports Fox Nation with Bill McGurn, Rachel McKinnon, Jaycee Cooper, and Abigail Shrier (March 5, 2021). Abigail Shrier on Fox Nation with Rachel McKinnon and Jaycee Cooper (2019). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PIkN1uH3Jo
PragerU with Candace Owens and Abigail Shrier (June 2, 2019). The Candace Owens Show: Abigail Shrier. https://soundcloud.com/user-579946570/the-candace-owens-show-abigail-shrier
PragerU with Abigail Shrier (April 15, 2019). Preferred Pronouns or Prison | 5 Minute Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn5opUFNs-I
Resources
Trans Data Library (transdatalibrary.org)
GLAAD Accountability Project (glaad.org/gap)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Abigail Shrier (abigailshrier.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Quillette (quillette.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
C-SPAN (c-span.org/person)
Manhattan Institute (manhattan.institute)
Irell & Manell (irell.com)
- Abigail Shrier
- irell.com/professionals-240.html [archive]
Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.
UnHerd is a British group blog that publishes consistently anti-transgender content.
Background
UnHerd was founded in 2017 by conservative British political activist Tim Montgomerie with funding from Paul Marshall. Montgomerie had previously founded ConservativeHome. In 2018 anti-trans activist Sally Chatterton took over editing from Montgomerie, leading to significantly increased anti-trans coverage.
They are known for publishing “the kind of people who are generally ‘unheard’ because people edge away from them at parties.”
The only exception is balanced writing on religion and trans issues, including work by Christopher Rhodes and Alexander Faludy.
UnHerd produces the show Undercurrents with Emily Jashinsky.
Originally available without a paywall, they have since added one. In 2023, they set up UnHerd Club, a gathering place for contributors and their orbiters.
Key people
Contributors
2024 Dissident Dialogues event
UnHerd partnered with Ground News, FIRE, and ThirdRail to hold an event in New York City called “Dissident Dialogues.” It was produced by talent agency This Is 42, which handled logistics.
Panels included anti-trans activists speaking on “What is the future of feminism?” and “The end of ‘gender medicine.'”
Speakers included:
- Alex Berenson
- Uri Berliner
- Stephen Blackwood
- Africa Brooke
Chris Williamson and Nathan Robinson were scheduled but apparently removed.
A number of anti-trans activists were in attendance, including Christina Buttons, Cathy Young, Carrie Mendoza, Colin Wright, Benjamin Ryan, and Meghan Daum.
Other visited websites
Readers of UnHerd also like other anti-trans outlets:
References
Jeffries, Stuart (November 11, 2023). Far from the Madding Hive Mind: Inside the UnHerd Club, London’s liveliest—and most controversial—new literary salon. Air Mail https://airmail.news/issues/2023-11-11/far-from-the-madding-hive-mind
Mayhew, Freddy (September, 25 2018). Former Times columnist Tim Montgomerie leaves Unherd news website he founded last year. Press Gazette https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/former-times-columnist-tim-montgomerie-leaves-unherd-news-website-he-founded-last-year
Childs, Simon (July 25, 2017). The UnHerd and the Whining of the Perfectly-Well-Represented. Vice https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/a3d95p/the-unherd-and-the-whining-of-the-perfectly-well-represented
Resources
Allsides (allsides.com)
- UnHerd
- allsides.com/news-source/unherd-media-bias
UnHerd (unherd.com)
Dissident Dialogues (dissidentdialogues.org)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
XTwitter (x.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
