I was inspired to start documenting these stories when I attended the funeral of a hero of mine and someone I’d been lucky enough to act with – the late Bette Bourne, radical drag performer and early member of the Gay Liberation Front. I realised I was sharing this sombre occasion with a room full of people who had done so much for me, but whose stories I had never heard. It hit me that we were losing their tales of courage and dignity, and the inspiration of their activism. As the world seems once again to be going down a dark path, and having lost so many leading lights during the 80s and 90s, I became acutely aware that if we don’t record our survivors soon, those stories, and the insights they can bring to current and future generations, could be gone forever.
I teamed up with a good friend, James Alexander, to create a space where these voices could be heard, unfiltered and in depth. Over the last few months, we’ve recorded a series of nine long‑form interviews to create the first season of our podcast, which we’ve named “The View From Here”.
This is a passion project we’ve done in our spare time with our own resources. Although we did raise £3,000 through the generosity of family and friends, with an epic fundraising evening at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London, we had enough to pay for a fantastic editor and a few trips out of London to interview some inspiring activists further afield.
The line‑up for our first season includes leading campaigners, grassroots organisers, and celebrities who’ve been at the forefront of change from the 1960s to the present day. These are people who have fought – often at great personal cost – for the legal rights, visibility and acceptance our community now enjoys.
Our aim with each episode is to go beyond the headlines, of course discussing the activism, but also trying to understand the person behind the activist – exploring early life, resilience, heartbreak, joy and defiance. The topics we’ve covered range from police brutality and conversion therapy to the fight against homophobia, hate crime, and self‑harm. There’s laughter too, and moments of pure inspiration.
The View From Here reminds us of the remarkable people who got the LGBTQ+ community to where we are today, recognises that our rights are precious and can be taken from us if we don’t keep fighting, and offers the beginnings of a blueprint for future action.
We’re thrilled to finally be able to launch this first season, and can’t wait to share these stories with the world.
Jonathan Chambers is the Co-presenter of The View From Here podcast. Series 1 launches on 26 November on all major podcast platforms.
