Nooze Hounds: Nikolai Mather Talks Trans Rights in Schools and Beyond
Episode 52
In episode 52 of Queen City Nerve’s Nooze Hounds podcast, we talked to our newest team member, staff writer Nikolai Mather, about his recent reporting on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ gender support plan and trans rights in schools and elsewhere in the Charlotte area.
In our most recent Queen City Nerve issue, Nikolai reported on the quiet implementation of the gender support plan at CMS in 2015. He spoke with a trans CMS student who recently began high school shortly after making their transition, as well as that student’s mother. He also spoke with staff at Time Out Youth, an LGBTQ youth organization that consults with schools on how to better support trans and gender-nonconforming students, one of countless other roles in the community.
In the story, Nikolai also spoke in depth with John Concelman, bullying prevention and LGBTQ support manager at CMS, who has been working behind the scenes to push for more supportive policies in the school system for decades.
During the podcast, Nikolai also provided insight into his own experience growing up as a trans kid in rural North Carolina and how that shaped his own career trajectory as a journalist fighting for change that goes beyond only trans rights.
We also discuss two recent news stories, including the arrest of a sexual predator who has been accused of multiple indecent exposure and public masturbation incidents in Windsor Park over the last year following the publication of our story on neighbors’ concerns. We also chatted about about the ongoing protests outside of a Preferred Women’s Health Center, where hundreds of anti-abortion protesters showed up once again on Nov. 13.
Remember you can catch us on Spotify and other places where you find podcasts, and be sure to check out Queen City Podcast Network for a slew of other great Charlotte podcasts that aren’t quite as good as ours but pretty damn close. Find past Nooze Hounds episodes here.
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