UNLOCKED 19.1 From the Mormon Priesthood to Trans Advocate Dad w/ Blair Hodges Pt 2

Back for Pt 2 of my conversation with Blair Hodges—Salt Lake City journalist, former Mormon insider, and dad to a trans kid—by digging into Mormon masculinity. Blair explains how Mormon emotional vulnerability descends from early charismatic revival culture, but also how a rising alt-right strain inside the church is pushing toward a more punitive “muscular” Christianity.

On parenting: why children’s rights and autonomy require dismantling authoritarian habits, how neurodivergence exposes the cruelty of “normal” discipline, and how institutions often treat kids as property. Also: the privilege of political disengagement, what it feels like when the “flood” of fascism reaches your floor, and why listening to marginalized people is the starting point for real antifascist practice.

I close by reading a short excerpt from my upcoming book, a section on gender performance and why trans liberation matters to all of us.

Notes:

Relationshapes: Blair Hodges

All theme music by the amazing www.kalliemarie.com.

Antifascist Dad: Urgent Conversations with Young People in Chaotic Times (North Atlantic Books, April 2026).
Preorder: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/807656/antifascist-dad-by-matthew-remski/

Instagram: @matthew_remski

TikTok: @antifascistdad

Bluesky: @matthewremski.bsky.social (Bluesky Social)

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AntifascistDad

Chapters

(00:02:50) - Mormons' Emotionality
(00:07:25) - In Defense of Children's Rights
(00:13:59) - The Time of a Parent's Death
(00:16:10) - White People's Feelings About Fascism
(00:22:01) - The Concerns of a More Moderated Mormon
(00:31:14) - The Moment of Becoming Aware of Trans People

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