Virgin Radio Pridecast

This week on the Virgin Radio Pridecast, Alex and Shivani are continuing their exploration into education and the relationship which the LGBTQ+ community has with it.You’ll hear from Tik Tok inclusivity educator Benjy Kusi on whether we have a responsibility to educate those outside of the community on LGBTQ+ issues, Peter Tatchell on the link between direct action and education, former teacher Elly Barnes on her experience coming out to her pupils, and so much more.Plus - Alex and Shivani are joined by Dominic Arnall, CEO of charity Just Like Us, for a chat about their incredible work to empower young people to champion LGBTQ+ equality. You can find out more information, as well as how you can get involved, at https://www.justlikeus.org/Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123.Educate and Celebrate is a charity which works to make schools more LGBTQ+ friendly. You can find out more information at https://www.educateandcelebrate.org/.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s back to school for Alex and Shivani on the Virgin Radio Pridecast, because for the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be exploring the relationship which the LGBTQ+ community has with education. This week, we’re going to be looking back to the late 1980s, when a piece of legislation was introduced which banned any form of LGBTQ+ education from taking place in schools. You’ll hear from comedian Tom Allen and journalist Paul Brand on what it was like to live and learn under the now infamous Section 28, author Jodie Lancet-Grant on some of the hangovers that still remain today, ‘It’s A Sin’ star Nathaniel Hall on being diagnosed with HIV at the time, and much more… Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123.Educate and Celebrate is a charity which works to make schools more LGBTQ+ friendly. You can find out more information at https://www.educateandcelebrate.org/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the first week of January, the Christmas tree needles have (hopefully) been hoovered up, and thoughts for many of us turn to New Year’s Resolutions - lots of which involve physical activity! So - for the first Pridecast of 2022,  Alex and Shivani are discussing the relationship which the LGBTQ+ community has with sport… You’ll hear from Poet Sophia Blackwell on how gender conditioning takes place in schools from an early age, Ryan Atkin (the only out gay man in UK professional football) on toxic masculinity, Olympian Chelsea Wolfe on the accepting environment of freestyle BMX, and many more. Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123.Pride Sports UK is an organisation working to challenge LGBTQ+ phobia in sport and improve access to sport for all LGBTQ+ people across the world. You can find more information at: https://pridesports.org.uk/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Christmas Eve, and that means it’s the final Virgin Radio Pridecast of the year! Christmas is all about family - and this week Shivani and Alex are continuing their family special - looking at all of the diverse and wonderful families which lie under the LGBTQ+ rainbow…You’ll hear from couple Amir and Aamir on moving away from home to live as their true, authentic selves, from Mary from Families Together London on how they are helping parents accept their LGBTQ+ children, from Ben Carpenter who has adopted five children, all with additional complex needs, and loads more!Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123.For more information on Families Together London, you can visit https://www.familiestogetherlondon.com/.Have a very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, with Christmas fast approaching, Alex and Shivani are delving into a topic which is on everyone's minds at the moment: family. With some families still rejecting their children because of their sexuality or gender identity, and the LGBTQ+ community experiencing disproportionately high rates of homelessness, Christmas can be a tough time for many... They'll hear from activist Matt Mahmood-Ogston about having to leave home to live in London with his fiancee Naz, DJ and drag queen Jodie Harsh on her relationship with her father, Tim Sigsworth, chief executive of AKT, on the incredible work that they do, and finally from journalist Mishti Ali, and frontman of The Feeling Dan Gillespie-Sells on the idea of chosen family...Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123.AKT also provide specialist help for young LGBTQ+ people aged 16-25 living in the UK who are experiencing homelessness or living in a hostile or abusive environment. You can find more information and make an online referral at akt.org.uk. Remember, if you are in immediate danger, always call 999. