There Are No Girls on the Internet - WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO — Afterlives: The Layleen Polanco Story

Episode Date: December 22, 2023

We're taking a break from our usual content to share a new podcast from iHeart's Outspoken network, Afterlives: The Layleen Polanco Story. You can check out the rest of the show here: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-afterlives-the-layleen-po-127683074/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting. Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than adds supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, IHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. Learn how podcasting can help your

business. Call 844-844 I-Hart. If you're watching the latest season of the Real House Wies of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Portia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise,

the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. We talk a lot about how the internet can be used as a tool to draw attention to stories that would otherwise fall under the radar. After Lives, a new podcast from IHeart's Outspoken Network, spotlights one of those stories.

After Lives examines the life and legacy of Laylene Polanco, a transgender Afro-Latina who tragically died at New York City's Rikers Island jail. Layline's death was totally preventable, and this new podcast sets out to investigate the systems of power that led to her untimely passing, as well as how her story sparked national movements for change. As we're seeing more and more legislation policing how trans people exist, including how they show up online, this story is more important than ever.

Thank you so much for listening. Be sure to subscribe. Here's After Lives, the Layling Polanco Story, episode one. After Lives is a production of IHeart Podcasts and the Outspoken Podcast Network in partnership with School of Humans. Just a heads up, the following episode, episode discusses transphobia, racism, mental health, suicide, and violence. Take care while listening.

Sing it! Wait, let me sing it first. You'll never see me. Now sing it. Okay, I'll never see me again. That last voice, that's Lailene Polanco. She's singing Cry for You by the Swedish musician September. La her finish.

La her finish. Lailene's name. niece, Aaliyah, is the one goading her on, trying to get her to belt it out for the camera. Do it, come on. I want to finish you. I first learned who Lailene was back in June of 2019. A friend and fellow activists texted me a four-sentence New York Post article about a trans woman who had died hours earlier in a cell on Rikers Island, New York City's notorious jail. We had few details at the time.

Even Laylene's name wasn't public yet. But the little information we did have was enough for us to know. We lost a member of our cherished community, and we needed answers. I'm a journalist and an activist. I know some people find those descriptors at odds, but for me, storytelling and social justice go hand in hand. throughout my career, I found it important to prioritize stories of trans people, specifically trans women of color like myself. Our lives, our joy, our struggles, and our truth. A difficult

part of that truth is that many of us are dying. There is growing concern in this country and fear about deadly attacks against transgender Americans, particularly trans women of color. As more information surfaced about Laylene's death, something shifted in me. Here was an Afro-Latina whose story felt like it touched

so many systems of power that affect trans women. I connected with her. I mourned her. And I wasn't alone. Hundreds gathered in New York City Monday to demand justice for Laleen Palanko. Justice for!

The recent death of a 12th of a 27-year-old woman on Rikers Island is raising questions about the way officials there hold people in solitary confinement. We have a full investigation going on. Laylene Polanco could have been released from Rikers if she was able to post her bail of just $500. Translides matter. It's been four years since Lailene's death on Rikers Island. Four years since she was left unattended in solitary confinement. Four years since her family.

and friends first shed tears over her loss and turned those tears into rage, that rage into action. We'll discuss her death and what led up to it in detail on this podcast. But before we talk about how we lost Laylene, in the many ways the criminal justice system failed her, before we dig into the remarkable ways her legacy endures today, I want you to know about her life. I'm your host, Raquel Willis, and this is After Lives. Episode 1, Laylene. Laylene was born on October 4, 1991 in the Dominican Republic. Her family moved to New York when she was two years old, first to the Bronx, and then just outside of the city to Yonkers. And if there's one thing you need to know about Laylene, it's that she was the life of

of the party. Lailene loved to dance. She loved to sing. She was just happy to be alive. That's Lailene's older sister, Melania Brown. They were born about three years apart. The two of them were always close. Laleen brought out a spark in Melania.

