The Log Books - premium

Tash entertains Adam with ghost rivers - natural waterways that get diverted or covered by cities. It’s a subject that has fed into Tash’s recent poetry and other writing, linking the natural world with queer experience and city life.

Tash meets the artist Sean McKenzie as he prepares to open his new exhibition, The Night Shift, at the Pale Horse Gallery in London . Like us, Sean has used Switchboard’s log books for his research into making work about queer lives — producing exquisite set pieces and photographs.

Tash interviews Jenny Moore and Bianca Stephens from F*Choir , one of London’s longest running queer choirs, as the project prepares to wind down after a decade. It’s a bittersweet conversation about singing, memory and queer bodies. Mentioned in this episode:

Adam bares all! In this episode, Tash interviews Adam about how he uses porn. It opens up a rabbit hole, so to speak, about culture, politics, loneliness, queer identity — and the question: what kind of sex do YOU want to have? Mentioned in this episode:

Tash interviews Lynne Gerber who is the host and producer of the podcast series When We All Get to Heaven . We hear how Lynne found boxes of old cassettes from decades ago that reveal a forgotten queer history of the Metropolitan Community Church in San Francisco. Books mentioned in this episode:

You might love William Morris and his fancy wallpaper... but did you know about his daughter, May Morris? She did many of the famous textile designs, and was a poet, artist, writer and socialist activist. Her life story is fascinating. 

When Bill Hartwell started selling poppers online he was surprised to discover that payment companies didn’t want his business. In this exclusive interview with Adam, Bill bares all... about the sexual politics of modern banking.

Adam got to meet the artist David Shenton and get a sneak peek of his retrospective exhibition at Norwich Castle and Museum. David’s 50+ year career is filled with wit, humour, LGBTQ+ politics, and wry observations — we loved to hear it all. 

Tash went for a haircut and took the mic along! Their barber is the marvellous LP, who talked to Tash about seeing clients who are fed up with the way they’re boxed in by their previous hairdressers and barbers. 

You’ve not seen queer nightlife until you’ve seen it through the lens of the photographer Linden. Adam met Stuart , the man behind the lens, to talk about what it was like to take so many iconic photos, and why it’s important to capture queer nightlife. Check out Linden’s photos on Instagram and the book, Out and About with Linden .

A stack of letters written by trans people asking for help in the 90s is an essential piece of queer history. The letters are rightly kept confidentially, but a year ago we were given special access to make a sound art piece using them. Today we’re marking the anniversary of that work, which was produced by Tash and Arlie Adlington, with contributions from Jesse Lawson, Kamari Romeo, naafi, and Im...

Tash went along to Hastings for a tour of Lemons, Laws and Secret Doors — an exhibition made by a local queer collective all about their history. There was so much to discover! Tash and Adam are running a writing workshop at Joelle Taylor’s Maryville salon this weekend - tickets here !

Adam takes Tash on a deep dive of the artist FKA twigs: her style, her drive, her weirdness, and of course her delicious music. We covered the full range of her career and why she’s an icon for queers, women and weirdos. We love you, twigs! Discussed in this episode:

Tash got a tour of Bradford’s queer history with Alice Parsons, who runs the city’s Castles in the Sky project. We learnt all about the local Switchboard, the gay arts festival, the lesbian support line, and how these all stem from Bradford’s radical politics. Discussed in this episode:

Tash has tuned into the secret sounds of electricity pylons (no, really) and discovered something unique about human connection and queer experience. We learnt about ‘sferics’ and about static electricity in the air, and how it affects us all. Discussed in this episode:

Tash went down to Kings Cross in London to visit the newly re-opened Queer Britain museum. From nightclubs like Club Kali to footballers like Justin Fashanu, from the painter Carrington to dyke-themed folk songs, the museum captures every part of queer life. Thanks to Jennifer Shearman (curator) and Beau Brannick (assistant curator) and everyone at Queer Britain. -Adam + Tash

It feels like life is pulling many of us down at the moment — so we asked each other: what do you do to stay afloat? We discuss swimming, solo cinema trips, birds and well-stocked food cupboards. The queer future starts here?

Every Easter in San Francisco, there’s a competition to find the best hunky Jesus. We didn’t go to it, BUT we spoke to Sister Roma, one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the order of queer nuns that organises it. AND to filmmaker Jennifer Kroot who’s just made a film about the sisters and their search for hunky Jesus.  -Adam + Tash

Why have one adolescence when you can have two? That’s the reality for many LGBTQ+ people. So let’s talk about what happens when you come out (or let people in), and unleash a whole new era on yourself. Sex, friendships, romance, lifestyle — all these things are up for grabs again a second time around for many queer people. Why is that? And what does psychology research say about it? -Adam + Tash...

We’ve got a star guest this week! Tino Orsini is a versatile character actor — you might have seen him playing the artist Banksy in Ted Lasso. For his next trick he’ll be on stage performing an intimate solo show about his own dark past. It’s all based around the time he tried to make it in Hollywood. We loved hearing Tino’s reflections on immigration, addiction, sex, family secrets and, of course...

Tash has been reading some intriguing studies about the psychology of lab rats — and has discovered something about themself in the process. So let’s talk about it! Join us while we gnaw on the topics of cages (real and imagined), being queer, and the power of nature. -Adam + Tash

We make no secret that we’re obsessed with queer history and heritage. So in this episode Tash met Shoun Obana who’s created a zine called Inherent Vice, “for heritage professionals and enthusiasts alike”.  We’ve also got a poem by Tash, Dear Section 28. -Adam + Tash

Sometimes you read a book and feel ‘this is a bit of me!’ That’s how we both felt reading An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail, so we wanted to talk about it. It’s a book about friendship, across generations, and the power of queer solidarity. So it also led us to two recent photography exhibitions too. -Adam + Tash

Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside… Tash went for a swim (Adam went to the cafe), but we BOTH went to the Margate Queer Library and Archive, which is run by Sé Malaïka Nomyo. We also met Jen Scott, aka SHELLY GROTTO, who also told us about her work on Margate and Thanet’s queer history. Discussed in this episode: Space: Margate Queer Library and Archive Video: New Rumours on YouTube -Adam + T...

We’re relaunching your favourite podcast!  We’re Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, and EVERY WEEK we get together to talk about history, politics, art and LGBTQ+ life.