--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome to Today Explained. I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Dominic Holden: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Today, we're talking about a leaked memo from the Trump administration that's got a lot of people in the transgender community feeling anxious. Dominic Holden is a politics reporter at BuzzFeed News. He's been following this story closely.
--:-- Dominic Holden: Yeah, so the memo is from last spring, and it's from the Department of Health and Human Services. It reportedly concerns Title IX, which is a statute concerning education.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And the New York Times reported that the Trump administration is considering denying the existence of transgender people.
--:-- Dominic Holden: That's a bit of a leap, though. There are a number of other policies and federal laws that already recognize transgender people.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, what's the concern here?
--:-- Dominic Holden: Well, the concern is that this memo might be the start of a larger effort to roll back protections for transgender people. But we don't know if this is something agreed upon across federal agencies, or if it's just the wish list of one person.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Has the Trump administration commented on this yet?
--:-- Dominic Holden: Yeah, a spokesperson for HHS issued a statement calling the New York Times report misleading, but they didn't provide any new information.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, it's a bit of a mystery still.
--:-- Dominic Holden: Yeah, it is. And I think that's why people are getting a little anxious. They're not sure what's going on.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Now, let's talk about some of the existing protections for transgender people. There's a 2014 memo from former President Barack Obama that protects federal employees and contractors from LGBT discrimination.
--:-- Dominic Holden: That's right. And there's also a policy at the Pentagon that protects transgender people who want to join the military.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And the Department of Labor enforces the executive order protecting transgender workers.
--:-- Dominic Holden: That's right. And there are federal laws passed by Congress that recognize transgender people, like the Shepard Byrd Hate Crimes Act.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, even if this memo does lead to some kind of new policy, it's not like it's going to wipe away all of these existing protections.
--:-- Dominic Holden: That's right. And I think that's what's important to remember. These protections are still in place, and they can't be undone by one memo or one policy.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, let's talk about what this memo might actually say. If it's published as a draft rule, it could say that a doctor could be protected if they believe that a transgender person's identity is defined not by their gender identity, but by their sex at birth or some kind of genetic testing.
--:-- Dominic Holden: That's right. And if that's the case, it could lead to some pretty serious consequences for transgender people.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And if this regulation were to be finalized, it would likely be challenged in federal court.
--:-- Dominic Holden: Yeah, that's a safe bet. And if it's challenged, it's likely that the courts would uphold the existing protections for transgender people.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, let's talk about the Trump administration's history on LGBT issues. President Trump said he'd be an ally to the LGBT community during his campaign.
--:-- Dominic Holden: Yeah, that's right. But since he took office, he's taken aim at LGBT rights in a number of ways.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Like what?
--:-- Dominic Holden: Well, he rescinded guidance based on Title IX that protected transgender students from discrimination. He also tried to ban transgender people from the military, but that's been blocked by the courts.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what about the Affordable Care Act? Has he tried to roll back protections for transgender people in healthcare?
--:-- Dominic Holden: Yeah, he's tried to rescind those protections and rewrite them in a way that would allow healthcare workers to discriminate against transgender people.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, let's talk about the New York Times report. Why do you think people are getting so worked up about this memo?
--:-- Dominic Holden: I think people are getting worked up because they're worried about what this might mean for their lives. LGBT people's lives are on the line, quite literally, in cases of healthcare protection and workplace protections.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And what do you think the Trump administration is trying to do here?
--:-- Dominic Holden: I think they're trying to advance a conservative agenda that's hostile to LGBT rights.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, let's talk about the regulatory process. Can the Trump administration actually write transgender people out of existence?
--:-- Dominic Holden: No, they can't. Any regulatory process can't actually do that.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, so what's the takeaway here?
--:-- Dominic Holden: I think the takeaway is that we need to be careful about how we report on this story. We shouldn't overstate what the Trump administration is doing, because the protections that exist can and should be used by the people they were written for.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, thanks for explaining this to us, Dominic.
--:-- Dominic Holden: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's it for today's episode. If you want to learn more about the story, check out the links in our show notes.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome back to Today Explained. I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Ashley: Hi, I'm Ashley.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Today, we're talking about deleting tweets. Ashley is a Twitter user who's been on the platform for a while.
--:-- Ashley: Yeah, I've been on Twitter since college.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And you've been deleting your tweets.
--:-- Ashley: Yeah, I delete my tweets because I have a fear that I said something stupid.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Like what?
--:-- Ashley: Oh, just dumb stuff. Like, I got 10 mosquito bites today, one of which is on my belly button.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's a real tweet, by the way.
--:-- Ashley: Yeah, it's a real tweet.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, well, if you want to learn more about deleting tweets, check out our episode on Why'd You Push That Button.
--:-- Ashley: Yeah, that's a great podcast.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's it for today's episode. Thanks for listening.
--:-- Ashley: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's it for today's episode. If you want to learn more about the story, check out the links in our show notes.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Welcome back to Today Explained. I'm Sean Rameswaram.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Today, we're talking about the episode we just released on deleting tweets.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: We talked to Max Reed, who used to be the editor-in-chief of Gawker.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And we talked to Brianna Wu, who was at the heart of Gamergate.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: If you want to learn more about the episode, check out the links in our show notes.
