The little known and often neglected history of trans youth in America

Plus, this mother won't give up on finding her daughter after more than two decades.

View this email online by Suzanne Nuyen November 19, 2023 Good morning. This week, Congress avoided a government shutdown, the Supreme Court adopted its first-ever code of ethics, and the 2024 Grammy nominations were announced. Plus, Scott Simon has some strong opinions about leaf blowers.  Best of NPR Today marks the end of Transgender Awareness Week. Participating organizations nationwide aim to increase understanding about transgender people and the issues the community faces.  Raquel Scoggin for NPR For the past few weeks, NPR's Embedded has aired its new three-part series, All The Only Ones, an exploration of the little-known and often neglected history of trans youth in America. Trans youth have become a hot-button topic in culture, media and politics. On All The Only Ones, host Laine Kaplan-Levenson moves past the debates by speaking with real trans kids in the U.S., as well as going back in time to learn about some of the earliest documented trans youths in America. ⚜️ Zen, a native of New Orleans native and a Mexican American, tells the story of coming into their transness in Episode 1. Their story is paralleled by that of Bernard, a trans person fighting to be seen in Alabama during the 1900s.  🏑 Parker, a senior in high school in Columbus, Ohio, is a top field hockey athlete. As he prepares to graduate, he'll have to decide between pursuing his dreams as a trans Division I field hockey player or starting hormone therapy. In the 1960s, Vicky and Donna both faced similar barriers to gender-affirming care and treatment. 🏳️‍⚧️ Finally, 18-year-old Christine of New Mexico shares her experience navigating her freshman year of college after starting hormone therapy.  All three episodes of All The Only Ones are now available on NPR's Embedded feed.  Newsletter continues after sponsor message The Week That Was National Center for Missing and Exploited Children  Shy'Kemmia Pate was just 8 years old when she vanished from her family's porch in Unadilla, Ga., on Sept. 4, 1998. More than two decades later, her mother is still determined to find her. She tells NPR she believes her daughter is still alive somewhere. Los Angeles has the highest number of homeless veterans in the nation — nearly 4,000, according to an annual count. A 387-acre facility in Brentwood was donated as a home for Civil War veterans in 1887. Veterans groups have recently sued the Department of Veterans Affairs for leasing parts of the facility out for things that had nothing to do with vets. As construction begins on parts of the campus, veteran advocates are more optimistic that it can be a resource for homeless vets.  Is it human nature to be friendly and cooperative or violent and hostile? For years, researchers have looked at chimpanzees and bonobos — our closest relatives — for the answer. Newly published data on the friendlier, more peaceful bonobos suggests warfare might not be our genetic legacy.  Nearly three-quarters of Jewish voters approve of President Biden's response to Israel's war in Gaza, according to a new survey from the Jewish Electorate Institute. Respondents older than 36 were far more supportive. Meanwhile, Arab American voters are turning away from the president in Michigan, a state where every vote counts. Podcast Picks CapRadio; Boise State Public Radio News; Marfa Public Radio; North Carolina Public Radio; WBUR; KQED Civics 101, from New Hampshire Public Radio: What's the difference between the House and Senate? How do landmark Supreme Court decisions affect our lives? Civics 101 will teach you how our democracy works ... or is supposed to work. 🎧 In light of the recent struggle in Congress to vote on a new House speaker, this episode takes a look at what powers come with the second most powerful job in D.C. Off the Walls, from CPR News: Hear from the artists and activists behind Denver's street art and learn about the inspiration behind the city's murals.  🎧 Emmanual Martinez brought to life the colorful local Chicano Movement in the early 1970s. Now, someone very close to him is fighting for Chicano murals like his to be protected and preserved. Throughline, from NPR: Every headline has a history, and to understand the present, hosts Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei must dive into the past.  🎧 Abdelfatah and Arablouei talk to experts on all sides to explore the origins of Hamas and what it represents to Palestinians, Israelis and the rest of the world. Spread the warmth of the holidays with NPR Get into the holiday spirit with official merch from your favorite NPR podcasts and shows! With a curated selection of unique gifts, from totes and mugs to your new favorite hoodie, you can embrace the joy of gifting while supporting quality journalism and storytelling with every purchase.   Shop now at shopnpr.org! Scott's Thoughts Kris Lord/Flickr Creative Commons Nothing says the end of autumn like the colorful carpet of leaves and the annoying blare of leaf blowers.   I have lived in apartments for my whole life and have never raked a leaf in earnest, much less blown them off the grass they were peacefully sitting on with a gas-powered device that blasts them with 200-mile-per-hour forces. What did those leaves ever do to you?!   I was therefore interested to learn that there is a Leave the Leaves movement. Jessica Damiano, who writes the Weekly Dirt Newsletter, told us that leaving leaves where they fall lets them “decompose into this rich humus that, you know, more plants grow out of, and it fertilizes them,” which sounds like exactly what you want to do.  However, Damiano advises that proportion counts (It always does in life). If an entire green space is covered in leaves, they prevent sun and moisture from reaching the grass below, making it harder for it to grow back in the spring.   Gasoline-powered leaf blowers, by the way, operate at a low frequency. This means the racket they make can seep through walls and make Weekend Edition hard to hear on leaf-blowing mornings. Can you hear me?   I’d like to propose a modest idea: Sure, have leaf blowers — but make them people who get down on their hands and knees and actually blow leaves off the grass with their own lung power.   I’ll bet it’s a good breathing exercise. Plus, it will accomplish the job with quiet, non-polluting proficiency.  Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? 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