Is Europe Better Than America? LGBTQ+ Rights & CA’s 2026 Governor Race

On this episode of Duke’s Download, I’m celebrating some major milestones — one year with my boyfriend Armie, my parents’ 40th anniversary, and an early 34th birthday celebration — before diving into a big announcement: I’ve joined Matt Mahan’s California governor campaign as an LGBTQ+ advisor.

Why?

Because I’m less interested in performative politics and more interested in results.

We talk about what “pragmatic progressivism” actually means — focusing on measurable outcomes around crime, homelessness, government efficiency, and LGBTQ+ rights in California — and why I believe campaigns should be judged on impact, not Instagram captions.

Then it’s time for Ask Duke Anything — and you all did not disappoint.

We cover:
 🎬 My all-time favorite films (Platoon, Terminator 1 & 2, Back to the Future)
 🎥 New Queer Cinema & today’s LGBTQ+ TV
 🇪🇺 Europe vs. America — where would I rather live?
 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans rights, political fear tactics & U.S. policy backsliding
 ⚖️ The Supreme Court and conversion therapy challenges
 🌎 Gun violence, healthcare, climate policy & Ukraine

It’s political. It’s personal. It’s cinematic. It’s a little chaotic.

And that’s exactly how we like it.

If you care about:
 ✔️ California politics
 ✔️ LGBTQ+ rights
 ✔️ The 2026 governor race
 ✔️ Culture & media
 ✔️ Where America is headed

This episode is for you.

For more information about Matt Mahan’s and his campaigh go to https://www.mahanforcalifornia.com/

You can write to us at: Questions@DukesDownload.com

And follow us onInstagram: 

