LGBTI Conversations

LGBTI Conversations

LGBTI Conversations Podcast draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may, or may not, have heard about - someone who has seen and done amazing things with in the LGBIT community for around the Globe. read less
Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Season 3

Alfie Arcuri An Australian Singer-Songwriter Best Known For Winning The Fifth Season Of The Voice Australia In 2016.
30-01-2024
Alfie Arcuri An Australian Singer-Songwriter Best Known For Winning The Fifth Season Of The Voice Australia In 2016.
Alfie Arcuri realized he was gay at age eleven, he came out to his family at age twenty  four and then came out again on national television at twenty six. His fear of coming out was once so great he prepared himself for the reality that his Italian catholic family may not accept him at all. He was working as an architect and felt he couldn’t even sing until he came out of the closet.   Three years later and Alfie found his voice and went on to became a household name in 2016 when he was crowded the season five winner of The Voice Australia. A win he shared with his TV coach and mentor, Delta Goodrem. His heart felt covers of Zayne’s ‘Pillowtalk’, Sam Smith ‘Lay Me down’ and ‘Alive’ by Sia cemented his place as a fan favourite both with teenage girls and gay men.   Alfie went on to sign a worldwide deal with Universal Music and his debut album ‘Zenith’ peaked at #5 on the ARIA music charts. The following year Alfie released his most personal song ‘If they only knew’ about having to hide his relationship with his boyfriend from others. His follow up single ‘Love Is Love’ became a gay anthem during the time of Australia’s marriage equality campaign.   In 2019 Alfie was back on TV screens, first as a top five contender to represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest and in 2020 Alfie co-wrote the song ‘Running’ for the Cypriot Eurovision entry. He returned to the world stage again in 2023 to represent San Marino and proudly qualified for the final.    In his spare time Alfie loves to travel, cook, preform at gay pride events and spend time with his French Bulldogs Susie and Gary. He also returned to the pop charts with a new sound and five new tracks on his EP, Love Is A Dangerous Drug including an infectious dance track ‘Devil’s Lips’ and a sultry cover of Cyndi Lauper’s hit ‘I Drove All Night’.
Stan Herman is 95 years young and a remarkable openly gay man who’s lived a fascinating life!
27-04-2024
Stan Herman is 95 years young and a remarkable openly gay man who’s lived a fascinating life!
Stan Herman is 95 years young and a remarkable openly gay man who’s lived a fascinating life. Born in Brooklyn, he grew up in New Jersey, he was also in the Army and stationed in Europe during the Korean.  Stan has long been involved as an activist, fashion designer and fashion leader. For his first fully produced first fashion show, he presented a fashion-first collection featuring ‘faux fur’ on the open-air runway in the Central Park Zoo, rather than real fur.  Stan has had an extensive and varied career at the center of American Fashion on Seventh Avenue, including 16 years as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for 16 years, as well as his years of accessible, casual and “street wear” designs.   Stan has shared his life in a 40-year relationship with his partner and novelist Gene Horowitz. Their lives intertwined in 1953 and continued through the AIDS epidemic that impacted their personal and professional lives. When Gene died suddenly in 1992 – Stan determined how to continue and move ahead with a life on his own over the next 30 plus years of his engaged and engaging life.  Since 1980, Stan has designed corporate uniforms TWA, United, Jet Blue, FedEx, McDonalds, Amtrak, Acela, Central Park Conservancy, and Sandals Resorts. In addition, he’s enjoyed a successful, 30-year stint on-air with QVC – with his ever-popular women’s leisure and comfort-wear designs. Just when he thought life would slow down, he released his new book Uncross Your Legs  A Life in Fashion and become an author at age 93.
Michael Waugh - It’s More Than Gay Pride, It’s Life
20-06-2024
Michael Waugh - It’s More Than Gay Pride, It’s Life
Michael Waugh is a singer and songwriter, for sure. One of the best, who fellow writers look at with awe: ARIA and Golden Guitar winner Fanny Lumsden says that “his lyrics stop me in my tracks”: the great Eric Bogle labels him “a gifted songwriter … a compassionate and insightful human being”. He is an out and proud singer/songwriter whose coming out happened well into adulthood, a marriage and a successful career, in an industry that has always favoured safety over bravery. Then there’s the teacher and mentor who takes that role seriously. “There are young people for whom I’m responsible and where I’m needed but I didn’t have role models when I was growing up,” he says. “I have a responsibility to represent them and speak my truth because that contributes to a world where others can speak as well. You can’t be what you can’t see.” Yes, all of the above. That is Michael Waugh, and that is all through his new album, Beauty & Truth, which looks at history and looks at today and defiantly declares, We Are Here; which faces the brutal truth of fractured families and the wounds of Father’s Day, and treats with compassion the complicated lives of boys-not-yet-men too easily labelled Young And Dumb; deals unflinchingly with a culture not just antagonistic to half its population in its many Songs About Women, but destructive to the other half who hate themselves and want someone to Fix Me. Yet it’s only part of the story of this record because “at the heart of that is being in love” and that changes everything. “I think love between gay men is often complex, especially of my generation, because we come from a place of trauma,” Waugh says. “The journey into the record is you can’t experience some of the love that I talk about in Out and Playlist without comprehending all of that [trauma that came before]. Out of all of that, the love comes.” And the love and the songs don’t go quietly. Right from the start, Beauty & Truth, tracked with a live band in the studio of his long-time producer Shane Nicholson, was a record that didn’t so much break from the folk and country-based sound of his previous work as build on it. Build up from it, into a record that doesn’t see boundaries.
Celebrating The Beauty Of Being Intersex With Gigi Raven Wilbur.
30-07-2024
Celebrating The Beauty Of Being Intersex With Gigi Raven Wilbur.
Gigi Raven Wilbur was born in 1955 in Houston, Texas. At birth, Gigi’s genitalia did not fit the standard definitions for male or female bodies (a condition known as being intersex or a hermaphrodite). Within days, Gigi’s anatomy was “normalized” via surgery, and Gigi was defined as male. Today, Gigi identifies as intersex, and uses the title Ladyboy to offset the lack of pronouns for hermaphrodites. Growing up, Gigi struggled with the strict gender roles forced upon her by family, coaches, and classmates. She also suffered from severe learning disabilities. Told she would never go to college, Gigi worked stringing barbed wire on ranches in north and east Texas, until a fellow ranch hand convinced Gigi to give college a shot. Despite being forced to take a foreign language, something experts said would be impossible for Gigi, she graduated with a BA in Philosophy, and later earned a master’s degree in social work. During college, Gigi finally understood that she was intersex. Armed with this new knowledge, Gigi decided it was time to come out, all the way, as dyslexic, ADHD, intersex, and bisexual. Since then,Gigi has been an outspoken activist for the bisexual and intersex communities. After co-producing AfterHours, a radio program about human sexuality, Gigi created an iTunes podcast called Adult Bedtime Stories to help create a more sex-positive world through adult sexual education and BDSM performance art. Gigi has also served on BiNet USA’s board of directors, and helped established Celebrate Bisexuality Day in 1999. That year, Gigi was awarded the AIB Globe Award for outstanding service to the bisexual community worldwide. Gigi is also deeply involved with the BDSM world. Today, she advocates for the healing, cathartic, and spiritual power of BDSM as founder and Sacred Harlot of Aphrodite’s Temple, a modern-day sex temple which provides sex-positive education and a sex-positive sacred play space for adults. Gigi’s book is called The Dominant’s Handbook: an Intimate Guide to BDSM Play. Gigi also wrote the essay Walking in Shadows: Third Gender and Spirituality, about her intersex identity.

