Tracks of Our Queers

Willis Chimano is a singer-songwriter, author, and performer from Kenya. A member of one of Kenya's most successful musical acts ever, Sauti Sol, Chimano has branched out in recent years to create his own solo musical ventures informed by his experience as Kenya's first, and only, openly gay popstar. Outed in 2018 by the press, Chimano was supported by his bandmates who went to release the most successful work of their career. His EP, Heavy is the Crown, tells the story of his journey, ...

Mitch Brown is an advocate, father, and a former AFL player. Last August, Mitch came out publicly as bisexual in an interview with The Daily Aus, sparking a tsunami of conversations in Australia around queerness and masculinity in sport. Mitch is the only player in the AFL's 130 year history to come out. Mitch is also my first sportsperson on the pod, and we have so much fun! Follow Mitch online here, and watch his coming out interview here. It's beautiful. Tracks of Our Queers is...

Welcome back to Tracks of Our Queers. Travis Alabanza is an award-winning writer, playwright, and theatre maker from Bristol. They've sold out the Southbank Centre, toured their writing globally, and their Edinburgh Fringe-award-winning play BURGERZ is currently on it's return visit to Australia. You can catch Travis performing BURGERZ in: Sydney at the Carriageworks from January 7-18Melbourne at the Malthouse Theatre from January 21-31We recorded this episode live in Sydney – and it was so g...

Tony Award-winning actor and director John Benjamin Hickey joins me on Tracks of Our Queers. From his breakout role in Terrence McNally's Love! Valour! Compassion! to his devastating turn in Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, John has been at the heart of some of theatre's most important queer work. Far from being typecast, John has appeared in hundreds of roles across TV, film, and theatre (I loved him in The Big C, and of course, the dad in Pitch Perfect). Outside of acting and directing, Joh...

Kate Pierson is a founding member of the B-52s: The World's Greatest Party Band, and a beacon for weirdos and queer-does since the late 70s. After decades of collaborating with the likes of Iggy Pop, R.E.M., and her Japanese side-band NiNa (more on that in the episode), Kate began writing and recording her entirely solo output in 2015. Last year, her second album Radios and Rainbows was released, and at the age of 77, Kate is bubbling with inspiration and drive to create. Between ...

Sabah Choudrey is an award-winning, reluctant activist. He's also an author, youth worker, Pride organiser, Saturday morning Fun Run participant – the list is exhausting, but they somehow found time for me and Tracks of Our Queers. Sabah has also featured on the Diversity Power List 24/25, serves as the Vice Chair of Trustees for the Inclusive Mosque Initiative, a Gay Times Future Fighters Honouree, and the writer of the book Supporting Trans People of Colour. We discuss music by Planni...

Peppermint joins me for our 50th episode. A mainstay of New York nightlife, Peppermint burst onto the global queer scene as a finalist in RuPaul's Drag Race's ninth season. Soon after, she became the first trans actress to originate a principle role on Broadway, and has starred in dozens of television roles, most recently in Michelle Buteau's Survival of the Thickest on Netflix. She continues to regularly appear on mainstream news outlets as a powerfully articulate activist for trans fo...

Chloe Petts is a *very* funny comedian from the UK. Her work is littered with brilliant examples of what I think of as 'soft' activism – she skilfully endears audiences with her warmth, before a one-two punch reminder of the foolishness of homo- and transphobia. Chloe is touring the UK and Australia throughout 2025, and you can find her tour dates here. We discuss music by Tina Turner, Haim, and Kasabian (!). Follow Chloe online. The other bits: Tracks of Our Queers is recorded an...

Faustina Agolley is a writer, producer, DJ, presenter, actor, and all-round legend. She hosted Video Hits, Channel Ten’s flagship music program in Australia, from 2006-2011; she’s toured with Oprah Winfrey as her resident DJ, and she made her stage debut in the 2017 Sydney Theatre Company award-winning production, The Father. We discuss music by Kylie Minogue, Janelle Monaé, and Tyler, The Creator. You can follow Faustina online here. Support the show Follow the pod on Insta at @tracksofour...

Ash Gordon is a New York-bred, LA-based songwriter, producer, and now playwright, best known for her collaborations with a galaxy of stars from RuPaul’s Drag Race, including but not limited to Trixie Mattel, Sharon Needles, Trinity the Tuck, and most prolifically, Alaska, with ten #1 albums on the iTunes charts to her name. Together with Alaska and their collaborator Tomas Costanza, Ash wrote the book, score, and lyrics for DRAG: The Musical, a high octane, high camp spectacle currently...

Simon Graser is a DJ and nightlife curator based in Naarm/Melbourne, and performs as Simonetti. He co-founded the Melbourne party CONFIDE, a love letter to the roots of house, and a means for relief, release, and respect. Five points if you know the iconic Australian song it was named for. We discuss music by DASCO, Scissor Sisters, and of course, Kylie Minogue. Follow Simonetti, Club CONFIDE, and Minus 18 here. The other bits: Tracks of Our Queers is recorded and edited between Gadi...

Benjamin Law is a writer, broadcaster, television creator and producer, and refined homosexual about town in Sydney. He's also a former competitor on Australian Survivor – important. If you haven't already, I implore you to read some of Ben's sharp, warm, illuminating writing. There's Gaysia, an exploration of LGBTQ+ cultures across South East Asia; The Family Law, a memoir of his childhood that he adapted into three seasons of television; Growing Up Queer, a collection of stories from LGB...