• @jamesdukemason
• @PrideHouseMedia

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Duke's Download, my new weekly podcast. I'm Duke Basin here. And each week I'll bring you candid, thought-provoking conversations with incredible guests from the worlds of politics and pop culture. Together we'll explore the stories, ideas, and moments that shape our lives and drive change. I'm so glad you're here. Now let's get started. Hello, everybody. I'm Duke Mason, and welcome to this episode of Duke's Download. Uh, today's episode is a milestone. We have now officially hit the point where 90% of podcasts don't even get. Uh, so I am so grateful to all of you for your support. Uh, we've been at this for just a few months. So, again, just couldn't be more grateful to all of you for the support that you've shown me. And uh, I couldn't be more thrilled about the feedback and the response that we've gotten uh since we started. So, thank you all. Um, I thought I'd do another Duke's download, Ask Duke Anything episode today because um April is actually a very special month for me. Uh, it's been a very busy few weeks. Um, for those of you who don't know, I joined Matt Mayhan's campaign uh for governor of California at the end of last month. Um I'm an LGBTQ-focused uh advisor in liaison, and I'm also helping with outreach in Southern California. So that's kept me pretty busy. Um in addition to that, uh, and this is the first topic I wanted to uh to cover today, uh yeah, we're gonna do a little mix of both Ask Duke Anything, you know, questions that you guys have asked me, and also just topics that uh that I wanted to address and that are near and dear to my heart. The first of which is that April 13th was actually my boyfriend Army and I's one-year anniversary. And those of you who watched the last Ask Duke Anything episode may remember uh that he and I uh did the video together. He actually asked me all the questions, and that was a really fun time. But uh April 13th was uh was our one year anniversary. Army and I actually met back in 2010. Um, so we've known each other a long time, but we only started dating in February of last year, and then we made it official at Coachella last year, which I know is so cliche, but uh but you know, I invited him to come with me last year. My mom's band, the GoGos, was performing. So uh I invited him to be my plus one for that. And that is where we decided to make things Facebook official, so uh, which I can't I can't believe I know it's not even a thing anymore, but we did. And so uh on April 13th, uh despite all the stuff going on with the campaign, uh, we had a nice anniversary dinner and uh it was it was a really good time. And then soon after that, my parents came into town. They actually were in Asia on a cruise because it was their 40th wedding anniversary on April 12th. So just by pure happenstance, our anniversaries are actually one day apart. And they were on a trip to Asia, they came back. Um, they've actually been here now for a few days. And uh the other night we had an early birthday celebration for me, because my uh 34th birthday is coming up on April 27th, and they're not gonna be here, so they wanted to celebrate with me early. So between our anniversary, Army and I's anniversary, and my birthday, um, there's a lot going on in the month of April. And uh, you know, I just feel so grateful uh for all of you for uh for all the amazing things that are happening in my life. Um, I thought I would talk a little bit about why I joined Matt Mahan's campaign for governor uh and why I really believe to my core that he is the best candidate to be the next governor of California. Um, those of you who know me, who've been watching me, who've been reading my articles, who've been following me since I first started getting involved in uh activism and politics when I was, you know, 16 or 17 years old. Uh, I was a page in Congress when I was 16. I started writing articles when I was 17. I wrote my first article for a now defunct, but at the time very um widely distributed gay magazine in LA called Frontiers. And so I've been at this for a long time. And those of you who know me know how deeply I feel and how strongly I feel about supporting not just LGBTQ rights, but also the progressive agenda. And the reason why I am supporting Matt Mahan, I actually endorsed him right when he first announced his campaign back in January, um, but only got involved in an official capacity. Uh almost it's coming up on a month now. Um, but the reason I decided to support him is because I feel in our politics today that there is an over-emphasis on performative politics, on performative progressivism, as opposed to actually achieving progressive results. Um, I think in politics in general, it's become a lot more about theater and about looking good or saying the right things, as opposed to actually delivering on progressive uh priorities. And one thing Matt has talked about and made sort of the centerpiece of his campaign is that the best resistance to Donald Trump and proving that progressive policies and progressive politicians and elected officials actually have what it takes to create real uh progress and change is by focusing on solutions and focusing on measurable outcomes. And that's something that Matt Mahan has done as the Democratic mayor of San Jose over the last three or four years. In just less than a one-year term, he's cut crime by a third. San Jose is now the safest big city in America. It's actually, I think, one of the only cities in the whole country that has served that has solved homicides uh four years in a row and counting uh all homicides. Um he's cut homelessness by one third in just three years. Um, you know, the government there is efficiently run, you know, instead of saying, you know, let's just, you know, raise taxes on people, you know, they're actually delivering on the money that's already there on using making sure the money that's already been raised by taxpayers is actually spent effectively and efficiently. And I think that's the kind of