President Biden withdraws from the Presidential race, we remember Pauly Likens, and Brittney Griner welcomes new baby - July 22, 2024

This episode covers major news including President Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, a tribute to Pauly Likens, and Brittney Griner's new baby announcement.

1. President Biden's withdrawal marks a significant political shift, endorsing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
2. The tragic murder of Pauly Likens casts a spotlight on violence against transgender individuals.
3. Brittney Griner's announcement of her new baby provides a joyful counterpoint to more serious news.
4. The episode exemplifies the intersection of race, sexuality, politics, and culture.
5. Community engagement and support are emphasized through calls to action and community responses.

1. Introduction

Anna Deshawn introduces the episode’s themes and sets the tone for a discussion at the intersection of politics, culture, and personal stories. Anna Deshawn: "There's no place like the Cube family. It's your favorite queer radio personality, Anna Deshawn."

2. Politics and News

Details President Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and its implications. Anna Deshawn: "President Biden has officially withdrawn from the presidential race."

3. Remembering Pauly Likens

Covers the tragic story of Pauly Likens, highlighting the violence faced by transgender individuals. Anna Deshawn: "The person that murdered Paulie actually dismembered her body."

4. Joy in the Midst of Strife

Discusses Brittney Griner’s announcement of her new baby, adding a personal and joyful narrative to the episode. Anna Deshawn: "Brittany expresses just how it felt like the world's problems just washed away when she saw him for the first time."

1. Support Local Initiatives: Engage with and support local initiatives that promote inclusivity and safety for transgender individuals.
2. Stay Informed: Keep abreast of political changes and participate in democratic processes to ensure diverse representation.
3. Celebrate Positive News: Share and celebrate positive news within your community to foster a balanced perspective.
4. Engage with Community Resources: Utilize and promote community resources like "Everywhere is Queer" to support queer-owned businesses and safe spaces.
5. Donate and Support: Consider donating to funds and support systems for victims of hate crimes and their families.

This week on the Queer News podcast Anna DeShawn reports on President Biden withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing VP Kamala Harris. Let’s talk about it. We remember Pauly Likens, a 14 year old trans girl who was murdered and found in a Pennsylvania river. In culture and entertainment, Brittney Griner spills the “T” on a podcast that their baby boy is here, Robin Roberts reveals why it took her so long to come out and the queers are representing at the Olympics. Let’s go!

People

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Pauly Likens, Brittney Griner

Companies

None

Books

None

Guest Name(s):

None

Content Warnings:

Mentions of murder and violence

Anna Deshawn
There's no place like the Cube family. It's your favorite queer radio personality, Anna Deshawn. And this is queer news weekly news pod, where race and sexuality meet politics, culture, and entertainment.

Charlie, what type of impact are you seeing that you're having on businesses and people right now? What are you hearing from the people and business owners?

Charlie
Thousands and thousands of messages every month that are saying, thank you. A hair salon in rural Texas. Reach out and share. I've received 15 new clients at my hair salon in one month of being listed on your platform. Changing my life because my business is succeeding, and you're changing every single person's life that gets to sit in my seat as a queer person and get their gender affirming haircuts with full support.

I mean, it's just genuine people reaching out, saying, thank you.

Anna Deshawn
So, family, meet Charlie.

Charlie and I had such a wonderful interview. We had been trying to catch up for such a long time. It was totally on me, and I was so happy to be able to spend time and to get to know them better. Charlie is the founder of everywhere is queer. It's an app that you can go download today, and of course, we want you to do that. And it is a searchable map and a queer public resource created for us by us, welcoming queer owned spaces to shop, connect, eat, learn, and grow all over the world. Okay? It is so dope. So go download. Everywhere is queer. And if you're in the Q crew, go listen to the interview. And for my family here, it's gonna drop on Friday. So you make sure that you're tapped into this feed and our YouTube channel.

Also, family, don't forget to send me your queer news tips, okay? The tip line is open all day, every day. I want to report on things that are not being reported on in the news or in the blog. And I know y'all know there are good queer things happening all over the country. A link is in the show notes. All right? And Q crew, what's going on? I hope y'all are enjoying this exclusive period of Charlie's interview. I hope y'all enjoy it. I mean, this is one of the few perks I can provide is being able to drop exclusive interviews to you all first, all right? So I hope you all enjoy it. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you for continuing to help to sustain this podcast, y'all. It's tough out here, okay? Advertising sales is hard work and sometimes feels really impossible. But because of your consistent, okay, reoccurring donations to support this podcast, we still here okay. I wake up and do it for y'all. So thank you so much. So much.

