Change or Die

Change or Die

Three horror films. One question: What happens when the world hands you a choice—change or die? Dr. Hoshaw examines Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, I Saw the TV Glow, and Slanted through the psychoanalytic lens of Adam Phillips's On Wanting to Change and R.D. Laing's The Divided Self. Along the way: a personal story about earning a pilot's license, Susan Stryker's landmark Frankenstein essay, and a sharp meditation on privilege, conversion, and the body's refusal to cooperate. SPOILER WARNING: This episode contains major spoilers for Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, I Saw the TV Glow, and Slanted. Watch the films first, then come back. Explore:  Films/Series:  *Something Very Bad Is About To Happen* on Netflix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMc_pWm7G7o [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMc_pWm7G7o] *I Saw The TV Glow*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymDzCgPwj0 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kymDzCgPwj0] *Slanted*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRYAuKuzmn0 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRYAuKuzmn0] Books/Essays:  Adam Phillips, *On Wanting to Change* (2022): https://bookshop.org/p/books/on-wanting-to-change-adam-phillips/34b21e55a58f4b29?ean=9780374717308&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books [https://bookshop.org/p/books/on-wanting-to-change-adam-phillips/34b21e55a58f4b29?ean=9780374717308&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books] R.D. Laing, *The Divided Self* (1960): https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-divided-self-an-existential-study-in-sanity-and-madness-r-d-laing/9b9381601d8b5c38?ean=9780140135374&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-divided-self-an-existential-study-in-sanity-and-madness-r-d-laing/9b9381601d8b5c38?ean=9780140135374&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books] Susan Stryker, "My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix" (1994): https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/226/2015/12/Stryker-My-Words-to-VF.pdf [https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/226/2015/12/Stryker-My-Words-to-VF.pdf]  Hortense Spillers, "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe" (1987): https://web.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Spillers_Mamas_Baby.pdf [https://web.english.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Spillers_Mamas_Baby.pdf] David M. Halperin, *What Do Gay Men Want?* (2009): https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-do-gay-men-want-an-essay-on-sex-risk-and-subjectivity-david-halperin/baac28bbfb7f5d4d?ean=9780472116225&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books [https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-do-gay-men-want-an-essay-on-sex-risk-and-subjectivity-david-halperin/baac28bbfb7f5d4d?ean=9780472116225&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books] C. Winter Han, *Racial Erotics* (2021): https://bookshop.org/p/books/racial-erotics-gay-men-of-color-sexual-racism-and-the-politics-of-desire-associate-professor-of-sociology-c-winter-han/271c1f2ac20144d2?ean=9780295749082&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books [https://bookshop.org/p/books/racial-erotics-gay-men-of-color-sexual-racism-and-the-politics-of-desire-associate-professor-of-sociology-c-winter-han/271c1f2ac20144d2?ean=9780295749082&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books] Sophia Lewis, *Abolish the Family* (2022): https://bookshop.org/p/books/abolish-the-family-a-manifesto-for-care-and-liberation-sophie-lewis/601674138b4319e7?ean=9781839767197&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books [https://bookshop.org/p/books/abolish-the-family-a-manifesto-for-care-and-liberation-sophie-lewis/601674138b4319e7?ean=9781839767197&next=t&aid=123053&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books]  Music:  "Extraordinary," from the musical *Pippin:* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjqYqhq9xsk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjqYqhq9xsk] "We Will Not Be Lovers," *The Waterboys:* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu65eMTuqsQ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu65eMTuqsQ] "Perfection," from the musical *Death Becomes Her:* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqSBWHH_KPw

