Content Warning 

This episode of Older Queer Voices is not just about history. It is about memory, protest, grief, and survival.

Host Raga D'silva is in conversation with Jonathan Blake, one of the first people in the UK to survive an AIDS diagnosis. Diagnosed in 1982 and told he had just months to live, Jonathan’s life became an act of resistance in a time when fear travelled faster than facts and silence was often more deadly than the virus itself.

In this deeply moving conversation, Jonathan shares
•⁠  ⁠What it meant to receive a diagnosis before HIV even had a name
•⁠  ⁠Living through isolation, stigma, and the fear of death
•⁠  ⁠Finding love, community, and purpose in the midst of crisis
•⁠  ⁠His activism with Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners
•⁠  ⁠The power of memory through the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt

This is a story of survival, but more importantly, it is a story of defiance, visibility, and the refusal to be erased.

Viewer discretion is advised as this conversation includes themes of illness, grief, and suicide.

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Older Queer Voices stands in solidarity with our Trans and Non-binary community in India.

This powerful episode discusses the current situation in India for transgender and non-binary communities, in the context of the proposed Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Amendment Bill 2026 and its potential impact on the right to self-identification, dignity, and protection from discrimination.

The conversation explores how these developments relate to the landmark NALSA vs Union of India  2014 decision reaffirmed something powerful - the right to self-identify, and the right to live with dignity and without discrimination. That was not symbolic. That was a constitutional promise.

But today, that promise is being tested. As conversations move towards verification, certification, and external validation, we are being forced to ask whether we are strengthening rights or quietly taking them away.

In this conversation, we also go deeper into the hijra community, a community with centuries of history, identity, and belonging. A community that has always existed, always been visible, yet is still struggling to be fully recognised on its own terms within modern systems.

This is an ongoing and evolving issue, and the views shared by our guests reflect their lived experiences and perspectives.

Joining Raga D’silva are Zainab Patel and Harish Iyer, in a powerful discussion on identity, law, and the realities faced by trans, non-binary, and hijra communities today.

Instagram: 

Zainab Patel – @radhikanandgiri

Harish Iyer - @iyerharish

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In this episode of Older Queer Voices with Raga D’silva, we explore how community, advocacy, and practical support come together to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people as we grow older.

Our guests are Dr. Paul Martin OBE, founder and CEO of the LGBT Foundation, and Tina Wadden, Head of Education at the Foundation. 

The LGBT Foundation, based in Greater Manchester, is one of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ health and community support charities. It provides helpline support, talking therapies, domestic abuse services, community safety programs, recovery initiatives, advocacy for trans people, and much more, reaching tens of thousands of people every year.

We discuss the Foundation’s 50-year history, its pioneering Pride in Ageing programme for LGBTQ+ people over 50, and the ongoing work to create safe, dignified, and celebratory spaces for older queer communities.  

From improving care homes and healthcare access to intergenerational conversations and social housing initiatives, this episode dives deep into what it truly means to age as a queer person in the UK today.

Join us to hear their incredible journeys, the challenges older LGBTQ+ people face, and the inspiring ways the community is building hope, joy, and resilience for the future.

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In this episode of Older Queer Voices, host Raga D’silva explores the powerful history and legacy of the butch–femme dynamic within lesbian communities.

Joining the conversation are partners, acclaimed writer and poet Joelle Taylor and artist Emily Witham. Together they share personal journeys of discovering and embracing their identities as butch and femme, while reflecting on the cultural, historical, and emotional significance of these roles.

From growing up in different generations of queer visibility to discussing how butch–femme relationships provided protection, affirmation, and community, this episode dives deep into the lived experiences behind these identities. Joelle also shares excerpts from her work, including her book Maryville.

Topics explored in the conversation include the history of butch and femme identities, growing up queer in different generations, reclaiming words like dyke and queer, gender fluidity and evolving identities, intergenerational queer relationships, and the role of storytelling, poetry, and lesbian archives.

This conversation celebrates the depth, resilience, and enduring legacy of butch–femme relationships in queer communities.

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Serving in Silence is a powerful conversation about the hidden history of LGBTQ service in the UK Armed Forces.

