The midterms have taken their toll on us – how have LGBTQ+ journalists navigated this wild season? And, of course, where is our roundtable finding queer joy in the world right now?

This month is the start of NewsMatch – all donations to The Buckeye Flame are tripled. This is a huge opportunity for our scrappy queer newsroom. So please support queer journalism by going to thebuckeyeflame.com and click “Donate” – which helps create work like This News is So Gay.

This week’s roundtable:

• Reporter for The Ohio Capital Journal, Susan Tebben
• California Politics Editor for The Sacramento Bee, Lauren Chapman

Keep up with The Buckeye Flame online:

Website: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com

Support for This News is So Gay comes from the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, leveraging philanthropy to empower LGBTQ+ communities.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can there really be more political ad drama? The answer is yes! New research from Tulane University and University of California, San Diego highlights that violence against women and trans people is worse than previously thought. But there is promising news – our roundtable shares where they’re finding queer joy in the world right now.

This week’s roundtable:

• Technology reporter for the 19th, Jasmine Mithani
• Rural LGBTQ+ beat reporter for The Buckeye Flame and a corps member for Report for America, Ben Jodway

Domestic violence services remain operational across the country. Confidential, anonymous help is available 24/7 through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (1-800-799-7233) or online.

Keep up with The Buckeye Flame online:

Website: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com

Support for This News is So Gay comes from the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, leveraging philanthropy to empower LGBTQ+ communities.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Extra, Extra is an opportunity to hear more from individuals who are adding to LGBTQ discourse in truly important ways. This week, we’re highlighting an audio documentary that gets at some vital parts of LGBTQ history – though they may feel more like the present than 30+ years ago.

Hate State is a new 3-part audio documentary from LOOKOUT Publications and Oddbird Sound & Word. It looks at how Colorado went from being known as the Hate State after Amendment 2 passed in the 1990s to becoming a national destination for LGBTQ+ people seeking protection, gender affirming care, and other rights. The podcast isn’t just about Colorado – it’s about what all of us across the States can learn.

Xandra McMahon is one of the producers of Hate State and an award-winning journalist and audio producer. She is dedicated to telling stories that leave listeners curious about the world around them and feeling more connected to their community.

You can listen to Hate State on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find it on lookoutnews.org

Keep up with The Buckeye Flame online:

Website: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com

Support for This News is So Gay comes from the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, leveraging philanthropy to empower LGBTQ+ communities.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.