The Quilt: Living memories of queer Britain & Northern Ireland An audio exhibition open to anyone, anywhere, at any time of day, produced and hosted by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith. Born from a collaboration between the producers of the award-winning podcast The Log Books and the UK’s first and only LGBTQ+ museum Queer Britain, challenges who and what makes queer history. The series takes the listener on a journey across the UK, collecting queer memories, from queer people. T...
Nov 12, 2024•5 min•Season 3Ep. 14
We'd love to introduce you to this new podcast we've been working Queer Roots and Routes! Queer Roots and Routes is made by a collective. We are queer. We are migrants or descended from migrants. And we want to tell our stories. Stories of where we’ve come from and how we move in the world today. We don’t have a boss or a Beyoncé. So each episode of this six-part first series of Queer Roots and Routes has a different host and a different set of voices from our group. Our promise to you is ...
Apr 04, 2023•48 sec•Season 3Ep. 13
We'd love to introduce you to this new podcast Black and Gay, Back in the Day which brings to life a photo archive of Black LGBTQIA+ life in Britain, from the 1970s through to the early 2000s. Each episode is an intergenerational journey focusing on a key photograph from the archive - joining stories of the past, with those of today. Marc Thompson is the gentle, inquisitive and warm guide to the archive, helping a rotation of younger Black LGBTQIA+ co-hosts navigate these often...
Oct 02, 2022•3 min•Season 3Ep. 12
In this bonus episode made for Nothing Concrete, the podcast of London's Barbican, Tash and Adam riffle through many more items from LGBTQ+ history. The Bishopsgate Institute doesn't just look after the amazing Switchboard log books — they also hold gay badges, protest placards, intimate photo albums and historical trackie tops. Forty of these items are being displayed in the free exhibition Out and About! at the Barbican in London from February 28th to March 21st. To mark the occ...
Feb 23, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 11
This is it! After three seasons covering 1974 to 2003, Tash and Adam reach the final page in the log books in Switchboard’s archive. In this closing episode of The Log Books, Adam and Tash reflect on all the stories they’ve heard across the three years making this podcast. They also bring to light one type of log book entry that has not yet been covered in the podcast, and listen to young people who are living our queer futures. Thank YOU, our amazing listeners, for joining us on this moving, em...
Jan 10, 2022•56 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Rubber? Feet? Piss? Flogging? Role play? What’s your kink? In this episode Tash and Adam listen to dozens of dirty stories from the LGBTQI+ community in the 90s. From the publicly funded multi-gender kink night at the London Lesbian and Gay Centre to people wearing nappies and S&M dykes — this episode is raw, sexy, hilarious... and you’ll never be the same again. We also speak to Alex (the DJ Kiwi) from Crossbreed and Matt Skully about running kinky events and club nights today. Content warn...
Jan 03, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 9
In the 90s more and more lesbians called Switchboard to ask where they could get hold of sperm. All sorts of LGBTQI+ people in the period sought to make families outside of conventional methods and constraints. In this episode, Tash and Adam hear stories from the people who pioneered queer family-making. We also catch-up with some folks who have their own experiences and opinions on what queer family means to them today. Content warning: homophobia Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from B...
Dec 27, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 8
There is still so much work to be done in making sure LGBTQI+ people with disabilities have what they need, but the 90s saw a definite shift in the right direction. Legal change, growing awareness, and a place at the front of the Pride march. In this episode, Tash and Adam hear from queer disability rights campaigners and, of course, Switchboard volunteers about handling calls about intersecting identities. They also catch up with Erin Ekins about the experience of being queer and neurodivergent...
Dec 20, 2021•50 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Understanding and awareness of various gender identities grew from 1992 to 2003, and more and more trans people called Switchboard for support. This episode offers a fascinating insight into how the LGBTQI+ community evolved over the period, and how trans people grew stronger in asserting their identities. Essential listening for anyone interested in the recent history of gender and queer identity. Tash and Adam also hear from Steph Fuller, the general manager of Switchboard, about the nature of...
Dec 13, 2021•54 min•Season 3Ep. 6
On April 30th 1999, the Admiral Duncan gay pub in Soho was bombed by a homophobic Nazi. The attack followed a series of calls to Switchboard threatening violence. In this episode, Adam, Tash and volunteers at the helpline tell the story of the bombing from the phone room, as volunteers rushed to support the LGBTQI+ community. We also hear from John Sizzle, who runs The Glory pub in east London, on creating safer queer spaces today. Content warning: homophobic language, and stories of hate crime ...
