World Exclusive: we reveal the identities of the Bristol Dynamic Duo. They go where others fear to tread, causing FM mayhem and Diabolical DAB. It's a mash, crash and bash story of 2 superheroes. From causing traffic accidents due to the overrated music they play, to talking about pillows. We reveal ALL!!! ALSO, January can be a tough month, we look at what help is available for the LGBTQIA community.

Nowt as Queer as folk... We chat to QPOC socials about their very friendly group, plus Queer and Quaker, we chat religion and politics...

Happy New Year!! "Oh no it's not..." Oh yes it is! And what better way to kick the new year off than with the traditional ShoutOut Panto. This year we're getting a bit scary with bad acting, silly jokes, and a haunted castle - what more could you want!

It's CHRISTMAS!!! Oh yes it is! And we love an excuse to let our hair down and have a bit of Christmas fun. This week, Andy takes the helm, as is tradition, and brings you the ShoutOut Christmas Cracker - a show full of quizes and festive fun.

Grab yourself a pen and paper, or a tablet if you are modern, and play along with the team.

Panto Season is in full swing; we chat to Texan Drag Queen, Patti Boo Rae about her latest production in London.

PLUS: In the studio; Ryan...The creator behind Knits by Ryan based in Bristol, where he handcrafts chunky knit blankets using either high-quality acrylic yarn or luxurious merino mammoth wool.

Internationally acclaimed dance artist Sadiq Ali is retelling his personal experience of being HIV positive through circus and movement. Ali’s Tell Me is a physical embodiment and celebration of resistance and the need to confront the stigma of HIV. Using activism as a queer man alongside his technical agility to direct and perform in Tell Me, Ali’s performance is an explicit force for social change, while challenging audience expectations. Produced by Turtle Key Arts and fusing circus, theatre and dance, Tell Me will tour the UK from 16th January – 10th February 2026. It follows the international success of The Chosen Haram and major world-wide festivals including Sydney Festival, Auckland Arts Festival and Gay Pride Europe, Malta.

And Vicky Lane returns. You may remember we spoke to her a few weeks ago about a new stand up night she was hosting. Well, she's not been in Bristol for more than a few months and now she joins us, live, to talk about Queer Stories - a new evening where you can go and, well, tell a story.

This week we chat to Simon Haines from Rings of Power (how long does it take to become an Elf?) and The Running Man (Did you Meet Arnie?)

And Christmas books recommendations from "News From Nowhere" in Liverpool, plus news and views from our highly talented team.

Christmas Book List

1. A Short History of Queer Parenting, by Kirsty Loehr

Queer families have always existed. Even Sappho, the OG lesbian, had a daughter named Cleis, in honour of vaginas everywhere! For centuries, the women of ‘The Golden Orchid Society’ in Qing-dynasty China were getting married and raising daughters together – platonically, obviously... And Vita Sackville-West  and Harold Nicolson’s fabulously bisexual open marriage proved women really can have it all – a husband, two kids, a writing career and Virginia Woolf.  Maybe you’re exploring your options.  Maybe you don’t want kids but you have questions.  Either way, Kirsty Loehr provides another rollicking guide to the ups and downs of queer parenthood through the ages.

£8.99, paperback

2. Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line, by Elizabeth Lovatt

With warmth and humour, Elizabeth Lovatt reimagines the women who both called and volunteered for the Lesbian Line in the 1990s while also tracing her own journey from accidentally coming out to  disastrous dates to finding her chosen family. With callers and agents alike dealing with first crushes and  breakups, sex and marriage, loneliness and illness (or simply the need to know the name of a gay bar on a  night out), this is a celebration of the ordinary lives of queer women.  Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line is a timely and vital exploration of how lesbian identity continues  to remake and redefine itself in the 21st century and where it might lead us in the future.

£20.00, hardback

3. Nova Scotia House, by Charlie Porter

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSMITHS PRIZE 2025

SHORTLISTED FOR FOYLES BOOK OF THE YEAR

When they met, nearly thirty years ago, Johnny was 19, Jerry was 45. They fell in love and made a life on  their own terms in Jerry’s flat: 1, Nova Scotia House. Johnny is still there today – but Jerry is gone, and so is the world they knew.  As Johnny’s mind travels between then and now, he begins to remember stories of Jerry’s youth: of  experiments in living; of radical philosophies; of the many possibilities of love, sex and friendship before  the AIDS crisis devastated the queer community. Slowly, he realizes what he must do next—and attempts to restore ways of being that could be lost forever.  Nova Scotia House takes us to the heart of a relationship, a community and an era. It is both a love story and a lament; bearing witness to the enduring pain of the AIDS pandemic and  honouring the joys and creativity of queer life.

