Zoe Coombs Marr gets advice. From her parents, her audience, her peers and her dentist. Some of it is good. Some is unusable stories about wafflecones. Zoe is a performer, writer, artist and comedian. She grew up in Grafton, where she and her best friend staged a musical instead of going to schoolies week. Zoe has performed stand up comedy extensively in Australia, the UK and New York. Her latest solo show, Trigger Warning , won the 2016 Melbourne International Comedy Barry Award as well as the ...
Feb 27, 2018•16 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast David Marr tells us how the inescapable truth finally dawned on him one day late in 1975. David has won four Walkley awards for journalism in his 45 year career. He's now at Guardian Australia and is widely regarded as one of Australia's most influential commentators. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com , and follow Queerstories on Facebook. The Queers...
Feb 20, 2018•13 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast Poet Candy Royalle on the road to belonging. Candy was an award winning writer, performance artist, poet, storyteller, activist, educator and vulnerability advocate. Candy's album “Birthing the Sky Birthing the Sea,” a collaboration with the band The Freed Radicals , explored a fusion of rock and roll, funk, experimental soundscapes, hip hop, poetry with song. She published two solo collections, “Love Spectacular” and “Heartbeats,” and toured extensively in Au...
Feb 13, 2018•11 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast Allison Gallagher explores the re-negotiation of their relationship to masculinity after coming out as trans. Allison is a writer and poet from Sydney. Their chapbook ' Parenthetical Bodies' was released in 2017 by Subbed In. Their poems have appeared in places like Overland, Potluck, Scum Mag and Moonsick, while other writing has appeared on i-D, The Sydney Morning Herald and Junkee. They also sing and play bass in the indie-punk band Sports Bra. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling ni...
Feb 06, 2018•10 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast Nell gives us a Blessing For One Who Is Exhausted, Hard On For Love, Artist's Prayer, Yellow Glove and banter. Nell's practice traverses performance, sculpture, music, and painting. Small, intimate objects are just as probable as immersive installations. In creating her dramatic, idiosyncratic works Nell draws on an eclectic selection of material, ranging from the sacred to the popular. Her great love of Rock ‘n' Roll and small joys manifest in artworks that are everyday meditations on wha...
Jan 30, 2018•11 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast George Tillianakis tells us a true story from 1999. George is a Sydney based video performance artist, composer, and musician. George has been active in the arts for over 15 years, exhibiting and performing in galleries internationally, most notably in New York City. George has written, produced, and released music, under the name Melodiqa , a solo electronic project that saw two albums released in 2016, Donuts , and Cry, Fuck, or Fight , and with indie band Chainsaw Melody . All music unde...
Jan 23, 2018•7 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast AJ Brown and Lisa Freshwater talk about healing the past through renovating a house and affirming gender. AJ is a landscape designer as well as an admin for a number of online groups including Trans Sydney Pride and Transgender International. Lisa is a co-founder of The Theatre Division . Currently her production of Miracle City is playing at the Sydney Opera House. Together, Lisa and AJ have a fifteen year old son and a boarder collie called Fergus. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling ...
Jan 16, 2018•9 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast Tilly Lawless talks about her experiences at a massage parlour she worked at and the fling she had with another working girl there. Tilly is a queer, Sydney-based sex worker who is passionate about horses, sex worker rights and feminism. She utilises her online platform to speak about her personal experiences within the sex industry, in an attempt to shine a light on the every day stigma that sex workers come up against. Growing up in rural NSW, her writing is often a bucolic love letter to the ...
Jan 09, 2018•10 min•Ep 44•Transcript available on Metacast Jordan Raskopoulos tells the sordid tale of her battle with the Logies. Jordan is a writer, comedian and singer. She's been on tele, she's toured the world with her band The Axis of Awesome , had a few viral hits and then had a supporting role in a telemovie about Julian Assange . Since coming out and transitioning she's also taken on a lot of speaking and advocacy work, hosting the ABC podcast This is About and creating content around issues such as Australia Day and Marriag...
Jan 01, 2018•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Theatre critics Cassie Tongue and Ben Neutze tell a story of musical theatre legends, glitter emerald eye-shadow, and pants-wetting in the presence of a Minogue. Cassie and Ben are two of Sydney's leading theatre critics and are among the most influential performing arts commentators in the country. Cassie writes regularly for Time Out Sydney and Guardian Australia , and Ben is Deputy Editor of Daily Review . Ben and Cassie bring intelligence, politics, feminism and a queer eye to the fine art o...
