Ask Smart People Smart Questions Equality Arizona

Ask Smart People Smart Questions is a podcast and event series where we create the context to have bigger conversations about some of the big issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community. This month we’re talking about public education, specifically through the lens of governance. Over the past few years, there’s been an increasing trend of targeted disruptions in school board meetings, so we wanted to bring together a panel of experts to figure out where this is coming from and to learn about the structural problems and solutions at play. We were joined by Richie Taylor, Jeanne Casteen, and Katie Gipson-McLean at the Tempe Public Library on April 26 to record this episode of Ask Smart People Smart Questions
Links from the discussion
* A Nation at Risk
* ESA — Empowerment Scholarship Account
* STO — School Tuition Organization
* “No Promo Homo” law repealed in 2019
* Lindsay Love explaining her decision not to run for reelection to the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board
* Secular AZ
* Save Our Schools
* CEBV — Civic Engagement Beyond Voting
* Support Equality Arizona Schools
* Arizona Equals Dawn and Hayden
Full Episode Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Jeanne Woodbury
From Equality, Arizona, you're listening to Ask Smart People Smart Questions, our podcast and event series where we create the context for bigger conversations about the big issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community. This month, we're talking about schools, specifically governance in public education. Over the past few years, there's been a big trend of disruptions to school board meetings. And so we wanted to take a look at where this comes from, who's organizing it and how, what's the history behind some of the big debates about public education in Arizona, and what are some of the structural problems and solutions at play? This conversation was recorded live at the Tempe Public Library on Wednesday, April 26th. but two of our panelists joined remotely through Zoom, so the audio is a little bit different from normal. I'm really grateful to Jeanne Casteen from Secular AZ and Katie Gipson-McClean, a board member in the Creighton Elementary School District, for joining at basically the last minute for this discussion, and to Richie Taylor, who served in the Department of Education for four years and is a current member of our board at Equality Arizona. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, so I want to jump right into it. But first, I'll give a quick preview of our upcoming events in the series. On May 24th, we'll be hosting our next conversation at the Tempe Public Library talking about substance use policy. And in June, we'll be talking about homelessness and the housing crisis. I'm really looking forward to both. And if you want to sign up, you can visit equalityarizona.org/events. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast feed in the podcast player of your choice so that if you can't make it in person, you can still keep up to date with the series.
(gentle music)
Jeanne Woodbury
Yeah, so welcome everyone to Ask Smart People Smart Questions. The topic of the night tonight is school board governance, public education, and this current trend of far-right extremism that we're seeing in school boards across the state. We've got some really great guests with us. We've got Richie Taylor. We've got Katie Gipson-McLean. And we've got Jeanne Casteen. And I'm going to ask them each to say a little quick introduction so that for people listening to the podcast later, you know whose voice is whose.
Richie Taylor
I'm Richie Taylor. I served for four years as communications director for Superintendent Kathy Hoffman at the Department of Education for her entire term. And I'm happy to be here.
Jeanne Woodbury
Thank you. Katie, could you introduce yourself?
Katie Gipson-McLean
My name's Katie Gipson-McLean. My day job is that I'm a public defender for Maricopa County. So I represent folks who are charged with criminal felony charges who can't afford an a

We’re back with another episode of Ask Smart People Smart Questions, recorded live at the Tempe Public Library on March 22, 2023. With each installment of the series, Equality Arizona convenes a panel of experts to talk about the big picture of some of the biggest issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community in Arizona. For the month of March, our topic was criminalization and incarceration. Thank you to Joseph Jaafari, Xyra Flores, and Parris Wallace for making this conversation possible!
Links for More Information
* More than 2,300 Arizona prisoners have been punished for queer intimacy (LOOKOUT)
* How Do You Survive Prison When You're Gay and Black? Same As You Do On the Outside. (LOOKOUT)
* Trans Queer Pueblo
* Southwest Recovery Alliance
Upcoming Ask Smart People Smart Questions Events
* School Governance, April 26
* Substance Use, May 24
* Homelessness & the Housing Crisis, June 28
* Transgender Healthcare, July 26
* Migration & Sanctuary, August 23


Get full access to Equality Arizona at equalityarizona.substack.com/subscribe

We’re back with another episode of Ask Smart People Smart Questions, our show about big ideas and the big issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community. This conversation, featuring guest panelists Taylor Kerby and Reverend Hannah Adair Bonner was recorded live at the Tempe Public Library on February 22, 2023. Sign up to attend our next event on March 22, featuring a panel discussion on LGBTQ+ experiences in Arizona’s prisons and jails.
Reading & Resource List
* Scrupulous: My Obsessive Compulsion for God (Taylor Kerby)
* Reverend Neichelle Guidry on the story of Jephthah
* Queer Mormon Theology (Blair Ostler)
* Our Bible App
* Queer Virtue (Rev Elizabeth M. Edman)
* By Common Consent Press
* Mystic Soul Project
* Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (Kristin Kobes Du Mez)
* God and the Gay Christian (Matthew Vines)
* Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate (Justin Lee)
Full Transcript To Come


Get full access to Equality Arizona at equalityarizona.substack.com/subscribe

Today, we’re releasing a new episode of Ask Smart People Smart Questions, a discussion series about big ideas and the big issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community. Subscribe to the show for twice-monthly panel discussions with experts on everything from drag culture to neurodiversity and more. This conversation about ranked choice voting was recorded exclusively for the podcast feed and features Kazz Fernandes and Ben Bossler from Voter Choice Arizona.
If you’d like to attend a future live event, our panel later this month will discuss religious perspectives on sex, gender, and sexuality, and explore how different individuals and communities incorporate LGBTQ+ experiences into their faith traditions. In March, we’ll talk with a panel of people with real insight into Arizona’s criminal justice system about the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in our courts, jails, and prisons.
Links and additional context
* Voter Choice Arizona’s website
* RepresentUs video about ranked choice voting
* CGP Grey: The Alternative Vote Explained
Full transcript coming soon


Get full access to Equality Arizona at equalityarizona.substack.com/subscribe

Today, we’re excited to launch the podcast for our new program, Ask Smart People Smart Questions, a discussion series about big ideas and the big issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community. Subscribe to the show for twice-monthly panel discussions with experts on everything from ranked choice voting to neurodiversity and more. This conversation was record live with an audience at an event hosted by the Tempe Public Library. Over the course of an hour, guests Freddy Prinze Charming, Felicia “Fefe” Minor, Michelle Miranda-Thorstad, and Marshall Shore share their expertise on drag culture and drag history, before answering some audience questions.
If you’d like to attend a future event, our panel in February will discuss religious perspectives on sex, gender, and sexuality, and explore how different individuals and communities incorporate LGBTQ+ experiences into their faith traditions. In March, we’ll talk with a panel of people with real insight into Arizona’s criminal justice system about the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in our courts, jails, and prisons.
Full Transcript Coming Soon.



Get full access to Equality Arizona at equalityarizona.substack.com/subscribe