All episodes

Britain’s New Gender Panic

Britain’s New Gender Panic

32m 28s

The UK’s new EHRC guidance has triggered outrage, confusion and fear across the LGBTQ+ community, but what does it actually mean in practice?

This week, Graeme Smith is joined by journalist Jamie Wareham, founder of QueerAF, for a sharp, urgent conversation about the Supreme Court ruling, the EHRC’s controversial code of practice, and the wider political shift happening across Britain.

They discuss why this debate no longer affects only trans people, how gender policing increasingly impacts butch lesbians, feminine gay men and anyone seen as “not masculine enough,” and why many activists believe the UK is sliding backwards on LGBTQ+...

Nigel Farage, HIV & A Warning From History

Nigel Farage, HIV & A Warning From History

40m 10s

Nigel Farage has revived one of the most controversial arguments of his political career: that migrants living with HIV should be denied NHS treatment.

It's a position he first promoted during the 2015 election campaign. At the time, HIV charities, clinicians and public health experts condemned the claims, arguing that treating people living with HIV protects public health, reduces transmission and ultimately saves lives.

Now, more than a decade later, the same rhetoric is back. The difference is that Farage is no longer a fringe insurgent. He is leading one of Britain's most successful political movements and could conceivably find...

Labour Panic, Reform Chaos & The Funniest Review Comic Leila Navabi Ever Received

Labour Panic, Reform Chaos & The Funniest Review Comic Leila Navabi Ever Received

33m 22s

Labour looks like it’s eating itself alive, Reform councillors are combusting in real time, the manosphere is getting dismantled by Louis Theroux with the energy of a disappointed supply teacher — and somewhere in the middle of the collapse, Leila Navabi joins Outcast World with the genuinely incredible story of how making a baby with her friend as a sperm donor somehow became a full-blown musical.

Yes. Really.

Graeme opens this week’s episode by wading into the increasingly bizarre state of British politics: Keir Starmer’s apparent slow-motion leadership death spiral, Wes Streeting’s endlessly rehearsed Westminster energy, rumours of Andy Burnham...

Making a baby with friends… Turned Into A Musical

Making a baby with friends… Turned Into A Musical

29m 37s

Welsh-Iranian comedian, writer and rising theatre menace Leila Navabi joins Outcast World for one of the funniest and weirdly moving chats we’ve had in ages.

You’ll probably know Leila already from writing on Bad Education, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Deep Fake Neighbour Wars, or from voicing Claire in Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. She’s also become a major name on the UK live comedy circuit, supporting comics including Nish Kumar and Jessica Fostekew while quietly building a reputation as one of the sharpest queer comedy voices working right now.

But this episode is really about the project that might...

IKAB STAR GARETH: RIGHT WING GAYS ARE NOT WELL!

IKAB STAR GARETH: RIGHT WING GAYS ARE NOT WELL!

29m 2s

The results are in — and they’re pretty damning.

Across England in particular, a right wing populist surge is reshaping British politics in real time. Reform UK is rising fast, Labour looks increasingly fractured, and for the first time in decades, the idea of Nigel Farage entering Number 10 no longer feels impossible.

It’s clear Reform is not the natural home of queer politics. So why are so many gay men getting pulled into its narrative online?

On this episode, Graeme Smith is joined by two of the breakout stars of the BBC’s I Kissed A Boy and I Kissed...

I Kissed A Boy & Girl Stars on Cancellation, Toxic Gays & Open Relationships

I Kissed A Boy & Girl Stars on Cancellation, Toxic Gays & Open Relationships

24m 19s

The BBC made history with I Kissed A Boy and I Kissed A Girl. Then they cancelled them.In this episode of Outcast World, Graeme Smith is joined by Gareth Valentino and Amy Spalding, two of the standout names from those shows, now launching their own podcast It Started With A Kiss.What starts as a conversation about queer TV quickly turns into something else.We get into what it actually felt like to come out on national television, the reality of sudden visibility, and why those shows mattered more than the BBC seems willing to admit.Then it shifts.Gay men being brutal to...

Topher's cute date with a DL gangster & The tragedy of the Baftas incident

Topher's cute date with a DL gangster & The tragedy of the Baftas incident

33m 41s

This week Topher is back on, and on the last episode we found out about "felchgate". The perfect Valentines Day treat where a regular hookup was given a treat from a donor. If you know you now. The DL bad boys can be the kinkiest sometimes.This time it's news on one of his all time faves, fresh from a decade in prison taking Topher on a cute date in Soho.And we're talking about The Baftas Incident. Did we need to pitch people with disabilities and people of colour against each other? After a week to digest it we're talking it...

F3LCHGATE: The kinkiest valentines story

F3LCHGATE: The kinkiest valentines story

30m 32s

Graeme and Topher meant to record a serious episode but then got side tracked on a half hour series of glorious tangents. The best of which is right at the start:Valentines day has been and gone....What did you do?Topher had a date pop round and he had a very specific request ... (googles F3LCHING....)It's one of those episodes. Enjoy.Everything you do online is tracked, fix it in two minutes, get up to 75% off NordVPN on outcastworld.net-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This helps us become easier to discover. Please take time to rate the show and if you're enjoying the podcast then take time to...

Queer Fans, Hung Parliament: World's hottest politician Carl Cashman Explains...LIVE

Queer Fans, Hung Parliament: World's hottest politician Carl Cashman Explains...LIVE

15m 36s

You may already know Carl Cashman as the Liberal Democrat politician who keeps making headlines for being ridiculously in shape and unapologetically shirtless on Instagram. The “world’s hottest politician” label follows him everywhere.But what happens when the internet crush turns out to be smart, likeable, politically ambitious — and fully aware that the gays love him?Recorded live in front of an audience at the BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery in Fitzrovia, London, Graeme sits down with the 34-year-old leader of Liverpool City Council’s Liberal Democrats to talk trust after the coalition years, immigration rhetoric, trans rights, a possible hung parliament, and what the UK...

What Happens When Drag Becomes a Legal Battle? With Crystal

What Happens When Drag Becomes a Legal Battle? With Crystal

25m 48s

Drag has never been more visible, but for many performers it has never felt more complicated.In this episode of Outcast World, Graeme Smith speaks to Crystal about what it’s really like to be a drag artist in 2026. They talk about the idea of “quiet quitting drag”, the rising pressure on LGBTQ performers, and why staying visible now comes with real personal and professional risks.Crystal joins the show while still involved in an ongoing legal dispute with Laurence Fox that is due back in court this summer. She tells us whether or not she would say it all again... after...