Dec 26, 2017•11 min•Ep 42•Transcript available on Metacast Bhenji Ra and Christina Radburn tell their story of being two sisters growing up and growing together. Christina is an award-winning independent film producer based in Melbourne. Bhenji is an interdisciplinary artist. She belongs to the collective Club Ate and she is the overall mother of the house of Slé, a western Sydney based community performance group. They grew up in Moruya, a small coastal town in NSW. They are sisters, carrying the long bloodlines of their Filipino matriarchs who ...
Dec 21, 2017•14 min•Ep 41•Transcript available on Metacast Amy Coopes muses on sacraments, sacrificial siblings, and the mindblowing power of the Catholic confessional. Amy is a writer, journalist, and editor at Croakey News. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com , and follow Queerstories on Facebook. The Queerstories book is published by Hachette Australia, and can be purchased from your favourite independent booksel...
Dec 21, 2017•8 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast Jonny Seymour shares his reflections on a lifetime of creating chosen family, logical rather than biological. DJ and composer Jonny is one half of Stereogamous , the Sydney-based duo he formed with Paul Mac. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events around Australia. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com , and follow Queerstories on Facebook. The Queerstories book is published by Hachette Australia, and can be pu...
Dec 21, 2017•11 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast Ginger Turner reflects on their realisation that they identify as asexual. Ginger is a writer, a podcaster and a pop-culture commentator, pastimes that feel as natural to them as breathing. And, like breathing, they'll keep doing it even when no one's listening. You can buck the trend, and listen to their podcast, Common Sense with Burt Franklap. Ginger is featured in the Queerstories book which can be ordered on Booktopia. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ storytelling night progra...
Dec 19, 2017•8 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast Jones Jones and Teddy Cook tell us the story of a pair of twins, some snow and slamming it down fast, the perfect analogy for Teddy and Jones' beautiful queer life. Jones Jones launched The Vegan Teahouse in 2012, the Vegan Collective night market in 2014, and established MAKER , a queer feminist run shared commercial kitchen, education space and coffee bar in Petersham. Their identical twin, Ted works at ACON , is an affiliate member of the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatit...
Dec 12, 2017•13 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast Vicki Melson tells us a short tale of heroes, cock and cancer. Vicki is a Sydney based aromatherapist with a background in graphic design. She has recently completed an Arts degree majoring in English and Film which she hopes will encourage her to write more. She escaped from the UK in 1987 and has since been trapped in Australia due to her love of its flora and fauna. Vicki Melson is featured in the Queerstories book which can be ordered on Booktopia. Queerstories is an LGBTQI+ st...
Dec 05, 2017•10 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast Francis Voon and James Adcock know the lead up to marriage equality may not be easy, but they are saying YES to love, even if that means wearing matching merchandise. Francis and James have been together for 5 years. James is an architect and Francis works on the marriage equality campaign . Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevemarsden.com , and...
Nov 28, 2017•13 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast Nic Holas opens up for the first time about something very personal that happened to him, his sisters, and his Dad. Nic Holas is an activist, writer, and co-founder of The Institute of Many (TIM), Australia's largest grassroots movement for People Living with HIV. Nic's writing on HIV/AIDS, LGBTIQA issues, human rights, and pop culture has appeared in Archer, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, SBS, Hello Mr., The Lifted Brow, and Junkee , as well as in international and local que...
Nov 28, 2017•13 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast Kirsty Webeck tells us how a trip to Peru changed the way she sees the world. Kirsty is a Melbourne-based stand up comedian. She has notably performed in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival, hosted The GLORIAs at NSW Parliament House and performed at Mardi Gras. Kirsty is currently touring her 2018 festival show, 'I Get It Now!,' Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events in Sydney, Melbo...
Nov 14, 2017•10 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast Julie Low talks about the wide variety of names she's collected throughout her life, along with what they mean to her and why she loves them all. Julie is an artist, writer, photographer, and podcast host. She is a graduate of the National Art School with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and is currently in the first year of her Masters of Teaching (Secondary) at the University of New South Wales. Her recent work includes co-hosting Trans-Mission Radio , an amateur anecdotal advice show by trans women, ...
