OUTCAST WORLD

Graeme Smith

Queer politics • sex • culture Outcast World is a queer politics, sex and culture podcast hosted by multi award-winning broadcaster and podcaster Graeme Smith, alongside rotating guests and co-hosts. Each week features an eclectic mix of guests. Journalists, comedians, academics, authors, activists and artists appear alongside queer stars from the BBC’s groundbreaking I Kissed a Boy, and familiar faces from global reality franchises including Married at First Sight and TOWIE. The show also features authors of he biggest-selling LGBTQ+ books in the world and Oscar nominated film makers. Reactive, candid and often funny, the show unpacks politics, sexuality and culture through discussion and debate. While rooted in a queer perspective, its cultural analysis and political commentary resonate well beyond LGBTQ+ audiences.A gold winner at the British Podcast Awards and nominated for Best Interview Podcast in 2025 — alongside Louis Theroux and The News Agents — Outcast World has been recommended by The Guardian and The Independent, and was named a must-listen queer podcast by The Independent. Get involved, watch our latest episodes and read the latest queer and gay news, politics, sex and relationships and culture on www.outcastworld.net

  1. 1d ago

    LIVE FROM THE EDINBURGH FRINGE: The true crime standup show that involves us! And queer coded science

    The Fringe empties out fast once the last week arrives, the flyering gets a little more desperate, the queues at the good venues get a little longer, and the shows that have built word of mouth over three weeks are the ones worth fighting for a ticket to. Outcast World has been across the city all month, and here are two on the list before the run ends. Gareth Waugh: Is Pepsi OK? There is a version of this show that plays as a straightforward hour about a bad gig or a worse manager, and then there is the version Gareth Waugh actually built, which unfolds more like a true crime podcast than a stand-up set, except the person telling it is also the one who got taken. Waugh, an Edinburgh local who has supported Kevin Bridges and John Bishop and taken every strange booking going from cruise ships to the PDC World Darts Championship, was scammed out of money on a podcast job that appeared to be connected to Coca-Cola. The man behind it was someone Waugh considered a friend. What follows on stage is the unravelling, told through a PowerPoint of receipts: email threads, video calls, bank statements, text messages, all projected as evidence while the story gets steadily harder to believe. Outcast World has a stake in this one that goes beyond a recommendation. The same man behind the scam in Gareth's story is one we crossed paths with too, and there are names in that show that have been changed or redacted for reasons that will make sense the moment the lights go up. Go and see it, and see if you can spot who's who. Gareth Waugh: Is Pepsi OK? runs at Monkey Barrel 2 until 30 August. Science Stories for Grown-Ups A gentler close to the evening, and a genuinely lovely one. Giulia and Richard are two scientists turned performers who spend an hour giving the back catalogue of science a personality, atoms with grudges, chemical reactions with feelings, thermodynamics rewritten as something closer to a bedtime story than a lecture. Fire, water, and the Twin Paradox all get the treatment, and there is a book of the stories on sale afterwards for anyone who wants to take the wonder home with them. It is the kind of show built for the people whose science teacher, as the pair put it themselves, crushed the curiosity out of them the first time round. This one gets it back.

  2. 2d ago

    LIVE from the Edinburgh fringe 2026: Final Queen! The drag horror spectacular

    Some Fringe shows you have to see to believe, and Final Queen is very much one of them, so this week I sat down with its creator and star Harrison Sweeney to work out how on earth you build a drag circus horror comedy about a queen road-tripping across the Australian outback to audition for Kylie Minogue, getting hopelessly lost, and ending up in an abandoned farmhouse fighting off chainsaw-wielding bushrangers, ghosts and a rolling cast of slasher villains, each one staged as a different circus act. It is, on paper, one of the maddest pitches of the whole festival, and it opened to four stars on its very first preview, which tells you the madness is the good kind. Harrison came to drag during lockdown and to the stage through circus school in Melbourne, where he trained in aerial rope and hula hoops long before he ever put on a wig, and his co-creator Rachel Carey is a horror specialist with lesbian vampires and demonic parodies already on her CV, so between the two of them Final Queen was probably always going to look exactly like this. Underneath the fake blood, though, there is a real argument, and it is the reason this one belongs on Outcast World. We get into why drag is inherently political, why the final girl who survives the horror film turns out to be such a natural fit for a drag queen, and the shared history of three art forms, slasher cinema, queer performance and circus, that were all once dismissed as too low to count. We also cover the far less glamorous reality of a Fringe run, which for Harrison means scrubbing stage blood out of a white dress by hand in the shower every single night. It is funny, it is warm, and it is a proper conversation about what queer survival actually looks like in 2026. In this episode How a year-long game of "what if" turned into the Fringe's most demented pitch Grace Lightning, the love child of the final girl trope, a queer circus performer and a camp Aussie drag queen Why drag is political whether it means to be or not, and what the tagline "who are the real monsters?" is really asking The shared outsider history of slasher films, queer art and circus What sets Australian drag and its larrikin humour apart from the Drag Race UK aesthetic The unglamorous truth about blood, laundry and twenty-four shows in twenty-six days Networking, faith in the work, and missing your castmates when the show is just you A quickfire finish, one Kylie track to die to, one to kill to, and the one thing Grace could never survive Final Queen runs at Big Belly, Cowgate, at 9.30pm nightly until 30 August, with rest days on the 17th and 24th. If you are anywhere near Edinburgh, go, and tell them Outcast World sent you.