£18.99, hardback

4. Love in Exile, by Shon Faye

Shon Faye grew up quietly obsessed with the feeling that love was not for her.  Not just romantic love: the secret fear of her own unworthiness penetrated every aspect and corner of her  life. Faye’s experience of the world as a trans woman, who grew up visibly queer, exacerbated her fears.  But, as she confronted her damaging ideas about love and lovelessness, she came to realize that this sense  of exclusion is symptomatic of a much larger problem in our culture. In this highly politicized terrain, boundaries are purposefully drawn to keep some in and to keep others  out. Those who exist outside them are ignored, denigrated, exiled. In Love in Exile, Shon Faye shows love is much greater than the narrow ideals we have been taught to crave so desperately that we are willing to  bend and break ourselves to fit them. Wise, funny, unsparing, and suffused with a radical clarity, this is a book of and for our times: for seeing  and knowing love, in whatever form it takes, is the meaning of life itself.  

£20.00, hardback

5. Queer Georgians, by Anthony Delaney

History Hit podcast presenter Dr Anthony Delaney reveals the real people that inspired Gentleman Jack and the gay romances in Bridgerton, long written out of the nation's story and now lovingly restored.  In this dazzling work of restorative history, Dr Anthony Delaney has traced the stories of people daring to  challenge society's expectations, unearthing archives and court records to reveal the tragedies and the joys  of queer life three centuries ago. Breathing new life into the forgotten and offering radical new  interpretations of celebrated figures such as Anne Lister, Queer Georgians is an invitation to view our  shared history in a whole new light.

£22.00, hardback

6. Fluid: A Guide for People with Flexible Sexuality, by Mark Cusack

Society recognises a more diverse range of sexual identities than ever before, but people often still think  we have to choose one and stick to it forever. If the idea of a single, unchanging sexual identity just doesn't fit right - this is the book for you. Challenging binary notions of sexuality and gender, this is a  deep exploration of fluid sexuality, exploring its relationship to bisexuality, multisexuality, asexuality and gender fluidity.  Chapters cover everything from understanding diverse attractions, coming out, navigating love, sex and  relationships - and looking after your mental health as a fluid person. Combining real life accounts and  practical guidance, this wide-ranging guide has all the tips you'll need to explore the joys and challenges  of sexual fluidity.

£14.99, paperback

7. Queer Life, Queer Love: 3, edited by Matt Bates, Karen McLeod and Sarah Beal

Championing new and emerging writers alongside established authors, this anthology features voices  across all narrative forms including fiction, poetry, memoir, essay and flash-fiction. The anthology  comprises 40 pieces, the winning entries from an international competition to capture the best of queer  writing today. The first volume, published by Muswell Press in November 2021, has reprinted five times and praise was widespread.  This is writing that explores characters, stories and experiences beyond the mainstream. Celebrating the  fascinating, the forbidden, the subversive, and even the mundane, but in essence, the view from outside. 

£12.99, paperback

8. We Are Your Children: A History of LGBTQ+ Activism, by David Roberts

Touching on major moments in the story of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights including the Stonewall Uprising, the first Gay Pride Rally and the dazzling history of drag and the ballroom scene, We Are Your Children is a wide-ranging and inclusive account of a multifaceted movement, with detailed and  characterful colour artwork.From the secret slang adopted by gay Londoners in the 60s, to the decades of sit-ins and marches, there  are countless fascinating stories to be told: stories of resistance, friendship, love, fear, division, unity and astonishing perseverance in the face of discrimination and oppression.

£25.00, hardback

9. Spent: A Comic Novel, by Alison Bechdel

In this hilariously skewering comic novel, Alison is existentially pained by a climate-challenged world  and a country on the brink of civil war. Her first graphic memoir about growing up with her taxidermist  father has been adapted into a highly successful TV series, Death and Taxidermy. It’s a phenomenon that  makes Alison, formerly on the cultural margins, the envy of her friend group.  As the TV show racks up Emmy after Emmy, Alison’s own envy spirals. Surely writing her own wildly  popular reality TV series wouldn’t be that hard? One that shows people how to free themselves from  consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life?! In Spent, the celebrated, bestselling author of the modern classic Fun Home presents a laugh-out-loud and  passionately political work of autofiction, and once again proves that “nobody does it better” (New YorkTimes) than the real Alison Bechdel. 

