Bless your ears with these incredible LGBTQI+ podcasts that will make you laugh and cry with their raw, honest and hilarious storytelling. From celebrity hosts and guest stars to award-winning journalists and activists, these queers podcasts are seriously binge-worthy.
While there are so many gems out there, these are our faves right now, so plug in and enjoy.
The Greatest Menace
It’s the latest podcast tearing up an absolute storm and spoiler alert, it’s not the lighthearted kind. Revealing a pretty gruesome part of LGBTQI+ history in Australia, The Greatest Menace investigates the story behind NSW’s Cooma Prison, also known as the world’s only “gay prison”. The podcast is led by journo Patrick Abboud who reveals that this prison specifically incarcerated gay men, a covert government operation to eradicate ‘the greatest menace to society’—homosexuality. The podcast is explosive and has kind of been heralded as “queer true crime” as it takes you from underground nightclubs and hidden sex haunts to remote parts of New Zealand and England. This one is an Audible Original, listen to it here.
Pink Milk
Ok people, you want niche? We’ll give you niche. Pink Milk is a queer take on the most significant movie and space franchise of all time, Star Wars. Husbands Tom and Bryan delve into the light side of lightsabers and the like to chat through everything from being gay in the 90s, how Return of the Mandalorian is an iconically gay narrative and look, from time to time—marshmallows, crispy bacon and toast. It’s a lot.
Queer Late Night
Hosted by the legendary Ell McCullars, Queer Late Night is an intersectional podcast which will bring the best of queer storytelling and mental health and wellness too. Episodes span conversations around gender expression, glow jobs (obviously), setting boundaries during holiday season with family and friends and a stellar lineup of Drag royalty.
Drag Her!
We mean, if you’re a Ru Paul’s Drag Race devotee, you’ll already be well across this epic LGBTQI+ podcast. Comedian and self-proclaimed historian (but still very true) Mano Agapion watches and reviews each episode of Drag Race UK with the kind of saucy commentary that will keep you on the edge of your seat… or run, pending where you’ve plugged yourself in.
Outward
Outward, is a monthly “salon” hosted by Rumaan Alam, J. Bryan Lowder, and Christina Cauterucci that aims to deepen the audience’s understanding of queer culture and politcis. Delighting listeners with their unique and sometimes unexpected perspectives (it kinda feels like you’re sitting at their dinner party), the trio cover topics ranging from what it’s like being queer in quarantine, virtual sex parties, hook up apps and the different between pandaring and parenting. They also have a line-up of amazing guest hosts to add a little extra spice.
Queery
Do yourself a favour an sit in on an hour-long conversation between host and standup comic, Cameron Esposito, and some of the brightest luminaries in the LGBTQI family. QUEERY explores individual stories of identity, personality and the shifting culture matrix around gender, sexuality and civil rights. Guests include athlete Chris Mosier who sits down to discuss what it was like being the first trans athlete to represent the US in an international competition and showrunner Noelle Stevenson who talks about the personal significance of pronouns and rebooting She-Ra.
AfroQueer
Hosted by journalist Selly Thiam, AfroQueer celebrates and amplifies the stories of queer Africans. Featuring heartfelt coming-out stories and personal tales of discovery—you might want to keep the tissues close for this one. Some of our favourite eps include, the story of a Ugandan man who planned to host the first Gay Pride event at a refugee camp and the complicated dynamics of using Grindr in Africa.
Homo Sapiens
This one gets our vote for its name alone! Fortunately, Homo Sapiens is also a truly epic podcast. Hosted by the loveable legend Alan Cummings and co-creator Chris Sweeney, in each ep the duo engages in funny yet informative conversations that represent the interests of LGBTQI+ people around the world. They also have some pretty special guests drop by for a chat including Hannah Gadsby, Troye Sivan, Sam Smith and Margaret Cho. Now in its fourth season (so you have loads to binge), a new ep drops every Thursday.
The Gays Are Revolting
Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness
We couldn’t do a roundup of our favourite queer podcasts and not include the heavenly Jonathan Van Ness. The Queer Eye star delivers eps that feature a host of his celeb pals—like Reese Witherspoon and Jamila Jamil—as well as exploring topics like politics, inequality, animal rights, the state of the economy post COVID-19 and how you can be fierce like JVN. Yep, it’s a totally mixed bag podcast that will make you laugh, cry and fall in love even more with JVN than you even thought was possible.
A Gay And A Non Gay
Nancy
This fabulous podcast is hosted by best mates Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, who describe themselves as “super queer and super fun” and they’re ready to become your favourite podcast. In Nancy, the loveable duo interviews a bunch of awesome guests—including astrologer Chani Nicholas and LA-based comedian and writer Joel Kim Booster—who reveal their honest and raw experiences in the queer community. Yes, you might cry, but you’ll also want to become Kathy and Tobin’s BFF.
Making Gay History
This amazing podcast will give you an intimate look at both the known and long-forgotten trailblazers and champions that strive for equal rights for the LGBTQI+ community. Each episode they talk to and about heroes like Vito Russo, the co-founder of GLAAD and ACT UP, Bayard Rustin, a champion of the black civil rights movement and mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and 80s author and playwright Larry Kramer who was one of the first people to sound the alarm about AIDS.
Dyking Out
Hosted by New York City-based comedians Carolyn Bergier and Melody Kamali, put Dyking Out straight to the top of your list. In each weekly ep, Carolyn and Melody invite a special guest to “dyke out” with them about a topic that is relevant to them and the LGBTQI+ world. Previous eps that you should definitely check out include their chats with actress Mae Martin from Netflix’s Feel Good, filmmaker Alice Wu and fellow podcaster Cameron Esposito.
While you're at it, check out these amazing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander podcasts.
Image Credit: Patrick Abboud