Aunt Nell

•

Channel • 9 Shows

History

History

Updated Weekly
Health & Fitness

Health & Fitness

Updated Weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated Weekly
History

History

Updated Weekly
Nature

Nature

Updated Weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated Weekly
History

History

Updated 07/31/2025

JAN 15

Queer family solidarity | Episode 3

Adam and Tash are joined in this episode by Diana James, who discovered herself as a dyke in the 80s and joined Switchboard as its first trans volunteer. Diana discusses what she learnt as she handled phone calls from distressed queer people, and how the older and younger generations need to support each other. Buy our book or see our events listings: The Log Books: Voices of Queer Britain and the Helpline that Listened. Hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith The voice of the log books: Serena James Assistant producer: Marnie Woodmeade Engineer: David Pye Music: Tom Fosket-Barnes Original artwork: Natalie Doto Thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute; our publisher, Faber Books; the dreamboats at Acast; the staff and volunteers at Switchboard, and all the contributors who shared their stories. Episode transcripts available here. Call Switchboard on 0800 0119 100, email hello@switchboard.lgbt or instant message via www.switchboard.lgbt. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 15

•

31 min
JAN 1

Switchboard’s first night | Episode 1

Adam and Tash’s first guest is John Lindsay, one of the founders of Switchboard, the national LGBTQIA+ helpline. John takes us back to the first night in the phoneroom in 1974, when a ragtag gang of queers listened out for that first phone call. Buy our book or see our events listings: The Log Books: Voices of Queer Britain and the Helpline that Listened. Hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith The voice of the log books: Serena James Assistant producer: Marnie Woodmeade Engineer: David Pye Music: Tom Fosket-Barnes Original artwork: Natalie Doto Thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute; our publisher, Faber Books; the dreamboats at Acast; the staff and volunteers at Switchboard, and all the contributors who shared their stories. Episode transcripts available here. Call Switchboard on 0800 0119 100, email hello@switchboard.lgbt or instant message via www.switchboard.lgbt. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 1

•

29 min
JAN 8

A teacher’s reckoning | Episode 2

Tash and Adam hear from Ruth Turner, who qualified as a teacher in the 1980s at the height of a destructive public debate over gay and lesbian rights. Ruth recalls the chilling effect of Section 28, the law that forbade her from supporting queer students, and helps Tash to reckon with their own experience in school. Buy our book or see our events listings: The Log Books: Voices of Queer Britain and the Helpline that Listened. Hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith The voice of the log books: Serena James Assistant producer: Marnie Woodmeade Engineer: David Pye Music: Tom Fosket-Barnes Original artwork: Natalie Doto Thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute; our publisher, Faber Books; the dreamboats at Acast; the staff and volunteers at Switchboard, and all the contributors who shared their stories. Episode transcripts available here. Call Switchboard on 0800 0119 100, email hello@switchboard.lgbt or instant message via www.switchboard.lgbt. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 8

•

31 min
1D AGO

The new life (and again) | Episode 4

Tash and Adam hear from Anson Mackay, who left a tiny, remote town in Scotland to embrace a gay identity, and then later another queer identity altogether. Anson reflects with trusting candour on their experiences through the 80s and 90s, and how people feel compelled to explore their gender even before the right words have arrived. Buy our book or see our events listings: The Log Books: Voices of Queer Britain and the Helpline that Listened. Hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith The voice of the log books: Serena James Assistant producer: Marnie Woodmeade Engineer: David Pye Music: Tom Fosket-Barnes Original artwork: Natalie Doto Thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute; our publisher, Faber Books; the dreamboats at Acast; the staff and volunteers at Switchboard, and all the contributors who shared their stories. Episode transcripts available here. Call Switchboard on 0800 0119 100, email hello@switchboard.lgbt or instant message via www.switchboard.lgbt. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1d ago

