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Many of us are carrying a question we never expected to ask: what does safety look like for our kids? Where can we find it? For some families, that urgent question may drive them to consider moving to a different state. For others, that may not be enough, and a move out of the United States feels like the safest choice. Our guest In the Den today is Kate Isett, who moved to Spain and formally filed a case to help legally establish that the U.S. is no longer a safe country for transgender people. Kate will take us inside what it takes to leave, what's hard, what's possible, and the complicated reality of what it means to be safe.

Special Guest: Alexandria Kate Isett

Kate grew up in Lubbock, Texas, in a household where the Christian faith wasn't just important–it was everything. Her father, a retired naval officer and former Texas State Representative elected on a platform of staunch family values, and her mother, a Christian Zionist who believes Trump is God's chosen instrument for ushering in the second coming of Christ, homeschooled all seven of their children and were certain the world outside was pulling children away from God. Both remain devoted MAGA supporters to this day.

Growing up in the closet in West Texas left Kate scarred, depressed, and suicidal, and she subsequently spent the first decade of her adult life as an addict. She achieved sobriety in mid-2018 and believes her sobriety was the catalyst to her coming out as trans and becoming the most complete version of herself. In December of 2025, Kate created a plan of action to flee the country and seek asylum in Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain. She filed for asylum on February 12th, 2026, and once she knew the U.S. couldn't pull her back, she got to work starting a nonprofit. During this time, there was an increasing anti-trans movement occurring on a state and federal level, and Kate made a small guide that included all the steps she took to relocate successfully and took

that to the masses with an Instagram post simply stating: "I have info. Hit me up if you need it." At the end of the video Kate closed by briefly mentioning a nonprofit she was working to start up and, in that moment, LGBTQ+ Assoc. Far “FAR”) was breathed into existence. Within weeks, FAR was organized, and on June 1st, 2026, FAR officially announced itself as a resource for the LGBTQ+ community.

Links from the Show:

• LGBTQ FAR website
• The Androgynous Vagabond on IG
• Join Mama Dragons today

Go deeper with Empowered Parent Learning - Mama Dragons’ on-demand library of video courses and webinars for parents of LGBTQ+ kids. Two tracks: Parenting Essentials and Parent Advocacy. Free for Mama Dragons members, a small one-time fee for everyone else. Includes Suicide Prevention Training and Parachute eLearning.

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org.

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Across some of the most conservative states in the country, we’re witnessing incredible acts of activism and resistance, as people show up, speak out, and fight back against efforts to strip away the rights and dignity of transgender people. However, it’s important to recognize just how difficult it is to do that work when you’re not only fighting against these policies but are also among the very people being targeted by them. What does it take to keep showing up, to put yourself out there, and to continue fighting for your community when your own existence is at the center of the political battle? Today’s guest In the Den is Nikson Matthews, former chair of the Idaho Democratic Queer Caucus and the first transgender person to serve in the Idaho State Senate. On April 1, 2026, Sara and Nikson were arrested together during a sit-in in the Idaho Governor’s office, and today’s episode is a conversation about what it means to be a trans activist in a state where the political climate is increasingly hostile, where the laws and rhetoric targeting transgender people threaten not only their rights but their very place in public life. They’ll discuss the relationships activism builds, the moments that sustain us, the fear and frustration, the courage it takes to keep going, and what happens when the fight for justice moves from the streets and the Statehouse into the courtroom.

Special Guest: Nikson Matthews

Nikson Mathews is an LGBTQ+ advocate who made history in March 2025 as Idaho’s first openly transgender legislator, serving as a substitute state senator. A former adjunct professor at Boise State University and policy advocate for Add The Words, Idaho, Mathews previously ran for the Idaho House of Representatives in 2024.

Mathews is a prominent opponent of anti-trans legislation, notably testifying against House Bill 752, which was signed into law in April 2026 criminalizing transgender bathroom use in private businesses. He has publicly detailed the personal risks of such laws, stating that they force transgender men with masculine appearances to choose between jail time for using the men’s restroom or physical violence for using the women’s restroom.

Links from the Show:

• Nikson’s Advocate article
• Nikson’s viral testimony
• Nikson’s Idaho Statesman article
• Nikson on IG
• Join Mama Dragons today

Go deeper with Empowered Parent Learning - Mama Dragons’ on-demand library of video courses and webinars for parents of LGBTQ+ kids. Two tracks: Parenting Essentials and Parent Advocacy. Free for Mama Dragons members, a small one-time fee for everyone else. Includes Suicide Prevention Training and Parachute eLearning.

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org.

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Today’s episode will tackle the topic of hopelessness, which might seem like a strange thing to spend an hour talking about, especially for those of us who are doing justice work, who care deeply about our communities and about creating a different kind of world. We’re often told that hope is what keeps us going–hope for the future, hope for the next generation, hope that we’ve been here before and somehow we’ll find our way through this, too. When people talk about having hope for the future or trusting that things will eventually get better, sometimes that can fall flat for many of us. It might even feel like it lets us off the hook, because if we know everything will be okay, what exactly is being asked of us right now? Maybe letting go of the need to believe in a particular outcome, of embracing hopelessness, can actually free us to focus on what we can do, who we love, and what matters to us right now. Today’s In the Den discussion explores a different angle than some of us may have considered before, but hopefully this candid talk about hopelessness can give many of us a meaningful way forward when hope is hard to find.

Special Guest: The Reverend Darcy Baxter

Rev. Darcy Baxter is long-time reproductive justice activist, who currently serves as the parish minister at the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Modesto, CA. She is a member of the Center for American Progress' Faith and Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute and has just finished serving on the Leadership Board for the Abortion Conversation Project.

Special Guest: The Reverend Lucas Hergert

The Reverend Lucas Hergert became the Minister of North Shore Unitarian Church in 2017. He has been one of the organizers for the demonstrations around the Broadview detention facilities in Chicago, and also advocates for trans rights. In addition to serving as a minister, he teaches preaching at Meadville Lombard Theological School and is the author of Impassioned: A Guide to Progressive Preaching. His interests include yoga, Shakespeare plays, biking, liberation theologies, fantasy novels, interfaith work, and humor.

Links from the Show:

• Join Mama Dragons today
• Review paper on hope fatigue
• I Eat the Stars by Sarah Wilson
• Feeling Backward by Heather Love
• The Promise of Happiness by Sara Ahmed

Go deeper with Empowered Parent Learning - Mama Dragons’ on-demand library of video courses and webinars for parents of LGBTQ+ kids. Two tracks: Parenting Essentials and Parent Advocacy. Free for Mama Dragons members, a small one-time fee for everyone else. Includes Suicide Prevention Training and Parachute eLearning.

In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org.

Support the show

Connect with Mama Dragons:
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Donate to this podcast