Rainbow Conversations

AIMEE DRIVERBradford lass Aimee is perhaps best known for being in the band Scars on 45 and tells us how a girl from Bradford was asked to do the vocals on one track and then became part of a band that has successfully toured the states for a decade. Join us as we talk about music, family and when we might expect a new album from Scars on 45. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MICHAEL WALKERMichael Walker, class struggle social democrat and host of Tysky Sour from Novara Media talks about the emergence of Novara Media and why it is important in providing us lefties some solace in today's world!We also delve into Queer politics, his coming out journey, using your privilege to support, elevate and challenge oppressive systems and what queer liberation looks like in todays world.JENNY WILSON Jenny is the the Chair of Happy Valley Pride (based in the Calder Valley, UK) and founder of the International Day of Consent. Listen in to hear about the amazing work done by Happy Valley Pride, why Jenny believes pride is still a protest and why setting up the International Day of consent was so important.Follow Rainbow Conversations on Instagram & Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LIAM RIDDICKOriginally from South Wales, Liam was a NDCWales associate and Royal Ballet Junior associate before studying contemporary dance at Coleg Gwent in Newport. This led Liam to London to complete his degree at London Contemporary Dance School. Upon graduating Liam joined Richard Alston Dance Company, touring nationally and internationally for 8 years. During his time in the company Liam was nominated 7 times in 6 consecutive years at the Critics Circle National Dance Awards. In February 2018 he won Best Male Dancer 2017. Liam then went on to dance with BalletBoyz for 2 years. He has also danced works by James Cousins, Eleesha Young-Drennan, Bob Cohan, Iván Pérez, Christopher Wheeldon, Xei Xin, Maxine Doyle, Martin Lawrance, Kim Brandstrup, Paul Roberts for BBC The Greatest Dancer and Jay Ravell for Years and Years Pyramid Stage set at Glastonbury. Liam made his choreographic debut in November 2020 with 'The Three Sections' for FFIN Dance and has recently created 'Murmurations' for Ballet Cymru. Currently Liam is working freelance and teaching on the BA course at London Contemporary Dance School.Follow Liam on InstagramTHE BOOKISH TYPEThe Bookish Type is a queer indie bookshop in Leeds. They started out by running pop-up bookstalls in 2019, then set up a website and finally opened the shop in September 2020.They sell a range of queer literature: fiction, children's books, YA, memoirs, poetry, short stories, zines, non-fiction, colouring books and graphic novels. They champion LGBTIQA+ authors and books with queer themes and characters because they know the importance of seeing yourself – and your community – represented. They are a community bookshop so aim to actively support and work with the local queer community. They have a Pay It Forward scheme, run Queer History Tours around Leeds and hold Secondhand Sundays to raise money for good causes. They offer discounts to local book groups and Joe, our Saturday Boy, runs a book group for older LGBTIQA+ people in collaboration with the Leeds LGBT+ Community Consortium.Check out there website here and follow them on InstagramFollow Rainbow Conversations on Instagram and Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

XAVIER DE SOUSAXavier de Sousa (he/they) is an independent performance maker and culture worker based between England and Portugal. He has collaborated with a variety of performance artists and live artists and his solo work in clude POST, Almost Xav, Pós- and the durational show REGNANT.Xavier curates digital performance programme performingbordersand New Queers on the Block, the Marlborough Productions' Artist and Community Development programme.Xavier is a co-founder of Migrants in Culture and is a member of the BECTU union and the Independent Theatre Council.TOM DOYLETom Is the Chief Executive of Yorkshire MESMAC group of services. He has been involved in LGBT Issues and in particular HIV and sexual health promotion for over 30 years as an activist, volunteer and paid worker.Before joining Yorkshire MESMAC in 1990 Tom worked in community theatre, and theatre in education where he developed a strong interest in Community Development which led him to move on to become a Social Action Broadcaster on local radio.He is the founder and Chaired of Leeds LGBT+ Pride for 10 years.FOLLOW RAINBOW CONVERSATIONS ON INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PHYLLIS CHRISTOPHERBuy Dark Room: San Francisco Sex and Protest, 1988–2003 herePhyllis Christopher is a photographer whose work documenting LGBTQ sexuality and protest in San Francisco has been published widely in anthologies such as Nothing But The Girl: The Blatant Lesbian Image (Susie Bright and Jill Posener, 1996), Photo Sex: Fine Art Sexual Photography Comes of Age (David Steinberg, 2003), Art & Queer Culture (Catherine Lord and Richard Meyer, 2013) as well as magazines such as DIVA, Aperture and Art Monthly. Between 1991 and 1994 Christopher was the photo editor of the groundbreaking lesbian erotica magazine On Our Backs. She has featured on HBO's ‘Sexbytes', Canadian television's ‘Sex TV' and the documentary film, Erotica – A Journey into Female Sexuality. Recently, her photographs have been included in various exhibitions including ‘On Our Backs: An Archive' (The NewBridge Project, Newcastle, 2016) and ‘Still I Rise: Feminisms, Gender, Resistance' (Nottingham Contemporary, De La Warr Pavilion and Arnolfini, Bristol, 2019). She is a 2020 finalist of the Queer|Art Robert Giard Grant for Emerging LGBTQ+ Photographers.Current exhibitions by Phyllis Christopher:‘Contacts', Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, 23 Oct 2021 – 20 Mar 2022'Heads and Tails', Grand Union, Birmingham, through March 2022For more information on Phyllis and her work please check out her websiteTHE SUN HOTEL, BRADFORDThe Sun Hotel in Bradford is the oldest lgbtq+ bar in the district. It hosts international drag queens every weekend. Once described by one reviewer as being stuck in the 80s the bar proudly owns this title as the music is cheesy, the drinks cheap and plenty of characters in attendance. For more information please check out their Facebook pagePEACE MUSEUM UKThe Peace Museum explores the history and the often untold stories of peace, peacemakers, social reform and peace movements. It occupies three small galleries in one of Bradford's many fine Victorian buildings. It is unique in that it is the only accredited museum of its kind in the UK.Peace Out is a project exploring Peace and LGBTQ+ activism. The exhibition aims to explore the journey from Stonewall, a moment in history that exemplifies violence perpetrated against LGBTQ+ people and their violent retaliation, and marks the beginning of the following struggle for equality and justice. It can be viewed online hereCheck the Peace Museum out on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Rainbow Conversations host Richard Dunbar as he speaks to two amazing creative souls for Episode 6!Richard is first joined by the New York based stylist and creative director J Leve. We cover a whole host of topics as we hear about J's time growing up in Kentucky and how despite being a talented vocalist and performer they couldn't be their true self on stage due to societal expectations & toxic masculinity. J is a true visionary, inspiration and someone who has a real sense of justice. Join us as we explore issues ranging from mental health, feminism and how we achieve queer liberation. And in the Rainbow Spotlight this episode we have international dancer Vince Virr who takes us on an intriguing journey from a boy from Bradford who when younger didn't understand what dance was to now being a prolific dancer who has danced with companies and created his own work across the globe. Vince talks passionately about how dancing across the world has deepened his understanding of people, places and society more widely. Vince also talks how the journey to self acceptance is never straight forward! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Rainbow Conversations host Richard Dunbar as he speaks to Jason & Sivat from A Place To Be Yourself in Cambodia-a safe space for LGBTIQ+ individuals to meet and be themselves in Siem Reap. They both talk about the importance of creating space for the community, their coming out journeys and what life is like for the LGBTQ+ community more widely in Cambodia. The mission of A Place To Be Yourself:"To create a safe space for LGBTIQ+ individuals to meet, learn through peer support about sexuality and gender and access information about health care, counselling services and their rights in Cambodia. Advocacy alongside LGBTIQ+ individuals to promote exposure, challenge stereotypes and decrease stigma across social, familial and professional realms as they develop and act on their own solutions. "You can read more about the pursuit of equality and freedom for the LGBTQ+ community in Cambodia by clicking hereYou can follow A Place To Be Yourself on Instagram & Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Follow Rainbow Conversations on Instagram & TwitterDivina De CampoTune in as we speak to the Queen of the North & Drag Race Superstar Divina De Campo. Divina speaks about their journey into drag, how the actions of Government affect attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, their drag race experience and some up and coming projects. As always Divina gives us laughs, interesting insights and brutal honesty about the state of the world.You can follow Divina on their socials, download their EPs and see what