History has never been this queer.
Take a seat in the back of our cab with celebrity guests and historians for a ride through queer history, driven by our drag king extraordinaire Don One. Every episode uncovers the story of an extraordinary queer person from history, exploring the lives, cultures and moments that helped shape our community.
Host : Don One
Creator, Writer & Director : David Mark Graham
Writer & Producer : Marie Horner
Executive Producer : Rishi Khosla
Set Designer : Ellie Koslowsky
Theme music Composer : Adiescar Chase
A Molly House Media production.
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Discover shows related to Time Travelling Queers, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
King of queer speak-easy's: Gladys Bentley x Farrel Hegarty
Season 1 ¡ Episode 6
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 ⢠Duration 57:15
Grab your gin and settle into your speakeasy booth, babsâweâre heading back to the roaring, smoky clubs of 1920s Harlem. In the sixth episode of Time Travelling Queers, weâre unearthing the life of a true original: the legendary blues pianist and singer, Gladys Bentley.
Clad in a sharp tuxedo, top hat, and cane, Gladys wasn't just performing, she was rewriting the rules of gender and desire. From headlining the Ubangi Club with a drag queen chorus line to turning popular hits into scandalous lesbian anthems, she was a Black queer icon before the world was ready for one.
But what happens when the party ends? Weâre diving into her mysterious marriage, the hostility of the McCarthy Era, and the complicated, messy reality of survival that forced a legend to reinvent herself. Join celebrity guest Farrel Hegarty, and historian Paula Akpan as Don One travels back in time to celebrate the unapologetic, the glamorous, and the forgotten.
Gladys Bentley circa 1930, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture via New York Times
Seamstress. Soldier. Intersex. : Thomas(ine) Hall x Zelah Glasson
Season 1 ¡ Episode 5
Tuesday, August 25, 2026 ⢠Duration 32:46
CONTENT WARNING : this episode includes a reference to sexual assault
They lived as a seamstress, a soldier and a servant â and then a court demands to know whether theyâre a man or a woman, and the answer is: both.
This week, Zelah Glasson travels back in time with historian Kit Heyam to meet Thomas(ine) Hall, an extraordinary figure whose life crossed the boundaries of gender in 17th-century England and colonial Virginia.
Born Thomasine, they wore women's clothes before cutting their hair, dressing as a man and joining the army. Later, they returned to women's clothing, worked as a seamstress and eventually travelled to Virginia as a male servant.
But in 1629, Thomas(ine)'s neighbours began to question their gender. What followed was an extraordinary court case involving examinations, accusations and intense scrutiny of Thomas(ine)'s body and identity.
Thomas(ine)'s answer was clear: they were both a man and a woman. The court's eventual ruling was just as extraordinary â ordering Thomas(ine) to live publicly as both.
A seamstress. A soldier. A servant. A survivor. And someone who refused to fit neatly into the boxes of their time.
The Exiled Princess: Catherine Duleep Singh x Dr Ranj Singh
Season 1 ¡ Episode 4
Tuesday, August 18, 2026 ⢠Duration 41:37
What happens when you're born a princess without a kingdom, fall in love with your governess, and end up risking everything to help people escape the Nazis?
This week, Don travels back in time with Dr Ranj and historian Dr Kit Heyam to the extraordinary life of Catherine Duleep Singh, daughter of the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, who was forced into exile in Britain after the British conquest of Punjab.
Born a princess in exile, Catherine Duleep Singh lived a life of aristocratic glamourâbut behind the scenes, she was battling displacement and colonial expectations.Â
Enter Lina Schäfer. What began as a governess-and-chaperone relationship became a lifelong partnershipâa love story society tried to file under 'just friends.' When the Nazis rose to power, Catherine didn't just survive; she became a resistance hero, using her wealth to save lives and refusing to leave Lina behind. Itâs a story of a princess who defied everything to protect the person she loved.
A princess. A love story. A suffragist. A resistance ally. And a woman who refused to leave the person she loved behind.
No Kings. No Pronouns: Njinga a Mbande x Dani St James
Season 1 ¡ Episode 3
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 ⢠Duration 38:53
Travel with us to meet the gender-defying ruler who demanded to be recognised on their own terms.
In Episode 3 of Time Travelling Queers, Don One is joined by model, entrepreneur and activist Dani St James and historian Paula Akpan to journey to seventeenth-century Central Africa and meet the extraordinary Njinga a Mbande, the 17th century ruler of the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba.
For more than forty years, Njinga resisted Portuguese colonisation through fearless diplomacy, military strategy and political brilliance. Defying European expectations of how a ruler should look or behave, Njinga embraced masculine dress, adopted a male-coded title and kept a harem of male concubines.
Together, Don, Dani and Paula unpack one of history's most fascinating and complex leaders, exploring colonial resistance, gender, power, diplomacy and the legacy of a ruler whose story has too often been overlooked.
Expect political intrigue, battlefield strategy, royal drama and a history lesson that proves there was never just one way to rule.
