Sam Nordquist's torturer pleads guilty, Professional women's sports are winning & GLAAD reports zero trans characters in films released in 2025

This week on the Queer News podcast, our top story covers Sam Nordquist's accused torturer pleads guilty to all charges. In politics, the supreme court votes 6-3 in west virginia vs b. p. j a case that determines the future of trans athletes ability to participate in sports. In sports, the women's pro baseball league reveals the first four teams and we provide a guide to WNBA's All Star Weekend. In culture and entertainment, GLAAD releases their where we are in film study. Let's get into it!

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00:26 Welcome to Queer News

03:40 Join the QCrew, https://bit.ly/JoinQCrew

04:21 Queer News Headlines

05:26 Sam Nordquist Accused Torturer Pleads Guilty To All Charges

08:53 The Supreme Court Votes 6-3 In WEST VIRGINIA vs B. P. J A Case That Determines The Future Of Trans Athletes Ability To Participate In Sports

12:53 Subscribe & Support us on our new Substack https://queernewspod.substack.com

13:17 Women's Pro Baseball League Reveals The First Four Teams

18:19 Your Guide To WNBA's All Star Weekend Including Some Lesbian Events Leading Up To The Game

20:59 GLAAD Releases Their We Are in Film Study

25:27 Anna's Got A Word

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Zero Trans Representation in Film! Raina talks GLAAD's 2025 Where We Are In Film Study on Queer News

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This week's episode of Queer News is packed with historic milestones, urgent calls for justice, and accountability. Here is your social-media-ready breakdown of every story from Episode 348.

This Week's Top Story

Sam Nordquist Accused Torturer Pleads Guilty To All Charges

Family, more than a year after Sam Nordquist's murder, his torturer pleads guilty to all charges. Sam Nordquist was a Black trans man who was brutally tortured by a group of 7 people for a month before his murder. One week ago, the alleged mastermind behind the murder Precious Arzuaga pleaded guilty to all of her charges. On September 4th it is suspected that she will be sentenced to life in prison with no parole. The others accused are still awaiting trials. This is but a small deliverance of justice to Sam Nordquist and his family, who are continuously grieving the loss of their loved one just one year after his untimely death. We will continue to update you as this story progresses.

This Week In Politics

The Supreme Court Votes 6-3 In WEST VIRGINIA vs B. P. J A Case That Determines The Future Of Trans Athletes Ability To Participate In Sports

The Supreme Court has made their decision in the case of West Virginia vs BPJ a case that determines the future of trans kids in sports. The Court voted 6-3 in favor of the states deciding the laws regarding whether trans girls can participate in women's sports or not. They cited that states voting to ban trans girls from women's sports does not violate Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause. This ruling means that states that have a ban in effect have essentially barred their trans students from participating in sports.

27 states and counting have passed laws that are discriminatory against trans people since 2020. This supreme court decision to leave it up to the states to decide who can and can't participate in sports is harmful and could potentially open up even more doors for discrimination against the trans community

This Week In Sports

Women's Pro Baseball League Reveals The First Four Teams

Let's play ball! The Women's Professional Baseball League has announced the first four teams of the league. Each team's name is rich in historical significance and the leading ladies who paved the way for the WPBL to shine. The Boston Hunters, Los Angeles Queens, The New York Heights, and the San Francisco Firebells are coming soon to the field near you!

Your Guide To WNBA's All Star Weekend Including Some Lesbian Events Leading Up To The Game

WNBA All-Star Weekend is almost upon us, and if you don't have your itinerary put together then what are you doing? I've rounded up a few events and activations that you don't want to miss during the exciting and jam-packed weekend. WNBA Live presented by AWS will be at the McCormick Place July 23rd-25th. The fan festival aims to unite fans and players for a weekend full of celebration of the WNBA.

The Three Point contest and the Kia WNBA Shooting Stars take place on Friday the 24th. The All-Star game is on Saturday July 25th. Bliss Sundays, Ladies Love Us, and Lovers and Friends are partnering together to host a Lesbian WNBA All-Star Weekend full of meetups! Dirty Matriarch will be joining the fun on July 25th with an All-Star weekend after party at Tunnel Chicago. Yours truly will be co-hosting a WNBA trivia night with Shana Sumers at level sporting club on July 23rd at 8pm.

This Week In Culture & Entertainment

GLAAD Releases Their We Are in Film Study

Did TV and Film feel a little less queer to anyone else last year? GLAAD's annual study analyzing the queer representation in media has just dropped for the year and has the numbers to back the decreasing queer representation in media.

Titled Where We Are In Film, GLAAD describes the study as research that " maps the quantity, quality and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) characters in films released by ten major motion picture studios during the 2025 calendar year. GLAAD researched films released by A24, Amazon MGM Studios, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount Skydance, Sony, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Discovery, and their subsidiaries. The report is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ representation in film." Hopefully the 2026 numbers will improve.

Anna's Word

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About Queer News

An intersectional approach to a weekly news podcast where race & sexuality meet politics, entertainment and culture. Tune-in to reporting which centers & celebrates all of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & comrade communities. Hosted by Anna DeShawn. New pod drops every Monday by 9am CT.

Written & associated produced by Myana Zhanè.

Edited by Ryan Woodhall for Public Sound.

Brought to you by E3 Radio, and distributed on The Qube.