Austin Mitchell

It's only been about two decades since trans and gender nonconforming kids in the U.S. have been able to get medical treatment to transition. Now, the federal government is looking to end it. And the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the issue in the coming weeks.

It's only been about two decades since trans and gender nonconforming kids in the U.S. have been able to get medical treatment to transition. Now, the federal government is looking to end it. And the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the issue in the coming weeks.

I don't think so. No. I'm going to leave it out here. This is a story of how we got here.

I don't think so. No. I'm going to leave it out here. This is a story of how we got here.

It's a story I've been reporting with my colleague Azeen Gureshi, a science and gender reporter, for nearly two years.

It's a story I've been reporting with my colleague Azeen Gureshi, a science and gender reporter, for nearly two years.

And it's a story she's been reporting for much longer. And from the beginning, she's been telling me this is not just a story about politics. It's a story about medicine. About a new kind of treatment for a small group of kids. How it came to be. Who it was meant to help. How that was codified into a protocol that spread around the world.

And it's a story she's been reporting for much longer. And from the beginning, she's been telling me this is not just a story about politics. It's a story about medicine. About a new kind of treatment for a small group of kids. How it came to be. Who it was meant to help. How that was codified into a protocol that spread around the world.

and how, in the time since, the medicine and the politics have become impossibly entangled. From The New York Times, I'm Austin Mitchell. This is The Protocol with Azeen Qureshi. Part One. The Beginning. Okay, so where does this story start then in your mind?

and how, in the time since, the medicine and the politics have become impossibly entangled. From The New York Times, I'm Austin Mitchell. This is The Protocol with Azeen Qureshi. Part One. The Beginning. Okay, so where does this story start then in your mind?

And those professionals would be trying to kind of convince these people that they... Yeah, kind of talk them out of it.

And those professionals would be trying to kind of convince these people that they... Yeah, kind of talk them out of it.

Right. A turning point.

Right. A turning point.

In 1990, a 16-year-old kid showed up at Peggy's office.

In 1990, a 16-year-old kid showed up at Peggy's office.

His voice. He knows I'm recording, right?

His voice. He knows I'm recording, right?

And what Peggy realized when she saw him would transform the field of youth gender medicine. He's now in his early 50s, and his role in the history of this care has been closely protected. But he did agree to tell us his story.

And what Peggy realized when she saw him would transform the field of youth gender medicine. He's now in his early 50s, and his role in the history of this care has been closely protected. But he did agree to tell us his story.