The Log Books

A stack of letters written by trans people asking for help in the 90s is an essential piece of queer history. The letters are rightly kept confidentially, but a year ago we were given special access to make a sound art piece using them. Today we’re marking the anniversary of that work, which was produced by Tash and Arlie Adlington, with contributions from Jesse Lawson, Kamari Romeo, naafi, and Imogen Sayers.

The Sound of Trans Freedom audio piece in full: Soundcloud | YouTube

Short films mentioned in this episode: 

Sweetheart (dir Luke Wintour, 2025)

Dandelion (dir Fiona Obertinca, 2026)

The Sound of Trans Freedom was supported by an Engagement Grant from The National Archives

Thanks to all the contributors who gave their voices, thoughts and feelings to the pieces

The Press for Change archive letters read throughout the piece were by Serena James, recorded by David Pye

The featured artists were:

naafi, Kamari Romeo, Tom Sayers, Jesse Lawson

Archival audio courtesy of:

Gender Talk, a radio show speaking the language of gender created by Nancy Nangeroni, originally broadcast on WMBR Cambridge and Boston, USA. Find them at gendertalk.com.

Out-FM, a multi-racial, progressive LGBTQ+ public affairs and culture show on WBAI New York, USA. Listen to their extensive archive at outfm.org.

The Sound of Trans Freedom was...

Compiled and mixed by Arlie Adlington

Produced by Tash Walker

And the Executive Producers for Aunt Nell were Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

Thanks to:

Stephen Whittle

Press for Change

The National Archives

and

The Hall-Carpenter Archives at LSE

Listen to ad-free episodes by supporting the show on Patreon.

Aunt Nell:  Newsletter | Instagram | YouTube | website

The Log Books is hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

The assistant producer is Mia Campbell

Music from Soundstripe

Original artwork by Natalie Doto

Thanks to the dreamboats at Acast

For the story of the helpline Switchboard and untold stories from Britain's LGBTQ+ history: listen to Seasons 1-3, co-produced with Shivani Dave.

For interviews from the research for our book, published by Faber & Faber: listen to Season 4.

KI7FHCTLCUOCNJZ9

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tash went along to Hastings for a tour of Lemons, Laws and Secret Doors — an exhibition made by a local queer collective all about their history. There was so much to discover!

Tash and Adam are running a writing workshop at Joelle Taylor’s Maryville salon this weekend - tickets here!

Listen to ad-free episodes by supporting the show on Patreon.

Aunt Nell:  Newsletter | Instagram | YouTube | website

The Log Books is hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

The assistant producer is Mia Campbell

Music from Soundstripe

Original artwork by Natalie Doto

Thanks to the dreamboats at Acast

For the story of the helpline Switchboard and untold stories from Britain's LGBTQ+ history: listen to Seasons 1-3, co-produced with Shivani Dave.

For interviews from the research for our book, published by Faber & Faber: listen to Season 4.

KI7FHCTLCUOCNJZ9

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam takes Tash on a deep dive of the artist FKA twigs: her style, her drive, her weirdness, and of course her delicious music. We covered the full range of her career and why she’s an icon for queers, women and weirdos. We love you, twigs!

Discussed in this episode:

Poni’s flip of Fallen Alien by FKA twigs

Listen to ad-free episodes by supporting the show on Patreon.

Aunt Nell:  Newsletter | Instagram | YouTube | website

The Log Books is hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

The assistant producer is Mia Campbell

Music from Soundstripe

Original artwork by Natalie Doto

Thanks to the dreamboats at Acast

For the story of the helpline Switchboard and untold stories from Britain's LGBTQ+ history: listen to Seasons 1-3, co-produced with Shivani Dave.

For interviews from the research for our book, published by Faber & Faber: listen to Season 4.

KI7FHCTLCUOCNJZ9

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tash got a tour of Bradford’s queer history with Alice Parsons, who runs the city’s Castles in the Sky project. We learnt all about the local Switchboard, the gay arts festival, the lesbian support line, and how these all stem from Bradford’s radical politics.

Discussed in this episode:

Amnesty International report on gender-critical movements and media 

Castles in the Sky in Bradford

Listen to ad-free episodes by supporting the show on Patreon.

Aunt Nell:  Newsletter | Instagram | YouTube | website

The Log Books is hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

The assistant producer is Mia Campbell

Music from Soundstripe

Original artwork by Natalie Doto

Thanks to the dreamboats at Acast

For the story of the helpline Switchboard and untold stories from Britain's LGBTQ+ history: listen to Seasons 1-3, co-produced with Shivani Dave.

For interviews from the research for our book, published by Faber & Faber: listen to Season 4.

