The Queer Futures Now Podcast

Ep. 4: Oppression from Both Sides

In Episode 4 of 7, hosts Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny discuss intersectionality as a way of better understanding the complex issues our LGBTQ+ young people face. Intersectionality A framework for understanding how various social and political identities—such as race, gender, class, and sexuality—overlap and intersect, creating unique, compounded experiences of discrimination or privilege Lynn and Allison encourage parents and family members of LGBTQ+ folx to examine their own biases and do the work to see how the multiple identities LGBTQ+ young people carry with them impact their story and experience of the world. Let’s not oversimplify the experience of LGBTQ+ youth. It’s so simple. It’s not that hard. Let’s listen deeply, believe what they say, and show up with all the care and support they deserve. You have a mission and it’s clear. You must do what it takes to listen, understand, support, and advocate for the queer and trans youth you love. Here’s your assignment: * Subscribe to Queer Futures Now [https://queerfuturesnow.substack.com/] on Substack [https://queerfuturesnow.substack.com/]. When you do, you become part of the Queer Futures Now Network, a virtual support community facilitated by our partners at HEAL Plus New Mexico. The Queer Futures Now Network is for parents, families, educators and the rest of us who are ready to show up on behalf of queer and trans youth…now. * When you do, you will receive regular emails with new information and tools to add to your ally toolbox. * Between now and next podcast episode, we will focus on information and tools to help you better understand, support, and advocate for loving your LGBTQ+ in all of their intersecting identities. PODCAST CREDITS: The Queer Futures Now Podcast * Produced and Edited by: Lynn Johnson * Hosted by: Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny * Theme Music by: Jessie Lane * Performers Featured In This Episode: Bryan Avila Fuentes, Noe Field-Perkins, Dalilah Naranjo, and Danielle Simone * Music Credit: Waikiki by George Helm from The Music of George Helm - A True Hawaiian [https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-music-of-george-helm-a-true-hawaiian-mw0000062381#credits] * Sponsored by: HEAL Plus New Mexico [https://www.healplusnm.org/], a grassroots organization that uses community art to co-create communities where all people can thrive and queer and trans people are cherished.Queer Futures Now was originally made possible under the leadership of Alex Ross-Reed. Since December 2025, HEAL Plus New Mexico has been led by Gracielx Sedillo-Lopez. QueerFuturesNow.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.queerfuturesnow.com [https://www.queerfuturesnow.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 3: Love Us. It's Not That Hard.

In Episode 3 of 7, hosts Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny listen to and reflect on “The Magic We Create”, the theme song from Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play, written by Jessie Lane and performed by Jessie and Noe Field-Perkins. The chorus of the song was inspired by a quote from an interview in which an LGBTQ+ youth said: “To love us is everything. It’s so simple. It’s not that hard.” Lynn and Allison encourage parents and family members of LGBTQ+ folx to examine their need to understand the “lifestyle” vs. just showing up with love and support. Do we have to understand everything in order to be loving? How we are getting in our own way? How are we using queerness as an excuse for doing the work we need to do on ourselves? The LGBTQ+ youth in your life are so easy to love. It’s so simple. It’s not that hard. You have a mission and it’s clear. You must do what it takes to listen, understand, support, and advocate for the queer and trans youth you love. Here’s your assignment: * Subscribe to Queer Futures Now [https://queerfuturesnow.substack.com/] on Substack [https://queerfuturesnow.substack.com/]. When you do, you become part of the Queer Futures Now Network, a virtual support community facilitated by our partners at HEAL Plus New Mexico. The Queer Futures Now Network is for parents, families, educators and the rest of us who are ready to show up on behalf of queer and trans youth…now. * Each week, you will receive an email with new information and tools to add to your ally toolbox. * Over the next month—between now and next podcast episode—we will focus on information and tools to help you better understand, support, and advocate for loving your LGBTQ+ young people even when you don’t fully understand them. PODCAST CREDITS: The Queer Futures Now Podcast * Produced and Edited by: Lynn Johnson * Hosted by: Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny * Original Music by: Jessie Lane * Performers Featured In This Episode: Jessie Lane and Noe Field-Perkins * Sponsored by: HEAL Plus New Mexico [https://www.healplusnm.org/], a grassroots organization that uses community art to co-create communities where all people can thrive and queer and trans people are cherished.Queer Futures Now was originally made possible under the leadership of Alex Ross-Reed. Since December 2025, HEAL Plus New Mexico has been led by Gracielx Sedillo-Lopez. QueerFuturesNow.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.queerfuturesnow.com [https://www.queerfuturesnow.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 2: So Many Beautiful Things

