Informed Dissent

We are all very far from home

This week: Trojan horses, teal handguns, and a stand-your-ground laws in Wyoming. Jamie Reed, Cori Cohn, and Lauren Leggieri are back together again, with two stories that have absolutely nothing to do with each other, except that both involve someone pretending to be someone they are not. First up: Christopher Nolan finally releases his $250 million, IMAX-shot, five-years-in-the-making Odyssey — and somewhere between Zendaya as Athena and Travis Scott as a bard, Ellen Page shows up as Sinon, a character who isn’t even in the actual Odyssey.Then: a story out of Laramie, Wyoming, that the Times seems almost uncomfortable having written, and photographing. A trans identified man named Rihanna Kelver packs a teal handgun for road trips, gets into with three men, draws a gun — and ends up facing 15 years. In one of the most gun-friendly states in the country. We break down what actually happened, what the law says, and what the coverage gets right and wrong.Like, subscribe, and share this episode — and check out our merch! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Mountain v. Liberty

This week, Jamie sits down with Cynthia Dill — a Maine civil rights attorney, former Democratic state legislator, and 2012 U.S. Senate candidate — to talk about the case that’s put her at odds with her own party.Dill represented the House and Senate districts covering Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, and part of Scarborough during six years in the Maine Legislature. She ran statewide against Angus King and Charlie Summers in 2012, then moved into media: political columns, commentary on Maine Public, and eventually her own podcast and outlet, Cyndicate Media.Now she’s litigating Mountain v. Liberty — a lawsuit filed on behalf of female inmates at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham against MDOC Commissioner Randall Liberty and Warden Ben Beal, alleging retaliation against women who objected to being housed with male inmates. The case has drawn Department of Justice attention and put Dill, a lifelong Democrat, in the position of arguing against her own party’s corrections leadership.Jamie talks with Dill about the case itself, what it’s cost her politically, whether she still calls herself a Democrat, and what conversations with sitting legislators in Augusta actually sound like behind closed doors.You can find Cynthia on X. You can support our show and find our merch here! As Always…Stay Informed and Ready to Dissent. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Sports Rallies, Runaway Democrats, and Whatever Else Is on Fire This Week

Informed Dissent — Show Notes, Week of August 1, 2026In this episode: LeAnne and Cori hold down the fort while Jamie and Lauren are on vacation, covering the Sophie Cunningham/WNBA firestorm, cracks in Democratic Party unity across two swing-state races, and new data on pediatric gender diagnoses in Oregon.Sophie Cunningham & the WNBA rallies* Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (a Missouri native — Rock Bridge High School, University of Missouri, most decorated player in program history) sparked national controversy with ESPN comments about protecting girls in locker rooms and sport from biological males.* Seattle incident: Two teenage fans holding pro-Cunningham signs at the Fever-Storm game were allegedly confronted by Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton. The WNBA suspended Keaton for five home games and issued an undisclosed fine.* Portland rally (Fri, July 31): Kara Dansky and many others to rally outside the Fever-Fire game.* Minneapolis rally (Sun, Aug 2): Jennifer Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics, will rally outside Target Center ahead of the Fever-Lynx game.* Full remaining Indiana Fever schedule linked here. Coming up* Next week: the Mountain v. Liberty case on housing biological males in Maine women’s prisons, with attorney Cynthia Dill.* Starting in August: our full series on libraries.Find our merch here. Informed Dissent is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Puberty Blockers, Round Two?

James Esses — psychotherapist, former criminal barrister, founder of Just Therapy, co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists, founder/coordinator of the Declaration for Biological Reality, Honorary Fellow at the Centre for Heterodox Social Science, University of Buckingham.Jamie, Lauren, and Cori are joined by James Esses ahead of the July 26th High Court judicial review of the PATHWAYS puberty blocker trial. James — alongside Keira Bell and the Bayswater Support Group — is a claimant in the case challenging the Health Research Authority and MHRA’s decision to approve the trial. This conversation covers the trial’s history, the regulatory reversal that let it proceed, and what’s legally at stake this weekend for the children already enrolled.PATHWAYS Trial:- 2024:UK bans puberty blockers for pediatric gender dysphoria outside of clinical research, following the Cass Review.- PATHWAYS approved as the sanctioned research exception — a King’s College London / South London and Maudsley NHS Trust study of GnRH analogues in patients under 16, commissioned by NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.- February 11, 2026: MHRA writes to trial sponsors raising safety concerns.- February 23, 2026: Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirms to Parliament that the trial has been paused.- Early 2026: Bell, Bayswater Support Group, and Esses file for judicial review against the HRA and MHRA, arguing the regulators failed to properly weigh foreseeable risk to cognition, bone density, and fertility against anticipated benefit.- June 2026: MHRA approves a modified protocol — minimum age requirement, updated patient information — clearing PATHWAYS to proceed, subject to the outcome of the judicial review.- Recruitment date: Originally set for August 1, 2026, pending the court’s decision.- July 26, 2026: High Court hears the judicial review.Further Reading:- Sex Matters coverage of the trial pause and judicial review- Transgender Trend on the modified protocol- The Free Press on the trial’s approval to enroll 11-year-olds- James Esses’s Substack and Just Therapy directory This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Sex Does Matter- Just not to Amnesty International

This week on Informed Dissent, Jamie Reed sits down with Maya Forstater to talk conversion therapy law, the puberty blocker trial, and Amnesty International.About Maya Forstater Maya Forstater is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Sex Matters. She became a public figure after losing her job at the Center for Global Development over her tweets on sex and gender — the resulting employment tribunal case established that ordinary beliefs about the two sexes are protected under the Equality Act 2010’s characteristic of belief. Before co-founding Sex Matters, she spent two decades as a researcher, writer, and advisor to think tanks and cross-sector initiatives on international tax policy, climate finance, and human rights in supply chains, and helped found both the Let Toys Be Toys campaign and the Ethical Trading Initiative.🎧 Like, subscribe, and share if this episode hits home.🛍️ Grab LGB Courage Coalition merch at lgbcourage.org This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/subscribe