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:

11 June: Sue & Fiona with autor Kim Hunt
18 June: Creek
25 June: Siân

The most recent programmes are available on the Quilted Bananas Radio page on the Access Radio website. Each Sunday's programme can generally be downloaded within a day of broadcasting. Here are the latest programmes available - click the link to play:

2023 podcasts

4 June Linda & Sue - gardening in winter with Zoe of @theverygreengardener
28 May Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura: what's on about town, music
21 May Karen talking to Nina Hogg and Megan Connolly about their show at the comedy festival, Jez and Jace
14 May: Siân and Creek talking about their art shows and creative practice (originally broadcast 30 Oct 2022)
7 May Fiona and Sue - interview with Alayne Dick about improv group Tiny Dog which is appearing in the Comedy Festival on Friday 12 May
30 Apr the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura: local news and events plus music
23 Apr Angele - Cook Islands law change, Ukrainan refugees; interviews and notices
16 Apr Linda - isolation and loneliness since covid lockdowns, and strategies for dealing with it; plus music and notices
9 Apr Siân - the femme rants show with comments on rest and recovery after covid, reviews of some art shows, music and waiata [rebroadcast of the 10 July 2022 show]
2 Apr Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura and Lani: review of recent festivals including Cuba Dupa and Wellington Pride, plus music
26 Mar Karen - Craig on roller skating; interview with Queer Endurance Defiance about the [cancelled] visit by Posie Parker; chat, notices, music
19 Mar Sue - Pride review; discussion with Kelly about finding a community, her facebook group Rainbow To Do, plus notices and music
12 Mar Rosie - the pre St Patrick's Day Irish lesbian programme
5 Mar Angele with Kura - the Pride website special edition; a history of law changes in New Zealand
26 Feb Creek - more on the Fringe Festival with interviews
19 Feb Raw Fish show - DJ Panda with Kura - korero for Cyclone Gabrielle, festivals including Pride, Fringe Fest and Newtown, plus music
12 Feb Siân: femme rants - upcoming rainbow/queer shows in the Fringe Festival
5 Feb Fiona & Sue - finding inspiration through singing, gardening, getting out into nature, handcrafting and sustainability
29 Jan Angele with Debbie - planning for retirement and the golden years
22 Jan: ooops ... no show
15 Jan Creek - pole dancing for fun, fitness & entertainment; pillowtalk reviews of queer/feminist tv shows
8 Jan Angele & Debbie - chat about sustainable living, being good neighbours, personal safety and security - plus music
1 Jan Sue - live in the studio!! Well done Sue. A look back at 2022 and forward to 2023; the state of social media, and of women's sport

