Send us Fan Mail LOTL Lounge S9E1 – Shining a Light on Our Community Welcome to a brand new season of LOTL Lounge, where queer and lesbian stories take centre stage and voices ring out across generations. We’re back, celebrating the joy, resilience, and creativity of LGBTQI+ women and non-binary folks in Australia and beyond. In This Episode Host: Silke Special Guests: Madeleine Gray, Lenie Mare & Ninna Andersson, Robyn McCoy and Dr Kerryn Drysdale Regulars: The Tuckshop Ladies, Nash Hill with the Drag King Corner and Jo Barrett from Leagues on the Lounge 1. Madeleine Gray: On Queer Life & Chosen Families Australia’s own Madeleine Gray joins us to talk about her novels Green Dot and Chosen Family, her journey from LOTL intern to acclaimed author, and why creating queer Australian stories matters. Plus, hear her read an excerpt from Chosen Family - pubic hair, school swimming lessons, and all. → 00:00:28 Find Madeleine at this year’s Sydney Writers Festival discussing queer romance and community. 2. Lesbians Who Built Sydney’s Nightlife: A History From smoky basements to bustling dancefloors, trailblazer Robyn McCoy takes us back to the iconic lesbian clubs she created: CJ’s, Hunters, Mars, and Club 77. Laugh, reminisce, and share in the stories of loyalty, survival, and the real power of community before social media ever existed. → 00:15:15 3. Drag King Culture: The Past, The Present Ever wondered about the rise and fall (and rise again) of the Sydney drag king scene? Dr Kerryn Drysdale sits with Nash Hill for an essential conversation about inclusivity, performance, changing identities, and why lesbian scenes were more welcoming than you might remember. → 00:41:38 Read the Drag King Corner on lotl.com 4. Love & Building Belonging - Lenie & Ninna’s Story Two women, 10,000km apart, one accidental TikTok romance, and a brand-new LGBTQI+ app called Bloom. Lenny (Cape Town) and Nina (Sweden) share their heartwarming, honest, and funny story of distance, dreaming big, and making “chosen family” a global movement. → 01:08:30 Read the article and find all the links to the APP and their fundraiser 5. The Tuckshop Ladies: Lesbians & Legacy in Folk Music The Tuckshop Ladies return for cheeky banter about being out, being mistaken for sisters or “the boyfriend,” and how lesbian musicians and icons paved the way for today’s artists. → 00:57:57 6. League from the Lounge: The Grand Final Jo Barrett wraps up the NRLW season - celebrating breakthroughs, challenges, and trailblazers pushing women’s sport forward. → 01:28:58 7. Featured Music Holly Throsby – Experience the beauty of her latest tracks from the upcoming album Normal Magic. Listen for “Missing You” → 00:37:32 “Thinking” → 01:25:15 Community Spotlight Support homegrown queer artists on our Spotify and SoundCloud LOTL Lounge playlists.Share your feedback via our 2-minute surveyBecome a LOTL Lounge member & help us keep queer community media thriving! Join the Conversation Love what you heard? Subscribe, review, and share the LOTL Lounge with friends and chosen family.Find resources, book recommendations, and info about our guests in the show notes below.Follow us on Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook & our blog for more. Key Links Contribute to our Listener SurveyMadeleine Gray’s Books & Festival InfoBloom LGBTQI+ Community AppSpotify LOTL Lounge PlaylistSoundCloud LOTL Lounge PlaylistThank you for being here and shining with us - wherever you are on the rainbow. This is our space. This is our time. This is our community. Support the show Check out more content on www.lotl.com