leadership that we need in Sacramento right now. Um, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of areas on which uh, you know, I'm a fan of Gavin Newsom. I've always said that no matter what, I will always be grateful to him for what he did in 2004 when he stood up and married same-sex couples, even at a time when that was not only um, you know, uh legally a my, you know, a very up-in-the-air question, but also politically, you know, people forget that uh in 2004, you know, for all the people who say Gavin Newsom is, you know, self-serving a politician, the guy went out of a limb. There's no other way you can look at it. You know, the guy really put his career on the line. Uh you know, I mean it wouldn't it wouldn't be for another 10 years until things would change in terms of the issue of same-sex marriage. It really took a lot for him to do that. So on that issue alone, I will always be grateful to him. And I think that demonstrated a lot of courage. Having said that, I think all of us, if we're being honest, would agree that California has its share of issues, um, as any state does. But, you know, we do have an issue with homelessness. We do have an issue with crime, we do have an issue with um rising costs and, you know, and affordability in general, but housing affordability specifically. And I think that Matt has a really important point when he says that if we want the rest of the country to, you know, follow uh our lead and to elect Democrats and implement progressive policies, that we need to prove that those policies work. And he's all about rather than performance, rather than saying all the right things, he's about actually achieving progressive outcomes. And he's done that. Um, I think he's you know models the same kind of leadership that we see in San Francisco. You know, the mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, uh, just in a very short time in office, we've seen a massive amount of uh positive changes happening in San Francisco. Um, you know, I I think I think we need to elect more common sense, pragmatic progressives, um, you know, and who actually know how to achieve change, who've done it already in the past. And so that's why I joined Matt's campaign. And uh, you know, I encourage all of you who live in California who haven't heard about him him or his campaign or our campaign thus far. I hope you'll all uh go to mayhem for California.com, look up his policies. Um, I think uh you'll you'll be impressed. And I think it's a very fluid race. Um, obviously, given what happened with Eric Swalwell a couple weeks ago when we saw a lot of these horrific allegations drop relating to his behavior with women, the race is wide open. We actually have a debate happening tonight, uh, which will be uh televised. And then the big debate that's coming up uh nationally, it'll be on national television, will be on CNN on May 5th, uh prime time. So I hope all of you tune in for that. Um the ballots drop on May 4th, and I'm you know spending a lot of time the next couple weeks, just doing everything I can to make sure that Matt makes it into the runoff on June 2nd. And beyond that, hopefully we'll make him uh the next governor of California. So um hope you'll all, those of you who live in our state, in the golden state, will uh will join our movement. And uh I couldn't be more passionate and believe in Matt any more strongly. So thank you for that. Thank you for your consideration. I decided to give our watchers and listeners uh the opportunity to ask some questions um on a totally different note, uh, moving on from politics, at least for now. Um, Brandon Davis, who's a friend, and I've been on his podcast, Front Row Classics, which is an entertainment focused podcast. He asked about what my favorite rainy day movie is. But since we're moving into spring and summer, I figured I'd broaden it a little bit and talk about my favorite movies in general. I have very eclectic taste in movies, so I just want to make make that clear from the get-go. And I'm not someone that's necessarily, I mean, I don't get me wrong, I love like great movies. Like, you know, movies that aren't necessarily commercially inclined, but uh that you know are just artistically uh and creatively compelling. Every I know I love uh I just saw, even though it was a hardcore movie to watch a few weeks ago, I saw um uh Platoon, which you know was a movie I'd never seen. Oliver Stone, Charlie Sheen was in it. You know, not exactly uh, you know, an entertaining movie to watch, but just an unbelievable uh movie about the costs of war, and uh, you know, especially given what's going on in Iran right now, I think it's a timely, uh pertinent film. Um, but you know, I also love New Queer cinema. You know, Gregor Rocky is one of my favorite directors, Mysterious Skin, another movie that's not easy to watch, but that's just an unbelievable, you know, masterpiece. Um, and a lot of his other movies, too, even like the more obscure ones, like Living End and uh and uh Nowhere. And um so those are like about those are pretty, you know, uh those are those are pretty uh fringe might be the wrong word, but just not necessarily commercially uh inclined or uh inclusive commercially geared films. Um I also love movies like I love movies from the 80s, like To Live and Die in LA, which I which my dad said I should watch, which I had never seen before. William Friedkin, who's an amazing director. Um, I saw that movie a few months ago and I loved it. And I actually want to show my boyfriend. It's a hard now, again, not an easy movie to watch. Um, but uh, but it's it's amazing, and uh, and I encourage all of you who haven't seen it to see it. Just it's it's a perfect encapsulation of LA in the 80s, the soundtrack, the vibe. It's just really, really cool. On the total other end, even though it's still in the 80s, but it's just like, you know, from sort of more arthouse-y movies to the more commercial, I'd say Terminator and Terminator 2 are my two favorite movies ever. Um, modern cinema, anyway. Um, Arnold Schwarzenegger