Mardi and Lenny open up about their journeys through aging, health scares, and the ongoing fight for visibility, sharing stories that will inspire you to stand tall despite the chaos.

Unlock the surprising truth behind how resilience, humor, and authenticity can transform the challenges of the trans community into powerful stories of hope. When facing societal intolerance, personal health crises, and political turmoil, this episode reveals the unexpected ways you can turn adversity into strength — with a little laughter along the way. Crisis hotlines: 🇨🇦 Canada: BC: 1-800-784-2433 Canada: 9-8-8 (text or call) U.S. - https://988lifeline.org/ or dial 988 Alex Verbeek: https://substack.com/home/post/p-187738078 Jan Morris "Conundrum" (Guardian article) - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/sep/29/jan-morris-conundrum-memoir-transgender-son Angela Morley (composer/arranger): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Morley

Staying centered isn’t about escaping life—it’s about knowing what to do when one of your wheels comes flying off at 60 miles an hour. It’s about meeting life exactly where you are, breath by breath. This short pre-break episode is a grounded, heartfelt exploration of mindfulness and meditation as lived practices. We try to use humor, honesty, and hard-earned insight as trans elders to demonstrate how returning to the breath, the body, and the present moment can be a radical act of self-care in a loud and often unkind world.

Rooted in decades of survival, transition, love, and loss, we hope our conversations -- our testimonies highlight the unique benefits of meditation for trans elders: resilience in the face of change, compassion for aging bodies, and grace for minds that have seen it all. This is a space for slowing down, laughing a little, and remembering that peace isn’t found at the end of the journey—it’s cultivated along the way, one mindful moment at a time. "Our Deepest Fear" - Marianne Williamson poem https://www.appleseeds.org/Deepest-Fear.htm Transparently Speaking podcast https://transparentlyspeakingpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

From 70s transitions to "yoga granny tata’s ," trans elders Mardi P. and Lenny Z. have seen it all—and their eyeballs actually ache from the view. This week, the duo tackles "political pick-me's," the anatomy of Quebec’s prison laws, and why you should never get breast implants. It’s raw, it’s radical, and it’s served with a side of Annie Sprinkle-inspired glitter. If you think the world is going to hell in a handbasket, Mardi and Lenny are here to smoke a cigarette and tell you, "We told you so." This episode covers the terrifying reality of SCOTUS, the beauty of Bowie-inspired labradorite, and Annie Sprinkle's legendary performance art piece involving a speculum. It’s peer-reviewed science meets primal cave-woman energy. This week features fantastic, chaotic energy that is both deeply poignant and hilariously unfiltered. https://sprinklestephens.ucsc.edu/