She was full of energy and always up for an adventure. Melania says she could always count on her, whether she needed a confidant or just a good laugh. In the DR, Malania was a lot. remembers how freeing it felt for them to take baths in the rain. When they moved to the States, they go on family outings, taking boats around the New York Harbor. They loved watching Pixar movies with their brother Solomon. Toy Story was Laylene's favorite. She also loved animals and dreamt of growing up to be a vet. Most of all,

Melania and Laylene liked to joke around. We found this doll somewhere and my mom was like freaked about the doll because it looked like a real baby. She says their mom, Arsely's, said get rid of that doll. But they didn't. Instead. We used to put the door in the middle of the street and then we would hide behind the

cars and people would like just stop and freak out and like, you know, we would just be cracking up watching them and then they'd just throw the doll to the side and then we'll do it again and then... Their mom always encouraged them to play outside. Even if that doll

All prank wasn't exactly what she had in mind. For the most part, their family got on pretty well. They had their routines, their traditions. Arceles would play ballads in Spanish throughout the house, and she dragged them to church every Sunday. Lillian and I used to be like, oh my God, not again. We just went. My mom would be like, that was a week ago.

Like, we was just there. This was Lailene's world as a child. church choir, climbing rocks outside the house, a close nuclear family led by a strong woman. As she and her siblings got older, Laleen's sense of identity developed too. I started realizing that I really had a sister. She started loving flowers,

and I like to get dirty, and she was more like, ill, no. Solomon and I always knew. We just never were the type to, like, flat out ask when she feels comfortable, she'll come and she'll talk to us. I remember one day we was just playing Mortal Kombat, which was like one of our favorite games, and Laylene paused the game, and Solomon's like, because you're about to lose.

I remember that fight, and Layleen's like, no, I paused the game because I got to say something. And then that's when Layleen came out as being gay. Solomon and I was like, really? Like, this is why you pause the game? Because, I mean, we already knew that. Like, I'm paused to game. That was when Lailene was 12.

But about a year later, Lailene started to express herself and her identity in other ways. Lailene was just like, well, can I use your stuff? It was Halloween, which had always been one of Lailene and Melania's favorite holidays. And she's like, your stuff, let me go get it.

And she comes back with my clothes, my bra, my pants, my shirt. my shoes, everything. And she's like, can you help me, like, put it on? I was like, okay, fine. Like, you know, I helped her get dressed. We stuff so much tissue. And I remember I'm telling her, I'm like,

I feel like I'm stuffing you like a turkey, and we was just cracking up. And I flat-ironed her hair, and she went outside. She came back inside. Like, okay, I'm like, so how do you feel? And she was just like, this is who I'm supposed to be. Lailene has two birthdays in her sister's eyes. The day she was born into the world,

and that Halloween night, when she expressed to Melania for the first time in her own way, that she was a trans woman. Melania still goes all out for Halloween to celebrate her sister. Spiders, zombies, a six-foot witch outside of the house. Even Lailene's mom gets in on it. And she's always hated Halloween. As Lailene got older, she grew into herself more and more.

And something that made her feel most alive was music. Growing up, Lillian was into house music. Lailene started dragging me into her world and what she liked. And then I started like in the house music. The house music will only be played really like between her and I. If I'm going through something or she's going through something, will put like the craziest loudest house music and we'll just dance it off.

As a teenager, Laylene's love for house music often led her to clubs and parties in New York with other queer and trans people of color. She wanted to get her life and meet more people like her. And she didn't care if that meant staying out all night and dealing with her mom getting angry at her the next day.

At a club in the Bronx, she met a trans woman named Leslie. who offered to help her get access to hormone replacement therapy. She became a mother figure to her, and a new world opened up. Laylene became more embedded within the trans community and New York City's iconic ballroom scene. Yes, she had some family who affirmed her transness, but through ballroom, she found a second family,

a chosen family, who understood her experience as their parents. own and encouraged her to step into herself in ways she never had before. Laleen discovers home in the House of Extravaganza after the break. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guide, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman, help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. There's the worst singer in the group. The worst? Yeah. Me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard, you only got in because your parents made a huge donation.

