This week on Queer as Fact, we're talking about the 8th-century Arabic poet Abu Nuwas. Join us to hear about wine poetry, sexuality in the Abbasid caliphate, and fun facts about cheetahs.

Transcript available here

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[Image: sketch of Abu Nuwas drawn by Khalil Gibran in 1916]

Today’s episode of Queer as Fiction, as chosen by our patrons, is on the 1926 play “The Captive”. Join us as we discuss the sale of violets, the padlocking of theatres and the diverse ways a story can be interpreted by audiences and critics.

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[Image description: A black and white photo of a theatre production of the Captive. Basil Rathbone and Helen Menken as Irene and Jacques face each other on lounge furniture.]

This week we're talking about the early 20th century American cook, socialite and transgender woman Lucy Hicks Anderson. Join us to hear about Lucy's determination to live authentically in the face of repeated court cases, the enduring love and respect shown to her by her community, and the greatest dinner rolls ever made.

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[Image description: Black and white photo of Lucy Hicks Anderson, a middle-aged African American woman. She is facing the camera and wearing a large hat and a pale jacket.]

Join us for the first episode of Season 9 as we discuss the life and trial of 20th century Scottish aristocrat and farmer Dr Ewan Forbes. We'll be talking about how to transition in rural mid-20th century Scotland, an impressively bold legal defense strategy, and the perils of keeping lion cubs in your family home.

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[Image: Photo of Ewan Forbes from 1952; he is a middle-aged man in a checked three-piece suit, smiling and talking to someone out of frame.]

This week on Queer as Fact, we're talking about the 12th-century German nun and polymath Hildegard of Bingen. Join us for thorny theological questions, savage letters to the Pope and a medieval description of the female orgasm.

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[Image: Medieval illustration of Hildegard in a nun's habit, writing. Red tendrils reach down towards her face. A monk is watching on.]

In today's episode of Queer as Fiction we delve into James Baldwin's 1956 novel, Giovanni's Room.

Join us as we discuss 1950s gender roles, the French gay bar scene and the concept of a Manic Pixie Dream Gay.

Thank you to our Patrons for voting on this episode! 

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[Image: Front Cover of the Penguin Modern Classics edition of Giovanni's Room, the 1956 novel by James Baldwin. It features the silhouettes of two men and the legs of a woman]

Today's episode is on the life and trial of early 20th century Australian transgender man Harry Crawford. Join us to learn what court records, newspaper articles and modern biographies can tell us about a century of Australian attitudes to transgender experiences.

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[Image: Mugshot of Harry Crawford, taken by the New South Wales Police Department in 1920. It is a black and white photo Harry Crawford, a white man in a three piece suit looking at the camera with a serious expression.]

This week, Queer as Fact is talking about the Asexual Manifesto, published in New York in 1972. Join us for our first deep dive into ace history, a discussion of the place of asexuality in 1970s feminism, and one of the first ever mentions of ace pride.

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[Image: 'Lesbian activists at Barnard provide labels', Off Our Backs vol. 3 no. 6 Feb/Mar 1973 - a young woman sits in front of a sign featuring various sexuality labels, including asexual]

Today's episode is on beloved 19th century author Louisa May Alcott. Irene, Alice and Jason, who between them have read the 1868 novel Little Women, watched the 2017 movie Little Women, and read a good number of Louisa May Alcott's letters, diaries and papers, discuss the times when fiction might be more honest than autobiography, the ways that gender identity and gendered social roles interact, and the appeal (or lack thereof) of cold baths.

Thank you to our Patreons for voting on this episode! It was fun to research and record.

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[Image: Portrait of Louisa May Alcott; Wikimedia Commons]

Today marks our first Queer as Fiction episode for the season, as we discuss the 1999 film, directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski, The Matrix.

Join us as we explore the red pill, the blue pill, and everything in between. 

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[Image: The movie poster for 1999 film The Matrix, featuring the characters of Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and Cypher]