Well, Well, Well

Sarah Hiley, Drug Checking Director at The Loop Australia joins Jack to discuss the Victorian Pill Testing Service and its role in harm‑reduction. The service will be present at Victoria’s Pride Street Party, offering a safe, non‑judgmental space for festival‑goers to have their substances tested. Sarah walks us through the testing process, from anonymous sample submission to rapid results, and hi...

Jack speaks with Julai Diesel ahead of the THH Vogue Night event running during Midsumma and discuss what the ballroom scene looks like in Melbourne, where it serves as a survival‑focused, queer‑affirming community built around competition, performance, and chosen family. They speak about the House of Diesel’s origins, its partnership with Thorne Harbour Health, and the ways Australian house...

Wise Words returns this Midsumma to feature a line-up of some of Australia’s most prominent and talented LGBTIQ+ women (trans and non-binary inclusive) for an evening of intergenerational storytelling. Candy Bowers will MC this year’s edition and we hear about her background in acting, production, writing, and more. Grab tickets to Wise Words on the Midsumma website: https://www.midsum...

Dylan from the City of Yarra and Tex McKenzie speak about the Yarra Queer History Walk, a guided tour that traces Melbourne’s queer‑footprints through Fitzroy, Collingwood and Abbotsford. Jack is also joined by Rachel Cook and Chiron Hooson from Thorne Harbour to discuss the Community Periodic Surveys, our presence at Carnival, and more. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health...

Jack, Jake and Thorne Harbour Health Events Coordinator Chiron Hooson walk through a whirlwind 2025. We revisit events from Midsumma Festival, murder‑mystery parties and regional pride pop‑ups, to a record‑breaking World AIDS Day Red Ribbon Run and the revival of Northside Bazaar. Gus from Thorne Harbour’s family violence counselling team adds a quick roundup of the work their team does, 657...

Molly Boorman from Thorne Harbour Health unpacks holiday wellbeing for LGBTIQ+ folk, from family driven stress to managing alcohol and other drug use. Molly shares practical tools like self compassion, safety planning, group peer support and when to access services like Direct Line, Rainbow Door and Lifeline. She also speaks with Jack and Jake about online intake options and the importance of crea...

Cal talks with South Australian Legislative Council Member Ian Hunter about the murder of George Duncan that ignited South Australia’s push to decriminalise male homosexuality in 1975. Ian walks us through the behind the scenes lobbying by students, academic, law societies, and politicians that turned this historic event into legislative reform. He also explains how early AIDS activism blended com...

In the final episode of our 16 Days of Activism series, we’re turning to the health and support systems themselves. We talk about how mainstream family violence services can better support queer clients and what the sector can learn from the community led response with Gus and Vincent from Thorne Harbour Health. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at  jo...

Ending intimate partner and gender violence means supporting those who use harm to change. In this episode we explore what that looks like in queer relationships with Gus and Vincent from Thorne Harbour Health’s family violence counselling team. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at  joy.org.au/wellwellwell . If there’s something you’d like us to explor...

Leaving a violent relationship is just the start. As we mark the 16 Days of Activism, we’re talking about what it takes to heal and how this journey might be different for queer people. We’re joined this episode by lived experience expert Alex as well as Gus and Vincent from Thorne Harbour Health to discuss this important topic. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ heal...

Sharna Ciotti and Lili K join us from Adelaide to discuss the recently released South Australian Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Report. We also discuss Thorne Harbour Health’s new Family and Domestic Violence services which are tailored to our diverse LGBTIA+ communities. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwel...

We’re joined by Bruce Fitzgerald, a proud member of Mob+, a unique group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with HIV, supported through the Thorne Harbour Positive Living Centre. With World AIDS Day just behind us and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HIV Awareness Week underway, it’s the perfect time to talk about the group. Bruce is here to help us understand why M...

Continuing our 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence series, we’re discussing Unseen Abuse. Joel is joined again by Vincent and Gus from Thorne Harbour Health to learn more about what Unseen Abuse is, how it might look, and how to seek help. If this episode has raised any issues for you, help is available. 1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselli...