The group. The yard birds, right? That's the name. The Harvard yard, but they're open to change. Do you have a name suggestion? We're open. Since you guys are middle aged. One erection.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and, friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Human me, I need some jokes to make me seem funny. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting, think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ads supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, IHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only IHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio.

Think podcasting can help your business. Think I-Hard. Streaming, radio, and podcasting. Call 844-8-4-I-Hart to get started. That's 844-8-4-I-Hart. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed.

And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin. Justin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball like, after you go through a training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

We're back with After Lives. After growing up in Yonkers and coming out to her family as a trans woman, Laylene Polanco would find community in New York City's ballroom scene. Ballroom is a community, rooted in queerness, gender expression, performance, and solidarity. And the community, as we know it today, has roots that trace back to Harlem in the 1960s.

Black and Latinx LGBTQ plus folks gathered for extravagant so-called balls, complete with runway categories, competing houses, and vogue battles. These events were organized as an alternative to existing drag balls that traditionally excluded and discriminated against black and brown people. Laylene finding community through ballroom is no surprise.

It's a world where people living on the margins can center themselves and their lived experience. The category is Bush Queen first time in drags at a ball. These folks you hear are walking categories as part of balls

recorded in the 1990 documentary Paris is birding. In case you didn't know, this film opened the door for mainstream audiences to understand ballroom culture. Laleen walked categories like realness, face, and body. And she would win. Melania said she always played it cool and confident, though. She never acted surprised when she took home a trophy. To put it plainly,

Laylene was that girl. Laylene was a part of the House of Extravaganza, the premier Latinx house in the scene. You're listening to a clip from the 2006 documentary, How Do I Look? Extravaganza has become

one of New York's most famous houses and one of the longest running. The House of Extravaganza was founded in 1982. This is Sydney Ballou. My pronouns are he, him, his, and girl. I always like to add that extra one. I'm a writer, TV writer, producer, a journalist.

I've been in the House of Extravaganza for, oh my goodness, now four years, and I've been in the ballroom scene for 11. Sydney is also the author of the forthcoming book, Undeniable, a history of Vogueing ballroom and how it changed my life and the world. In those early days, it was actually very hard for the House of Extravaganza. There was a kind of protective sense, you know, that people had over the scene. They felt very threatened. Yes, it was a heavily Latin house, but it was also very much like kids living on the pier,

you know, people who were homeless. People were doing survival sex work. Some people didn't have as much money. the other houses. They had to really, really keep coming and keep turning it in order for people to finally accept them. And then once they did, it was, you know, the rest was history. I mean, the house just really started to take off.

By the time Lelene joined the house as a teenager, it was fully on the map. It had been featured in Paris's burning and its members choreographed and dance in Madonna's 1990 hit single Vogue. Vogue was a seminal moment when Ballroom broke into the mainstream, but it wouldn't be the last. This song and the members of Extravaganza helped set the stage for Ballroom to make huge waves in pop culture, from music to language to TV. But Ballroom isn't all about the balls.

In the odds, when Laylene joined the House of Extravaganza, it was a centerpiece in the queer and trans community. in New York. She became a beacon for many trans women and girls around her. Now that's a legacy, honey. In my mind, I am in the same house

as Giselle Alicia extravaganza, the mother of extravaganza. Like, I'm the same house as Léline extravaganza. That's India Moore. Like sharing this proximity to them made me feel great.

Made me feel great. valuable. She's an actor and model well known for her role as Angel Evangelista in Pose, the FX series about ballroom culture in the 80s and 90s. In compliance with the SAG after

a strike at the time of our interview, India and I didn't discuss Pose, but we spoke about her personal experiences in New York's ballroom scene. Experiences that mirror her character's journey in many ways. I was surviving

a young trans person just trying to stay safe, have a home and money in my pocket. I didn't feel welcomed in many environments that should have been home for me or like that should have been school for me. So like I ended up sort of surviving on the streets. I took a lot of risks to survive, you know, to have money in my pockets to be able to support myself. India's character on Poz joined the fictional House of Evangelista because she desperately needed a chosen family, housing, and support while she was doing sex work.

