Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties

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This episodes first came out in 2024, and here's what I had to say about it: I love hearing people's stories of places that are close to their hearts - places where they spent tonnes of time, met lots of wonderful people, and figured out things about themselves. But, you know what else I love? When people want to talk about places that they HATED! And hate is maybe too strong a word for th...

This episode first appeared in 2024, and here's what I had to say... There's one question that gets asked in this week's episode that’s really stuck with me and that I continued to ponder even after we'd said our goodbyes and turned our microphones off... And that question is: how do you know when you have become the person that you’re supposed to be? By that I mean - at what point...

This episode was first shared in 2024, and here's what I had to say: I know there's always the risk with this show of completely romanticising queer spaces as these glistening oasis' of tolerance and acceptance. But, that's really not the case - despite how wonderful and freeing they can be, they can also be a bit shitty and exclusionary. And I was reminded of that this week when I...

I first shared this episode in 2024, and here's what I had to say: So, if you were to ask me to overly generalise and boil down the types of experiences that guests on this show have had when first accessing a queer space I'd say they neatly fit in to two categories: 1) there are those who feel instantly at home and like they've arrived. 2) there are those who feel like an outsider, or...

This episode first featured in 2022, and here's what I had to say: On this week's show we're talking to Lil Miss Hot Mess, who is as fun to talk to as her name is to say! Coming up in the San Francisco scene, Lil Miss got started at the legendary T-Shack, a night held at The Stud, which unfortunately we lost at the beginning of the pandemic. And, yes, you can rest assured that you'...

One of the things I love doing most about this show is, obviously, getting the chance to learn about different people's experiences and circumstances.  But, within that, there's often a really nice reminder of how nobody's journey is the same.  There are so many ways to come out, there are so many ways to fall in love, and there are all of these different ways in which a space can be i...

This episode was first shared in 2023, and here's what I had to say: You know how sometimes these conversations are only very, very, very tenuously linked to a queer space, and in the intro I try and come up with some justification for why we didn't talk that much about it to prepare you for the episode ahead? Well, dear listener, this week I'm not even going to try to insult your inte...

This episode first featured in 2024, and here's what I had to say... The lyric to that very famous 80s TV theme song is 'sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name'. Whilst I think that's true I also think there are times where you want to go where nobody knows your name and where there's absolutely no risk of running in to anybody that you even vaguely know. It&#...

This episode first appeared in 2021, and here's what I said: It's our very first visit to the city where I grew up…. Adelaide! I got to sit down with the comedian Lori Bell to talk all about her experiences on Adelaide’s queer scene (all two venues!)… We talk all about first times, blow jobs on the dance floor, and I find out what the difference is between regular bingo and gay bingo…. 

This episode first appeared in 2021, and here's what I had to say about it: Simona Castricum is a musician, DJ and producer based in Melbourne, Australia. We caught up to talk about Hugs and Kisses, a night that ran in the 2010s and took advantage of the looser licensing laws that applied to the venue it was based in, which created this wonderful, hedonistic atmosphere reminiscent of the early...

This episode first appeared all the way back in 2021, and here's what I had to say about it: Have you ever had someone try to coax you out of the closet by asking the seemingly innocent question ‘is there anything you want to tell me?’?  Do you remember the anguish and pain of simply muttering the 3 or 4 words needed to just confirm their suspicions?  Well, if you have, I have a feeling you’ll...

This episode first featured in 2021 (!), and here's what I had to say about it then: This week we are talking to David Paisley, a Scottish actor known for roles in soap operas Holby City, and River City. He is also a tireless LGBTQ campaigner, recently being acknowledged with an Attitude Pride Award for his  campaigning against the trans-exclusionary agenda of the LGB Alliance. He first moved...

This episode first appeared in September 2023, and here's what I had to say about it: Sometimes I feel a bit dumb (or maybe just a bit sheepish) about some of the revelations I have through doing this show, especially since we're so close to 200 episodes (eek!) and I feel like I should know it all by now... But, then, on the other hand, the fact that I'm still learning so much is part...

This episode was first shared in 2023, and here's what I had to say about it: You know, in all of the time that we've been doing this show we've never featured a sauna... but that's about to change! Our very first sauna is ACI, which was in San Antonio, Texas. And, showing us around is the subversive queer rapper Chris Conde. Now, Chris was a military brat, and so they moved around...

Greatest hits episode! This conversation was first shared in 2023, and this is what I had to say about it: One of the things that I've noticed is fairly common in people who come out later in life is just how much of a hurry they are in to experience ALL of the queer shit they've missed out on... And that is what happened to this week's guest, podcaster and voice-over artist Phil Corin, who, upon...

Greatest hits episode! This conversation was first shared in 2023, and this is what I had to say about it: So, you know I love me a story about someone running away to figure out who they are. And, this week we have a doozy. Naomi Mourra, who is Sydney’s only Lebanese, lesbian, ex-Jehovah’s Witness, comedian, first came to London in the late 90s when she was trying to reconcile the thoughts she wa...

We're revisiting some of my favourite/most memorable/most impactful episodes throughout June! Sometimes I'm really taken aback by what an absolute privilege it is to do this job, and how people can be so open and honest with me. And I think it's a real honour that I get to help amplify the stories, and get the opportunity to really examine my own queerness and how that's shaped who...

It’s entirely possible that it’s just the contrarian in me, but I kind of love when I am talking to a guest who is like ‘been there, done that, do not want to go back’. Because, yes, I love hearing about queer nightlife, and how accessing those spaces helps you tap into something bigger than yourself, but it’s important not to over romanticise them. And, on top of that, it's always nice to be...

Ok, so this just might be the most obvious statement that I've ever made. And, that's really saying something, considering all of the clangers that I come out with... But... it's kind of incredible how much our family and our early years define us. Like, so much of who I am is because of who they are. And, vice versa, I suppose. But, there's something really interesting in the mess...

Have you ever decided that you were going to go celibate and swear off sex forever? Probably. It happens. Now, my follow up question - have you ever promised that you'd go celibate to... oh, i don't know, let's say,,,, thousands upon thousands of evangelical christians and then felt the weight of all of their expectations upon you whilst you're still trying to wrestle with your sex...

Do you remember the person that you were before you first had your heart broken? How you moved through the world? How you approached relationships and falling in love? Do you ever miss that person? This week I caught up with comedian Glo Butler, and though we sat down to talk about the Fab Lounge, a lesbian bar in Washington DC, what we talked about was the people she met there and how they change...

This week's episode feels like a bit of a culmination of different thoughts that have been bubbling up from recent conversations on the show. First, there’s my realisation that I’m more of a sponge than an island — and I know that sounds cryptic, but it’s really not. It's just this idea that who we are is shaped as much by what’s going on around us as it is by what’s inside us. Then there’s been a...

This week it's the story of The Copa, a club that was found (across two different sites) in Flint, Michigan between the years of 1980-1995 But, really, it's a love story. And the first scene in this love story just happened to be at The Copa.  And, who is here to tell us all about it? Why, it's the self-proclaimed 'professional homosexual' Greg R Baird, who is a Global Lecturer...

Subscribe to my newsletter Queer Word , where we explore and unpack a different queer word every week. You know how we talk about queer spaces as a place where you can just be yourself? And we talk about how liberating and exciting and freeing that is? Well, what if the opposite is also true? What if being someone else in a queer space is also really liberating? What if being someone else actually...