Season 2

Braeden Rhys AKA Kara Zmatiq Is Australia Iconic Live-Singing Drag Queen (bonus Episode)
17-02-2023
Braeden Rhys AKA Kara Zmatiq Is Australia Iconic Live-Singing Drag Queen (bonus Episode)
Braeden Rhys AKA  KARA ZMATIQ is the iconic Live-Singing Drag Queen of Australia, best known for their stellar performances on Australia's Got Talent and appearances on Radio, Feature Films and Reality Television. ​. ​ A serendipitous night out at Sydney's Iconic Drag Club, Stonewall Hotel Sydney, took Braeden from being led by prayer, to being on his knees for a whole new reason, embracing his sexuality and newfound identity and alter-ego Kara Zmatiq. ​ Sure, lip-syncing is where Kara began their career on sticky dance floors and dimly lit night club stages, but very quickly found their voice as a counter-tenor singer and Wedding Venues, Cruise Ships, Hotels, Resorts and Television quickly ushered them into their world and audiences. ​ Following continually sold out cabaret shows nationally, ‘Australia’s Premier Live Singing Drag Queen’ (Fuse Magazine) and Soiree Cabaret Producer, KARA ZMATIQ brings the best of circus, dance, live-singing drag and burlesque to The Vanguard for World Pride 2023. Curated and hosted by ‘Australia’s Best Live-Singing Drag Queen’ (Focus Magazine) Experience a star-studded mix of classic “camp” hit songs set amongst sexy and incredibly risqué circus and dance performances with special guest appearances from some of the country's truly fabulous LGBTQI+ burlesque and cabaret entertainers! Expect the unexpected in a truly interactive, raunchy and sensory cabaret show. Soiree Cabaret will “blow” your minds darlings! TICKETING INFO
James Breko, Sydney's most celebrated Trivia Bingo Host and creator of the DIY Rainbow movement!
08-04-2023
James Breko, Sydney's most celebrated Trivia Bingo Host and creator of the DIY Rainbow movement!
James Breko is a local Sydney celebrity hustling his brand of Trivia & Music Bingo.  During Sydney's lockdowns as MC work vanished, Breko quickly pivoted into hosting online Zoom Trivia for work teams across the Country. his zany brand of Trivia and Music Bingo has since been featured on The Today Show and on Nine's hit TV show, Travel Guides. In Sydney Breko hosting events 5 nights a week as well as corporate events. His annual events include a Mardi Gras float, the Sydney Grand Final Eurovision screening & a camp Vivid Dance Cruise. Breko has dabbled in radio, TV and has written for various publications including The Star Observer & The Huffington Post. He is the founder of DIY Rainbow & also served on the Board of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras for 3 years. James 'Breko' Brechney founded the viral rainbow chalking movement DIY Rainbow in 2013 against the backdrop of the removal of the Sydney Rainbow Crossing. Chalk rainbow crossings went on to be an international success with many global landmarks gaining a chalk rainbow crossing for LGBTI equality. The Facebook page is still active today, regularly sharing LGTBI news to it's followers as well as organising events, rallies and raising funds for local projects. James went on to work with the United Nations body UNESCO on an anti-bullying and anti-homophobia project across Thailand, where chalking rainbows were used to bring groups together and start a conversation about homophobia in primary schools. In 2014 DIY Rainbow was named one of the 10 memorable pages of Facebook of all time, celebrating a decade of the social network, alongside The Humans of New York and others, which led to James chalking a rainbow at Facebook HQ in Silicon Valley and celebrating San Francisco Pride with the Facebook and Instagram teams. James continued to be community leader speaking at rallies, conducting fundraisers, and producing Mardi Gras floats for the community to take part in. He has hosted several live talk show forums on the Oxford Street strip covering topics including Marriage Equality, World AIDS Day and the 78ers.