  3. Aug 19

    Outcast Goes to Edinburgh! Dan Tiernan & Compagnia Bellanda

    Outcast World is back from its summer break — and we’re in Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe. From now until the Fringe wraps up, Graeme is getting immersed in the biggest arts festival in the world, taking in the queer and queer-adjacent culture of Edinburgh and meeting some of the best comedians, artists, musicians and performers in town. And yes, Outcast has brought the campervan. We’ll be bringing you new interviews and special episodes from Edinburgh over the next few weeks, alongside some classic conversations from the Outcast Fringe archives. First up, Dan Tiernan. Gay, dyspraxic and ferociously funny, Dan has become one of the most exciting names in British comedy. We head back into the Outcast archives to hear what happened when Graeme caught up with him at the Fringe as his career was taking off. Then we meet Compagnia Bellanda, an independent Italian dance company from Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy’s far north-east. Founded by creative partners Giovanni and Claudia, the company takes Giovanni’s roots in breakin’ and hip hop culture and pushes them into contemporary performance. They’re in Edinburgh with *Il canto dell’assiolo* — *The Song of the Scops Owl* — a 45-minute duet using the haunting, repetitive call of a tiny Italian bird as a metaphor for intimacy, desire, tenderness, control and relationships that never quite resolve. It’s the first stop as Outcast World gets immersed in Edinburgh Fringe for the next few weeks. Comedy. Art. Music. Performance. Queer culture. Queer-adjacent culture. Old friends and new discoveries. Graeme is in Scotland for Outcast — and there’s a lot more to come.

  4. Jul 22

    The Edinburgh Fringe Files: Comedian Kuan-Wen Huang on how Andrews are the worst...

    In the buildup to our Edinburgh Fringe 2026 coverage we bring this uncut interview with one of the funniest Edinburgh Fringe guests we've had on the show. The Edinburgh Fringe is part of the world's biggest arts festival and is famous for up and coming comedians and performers to show their wares. Kuan Wen spoke to Graeme Smith at the last festival about doing the festival, his comedy and his feelings on the security of his country of Taiwan in the face of global uncertainties. Kuan-Wen talks about how in his dating experience... ANDREWS ARE THE WORST! In an interview that had us crying laughing that we're bringing to you uncut.

  5. Jul 16 ·  Video

    ATTITUDE COVER STAR CARL CASHMAN: 80 PERCENT OF LIB DEMS ARE GAY!

    Recorded for the BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! podcast at a MEETS event in January 2026, this conversation with Liberal Democrat politician Carl Cashman looked ahead to what might happen during a turbulent year in British and international politics. Several months later, it turns out they got a fair few things right. Carl joins Graeme Smith for a candid conversation about whether queer voters should give the Liberal Democrats another chance — and whether the party could once again find itself holding the balance of power. He faces questions about the coalition years, broken promises over tuition fees and why so many voters still feel burned by the Lib Dems’ time in government. Carl also sets out the red lines he would want from any future coalition, including protections for LGBTQ+ and trans people and opposition to further welfare cuts. There is plenty of political gossip too. Carl argues that the Labour government is not genuinely progressive, questions whether Andy Burnham is becoming an opportunist and considers whether Burnham could eventually replace Keir Starmer. The conversation also takes in the rise of the Greens, wealth taxes, immigration, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump, Brexit and what defending LGBTQ+ rights should actually look like in British foreign policy. And is it really true that 80% of Liberal Democrat members are LGBTQ+? Subscribe to Outcast World for more queer politics, sex and culture.

  6. Jun 25 ·  Video

    Will it be more of the same from Burnham?