2022 podcasts

25 Dec D.J. Panda - the Raw Fish Christmas Show - DJ Panda with Kura
18 Dec Debbie: reflections on 2022, music, notices
11 Dec D.J. Panda - the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura - music, chat and more
4 Dec Sue & Fiona - interview with Irish-born meteorologist Lisa Murray, head of Weather Communications at the Metservice and a co-author of the book New Zealand's Wild Weather
27 Nov D.J. Panda - the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura - music, chat and more
20 Nov Angele & Debbie: music, poetry, mental and emotional self-help, news
13 Nov Rosie - the Irish lesbian show with news (women's rugby!!), music and notices. Plus a digital breakup kit ... change your passwords and heaps more!
6 Nov Sue & Fiona - interview with Shannon Novak of local Make Visible, a community-led project to grow support for LGBTQI+ communities
30 Oct Siân & Creek talking about their upcoming exhibitions - Creek at Thistle Hall 15^th-20^th November, and Siân in Ōtepote Dunedin
23 Oct Karen - retro interview with intersex activist Marni Mitchel
16 Oct Fiona & Sue - covid, a glamaphones rehearsal, Miriam Margoyles, the
16 Oct Fiona & Sue - covid, a glamaphones rehearsal, Miriam Margoyles, the Elders Survey, Paekakariki Pride, books and more
9 Oct Fiona & Sue - interview with lawyer Amanda Hill who talked about the injunction that she and another lawyer had recently sought to stop Arohata prisoners being transferred to other prisons, other work she’s been involved in, and the legal aid system.
2 Oct D.J. Panda - the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura - music, chat and more
25 Sept Karen - news, music and chat, featuring an interview with Gareth Watkins and Roger Smith about the Chrissy Witoko and Carmen Rupe memorial seats which will be unveiled on the 1 October 2022, on the corner of Cuba and Vivian Streets - the interview is available on Gareth's pridenz.com website
18 Sept Siân - the Femme Rants Show. Interview with Laressa Lynch on astrology, star signs, horoscopes etc
11 Sept Fiona & Sue: interview with author Sally Morgan
4 Sept D.J. Panda - the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura and Octavia - music, Wellington on a Plate, long covid, new shows and more
28 Aug Angele with Debbie - current events, poetry, LILAC library, op shopping in Porirua, fathers, more poetry
21 Aug Creek - the everyday gay, just discussing the little things of queer life: books, music, fungi, vale Anne Heche
14 Aug Siân - the Femme Rants Show. Interview with Sascha Stronach, author of a recent fantasy novel The Dawnhounds
7 Aug ... oops - no show
31 July Angele with Debbie - news, local government elections; notices, poetry, music
24 July Sue & Fiona: news local and from around the world, music, books, TV
17 July Fiona: interview with Mari, Sally & Hadley from Stitch and Butch
10 July Siân - the Femme Rants Show: a Matariki art exhibition Hā: Rest as Resistance by 12 wāhine Māori artists; an upcoming Glamaphones show; groups and events using the Secret Secret Club; and more
3 July Sue: the Secret Secret Club, the Glamaphones choir and their upcoming Matariki preformance, recent US Supreme Court decisions and their implications for us, volunteering with Quilted Bananas radio and more

More ...

26 June Karen with Fiona: their favourite lesbian comedians - interview with Clarissa Chandrahasen
19 June the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura ... music, news and events
12 June Sue & Fiona with guest Emer Lyons talking about the new collection of Heather McPherson's poems I do not cede which she has edited, and the Spiral Collectives
5 June Angele with Debbie - news, notices, poetry, music
29 May Sue: the Wellington Queer Arts Festival queeraf.nz this coming week; some British history - Maggie Thatcher, Section 28 and the rise of the UK Gay Liberation movement; current US political situation; recent political changes for the queer community in NZ ... plus music of course
22 May Fiona with guest Alayne Dick of twee-punk band Bored Housewive's Club, upcoming gigs and being involved in improv with Tiny Dog, a Poneke-based group. Also Siân Torrington talking about making art and creative flow, and the exhibitions that have kept her busy this year. Both are appearing in the upcoming Queer Arts Festival. But no podcast ... sad
15 May the Raw Fish Show with DJ Panda - music and chat
8 May Angele with Debbie - Mothers Day with Helen Reddy's I Am Woman, current affairs, creative events at Fringe Bar, notices, poetry
24 Apr Sue & Fiona - books, TV programmes ... sadly no podcast
17 Apr Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura ... podcast evaporated
10 Apr Raw Fish Show special edition with DJ Panda
3 Apr: oopsy ... no show ... studio malfunction
27 Mar the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura
20 Mar Rosie: the lesbian St Patrick's Day show
13 Mar Karen: interviewers with two queer innovators - Scout on setting up a Queer Innovators co-working space Secret Secret Club in Wellington; Sam on transforming an old Greymouth church into community space Gloria ... in PINK
6 Mar Angele & Debbie: dedicated to the rainbow community in Ukraine and the threats posed by Russia
27 Feb Fiona & Sue with guest Chelsea from AlphabetBookClub talking about banned books
21 Feb the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura and Octavius, and an interview with Savieey Ali’iva’a Nua from the Ngā Uri o Whiti Te Rā Mai Le Moana Trust of Porirua, a Pasifika and Māori performing arts group supporting youth and children
13 Feb Karen: interview with William Duignan of Butch Mermaid about their Fringe Festival musical cabaret Too Much Hair
6 Feb Fiona & Sue: interview with Sally Morgan (2022 Portico Prize winner) about the North of England, queerness in the '70s, her characters, and her fabulous book Toto Among The Murderers
30 Jan Creek: escapism with queer books and TV in Omicron times!
23 Jan the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura and friend talk about summer days
16 Jan Angele & Debbie - poetry, feminist writers (Wellington Feminist Creative Network), local govt democracy and more
9 Jan Karen & Debbie - personal reviews of 2021 - books they have read and more
2 Jan Sue & Fiona - interview with Chelsea from the Alphabet Book Club - it's an online digital book store as well as a book club with rainbow books for all ages! ... podcast awol