Now for the news. We don't have any new updates on the disappearance of Taylor Casey. I posted a video on YouTube outlining the events in chronological order. Visit and dig in. Until then, please call elected officials so we can get Taylor home.

Our top story is, of course, in politics.

How could it not be? President Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race and he endorses VP Kamala Harris. Let's talk about it.

Paulie Lykins, a 14 year old trans girl, was murdered and found in Pennsylvania.

In culture and entertainment, Brittany Griner spills the tea, y'all. She spilled the tea on a podcast that the baby is here.

Robin Roberts jumps on the podcast and talks about why it took her so long to come out.

And the queers are representing at the Olympics.

Let's go.

In politics, of course, the top story everywhere for absolutely everybody who lives in the United States of America is that President Biden has officially withdrawn from the presidential race.

He did. He did. He sent a tweet. He sent a tweet on Sunday at 12:46 p.m. chicago time that he would be withdrawing from the presidential race. Now, I actually want to read what he wrote because if you're like me, your first thing was, you just saw the headlines. But I really want to read what he wrote because I think it's important for the record, and I just also want y'all to hear it. To my fellow Americans, over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We've made historic investments in rebuilding our nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We've provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances, passed the first gun safety law in 30 years, appointed the first african american woman to the Supreme Court, and passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.

I know none of this could have been done without you, the american people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We've protected and preserved our democracy, and we've revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world. It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president. And while it has been my intention to seek re election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country. For me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term. I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision. For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the american people for the faith and trust you have placed in me. I believe today what I always have, that there is nothing America can't do when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America. Signed, President Joe Biden.

Now, that tweet was followed by this one where he said, my fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as president for the remainder of my term. My first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my vice president. And it's been the best decision I've made today. I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats, it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this.

And then he comments inside the tweet, you know, and if you're with us, donate to her campaign here. So with this endorsement, it pretty much is a guarantee that Kamala Harris will be the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party. But it will have to play out at the Democratic National Convention, which is happening in Chicago, in my hometown next month. Now, what makes this so interesting is that this is unprecedented in modern politics, in that no one has ever dropped out or died this close to a national convention.

No one. We've got three months until election day, and now the Democrats are choosing a new presidential nominee, and not just any nominee. If the delegates at the convention say yes to Kamala Harris, she would be the first black woman, the first asian american woman to lead a presidential ticket. She'll be the first HBCU grad to lead a presidential ticket.

This is major. She would become the second woman to actually make the ballot. Right to get enough votes, electoral votes, to make the ballot to go up for president, behind, of course, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

What a time to be alive if she chooses. Right to accept this whole moment.

We are living in a time that has not been seen in modern politics.

Wow.

And so many events have transpired that have led to this moment. And let's be clear. I am someone who enjoys politics. I do not claim to be an expert. I am someone who enjoys watching it play out and enjoys watching the democratic process play out when it's done at its very best. You know, and this is a moment that has culminated, because of so many things, the times where President Biden hasn't been at his best of late, right? And now this Covid situation that hit him really hard. He is 81 years old, and he appears smaller and smaller on television.

And if they're talking to people who look at, you know, all the ways in which we interpret someone's strength, right, as it pertains to leading a country, I'm sure. I'm sure the information that came back was not positive leaning towards President Biden. I'll also say everything that happened with 45. Right, this assassination attempt on his life. Right. Has galvanized his base more than ever before.

More than ever before.

They have all the momentum right now. We cannot deny that. And so the Democrats choosing to make this change at this moment are doing their best, from where I sit, to fight, because the polls, and no matter what you think about polls, sometimes they're wrong for sure, and sometimes they're right. And in this moment, to ignore them, I think, probably would have been the wrong move.

Despite what may have been the precedent, because of that assassination attempt, you had to reevaluate how we really want to survive and fight this. And sometimes you just gotta shake it up, throw it up in the air, change up the whole game. Throw an audible. This is audible time. Because at the end of the day, we are fighting for a whole hell of a lot. Because whether it's project 2025, whether it's the Trump 47, whether it's what you know about 45, we are fighting for our humanity.

