Lipstick on the windscreen to tackle homophobia — just one of the stories in this latest episode from 1983 to 1991. Tash and Adam focus on the hostility in the air during this period, from people using HIV/AIDS as a reason for their prejudice to tensions within Catholic families. We conclude by speaking to Hafsa Qureshi about her experience as a bisexual Muslim woman today.

Content warning: attacks on LGBTQ+ people and biphobia.

Transcript here.

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. With thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute and the BFI National Archive.

A book: 

Go The Way Your Blood Beats by Michael Amherst

For more information, take a look at:

Imaan, supporting LGBTQ+ Muslims

Hidayah, supporting LGBTQ+ Muslims

Naz and Matt Foundation, tackling homophobia triggered by religion

Tackling biphobia, support from GALOP 

BiPride UK, a safe space for bisexual people in the UK

OneBodyOneFaith, empowering LGBT+ Chrisitans advocating for change

Keshet, supporting LGBTQ+ Jews

Sarbat, LGBT Sikhs

Quest, a support group for LGBT+ Catholics

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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

Every time anything to do with LGBTQ+ life was mentioned on TV or in the newspaper in the 80s, Switchboard volunteers took extra calls. In this episode, Tash and Adam speak to the people behind TV programmes and newspaper columns, and hear about the feverish atmosphere that led to anti-gay legislation in 1988. The section on today has two very special guests: our very own Shivani Dave, and Simon McCallum from the BFI National Archive, both comparing the media today with 1983 to 1991.

Content warning: some archaic language that some listeners may find offensive as our contributors discuss how language was used to attack people especially in the media.

Transcript here.

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. With thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute and the BFI National Archive.

LAGNA

Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive at the Bishopsgate Institute 

TV

Watch more episodes of Gay Life on the BFI Player. 

Books

Mediawatch: Treatment of Male and Female Homosexuality in the British Media by Terry Sanderson

Policing Desire by Simon Watney

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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

Some light and laughter in our fourth episode of this season! Tash and Adam hear memories of joy and strength from 1983 to 1991, through the log books at Switchboard and stories from people who remember those years. We also feature the Lesbian Strength Marches, Switchboard’s one-millionth call and an interview with Thigh High, the band who centre their music on queer joy. 

Transcript here.

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. With thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute and the BFI National Archive.

Songs by Thigh High featured in this episode, Go Slow and Nannas on the Rampage, used with kind permission of the band. Listen to Thigh High on Spotify.

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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

Bottling attacks and cruel newspaper editorials — this is the story of how the HIV/AIDS crisis hit the LGBTQ+ community in the 80s. Through Switchboard’s unique log book entries, Tash and Adam also uncover the story of a very special volunteer who handled the hardest calls you can imagine. This episode concludes the three-part set of episodes on HIV/AIDS in Season Two, before we move on to other stories found in the log books.

Content warning: Illness, death, archaic language, and ill-treatment and discrimination of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Transcript here.

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. With thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute and the BFI National Archive.

TV clip from The London Programme produced by London Weekend Television, 08/03/1985.

For more information about the themes in this episode, take a look at:

From organisations:

All about HIV from the Terrence Higgins Trust

All about PrEP from Prepster

National Aids Trust, the UK’s HIV rights charity

Positively UK, advocates for and supporters of people living with HIV

Positive East, health and wellbeing for people living with HIV

The National AIDS Map, which grew out of Switchboard!

Tonic Living, which seeks to build LGBT+ affirming retirement communities

TV:

BBC Horizon Killer in the Village from 1983

Podcasts:

From Probably True with Scott Flashheart:

Doctor part 1 

Doctor part 2

Plague

Books: 

Policing Desire by Simon Watney

The End of Innocence by Simon Garfield 

AIDS: Don’t Die of Prejudice by Norman Fowler

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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

Tash and Adam continue exploring the HIV/AIDS crisis through the calls made to Switchboard from 1983 to 1991, in this second of three episodes on the subject. This episode contains memories of Switchboard volunteer Mark Ashton, more from George, and further log book entries from the anonymous volunteer looking for others with an HIV diagnosis. We also have untold stories about the UK government’s official public health campaign from 1987 and words from Dr Tristan Barber on the status of HIV prevention and treatment today.

Content warning: Illness, death, and ill-treatment and discrimination of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Transcript here.

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. With thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute and the BFI National Archive.

TV clip from Daytime: AIDS produced by Thames TV, 02/07/1988. TV ad clip from the UK government campaign AIDS: Don’t Die of Ignorance campaign produced in 1987. 

For more information about the themes in this episode, take a look at:

From organisations:

All about HIV from the Terrence Higgins Trust

All about PrEP from Prepster

National Aids Trust, the UK’s HIV rights charity

Positively UK, advocates for and supporters of people living with HIV

Positive East, health and wellbeing for people living with HIV

The National AIDS Map, which grew out of Switchboard!

