JK Rowling podcast latest: Author dismisses concerns trans backlash will harm her legacy

“Key to many arguments is Rowling’s insistence on the idea that biology defines gender in the name of defending women against men posing as women to commit abuse.

“But as Judith Butler pointed out in an interview in The new statesman: “The feminist who holds such a view assumes that the penis defines the person and that … the penis is the threat, or that every person who has a penis and identifies as a woman attaches himself to one vile, deceitful, and harmful form of disguise.”

Days before the new podcast aired, it was reported that the BBC had received 200 complaints after a radio presenter failed to challenge a guest who called Rowling “transphobic”.

Stacey Henley, a transgender woman and Editor-in-Chief of The playerShe spoke about Rowling’s “evil views” and accused her of promoting “transphobia” and a “campaign against trans people”.

The BBC, which by its own guidelines must “remain duly impartial”, later apologized for the exchange after listeners said it presented an “unfair characterization” of Rowling’s views.

On the second episode of JK Rowling’s new podcast, The Witch Trials by JK Rowlingshe and presenter Megan Phelps-Roper discuss the 1997 release Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and the negative reaction of some Christian activists.

Evangelists in the United States attempted to curb the popularity of the wizarding story, leading to a legal battle over the issue of censorship in children’s stories.

“Extreme words were used, that I would harm children, that these books were poison for children’s minds,” Rowling recalled in the episode titled “Burn the Witch.”

According to Phelps-Roper, Harry Potter’s legal victory set a “precedent” that now protects LGBT+ literature.

A 2003 court victory over Arkansas school censorship set a precedent, says Megan Phelps-Roper

While the podcast between JK Rowling and host Megan Phelps-Roper touches on the author’s controversial statements regarding trans people, the intimate conversation also touches on Rowling’s personal life.

Read more about the latter here:

Trans YouTuber Natalie Wynn, known as ContraPoints, has apologized for agreeing to be interviewed for the podcast. “I agreed,” she wrote on Twitter. “That was a serious misjudgment.”

In a lengthy thread, ContraPoints explained her initial intentions for the podcast before concluding, “I regret my participation and would not have participated had I fully understood the nature of the project.

“I feel used and share the feelings of other trans people who speak out against it.”

An editorial in The New York Times defending JK Rowling’s views has reignited a battle of words between the newspaper and its staff over its coverage of transgender issues.

Staff and contributors penned a letter this week criticizing the publication’s reporting.

The letter addressed to The times‘, Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Standards, said signatories had “serious concerns” about what they described as “editorial bias” in their reporting.

The editor hits back at the staff for protesting the coverage of the issue

Because the podcast is a comprehensive seven-part interview, it will be released in parts.

The first two episodes were released today (February 21), with the remaining chapters set to be released back-to-back over the next five weeks.

You can listen to part of it here:

The Star Wars actor defended himself after becoming the center of fan-Irish for liking a tweet from JK Rowling that some users called “transphobic”.

“Unfortunately, Twitter is not a place for nuance,” said the Star Wars actor

JK Rowling has opened up on the new podcast about losing her mother in her mid-twenties. The Witch Trials by JK Rowling.

The author of the famous Harry Potter books said the “early 90’s” were a bad time for her and “riddled with loss” because her mother died of illness and a miscarriage over a year later.

Author Says Family Didn’t Know Her Death ‘Imminent’