Thanks to Mags for our first sweeper of 2025.

Transcript: [Sounds of nature, birds, etc.] Mags: This is Mags, this is early morning, Shivapuri, Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu, for Queer Out Here.

Note: Check our website for submission details - queerouthere.com

Thanks to Emma for this last-minute sweeper for Issue 09 (which will be coming soon - see queerouthere.com!)

TRANSCRIPT

[A scraping, slightly metallic sound of a manual lawn clipper being pushed back and forth. After a few passes, it stops.]

Emma: Hi, I’m Emma. I’m cutting the grass in the garden. [Breeze blows] And you’re listening to Queer Out Here.

[Emma pushes the lawn clipper a few more times]

Turning up the heat... This issue's theme is broadly (but not exclusively) on the theme of climate. Here's a first listen to what our contributors have sent in from around the world.

Transcript and notes at www.queerouthere.com/listen/issue-09-preview

Thanks to Dan (and the incredibly noisy corellas with their piercing shrieks) for this sweeper. You might need to turn the volume down on this one!

Instructions to make a sweeper here: https://www.queerouthere.com/greetings

TRANSCRIPT

[Footsteps crunching on gravel, some wind distortion, background squawking of corellas - a type of parrot, similar to a cockatoo. A dog barks.]

Dan: Hi. [Dog barks again.] I’m Dan. I am walking home from work across Mafeking Hill Reserve on Gunaikurnai Country. And you are listening to Queer Out Here… [A huge group of corellas goes off, screeching en masse] … and lots of noisy corellas!

[Dan stops walking, and we hear the corellas screeching and calling to each other, some closer and some further away as they wheel overhead. Long, slow fade out.]

Thanks to Esther for this sweeper. Love these lil froggos! Want to make us a sweeper? Here are the instructions: https://www.queerouthere.com/greetings

TRANSCRIPT: [Frogs chirping and croaking, a bird tweeting] I was walking on Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung land and heard these beautiful little frogs, which were so special. [Frogs] My name’s Esther, and you’re listening to Queer Out Here. [Frogs fade out]

Thanks to Stephanie for this watery, windy summer sweeper! Want to record one for our next issue? Here's how: https://www.queerouthere.com/greetings

***TRANSCRIPT***

[Sound of flowing water, wind in leaves, and some wind distortion]

Hi, I’m Stephanie, and I’ve just been swimming in the River Avon on Gunaikurnai Country. And this is… [long pause] Queer Out Here!

[Stephanie laughs, we hear splashing - probably Stephanie walking in the water - then the water and wind sounds fade out.]

Thanks to Mags (a stalwart!) for sending in this sweeper from Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol. (Mags says Arnos Grove in the transcript, but she let us know she meant to say Arnos Vale!) We're always on the lookout for sweepers, so why not send one in? Here's how: https://www.queerouthere.com/greetings

TRANSCRIPT

Mags: It’s a bit of a dull, wet day in Arnos Grove [sic] Cemetery in Bristol. Never been here before, passing through the city. Um, walking between some very old gravestones, some lovely old trees. [Some wind sounds.] Feel the showers approaching overhead. Very peaceful. And a little muddy! [Faint background sounds.] And this is Mags [loud birdsong interrupts for a moment] in Bristol for Queer Out Here.

Adventure awaits in Issue 08. Follow our contributors on nocturnal walks, over icy mountains, along lines of song, through living rivers and into the deep sea.

Find more information and a transcript of this preview at queerouthere.com/listen/issue-08-preview

Cover art (excerpt) by Dee Lister

It's lovely to have a sweeper from a balcony garden! Thanks to Jackie for sending this in from Wurundjeri country. Queer Out Here is an audio zine that explores the outdoors from queer perspectives. Visit queerouthere.com to find out more and listen to previous issues.

TRANSCRIPT

[Audio fades in, the sound of traffic, a truck beeping to reverse, birds twittering, wind, clanks of moving objects, and so on]

Jackie: Hi, this is Jackie. I’m on Wurundjeri land, in the garden on my third floor balcony, overlooking busy, busy Sydney Road. I’m watching the sun rise over Mount Donna Buang… and it’s pretty queer out here.

[A car goes past on the road below, birds chat, there’s a knocking sound and the audio fades out]

Join Raine as he records a thunderstorm on GunaiKurnai Country (aka Gippsland, Victoria). Thanks for this sweeper, Raine!

***

TRANSCRIPT

[A loud thunderclap, followed by rain and cicadas that continue beneath Raine’s voice]

Raine: [Laughs] Hi, my name’s Raine. I am a trans man living in Australia, currently sitting out a storm in a caravan and it is damn close to midnight! [Thunder rumbles] You are listening to Queer Out Here.

[Thunder and cicadas fade out as rain drips slowly]

***

Submit a sweeper: https://www.queerouthere.com/greetings