KI7FHCTLCUOCNJZ9

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tash has tuned into the secret sounds of electricity pylons (no, really) and discovered something unique about human connection and queer experience. We learnt about ‘sferics’ and about static electricity in the air, and how it affects us all.

Discussed in this episode:

Petition to call for a public inquiry into the impact of Section 28

Listen to ad-free episodes by supporting the show on Patreon.

Aunt Nell:  Newsletter | Instagram | YouTube | website

The Log Books is hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

The assistant producer is Mia Campbell

Music from Soundstripe

Original artwork by Natalie Doto

Thanks to the dreamboats at Acast

For the story of the helpline Switchboard and untold stories from Britain's LGBTQ+ history: listen to Seasons 1-3, co-produced with Shivani Dave.

For interviews from the research for our book, published by Faber & Faber: listen to Season 4.

KI7FHCTLCUOCNJZ9

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tash went down to Kings Cross in London to visit the newly re-opened Queer Britain museum. From nightclubs like Club Kali to footballers like Justin Fashanu, from the painter Carrington to dyke-themed folk songs, the museum captures every part of queer life. Thanks to Jennifer Shearman (curator) and Beau Brannick (assistant curator) and everyone at Queer Britain.

-Adam + Tash

Queer Britain’s website

The Quilt - podcast series made by Aunt Nell in partnership with Queer Britain

Listen to ad-free episodes by supporting the show on Patreon.

Aunt Nell:  Newsletter | Instagram | YouTube | website

The Log Books is hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

The assistant producer is Mia Campbell

Music from Soundstripe

Original artwork by Natalie Doto

Thanks to the dreamboats at Acast

For the story of the helpline Switchboard and untold stories from Britain's LGBTQ+ history: listen to Seasons 1-3, co-produced with Shivani Dave.

For interviews from the research for our book, published by Faber & Faber: listen to Season 4.

KI7FHCTLCUOCNJZ9

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It feels like life is pulling many of us down at the moment — so we asked each other: what do you do to stay afloat? We discuss swimming, solo cinema trips, birds and well-stocked food cupboards. The queer future starts here?

-Adam + Tash

Listen to ad-free episodes by supporting the show on Patreon.

Aunt Nell:  Newsletter | Instagram | YouTube | website

The Log Books is hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

The assistant producer is Mia Campbell

Music from Soundstripe

Original artwork by Natalie Doto

Thanks to the dreamboats at Acast

For the story of the helpline Switchboard and untold stories from Britain's LGBTQ+ history: listen to Seasons 1-3, co-produced with Shivani Dave.

For interviews from the research for our book, published by Faber & Faber: listen to Season 4.

KI7FHCTLCUOCNJZ9

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every Easter in San Francisco, there’s a competition to find the best hunky Jesus. We didn’t go to it, BUT we spoke to Sister Roma, one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the order of queer nuns that organises it. AND to filmmaker Jennifer Kroot who’s just made a film about the sisters and their search for hunky Jesus. 

-Adam + Tash

Films: 

Hunky Jesus

La Grazia

Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma

I Saw the TV Glow

Queer disabled arts project:

Eff-able

TV:

The Repair Shop (BBC) - featuring the first Switchboard log book!

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why have one adolescence when you can have two? That’s the reality for many LGBTQ+ people. So let’s talk about what happens when you come out (or let people in), and unleash a whole new era on yourself. Sex, friendships, romance, lifestyle — all these things are up for grabs again a second time around for many queer people. Why is that? And what does psychology research say about it?

-Adam + Tash

Discussed in this episode:

The Second Adolescence of LGBTQ+ Adulthood, Psychology Today (2023)

The importance of sexual and romantic development in understanding the developmental neuroscience of adolescence

Sexual Development Through the Lifespan

Sex, Clubs, Dissent: Visualising Queer Nightlife by Amelia Abraham (ed)

Heartstopper (Netflix)

We Are Who We Are (HBO/BBC)

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve got a star guest this week! Tino Orsini is a versatile character actor — you might have seen him playing the artist Banksy in Ted Lasso. For his next trick he’ll be on stage performing an intimate solo show about his own dark past. It’s all based around the time he tried to make it in Hollywood.

We loved hearing Tino’s reflections on immigration, addiction, sex, family secrets and, of course, showbiz. His new show is called Ghosts of West Hollywood and it’s on 2-7 June at the Et Cetera theatre in London.

-Adam + Tash

Aunt Nell: Instagram | YouTube | website

The Log Books is hosted and produced by Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

The assistant producer is Mia Campbell

Music from Soundstripe

Original artwork by Natalie Doto

Thanks to the dreamboats at Acast

Seasons 1-3, from 2019-22, were co-produced with Shivani Dave, in partnership with Switchboard.

Season 4, from 2025-26, featured interviews for our book, published by Faber & Faber.

KI7FHCTLCUOCNJZ9

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.