

Gender Spiral with Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas
Ally Beardsley & Babette Thomas
Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Each episode of the podcast explores important topics and questions about navigating expectations of gender and presentation in our society through conversations with the foremost experts on the topic: trans and queer people. You'll hear firsthand accounts of gender variant folks of all stripes and walks of life, to highlight the liberation of questioning and exploring one's own gender, no matter your identity. Support us at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast
Gender Spiral with Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas is an Audiation Original production.
Gender Spiral with Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas is an Audiation Original production.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 23, 2025 • 53min
My Best Trans Wedding (w/ Rose Dommu)
Twitter-queen-turned-fiction-novelist Rose Dommu talks about her new book Best Woman: a family drama Trojan-horsed into a rom-com loosely based on Rose's personal experiences. We also get her opinions about DIY hormone cocktails, bleaching your way out of a crisis, and what Fire Island is really like for trans folks. Best Woman is out NOW! Get your copy at a local bookstore or on Bookshop.org! You can find all of Rose's fiction novel reccomendations on THIS LIST. And find Rose on Instagram @rosedommu. Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Sep 16, 2025 • 1h 19min
Gender Spiral LIVE in Chicago! (Night 2 w/ Irregular Girl & Mari De La Rua AKA Stephanie)
Missed us in Chicago? NEVER FEAR, THE RECORDING IS HERE! Two Chicago drag ICONS joined us for night 2 of our weekend at iO Theater in May. Irregular Girl and Mari De La Rua (AKA Stephanie) tell us about being in a drag family, how drag informed their gender identities, and why drag would suck without trans women. Find our incredible guests on Instagram @imirregulargirl and @dragmestephanie Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our NEW merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Sep 9, 2025 • 1h 8min
A Baby? In This Economy? (w/ Cass Adair)
We're continuing the thread on trans & queer parents in a conversation with scholar, writer, audio producer Cassius (Cass) Adair. He tells us about transitioning in the early days of Tumblr, getting baby fever in his late 20s, and the nitty-gritty of pregnancy and parenting as a trans dad in Minnesota. Check out Cass's work at his website cassiusadair.com. There, you can find links to his writing, audio work, and trans media consulting firm Sylveon Consulting (which he co-runs with our friend Tuck Woodstock!). Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Aug 26, 2025 • 59min
The Strongest Woman in the World (w/ Marley Gotterer)
While recovering from surgery, comedian Marley Gotterer (who you probably already know from TikTok and Insta reels) made time to tell us about getting facial feminization (FFS) and chat about her love of sports, how she got to run social media for Cardi B, and lifting twinks live on stage. Check out Marley's work and get notified about her upcoming shows on her Instagram(s) @marleyismarley and @transsportsgirl. Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out, and support us on Patreon at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our NEW merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch! We're almost sold out of most items- get them while you can!

Aug 12, 2025 • 1h 10min
Lou Sullivan and The Pink Butt Book (w/ Zach Ozma & Ellis Martin)
Lou Sullivan, arguably one of the first out gay trans men, kept diaries from age 11 until his death in 1991. Decades later, Zach Ozma and Ellis Martin compiled those diaries into "We Both Laughed in Pleasure" (aka the Pink Butt Book) which tells the story of Lou's full, freaky, fascinating life. Zach and Ellis talk to us about painstakingly parsing through Lou's Catholic school cursive and learning that the trans experience is really on a historic loop. Get your copy of "We Both Laughed in Pleasure" from Nightboat Books, or request a copy at your local library. Read up, then join us for a book club discussion with Ellis & Zach by signing up on our Patreon (for just $2) and joining our Discord. Date is TBD and will be announced on Instagram! For further reading, check out Zach and Ellis' recommendations. Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review us to help us out. <3 And follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our NEW merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Jul 29, 2025 • 1h 35min
Gender Spiral LIVE in Chicago! (Night 1 w/ Lynzo the Heartthrob & Eoin McGraw)
Missed us in Chicago? NEVER FEAR, THE RECORDING IS HERE! On night one of our two-night extravaganza at iO Theater in May, Ally and Babette were joined by drag artist/DJ/rapper Lynzo the Heartthrob and tattoo artist/overall lovely human being Eoin McGraw for a hilarious and thoughtful convo. Then, they answer some audience questions! Stay tuned- night two will be posted soon exclusively on our Patreon! Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow/rate/review to help us out. <3 Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral! Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our NEW merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Jul 15, 2025 • 1h 9min
Money Sucks -And- You Can Do It (w/ River Nice)
Is it possible to get out of my mountain of credit card debt? How do I budget for mutual aid? Should I be buying stocks? What even IS life insurance?! Anti-capitalist financial planner River Nice answers these questions and more, and Babette and Ally learn a thing or two about financial literacy. Find River on Instagram @financewithriver and check out their financial literacy programs, free budget templates and more at their website beintentionalfinancial.com Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow to get notified when we post new episodes! And rate and review us to help us out. <3 Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our NEW merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Jul 10, 2025 • 2min
Gender Spiral Season 3 Trailer
Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world.

Jul 1, 2025 • 1h 12min
Parenting on Purpose (w/ Ericka Hart & Ebony Donnelly)
Ericka Hart and and Ebony Donnelly are partners in love and podcasting, and co-parents to a toddler. We asked them to share their queer & trans pregnancy story, and give Ally some parenting pointers! Check out their podcast Hoodrat to Headwrap: A Decolonized Podcast and find Ericka and their other work as a speaker and sex educator on Instagram @ihartericka. Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow to get notified when we post new episodes! And rate and review us to help us out. <3 Follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and check out our NEW merch store at genderspiralpod.com/merch!

Jun 24, 2025 • 27min
Stream-of-Consciousness Chat w/ Ally & Babette
A little bonus episode just to check in! More new season 3 interviews rolling out next week, and biweekly after that. And check us out at patreon.com/GenderSpiralPodcast for more bonus content like this! Hosted by Ally Beardsley and Babette Thomas, Gender Spiral is a quest to explore the modern experience of being a human in our gendered world. Subscribe/follow to get notified when we post new episodes! And follow us on Instagram and TikTok to keep up with all things Gender Spiral. Find transcripts at genderspiralpod.com/episodes, and snag some sick tshirts and hats at genderspiralpod.com/merch!