Episode 8: Queering The Hand You're Dealt

Episode 10: It's Me, Your (Queer) Host

On today's final episode of Season 1 of Cool Queers Doing Cool Shit, guest host Iman Alsaden helps with a switcheroo and interviews Kelsey. Kelsey shares more about what it's been like to make a show so full of queerness, reflects on her sobriety, talks about whiteness, participates in rapid-fire-trivia-show-questioning, and takes a spin through her favorite moments from all the Season 1 episodes. Cool Queers Doing Cool Shit isn't over forever! Kelsey is looking for more queers committed to community care to feature on future seasons of the podcast! If you have a suggestion, drop her a line at coolqueersdoingcoolshit@gmail.com Show Notes * I reference Tema Okun's White Supremacy Culture and encourage you to read this updated version [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XR_7M_9qa64zZ00_JyFVTAjmjVU-uSz8/view] (and you can never read it too many times if it's been a while). * You can follow Kelsey's Disco on Substack [https://kelseyrhodes.substack.com/%E2%81%A0], connect with Kelsey [https://kelseyrhodes.com/%E2%81%A0%C2%A0] for freelance writing, and follow her on social media on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KelseyDotOrg%E2%81%A0], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kelsey_dot_org/%E2%81%A0], and Threads [https://www.threads.net/@kelsey_dot_org].

Episode 9: Queerness and Faith, Holding Hands

On today's episode of Cool Queers Doing Cool Shit, Kelsey sits down with Saria Omer! Saria Omer is many things! A former child, an aspiring adult, and a chronically sleepy person. They are a community organizer, writer, designer, curator, and creative consultant dedicated to the liberation of Black queer people across the Black and African diaspora. Their work often takes the complex and nebulous experiences of marginalized peoples and turns them into accessible opportunities for healing and culturally informed initiatives. We dig into so many meaningful topics, stories, and memories of Saria's childhood as they grew up queer and Muslim and how they are committed to cultivating spaces that celebrate and hold the many experiences of Black queer Muslims today. Kelsey is always looking for more queers committed to community care to feature on the podcast! If you have a suggestion, drop her a line at coolqueersdoingcoolshit@gmail.com Don't forget to also send Kelsey your questions for the season finale! Show Notes * Saria would love for you to support and follow them on Instagram @sorryuhh_ [https://www.instagram.com/sorryuhh_] * You can follow Kelsey's Disco on Substack [https://kelseyrhodes.substack.com/%E2%81%A0], connect with Kelsey [https://kelseyrhodes.com/%E2%81%A0%C2%A0] for freelance writing, and follow her on social media on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KelseyDotOrg%E2%81%A0], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kelsey_dot_org/%E2%81%A0], and Threads [https://www.threads.net/@kelsey_dot_org].

Episode 8: Queering The Hand You're Dealt

On today's episode of Cool Queers Doing Cool Shit, Kelsey sits down with Dr. Iman Alsaden, an abortion provider in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, a queer media aficionado, passionate poker player, and perhaps queerest of all, Kelsey's partner. This conversation winds through Iman's identities as a queer, Arab, abortion provider, digs into Iman's many varied gay hobbies, explores where Iman found community and solace as a young queer, and gives a brief look into Kelsey and Iman's relationship, including where Iman looks to for motivation to keep going, in spite of the troubling times in our world. Kelsey is always looking for more queers committed to community care to feature on the podcast! If you have a suggestion, drop her a line at coolqueersdoingcoolshit@gmail.com Show Notes * Iman doesn't have social media (blessings to them!) but you can support people accessing abortions at their clinic in Kansas by donating to Planned Parenthood Great Plains [https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/onlineactions/Zu7sPveO9EyNhfH8QTPHOA2?_gl=1*14txe62*_ga*NDc1ODUxNTg4LjE2OTAyMzMzOTI.*_gid*MTE0MjY3MjA5OS4xNjkwMjMzMzky] and the Kansas Abortion Fund [https://kansasabortionfund.org/donate-kaf]. And if you're really trying to reach them, I happen to know a guy who can pass along a message to Iman (spoiler alert, I'm the guy). * You can follow Kelsey's Disco on Substack [https://kelseyrhodes.substack.com/%E2%81%A0], connect with Kelsey [https://kelseyrhodes.com/%E2%81%A0%C2%A0] for freelance writing, and follow her on social media on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KelseyDotOrg%E2%81%A0], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kelsey_dot_org/%E2%81%A0], and Threads [https://www.threads.net/@kelsey_dot_org].