And in real life, India joined the House of Extravaganza as a way to connect with New York's queer community and to be around people like Lailene. When I think about Lailene, I think about her as somebody that brought people joy. I see Lailene also as somebody who was really proud of being trans and loved other trans people as well. They never developed their own personal relationship, but India always admired her. When you're a kid, there's always like some people that you sort of look to in your understanding of what's beautiful. You sort of like aspire to like be like them. Lailene was one of those girls.

She was Dominican and I'm Dominican. And she just reminded me of like my culture and she didn't have just charm. She had sex appeal. So Laylene was one of the women that was sort of a reflection for what it looked like for me to grow into a confident and beautiful and secure woman. Laylene, India, and Sydney were all members of the House of Extravaganza at different points in its history. Whether or not they knew each other personally, they share a bond because they've shared a family. The House of Extravaganza is one of the few houses in ballroom that's still. a family. We literally have a cookout every summer. Grandma Coco, who's one of our OG members,

she cooks all the food, and there's fried chicken and beans and rice, and mac and cheese and potato salad and all of that. It's truly like a co-generational space. There's so many people who I know I can call upon or who have my back or who can just teach me about life. I know Lailene was part of that mix, and there was a sense of her really being part of the family in that way. House of Extravaganza and other ballroom communities have always been vital spaces. A way for black and brown LGBTQ plus folks to survive and thrive. Still, so many trans women of color like Laylene lack the support systems they deserve to live long and fulfilling lives. And they, like all trans people, experience disproportionately high rates of unemployment, incarceration, and vice.

violence. Ballroom has always been a form of resistance to these realities. Just because people say slay or no shade doesn't make the world safer for us. I do find that a large part of the culture of Ballroom has become so mainstream to the point where the people who now participate in using our language also have become some of the people who rejects. and defame trans and queer culture and people. But this doesn't take away from the fact that these spaces and this community are meaningful. Laylene was an extravaganza for pivotal years of her life. It meant a lot to her.

And she followed a long-standing tradition of adopting the house's name as her own. Laylene, extravaganza, Kubelet, Polanco. Queer culture is more consumable than ever, but we, queer people, and specifically trans women of color, remain at risk. Laylene was at risk. As she entered adulthood, she was turned away from job opportunities. She struggled with her mental and physical health.

She turned to sex work as a way to support herself. And it would be a sex work arrest that would ultimately lead her to the place she would lose her life. Rikers Island. That's coming after the break. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guide, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman,

help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. There's the worst singer in the group. The worst? Yeah. Me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard,

you only got in because your parents made a huge donation. The yard birds, right? That's the name. The Harvard yard, but they're open. Do you have a name suggestion? We're open. Since you guys are middle-aged. One erection.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Humor me. I need some jokes to make me seem funny. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting, think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ads supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, IHearts twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message.

Plus, only IHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. Think podcasting can help your business. Think IHeart. Streaming, radio, and podcast. Casting. Call 844-844-I-Hart to get started. That's 844-8-4-8-4-I-Hart. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast, Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that I said, you figure it.

it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to Afterlives. In Laylene's mid-20s, her vibrant life took a turn. She struggled to find and keep consistent work, spent less and less time with her family, and decided to engage in sex work to make ends meet.

One day in August of 2017, Laylene was arrested by undercover NYPD officers who were targeting sex workers. The city claimed around this time that arrests like these would end, a small victory in the long battle to decriminalize consensual sex work. But the arrest happened anyway.

Eventually, Layleen ended up in front of a judge and a bill of $500 was set on her sex work case. That's despite the fact that in the months before Lailene's day in court, district attorneys had made promises about eradicating bail for low-level crimes. The city even had an alternative system in place to handle sex work cases so that sex workers could avoid jail time. We'll get into why and how later in this series. But the decision to set Bell on Laylene's case would crucially impact her life.

