In this season finale of Translucent, Lee Wade talks with a fellow radio host in Minneapolis who’s working to make sure more stories of transgender success and resilience are heard.
Wade: Ellie Krug spent years building a successful legal career in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, trying more than a hundred civil cases in the courtroom. Then, at 52, she made a decision that would change everything. She transitioned from male to female. In doing so, she became the first lawyer in Iowa to openly transition while still actively trying jury cases. These days, she's based in the Twin Cities where she stepped into a role as a radio and podcast host, bringing her story and perspective to the mic on her show, The Illegal Trans Woman.
Krug: You know, I fell into the radio business back in late 2016, early 2017, when I had been interviewed on our local progressive radio station. And at the end of the interview, I asked, do you think they might be interested in a transgender radio host? And they're like, yeah.
Wade: It's not on an everyday basis where you hear trans people coming across your airways or trans people to have the opportunity to have that kind of platform. Could you tell us a little bit about the Illegal Trans Woman?
Krug: Sure, the Illegal Trans Woman takes its name from Project 2025, that 900-page document. A main focus is diminishing, if not erasing, transgender people from public life. And so I'm like, I have to now be a full-throated advocate for my community, for trans, non-binary folks, gender-variant people. One of the missions of my show is to help remind people that it's not a choice. We just got born this way. Just like I'm left-handed. I didn't want to be left handed, but I am. And God love my station because they're like, "yeah, we want you to go in this direction." And Lee, I've got to just tell you last month, my show got syndicated. But I want to compliment you. You're in Ohio, you are in a red state. You are doing God's work for our community. You really are. And so I'm thrilled that Translucent exists. And I hope that it gains more traction as well.
Wade: That really means a lot, Ellie. Thank you. And congratulations on the show being syndicated. We talked a lot about representation and the purpose of having shows like Translucent and like the Illegal Trans Woman, but what stories about trans people are still missing from the conversation?
Krug: I think stories around trans people being successful, around them facing adversity, around them being able to fall in love, being able form families, being able walk their kids to school, around them being able create businesses, around them being faith leaders and being respected within their communities. I think all of those kinds of stories are missing. Trans people are afraid and they don't want the notoriety. They're missing because, according to the Williams Institute out of UCLA, California, 30% of us live in poverty because we lose our jobs, we lose places to live. Look what they did in Iowa, taking away the protections out of the state civil rights statute. But the reality is those success stories need to be showcased far more than what we're hearing, because that gives our community hope that if they're persistent, that if they believe in themselves, that they, too, can have a success story. And I just want to, again, say thank you to having me on the show. Thanks to WYSO for having your program. I think it's so incredibly important, particularly where you are in Ohio. You and me, what we do is we're there, and they can, I think, better understand our humanity.
Wade: Thanks Ellie, it means a lot to be doing this work alongside you. You can find the Illegal Trans Woman wherever you get your podcasts. And while you're there, go ahead and catch up on all of the episodes of Translucent. I'm Lee Wade, thanks for being here this season, and I'll be back soon. Until then, stay trans and stay lucent.
This story was produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO. Translucent is made possible with support from The Rubi Girls Foundation and Square One Salon.
