Today's episode is on Elke Mackenzie, British lichenologist, Antarctic explorer and trans woman. We'll tell you about Elke's incredible devotion to her research, as well as penguin egg facts and one of the coolest landscapes known to humankind. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.

Queer as Fact is back from hiatus! Today we're talking about relationships between women in ancient Rome. Join us to hear a queer creation myth, read some ancient love poetry, and find out which whether your star sign made you gay. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: Relief of two Roman women holding hands]

This week's episode is on the West African soldiers known as the Agojie, sometimes called the Dahomey Amazons. Join us to hear about how women became the backbone of the Dahomean army, a very dubious cocktail recipe, and not one but two kinds of same-sex marriage! Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: drawing of Agojie Seh-Dong-Hong-Be by Frederick Forbes, 1851]

Welcome to Season 10 of Queer as Fact! This week’s episode we're talking about a 1971 article from the Village Voice memorably titled ‘Asexuals Have Problems Too’. Join us to hear about being invited to orgies to pour the wine, why 101 Dalmatians is a piece of ace cinema, and how this satirical article became a surprising source of ace visibility. This episode was originally released on our Patreon as a bonus episode. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image description: a cropped image of the Village Voice article entitled Asexuals Have Problems Too]

In today's episode we discuss Qiu Miaojin, a well-known Taiwanese lesbian writer. We've got details about Taiwanese lesbian gender identities, an experimental queer literary movement, and a very lovable crocodile. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image description: a photo of Qiu Miaojin, an ethnically Chinese person in thin-rimmed glasses, a dark blue coat, and a short, masculine hairstyle.]

On this week's podcast, we're talking about the queer micronation, the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands. Join us to hear about the joys and tribulations of founding a country, the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom's war with Australia, and of course, the Royal Dog. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image description: A sign on a beach which reads “Welcome to Heaven, Cato Island Post Code 0000, Capital of the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom, www.gayandlesbiankingdom.com” draped with a rainbow flag, next to a post box labelled “Royal Gay Mail”]

This week's episode is on the 5th-century Irish abbess Saint Brigid. Join us to hear about a miraculous abortion, powerful women in the Catholic Church, and a flying priest. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: stained glass window of St Brigid holding a lamp]

In today's Queer as Fiction episode, we follow up our previous episode on historical piracy with a discussion about David Jenkins' 2022 pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death. Join us as we explore the historical figures of Major Stede Bonnet and Captain Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, discuss the evolution of pirate tropes and how they became associated with queerness, and revel in the multifaceted ways OFMD depicts its predominately queer characters. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image Description: The poster for Season 1 of Our Flag Means Death, featuring the main cast of rough looking pirates with Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet in the centre, saluting and dressed fancily].

Avast me hearties! This week's episode is about queerness during the Golden Age of Piracy. Join us to hear about the raging party culture of pirate ships, Eli and Jason getting gay pirate married, and our treasure hunt for evidence on the stormy seas of historical documents. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image description: a engraving of pirate captain Bartholomew Roberts holding a sword aloft in front of a pirate ship in a bay]

Today we'll be talking about a recently discovered and possibly fraudulent archive of Frida's paintings, letters and possessions. Join us to hear about how to authenticate an artwork, Chavela Vargas' smoking gun, and 200 entire dogs. This episode was originally released on our Patreon as a bonus episode. The episode we intended to release today, on queerness in the Golden Age of Piracy has been delayed and will hopefully be released on August 15th. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image description: one of the cases allegedly owned by Frida Kahlo, containing various papers, with two small portraits of Frida in front of it.]

This week on Queer as Fact, we're talking about the 8th-century Arabic poet Abu Nuwas. Join us to hear about wine poetry, sexuality in the Abbasid caliphate, and fun facts about cheetahs. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: sketch of Abu Nuwas drawn by Khalil Gibran in 1916]

Today’s episode of Queer as Fiction, as chosen by our patrons, is on the 1926 play “The Captive”. Join us as we discuss the sale of violets, the padlocking of theatres and the diverse ways a story can be interpreted by audiences and critics. Thank you to our Patrons for voting on this episode! Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image description: A black and white photo of a theatre production of the Captive. Basil Rathbone and Helen Menken as Irene and Jacques face each other on lounge furniture.]

This week we're talking about the early 20th century American cook, socialite and transgender woman Lucy Hicks Anderson. Join us to hear about Lucy's determination to live authentically in the face of repeated court cases, the enduring love and respect shown to her by her community, and the greatest dinner rolls ever made. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image description: Black and white photo of Lucy Hicks Anderson, a middle-aged African American woman. She is facing the camera and wearing a large hat and a pale jacket.]

Join us for the first episode of Season 9 as we discuss the life and trial of 20th century Scottish aristocrat and farmer Dr Ewan Forbes. We'll be talking about how to transition in rural mid-20th century Scotland, an impressively bold legal defense strategy, and the perils of keeping lion cubs in your family home. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: Photo of Ewan Forbes from 1952; he is a middle-aged man in a checked three-piece suit, smiling and talking to someone out of frame.]

This week on Queer as Fact, we're talking about the 12th-century German nun and polymath Hildegard of Bingen. Join us for thorny theological questions, savage letters to the Pope and a medieval description of the female orgasm. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: Medieval illustration of Hildegard in a nun's habit, writing. Red tendrils reach down towards her face. A monk is watching on.]

In today's episode of Queer as Fiction we delve into James Baldwin's 1956 novel, Giovanni's Room. Join us as we discuss 1950s gender roles, the French gay bar scene and the concept of a Manic Pixie Dream Gay. Thank you to our Patrons for voting on this episode! Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: Front Cover of the Penguin Modern Classics edition of Giovanni's Room, the 1956 novel by James Baldwin. It features the silhouettes of two men and the legs of a woman]

Today's episode is on the life and trial of early 20th century Australian transgender man Harry Crawford. Join us to learn what court records, newspaper articles and modern biographies can tell us about a century of Australian attitudes to transgender experiences. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: Mugshot of Harry Crawford, taken by the New South Wales Police Department in 1920. It is a black and white photo Harry Crawford, a white man in a three piece suit looking at the camera with a serious expression.]

This week, Queer as Fact is talking about the Asexual Manifesto, published in New York in 1972. Join us for our first deep dive into ace history, a discussion of the place of asexuality in 1970s feminism, and one of the first ever mentions of ace pride. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: 'Lesbian activists at Barnard provide labels', Off Our Backs vol. 3 no. 6 Feb/Mar 1973 - a young woman sits in front of a sign featuring various sexuality labels, including asexual]

Today's episode is on beloved 19th century author Louisa May Alcott. Irene, Alice and Jason, who between them have read the 1868 novel Little Women, watched the 2017 movie Little Women, and read a good number of Louisa May Alcott's letters, diaries and papers, discuss the times when fiction might be more honest than autobiography, the ways that gender identity and gendered social roles interact, and the appeal (or lack thereof) of cold baths. Thank you to our Patreons for voting on this episode! It was fun to research and record. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: Portrait of Louisa May Alcott; Wikimedia Commons]

Today marks our first Queer as Fiction episode for the season, as we discuss the 1999 film, directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski, The Matrix. Join us as we explore the red pill, the blue pill, and everything in between. Check out our website, where you can find out everything there is to know about Queer as Fact. If you enjoy our content, consider supporting us on Patreon, checking out our merch, and following us on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. [Image: The movie poster for 1999 film The Matrix, featuring the characters of Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and Cypher]