In Episode 2 of 7, hosts Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny reflect on what they learned from 25 LGBTQ+ youth across New Mexico whose stories inspired Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play and this podcast. Together, they explore how concepts and language around gender and sexuality has evolved across generations, why today’s youth claim their identities with nuance and fluidity, and what adults can learn from listening more closely. Through clips and moments from the play, including metaphors of rivers, bodies of water, and questions of being “queer enough,” this episode centers a simple truth: young people are the experts on their own experience. Their identities are allowed to shift, deepen, and expand over time. Trust them. Believe them. Cheer them on as they evolve. The LGBTQ+ youth in your life are so many beautiful things. You have a mission and it’s clear. You must do what it takes to listen, understand, support, and advocate for the queer and trans youth you love. Here’s your assignment: * Subscribe to Queer Futures Now [https://queerfuturesnow.substack.com/] on Substack [https://queerfuturesnow.substack.com/]. When you do, you become part of the Queer Futures Now Network, a virtual support community facilitated by our partners at HEAL Plus New Mexico. The Queer Futures Now Network is for parents, families, educators and the rest of us who are ready to show up on behalf of queer and trans youth…now. * Each week, you will receive an email with new information and tools to add to your ally toolbox. * Over the next month—between now and next podcast episode—we will focus on information and tools to help you better understand, support, and advocate for identity formation in LGBTQ+ youth. PODCAST CREDITS: The Queer Futures Now Podcast * Produced and Edited by: Lynn Johnson * Hosted by: Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny * Original Music by: Jessie Lane * Actors Featured In This Episode: Lasha Helena Kirker, Danielle Simone, John Olesen, and Allison Kenny * Sponsored by: HEAL Plus New Mexico [https://www.healplusnm.org/], a grassroots organization that uses community art to co-create communities where all people can thrive and queer and trans people are cherished. Queer Futures Now was originally made possible under the leadership of Alex Ross-Reed. Since December 2025, HEAL Plus New Mexico has been led by Gracielx Sedillo-Lopez. QueerFuturesNow.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.queerfuturesnow.com [https://www.queerfuturesnow.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 1: We Are Not Aliens

In this 1st episode of 7, meet your hosts Allison Kenny and Lynn Johnson, co-founders of High Desert Playback, an Albuquerque-based company that makes theater for social change in New Mexico and beyond. We introduce you to Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play, our original play written from the real life stories of 25 queer and trans youth from across New Mexico. Their stories revealed to us what gives them joy, where they feel the most safe, and what they need their parents, families, and adult allies to know. Queer and trans youth need you…now. They need you to know that they are not aliens. They are human beings who are proud and afraid and suffering and celebrating. They need you to know that they are different from you and just like you. They understand that you will make mistakes, and they need you to keep trying anyway. They need you to get over yourself and get what you need to be able to show up. You have a mission and it’s clear. You must do what it takes to listen, understand, support, and advocate for the queer and trans youth you love. Here’s your first assignment: * Subscribe to Queer Futures Now [https://queerfuturesnow.substack.com/] on Substack [https://queerfuturesnow.substack.com/]. When you do, you become part of the Queer Futures Now Network, a virtual support community facilitated by our partners at HEAL Plus New Mexico. The Queer Futures Now Network is for parents, families, educators and the rest of us who are ready to show up on behalf of queer and trans youth…now. * Each week, you will receive an email with new information and tools to add to your ally toolbox. * Over the next month—between now and next podcast episode—we will focus on information and tools to help you better understand, support, and advocate for the mental and physical health of queer and trans youth. PODCAST CREDITS: The Queer Futures Now Podcast * Produced and Edited by: Lynn Johnson * Hosted by: Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny * Original Music by: Jessie Lane * Actors Featured In This Episode: Dalilah Naranjo, Danielle Simone, Jessie Lane, Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny * Sponsored by: HEAL Plus New Mexico [https://www.healplusnm.org/], a grassroots organization that uses community art to co-create communities where all people can thrive and queer and trans people are cherished. Queer Futures Now was originally made possible under the leadership of Alex Ross-Reed. Since December 2025, HEAL Plus New Mexico has been led by Gracielx Sedillo-Lopez. QueerFuturesNow.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.queerfuturesnow.com [https://www.queerfuturesnow.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Ep. 0: The Trailer