What is Family of Origin Violence and how does it affect our LGBTQIA+ communities? Joel speaks with Gus and Vincent from Thorne Harbour Health about this issue in light of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. If this episode has raised any issues for you, help is available. 1800RESPECT is the national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and supp...

A growing body of research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and other sexuality and gender-diverse (LGBTQ+) people experience disproportionately high levels of sexual violence. However, there is limited understanding of the characteristics and contexts of those who use sexual violence against LGBTQ+ individuals. Crossing Lines from the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health, and...

We discuss the LGBTIQA+ Health, Wellbeing, and Inclusion conference in Adelaide, Better Together and hear from presenters at the show including: Connor McLeod about Ohanga Rearea , a queer inclusion framework based on Maori storytelling, Leigh Andrew Hill from outinperth.com about the future of LGBTIQA+ media, and Polly Parker from TheyConnect about their Pride Tolerance Compass for brands and mar...

In the final episode of our series reflecting on 20 years and 1000 episodes of Well Well Well, we speak with Jason Asselin previously of the Victorian AIDS Council about the show circa 2010. Jason walks us through a time before PrEP where social media was in its early days and the innovative work VAC (now Thorne Harbour Health) did in this space. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ...

Show alum Renee Thompson joins us as guest co-host on a walk down memory lane circa 2015, discussing the Marriage Equality debate and Thorne Harbour’s shift from HIV and gay men’s health to the broader LGBTIQA+ communities. We also hear from outgoing Thorne Harbour Health CEO Simon Ruth about his 12 years at the organisation and the issues affecting our communities during that time. Ch...

Continuing our celebration of 20 years of Well Well Well, we’re revisiting a bit closer to home this episode: 2020. Michael Whelan joins Jack and Cal as guest cohost to discuss sex and intimacy during the COVID lockdown periods, as well as Sextech. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at  joy.org.au/wellwellwell . If there’s something you’d like us to exp...

Well Well Well has been broadcasting for over 20 years and now 1000 episodes! Jack and Cal are joined by Tex McKenzie and Martin Holt to speak about the health and wellbeing of our communities back in 2005 when the show first began. We also discuss the impact of another long running project, the GBQ+ (previously just Gay) Community Periodic Survey, which has been running for 30 years. Check out ou...

Rachel is joined by Reah Saunders, the acting President of Dykes on Bikes to talk about the future of Dykes on Bikes, and what International Lesbian Day means to her personally, and to the community she rides with. Learn more about Dykes on Bikes at their website: https://dykesonbikesmelbourne.org.au/ Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at  joy.org.au/wellwell...

We continue our coverage from the Australasian Society of HIV Medicines (ASHM) Conference with conversations. Joel speaks with Brooke and Rodrigo from the Burnett Foundation about the criminalisation of HIV in Aotearoa New Zealand. Leigh Boucher talks about a project from Macquarie University exploring the impact of the first years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in its Australian epicentre, Darlinghurst...

We head to Adelaide for the HIV and sexual health conference from the Australasian Society of HIV Medicine or ASHM. Ella from the Kirby Institute discusses the intersection of HIV with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. We also hear from Larisa and Carla from UNSW about the Stigma Indicators Monitoring Project for people living with HIV . Lastly, Dr Rona Carroll from the University...

Each episode, Big Bi+ Questions on JOY tackles topics for the Bi+ community like “Am I still bisexual if I have a preference in gender,” “do I have to come out as bi+,” or “Why can’t we sit on chairs properly,” and answers them over the course of an hour. Rachel and Jordan are joined in the studio by Tamzyn and Jase to blast through a bunch of Big Bi+ Questions in the limited time they have with t...

We’ve recently seen a wave of targeted attacks where perpetrators used fake profiles to lure people before ambushing them with robbery, assault, and homophobic abuse. In response, Switchboard Victoria has launched a new dedicated helpline via the Rainbow Door service (details below) to support LGBTIQA+ people who’ve experienced violence linked to dating and meet-up apps. It’s a serious issue...