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Virgin Radio Pridecast, with Christmas Parties around the country being cancelled because of covid restrictions, Alex and Shivani are hosting their very own virtual party… And if there’s one thing the LGBTQ+ community know how to do - it's celebrate!Join them to examine everything to do with the LGBTQ+ scene, from what we love about queer spaces, to the things that need improving. But they won’t be alone - you’ll also hear from LGBTQ+ icons such as Jake Shears, Jodie Harsh, Roisin Murray and Simon Le Vans on what the queer scene means to them… Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, in the second of two special episodes to mark World AIDS Day on the 1st December, Shivani and Alex are looking forward, to the medical advancements which have been made since the early stages of the HIV crisis, and to the activists who have fought for decades, and who continue to fight, to make a difference. They’ll hear from ACT UP activist Tony Openshaw about a rather unconventional method of improving sexual health in Strangeways Prison, It’s A Sin star Nathaniel Hall on the stigma still faced by many when coming out as HIV positive, and Alex from the charity YouthStopAIDS about the medical advances which have been made since the early 1980s.Plus - they’ll be joined by Marc Thompson, one of the original founders of PrEPster - an organisation which is dedicated to educating and agitating for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) access in the UK. You can find more information about the organisation, and about their ‘Ask Me About PrEP’ initiative at www.prepster.info. Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123.The Terrence Higgins Trust are the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing support to those living with HIV, and helping people to achieve good sexual health. You can call THT Direct on 0808 802 1221, or visit info@tht.org.uk. The National AIDS Trust is a UK HIV rights charity which stands alongside and defends the rights of everyone living with, affected by, or at risk of HIV. You can find more information at www.nat.org.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

World AIDS Day is taking place this Wednesday (1st December), and Alex and Shivani are marking the occasion with two very special episodes of the Virgin Radio Pridecast. This week, they’re looking back to the start of the epidemic, hearing from Lord Michael Cashman on what living through the period was like, and Ruth Coker Burks, also known as the ‘Cemetery Angel’, who helped to look after AIDS patients when it seemed like no one else would.We’ll also hear from unlikely friends Gareth Thomas and H from Steps on what turned out to be a turning point in the history of the epidemic, and from Virgin Radio’s very own Graham Norton on witnessing a very special performance by Holly Johnson in 1994.Plus - the pair will chat to George Hodson, an incredible man who has lived with HIV since the early 1980s. They’ll hear his remarkable story of love, loss, and hope during a truly extraordinary time. Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123.The Terrence Higgins Trust are the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing support to those living with HIV, and helping people to achieve good sexual health. You can call THT Direct on 0808 802 1221, or visit info@tht.org.uk. The National AIDS Trust is a UK HIV rights charity which stands alongside and defends the rights of everyone living with, affected by, or at risk of HIV. You can find more information at www.nat.org.uk.PrEPster is a charity which is dedicated to educating and agitating for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) access in the UK. You can find more information at www.prepster.info.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the final of Season Three of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK fast approaching, this week on the Virgin Radio Pridecast, the category is: Drag! Alex and Shivani will be chatting all things drag, including hearing from icons Bimini Bon Boulash and Jodie Harsh about how they first got started with the art form, and US drag queen Latrice Royale on how RuPaul has changed the drag scene forever. We’ll also be hearing from Vinegar Strokes and The Sun’s assistant editor Clemmie Moodie, who debate whether drag can sometimes stray into misogyny… Plus, Drag Race Season UK Three’s very own Victoria Scone, the first cis-gendered woman to compete on the show, pops by for a chat, looking to the future of drag to discuss what needs to be done to make drag more inclusive…Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Alex and Shivani are getting a little bit meta, talking all about LGBTQ+ representation in telly, films, books and more - and asking the question of why it’s so important for LGBTQ+ people to see themselves reflected in the media...But they’re not alone! We’ll hear from Lord Michael Cashman on having the first gay kiss in Eastenders in 1987, screenwriting legend Russell T. Davies on the importance of integrating LGBTQ+ stories into subplots, Paul Burston on representation in the publishing world, and Dr Ranj Singh and psychotherapist Zayna Ratty, answering the age old question of ‘why don’t we have a Straight Pride too?’Please note, some of the topics discussed in this episode might be sensitive and/or triggering. For help and support with any LGBTQ+ issues you might be facing, you can contact Switchboard on 0300 330 0630. Alternatively, the Samaritans are available twenty-four hours a day on 116 123. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.