The Informer

Thorne Harbour Health are running new peer workshops for LGBTIQA+ women. A new round is starting soon – it’s targeting all women. It’s about having a safe space. We talk to Thorne Harbour about the initiative.

Cutting-edge comedian Navin Noronha, who is the only out gay comedian in India today, is coming to Melbourne. His visit is part of Spice Night, a showcase of four South and South-East Asian comedians touring Australia in the coming weeks. Navin will be joined by Singaporean Youtube star Hirzi Zulkiflie (Hirzi and Munah), the Queen of Malaysian Comedy Joanne Kam (The Boom Boom Room), Iand Australian-Filipino shooting star Margot Tanjutco.

The fine folks at Northern District Community Health (NDCH) have been granted money from the state government to produce an evening of queer film. The event will take place at the iconic Quambatook Silo Cinema in the upcoming months. We spoke to Matt from NDCH about the event and the work that NDCH does to look after their community.

New research reveals that over half of those over 50s believe the mid-life crisis is now a thing of the past, with one in three now experiencing a three-quarter life crisis. 

As the average life expectancy in Australia continues to increase, people are starting families later, retiring later and perusing pastimes later in life.  

Here’s Professor of Psychology, Nick Haslam from The University of Melbourne talking about the research. 

This year’s Midsumma Festival was hugely successful. There were over 100 events, nearly 237 groups in the parade, and a huge turnout at many events. We spoke with Patrick from Midsumma about the events and got a sneak peek at next year’s festival.

Private Health Insurance in Australia faces a huge threat – a report from the regulator shows that maybe only three health funds might survive in two years. Research from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that four funds might even collapse sooner.

To help explain the situation, Guardian Australia Senior Finance Reporter Ben Butler spoke with Informer Executive Producer Arion Potts about the situation.

After years of being illegal, amyl nitrate has been legalised since 1 February. Instead of sex shops where it’s been available for years, it will be available in pharmacies.

The situation is confusing and there’s a lot of information in the community. Informer Executive Producer Arion Potts spoke with John Skerrit head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which oversees medications in Australia. John explains why this happened and what they’re hoping to achieve.

QueersInScience has been running a series of science lectures featuring scientists from the LGBTIQA+ community, and we have a short taste of one right now. What you’re about to hear is an excerpt from a lecture by Dr Andrew Barron, the Deputy Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University, and an expert in the neurological mechanisms of animal behaviour. The lecture aimed to answer the question “How did homosexuality evolve?” by looking at the evolutionary history of humans and our closest primate relative, the Bonobo. The answer might surprise you.

 

We were privileged to speak with Jarod Rhine-Davis attend Temple Beth Israel’s Pride Shabbat last Friday. Held on the Friday before the Midsumma Pride March. Informer Executive Producer Arion Potts spoke with several people about why it was important to them. First up was Jarod Rhine-Davis, who was also the featured speaker (see the YouTube clip below).