We explore gambling harm through an LGBTIQA+ lens, unpacking how minority stress, isolation and belonging shape the way diverse communities experience it.

Matt and Tracey from Relationships Australia SA join us to discuss why certain cohorts within our diverse communities face elevated risks and how online wagering and gaming mechanics have transformed the gambling landscape.

Jack also speaks with them about the barriers people face seeking support and what genuine inclusivity looks like in mainstream services. Listeners learn practical strategies for harm reduction and where free, confidential support can be accessed.

00:21 – What is gambling harm and who does it reach

06:08 – Who is most likely to experience it within LGBTIQA+ communities

07:29 – When does recreation tip into harmful behaviour

09:58 – How does this harm look different today compared to twenty years ago

12:38 – Why is it difficult to measure gambling impact in diverse communities

15:25 – Why is gambling harm hard for people to talk about

18:48 – What does seeking help look like

22:28 – The impacts of minority stress

25:55 – Online spaces and gaming

31:27 – Where to start if you experience gambling harm

All chapter timecodes are approximate.

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.

Produced by: Jack Crnjanin

Jack and Joel discuss the ASHM Conference at Albert Park in Melbourne, where the HIV and sexual health sector gathers each year to compare notes on what’s working.

This episode digs into why stigma has lagged behind prevention science, from an on-demand PrEP campaign timed to Mardi Gras to new research showing there’s no shared norm any more about discussing HIV status with casual partners.

We also examine who gets imagined as “the community” in ending HIV campaigns, and hear about how turning stigma into a measurable indicator may have detached it from the inequalities that actually produce it.

Finally, we sit down with the team behind Australia’s first Bi+ Inclusion Framework to talk erasure, double discrimination, and what genuinely inclusive services look like in practice.

01:03 – Why hasn’t HIV stigma caught up with prevention?

06:13 – What role does party culture play in health messaging?

09:45 – What has PrEP done to condom use and norms?

13:56 – What does health promotion say with no shared norm?

17:30 – What do you do when U=U knowledge isn’t enough?

21:42 – Is community as technology of government too cynical?

26:35 – How does it feel to have your campaigns studied?

30:12 – Do affirming spaces still exist for young queers?

35:47 – What’s working in the sector and how do we scale it?

40:03 – How does bi+ invisibility make services feel unwelcoming?

44:18 – What feedback have delegates given on the framework?

All chapter timecodes are approximate.

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.

Produced by: Jack Crnjanin, Joel Parker

In this episode we’re talking about Before We Begin, a naughty, interactive comedy that mashes up the playful spirit of Taskmaster with the educational heart of Sex Education.

Created by theatremaker and performer Hamish Annan, the live show invites audiences to explore consent and queer intimacy through a series of escalating, real-time invitations.

It’s a vulnerable, hilarious, and safe space to practice “sexy decision-making” with strangers, proving that doing intimacy better is a team effort.

Jack and Joel ask Hamish about creating safe containers for vulnerability, the gaps in queer sex education, and how comedy can be a powerful tool for consent.

1:00 – What “Before We Begin” is and how much is scripted vs improv

6:25 – How to handle consent from audience participants

10:15 – Other creative inspirations

14:16 – Queer relationships and sex education

17:10 – A non-consensual experience

23:50 – The impact of the show on audiences

28:11 – How to handle someone saying no

35:20 – Balancing education and entertainment

38:10 – How the show has evolved and future plans

All chapter timecodes are approximate.

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.

Produced by: Jack Crnjanin, Joel Parker

Luke Miller, Lead Organiser of Melbourne Queer Games Festival joins us to unpack how video games function as both therapeutic escape and powerful tools for identity exploration.

Jack and Jake chat with him about the festival’s decade-long journey from a simple “gayest games” list to an internationally recognised showcase of over 1000 submissions from queer creators worldwide.

We discuss the unique healing potential of meditative indie games and how digital spaces can serve vulnerable community members who lack physical access to queer venues.

02:13 – Introducing Luke Miller and Melbourne Queer Games Festival

03:35 – Festival origins from gay game lists to event

04:36 – Standout games that have featured in past festivals

09:01 – The judging and assessment process

11:45 – Current festival format online and in person details

14:51 – Defining what qualifies as a queer game

16:08 – Robert Yang and experimental queer game mechanics

19:44 – Balancing diverse identities and community needs

25:43 – Decline in mainstream discourse around queer games

30:12 – Personal games that shaped coming out experience

32:50 – Feedback from players about game representation impact

40:01 – Getting involved in the festival

All chapter timecodes are approximate.

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.

Produced by: Jack Crnjanin, Jake Neville

Cal dives into the intersection of kink, fetish, and health promotion within Melbourne’s queer community through The Laird Hotel’s long-standing Northside Bizarre event.

Laird Hotel owner Brett and community legend Tex discuss the evolution of safe sex messaging from early AIDS council campaigns to modern peer-based outreach methods.

