Thread by @Mike_Hixenbaugh

🧵Last August, I was listening to a feed of a heated North Texas school board meeting while juggling my nightly dad duties.

Which is why I was getting my 3-year-old to bed when I heard a mom make a shocking statement that @ahylton26 and I have now spent a year investigating. 1/

The mom said a teacher in Grapevine, Texas, had given her child access to information that led the teen to change genders.

As her time expired, she said, "I lost my son."

As I rubbed my own kid's back, the thought hit me: What book could separate a parent from their child? 2/

Another reason her words stuck with me: This was the exact allegation that politicians like Ron DeSantis had been leveling without evidence all year: Woke teachers convincing kids to become queer.

Here was a chance to investigate a *real* case of a mom making this claim. 3/

I texted @ahylton26 the next day, and we got to work.

The result: Our new podcast, "Grapevine," was released yesterday.

You can listen to the first two episodes by clicking here:

4/ link.chtbl.com/grapevine_tw

The story we found was different from the one the mom told at that board meeting.

We found a transgender child just wanting to be heard, a mother determined to put God first — and an English teacher caught in the middle.

But it was more than that. 5/

The podcast also tells the story of a once-fringe movement by conservative Christians — unleashed in part by Donald Trump — to take control of the "Seven Mountains" of American life. 6/

It's the story of a well-funded campaign to place far-right evangelicals on school boards all over Texas, and across America.

For those of you who listened to our "Southlake" podcast, this clip will be eye-opening. 7/

LGBTQ educators and library books have become the top targets of this campaign.

In the podcast, you'll hear from the queer educator accused by that mom of convincing her teen to become trans, and learn how that allegation turned her life upside down. 8/

You will also learn about a book called "The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang (@alooghobi), which tells the story of a prince who loves wearing dresses.

The mom from the school board meeting says the graphic novel helped lead her child to change genders and run away. 9/

And—the part that's missing from lots of other coverage of this subject—you will hear directly the trans teen at the center of this story.

Ren has a lot to say, and @ahylton26 and I believe folks ought to listen

Please subscribe & tell your friends. 10/

Lots of others helped make this podcast happen and don't get enough recognition. @frannie_kelley is at the top of that list, which also includes Alexa Danner, @JulieShapiro, @mzMichGarcia, @elizcole, @reidcherlin, @EvaRuth, @EmilyBerk1, Janina Huang and many more! 11/