We take a bite out of THE BIG ONE – the final installment of Executive Ordered out of Existence, where we’ll cover the calamity that was September 2025 through December 2025 and what fresh hell delivered us into the new year.

We’ll talk about the death of a deity-ified podcaster, the heftiest headlines impacting queer and trans people, and the pointiest tools of propaganda churned out across the end of 2025. Let’s get into it, and be sure to check out Executive Ordered Out of Existence Pt. 1 and Pt. 2!

Connect with Take the Last Bite on Instagram @take.the.last.bite and TikTok @take.the.last.bite

For questions, comments and feedback: takethelastbite@gmail.com

More to Bite Into:

• “Laverne Cox Dated a MAGA Cop… Let’s Talk About It” – Olay & Friends
• “The Anatomy of a Liberatory Think Tank” – Take the Last Bite
• “What is Queer Food? How We Served a Revolution” – John Birdsall
• “The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson” – Tourmaline

Description:

We take a bite out of books by trans & nonbinary writers! This episode originally aired as a live panel discussion for the annual Transgender Justice Teach-In and features writers, educators, and published authors Katie Barnes, Dr. Jonathan Paul Higgins, and Cody Daigle-Orians. We’ve pulled the discussion into audio format and revisited the lessons learned about sharing the sacred stories of trans and binary people.

Panelist Bios

​​Dr. Jonathan Paul Higgins (they/them) is an educator, professor, national speaker, freelance journalist, thought leader and media critic who is passionate about television and film. Dr. Higgins is currently the inaugural Director of Strategic Media and Advocacy for Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, while once holding roles at both Chernin and Edith Entertainment.

They are the creator, executive producer and host of the Webby honored and Shorty Award Winning podcast, “Black Fat Femme Podcast'' which was developed via IHeartMedia’s Next Up Initiative and named “Best Podcast to listen to” by both Ebony and Essence Magazine.

Dr. Higgins holds a doctorate in educational justice and regularly writes and lectures on what liberation means for Black, queer, fat, non-binary people.

Katie Barnes (they/them) is an award winning journalist covering the intersection of sports and gender. As a feature writer at ESPN, Katie has profiled women’s sports superstars like Maya Moore, A’ja Wilson, and Amanda Nunes. They are a leading journalist in the coverage of legislation and policy affecting transgender and intersex athletes. Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates is their first book. It was named a “Must-Read of 2023” by Time Magazine and received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus.

Cody Daigle-Orians (they/them) is a writer and educator based in Columbus, Ohio. They are the creator of Ace Dad Advice, a social-media based education project which provides approachable, affirming information about the asexual, aromantic and agender communities. They are also the author of I AM ACE and THE ACE AND ARO RELATIONSHIP GUIDE, two young adult nonfiction resources, and LOVE LOOKS LIKE LOLA, the first aroace picture book for young readers, out in 2026.

Find them on IG, Youtube, Tiktok @acedadadvice

It’s been 365 days (and counting) since Inauguration Day. And in that time, queer and trans people’s lives have been disrupted through extensive federal orders mandating the end of life-saving research, disruptions to medical care access, sinister soundbites about our mental health and viability as humans, and the reinvention of reality according to the far-right.

This multi-episode overview of key moments over the last year provide somber reminders of what we’ve already been through and rally cries for queer and trans people to lean into lessons already learned to fight back against the faulty idea that you can executive order a community out of existence.

Part Two covers April 2025 - August 2025, including the deportation of Andry Hernandez Romero, the life and defiance of Marsha P. Johnson, and the evolution of citizen journalism.

Connect with Take the Last Bite on Instagram @take.the.last.bite and TikTok @take.the.last.bite

For questions, comments and feedback: takethelastbite@gmail.com