In this episode of the Older Queer Voices podcast, host Raga D’silva speaks with Sharon Pickering, former member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service whose career ended after she was outed as a lesbian, and retired Commander Roly Woods, who served more than 20 years while hiding his identity.

Their stories reveal the fear, secrecy and courage of those who served their country while being forced to live double lives under a military ban on LGBTQ personnel. From interrogation and dismissal to resilience, advocacy and recognition, this episode honours those who served in silence so others can serve openly.

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What Does Six Decades of Courage Look Like?

In this powerful episode of Older Queer Voices, Raga D'silva speaks with legendary human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell to reflect on a lifetime of activism, protest and love.
From helping organise the first UK Pride march in 1972 to facing 104 arrests, violent attacks and ongoing threats, Peter shares the untold stories behind the headlines. We talk about the birth of the Gay Liberation Front, Section 28, trans rights, global human rights struggles, and what keeps him going at 74.

This is not just a history lesson. It is a masterclass in resilience, community and moral courage.
“Don’t accept the world as it is, dream of what the world could be, and then help make it happen.”
Watch, listen, and share widely. 
Our freedoms were fought for. 
The fight for justice continues.

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Franco Stevens, founder of *Curve* magazine, joins Older Queer Voices with her wife Jen Rainin, filmmaker and co founder of Frankly Speaking Films, to talk about visibility, partnership, storytelling, ageing and queer legacy across generations.

In this deeply personal and timely conversation they also discuss the current backlash against LGBTQ rights in the United States, including how long fought protections like same sex marriage are being questioned, and the broader impact of that political climate here in the UK. They reflect on the murder of *Renée Nicole Good*, a 37‑year‑old queer mother and writer who was shot and killed by a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis while acting in solidarity with her neighbours earlier this year. Good’s death has sparked outrage and debate about state violence, community accountability and the fragility of rights in turbulent times. 

They also respond to the removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument, and what these symbolic and real attacks mean for visibility and queer history going forward.

This episode is about love, resistance, storytelling and why older queer voices are essential in moments of political upheaval.

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Creative Ageing in the Queer Community

In this episode of Older Queer Voices, we explore the power of creative ageing;  how theatre, storytelling, and artistic collaboration can enrich later life for older LGBTQ+ communities.

We are joined by two incredible voices in this space, Dr Georgia Bowers, a theatre-maker and researcher, and Professor Andrew King, an expert on ageing and queer lives. Together, they lead the Life House Project, an innovative initiative using theatre and creative methods to support older queer people in sharing their experiences around housing, care, and well-being.

This episode shows the transformative power of art, creativity, and collaboration in later life, giving older queer people the opportunity to be seen, heard, and celebrated.

Watch the full episode to learn more about creative ageing, theatre as activism, and the Life House Project.

More on the Life House Project here: https://tinyurl.com/3bdm6pt3

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Coming out Stories from India’ with Harish Iyer. Watch this episode as we delve into the various sides to Harish and his coming out journey. “I told my Mom, ‘I love you. If you want me to marry a woman, I will. But suggest that to me only if you had a daughter and you would get your daughter married off to a gay man” and … how did Harish Iyer’s mom respond? “I was not confident to come out as Harish. I had a lot of pseodonyms. My first ID was Yash” “My sexuality is what I fought for. I want to be gay the way I want to be. I am also discovering my gender. I feel like a woman sometimes. I discovered my fluidity only two years back.” -

TRIGGER WARNING- Sexual abuse is Discussed

Coming Out Stories from India Series one  Episode  Five
A Views Room Presentation

Curated and produced by Nicola Fenton
Hosted by Raga D’silva

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Coming out stories from India - Raga Olga D'silva talks with Winnie Chopra about her journey of coming out in, India. You would think this gorgeous, confident, butch Lesbian woman would have it easy in life. Watch as she slowly 'comes out with her truth. The vulnerability is endearing. 

Coming Out Stories from India. Series 1 Episode 4
A Views Room Presentation

Curated and produced by Nicola Fenton
Hosted by Raga D’silva

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