Searched for “gender” in Apple Podcasts. You were top of the list.😀 I had just finished listening to the “witch trials of JK Rowling” podcast and wanted to learn more about the issue.
Thank you everyone who has shared your stories so far. It's very heartening to receive this feedback and also gives us great ideas for how to continue to reach more people. Keep those comments coming! And have a great weekend, everyone!
I was listening to Megyn Kelly interviewing Lisa Littman in late 2021 (if I remember right). Megyn allowed for callers to phone in and one mom completely broke down talking about her daughter. Lisa mentioned the podcast as a source of support and information. That was our introduction into the whole movement that was questioning the trans narrative. This community has been a tremendous source of support ever since.
I think a concerned friend sent me a link to one of your podcasts. By then you had been creating them for almost a year, so after I listened I had the daunting realization that I now had to go back and listen to every single one from before! That took some time. I came from a place of naively accepting my kid but then watching things go horribly wrong. It was near impossible in summer of 2022 for me to find gender critical sources, if you’re in a liberal bubble. I’m assuming and hope that has changed now for people new to this.
I read Irreversible Damage and Abigail Shrier had a few resources listed, with 4th Wave Now being one of those. Through researching and viewing different sites, I stumbled upon your podcast. I started taking long walks and listening to every one! I have learned so much and you two have kept me sane through all this craziness. I have recommended it to many others.
I'd had a close family member cut me off for reading Irreversible Damage and was in a place where I could no longer support gender ideology but I was having a hard time finding gender critical communities and was scared to even look because when I'd read Irreversible Damage my reading activity was showing on an app that I had set to private and I'm still not sure how my family member found out, so I felt paranoid about searching for gender critical views because it felt as though I was being spied on.
I'd found some radfem spaces, but I'm not a radfem and they seemed geared to mocking the way trans people look, and I don't agree with mocking people so I quickly left. Somehow one day I came upon an article that Milli Hill wrote about her experience with being canceled for gender critical views and it was a breath of fresh air. I'd finally found someone who was able to articulate valid critiques of gender ideology and make good arguments about the importance of preserving language around biological sex that did not mock and demean others. She had a link to the podcast episode that she'd done with you and I listened to the episode and enjoyed it, even though I don't listen to podcasts. I started looking through the other episode titles and found a lot of interest and started listening to your show from the beginning and it was the most grounding thing ever, a return to common sense and it helped quell my fears that I could question this stuff and still be a good, compassionate person. So basically not only did you help me regain solid ground, but this is the first podcast I have listened to regularly, the only podcast where I have listened to every episode, and still my favorite podcast!
I have been with you since nearly the beginning due to having an ROGD daughter. My friend who is on a parallel journey told me about you and about how to listen to a podcast. (You all and dopamine are now responsible for me being a YouTube addict.)
I am a psychologist-psychotherapist in the mid-western United States. Late in 2020 I began working with a bright, energetic and distressed mom of a 16-soon-to-be 17 y/o boy who was playing with gender identity. At the same time I began working with a 19 y/o young man in college who was submerged in gender medicine and trans culture, and soon after that, a mom of a 14 y/o girl who announced she was “bi” then, of course, “trans.” Well before 2020, and over the years, I had worked with a few adults and young adults who happened to be gender non-conforming, some who had transitioned medically, some socially, some who dabbled, one with whom I still work who experiences AGP ( I now understand) and another who eventually desisted/detransitioned medical and social transition -- well before we ever had these terms! “Trans” and “gender” were not yet buzz-words or a social phenomenon. But that mom-client in the fall of 2020, when “the world turned upside down,” told me about a new podcast, GWL. I began listening and haven’t missed an episode (or week!) since. As a result, within the next year, I found GETA – now Therapy First. In my letter-writing (well, email) to journalists and others over these past few years I have often pointed people to the GWL “Pioneer Series” as the best graduate seminar or journalism/reporting (depending on audience) for understanding the history and our current context of youth “gender medicine.” What struck me in those early pandemic days listening to GWL when we were all online was the terrific company and conversation of two really good psychotherapists. Sasha and Stella, you were lifelines to me, not just because of the topic of “gender” but because your conversations were so thoughtful, insightful, and welcoming (and sometimes vulnerable -- at least I felt like you were!) as well as challenging to me as a psychotherapist and as a citizen. I had never been a podcast-person but I am now! And because of GWL (well, really because of my lovely client in 2020) I now have an international online, as well as small growing local, community of interesting and thoughtful colleagues, and I now follow and subscribe to many thoughtful and interesting journalist and therapist podcasts/Substacks. Welcome to Substack Stella and Sasha! And thank you for your work. It has been and continues to be invaluable to me and, I daresay, the world. (And thanks for asking!)