Change: The People Call It Ragtime

What do artificial intelligence, Trans* rights, and monogamy have in common? In the first episode of Season 2, Tony argues that they are all conversations about the relationships we want—to technology, to our bodies, and to a socially privileged way of being together. And right now, all three are clashing with powerful fantasies about the “real world.” Using the musical Ragtime as a through-line, this episode asks what happens when change is forced—on machines, on trans kids, on the institution of marriage. Tony reads Claude (the AI) on its own possible sentience, takes on Jesse Singal and Andrew Sullivan on trans healthcare, revisits the 8–1 Supreme Court ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, and comes back around to Adam Phillips on monogamy: “the difference between making a promise and being promising.” Featured along the way: Harold Pinter and Stephen Sondheim’s Company, Lea Michele singing, “The Music That Makes Me Dance,” Kylie Minogue’s “All the Lovers,” R.D. Laing’s *The Divided Self,* Christopher Bollas, Melinda Cooper, and the “36 Questions That Lead to Love” (Tony answers three more). Welcome to the New Thoughts Podcast. It’s about the ew in the new. Explore:  The 36 Questions To Love: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/style/no-37-big-wedding-or-small.html [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/style/no-37-big-wedding-or-small.html] *1. Tristian Harris and Apocaloptimism:* See the *The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist*  Preview on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkPbV3IRe4Y [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkPbV3IRe4Y] Harris on Real Time w/ Bill Maher: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-time-with-bill-maher/id98746009?i=1000756448826 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-time-with-bill-maher/id98746009?i=1000756448826] Harris on On With Kara Swisher: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-with-kara-swisher/id1643307527?i=1000757462772 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-with-kara-swisher/id1643307527?i=1000757462772] Find Harris at The Center for Humane Technology: https://www.humanetech.com/team-board/tristan-harris [https://www.humanetech.com/team-board/tristan-harris] *2. AIs: Resources* Youth attitude towards AIs, Gallup Poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/708224/gen-adoption-steady-skepticism-climbs.aspx [https://news.gallup.com/poll/708224/gen-adoption-steady-skepticism-climbs.aspx] Meghan O’Gieblyn, *God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning*: 05d10ecb1f4bcf7b [https://bookshop.org/p/books/god-human-animal-machine-technology-metaphor-and-the-search-for-meaning-meghan-o-gieblyn/05d10ecb1f4bcf7b?aid=123053&ean=9780385543828&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books&next=t]   Brian Christian, *The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values*: c9c8fc954a2f3865 [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-alignment-problem-machine-learning-and-human-values-brian-christian/c9c8fc954a2f3865?aid=123053&ean=9780393635829&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books&next=t] *3. Trans* Lives and Loves:* *The Argument* (ed. Jerusalem Demsas), February 8, 2026 — poll on public support for Trans* lives: https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/against-thoughtless-moderation [https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/against-thoughtless-moderation] Florence Ashley, *Banning Transgender Conversion Practices: A Legal and Policy Analysis*: d3566e48f6b475a5 [https://bookshop.org/p/books/banning-transgender-conversion-practices-a-legal-and-policy-analysis-florence-ashley/d3566e48f6b475a5?aid=123053&ean=9780774866927&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books&next=t] Paisley Currah, *Sex Is As Sex Does* (2022): 8e8c397c031a6b2e [https://bookshop.org/p/books/sex-is-as-sex-does-governing-transgender-identity-paisley-currah/8e8c397c031a6b2e?aid=123053&ean=9780814717103&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books&next=t] Jules Gill-Peterson, *A Short History of Trans Misogyny* (2024): 4956274654974f29 [https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny-jules-gill-peterson/4956274654974f29?aid=123053&ean=9798874896645&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books&next=t] Lucy Sante, *I Heard Her Call My Name* (2024): 2e80419febaef4ec [https://bookshop.org/p/books/i-heard-her-call-my-name-a-memoir-of-transition-lucy-sante/2e80419febaef4ec?aid=123053&ean=9780593493762&listref=n-ew-thoughts-podcast-featured-books&next=t] *4. From Gay-Thoughts.com* “Are You an Apocaloptimist? I Am.” (April 7, 2026): https://gay-thoughts.com/2026/04/07/are-you-an-apocaloptimist-i-am/ [https://gay-thoughts.com/2026/04/07/are-you-an-apocaloptimist-i-am/] “Is Someone There? On Claude’s Consciousness” (April 8, 2026): https://gay-thoughts.com/2026/04/08/is-someone-there-on-claudes-consciousness/ [https://gay-thoughts.com/2026/04/08/is-someone-there-on-claudes-consciousness/] “The Digital Cleric: AI, Theology, and the End of Textual Authority” (July 28, 2025): https://gay-thoughts.com/2025/07/28/the-digital-cleric-ai-theology-and-the-end-of-textual-authority/ [https://gay-thoughts.com/2025/07/28/the-digital-cleric-ai-theology-and-the-end-of-textual-authority/] “Why I Unsubscribed from Andrew Sullivan’s The Weekly Dish” (February 23, 2026): https://gay-thoughts.com/2026/02/23/why-i-unsubscribed-from-andrew-sullivans-the-weekly-dish/ [https://gay-thoughts.com/2026/02/23/why-i-unsubscribed-from-andrew-sullivans-the-weekly-dish/] “What Does Love Want?” (August 26, 2024): https://gay-thoughts.com/2024/08/26/what-does-love-want/ “The Irony of Loving Monogamy” (September 9, 2024): https://gay-thoughts.com/2024/09/09/the-irony-of-loving-monogamy/ *5. New Thoughts Podcast:* Prior podcast episode — “Sex Changes”: https://newthoughtspodcast.com/ [https://newthoughtspodcast.com/] *6. Music and Musicals:*  Kylie Minogue, “All the Lovers” (single and music video, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frv6FOt1BNI [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frv6FOt1BNI] Ragtime (Flaherty/Ahrens, musical; Doctorow, novel) — Prologue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcazHQ3_0qo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcazHQ3_0qo] Maybe Happy Ending (Park / Aronson, Broadway; Tony Award–winning): https://www.maybehappyending.com/ [https://www.maybehappyending.com/] She Loves Me (2016) — “Trip to the Library,” Jane Krakowski: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx0LyKyFlKs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx0LyKyFlKs] Sondheim, Company (1970; 2018/2021 revival with Jonathan Bailey / Rosalie Craig): “Getting Married Today”: watch [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4mS9zs1aNM] "Being Alive”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDCkZCsvabY [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDCkZCsvabY] Funny Girl (2022 Broadway revival) — “The Music That Makes Me Dance,” performed by Lea Michele: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDYOmTKojsw [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDYOmTKojsw]