Tonic Living, which seeks to build LGBT+ affirming retirement communities

TV:

BBC Horizon Killer in the Village from 1983

Podcasts:

From Probably True with Scott Flashheart:

Doctor part 1 

Doctor part 2

Plague

Books: 

Policing Desire by Simon Watney

The End of Innocence by Simon Garfield 

AIDS: Don’t Die of Prejudice by Norman Fowler

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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

This is the story of the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as it has never been told before: through the voices and notes of the people who took phone calls made to an LGBTQ+ helpline. From 1983 to 1991, Switchboard volunteers supported people living with HIV, their loved ones, and people scared of it. In the first of three special episodes that start Season Two of The Log Books, Tash and Adam hear from survivors, a nurse and a doctor, and the people who were among the first to tackle what became a crisis.

Content warning: Illness, death, and ill-treatment and discrimination of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Transcript here.

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. With thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute and the BFI National Archive.

For more information about the themes in this episode, take a look at:

From organisations:

All about HIV from the Terrence Higgins Trust

All about PrEP from Prepster

National Aids Trust, the UK’s HIV rights charity

Positively UK, advocates for and supporters of people living with HIV

Positive East, health and wellbeing for people living with HIV

NAM AIDS Map, which grew out of Switchboard!

Tonic Living, which seeks to build LGBT+ affirming retirement communities

TV:

BBC Horizon Killer in the Village from 1983

Podcasts:

From Probably True with Scott Flashheart:

Doctor part 1 

Doctor part 2

Plague

Books: 

Policing Desire by Simon Watney

The End of Innocence by Simon Garfield 

AIDS: Don’t Die of Prejudice by Norman Fowler

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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

The award-winning podcast The Log Books returns for Season Two! 

Our brand-new set of episodes cover 1983 to 1991, continuing where Season One left off in 1982. As always, our re-telling of Britain’s history is led by the handwritten notes made by volunteers at Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline.

In this short episode, hosts Tash and Adam return to the Switchboard log books by visiting two locations that are integral to LGBTQ+ history in these years. We hope you’re as excited as we are about the re-opening of The Log Books, and for all the stories, memories and reflections ahead.

Transcript here.

The Log Books: stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced in partnership with Switchboard, the LGBT+ helpline.

Produced by Shivani Dave, Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

Nightclub music at the start of this episode by Pond5

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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

Season 2 of The Log Books is coming soon... Our unique exploration of the UK’s queer history through the pages of Switchboard’s log books will be strong, reflective and antiviral!

If you’d like to support our work in bringing season 2 to life, you can contribute financially at supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks.

In this preview episode, Tash, Adam and Shivani welcome you into their production process for their next full season. The behind-the-scenes glimpse features old and new voices talking about the stories they want to share from 1983 to 1991. The season will cover HIV/AIDS, Section 28, the media — and the countless colourful stories from LGBT+ life that flowed through Switchboard.

Transcript here.

If you have a story to share, please contact us here: www.thelogbooks.org/your-story. 

This preview episode was recorded during the Covid-19 lockdown in May and June 2020. We’ll be back in the autumn with the full season 2!

Excerpt from "Gay Rights (The London Programme)", first broadcast by London Weekend Television 10/04/87. With thanks to the BFI National Archive. 

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Adam Smith and Tash Walker, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline.

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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

This strange moment in history is bringing feelings of isolation and loneliness to so many of us. The coronavirus lockdown has even slowed the production of season 2 of The Log Books, as Tash and Adam are stuck at home. So let’s talk about it.

We’ve based this special lockdown episode on untold stories from calls to Switchboard from the 70s and 80s, as usual. But the episode is also built around Adam and Tash’s reflections on the experiences of those LGBTQ+ callers’ from history and all of us today. We remain physically distant while trying new ways to be socially connected.

Thanks to everyone who read log book entries for this bonus episode: Luis Amália, Frances Lubbe, Rhian Petty and Amy Spiller.

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Adam Smith and Tash Walker, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline.

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

For more information about the themes in this episode, take a look at: 

London LGBTIQ+ COVID19 Mutual Aid

COVID-19 – How LGBT-inclusive organisations can help

Covid-19 Information and Resources

NHS: Mental wellbeing while staying at home

Rethink: Covid-19 and mental illness

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

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

We’ve taken The Log Books out of the archive for LGBT History Month! We recorded this special episode in front of an audience at an event in London on February 5th 2020. You’ll hear fresh voices and familiar ones, including Tash and Adam. As ever, we are led by the handwritten notes made by volunteers in Switchboard’s log books from 1974 to 1982. 

The event was held at the Finsbury Library and co-organised by Islington’s Pride, a Heritage Fund project that aims to preserve, archive and celebrate Islington’s LGBT+ heritage. 

Transcript here.

Here are the voices you’ll hear:

Julian Hows, LGBT+ rights activist and former Switchboard volunteer 

Marlin Khondoker, project archivist with Islington's Pride

Seán McGovern, project manager with Islington's Pride

Femi Otitoju, former Switchboard volunteer

Adam Smith, co-producer of The Log Books

Tash Walker, co-producer of The Log Books and co-chair of Switchboard

...and members of our live audience 

Special thanks to everyone who helped with the event and this bonus podcast episode: Luis Amália, Scott Flashheart, Helen MacKenzie, Egle Rutkauskaite and Eliot Smith.

The Log Books — stories from Britain’s LGBT+ history and conversations about being queer today. Produced by Shivani Dave, Adam Smith and Tash Walker, in partnership with Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline.

Music by Tom Foskett-Barnes

Artwork by Natalie Doto

https://www.thelogbooks.org

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

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