I know it wasn't recommended because having gone down the rabbit hole in 2015, I was the only person outside of a few friends in the UK who was paying attention. It might well have come through as a Google alert I had set up for "Gender".
It was maybe a year into the podcast when I start listening. I remember feeling both lucky and relieved since there were very few people I could discuss gender with, let alone anyone geekish enough to want to dig into the detail. I'd written a chapter in my book about how children self identify as male or female and had tried (much too timidly in retrospect) to suggest that calling the very first thing children know about themselves into question, to aid of some misguided adult ideas about the limitations of gender, might not be a good idea. I had so many thoughts and questions and, I suppose, a lot of pent up energy. The podcast helped me to broaden and deepen my knowledge.
Stella and Sasha haven't yet touched directly on my particular interests, but it hardly matters. I went back to the very beginning and listened to all the episodes and found that the podcast covered lots of the material I had read but hadn't had the opportunity to talk about. I really like the way that Stella and Sasha approach each episode. They pose many of the questions I have thought of and a lot that hadn't occurred to me.
I remember when Stella and Sasha took their first break and feeling a bit guilty about feeling disappointed. It was okay in the end because I went back and listened to some of the episodes I'd missed.
I recommend the podcast all the time because I know that if people actually listen, especially whose who are curious and on-the-fence, they'll come away with a much more nuanced understanding than they are likely to get anywhere else. It's like a secret weapon because it cuts through the whole frantic and politicized nature of the discussion and encourages people to think for themselves.
I also appreciate discovering new people through the podcast. For instance, I really loved Lisa Machiano's book on motherhood, and am excited to read her new one on womanhood.
I'm so pleased about the move to substack and excited about Genspect, Therapy First and all the other initiatives happening. It's a heartening counterpoint to some of the awful illiberal things happening in the schools and workplaces in the United States now. (For instance, it looks like New York State is trying to make failing to accept someone's self conception of gender and reality into a form of sexual harassment)
I'm really hoping that the community will become another resource for those of us concerned about the role of gender in our culture.
My husband and I have been listening to GWL since the beginning. When our teen aged daughter first identified as trans in January 2018, we desperately searched on-line for support, reading as much as we could. Resources we found included 4th Wave Now, Transgender Trend, Stephanie Davies-Arai, and books edited by Heather Brunksell-Evans. In January 2021, we were looking for additional resources to support our viewpoint, and our daughter, as we dealt with gender-affirming counselors and school personnel. We, gratefully, came across the brand new podcast, GWL, and have been faithfully listening ever since. Stella and Sasha’s expertise and wonderful guests have provided us with education, confidence and confirmed our position. Our daughter, as with all children, needs time and space to develop and evolve as an individual, not affirmation of an ideology. Thank you.
I can’t remember how I found you. It must have been mentioned on some other podcast. As soon as I listened I was hooked and went back to the beginning and binged them until I was caught up. I write about the concerning phenomenon of labiaplasty from a Jungian perspective, and had known about Lisa Marchiano’s work in gender. Your podcasts were such a breath of fresh air and filled in so many gaps in my knowledge. I had been concerned about the trajectory of the trans movement since Littman’s study had been published. There are few people in my life that I can have honest conversations with about this issue. This podcast and your new book are helping me to have the self confidence in my knowledge that allow me to be more open in expressing my views in sensitive family situations. I also recommended your book to a family member.
Your podcast was recommended in a Facebook group I joined called "Concerned Parents..." after being kicked out of an affirmation-only FB group (LOL). The only other podcast I had ever listened to was Crime Junkie with my daughter and I loved that! So I gave it a whirl and really loved your podcast too. My favorite part of the podcast is actually the show notes! I learned so much more in the early days by taking notes and then clicking links in the show notes. Thank you so much for doing such a thorough job. My favorite quote has been from you, Stella, "What about the boys???" (the Lost Boys is so fitting). Well done!
I believe I found you in a roundabout way. I was searching for some information besides the typical rah rah gender diversity is great and found TIME TO THINK at a bookstore. I started reading it and finally I believe in Chapter 16, when reading about Moran and O'Shea- I googled them and I believe that's when I found out about Genspect. Then your podcast. I was so grateful!
I found you through your interview with James Cantor. I became a “fan” of his and a Twitter follower after reading his research on pedophilia while getting my doctorate in clinical psychology. I listen to you guys every week now.
I had read Irreversible Damage and even discussed it with the family because I was horrified with the medicalization of young people based on no evidence. So when my son came out as trans, I looked up Lisa Littman, and I found a Benjamin Boyce interview with Sasha and Lisa. I searched for any content with Sasha, and that is how I came to this podcast, which has been a lifesaver to me.
