

Quilted Bananas Radio in Wellington

The weekly Quilted Bananas Radio Show is broadcast on Sundays, 10 - 11 am, on Wellington Access Radio 106.1 FM. You can also listen to the live broadcast of the programme online on Sunday mornings - go to the Access Radio website to live stream. There are also links to subscribe to podcasts at apple podcasts or Spotify, or download apps for android or iOS. The Quilted Bananas Radio Programme is supported by the Rule Foundation
Notices for broadcasting on the programme should be sent to qbananasradio@gmail.com

Check out the Programme's facebook page Quilted Bananas Radio for the latest updates from programme presenters.
Upcoming programme presenters:
- 31 Jan: Leilani & Kura
- 7 Feb: Karen
- 14 Feb: Siân - femme rants
The most recent programmes are available on the Access Radio Quilted Bananas radio page. Each Sunday's programme can generally be downloaded within a day of broadcasting. Here are the latest programmes available - click the link to play:
- 24 Jan Joe with author Mia Farlane (author of 'Footnotes to Sex', available at LILAC, Wellington Public libraries and as an ebook), talking about lockdown in London and researching for her next novel about suicide; Mia read her short story on the topic. Mia on facebook
- 17 Jan Fiona & Sue - incl. Sue's interview with Tim Hampton of the Ministry of Justice about some results from the New Zealand Crime and Victimisation Survey. This reports alarming responses from lesbian, gay, and bisexual participants.
- 10 Jan Creek & Siân - music, book reviews including Sue's interview with Marolyn Krasner about her novel The Radicals from July 2020
- 3 Jan ... oops no show
2020 podcasts
- 27 Dec Sue & Fiona - Quilted Bananas programmes - and the year - in review
- 20 Dec Prue with Fiona - lesbian community programme, incl. lesbian weddings on Shortland Street and lesbian pulp fiction of the 1950s (based on an article on Atlas Obscura)
- 22 Nov - 13 Dec - technical problems at Access Radio so programmes not broadcast
- 15 Nov Sue & Fiona - including an interview with Grace from Overcommunicate zine
- 8 Nov - Emmie & Creek ... but Access Radio tech failure so no audio file available
- 1 Nov Rosie - the Irish lesbian programme
- 25 Oct Linda - spring gardening on a micro budget with Zoe Elizabeth
- 18 Oct Siân - post election femme rants - rest, reflection, recovery
- 11 Oct Joe - interview with a young lesbian - coming out in a small town, drag, gender, hairdressing
- 4 Oct Prue - London lockdown, Helen Reddy, the book No Modernism Without Lesbians by Diana Souhami about the creative expat lesbians in Paris pre WWII
- 27 Sept Sue & Fiona - home rennovations, mental health awareness week, covid lockdowns, books Fiona has been reading
- 13 Sept Linda - interview with Huhana Hickey "Thought Leader" to discuss the End of Life Choice Referendum and the possible impact it could have for people with disabilities
- 6 Sept Siân - femme rants rebroadcast of 2 August programme
- 30 Aug Karen - queer news from around the world including a long read about South African lesbian and anti-apartheid activist Beverley Ditsie
- 23 Aug Creek all about dogs and our relationships with them
- 16 Aug rebroadcast of 9 August show
- 9 Aug Rosie and Fiona - virtual events; UL lockdown survey
- 2 Aug Siân - femme rants
- 26 July Sue & Fiona - interview with Marolyn Krasner about her novel The Radicals
- 19 July Kura - music, Matariki, movies in the NZ International Film Festival
- 12 July Karen - theme: are they, aren't they
- 5 July Creek & Emmie - musicians who wanna look like us
- 28 June: rebroadcast of the 21 June programme programme
- 21 June Creek - interviews with artists Imogen Taylor, who is showing at Enjoy, and Siân Torrington whose exhibition will be opening at Toi Pōneke next Saturday
- 14 June Siân - femme rants, and conversation with Gaayathri Nair, who organises the How To Talk To Your Racist Uncle workshops in Wellington
- 7 June Sue & Fiona talking to Christchurch writer AJ Fitzwater about queer speculative fiction, their recent book, and their new book (No Man's Land)
- Access Radio closed their studios to programme presenters from late March until 18 May while the country was under Levels 3 & 4 lockdown. Some programme presenters were able to prerecord their programmes, and sometimes a previous programme was rebroadcast.
- 31 May rebroadcast of 24 May show