And so what I thought was going to be a wild three month leading up to this election, throw that all out the window. This is just, we're just in a land of unprecedented, and we're going to stay here, and I'm going to follow. All right? And I'm going to keep y'all updated, and we're gonna watch this together, and we're gonna document it on this podcast.

And whatever happens, evil in my world never wins. And we gonna be okay. But, whoo. This is gonna be something to see.

Family. Our next top story is about Polly Lycans, a 14 year old transgender girl described by her family as bright, as loving, and full of life. Now, Paulie was last seen on June 23, and they were reported missing on June 25. Now, that was the same day that authorities actually found Paulie's body in a river in Pennsylvania.

The district attorney said this was one of the most heinous crimes he'd ever seen in his 46 year career.

The person that murdered Paulie, Deshawn Watkins, actually dismembered her body.

The investigation has discovered that Paulie and Deshawn met on Grindr, and Deshawn is saying that he's having a poor memory. He's having poor memory. Family about the details?

Yeah, of course, of course.

But there is evidence and video evidence that places his car near the park at the same time that Paulie's phone went dead.

Deshawn has been charged with first degree murder, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Pauline. They are still waiting to possibly roll out hate crime charges as well.

And I saw that her family had a GoFundme up, y'all, but for some reason, it's been disabled. So I reached out and asked if there was other ways for us to donate and or support. So once I hear back from the organizer of the GoFundMe, I will share that information with you all because I know y'all love to support when you can. Okay? For today, though, we speak Paulie's name, and I think this is a perfect time for us to take a quick break. And when we get back, let's talk culture and entertainment news.

Darrin
I'm Darrin.

Esther
And I'm Esther.

Darrin
And this is Second Sunday, a podcast about black queer folk finding, keeping, and sometimes losing faith.

Esther
This season's full of candid conversations to theologians, artists, activists, and community members living at the intersections of faith, spirituality, and identity.

Darrin
The Saints ain't ready for this, but.

Esther
We'Re still gonna talk about it.

Darrin
Second Sunday. Find it wherever you get podcasts.

Esther
Second Sunday is a Cube original podcast, and it's part of the PRX Big Questions project.

Darrin
Hey, queer news fans, it's Derek from Eat the radio, here to tell you all about our latest show, queer open mic. One of our missions is to uplift and support the incredible talent within the LGBTQ community, and that's exactly what we set out to do with this monthly showcase, queer open Mike. With future talents such as musicians, DJ's, poets, and more. Head over to our YouTube channel, thre radio to catch the latest episode. And before you go, make sure to hit that subscribe button, turn on your notifications, and share, share, share. That's it for me. And thank you for joining us in celebrating queer talent.

Anna Deshawn
Peace, family, family. Welcome back to the pod. Now let's jump into some culture and entertainment news.

I didn't know which of these stories needed to leave first, to be honest with you. But I'm gonna start with BG. All right? Because we covered Brittani Griner so much on this podcast, and I just couldn't be more ecstatic. Okay. When I heard that she spilled the tea during the WNBA all star weekend, that her and Sherelle had welcomed a baby boy. So now they are parents?

Yes. And he was born on July 8. So they've been holding this news for weeks. They haven't posted about it anywhere. They had. No one has spilled the tea. Okay. Until she was asked about the baby during the all star break. And I just love this for them. During the interview, Brittany expresses just how it felt like the world's problems just washed away when she saw him for the first time.

She also expresses just sadness around the fact that she's now off to Paris for the Olympics and having to leave Sherelle and the baby for an extended period of time.

And you can just see the joy on her face. Yes.

Congratulations, bg. Congratulations, Sherelle. If you all ever decide to share the pictures online, we can't wait to see them. Okay? And if you don't, that's okay, too, and I respect it. Okay? Congratulations, family.

Now, the story that I was debating on is all about Robin Roberts. And that's because y'all know how much I love Robin Roberts. So on any given day, she is the leading story just because. What? I love Robin Roberts. Well, most recently, she did a podcast interview on the Jamie Kern Lynn show. Okay. Now, on this podcast, Robin Cries. She is open, is vulnerable, and she talks about why it took her so long to come out. And this is stuff that Robin Roberts does not talk about out loud. Okay. And she says she was hesitant to come out openly as a Christian and a gay woman.

