What is "Science in Transition" feat Liv Agar & Spencer Barrows (E331)
The QAA crew is excited to announce the launch of a new podcast series network: Cursed Media. We hope you’ll also be excited for this expansion of our editorial line and support it by subscribing!
The very first Cursed Media podcast series is Science in Transition, an investigation into the intellectual origins of the contemporary right wing backlash against transgender acceptance. Through six deeply-researched episodes, hosts Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows unearth a bizarre coalition of well-meaning clinicians, aristocratic sexologists, militant feminists, right-wing culture warriors, headline-chasing journalists, and conservative politicians.
On this episode of QAA we are joined by Liv and Spencer to chat about what they found by digging through FOIA documents, interviewing experts, and diving into dense medical journals.
Get access to Science in Transition plus all other Cursed Media content by following this link:
Subscribers to Cursed Media get access to three new podcast series per year, plus every episode of QAA’s existing mini-series (properly organized!)
Manclan by Julian Feeld and Annie Kelly,
Trickle Down by Travis View
The Spectral Voyager by Jake Rockatansky and Brad Abrahams
Perverts by Julian Feeld and Liv Agar
Cursed Media logo by https://dayoff.ltd
Comments (103)
The return of Liv AND Jake's P.E. Teacher Sex Ed anecdote? Truly spoiling us
Omg I wrote my high school senior thesis (in 2015 on Gamergate lol) using Backlash as a major source! Can't remember whether I read all of it or not lol
Yeah I'm definitely not going to be adding a second subscription. I'd happily increase a tier here, but will not make the move to the new site. Won't listen to the first episode to hopefully keep numbers down. Kinda hoping others do too so they end up backtracking.
Signed up for Cursed…. Tried many Ghostbusters references for the promo code hoping to unlock a hidden level.
should've been DOERAYEGON
Liv Agar
am I doing it right?
Please make it so I can gift cursed media to another person
Is there a way we can pay for QAA Premium + cursed media with a single subscription? I don't mind paying the money but would prefer not to manage an extra subscription
Honestly after listening to episode one I feel like I might be ripping yall off only paying 25 bucks for the new feed
This was just as amazing as anticipated. I live for Liv!
Loved at 53 min., Julian reiterates the convoluted nature of the term therapy by just calmly pointing out that there is a dude that runs a Sasquatch cult that claims to be a therapist. People are unpredictable and often dangerous. Liv is not! Great to hear your voice again! Love all Ya’ll.
I am a therapist and a trans woman and I cannot tell you how spot on the segment about how invasive therapy can be was . My trans clients tell me things that they have been through with other counselors that sounds like the 1920’s. I had a DCF worker tell me all trans people have “multiple personality disorder, and at a previous job one of the other counselors poisoned my water bottle after years of open transphobia. I believe in therapy, and I have seen my clients come through a LOT so I know healthy support can work. But don’t get in your head that all therapists are working for your goals. A lot of them have their own biases, especially against trans people who can really team up with rejecting parents in a dangerous way.
Yeah I live in Sweden and here the chain of command used to be you go to your normal doctor 1 time, tell them "I am/I think I am trans" they refer you to a normal psychologist, you meet with them 1 time and tell them "I'd like you to refer me to a gender clinic" and they HAVE to do that because it's not their job to asess you for that. The gender clinic has their own specialist psychologists. But then I found out that one of my friends' psychologists had tasked him write MULTIPLE ESSAYS over a period of multiple sessions and months in order to PERSUADE her why she should refer him to a gender clinic. Which she was NOT supposed to do, it is NOT her asessment to make. And I'm sure she meant well. I'm sure she thought she was helping him but I think it's important to know what your medical professionals are and are not allowed to do because they're humans too and sometimes they'll go rogue.
Trav’s like “I really enjoyed not working with you guys! I think the parts are way greater than the sum. Goodbye.” lol
Julian and Jake were featured on every Trickle Down episode lol
Hopelessly subscribed
As a trans therapist and long time qaa fan am very excited about this series!
I will be the 90th person saying , please just increase Patreon to 7 dollars. I love everything ya’ll make, I don’t wanna pay a new thing and go to a new site, etc. that being said, I will if that’s what it takes.
I know they probably won’t reverse the splitting it off, but I really hope they do. I’m not particularly interested in paying 25 usd for a year and hoping I like the miniseries instead of being able to just up my Patreon subscription.
Great work and excited to learn more about the history and science of transition. Such important work. Thanks!
but julian, but if you had too?!
LIV. AGAR. This is great, sadly necessary work. Progress has to factor in the inevitable backlash, but I was out in the 90s and my HSTS ass knows that they haven't and will never take us back there.
Ok also the soundtrack to Science in Transition so far slaps
Just listened to the first episode. Amazing. Well done Liv & Spencer, you’re doing essential work. Also loved the beautiful thoughtful soundtrack.