    On a raft of issues it's becoming clear that a change in the man at number 10 for the UK may not bring the change in policies and direction many had hoped for, despite Andy Burnham's victory over Reform at the Battle Of Makerfield! Yes its great to see Reform on the run and the rise of a new left leaning politician. But will Burnham bring a fresh approach on the most pressing issues of our times. Or will be be another centre left disappointment? The London heatwave has meant Graeme has to host from his living room and not the studio today. But Nick Charles is in the studio in Manchester linking up to talk about his Burnham worries and carry the show for G who is almost demoted to a guest for today on a laptop!

  7. Jun 23 ·  Video

    Tip Toe Star Gabriel Clark: Live in the gallery

    Gabriel Clark joins Outcast World for a candid conversation recorded live at the BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery in London and originally featured on The BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Podcast. Best known for his work on Hollyoaks and as one of the stars of Russell T Davies' highly anticipated new queer TV drama Tip Toe, Gabriel reflects on growing up in Bolton in an artistic family, finding his place as a young queer person, and navigating fame after landing a major TV role during the pandemic. The conversation explores everything from queer visibility in the entertainment industry to the importance of speaking out on issues that matter. Gabriel discusses why he chooses to use his platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, trans rights and Palestine, despite the risks that can come with public activism in the media spotlight. He also opens up about starring in the provocative theatre production Jock Night, which tackles chemsex, shame, addiction and queer identity. Gabriel explains why the play sparked such important conversations within LGBTQ+ communities and how it changed his understanding of Manchester's queer scene and the challenges facing many gay men today. The discussion then turns to The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, the acclaimed HIV-era play Gabriel recently performed in Manchester. Together, Graeme and Gabriel reflect on the legacy of HIV activism, the progress that has been made since the 1990s, and why many of the themes explored in the play still feel remarkably relevant in 2026. Finally, Gabriel shares what audiences can expect from Tip Toe, Russell T Davies' new five-part drama set around Manchester's Canal Street. Without giving away spoilers, he describes the series as funny, heartbreaking, sexy, political and full of humanity, while offering a glimpse behind the scenes of one of the most talked-about LGBTQ+ television projects of the year. A thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation about queer storytelling, activism, community, HIV history, chemsex, visibility, and the future of LGBTQ+ culture. Subscribe to Outcast World for more conversations exploring queer politics, sex and culture. #GabrielClark #TipToe #RussellTDavies #OutcastWorld #LGBTQ #QueerCulture #CanalStreet #Manchester #Chemsex #HIV #BoysBoysBoys #Channel4 #QueerTV #LGBTQPodcast

  8. Jun 19 ·  Video

    Is The Party Over, Andy?

    Andy Burnham, the King of the North, just won Makerfield in a landslide. He's back in Parliament, he's coming for Keir Starmer's job, and the whole country is asking the same question: is this the moment British politics finally changes? We check the lay of the land right now - do you think things can only get better? Are we doomed to disappointment again? Or has he pulled off an incredible feat - united the left and fractured the right? But what if the problem runs deeper than which leader is standing at the despatch box? Metin Pekin thinks so. His book Breaking Democracy's Chains argues that it doesn't matter who wins, who loses, or who challenges whom for the Labour leadership, because the party system itself is the mechanism that keeps real power out of reach. Not just for working people. For minorities. For queer communities who have spent decades depending on whichever party happens to be sympathetic this week. What replaced the parties when Section 28 was repealed? Who fights for trans rights when there's no whip to call in? Where does organised resistance live when you've dismantled the scaffolding? This is the conversation British politics needs to be having today. Not who leads Labour. But whether the whole game is rigged from the start.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Queer politics • sex • culture Outcast World is a queer politics, sex and culture podcast hosted by multi award-winning broadcaster and podcaster Graeme Smith, alongside rotating guests and co-hosts. Each week features an eclectic mix of guests. Journalists, comedians, academics, authors, activists and artists appear alongside queer stars from the BBC’s groundbreaking I Kissed a Boy, and familiar faces from global reality franchises including Married at First Sight and TOWIE. The show also features authors of he biggest-selling LGBTQ+ books in the world and Oscar nominated film makers. Reactive, candid and often funny, the show unpacks politics, sexuality and culture through discussion and debate. While rooted in a queer perspective, its cultural analysis and political commentary resonate well beyond LGBTQ+ audiences.A gold winner at the British Podcast Awards and nominated for Best Interview Podcast in 2025 — alongside Louis Theroux and The News Agents — Outcast World has been recommended by The Guardian and The Independent, and was named a must-listen queer podcast by The Independent. Get involved, watch our latest episodes and read the latest queer and gay news, politics, sex and relationships and culture on www.outcastworld.net

Information

  • Creator
    Graeme Smith
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    162
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 7th Planet
  • Show Website
    OUTCAST WORLD

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