My latest: A trans teen navigates a ban on medical care

Dear friends,

Meet Leo, a 16-year-old theater kid from North Carolina. Leo is transgender. Last year, after a rigorous medical and psychological evaluation, his doctor believed he was ready to start taking a low dose of testosterone.

By then, the state legislature’s Republican majority had outlawed hormonal therapies for trans teens. These treatments, endorsed by every major U.S. medical association, reduce suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and depression. But anti-LGBTQ activists have succeeded in getting them banned in 25 states.

My latest article looks at Leo and his parents; the doctor, who’s been in the crosshairs of the right wing; and an interstate network that helps trans youth and their families navigate the patchwork of care. I wrote the story for Harvard Public Health magazine and you can read it here:

https://harvardpublichealth.org/policy-practice/keeping-gender-affirming-care-accessible-after-u-s-state-bans/

I hope you like it. If so, I hope you’ll share it. Special thanks to Matt Ramey for his sensitive photos (including the one above); to Michael Fitzgerald for his ace editing; and to The Assembly, which will co-publish the story today.

Plus, some articles I appreciated:

Kevin Sieff tells the story of Sebastián Marset, one of the world's leading drug traffickers. While authorities hunted him across the globe, he was hiding in plain sight as a midfielder on a professional soccer team he had purchased.

Stephanie McCrummen takes us to Pennsylvania for a story about the normalization of violence in American politics.

Vann R. Newkirk II introduces us to the rediscovered photos of Ernest Cole, who was exiled from South Africa and then chronicled American Black communities in the 1960s and ’70s.

Stephanie Saul offers a lens into J.D. Vance through his correspondence with a transgender ex-friend.

Jenisha Watts reinterprets, through her own eyes, the video of Sonya Massey’s fatal shooting by an Illinois police officer.

Sam Toperoff, nearing 90, writes beautifully from the Land of the Very Old.

Rob Sheffield explains why Creedence Clearwater Revival keeps topping the charts—with “no cult of personality, no Freddie Mercury, no Stevie/Lindsey, no backstory or drama or charisma, no biopic or TV placement, and God knows no sex appeal.”

John Woodrow Cox embedded with Michigan prosecutors for more than two years as they pursued their high-risk case against the parents of a school shooter.

Rhana Natour chronicles the American journey of a 14-year-old girl from Gaza who lost both legs during an Israeli air strike and became one of the few pediatric amputees who could travel abroad for medical care.

Joanna Chen, an Israeli author, writes about ferrying sick Palestinian children to Israeli hospitals before and after October 7. Her essay demonstrates, as she would later say in an interview, that “the heart is capable of grieving for two peoples at once.”

 And what I’m listening to:

This Tiny Desk Concert of Chaka Khan, who refines 71 years old.  

My favorite new podcast is Shell Game, in which journalist Evan Ratliff created an AI voice clone of himself and set it loose on therapists, scammers, colleagues, and other voice clones.

I’m gearing up to start teaching again in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned for some pre-election stories from North Carolina.

All best,
Barry Yeoman