Queer Ear

Rory tries to establish what has led to gay saunas going down the drain by speaking with Southampton's Pink Broadway owner Nick Batt, Nottingham Trent University's Professor of Psychology, Rusi Jaspal and former sauna employee and customer, Antonio Blanche.

Rory delves into the fear and anxiety many Queer people face when getting a haircut by speaking to non-binary barber C.J. Hernández, who was kicked out of a barbershop at age 14 for not being male and community organiser Dez Marshall, who sought a barbering licence to protect other LGBTQ people from facing her negative experiences.

Rory highlights the positive effects of education for Queer prisoners by speaking with former art teacher and author of Inside & Out and Released Inside, Phil Forder. He also chats to writer and Trans rights in prison advocate Dalton Harrison.

Rory and Nic Desborough chat with Seyan Sarvan of Channel 4’s hit show It’s a Sin and Human Rights Campaigner Ceri Hutton about the forgotten Queer history of the HIV and Aids crisis of the 1980s, exploring themes brought to light by the show. This episode was recorded for Roundhouse's celebration of LGBT+ History Month.

Rory analyses the rapid decline of what was once a queer rite of passage by speaking to writers Jeff Leavell and James Greig - both of whom have written about their experiences of cruising in different eras.

Rory looks at the negative effects that shadow banning and algorithms have had on the online presence of the queer community. He speaks to sex workers Livia Roth and Jack Hunter, as well as portrait artist JBG, all of whom have been hidden, silenced or removed from social media.

Rory questions whether many queer people's problematic behaviour with fitness stems from their experiences of PE. He speaks to University of California Santa Cruz student Ash Whipple as well as writers Jordan Page and Rosie Hewitson to get their respective views on exercise as a trans person, gay man and queer woman.

Rory examines the harsh reality of Poland's LGBT-Free Zones by speaking to activist Bart Staszewski and Polish Drag Queen collective Slav 4 U, who recount their experiences of growing up queer in an overtly homophobic country.

Rory explores the huge lack of black-owned queer businesses by speaking to RuPaul’s Drag Race star Honey Davenport, historian and California State University professor Eric Gonzaba, and one of New York City’s only black gay bar owners, Alexi Minko.

Rory discusses J.K. Rowling’s recent transphobic tweets and the controversial content of her new novel with trans writers Sarah Savage and Julia Serano. He also chats to Rabble Books & Games owner Nat Latter, who has stopped stocking Rowling’s work.

Rory explores the extreme vitriol and racism many Asian men face on gay dating apps. He speaks to Haran Vijayanathan, of Toronto’s Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP), writer Wei-Hong Tseng, and PhD candidate Gene Lim, to discover where this racist behaviour and language comes from.

Rory speaks to Conversion ‘Therapy’ survivor and India’s first out gay Prince, Manvendra Singh Gohil. He also chats with United Nations expert Victor Madrigal-Borloz and activist Mahed Asad, who are fighting to end this abusive practice.

After discovering deplorable racist content on Pornhub, Rory chats to black gay porn stars Max Konnor and Elijah Wilde, to find out how they’ve made their mark in an industry that is saturated with white performers. This episode contains audio from a racist porn film, which some people may find upsetting.

Rory speaks to Sink The Pink performer Le Fil and writer Suriya Aisha about how non-queer people can best practice allyship. This conversation was recorded as part of Roundhouse's #RoundYourHouse virtual roundtable discussions.

Rory discusses why the Gay Panic Defence is still legal in 40 states with St. Edward’s University professor, Carsten Andresen. He also speaks to Judy Shepard, the mother of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard, and Executive VP of The Matthew Shepard Foundation, Jason Marsden.

Rory speaks with Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson, former Met Police detective and writer, Kevin Maxwell, and NFL player Ryan K. Russell, in order to discover why coming out as a queer black man is often so difficult.

Rory explores how a toxic combination of racism, sex and meth are being used to destroy QPOC lives. This episode contain frank discussion about sexual abuse and drug addiction, which some people may find upsetting.

Rory speaks to RuPaul's Drag Race UK star Divina DeCampo, writer Micheal Arceneaux, and musician Bright Light Bright Light about being queer artists who have had their creativity quarantined.

A welcome from Rory Boyle, events producer, audio maker, broadcaster and host of Queer Ear. Queer Ear is the queer thinking, straight talking podcast that explores LGBTQ life in the UK and beyond. A Transmission Roundhouse podcast.