£20.00, hardback

10. Dear Cisgender People: A Guide to Trans Allyship and Empathy, by Kenny Ethan Jones 

 In this powerful, extensively researched, and deeply personal memoir, Kenny Ethan Jones, trans activist  and writer, offers an authentic and in-depth insight into the trans experience. Drawing on his own  experience, experts and the stories of others, Kenny unpacks the reality of living with gender dysphoria,  navigating the difficult intersection of being Black and trans, the complexities of accessing gender-affirming care, the big debate about trans youth and so much more. Dear Cisgender People is a powerful call-to-arms, equipping all its readers with the tools to step forward  as allies and bring about meaningful change in creating a safer, equal and more accepting world for trans people everywhere.

£16.99, hardback

Neve Francis is starring as Billie in Possum Trot, the brand-new play from award-winning American playwright Kathy Rucker, coming to Theatre At The Tabard this November.

Inspired by the ongoing battles faced by family farms across America’s heartland, Possum Trot seamlessly blends poignancy with laughter for a timely exploration of pervasive issues affecting small-town communities. Set in Possum Trot, Nebraska, the play follows Maxine, a resilient diner owner on a one-woman mission to preserve the spirit of her town while wrangling with her chaotic family. Frantic but hilarious, Possum Trot showcases the universal insight that even in the toughest circumstances, humour and community can overcome adversity. 

Also, with World Aids Day approaching, we talk to some of the team from Brigstowe about the latest treatments and their hopes going forward.

Grab your friends and family and follow the Yellow Brick (Caledonian) Road this Christmas for an unforgettable panto mash-up of Wickedand The Wizard of Oz! OH NO IT ISN'T...

Twenty years after Dor first tumbled over the rainbow, a surprise snowstorm drags them back to the Borough of Oz-lington, where Christmas is on thin ice. Teaming up once more with Scarecrow, Lion and the shiny new Tin 2.0, Dor sets out on a feel-good adventure full of courage, individuality and acceptance. It's the classic characters you know and love, reunited for a brand new festive quest!

PLUS: We chat to Tim from the Diversity Trust... The Diversity Trust CIC is a Community Interest Company, established in 2012, in the UK. Their mission is to ‘influence social change to create a fairer and safer society’. The Diversity Trust has undertaken large scale auditing, consultancy projects, research, training and strategic projects across the corporate, public, private, voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors across the UK, as well as internationally. They are specialists in equality, diversity, equity and inclusion.

As an equalities-led organisation, our Leadership and Governance; our staff, volunteers and consultants are all members of a wide range of protected characteristic groups including: Racially Marginalised Communities, Refugee and Asylum Seekers, LGBTQ+ people, Disabled People, Neurodivergent People and Gender Diverse People and Communities. 

The Diversity Trust supports all minoritised and marginalised communities, in our society, and is especially supportive of the Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter, Refugee Rights and Women’s Rights Movements, thinking and acting intersectionally. We use our voice, and our platforms, to amplify the voices of minoritised and marginalised people and communities. Our broad network of staff, volunteers and consultants brings rich, lived experience critical to helping us and our clients understand the issues of bias and how it helps create structures of institutional and systemic discrimination e.g., ageism, ableism, racism and sexism – across society and within institutions and organisations. 

Gender Criminal is a drag(ish) artist, host, and director whose work blurs the lines between performance, resistance, and joy. Known affectionately as the Bristol Hypeman and South West Scoundrel, they bring a mix of wit, warmth, and subversion to every stage. As the proud dad of the House of Boussé and TRANS/FORM, Gender Criminal cultivates creative spaces where trans and queer expression can thrive, much like their self-described mycelial networks—interconnected, ever-growing, and impossible to uproot.

PLUS: The Cube Cinema here in Bristol is about to bring us the fourth instalment of Gay Sex Tuesday on Tuesday 18th November. Bruce Guthrie has been talking to Cube volunteer, Ed Jack, and L A based film archivist, Frank Jaffe from Altered Innocence films.

Our Earth Week runs from 10th-16th Nov 2025. Steffi chats to Katie from Dean Council and Amie from Queering The Wye...

During Our Earth Week, community stations from all across the UK come together to talk about the climate crisis, and to celebrate life on earth.

Throughout the week (which takes place in the week of the COP talks), as many shows as possible take part, and there are conversations going on all over the country about how the climate crisis is affecting our communities, and what we can do to try and stop it – or at least slow it down – and how we can adapt to it, and make ourselves more resilient. And we celebrate the very thing we’re trying to save: nature, and all of life within it, and ask ourselves: how can we help nature and wildlife to survive, and thrive? If you want to take part, please email [email protected]

ALSO; Lucy gets to grips with Comedy Nights.