- 24 May Quilted Bananas collective talking about their lives under lockdown, via Zoom
- 17 May: rebroadcast of the May 10 programme ... covid-19 - studio closed
- 10 May Karen streaming the InsideOUT intergenerational, online panel discussion to celebrate Lesbian Visibility Day held on 26 April 2020 [also available on PrideNZ.com]
- 3 May Siân & Creek - life under lockdown ... gardening, online streaming services and more
- 26 Apr: rebroadcast of Creek's programme of 29 Mar ... covid-19 - studio closed
- 19 Apr: oopsy ... no pre-recorded programme ... covid-19 - studio closed
- 12 Apr Karen - interviews recorded at Out in the Park; interview with Tabby about how lock down is affecting the rainbow community
- 5 Apr: oopsy ... no pre-recorded programme ... covid-19 - studio closed
- 29 Mar Creek ruminating on the theme of distraction while living with our lock-down at home ... covid-19
- 22 Mar: Rebroadcast of Prue's programme of the 15th March ... covid-19 - studio closed
- 15 Mar Prue - lesbian programme, interview with Lois & Hilary on their book The One That Got Away
- 8 Mar Sue - interview with Shaz on huha aid in Australia
- 1 Mar Sue - Pride events, CoViD-19, science fiction and more
- 23 Feb DJ Panda aka Leilani - discussing Rainbow Pasefika at The Wellington Museum on 29 February
- 16 Feb Karen - Pride preview; Dykes on Bykes
- 9 Feb Prue - Lesbian community programme
- 2 Feb Siân - femme rants, with Kassie Hartendorp
- 26 Jan Creek - musicians who wanna look like us
- 19 Jan Sue - breast cancer drugs, pay equity, youth homelessness
- 12 Jan Prue - talking about her recent time in London, metastatic breast cancer treatment in NZ and overseas, Jan Bolwell (New Year's Honours) and more
- 5 Jan Kura - replay of her October interview with writer Kate Kennedy about her Headlands project
- 29 Dec Fiona & Sue - reviewing the year
- 22 Dec Creek and QB members - reading rounds from the Paekākārikii Pride Quiz!
- 15 Dec Creek & Emmie - musicians who wanna look like us
- 8 Dec Linda - chatting with Sandra and Bex about social services, self-defence, inclusiveness ...
- 1 Dec Siân - femme rants plus an i/view Chris Brickell about his book Queer Objects
- 24 Nov Sue - Zinefest, Ligia Horta's Ok Boomer badge and more
- 17 Nov Creek - i/v Stephanie Gibson, Matariki Williams, authors of Protest Tautohetohe
- 10 Nov Fiona & Sue - talking about Val McDermid's visit to Wellington, books and libraries, music ...
- 3 Nov Siân talking to Hanna Waswa, a Two-Spirit Anishinaabe from Treaty 9 territory in Canada
- 27 Oct Kura chatting with Kathy Ombler a local freelance writer with a special focus on conservation, tourism, and hospitality
- 20 Oct Karen & Adrienne - music (Gladys Bentley!) and local goings on
- 13 Oct Sue & Sarah - talking about some of the first queens! Power, renown, and fabulousness in ancient Egypt
- 6 Oct Creek & Emmie interview each other about their bands
- 29 Sept Kura - interview with Kate Kennedy
- 22 Sept Linda featuring Asian queer music
- 15 Sept Siân - femme rants with writer and poet Emma Barnes
- 8 Sept Fiona & Sue - with Sally and Lisa from Stitch and Butch
- 1 Sept Kura - music and local events
History and philosophy
The Quilted Bananas Radio Programme provides lively coverage of news, politics, activities, interviews and music for queer women & non-binary folk. It focuses on Wellington regional activities, but also covers national and international news. As an acronym our name stands for: Queer, Intersectional, Intersex, Lesbian, Takataapui, Trans, Enby, Diverse ... Bisexual, Asexual, and Nanas (because a lot of us also identify as nanas). As a metaphor, Quilted Bananas is about celebrating all the slippery overlaps these communities can have.
Quilted Bananas started life as the Wellington Lesbian Community Radio Programme, airing under that name for more than 35 years until our revamp in 2019. We continue to receive funding from the Armstrong and Arthur Charitable Trust, which generously supports lesbian-interest activities in Wellington.
The programme is run by a collective of presenters and technicians and we always welcome new volunteers – if interested, email our heirloom address: qbananasradio@gmail.com
We value respect and we don’t do gender-policing.
There is an interview with Prue about the programme and its history on PrideNZ.com, and an article by Linda Evans about the history of the programme on nzhistory.govt.nz/women-together.

