The subject line to the email read “What do you call a pair of drag queens from Missouri?” The text began: “This week, Maggie welcomes to the stage Alexa Pro [sic] and Artemis Gray, two young drag queens holding down the scene in rural Missouri. Discover the grit and tenacity behind this thriving queer oasis in the heart of the Show Me state!” LGBTQ Nation, perhaps? Nope: The story is from the PBS News Student Reporting Labs (SRL), a news outlet described as a “hands-on student journalism training program.” This latest episode, “How drag queens are creating safe spaces in Missouri,” was hosted by two apparently college-aged students (formerly the program was open only to 13-18 year olds, but the present requirements are vague). The brief episode was introduced on YouTube thusly: This episode of On Our Minds Road Trip takes us to Columbia, Missouri, where drag performers are building community, creating joy, and challenging stereotypes. Student producer Maggie LeBeau takes us inside the local drag scene, introducing us to performers like Alexxa Pro and Artemis Gray. They’re creating spaces of belonging, especially for young queer people who don’t always have one. (LeBeau is a college student at the University of Missouri, in Columbia.) The five-minute story opened with a few seconds of footage of a drag queen, presumably Alexxa Pro, on a makeshift catwalk, over narration from Alexxa Pro: “[In Columbia] it was watching queer people fight to find somewhere to celebrate.” After some pointless banter between the hosts came the segment from LeBeau. The tone was 100% affirmation of the subjects, while the tone toward red state Missourians was not so much hostile as condescending (people there are actually “complex and diverse”!). Voiceovers and matching text from LeBeau and her guests appeared over a pattern of unrelated sparkly graphics, not actual drag performances. Age-appropriate guideline, or cowardly cop-out? LeBeau lamented that “Although Columbia is more queer-friendly than the rest of the region, the town has had its ups and downs with the closing of many queer spaces. Alexxa says that drag shows can bring some of that queer joy and acceptance back.” Aren’t you glad you’re not paying for this anymore?