QueerAF | Inspiring LGBTQIA+ stories told by emerging queer creatives

This week, on QueerAF in an episode from our mentoring programme for Trans+ History Week, we’re going to trace back in recent history where body standards for both gay and trans men come from, how they show up, and challenge labels from drag acts to gym bros. It’s a nuanced discussion, especially when we think about how the labels we use in the queer community - often mean different things, depend...

In 1870, Fanny ‘Fredrich’ Park and Stella ‘Ernest’ Boulton were arrested at the Strand Theatre by three undercover policemen and prosecuted for violating the Offences Against Persons Act of 1861 – aka, Solicitation for Sodomy. They also left behind rare visual sources of their cross-dressing, which are managed by the national archives. Alongside their letters and the trial where they were found no...

We live in an era where algorithms are filtering queer and Trans+ stories, and worse - where whole archives of LGBTQIA+ content are being deleted. Ahead of us may be worse, active rhetoric and regimes that seek to erase us in public life too. How do we fight back, in small ways, by saving Trans+ stories now, for future generations? Historian Dr Rebecca Jane Morgan, director of Trans+ Solidarity Al...

The use of anti-trans rhetoric perpetuated by United States government officials is designed to distract from the wider, growing authoritarianism. That's long been understood by liberation leaders from Sylvia Rivereria to Miss Major, who knew no one is free until everyone is free. And that means starting with some of the most marginalised people: Black, Trans+, incarcerated women. Episode Cre...

In Three Days Grace, Nick begins the story frozen in the gathering dusk of his cramped Parisian room, perched on the edge of his chair in nothing but glacier-white briefs. What unfolds, over just three days is a story that begs big questions of queer life. How do we live a life without acceptance? Are there people beyond grace? What do actions we make under great pressure say about us? We sit down...

Lou Sullivan is known to many as a first. One of the first openly gay trans men in public life, widely considered the first known case of a trans man developing AIDS, and later the first trans man known to die of an AIDS-related illness. His story, his legacy, is a complex one, though. A pioneer of history and archiving, as well as on the front lines of HIV advocacy, we look back at his life at a...

In their first appearance together, 2004 Big Brother UK winner Nadia Almada (she/her) and 2025 Big Brother UK housemate Zelah Glasson (he/him) revealed new details about their experiences, how they were treated by production teams – and how little has changed behind the camera in 20 years. As a rare interview with Nadia Almada, she shared iconic stories behind the scenes of her time in the house,...

We need to shut down the lies the anti-trans movement tell. The best way to do that? With queer journalism, and our history. This season on the QueerAF podcast, as we mark ten years of bringing you award-winning documentaries and live podcast events, we’re back with our trademark approach. https://www.wearequeeraf.com/podcast/ Investing in LGBTQIA+ talent to build their media careers, buying them...

In a hostile enviroment for Trans+ rights and a year of rollbacks of rights since the Supreme Court ruling on the Equality Act will be a sharp focus, for 12,500 Trans+ people, allies, and some of the UK’s most loved household names as they gather in Wembley Arena on March 11th 2026, for Transmission Live - a significant intervention from the music industry, and changemakers to bring allies togethe...

Roberta Cowell, or Betty might have been born into a strict, religious family - but her history, is one with many lessons. She shows us that Trans+ people are more than just their identity. That Trans+ people deserve to tell their own stories. That, as Sabah Choudrey wrote in this year’s Trans+ History Week workbook lesson about her - “while positive trans representation matters, you don’t need to...

Reed Erickson was an eccentric trans multimillionaire who transitioned in the US in the 1950s. Erickson’s access to wealth and relationship to trans healthcare went on to greatly shape how Western gender clinics developed from the 1960s onwards. In this episode, Vic Parsons explores that link, and unpacks what we can learn from the story of a vastly influencial figure in gender affirming care mode...

This year, for the first time since tracking of it began - Trans+ rights in Europe retracted, instead of grew. In the UK, hate crimes towards trans people are up nearly 1400% in the last decade. Meanwhile, as hate plays out on the streets - the addiction in some parts of the media to hateful, clickbait headlines that drive attention to news providers, but division in communities all over the world...