Dec 06, 2021•52 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Remember how you felt when you first saw the lesbian kiss on Brookside? Or *those* scenes in Queer As Folk? This episode is a tour through the landmark television moments for queer people from 1992 to 2003. Taking in Hayley in Coronation Street and even the calls to Switchboard following a gay storyline on Peak Practice, Tash, Adam and contributors discuss the importance of TV representation, with a few laughs along the way. We also feature a conversation between producers Stella Merz...
Nov 29, 2021•55 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Because Switchboard is set up to support people around matters of sexuality, volunteers sometimes take difficult calls from paedophiles and those who have been the victims of abuse. In this episode, Tash and Adam hear from Switchboard volunteers in the 90s about taking those calls, and how they supported people in these awful situations. This episode also features an interview with Oliver, a Switchboard volunteer today reflecting on taking difficult calls. Content warning: paedophilia, rape, sex...
Nov 22, 2021•34 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In the 90s, if two men had sex and one was under 21, both could be imprisoned, while straight people could legally have sex at age 16. This inequality could not last, and that’s thanks to campaigners such as Hugo Greenhalgh and Euan Sutherland, supported by Stonewall. This is the story of their campaign to equalise the law, and of the Switchboard volunteers who helped. Tash and Adam also hear from Phil Samba, from Prepster and the Love Tank, about his work on campaigning around queer sex today. ...
Nov 15, 2021•53 min•Season 3Ep. 2
The internet began to revolutionise LGBTQI+ life in the 1990s: chat rooms, emails, and of course dating websites. In this first episode of the third season of The Log Books, Tash and Adam pull out stories from the archive at Switchboard - the LGBT+ Helpline about people who called to talk about how the internet was changing their experience of sexuality and gender. They hear memories of early online photo searches and hook-ups arranged via chat rooms. And YouTuber Jake Edwards who grew up making...
Nov 08, 2021•36 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Tash and Adam are back, with 11 all-new weekly episodes covering LGBTQI+ life from 1992 to 2003, using calls made to Switchboard in that period. In this opening teaser episode, Tash and Adam visit two special locations to explain what’s coming up in the season. They also play clips from the forthcoming episodes, from the lesbians looking for sperm donors to the kinky group for people who like dressing up as babies. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBTQI+ history and conve...
Nov 01, 2021•9 min
Season three of The Log Books launches next week, November 1st, with eleven all-new episodes covering 1992 to 2003, released weekly. FOR NOW — just before our third season begins — we want to share one of our inspirations. Making Gay History . This is such a special podcast to us at The Log Books, for showing us how to bring LGBTQI+ history to life sensitively, now working on its tenth season. To give you a taste of Making Gay History , we’re dropping one of our favourite episodes right here. In...
Oct 25, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 13
News! We’re making season three of The Log Books because we’ve received a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. While you wait, here’s an episode of Call Me Mother, another podcast, featuring an interview with Sandra Caldwell, a 67-year-old actor who was forced to hide part of herself for 40 years. We loved hearing Sandra tell her story to Shon Faye, with such warmth and wisdom, and we think you will too. We’ll be back with the third season of The Log Books later in 2021... ...
Apr 20, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 12
We have so many fascinating stories for our final episode of the season: a lesbian who helped a gay immigrant to stay legally in the UK, a gay refugee who fled Syria, an Indian who learnt that cruising is different in India, Canada and the UK, and a British Indian who built mixed dance nights for London’s range of cultures. Tash and Adam hear about the people who phoned Switchboard for advice on how to live, love and work in the UK, and from a range of contributors with different perspectives on...
Jan 25, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 11
After a gay bookshop was raided by customs officers in 1984, the booksellers fought back. This is the story of censorship and community solidarity, and it is not the only one in this episode. Tash and Adam explore the actions of the British state to stop people from seeing things that were considered obscene in the 80s. We also feature a story from people whose magazines and posters were seized, and Adam even sings a song. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and...
Jan 18, 2021•50 min•Season 2Ep. 10
From 1983 to 1991, calls to Switchboard about rape and domestic violence increased in number. So in this episode Tash and Adam hear some of those stories and ask volunteers from the time to share their experience of supporting survivors. This episode also features an account of how Switchboard evolved in order to improve how it handled calls about violence, and an update on how these matters are handled today by GALOP, the LGBT+ anti-violence charity. Content warning: domestic violence, abusive ...