That's what she says. And she talks about it, too. Y'all, I cannot wait to really dig into this interview. I have watched clips of, but I have not had time to sit and watch the whole thing. I cannot wait. This is huge. And, of course, it's all good to follow BG's story because, of course, she interviewed BG, right. And got the exclusive on ABC, on ESPN to tell her story. And so it's only fitting, I guess, to follow BG's story with Robin Roberts. But at the end of the day, Robin is number one, and I just want all of you all to know it. Okay? Thank you.

Also, also, by the way, this is me manifesting Robin Roberts on second Sunday, season three. Okay? Because I know she's got a story to tell, and second Sunday is the place to tell it. Okay? Can y'all manifest that for me? Just make it start working in the atmosphere. Okay? Robin Roberts will be on season three of second Sunday. Come on, let's go now, family. For our last story in culture, entertainment, we've got to talk about the Olympics. They are going to kick off Friday, July 26, and run through Sunday, August 11. They are taking place in Paris, and the opening ceremony coverage will begin at 12:00 p.m. eastern on NBC on July 26. You know, we will be watching. There is nothing more ceremonious, okay. Than the Olympic opening ceremony.

Okay. It's gonna also stream live on Peacock. And organizers of the Olympics are saying that 8.7 million tickets have already been sold, 8.7 million, beating the record from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Amazing. Okay. Now, I always love when these big sporting events happen, because I'm always wondering, where are the queers? Where are the queers? Where it's shaping up that this Olympics will be queer than ever. Right now, out sports is calculating 144 queer athletes are heading to Paris. And at this .4 years ago, there was a count of 121. And so there's queer athletes that kind of get at it as the word continues to get out on who's going and all those things.

And so they're expecting this number to absolutely grow and surpass the last Olympics in Tokyo, where there were 186 out athletes. Okay. And the trend is showing that there are more male out athletes this year. They are attributing that to men being more accepting. I mean, that's a huge benchmark. You know, things that are holding the numbers back a little bit is that the Olympics eliminated softball. Boo. And we know all the lesbians, okay?

Including this one right here, play softball. But at the end of the day, there are more queer athletes in the Olympics. I think that's dope. We know representation matters, and we also know when you have representation and you gain a little power, you can begin to create some change. Yeah. And so I love this. I hope y'all gonna be tapped into the Olympics. Yes, indeed, family. It's that time of the show for Anna's got a word. Because Anna's always got a word. And my words for today is hungry.

Are you hungry? On Saturday, I was out all day with the wife, doing lots of things, so I couldn't watch the WNBA all star game in real time. I had to come home and watch the recorded version I tried to stay off social, so I didn't know anything that had happened, okay? When I watched that game, and I had to watch it in two parts, I was like, they are getting it. They are playing hard. All star games are usually fluff, okay?

Lots of trick plays, crossovers, people just having a good time. No defense at all.

Can I say that was the exact opposite of the WNBA all star game? Those women were out there playing hard. It was hands down the best WNBA all star game ever played, period. And they all looked hungry.

Hungry underdogs, okay? That's how they looked. And you know who ended up winning was team WNBA. So, team WNBA went up against the USA Olympic basketball team.

Yes, they did. So, the whole idea here is that the WNBA All Stars were preparing the Olympic team to go off to Paris, which arguably is probably one of the toughest teams they'll meet, okay. Over the Olympics, right? And so, team WNBA came out with the win, 117 over 109. And there are women on Team WNBA who wanted to be on that Olympic team. And you could see it in how they were playing. They were hungry to show just how good they were.

Just to confirm to all those people, y'all made a bad decision. You should have chose me. And so today, family, with that spirit, I want you to stay hungry.

Even if you not chosen or selected for that thing, you know? Even if it seems like everything you doing ain't working, I want you to stay hungry.

Hungry like team WNBA, okay? Because you might go up against a Goliath one day like the Olympic team, and you will see still beat them.

Yes, you will.

Because you stay hungry and you stay ready. So you don't gotta get ready. Let's go, family. You got this?

Till next week. Peace.

Queer news.

Darrin
Queer news.

Anna Deshawn
Queer news.

If you've enjoyed what you heard, rate and review us inside your favorite podcasting app. This podcast is written and produced by me, Anna Deshawn. Podcast editing by Ryan Woodhull and brought to you by e three radio and distributed on the Cube. We are queer news. Done right.