First produced and published in 2018, in the British Podcast Awards nominated Season Two of QueerAF - Support our work After Sean Allsop produced this episode, one of his first paid documentary audio commissions, he’s gone on to have an illustrious career making documentaries for the BBC, The World Service, Virgin Radio, Absolute Radio: And a vast number of them about the LGBTQIA+ community. ...

Back on our feeds, the collaboration you've missed since 2020. We've loved collaborating with Historical Homos again, who have launched a podcast since we last worked with them to mark the 50th anniversary of Stonewall . In this episode, we bring you an introductory package, before handing the reigns over to Sebastian Hendra, for the usual Historical Homos format in this collab episode of the Quee...

This week we’re sharing the conversation we recorded at the Trans+ History Week community event 2025, with the theme: How do we tell our history, so we can all learn from it? It might have taken place back in May but, well lets face it even before this year’s Trans+ History Week , which is held in the first full week in May each year - the UK’s Supreme Court decision on the definition of a woman i...

 “Ballroom is liberation, it's queer history, it's trans history, it's power, it's fashion, it's sex, it's dance, it's music, it's love, it's hate, it's everything that you need in order to survive as a queer person in this world, especially as a queer person of colour.” You may know ballroom from the legendary show “Pose” or “Paris is Burning” but this beautiful home curated for and by queer...

CW: This episode contains themes of a sexual nature, including references to kink Who do you think you are? A universal tension exists in an acute way for trans people, our dependency on other people for recognition, part of how identity works is laid bare in the struggle for trans liberation. Perhaps not better explained by examinig not just any simple piece of cloth, but the very queer and Trans...

How can we use stories as part of the fight back against anti-LGBTQIA+ narratives? At an acute time for our community, stories are a powerful tool to unpack prejudice and set a better narrative for queer communities. But what can the media industry do differently, and how can we do this in the audio and podcast space? Join us for an insider goss look at what it's like to tackle this question as a...

There perhaps isn’t a more British way, to say - gender is a construct - than with Shakespeare is there? So put aside your stack of sonnets, go stick on the kettle, brew a cuppa, and let Shevek Imogen Fodor tell you about the gender foolery that took place in Shakespearean England and ignited and already ember burning flame of gender diversity on stage in the UK's most hallowed theatre institution...

Lynn Conway pioneered the technology that makes it possible to use the device you're about to listen to this podcast on now. She even coined a term for why her story has been forgotten, ignored and erased. With a contribution to computer science in almost parallel importance to Alan Turing, producer Chuck Copenspire explains the Connway Effect of why her story is only just beginning to be celebrat...

Abigail Thorn is currently filming a new role as a trans femme action star, she revealed at the Trans+ History Week community event on a live recording of the QueerAF podcast. The actor, who is known for her roles in the Game Of Thrones (House Of The Dragon, Sharako Lohar) and Star Wars (The Acolyte, Ensign Eurus) universes, said:  “I can't say what it is, but I am about to start filming...

Do you know who Lynn Conway is? Without her work on the microchip - you wouldn’t be listening to this podcast. Did you know that there are genderqueer ballroom voguing scenes in both India and Wales? How much do you know about the eccentric Reed Erikson, who funded research into dolphin telepathy and pioneering gender-affirming surgeries when no one else would?  This season on the award-winni...

To celebrate 20 years of National Student Pride - in 2025, we were back on stage as a media sponsor, for a special live recording for a panel about disability and healthcare in the queer community. It was particularly special because the last time we covered the topic in this way, it was also at Student Pride - check back for the Access All Rainbows episode in season four for that. ...

Figures like Wendy Carlos not only defined the genre but were also instrumental in developing the modern synthesizer. Meanwhile, SOPHIE redefined the boundaries of pop and experimental music. And then there are the musicians and sound artists working today. All Trans+. Learning about how they came to their craft, exploring where they have blurred the lines between music and other mediums as well a...

Rehangs at art museums are rare. The last one at Tate Britain was in 2012. Whilst galleries will make small changes to their on-display collections, these are small, only happen every few months and usually happen for specific reasons (such as an item going on loan to another gallery). But each rehang gives an art gallery to make a statement on what its mission as an institution is. A statement th...