Searched for “gender” in Apple Podcasts. You were top of the list.😀 I had just finished listening to the “witch trials of JK Rowling” podcast and wanted to learn more about the issue.
Thank you everyone who has shared your stories so far. It's very heartening to receive this feedback and also gives us great ideas for how to continue to reach more people. Keep those comments coming! And have a great weekend, everyone!
I was listening to Megyn Kelly interviewing Lisa Littman in late 2021 (if I remember right). Megyn allowed for callers to phone in and one mom completely broke down talking about her daughter. Lisa mentioned the podcast as a source of support and information. That was our introduction into the whole movement that was questioning the trans narrative. This community has been a tremendous source of support ever since.
I think a concerned friend sent me a link to one of your podcasts. By then you had been creating them for almost a year, so after I listened I had the daunting realization that I now had to go back and listen to every single one from before! That took some time. I came from a place of naively accepting my kid but then watching things go horribly wrong. It was near impossible in summer of 2022 for me to find gender critical sources, if you’re in a liberal bubble. I’m assuming and hope that has changed now for people new to this.
I read Irreversible Damage and Abigail Shrier had a few resources listed, with 4th Wave Now being one of those. Through researching and viewing different sites, I stumbled upon your podcast. I started taking long walks and listening to every one! I have learned so much and you two have kept me sane through all this craziness. I have recommended it to many others.
I'd had a close family member cut me off for reading Irreversible Damage and was in a place where I could no longer support gender ideology but I was having a hard time finding gender critical communities and was scared to even look because when I'd read Irreversible Damage my reading activity was showing on an app that I had set to private and I'm still not sure how my family member found out, so I felt paranoid about searching for gender critical views because it felt as though I was being spied on.
I'd found some radfem spaces, but I'm not a radfem and they seemed geared to mocking the way trans people look, and I don't agree with mocking people so I quickly left. Somehow one day I came upon an article that Milli Hill wrote about her experience with being canceled for gender critical views and it was a breath of fresh air. I'd finally found someone who was able to articulate valid critiques of gender ideology and make good arguments about the importance of preserving language around biological sex that did not mock and demean others. She had a link to the podcast episode that she'd done with you and I listened to the episode and enjoyed it, even though I don't listen to podcasts. I started looking through the other episode titles and found a lot of interest and started listening to your show from the beginning and it was the most grounding thing ever, a return to common sense and it helped quell my fears that I could question this stuff and still be a good, compassionate person. So basically not only did you help me regain solid ground, but this is the first podcast I have listened to regularly, the only podcast where I have listened to every episode, and still my favorite podcast!
I have been with you since nearly the beginning due to having an ROGD daughter. My friend who is on a parallel journey told me about you and about how to listen to a podcast. (You all and dopamine are now responsible for me being a YouTube addict.)
I am a psychologist-psychotherapist in the mid-western United States. Late in 2020 I began working with a bright, energetic and distressed mom of a 16-soon-to-be 17 y/o boy who was playing with gender identity. At the same time I began working with a 19 y/o young man in college who was submerged in gender medicine and trans culture, and soon after that, a mom of a 14 y/o girl who announced she was “bi” then, of course, “trans.” Well before 2020, and over the years, I had worked with a few adults and young adults who happened to be gender non-conforming, some who had transitioned medically, some socially, some who dabbled, one with whom I still work who experiences AGP ( I now understand) and another who eventually desisted/detransitioned medical and social transition -- well before we ever had these terms! “Trans” and “gender” were not yet buzz-words or a social phenomenon. But that mom-client in the fall of 2020, when “the world turned upside down,” told me about a new podcast, GWL. I began listening and haven’t missed an episode (or week!) since. As a result, within the next year, I found GETA – now Therapy First. In my letter-writing (well, email) to journalists and others over these past few years I have often pointed people to the GWL “Pioneer Series” as the best graduate seminar or journalism/reporting (depending on audience) for understanding the history and our current context of youth “gender medicine.” What struck me in those early pandemic days listening to GWL when we were all online was the terrific company and conversation of two really good psychotherapists. Sasha and Stella, you were lifelines to me, not just because of the topic of “gender” but because your conversations were so thoughtful, insightful, and welcoming (and sometimes vulnerable -- at least I felt like you were!) as well as challenging to me as a psychotherapist and as a citizen. I had never been a podcast-person but I am now! And because of GWL (well, really because of my lovely client in 2020) I now have an international online, as well as small growing local, community of interesting and thoughtful colleagues, and I now follow and subscribe to many thoughtful and interesting journalist and therapist podcasts/Substacks. Welcome to Substack Stella and Sasha! And thank you for your work. It has been and continues to be invaluable to me and, I daresay, the world. (And thanks for asking!)
I heard the interview on the Quillette podcast.
How I wish I could remember!
