News Replacement Therapy

Hey John,

Thanks for being a subscriber of The Needle. Here is your Weekly NRT!

To start, here's our 5 of our most popular articles this week.

#1 - The Needle was the first to break the news that trans people are being denied passports until they can prove their "biological sex" at birth.

Trans People Being Denied Passports Until They Can Prove Their ‘Biological Sex’ at Birth

The State Department has denied a passport application to a trans woman because she did not provide evidence that she i…

The Needle - News •Jane Migliara Brigham

#2 - Our coverage of a new Trump Executive Order that attempts to de-secularize the child welfare system while embedding AI and further anti-queer animus into it at every level.

United States- Queer Kids to be Placed in Anti-Queer Foster Homes Under New Executive Order

The change reverses longstanding policy which separated queer kids from potential abuse.

The Needle - News •Artemis T. Douglas

#3 - An opinion piece by Jane explaining why trans Congresswoman Sarah McBride is not someone many trans people care much about.

Why Trans People Don’t Care About Congresswoman Sarah McBride

Frankly, it feels like she is embarrassed to be associated with us.

The Needle - News •Jane Migliara Brigham

#4 - The Needle covered how Erin Reed's coverage of the shutdown and the CR process was woefully misleading at best in terms of the risk to trans rights and transsexual medicine due to the government funding fight.

Fact Check: Erin Reed is Lying About the Risk of Trans Healthcare Being Cut at Federal Level

The tone of Reed’s reporting does nothing to explain where the threat is coming from, and is therefore leading to panic…

The Needle - News •Jane Migliara Brigham

#5 - The Needle was able to speak to a State Department spokesperson, who confirmed our prior coverage regarding delays/denials of passports to trans people based on whether they have enough documents to prove what the government calls a "binary, biological sex at birth."

Exclusive: United States State Department Confirms Denial/Delay of Passports for Trans People

A State Department spokesperson confirmed that they will deny or delay passport issuance unless and until an applicant …

The Needle - News •Artemis T. Douglas

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We need to both "keep the lights on", and earn enough to pay our contributors above industry standards. We often beat our peers in covering the news first but to keep doing so we have to be able to keep paying our writers more than our fellow trans outlets, such as Trans News Network's $28 an hour rate.

We believe in paying trans voices for their work, and we value that work incredibly highly.

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Up next is every remaining article we published since the last NRT went out.

Thank you for being a supporter of The Needle. We'll be back next week with another dose of News Replacement Therapy.

You can support our coverage by spreading the word and signing up for a paid subscription. They start at 5 euros a month. However, we hope you will support to the level you can- Silver and Gold tier subscriptions come with unlocked additional access to certain types of articles. Check it out below!

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You can pick the right tier here!

If you're already a paid subscriber, we thank you again for your generous support and solidarity.

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Disclaimer: This newsletter is named "News Replacement Therapy" as a cheeky reference to HRT, and is not meant to be an actual, literal medicine or therapy. We aren't trained in that, but to be fair, neither is your doctor.

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Name: John

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Member since: 15 October 2025

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