Festival Archives - Well Well Well

Pill Testing at Street Party

Jack — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:00:25 +0000

Sarah Hiley, Drug Checking Director at The Loop Australia joins Jack to discuss the Victorian Pill Testing Service and its role in harm‑reduction.

The service will be present at Victoria’s Pride Street Party, offering a safe, non‑judgmental space for festival‑goers to have their substances tested.

Sarah walks us through the testing process, from anonymous sample submission to rapid results, and highlights the limits and accuracy of the analyses.

We also delve into the broader impact of the service, including its contributions to public health data, emergency alerts, and connections to further support.

Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell.

If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at wellwellwell@joy.org.au

Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria and South Australia at thorneharbour.org and samesh.org.au.

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THH Vogue Night and St Kilda History Walk

Jack — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 10:00:59 +0000

Jack speaks with Julai Diesel ahead of the THH Vogue Night event running during Midsumma and discuss what the ballroom scene looks like in Melbourne, where it serves as a survival‑focused, queer‑affirming community built around competition, performance, and chosen family.

They speak about the House of Diesel’s origins, its partnership with Thorne Harbour Health, and the ways Australian houses stay connected to the historic U.S. scene.

Nick Henderson from the Australian Queer Archives (AQuA) also talks about the archive’s eclectic collections of traditional documents, punk gear, erotic artifacts, and even hair‑clipping albums, highlighting its role in preserving queer histories.

With the St Kilda Queer History Walking Tour just around the corner, Nick discusses some of the tour’s stops at iconic venues like the Greyhound and the Prince of Wales, illustrating how physical spaces and community memory intersect to keep queer culture alive and visible.

Get tickets for the St Kilda Queer History Walking Tour and the THH Vogue Night on the Midsumma website.

Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell.

If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at wellwellwell@joy.org.au

Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria and South Australia at thorneharbour.org and samesh.org.au.

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Wise Words and Midsumma Carnival Cancer Screening

Jack — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 10:00:07 +0000

Wise Words returns this Midsumma to feature a line-up of some of Australia’s most prominent and talented LGBTIQ+ women (trans and non-binary inclusive) for an evening of intergenerational storytelling.

Candy Bowers will MC this year’s edition and we hear about her background in acting, production, writing, and more.

Grab tickets to Wise Words on the Midsumma website: https://www.midsumma.org.au/whats-on/events/wise-words-a-night-of-intergenerational-storytelling/

Scott Walsberger from ACON also joins us to discuss cancer screening activations at the 2026 Midsumma Carnival in Alexandra Gardens.

Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell.

If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at wellwellwell@joy.org.au

Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria and South Australia at thorneharbour.org and samesh.org.au.

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Midsumma Preview: History Walks, Carnival and the Periodic Survey

Jack — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 22:00:30 +0000

Dylan from the City of Yarra and Tex McKenzie speak about the Yarra Queer History Walk, a guided tour that traces Melbourne’s queer‑footprints through Fitzroy, Collingwood and Abbotsford.

Jack is also joined by Rachel Cook and Chiron Hooson from Thorne Harbour to discuss the Community Periodic Surveys, our presence at Carnival, and more.

Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell.

If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at wellwellwell@joy.org.au

Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria and South Australia at thorneharbour.org and samesh.org.au.

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Lesbian Day of Visibility

rachel.cook@joy.org.au — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:26:30 +0000

This episode we’re celebrating Lesbian Visibility Day by speaking with two iconic lesbian women about how things have changed for our communities over the decades. First up, we’ll hear from curator, photographic artist, and Vice President of the Australian Queer Archives, Angela Bailey. For those who don’t know, the Australian Queer Archives house the world’s largest and most significant archives of historical Australian LGBTIQ+ material. Ange’s artistic practice centres on community and queer cultural heritage, and we’re excited to hear her insider perspective on lesbian histories and futures on this continent. We’ll also have a chat with Auntie Annette Xibirras, a Wurundjeri elder and Wemba Wemba woman, speaking to her experiences as a mother, a proud lesbian and Aboriginal person. Auntie Annette has been active in First Nations cultural heritage preservation for decades and has an incredible wealth of knowledge on this topic.

https://queerarchives.org.au/

https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/library-up-late-midsumma

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Bendigo Pride

Jack — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 10:00:55 +0000

We speak with Glambassador and committee member for Bendigo Pride, Polly Filla, about the upcoming festival and why it’s important for diverse communities in the country.

Learn more at https://bendigopridefestival.com.au/

Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell.

If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at wellwellwell@joy.org.au

Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria at thorneharbour.org and in South Australia at samesh.org.au.

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Mardi Gras 2025

Jack — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 10:00:19 +0000

Jack speaks with community groups at the 2025 Mardi Gras Parade about their floats and the issues affecting their communities including:

Gay Diabetes
Building Pride
Cosplays Out Of The Closet
Harbour City Bears
Sydney Stingers

Jake Neville from the Melbourne Wranglers also joins us to discuss his experience at the event.

Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell.

If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at wellwellwell@joy.org.au

Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria at thorneharbour.org and in South Australia at samesh.org.au.

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Living legend, author and activist Joan Nestle on her life and work and Wise Words – A Night of Intergenerational Storytelling

rachel.cook@joy.org.au — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 10:58:32 +0000

Joan Nestle is a living icon. At 84 years of age her contributions to LGBTIQ+ communities have been numerous and immensely significant. She co-founded both the Gay Academic Union and the Lesbian Herstory Archives in New York, wrote seminal works such as A Restricted Country and A Persistent Desire and to this day, continues her work as an advocate and activist. Joan is part of the extraordinary line-up at this year’s Midsumma writers’ event, Wise Words – A Night of Intergenerational Storytelling, which features a line-up of some of Australia’s most prominent and talented LGBTIQ+ women (trans and non-binary inclusive). 2025 line-up includes MC Sarah Ward, Joan Nestle, Mama Alto, Sez, Hana Assafiri, and Isobel Morphy-Walsh.

For more information and to get tickets go to the Midsumma page here

Please note, this episode of Well Well Well contains sensitive content.

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Midsumma Carnival 2025

Jack — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 10:00:56 +0000

We speak with community groups and organisations at Midsumma Carnival 2025:

Meredith from Chillout Festival
Juan from ACON discussing cervical screening campaign Own It
Dale from Equality Australia
Vera from The Lab, a mentoring program for Autistic young people
Vic from Transcend Australia
Malcolm from Melbourne Frontrunners
Zahir from Melbourne Wranglers

Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell.

If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at wellwellwell@joy.org.au

Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria at thorneharbour.org and in South Australia at samesh.org.au.

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Midsumma 2025 and the GBQ+ Periodic Survey

Jack — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 23:30:54 +0000

Melbourne’s pride festival, Midsumma, is just around the corner!

Jack and Cal hear about the Gay, Bisexual, Queer + Community Periodic Survey from its coordinator, Tex McKenzie.

Conference and Events Coordinator Chiron Hooson also joins us to discuss Thorne Harbour’s presence at the festival this year.

Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing at joy.org.au/wellwellwell.

If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at wellwellwell@joy.org.au

Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria at thorneharbour.org and in South Australia at samesh.org.au.

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