else they are up to by clicking hereBRADFORD 2025Bradford district is bidding to be UK City of Culture in 2025 and we hear from team members Ezra and May on why it is Bradford's time, what sets us apart from others and why it's important we continue to develop the queer arts sector.We also talk about what we love about Christmas and why it is important we support young people in care over the festive period.For more information on Bradford's bid to be UK City of Culture in 2025 and to sign up to the newsletter click here. You can keep up to date by following Bradford 2025 on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard sits down for a conversation with the nations alternative national treasure-the potty mouthed socialist lesbian Jew Miriam Margolyes!!! We discuss the Government's handling of the pandemic, her long illustrious career and why she loves curry so much! Prepare for the unexpected, the hilarious stories but also some rare moments of vulnerability.Richard Shaw, the man responsible for giving Miriam's TV career a new lease of life talks what Miriam was like off camera and reviews her autobiography This Much is True. Out now-treat yourself-reet good read!Rainbow Conversations is a radical podcast dedicated to telling the stories of the queer community from across the world that will agitate for change.Follow Rainbow Conversations on Instagram and Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rainbow Conversations is a radical podcast dedicated to telling the stories of the queer community from across the world that will agitate for change.RAINBOW CONVERSATION:In this episode I speak to conversion therapy survivor Justin Beck about his experiences and why he is urging the UK Government to ensure a ban is implemented immediately.For more information on how you can support the campaign to ban conversion therapy check out the work from our friends at Ban Conversion Therapy & StonewallWe appreciate that some of this information in this episode is triggering. Should you need extra you can contact the National Conversion Therapy Helpline from GALOP -Galop is the UK's LGBT+ anti-abuse charity. We work with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of interpersonal abuse and violence.The National Conversion Therapy Helpline a listening service run by the LGBT+ community, for the LGBT+ community. If you have been a victim of conversion therapy, or are worried you're at risk, please give the helpline a call or email. 0800 130 3335CThelp@galop.org.ukRAINBOW SPOTLIGHT:Conleth KaneDescribed by OK Magazine! as 'the breath of fresh air we all need right now' and QX Magazine as "an infectiously energetic, refreshingly cheerful Singer/Songwriter”, Conleth Kane recorded his debut album 'Proud - Live in London' at a sold out show at The Crazy Coqs in London's West End in Oct 2018 seeing him shoot to Number 2 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Charts in Feb 2019. He released his self-penned debut EP in August 2020 which went to Number 7 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart.Conleth has performed live sets of his own songs on both BBC Radio London, BBC Radio Ulster, and Northern Ireland's Number 1 Radio Station, Cool FM. 2017 saw Conleth win the 'Personal Contribution to the LGBTQ Community' at the annual GNI Magazine Awards in Belfast - voted for by the public.Conleth has toured his music all over the world including Europe and Australia as well as performing as a special guest for the London Gay Men's Chorus and the Gay Mens Dance Company at Pride in London and The Troxy in London. His song ‘Proud' has just been remixed by world-leading pop producers ‘7th Heaven' for a July 2021 release. "A voice that would melt your heart" - Gaby Roslin BBC Radio London "Brilliant music!" - Gay Times Magazine"Proud by Conleth Kane is an anthem for our times" - Out News Global"Proud was always set to be an LGBTQI anthem. With this brand-new accompanying video, Conleth has confirmed his queer icon status and showed us all how to live without fearing what other's think" - Diva MagazineFollow Rainbow Conversations on Instagram and Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rainbow Conversations is a radical podcast dedicated to telling the stories of the queer community from across the world that will agitate for change.In this episode I speak to Richard & Neil from the Cake ‘Ole in Bradford about being partners in business as well as partners in life. They explore some of the challenges they have faced, why inclusion is so important, how they met and their upcoming wedding! In this episode's Rainbow Spotlight is Kirsty Taylor-Bratfud Poet, writer and thinker who performs one of her latest pieces about her beloved Bradford.Follow Rainbow Conversations on Instagram and TwitterFollow Kirsty TaylorFollow Richard & Neil from Cake 'Ole Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.