Jan 11, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 9
It wasn’t easy being young in the Eighties! Tash and Adam read log book entries and hear stories about growing up, looking for help, and even a teenager who took the government to court. We also catch up with the changes happening around relationships and sex education in schools right now, via Kaley Foran from The Key. Content warning: Suicide, sexual consent and under-age sex. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produ...
Jan 04, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In 1988 the British government passed explicitly anti-gay legislation. Through log book entries from Switchboard, Tash and Adam return to the scene: lawmakers spaffing about what constitutes a family, gay teachers zipping up and living in fear, and bewildered young people with seemingly nowhere to turn to for advice. This episode is filled with untold stories about Section 28 of the Local Government Act and the censorship of LGBTQ+ lives — and concludes with the joyous launch of a new kids’...
Dec 28, 2020•37 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Lipstick on the windscreen to tackle homophobia — just one of the stories in this latest episode from 1983 to 1991. Tash and Adam focus on the hostility in the air during this period, from people using HIV/AIDS as a reason for their prejudice to tensions within Catholic families. We conclude by speaking to Hafsa Qureshi about her experience as a bisexual Muslim woman today. Content warning: attacks on LGBTQ+ people and biphobia. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ histo...
Dec 21, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Every time anything to do with LGBTQ+ life was mentioned on TV or in the newspaper in the 80s, Switchboard volunteers took extra calls. In this episode, Tash and Adam speak to the people behind TV programmes and newspaper columns, and hear about the feverish atmosphere that led to anti-gay legislation in 1988. The section on today has two very special guests: our very own Shivani Dave, and Simon McCallum from the BFI National Archive, both comparing the media today with 1983 to 1991. Content war...
Dec 14, 2020•55 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Some light and laughter in our fourth episode of this season! Tash and Adam hear memories of joy and strength from 1983 to 1991, through the log books at Switchboard and stories from people who remember those years. We also feature the Lesbian Strength Marches, Switchboard’s one-millionth call and an interview with Thigh High, the band who centre their music on queer joy. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produc...
Dec 07, 2020•39 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Bottling attacks and cruel newspaper editorials — this is the story of how the HIV/AIDS crisis hit the LGBTQ+ community in the 80s. Through Switchboard’s unique log book entries, Tash and Adam also uncover the story of a very special volunteer who handled the hardest calls you can imagine. This episode concludes the three-part set of episodes on HIV/AIDS in Season Two, before we move on to other stories found in the log books. Content warning: Illness, death, archaic language, and ill-treatment ...
Nov 30, 2020•50 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Tash and Adam continue exploring the HIV/AIDS crisis through the calls made to Switchboard from 1983 to 1991, in this second of three episodes on the subject. This episode contains memories of Switchboard volunteer Mark Ashton, more from George, and further log book entries from the anonymous volunteer looking for others with an HIV diagnosis. We also have untold stories about the UK government’s official public health campaign from 1987 and words from Dr Tristan Barber on the status of HIV prev...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 2
This is the story of the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as it has never been told before: through the voices and notes of the people who took phone calls made to an LGBTQ+ helpline. From 1983 to 1991, Switchboard volunteers supported people living with HIV, their loved ones, and people scared of it. In the first of three special episodes that start Season Two of The Log Books, Tash and Adam hear from survivors, a nurse and a doctor, and the people who were among the first to tackle what be...
Nov 16, 2020•57 min•Season 2Ep. 1
The award-winning podcast The Log Books returns for Season Two! Our brand-new set of episodes cover 1983 to 1991, continuing where Season One left off in 1982. As always, our re-telling of Britain’s history is led by the handwritten notes made by volunteers at Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. In this short episode, hosts Tash and Adam return to the Switchboard log books by visiting two locations that are integral to LGBTQ+ history in these years. We hope you’re as excited as we are about ...
Nov 02, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. -1
Season 2 of The Log Books is coming soon... Our unique exploration of the UK’s queer history through the pages of Switchboard’s log books will be strong, reflective and antiviral! If you’d like to support our work in bringing season 2 to life, you can contribute financially at supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks . In this preview episode, Tash, Adam and Shivani welcome you into their production process for their next full season. The behind-the-scenes glimpse features old and new voices talking abou...
Jun 29, 2020•28 min•Season 2Ep. -1