Episode 7: Let's Fund Each Other!

On today's episode of Cool Queers Doing Cool Shit, Kelsey sits down with Ash Williams, a Black trans abortion doula, public intellectual, and abolitionist community organizer from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Ash shares what he's learned through a lifetime of organizing, starting by advocating for resources for military families, continuing in advocating for trans folks to be able to safely use bathrooms on college campuses, showing up for families who are grieving in the face of police violence, to the work he does today funding people's abortions and bailing people out of jail. We talk about how easy it is to fund these aid efforts, how easy and necessary it is to provide material resources for people in our communities, and how we must do this work at the same time to get closer to a world where we can live autonomous lives. If you're wanting to learn about abortion funding, how to destigmatize abortion, how to show up for people who are incarcerated... then this episode is for you! Kelsey is always looking for more queers committed to community care to feature on the podcast! If you have a suggestion, drop her a line at coolqueersdoingcoolshit@gmail.com Show Notes Learn more about Ash's work and opportunities to fund abortions and bail outs by following him on Twitter [https://twitter.com/Ash_Bash23], following Charlotte Uprising on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/charlotteuprising/?hl=en], and by following MAADCo Abortion Doulas on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/maadco.abortiondoulas/?hl=en] or learning more at their website [https://mtnabortiondoula.co/]. You can follow Kelsey's Disco on Substack [https://kelseyrhodes.substack.com/%E2%81%A0], connect with Kelsey [https://kelseyrhodes.com/%E2%81%A0%C2%A0] for freelance writing, and follow her on social media on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KelseyDotOrg%E2%81%A0], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kelsey_dot_org/%E2%81%A0], and Threads [https://www.threads.net/@kelsey_dot_org].

Episode 6: Queering Housing Justice

On today's episode of Cool Queers Doing Cool Shit, Kelsey sits down with Scout DeSimio, a queer social worker who has been supporting Kansas City social services for over 10 years. Scout shares what they've learned being in collaboration with queer youth facing houselessness through their work at Pride Haven, an overnight shelter for LGBTQ+ youth, reflects on how she's disrupting nonprofit norms, and myth busts around young queers navigating housing insecurity. It's a conversation rooted in the power of trusting people to be the experts in their own lives, offering the support and resources people ask for, and the power in knowing and believing we're all worthy of housing, safety, and care. Kelsey is always looking for more queers committed to community care to feature on the podcast! If you have a suggestion, drop her a line at coolqueersdoingcoolshit@gmail.com Show Notes * Learn more about Scout's work at Pride Haven by following Scout on Instagram or following Pride Haven on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/pridehavenkc/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/pridehavenkc], or Twitter. [https://twitter.com/pridehavenkc] * Show solidarity with the young people who seek services at Pride Haven every day by buying items from their Amazon Wishlist [https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2DOURI2TB12PN?ref_=wl_share] or making a donation [https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/donor-form/?svcid=renxt&formId=45693374-a7c9-4b7d-b431-6f2179aeb313&envid=p-pmFCr57eEkep0lrBp7po5w&zone=usa]! * You can follow Kelsey's Disco on Substack [https://kelseyrhodes.substack.com/%E2%81%A0], connect with Kelsey [https://kelseyrhodes.com/%E2%81%A0%C2%A0] for freelance writing, and follow her on social media on Twitter [https://twitter.com/KelseyDotOrg%E2%81%A0] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kelsey_dot_org/%E2%81%A0].