Unfortunately, she couldn't afford to pay and was sent to Rikers Island. Rikers is an isolated island in a city of 8 million. The jail complex rests on over 400 acres of land in New York City's East River. The average jail population is 6,000 people. on any given day. Its buildings are old and dilapidated, extreme temperatures are a norm, as is moldy food and feces smeared on the floors.

Pieces of stray piping and broken light fixtures that line the hallways are often used to create weapons. Policymakers have called the conditions at Rikers Island a humanitarian crisis. Once Laylene was there, Her troubles only got worse. Her mental health deteriorated. She got into several fights and was moved into solitary confinement.

Jaila officials were made aware of a key detail about Laylene's health, that she suffered from a seizure disorder. And this alone should have kept her out of solitary. Still, that's exactly where she ended up. Lailene was in Riker's custody for 52 days. before her death. Nine of those days were spent in solitary confinement.

And I remember, the girls and I spoke about it. Her sister, Melania, didn't even know she was at Rikers. Never mind, being in solitary. And they're like, we miss her and we just don't feel right. And I'm like, I don't feel right either.

I thought I was the only one. You guys feel the same thing. And my daughters is like, yeah, something is not right. On June 7th, 2019, While locked away in a solitary confinement cell, Laleen had a fatal seizure. Officers were supposed to check on people in this unit every 15 minutes,

according to jail protocol. But large periods of time would pass without anyone checking on her. When there were signs something was wrong, no one took action. Staff gathered outside her door, staring into it. But no one went inside. At one point, they left her unattended for 41 minutes. 41 minutes completely alone despite being at high risk.

41 minutes with no checks for signs of life. At approximately 3.45, after medics were finally called to enter her cell, she was declared dead. why did no one help her? Why was she even in Rikers, really? Why did system after system fail to fulfill promises of progress? I've been thinking about Laylene's case ever since I got that text from a friend

with the New York Post article. It was just hours after she died. Within a few days, I was speaking at a rally in Layleen's honor. With the mic in my hand, my sadness and fatigue turned into anger. Laylene deserved to be alive. She deserved more. Black and brown trans people have been in the war since we were born. Over 600 of us grieved together at that rally in the middle of Pride Month, 2019.

It was the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the seminal queer, militant uprising that sparked the modern fight for LGBTQ plus liberation. Millions of visitors were flocking to New York City for world pride. Our community was more visible than ever, and yet here was another one of our sisters taken from us. Holding all of this has always been hard. These competing truths can feel like alternate realities. I wanted to address that feeling more direction. So I created the Trans Obituaries Project.

Back in 2019, I was the executive editor of Out Magazine and wanted Laylene's story and the stories of other trans women lost that year elevated in the annual Out 100 issue. It's the magazine's best known feature, honoring the year's most influential LGBTQ plus people. I remember that when we did this photo shoot for the cover. Here's Melania, Lailene's sister again. It was very, it was beautiful. It was actually Lailene's birthday. Yes. Lailene's friends and family gathered at her mom's house in Yonkers, where Lailene grew up.

We had her urn with her ashes in it. We bought her a cake, and we celebrated her. At one point during the cover shoot, Lailene and Melania's mother, Arsellie's, opened up a suitcase filled with Lailene's belongings. Everyone combed through trinkets, toiletries, and old t-shirt. Everything you could name was in that, like, luggage. And we were shocked. I remember we was all, like, digging.