is, you know, maybe not my favorite actor, but certainly my favorite movie star, other than my grandfather. Um, but I've always looked up to Arnold, and uh, you know, he definitely played a role, even though we have different views politically. He definitely played a role in my interest in politics and uh when I was young and seeing him run for governor. And uh, and I mean, you know, Terminator 2 is what I think was probably the greatest action movie ever made. And uh, you know, the the effects were way ahead of their time. Um, I just think that movie, it's just impossible to beat. Terminator 1 is great too. Back to the Future is another favorite of mine. Um, and actually, my parents, as an early birthday present, got me an original. I have it in here, but I haven't, oh I haven't, uh I could take it out, but it's a little fragile. I have to get it framed. My parents actually got me an original Back to the Future poster from Japan, uh, which is really, really cool. And uh from the original release. I'm gonna get that framed for my bedroom wall. Um, but yeah, Back to the Future Terminator, Terminator 2. I also love uh you know, romance rom-coms and uh, you know, I mean I have a I have pretty eclectic taste in movies. Um I also love like when it comes to comedy, I love Christopher Guest like waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. And uh we actually, it was amazing when Kat when Catherine O'Hara passed away, you know, uh bless her. Um I actually was on YouTube and I found an original YouTube clip of Catherine O'Hara doing an impersonation of my grandfather on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. This was right after she passed away. And my mom and dad and I had been huge fans of hers for forever. So to find that was super surreal. And uh and uh and yeah, you know, when it comes to when it comes to TV too, like I have very eclectic taste. I um I loved uh curb your enthusiasm, which I watched growing up with my dad. That show has played such a gigantic role in terms of my uh personal sense of humor, you know, my sort of shorthand with my with my dad and with my some of my friends. Um also, of course, uh Heated Rivalry uh comes to mind as being one of my favorite shows that uh that I've seen recently. Um just because you know it's rare to find a show that has that kind of just unabashed, like real, unfiltered, uncensored gay representation. And uh and also, you know, it's such a mainstream sort of commercial way. I mean, that show has just taken over the world culturally, not just within the gay community. Um, and also um my friend Greg Cope White produced and wrote Boots, which uh Boots is another example of a show that you know um captured the Zeitgeist when it came out. And, you know, I just so wish there were a second season happening, but I absolutely loved it. And uh I think another example of like, you know, a gay themed show in uh in the military, you know, another hockey and here rivalry, the military and boots, you know, LGBTQ representation in an area where you don't often see it, um, I think is is really important. So anyway, I mean I could go on and on, but I have very eclectic taste in movies and TV. Um, I mean, there's just so much content out there, good content these days, especially in TV, where you just, you know, you only watch so much, but uh with everything else going on, I try to I try to keep up with a few shows and movies at least. Um I'm gonna read this question because it was very specifically worded. Uh, but my friend Elizabeth Bond um asked, which I think is a really interesting question. She said, I know you are very passionately pro-America, but having grown up in Europe, do you think some things in America are better or worse? Health she lives in Germany, I believe. So I want to make that point. Healthcare, safety, gay rights. Could America benefit from implementing any European policies? So this is an interesting question because when I grew up in Europe, I spent most of my childhood living in France and the UK, uh, from like when I was two until I was 18. So I spent 16 years living in Europe. I would come back here a lot, but as a kid, I spent most of my time living in France, most of the time in France, a few years in London. Um, when I was a kid, I was very, I think it's always also a question of like, you know, you want what you don't have. So when I was a kid, all I wanted was to be in America. Like that was like my, you know, every day I woke up saying, when I turn 18, I'm gonna move back to the States. And sure enough, that's exactly what I did. Literally the morning after my um high school graduation. I got on a plane and I came back to America, to California and LA specifically. I knew that LA was where I belonged. And I think that's part of why I loved movies like Terminator, Back to the Future, was I had this, in a way, like an immigrant's point of view, you know, the way that people look at America as being this bigger-than-life place where anything is possible. Uh and that's really the way that I felt about America, that I still do feel about America. I remember on that show, The Newsroom, I don't know how many of you remember it, but I remember seeing a clip from it back probably in like 2014. Um, and I remember there was a scene where Jeff Daniels says, uh, America is not the greatest country in the world anymore. And at the time, I remember being super, like, for some reason, super, no, maybe not offended, but certainly like struck by that comment. I was like, how dare he say that? You know, and uh obviously that question has gotten slightly more complicated in the last 10 or 11 years or 12 years now. Um, I still believe America is the greatest country in the world. I I think it's unique. And I think, I think, you know, take it from the immigrants who still, despite all the reasons that we've given the world, you know, and and immigrants, uh, all the reasons we've given them to feel negatively about America in recent years, they still say that. They s there's still, you know, a sense globally, despite our