I know it wasn't recommended because having gone down the rabbit hole in 2015, I was the only person outside of a few friends in the UK who was paying attention. It might well have come through as a Google alert I had set up for "Gender".
It was maybe a year into the podcast when I start listening. I remember feeling both lucky and relieved since there were very few people I could discuss gender with, let alone anyone geekish enough to want to dig into the detail. I'd written a chapter in my book about how children self identify as male or female and had tried (much too timidly in retrospect) to suggest that calling the very first thing children know about themselves into question, to aid of some misguided adult ideas about the limitations of gender, might not be a good idea. I had so many thoughts and questions and, I suppose, a lot of pent up energy. The podcast helped me to broaden and deepen my knowledge.
Stella and Sasha haven't yet touched directly on my particular interests, but it hardly matters. I went back to the very beginning and listened to all the episodes and found that the podcast covered lots of the material I had read but hadn't had the opportunity to talk about. I really like the way that Stella and Sasha approach each episode. They pose many of the questions I have thought of and a lot that hadn't occurred to me.
I remember when Stella and Sasha took their first break and feeling a bit guilty about feeling disappointed. It was okay in the end because I went back and listened to some of the episodes I'd missed.
I recommend the podcast all the time because I know that if people actually listen, especially whose who are curious and on-the-fence, they'll come away with a much more nuanced understanding than they are likely to get anywhere else. It's like a secret weapon because it cuts through the whole frantic and politicized nature of the discussion and encourages people to think for themselves.
I also appreciate discovering new people through the podcast. For instance, I really loved Lisa Machiano's book on motherhood, and am excited to read her new one on womanhood.
I'm so pleased about the move to substack and excited about Genspect, Therapy First and all the other initiatives happening. It's a heartening counterpoint to some of the awful illiberal things happening in the schools and workplaces in the United States now. (For instance, it looks like New York State is trying to make failing to accept someone's self conception of gender and reality into a form of sexual harassment)
I'm really hoping that the community will become another resource for those of us concerned about the role of gender in our culture.
~Nancy
My husband and I have been listening to GWL since the beginning. When our teen aged daughter first identified as trans in January 2018, we desperately searched on-line for support, reading as much as we could. Resources we found included 4th Wave Now, Transgender Trend, Stephanie Davies-Arai, and books edited by Heather Brunksell-Evans. In January 2021, we were looking for additional resources to support our viewpoint, and our daughter, as we dealt with gender-affirming counselors and school personnel. We, gratefully, came across the brand new podcast, GWL, and have been faithfully listening ever since. Stella and Sasha’s expertise and wonderful guests have provided us with education, confidence and confirmed our position. Our daughter, as with all children, needs time and space to develop and evolve as an individual, not affirmation of an ideology. Thank you.
I can’t remember how I found you. It must have been mentioned on some other podcast. As soon as I listened I was hooked and went back to the beginning and binged them until I was caught up. I write about the concerning phenomenon of labiaplasty from a Jungian perspective, and had known about Lisa Marchiano’s work in gender. Your podcasts were such a breath of fresh air and filled in so many gaps in my knowledge. I had been concerned about the trajectory of the trans movement since Littman’s study had been published. There are few people in my life that I can have honest conversations with about this issue. This podcast and your new book are helping me to have the self confidence in my knowledge that allow me to be more open in expressing my views in sensitive family situations. I also recommended your book to a family member.
Your podcast was recommended in a Facebook group I joined called "Concerned Parents..." after being kicked out of an affirmation-only FB group (LOL). The only other podcast I had ever listened to was Crime Junkie with my daughter and I loved that! So I gave it a whirl and really loved your podcast too. My favorite part of the podcast is actually the show notes! I learned so much more in the early days by taking notes and then clicking links in the show notes. Thank you so much for doing such a thorough job. My favorite quote has been from you, Stella, "What about the boys???" (the Lost Boys is so fitting). Well done!
Our team works really hard on the show notes they are so happy you have found them useful!
I believe I found you in a roundabout way. I was searching for some information besides the typical rah rah gender diversity is great and found TIME TO THINK at a bookstore. I started reading it and finally I believe in Chapter 16, when reading about Moran and O'Shea- I googled them and I believe that's when I found out about Genspect. Then your podcast. I was so grateful!
I found you through your interview with James Cantor. I became a “fan” of his and a Twitter follower after reading his research on pedophilia while getting my doctorate in clinical psychology. I listen to you guys every week now.
I had read Irreversible Damage and even discussed it with the family because I was horrified with the medicalization of young people based on no evidence. So when my son came out as trans, I looked up Lisa Littman, and I found a Benjamin Boyce interview with Sasha and Lisa. I searched for any content with Sasha, and that is how I came to this podcast, which has been a lifesaver to me.