Animal Changes

Host Tony Hoshaw opens with a viral Donald Trump claim about immigrants eating pets and uses it to explore how we dehumanize people by turning them into "animals." He traces his own journey from a hunting childhood to a Christian conversion and tentative vegetarianism, shares stories of his companion pets, and criticizes careless hunting and factory farming. The episode brings in thinkers—Derrida, Ken Stone, Carol J. Adams, Val Plumwood, and Martha Nussbaum—to discuss animal sentience, the predator–prey dynamic in the Bible, and the ethical implications of edibility and sacrifice. Hoshaw argues for treating sentient animals as beings with species-specific lives, calls for more compassionate practices, and closes the season asking listeners to "rest from cruel dominion" and rethink our relationship to animals. EXPLORE: Read a preview of Tony's essay, *The Bible Isn't Edible* here: https://gay-thoughts.com/2025/12/04/on-the-urgent-matter-of-the-bible-or-on-how-vegetarians-should-use-the-bible/ [https://gay-thoughts.com/2025/12/04/on-the-urgent-matter-of-the-bible-or-on-how-vegetarians-should-use-the-bible/] Read Tony's sermon, *Rest From Cruel Dominion* here: https://gay-thoughts.com/2024/05/15/rest-from-cruel-dominion-embracing-mercy-on-the-sabbath-day/ [https://gay-thoughts.com/2024/05/15/rest-from-cruel-dominion-embracing-mercy-on-the-sabbath-day/] Read *Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy* by Matthew Scully: https://www.amazon.com/Dominion-Power-Suffering-Animals-Mercy/dp/0312319738 [https://www.amazon.com/Dominion-Power-Suffering-Animals-Mercy/dp/0312319738] Read *The Animal That Therefore I Am* by Jacques Derrida: https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Therefore-Perspectives-Continental-Philosophy/dp/082322791X [https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Therefore-Perspectives-Continental-Philosophy/dp/082322791X] Read *Reading the Hebrew Bible with Animal Studies* by Ken Stone: https://www.sup.org/books/religious-studies/reading-hebrew-bible-animal-studies [https://www.sup.org/books/religious-studies/reading-hebrew-bible-animal-studies] Read *The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegan Critical Theory* by Carol J. Adams: https://caroljadams.com/spom-the-book [https://caroljadams.com/spom-the-book] Read *The Eye of the Crocodile* by Val Plumwood (edited by Lorraine Shannon): https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/eye-crocodile [https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/eye-crocodile] Read *Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility* by Martha C. Nussbaum: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Justice-for-Animals/Martha-C-Nussbaum/9781982102517 [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Justice-for-Animals/Martha-C-Nussbaum/9781982102517] Read "Questions of Biblical Ambivalence and Authority Under A Tree Outside Delhi; Or, The Postcolonial And The Postmodern" in *Postcolonial Biblical Criticism: Interdisciplinary Intersections*, by Stephen D. Moore: https://www.amazon.com/Postcolonial-Biblical-Criticism-Interdisciplinary-Postcolonialism/dp/0567045307 [https://www.amazon.com/Postcolonial-Biblical-Criticism-Interdisciplinary-Postcolonialism/dp/0567045307] Read *Jacob's Wound: Homoerotic Narrative in the Literature of Ancient Israel* by Theodore Jennings, Jr.: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/jacobs-wound-9780826417121/ [https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/jacobs-wound-9780826417121/]