government, despite our president, that America is the land of opportunity. But I definitely think that we have done a lot the last decade to chip away at that notion and at that idea. Um, I think those two things can be true at once. Uh, I think there's a lack of nuance in our public discourse these days. And I think it's possible to both acknowledge America's strengths, but also talk about our weaknesses. I think part of what makes America such a great nation is that we have had struggles in the past and that we've overcome them. I mean, that's part of what makes America so special, is that, you know, in the past, whether it was with I'll use the example of gay rights, you know, um, for the longest time until very recently, gay marriage was not legal. Um, gay people were not allowed to serve in the federal government openly, they weren't allowed to serve in the military openly. Um, so um gay sex was illegal in many states, technically anyway, until 2003, until 22, three years ago. But we have overcome most, not all, of those struggles. And I think that applies, you know, in many ways to women's rights, to uh civil rights, to labor rights, to you know, immigrants, uh, you know, the tricano movement. I mean, I think the story of America and its greatness is that we are, I think we are great because of our ability to overcome our struggles. And I think um the problem is I think now these days everybody's so siloed where it's like, I mean, if you think America's got issues, then you're the you know, you're evil. And then there's the other side that thinks that if you acknowledge any of America's positive attributes, then you're evil. And you're ignoring all the problems and the and the mistakes we've made in the past. Obviously. See, there are many of them. But for me, that that's not a complicated, uh, it's not a complicated concept to hold those two things uh to be true at the same time. In terms of European policies, um, you know, I obviously I think America's backtracked in a lot of areas. One thing I wanted to bring up on this episode, which I don't think has gotten enough attention, is the relentless attack on the trans community that we've seen uh in the last uh few years. I mean, it's been ongoing for quite a while. Um, but this just completely uh uh unjustified and completely unprovoked attack on trans people in the military, uh, trans people, you know, their passports, and what the State Department has done just to just to be cruel, uh you know, taking away uh people transgender Americans' ability to identify as they as they are on their passports. What we see on a state-by-state basis in Kansas, uh them yeah, the state banning uh transgender Kansans from access to to identify themselves on their drive on their driver's licenses. Um obviously that's an area where I feel like you know our country has this weird obsession with this issue, uh dating back to the whole trans uh transgender people in bathrooms um issue from back in 2016. It's like we have so many uh challenges as a country. And the fact that, you know, we're we're talking about something that to me seems completely obvious, that people should have a you know the ability to identify themselves as as they are, and that that uh that you know this is not something we should even be debating. But obviously, this is an issue that's been amplified by the right in this country and used just as they use gay marriage back in 2004. Uh George W. Bush used the federal marriage amendment or proposed federal marriage amendment as a cudgel and as a wedge issue to try to divide people. So I think uh Europe, uh at least uh overall, seems to be a little more ahead of the curve on that uh uh issue. Um, on other issues too. I think there's a demonization of immigrants uh in this country uh these days. You know, when I grew up in France, I went to a school where we had 33 different nationalities. And so I was never afraid or, you know, felt uncomfortable with the idea of having people from different walks of life. And I think Europe in a lot of ways is ahead of the is ahead on that too. You know, whether it's France or England or I mean, look, every country has issues when it comes to migration. And, you know, that's just the reality. You know, we live in a world where everybody to some extent is interconnected now, and there's geopolitical uh conflicts that cause mass migration. I mean, you know, there's always going to be uh issues relating to that. But I think I think you know, you see what's happening in countries like the Netherlands, where they just elected this first openly gay prime minister, 38 years old, you know, pro-immigration, you know, with smart, you know, and reasonable restrictions. But, you know, there's there isn't this like obsession with, you know, immigrants are destroying everything, or transgender people are destroying everything. I think there's like this country, it seems, I think because of the media and social media, and because of conservative media, you know, there's like this, this it's in the same way that back in the 2000s, I remember watching American TV from France. It was like we I'd watch Fox News and you'd see, you know, terror alert every morning, you know, terror level, you know, threat level. And it's the same kind of thing. It's just keep keeping people in a constant state of fear. Uh, I think the only strategy that the right has and has always ever had is just to constantly barrage people and tell them that their problems are caused by immigrants or trans people or gay people or feminists or whatever. You know, it's just like this, it's just it's never, it's really the same strategy. Um, and so I think you're even look at look at uh England, you know, even Italy, where we where they have a conservative prime minister, they have been uniformly supportive of Ukraine. Uh, you know, I think um Europe, you know, the uh is sort of uniformly supportive of Ukraine because they see the stakes, you know, very up close and personal of what would happen if Ukraine were to fall and Russia were to win that