Cursed media merch when?
I’m so excited for this series. I recently have decided to transition and it’s been really hard recently coming out to my family. I’ve been listening to this podcast since Covid and Liv was my first experience really hearing from a trans person and really helped me begin to accept that part of my self seeing how she could just live her life. I’m not meaning to be parasocial but I’ve got a lot of love for this pod and it’s nice to see this mini series coming out at a time I was thinking about going back in the closet. Thanks to everyone at QAA for all the laughs and cathartic rage all the years :)
So excited for this one!!!Originally got the patreon for the mini series
Lafufus mentioned on QAA, haha! Also so excited for this new series!
You guys know how to get me to subscribe to a new service....a little "free taste" will get us hooked in a sec. Release the first episode of each series and ppl will sub If you want us to subscribe to a new service are we still paying for Patreon or are isn't it included?
I'm curious about this too, do I need *two* paid services to access all of QAA?
Everyone slept on "She's like Forest Gump." 💀
An MP in the UK labour party just said that even Parkrun which is a free non competitive Saturday morning fun run, must ban trans women from participating!
Why are they never interested in banning trans men from sports? Not that they should but I find it bizarre that there’s so much hate for trans women and trans men get ignored
Therapy in the US is an absolute mess. Better help being the McDonald's of therapy. I encountered some of the worst therapists during the pandemic when I really needed someone to talk to. I also know a few therapists personally and I wouldn't want to be treated by them. They have very little education. I also have a close friend who is a really compassionate child therapist with loads of credentials. It's such a crap shoot.
LIIIIVVV
Travis asking about feet for a friend
liv agar
Being trans is hard mode. Just doing normal human things is already exhausting, big ups to anyone who wants to open up the existential console and just change some settings for life
I really appreciate these kind words. I just went through a three week period of being denied my T script by both my insurance and also this new pharmacy. It’s sent me into a depressive episode at a time that is most inconvenient. Which I won’t get into because it’s too sad. Just thank you. I needed to hear this right now.
But can I hang Cursed Media off my purse for others to admire?
Looking forward to checking this out. Also, y'all might be interested in the crazy social worker who follows Queen Romana Didulo https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-based-clinical-social-worker-temporarily-stripped-of-registration-for-supporting-conspiracy-theories-1.7387984 Romana wasn't initially QAnon, but she seems to be moving more and more that way. Still holed up and the old school in rural Saskatchewan.
Hey so is there going to be a consolidation of both feeds, or do I need to pay for both the QAA patreon and the Cursed Media thing?
This is a great question!
Subscribed Also, I'm pretty sure the Memory Wars connect Teal Swan via the Satanic Panic and therapist Barbara Snow. It's fascinating & horrifying to see the ripple effects we humans have on each other.
I tried to reconnect (platonically) with my abusive ex after he'd been in "therapy" for seven years - only to discover, FAR too fucking late mind you, that there was a very good reason why I responded so strongly to *that* anecdote from Why Does He Do That? (beginning of the chapter "The Abuser in Therapy")
Subscribeddddd
Liv, Laugh, Love, Agar
Subscribed!
Excited about the miniseries network, I love your miniseries. Hoping this means we’re getting second seasons of perverts and spectral voyagers at some point
Liv Agar? LIV AGAR!
Haha You guys posted “Liv Agar” so many times they’re gonna capitalize on it. Also Long Live Liv Agar
On the one had Liv and Annie etc should be able to love comfortably on their research and amazing voices- on the other hand this is definitely targeted advertising for a new product.
I have loved all the mini series to date. I am thrilled to see what yall do next.
Liv Agar
Liv agar
So I guess its like making the subscription $7 a month instead of 5 to get a few additional mini series? Also having replayed Ocarina of Time recently, the free moving testicle conversation had me thinking about it like the Water Temple boss. A continually moving weak spot within the body. Would be a wild evolution of man
LIV AGAR! but... huh? pls explain re patreon supporters. obviously 25 a year is not a lot and happy to support but how does this sit with the 60 bucks a year we're already in for?
She Livs!
I’m so lucky I was born in my family. It never occurred to me that if I had different parents I might have ended up in therapy for hating dresses because they were stupid and my legs itched when I was in grass, hated Barbie because it was stupid and could do anything like roll or move or crash into anything and hated wearing my hair down because it got in my face. As an adult I never wore anything but sneakers to my high profile job because being uncomfortable is stupid and I don’t like being sexually attractive to coworkers and I still don’t wear anything constricting of my legs because it is stupid, as a weaker physical sex, to be in the world in an outfit that hampers the ability to run away. And no one has ever questioned my heterosexuality or my gender. I was just seen as a very precocious and practical person. And I guess the idea of these heterosexual “sissy” boys going into a program questioning their ways of being is just so fucking horrible. I realize on the other side of that are the people who just as eloquently could explain exactly why they feel like they are the opposite gender and probably as a child with more clarity than possible as an adult when society puts all its judgement inside you. People should just listen to kids! They are so brilliant and know what they want to do. Adults that shame kids for behavior that is nonviolent is bananas to me! A person only gets like 3 minutes of childhood. Let the children be free!!!
