tom sayers

May 3, 2025

LifeWise Academy is a conservative Christian organization that takes public school students off school property to “integrate a Bible class into their weekly class schedule.” It was founded in 2018 by Joel Penton, a former college football player.

For an hour a week, students from kindergarten through 12th grade learn about religious concepts rooted—in part—in homophobia and transphobia. For example, students are taught that anything other than a nuclear family, with one mom and one dad who are married, is wrong and that there is no such thing as being transgender.

I could not have written this piece without the support of many parent activists who have been fighting LifeWise in their communities for years.

April 8, 2025

Over the past five years, the biggest DAF sponsors include Fidelity Charitable; Vanguard Charitable; and DAFgiving360, formerly Schwab Charitable. They gave at least $37.8 million to anti-LGBTQ nonprofits who advocate in favor of conversion therapy and against gay marriage and are spearheading the rollback of many transgender rights.

But it’s outside of these mainstream DAF sponsors where the money really flows, nowhere more so than through the National Christian Foundation (NCF), the monolith of Christian faith-based giving. In 2024 alone, NCF made $2.6 billion worth of grants to 36,560 charities. Through the years, they have given at least $173 million to ADF, $126 million to Focus On The Family and $40 million to Family Research Council.

April 2, 2025

Gov. Moore’s prisons defied a judge’s order to follow standards to keep a woman safe from rape, as AG Brown has mounted “vigorous” defense against her lawsuit and lawmakers sideline meaningful reform.

March 8, 2025

Inspire Investing, founded by Netzly in 2015, is one of several financial firms specializing in what’s known as biblically responsible investing—a rapidly growing, socially conservative form of Christian faith-based investing that steers Christians, no matter how well-intentioned they may be, away from investing in companies that support or promote various LGBTQ rights or inclusive policies for the community.

This was re-published by The 19th* on March 20, 2025 and Gay Times on March 26, 2025.

March 7, 2025

Moving on isn’t easy—even if that’s just online. Exactly two months after Zuck announced a new, watered-down hateful confuct policy for Meta, I present to you the stories of three people who have been forced to find new digital homes in response.

In this new piece from me for Slate, I spoke queer netizens who have chosen to push back how they can on a policy which expressly allows users to call us mentally ill, or call for the exclusion of the LGBTQIA community from significant areas of public life, and the impact this has had on their lives.

February 22, 2025

Ahead of my investigation into biblically responsible investing, I produced an interview with Robert Netzly, CEO of Inspire Investing—the biggest BRI firm. Hosted by Spencer Macnaughton, Netzly discusses his company’s approach to what the refer to as “LGBT activism” and why work isn’t the place for it, as well as Inspire’s influence in Meta’s decision to roll back protections for LGBTQIA+ users.

December 1, 2024

Kristen Waggoner is the President and CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQIA+ hate group. Waggoner has had a long and impactful career which has involved bringing a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple to the Supreme Court, advocating for so-called conversion therapy—and defending people who practice it, pushing (and pushing) the anti-LGBTQIA+ agenda on mainstream network news including ABC, CNN, Fox, and even daytime darling The View, and, most recently, fighting fierecely and staunchly against the rights of trans people to participate in sports, and to learn about ourselves in the classroom.

For Unclosted Media I put together the first in-depth look at Waggoner’s entire track record on LGBTQIA+ rights.

In December 2024, this story was republished by Gay Times, featured on MSNBC’s Ayman and in The Stranger in December 2024.

October 27, 2024

As the election looms ever closer, issues of healthcare and self-determination for trans people are being pushed further front-and-center by candidates. Doing so has been a costly endeavor, particularly for Donald Trump—who has spent over $15 million on anti-trans ads, including one where the narrator says “Kamala is for they/them, Trump is for You.”

Over the past few months I have been investigating the money behind this messaging + more. Timothy Mellon, who is Trump’s biggest donor, has given over $225 million since 2022. From Yale graduate to Republican-funder-extraordinaire, this is the story of Mellon’s millions and what he really thinks about marginalized communities in the US.

From me + the team at Uncloseted Media read How Timothy Mellon’s Wealth is Supercharging the Trump Campaign’s Anti-LGBTQ Attacks.

September 14, 2024

An Uncloseted Media investigation has found that at least six Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate groups hold what’s known as Economic and Social Council consultative status. Photo: United Nations media affairs.

This story was republished in Gay Times on December 12, 2025.

I sometimes like writing things, so this is where you’ll find that. Various writings for self publication.