And I was like, oh, I want this, I want this. And I ended up taking, like, her New York shirt. I have it, like, in a bag upstairs because I want to keep, like, her scent and everything. I would, like, open it a little bit just to smell and I close it back up, so I don't lose the scent. I'll never forget that day. Seeing the love that Lailene left behind,

and filling her spirit surrounding us. After the magazine came out, I watched Melania grow as an outspoken activist on behalf of her sister. She shared Lailene's story with larger and larger audiences, even at one rally packed with 15,000 people. I listened as politicians talked about her sister's memory and witnessed laws passed in Lailene's name. Over the last four years, Laylene's story has unfolded in ways I could have never imagined. But as much as death has the power to build movements, it also shatters. In the immediate aftermath of Layleen's passing, family, friends, and community organizers formed a united front. But over the years, the loss of Laylene has sunk in more fully.

After she died, I picked up the mic three days later and I just didn't stop. Melania and others have had to reshape their lives without her. I never had time to grieve my sister. Time has passed, but not without forming scars. I think that's when reality really kicked in that Lailene wasn't going to come back home. Lailene's family has moved out of New York since that photo shoot. This time around, I've been a very little bit of. President Melania in Connecticut.

We needed to get away. We needed to get far. I met many of Laylene's family members and friends back in 2019. But since then, people have removed themselves further from the public eye, farther from New York. There have been rifts in their relationships. Folks have experienced other losses, too. While we reached out to several members of Layleen's origin and chosen families for this podcast, we weren't able to speak with everyone.

Laylene's story is harder for many to revisit today, but I always knew it was worth returning to. Much of my career has been fueled by the losses of people in my life, and those I didn't know whose stories drew me in, whether it was trans teens lost to suicide, victims of police brutality, and, of course, other trans sisters of color. Lailene's life and story will forever be a part of me.

Her death has stayed with me in part because so many issues compounded to lead her to that cell. Because her death happened in state custody, I had hope for accountability. There were and our leaders and systems that we could blame, that we could even try to change. Some things have changed for the better in the last four years. But we've also witnessed the U.S. become a much more hostile place for trans people. What happened to Laleen tells us a lot about our world. About trans rights and the injustices of our legal system. About how we treat people who are most marginalized and most in need of support.

She died because of systems that still exist today. And while progress has been. made in her name, there's a lot more work to do. That's what this series is about. There are no real spoilers in this story. If you Google Laylene's name, you'll find these details. What we're doing in this podcast is breaking it down, system by system, and looking closer at the reason she died.

We want to restore her humanity as we tell this story. And look at the ways this loss and legacy has affected our world, even if you've never heard her name. That's all coming this season on Afterlives. Stepping foot on Rikers Island has been widely acknowledged a potential death sentence. Was her transness actually a cause of her death? We found out that the answer was yes, it absolutely was. I had every opportunity to be dead.

and I'm still here. They have an interest in stopping youth from becoming trans adults. They have an interest, in essence, in eradicating transness. We just want to live our lives. We don't want to be sitting here over explaining ourselves to you over and over again. Just let me be. I want to work. I want to have a home.

I want to drive a car. I want to be happy too. Thank you so much for listening to After Lives. You can find this episode and Future Ones on the Up. IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Please leave us a rating and review to let us know what you think. After Lives is a production of IHeart Podcasts and the Outspoken Podcast Network in partnership with School of Humans.

I'm your host and creator, Raquel Willis. Dylan Hoyer is our senior producer and script writer. Our associate producer is Joey Pat. Sound design and engineering by Daisy Makes Radio Productions. Story editing by Aaron Edwards and Julia Furlan. Fact-checking by Savannah Hugely. Our show art is by Mackay Baldwin. Score composed by Wazi Moray.

Our production manager is Daisy Church. Executive producers include me, Raquel Willis, and Jay Brunson from the Outspoken Podcast Network. Michael Alder June and Noel Brown from IHeart Podcasts, Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, and Elsie Crowley from School of Humans, and The Cats Company. School of Humans. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman helped make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Street or Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us.

From IHeart Podcast, Saigon. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? One city, a divided country, and the war that tore. America apart. This is for Vietnam. They're pouring patril all over here. Freedom for Vietnam! There's a fire coming to this country

and it's going to burn out everything. Listen to Saigon on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.

Orsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, M&T, everybody's talking about. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.