We also get into the nitty gritty about how venues like pubs and clubs have historically functioned as informal health education spaces beyond traditional medical settings.

This year’s Northside Bizarre is set to be bigger and better than ever. Learn more and get involved here:

https://www.thorneharbour.org/get-involved/events/northside-bizarre-oct-2026

00:00 – Introduction to Northside Bizarre returning after six year hiatus

02:30 – Early HIV prevention posters in queer venues and saunas

05:30 – The Protection campaign using porn industry images for education

10:00 – Taking over The Laird Hotel

15:00 – Peer outreach volunteers distributing safe sex packs at venues

19:00 – Kink and fetish scene health education and venue partnerships

23:30 – Northside Bizarre auction house and memorable moments

28:00 – Leather and Treasure – second hand gear sale origin story

35:30 – Initiative celebrating female bartenders at The Laird

40:30 – Final year auctioneer announcement

All chapter timecodes are approximate.

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.

Produced by: Caleb Hawk, Jack Crnjanin

In this episode of Well Well Well we’re talking about peptides. If you’ve heard the word whispered around the gym, the group chat, or your “For You” page lately, you’re not alone.

We’re joined by Renae Fomiatti and Gemma Nourse from the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University. To be clear, they are sociologists, not medical doctors.

So this conversation should not be taken as medical advice, and we’re not here to sell you on them or scare you off them. This is a conversation about what peptides are, and why everyone’s suddenly talking about them.

We get into:

• what a peptide actually is,
• the gap between what’s prescription and what’s not,
• who’s using them and how they’re getting them,
• and what the risks are when products come with no quality control.

We’ll also dig into something bigger: why appearance has quietly folded into “health optimisation,” and what that means for our communities’ relationship with our bodies.

And to be upfront, we’re not talking about the exact legal status of possession, anything on dosing, and clinical specifics, since we simply don’t have a medical expert in the room for that.

If today’s conversation raises questions for you, raise them with your GP. That’s exactly what they’re for.

For more on Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs), head to thejuice.org.au.

00:00 – Welcome and introducing our guests

04:00 – What actually is a peptide

06:30 – Prescription versus illicit access and retatrutide

10:30 – Body image and desirability in queer communities

14:30 – When appearance becomes health optimisation

18:00 – Wellness influencers and pop psychology crossover

22:30 – New digital health infrastructures beyond doctors

26:00 – Cheating accusations and shame around weight loss

30:00 – Unregulated products and online purchasing risks

34:00 – Harm reduction, GPs and trusted resources

All chapter timecodes are approximate.

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.

Produced by: Joel Parker, Jake Neville, Jack Crnjanin, Trinity Trinh

We’re joined by Rose, Marc, and Jesse, three Thorne Harbour Health volunteers to hear about the volunteer moments that have stuck with them, from welcoming people newly diagnosed at the Positive Living Centre to running red ribbon stalls and corporate workshops.

We unpack why volunteering at an event can be more rewarding than simply attending one, and how a regular shift can become a fixture you can really miss.

Jack also speaks with them about how the organisation’s history shapes its work today, from its founding as the Victorian AIDS Council to its evolution in a PrEP-era landscape.

If you’re curious about becoming a vollie but unsure how to fit it around work, study, or life, we pull practical advice from their combined decades of experience.

00:00 – Intro

03:30 – Meet the volunteers and their origin stories

07:30 – Roles at the Positive Living Centre and Hoddle Street

12:00 – Event volunteering versus attending as a guest

17:30 – From the Victorian AIDS Council to today

22:30 – How motivations change over time

27:00 – An antidote to disempowerment

31:30 – Corporate volunteers and red ribbon workshops

35:00 – Memorable moments on the volunteer floor

39:00 – Advice for first-time volunteers

All chapter timecodes are approximate.

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.

Produced by: Jack Crnjanin

Carolyn Gillespie, CEO of Women’s Health in the North and chair of the Victorian Women’s Health Services Network joins us to discuss women’s health during Women’s Health Week.

We explore why Victoria’s 35-year-old women’s health infrastructure is among the best in Australia, and why gender equality is the most pressing driver of women’s health outcomes.

Jake and Joel also discuss with Carolyn the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into women’s pain, the everyday realities of the gender health gap, and what genuinely inclusive care looks like for queer women and gender diverse people.

Finally, we tackle mental health, social connection, and gender based violence as core public health issues, and share one small step listeners can take for their own wellbeing this Women’s Health Week.

02:20 – Introducing Carolyn and inclusive definitions

06:10 – Most pressing health issues facing women

09:50 – Explaining the gender health gap simply

13:50 – Victorian parliamentary inquiry into women’s pain

17:30 – Socioeconomic and intersectional barriers to care

21:00 – Inclusive care for queer women and gender diverse folk

25:20 – Safety, loneliness and mental health connections

32:00 – Gender based violence as a public health crisis

36:00 – Funding priorities, prevention and Women’s Health Week actions

All chapter timecodes are approximate.

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.

Produced by: Joel Parker, Jake Neville