•

42 min
12/23/2019

“I was an inconvenience” | Episode 8

The early log books open up a world before HIV, showing what it was like for LGBTQ+ people needing healthcare between discos in the 70s. A doctor and a patient are among those who tell Tash and Adam what it was like. Some of the same infections are on the rise again today, as explained by Dr Tristan Barber, a consultant in HIV and sexual health. Content warning: stories about transitioning and being intersex. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Adam Smith and Tash Walker, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. For more information about LGBTQ+ health, take a look at: Unexpected fluids SXT: Sexual health information GMFA — the gay men’s health project Beating about the bush Lesbian Sex 101 Mens R Us CliniQ Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes Artwork by Natalie Doto https://www.thelogbooks.org Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/23/2019

•

32 min
11/04/2019

"Crashpad needed" | Episode 1

Runaways and rough sleepers, communes and flatshares, crashpads and catastrophes... Stories about home feature heavily in Switchboard’s log books. Tash and Adam listen to LGBT+ people who searched for somewhere to live in the 1970s, and hear about the persistent problem of homelessness in 2019. Content warning: stories of suicide and racism, and historic terms. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Adam Smith and Tash Walker, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. For more information about homelessness, take a look at: The Outside Project akt LGBT Youth Homelessness report by akt for the Proud Trust Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes Artwork by Natalie Doto https://www.thelogbooks.org Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/04/2019

•

31 min
01/03/2022

“Not suitably dressed” | Episode 9

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 warning: extreme sex practices and state homophobia Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBTQI+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. With thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes Artwork by Natalie Doto https://www.thelogbooks.org Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

01/03/2022

•

1h 3m
12/02/2019

“You might well be very angry!” | Episode 5

The 70s was a hotbed of activism, from lesbians fighting for child custody to gay men demanding equal laws for the age of sexual consent. Tracking the movement through the log books, Tash and Adam hear from activists on the frontline, including Lisa Power and Ted Brown. Meanwhile, young activists in a resurgent Gay Liberation Front discuss the actions they plan for 2020... Content warning: stories about racism and stories with sexual content. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Adam Smith and Tash Walker, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. For more information about LGBTQ+ rights, take a look at: Blowing the Lid by Stuart Feather No Bath But Plenty of Bubbles by Lisa Power A short history of LGBT rights from the British Library Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes Artwork by Natalie Doto https://www.thelogbooks.org Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12/02/2019

•

39 min
11/16/2020

“Please be gentle” | Episode 1

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 became a crisis. Content warning: Illness, death, and ill-treatment and discrimination of people living with HIV and AIDS. Transcript here. The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. With thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute and the BFI National Archive. For more information about the themes in this episode, take a look at: From organisations: All about HIV from the Terrence Higgins Trust All about PrEP from Prepster National Aids Trust, the UK’s HIV rights charity Positively UK, advocates for and supporters of people living with HIV Positive East, health and wellbeing for people living with HIV NAM AIDS Map, which grew out of Switchboard! Tonic Living, which seeks to build LGBT+ affirming retirement communities TV: BBC Horizon Killer in the Village from 1983 Podcasts: From Probably True with Scott Flashheart: Doctor part 1 Doctor part 2 Plague Books: Policing Desire by Simon Watney The End of Innocence by Simon Garfield AIDS: Don’t Die of Prejudice by Norman Fowler Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes Artwork by Natalie Doto https://www.thelogbooks.org Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/16/2020

•

57 min
11/02/2020

Re-opening The Log Books | Episode 0

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 the re-opening of The Log Books, and for all the stories, memories and reflections ahead. Transcript here. The Log Books: stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced in partnership with Switchboard, the LGBT+ helpline. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith Nightclub music at the start of this episode by Pond5 Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes Artwork by Natalie Doto https://www.thelogbooks.org Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11/02/2020

•

10 min

Our podcasts invite people to listen differently, to remember radically, and to build futures with care, together.

Website

Aunt Nell

Top Shows

Top Episodes

About