conflict. So I think in that sense as well, you know, Europe has a sort of clear-eyed view about the stakes of that conflict. And um on a personal level, you know, I've spoken out about the issue of Russia and Ukraine and Chechnya, you know, and Russians, uh Russia and you and Chechnya's cracked down on LGBTQ plus rights for a long time now. Um, and I think that right there sort of exemplifies um, you know, if you know, if you want to know, if you want to if you want to, if you want to, if you want a to a perfect demonstration of the gap between Russia and Ukraine, just use the issue of gay rights because Ukraine has openly gay service members, is a culturally and politically and legally pro-gay country, uh and pro-human rights country across the board. Then look at Russia, where they're imprisoning gay people and even people who speak out in support of them, uh, you know, Chechnya, you know, grabbing them in the middle of the night, you know, into a van and torturing them and killing them and uh, you know, not even allowing uh public discourse or even a public mention uh at schools or otherwise of gay uh issues. So, you know, I think that right there, I think Europe has been sort of uniformly posit uh supportive of Ukraine and and fought alongside it, while America, you know, has just uh has doing, in my opinion, the last year and a half, a dismal embarrassment, a disappointment on that issue. So there are definitely a bunch of areas, climate change, environmental protections. It's sort of like a not even an issue and sort of an obvious like non-issue in Europe. America's totally dropped the ball on that. So you know, there are a lot of, and with the Iran conflict too. You know, in Europe we see sort of people saying we're not gonna sign on. Like we were meant the to me, the biggest irony of this whole Iran conflict is that Trump ran on being the no more wars candidate. Like I remember living in Europe during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. I remember sitting in front of the TV and watching it and hearing all the Europeans in school uh, you know, for lack of a better word, you know, Sing S-H-I-T-T-I-N-G on uh George W. Bush and saying how horrible America was for this uh you know, for this war. And the fact that Trump is now basically doing exactly what Bush did, you know, at least as of now, with the exception of the ground invasion, but in every other sense, doing exactly what Bush did. And for Europe is like, we are not doing this again. Like, you know, we are and and I and I just find it incredible that America is heading down this path again. Uh, and the Iraq war is one of the reasons why I got involved in politics in the first place and became passionate about politics was because I felt so strongly uh about the Iraq war and opposing it. Um, so those are a bunch of areas where I think uh obviously healthcare, you know, one that's the last thing and gun safety too. I mean, the fact that, you know, America still I just saw the news uh recently about a yet another shooting. I forgot where it was, but I think it was somewhere in um I forgot exactly what city it was in, but yet I woke up and yet another like eight people shot, eight children shot. I mean, this is like a no-non-issue in Europe when it comes to gun issues, anyway. Of course, there's always going to be you know the threat of violence in one way or another, but the gun issue specifically, you know, we have mass shootings and mass attacks in a way that other countries do not have. And uh, and to me, the fact that that continues to be an issue in this country is just mind-boggling. And healthcare, too. Um, you know, uh, it's just incredible to me that uh that we still have relentless attacks on Obamacare. Um, I think the healthcare issue has been not that you know, healthcare in England or in Canada or in, I know Canada's not Europe, but France or, you know, the fact, of course, there are always it, you know, government is not ever going to work perfectly. But I think we should at least strive to do the basic things that government is is meant to be there for. You know, healthcare should not be something that people have to wake up in the middle of the night worrying about every single day. And uh to me, that the fact that we see the Republicans relentlessly trying to cut Medicaid and Medicare and trying to do away with the Affordable Care Act that you know gave millions, tens of millions of people health care. It's just I don't even know what to say about it. It's just I I don't know to what end except to be cruel uh and to do away Obama's legacy and and to, you know, it's just I I don't know why it's just it's it's a big reason why I'm a Democrat. I think healthcare is a basic human right and that everybody should have access to it. And so uh I think Europe in in so many ways has has done a good job of you know removing the profit motive when it comes to health care. Um and yeah, you know, one other issue I wanted to address, not related to Europe, but oh I guess actually one of the one other issue I wanted to address, which is more relevant here in the States, but I'm I know there's been a discussion about it around the world, is the recent Supreme Court uh decision on conversion therapy um here in the United States. Um, you know, this was an issue that I thought had been settled many years ago. Like I'm old enough to remember in the mid-2000s when uh Time magazine actually had a big piece. Um, I forgot the name of the of the article, but there was a big piece. They had a young gay teenager on the cover of Time magazine in 2006, and it was a whole discussion about the debate over conversion therapy and over the treatment of gay teen gey teens. And and uh and you know, over the last five years or so, it seemed like that issue had finally been settled, like with a lot of other issues. Yet again, we're having this discussion, and uh, you know, it's pretty convoluted. I don't want to go into too much detail about the Supreme Court's decision itself, because yeah, they used a lot of excuses to come