2021 podcasts

26 Dec Karen & Debbie ... podcast awol
19 Dec Creek & Emmie - Lost Musicians Who Wanna Look Like Us
12 Dec DJ Panda - Kura with guest Octavius Jones and Tiffany Wayne
5 Dec Leilani: with guest Wayne aka Tiffany Wayne
28 Nov Angele: news, notices, poetry and music
21 Nov Rosie: Irish lesbian techie programme featuring 1980s and 1990s music
14 Nov the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura
7 Nov Angele and Debbie: the poetry show
31 Oct Sue & Fiona with author Kim Hunt talking about her book The Beautiful Dead, living in Australia, her cars ...
24 Oct: Siân - the Femme Rants Show with Rem Wigmore, author of new a book Foxhunt [no podcast]
17 Oct the Raw Fish show - DJ Panda with guest Octavius Jones
10 Oct Karen: Book reviews (including Fun home and Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel) [both books are available LILAC], queer goings on in Wellington and music
3 Oct Fiona & Sue: with Jean and Felix from the cast of Hir - a new play at Circa
26 Sept Fiona & Sue: the select committees and the gay conversion, and BDMRR bills
19 Sept the Raw Fish show with DJ Panda
12 Sept Creek - magazine-style with hens, BDMRR bill, a couple of musos
5 Sept - no programme
29 Aug the Raw Fish show - DJ Panda with Kura - music plus more lockdown tips and tricks
22 Aug the Raw Fish show - DJ Panda with Kura - music plus lockdown tips and tricks
15 Aug Fiona & Sue with Jean & Jess talking about their queer ballet Sapphic Lake - the ancient Greek myth of Iphis and Ianthe gets a queer modern makeover ... with Doc Martens! Coming to Bats from 17 August
8 Aug Karen - Olympics queer sport special with Annie from Different Strokes
1 Aug Rosie - lesbian radio show, with Irish lesbian poet Emer Lyons
25 July Siân with members of new group Queer Endurance/Defiance
18 July Karen & Debbie - sporty and swimming things; interview with Annie from Different Strokes
11 July Sue & Fiona - the 35th anniversary of Homesexual Law reform, LGBTIQ+ news from around the world, books and more
4 July DJ Panda Raw Fish Show with a Dawn Raids commerative special
27 June Kura with part 2 of an interview with Val Little ... duh recording failed
20 June Debbie & Kura with local poet Angele Toomey
13 June Siân - femme rants about community with an interview with Val Little
6 June Sue & Fiona - Les Geeks do a book show with music ... but the recorder was on holiday again
30 May the Raw Fish Show - DJ Panda with Kura
23 May - Karen and Sophie from InsideOUT ... duh recording failed
16 May Linda & Sue with local author Andi Buchanan talking about science fiction
9 May Rosie - the lesbian programme - lesbian podcasts; digital assistants, technology and gender
2 May ... oops no show
25 Apr Sue & Fiona - interview with comedian Jadwiga Green
18 Apr Sue - talked about the recent CARN (Cross Agency Rainbow Network) conference

less ...

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.

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.