Are we willing to do what it takes to protect queer and trans youth and fight for their queer futures…NOW? In the Spring of 2024, Health Equity Alliance of LGBTQ+ New Mexicans (HEAL Plus NM) [https://www.healplusnm.org/] and High Desert Playback [https://www.highdesertplayback.com/] outreached to LGBTQ+ youth ages 16-24 throughout rural and urban areas of New Mexico to hear their stories and learn what they wished their parents and caregivers knew about their experience. What resulted was Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play, a 90-minute play that blends sci-fi, thriller, adventure, and dance party. Set on the banks of the Rio Chama in Northern New Mexico, the play follows four queer and trans youths on their journey to safety and shows the path to paradise is closer than we think. Original cast of Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play in Farmington, NM. Top row (left to right): Lynn Johnson as Scratch the Alien, Jessie Lane as Disco the Alien, and Allison Kenny as Scritch the Alien. Bottom row (left to right): Dalilah Naranjo as Brooke, Bryan Fuentes as Rio, Danielle Simone as Star, and Noe Field-Perkins as Jay. Not pictured: Johnny Olesen as Harmonica Human. The Queer Futures Now Podcast takes you behind the scenes of the play to hear what queer + trans youth need from us; their parents, families, and adult allies. Each episode will provide you with tools and resources to listen, understand, support, and advocate for the young people in our lives. Listeners of The Queer Futures Now Podcast are encouraged to SUBSCRIBE NOW to join the Queer Futures Now Network, a virtual support community for parents, families and allies of LGBTQ+ individuals. When you subscribe, you will get an email as soon as each podcast episode launches. You will also receive invitations to virtual group meetings and information about connecting with other allies in your local community. Questions about the Queer Futures Now Network? Send an email to qfnnetwork@healplusnm.org PODCAST CREDITS: The Queer Futures Now Podcast * Produced and Edited by: Lynn Johnson * Hosted by: Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny * Original Music by: Jessie Lane * Sponsored by: HEAL Plus NM, a grassroots organization that uses community art to co-create communities where all people can thrive and queer and trans people are cherished. Queer Futures Now: An Alien Play was commissioned and made possible by HEAL Plus NM under the leadership of Alex Ross-Reed. * Written by: Allison Kenny and Danielle Simone * Directed by: Lynn Johnson * Produced by: Lynn Johnson, Alex Ross-Reed and Lyisa Jimenez * Original Cast: * Allison Kenny * Bryan Avila-Fuentes * Dalilah Naranjo * Danielle Simone * Jessie Lane * Johnny Olesen * Lynn Johnson * Noe Field-Perkins * Original Creative Team: * Assistant Director: Tatiana Isabel Gil * Sound + Music: Jessie Lane * Scenic Design: sheri crider + Haley Greenfeather * Costume Design: Allison Saint * Stage Manager: Lasha Kirker This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.queerfuturesnow.com [https://www.queerfuturesnow.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]