Nov 07, 2017•9 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast Leona Beasley tells us the story of Onnie Armstrong who kisses her first girl inside a shabby doghouse in the backyard, but the sheer joy of lips locking doesn't last when her hotheaded Southern father discovers his daughter isn't like the other girls. Writer Leona Beasley was born and raised in in Atlanta, Georgia. Her debut novel Something Better than Home is a 2018 Lambda Literary Award finalist in Lesbian Fiction. She studied Interior Design at the University of Georgia, Education...
Oct 31, 2017•10 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast Heather Grace Jones tell us three short pieces. They are a small reminder that 'love is love' has many meanings, and while this moment in history feels unbearable in many ways, together we continue to celebrate our communities, our unconditional affections and our lives. Heather is a journalist, community worker and writer. For the past decade Heather Grace has worked in Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan on social justice issues with a focus on media development, technology and women's ri...
Oct 17, 2017•13 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast Maxine Kauter tells us the story of her amazing adventure right into the heart of Evangelical Christianity and advice that you should be careful how well you make your bed because you may be asleep in it for longer than you think. Maxine is a singer, songwriter and storyteller. She is best known for her role as the titular character in the long-running soap opera, 'The Maxine Kauter Band' . In that role she has self-released three records of critically acclaimed music for sad sacks. She is...
Oct 10, 2017•16 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast Tina Dixson tells us a story about queer search for safety. When home and exile become one, how does one belong? Tina is a queer woman and an advocate for human rights both here and overseas, specialising on the issues faced by LGBTIQ communities, people from refugee backgrounds and women who've experienced violence. In Australia she has worked for the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS), Australia's preeminent legal service of people seeking asylum. She is currently coll...
Oct 03, 2017•10 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Kaya shares a tale of transitioning after a near fatal accident and discovering the joys of google incognito. Kaya is a scientist researching the tsunami threat to NSW, working closely with the SES to develop emergency management policies. In their career as an ocean mapping scientist they spent several years at sea working for the government and private industry. Kaya also writes and publishes creative non fiction for the queerest publications they can find. Queerstories is ...
Sep 26, 2017•9 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast A heartfelt account of how artist Guy James Whitworth ' s troubled childhood in the North East of England fuels and fires him on to negotiating the straight art scene in Sydney. Guy is one of those intense and creative types. Originally hailing from Northumberland in the North East of England he has for the past decade called Australia home and resides in Surry Hills wandering the streets shouting about form, colour and the importance of studying anatomy to anyone who will listen....
Sep 19, 2017•11 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast Simon Copland's polyamorous relationships seem to concern many gay people. But accepting diversity means accepting all of it, even when it comes to sex. Simon is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the Australian National University. He is a freelance writer who has been published in the Guardian, SBS Online Australia, BBC Online , and co-produces and presents the podcast Queers . Simon is the co-editor of the online publishing site Green Agenda . In his free time he likes to powerlift, he lov...
Sep 12, 2017•9 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast Mama Alto is a cabaret artiste, jazz singer and trans non-binary femme who tells two interwoven stories about gender and generations. Mama Alto is a gender transcendent diva, cabaret artiste, jazz singer and community activist based in Melbourne. She is a non-binary trans femme person of colour who works with the radical potential of storytelling, strength in softness and power in vulnerability. Mama Alto was the delighted recipient of the 2014 Weekly Award for Best Cabaret at Adelaide Fri...
Sep 05, 2017•19 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Eloise Brook tells us the safest space growing up Trans in the 80s in Australia was music - a place to listen, a place to imagine and a place to dream. Eloise is a researcher at the Sexualities and Gender Research network , Western Sydney University as well as the secretary of the board of Directors at the Gender Centre. Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. For Queerstories event dates, visit www.maevem...
Aug 29, 2017•12 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Helen Razer impales herself on the white picket fence of diminished queer ambition. Helen is an opinion and arts writer perhaps best known for her years spent hosting breakfast on triple j, quite possibly the first female breakfast announcer on Australian FM radio and certainly the crankiest. Helen has published a bunch of books and writes a bunch o' publications about politics, the arts and pop culture. Queerstories is an LGBTQIA+ storytelling night programmed by Maeve Marsden, with regular eve...
Aug 22, 2017•14 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast 