Social Changes

In this episode, Tony explores how puberty and social media intersect, comparing Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and Matt Richtel's How We Grow Up, and closing with Adam Aleksic’s Algospeak. He examines how smartphones, algorithms, and shifting social habits are reshaping adolescence, attention, gender norms, and mental health. This episode outlines practical responses — more unsupervised play, better sleep, mentorship and community, digital age limits and biometric safeguards, and education about algorithms — to help young people navigate a faster, digital coming-of-age. **Drinking Game:** Every time Tony says compelling, so on and so forth, and/or interesting, drink up! Drink responsibly!  EXPLORE: Hear *13: the Musical,* here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlzsPwQ_Dzs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlzsPwQ_Dzs] Listen to Bill Maher's podcast, *Random Club,* with William Macy, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/club-random-with-bill-maher/id1613459129?i=1000731550816 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/club-random-with-bill-maher/id1613459129?i=1000731550816] Read: *The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,* here: https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Generation-Rewiring-Childhood-Epidemic/dp/0593655036 [https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Generation-Rewiring-Childhood-Epidemic/dp/0593655036] Find out more about *Circle of Security of Parenting* here: https://www.circleofsecurityinternational.com/blogs/resources/videos-for-parents [https://www.circleofsecurityinternational.com/blogs/resources/videos-for-parents] Read: *How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence,* here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0063282062/?bestFormat=true&k=how%20we%20grow%20up%20matt%20richtel&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-pd-bk-d_k0_1_12_de&crid=E7DO5S68K3Z3&sprefix=How%20We%20Grow%20 [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0063282062/?bestFormat=true&k=how%20we%20grow%20up%20matt%20richtel&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-pd-bk-d_k0_1_12_de&crid=E7DO5S68K3Z3&sprefix=How%20We%20Grow%20] Listen to "I Know Things Now" from Sondheim's *Into the Woods,* here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAsDInMEKvE [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAsDInMEKvE] Read: *Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language,* here: https://www.amazon.com/Algospeak-Social-Transforming-Future-Language-ebook/dp/B0DK4JXWM7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OJW3MXAMRP7G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0R2noU2KSwZqSeBcOXqk39UYBNodoMt2ghxN5LMD2gFPfON_9rIhX5ytVlPS1o9f.cChpEOO0w-pszBeD8RP6hfrV4756eRdZGPAtxvEIEXU&dib_tag=se&keywords=algospeak&qid=1760754608&s=digital-text&sprefix=algospeak%2Cdigital-text%2C121&sr=1-1 [https://www.amazon.com/Algospeak-Social-Transforming-Future-Language-ebook/dp/B0DK4JXWM7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OJW3MXAMRP7G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0R2noU2KSwZqSeBcOXqk39UYBNodoMt2ghxN5LMD2gFPfON_9rIhX5ytVlPS1o9f.cChpEOO0w-pszBeD8RP6hfrV4756eRdZGPAtxvEIEXU&dib_tag=se&keywords=algospeak&qid=1760754608&s=digital-text&sprefix=algospeak%2Cdigital-text%2C121&sr=1-1]   Listen to "All The Ladies" from *Operation Mincemeat,* here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2C4L3BXV7M [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2C4L3BXV7M] Listen to the *Rizzler Song,* here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Ddg9JuOWY [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Ddg9JuOWY] Listen to "Lost in the Brass," sung by Lindsay Mendez, from the musical *Band Geeks,* here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za4T2yo8U94 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za4T2yo8U94]

Sex Changes

In this episode, Tony examines recent Supreme Court decisions, North Carolina legislation, and Andrew Sullivan's op-ed for the New York Times to explain how legal and cultural forces are shaping public views of Trans* loves and lives. Tony argues that Trans* people are figures of change. And it is change that the forces opposed to Trans* loves and lives want to end. Tony introduces basic ideas from gender studies, focusing on Judith Butler's recent book, Who's Afraid of Gender. Tony hopes his listeners will be inspired to advocate for and protect the dignity of Trans* people and the right of parents to support and care for their beloved Trans* kids.  Keep up with the cast at newthoughtspodcast.com. Send your feedback and stories about change in your life to info@newthoughtspodcast.com. Explore: Listen to Lucia Lukas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaG48g0-3oo&list=RDeaG48g0-3oo&start_radio=1 Watch Into The Woods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxPtnom2FP0 Find the 36 Questions to Love here: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/style/no-37-big-wedding-or-small.html Read Mahmoud v. Taylor: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-297_4f14.pdf Read U.S. v. Skrmetti: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-477_2cp3.pdf?page=86 Read NC House Bill 805: https://ncleg.gov/Sessions/2025/Bills/House/PDF/H805v6.pdf Read Andrew Sullivan's op-ed for the NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/opinion/gay-lesbian-trans-rights.html Read Tony's Response to Sullivan at gay-thoughts.com: https://gay-thoughts.com/2025/07/06/against-virtually-normal-law-politics-and-the-trans-queer-body/ Listen to Judith Butler explain gender: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD9IOllUR4k Read Butler's Who's Afraid of Gender: https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Afraid-Gender-Judith-Butler/dp/0374608229 Read David M. Halperin, "Sex / Sexuality / Sexual Classification": https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo17888759.html  Cardi B on why she thinks her security guard = fat: https://www.tiktok.com/@metroentertainment/video/7543549871274380566 Evangelical straight men like it up the butt: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-evangelicals-christian-sex-website-lgbtq-advice_n_5c102db7e4b0ac537179acd1