+1 and let me say there are a lot of kids besides you (perhaps the default, we’ll never know at this rate) who are comfy in their assigned gender at birth yet want to play with whatever dress up clothes and toys until they are 3+ and shamed out of it! leave them kids alone
Looking forward to listening to the series and happy to support your new endeavor. I have long felt that you all provide a lot for my monthly subscription payment. I know that I am extra parasocial but I have deep affection for your whole crew and I will be glad if this allows everyone to pursue in depth projects and keep the financial side solid.
Pulled this off the Discord Julian: “The reason it is separate is that we realized it involves insane amount of effort. We wanted to honor that and allow people like Liv and Annie (who are running the two first series) to think bigger, in terms of research and focus. The budget from this second subscription will allow both of them to do what they want and allow us to attract a bigger outside talent for the third series of the year The goal is to genuinely develop a library of mini-series So yeah we think it's worth money. We think it's a worthy project. And if you don't want to sign up you can simply continue being a QAA patron and getting the second ep every week! nothing changes”.
I don't understand why it isn't just a new tier on the patreon though, or why they're forcing an annual subscription
Just a note to say yes charge more for new Manclan etc. UK postdocs are completely unsustainable and I'd hate to see this work not happen.
Only Manclan
Can y'all please clarify if this is included with our patreon subscription? If not, are we being refunded? I purchased this subscription for the bonuses AND miniseries Edit: Liv Agar
Take my money!
Wait is this not going to be included in the Patreon subscription?
Yeh so… same question
Licensed mental health counselor here. Therapy can definitely be harmful, and one thing I try to bring up as often as is relevant is that you do not have to tell your therapist everything awful that has happened to you to grow and heal - in fact, recounting trauma(s) can be detrimental and retraumatizing. To heal from trauma, establishing safety and learning about the nervous system and how to regulate it (everyone should learn diaphragmatic breathing) are necessary steps. Processing a trauma history can be powerfully healing, But it is something that should be approached with care and only after a positive therapeutic alliance has been established and the client has a skill set for re-regulating themselves back into their window of tolerance. Be choosy about your therapist, while also keeping in mind that you have to get out of your comfort zone to grow. There is quite a bit of bad therapy out there, and the research on psychotherapy clearly shows that the #1 factor for positive outcomes, by a huge margin, is the therapeutic relationship.
LLIIVV!!
The last few days was actually wondering whether Travis was gonna do any more Trickle Down episodes cos those were real class and the intro's mildly spooky vibe felt like you just wandered into his underground cobwebbed candlelit library of forbidden knowledge in time for his lesson as the door ominously closes behind you on its own. Wanted to ask but always feel too uncomfortable trying to communicate with people who most likely get a lot of the public already trying to communicate with them, so this at least kinda halfway answers that query simmering away for now. (I still hope trickle down returns though, with the same intro music lol)
I prefer “boogeythem,” personally
I love hearing you all LOSE it at “penis…vagina…anal sex…”
Ok I am not fact-checking this but I s2g cling wrap was considered a viable (or maybe emergency??) alternative to dental dams in a window of the early-mid 90s? This is not the first I have heard this anyway.
I'm confused is the new series a separate subscription? We don't get miniseries from the patreon anymore?
I’m hoping that it’ll just be a cheaper way for those who want the miniseries but don’t care about the adfree main episodes or regular premium episodes….. $25 vs $60 a year. It’d be a shame to not have these as parts of the Patreon.
liv agar
The Liv Agar drought is over
Holy shit LIV AGAR
if i could just "yes, and" that for a moment, i'd like to add LIV AGAR
LIV AGAR
¿ LIV AGAR ?
I want to give them all my money
Super excited for this series! I'm also gonna second the people saying we need Perverts Season 2 it was the funniest thing ever
Liv
Liv Agar!
LIV AGAR
Bloody Mary
LIV. AGAR!!
I'm so here for this❤️
Im really glad LIV AGAR is back. Also liv, you have a crazy twitter. Did you ever discover the Brazilian riddlers identity?
Liv episode :D
This sounds gooooodddd
LIV AGAR!
Three new series per year? Wonderful! I was wondering if those would return. Now all we need is Perverts S2.
Liv Agar!
Liv Agar
My patron notifications today being like "Oops! All Liv Agars!"
LIV AGAR
Liv agar
I’ve been waiting all week for this! Not disappointed