to the decision, and they tried to give the issue back to the lower courts. But what they basically did was they enabled the lower courts, I think there was a sort of excuse that involved the First Amendment and free speech. They said to the lower court that we want you, because there's a free speech uh element here that needs to be considered, we want you to incorporate that component and then make a decision. But inevitably, what's going to happen is they're going to reverse the ban on conversion therapy, which to me is just mind-boggling, incredible, considering that you know it's been proven, I mean, time and time again to not work. If anything, it's it's a big reason why for so many years we saw LGBTQ plus kids killing themselves at a vastly higher rate. We still do, but this is just going to lead, pure and simple, to more teenagers and youth killing themselves. And um, you know, I'm getting emotional thinking about it, you know, as someone who grew up as a teenager, you know, and who, you know, who uh, you know, went to organizations like P Flag, you know, to uh, you know, to for support and who understands intimately, you know, what it how important it is to hear that affirmation from uh from you know from your friends, from your family. And if you don't have them, you know, from the communities and and from online resources, but to have, you know, in 2026 to know that you're now going to have charlatans and frauds profiting off of telling kids that they are wrong and that you know they're not hurting anybody else, to you know, to to let these kids all they want is affirmation to be able to live their lives as they see fit, as they identify you know, based on their feelings, their, you know, but they with their lived experience. And to me, the fact that uh the Supreme Court has now enabled them, has now enabled uh fraudsters to to take advantage of these children predators uh to uh to profit off of their of their you know their their lack of acceptance um is just unconscionable. And um it's it's definitely, you know, when I come back I come back to that whole discussion about America and where we're at, and you know, our positives are negatives, I mean that right there definitely made me feel a little less uh positive about where we're at as a country. But I think I think America's history is proof that we can get better, that we can do better. And while we've definitely had seen a lot of regression in the last year and a half, really over the last 10 years, you know, with a brief respite during by the Biden administration, but you know, the last 10 years, I think we've seen a lot of darkness. But I think America's history is you know full of darkness, uh, but where it's also full of a lot of light. And generally, at least as of now, we'll see how the next couple years go with the midterms and with the presidential election. But I think generally, even in moments in the past where we've seen a regression, uh during Reconstruction, you know, after Reconstruction, you know, and back in the 1870s and 80s, we saw a regression, you know, uh, and uh during, you know, Jim Crow. And, you know, there's definitely been periods where we've seen a backsliding, but generally we always eventually, even if it takes longer than it should, we always come back. And I'm I'm really hoping that that's where this country goes in the next couple of years. I think we as a progressive movement have the wind at our backs, and I think uh I think we are gonna move back in the right direction, but that doesn't mean that in the meantime, we're not gonna see a lot of uh darkness and a lot of uh negativity. So it's it's uh it's a tough road ahead, but I feel optimistic. Um, I am so grateful, as I said at the beginning of this episode, so grateful to all of you for your support. Um, you know, when we started this podcast, part of our goal was to bridge the divide between politics and pop culture. And I think we have done that because we've had a mix of different guests. We've had people who are you know elected officials, politicians, but we've also talked to people who are athletes and musicians and you know, people who have made an impact uh outside of the political realm, but who have nonetheless helped to reverse some of this negativity and darkness that we've seen and are pushing things in the right direction. And that's really what I started this for to try to talk to these people, to get information and lessons from them and knowledge about that we can all use as part of our efforts to try to make a positive change. And I think we've done that um in a very short period of time. So I think we're gonna see a lot of growth in the weeks and months and years to come. And uh, and I'm I'm really enjoying the process. I'm grateful to all of you. Um, I'm glad I could share this message before my birthday, which is coming up uh in a few days. Uh, it's a big one. I mean, it's weird to be getting up to 35 years old, uh, especially when I first started. You know, I was known when I started in activism as being like the young, yeah, the gay be, the young kid being 18. I've now been at this for almost uh 17 years, which is kind of insane since I wrote my first article uh in 2009. But uh it's been a good road, and I'm really looking forward to the future. I think the future is going to be even better and even bigger uh than ever before. So um thank you all, and uh I will see you next week. We have a pretty cool episode coming next week, which I look forward to sharing with all of you. Thanks so much. Thank you for joining me today on Duke's Download. This podcast is part of Pridehouse Media, hosted by me, Duke Mason, and produced and edited by Josh Rosenswike. Original music composed by Nell Balaban. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. While you're there, leave us a rating and review. It really helps others to discover the show. I'd love to stay connected with you, so join the conversation by following me at James Duke Mason on Instagram and X, or by emailing me at questions at Dukesdownload.com.