The Gender-Bending Outlaw: Mary Frith x Rosie Jones
Season 1 ¡ Episode 2
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 ⢠Duration 55:28
Meet Mary Frith aka Mary or Moll Frith aka Mal or Moll Cutpurse aka Mary Markham aka Mary Thrift. Â - the gender non-conforming outlaw who thrived in the chaos of the early 1600s made breaking the rules an art form. Whether they were the first woman to smoke in public, wearing âmenâsâ clothes, or pawning stolen goods, Mary refused to play by society's rules.Â
In Episode 2 of Time Travelling Queers, Don One is joined by comedian Rosie Jones and historian Ess Grange to travel back to the streets of early modern London and meet the extraordinary Mary Frith.
Centuries before gender expression became part of everyday conversation, Mary was wearing men's clothes, smoking pipes, wielding a sword, performing on stage and building a reputation as one of London's most notorious rule-breakers.Â
Together, Don, Rosie and Ess unravel the myths and the facts behind one of history's most unforgettable queer figures, exploring prison stints, theatrical scandals, underworld dealings and the remarkable life of an icon who became larger than life.
What do you get when you put a drag queen, a drag king, a Big Brother star and one of England's most controversial monarchs in the same taxi?
In the first episode of Time Travelling Queers, Don One is joined by RuPaul's Drag Race UK star Tia Kofi and historian and Big Brother 8âs Jonty Stern to journey back to the fourteenth century and uncover the extraordinary life of King Edward II.
Was Edward II really England's first queer king? Were his relationships with Piers Gaveston and Hugh Despenser love stories, political disastersâor both? And why has history spent centuries obsessing over how he died instead of how he reigned?
Expect scandal, court favourites, civil war, royal revenge, dubious death theories, and enough palace drama to rival today's reality TV.
Take a seat in the back of our cab with celebrity guests and historians for a ride through queer history, driven by our drag king extraordinaire Don One â hurry the meters running. Every episode uncovers the story of an extraordinary queer person from history, exploring the lives, cultures and moments that helped shape our community.
0:00 - 2:20 intro 2:21 - 3:09 time travel 3:09 - 7:52 Pissing on everyoneâs cornflakes 7:53 - 8:40 Thomas the Soldier. Thomasine the lacemaker 8:41 - 13:52 crossing the Atlantic and gender norms 13:33 16:30 Why is this gym bro hanging with the girls?- Zelah BB experience 16:31 - 19:40 Whats on Trend? Sad colours! 19:41 - 21:00 âA bit for my catâ 21:01 - 22:59Â The examinations to âsettle the matterâ 23:00 - 25:55 the sentence for being both 25:56- 26:36 Gender anxiety 26:37 - 27:16 Native American two spirits 27:17- 31:27 Legacy 31:28 - 32:31 Outro 32:31- 32:47 Easter egg
REFERENCES
Kit Heyam, Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender (Basic Books UK / Seal Press, 2022)
David Hackett Fischer, Albionâs Seed: Four British Folkways in America (Oxford University Press, 1989)
H. R. McIlwaine (ed.), Minutes of the Council & General Court of Colonial Virginia, 1622â1632, 1670â1676, with Notes & Excerpts from Original Council & General Court Records, into 1683, Now Lost (Richmond: The Colonial Press, Everett Waddey Co., 1924), pp. 194â195
Virginia General Court, 1622â29, Cases, with Minutes, ser. 8, vol. 15, Thomas Jefferson Papers, Library of CongressÂ
Jennifer Frangos, âThe Early Modern Queer Atlantic: Narratives of Sex and Gender on New World Soilâ, in The Edinburgh Companion to Atlantic Literary Studies (Edinburgh University Press, 2016), 248â267
Kathryn Wichelns, âFrom The Scarlet Letter to Stonewall: Reading the 1629 Thomas(ine) Hall Case, 1978â2009â, Early American Studies, 12.3 (2014), 500â523
Portrait of Princess Catherine Duleep Singh, by Lafayette Studio, 1897.  Š Courtesy of Peter Bance Collection.
Catherine Duleep Singh (left) with her German governess and lover, Lina Schäfer (right). Addressed to Miss Mayes, signed âLina Schäferâ, 1930. Š Courtesy of Peter Bance Collection.
Special thanks to the incredible historians who gave their time and knowledge as we developed this show; Claire Mead, Jas Bevan Nas, Tim May, Ema Sala, Tallulah Smart, Kit Heyam, Ess Grange, Jonty Stern, Kit Green and Siobhan McGuirk.
0:00 - 03:41 Intro 03:42 - 04:36 Time Travel 04:37- 12:22 No Kings. No Pronouns. Only Rulers! 12:22 - 16:59 Nepo Baby 17:00 - 19:15 The UN Could Never. Njinga the Diplomat 19:16 - 20:48 What's on Trend? 20:49 - 24:54 The consequences of Colonialism 24:54 - 33:28 Njinga takes the Kingdom and another 33:29 37:09 Njingaâs legacy 37:10 - 38:53 Sorting out the fare and outro
REFERENCES
When We Ruled: The Rise and Fall of Twelve African Queens and Warriors â Paula Akpan, Trapeze, 2025.
Go buy this book and see all the amazing and extensive research Paula did to write it - go to www.paulaakpan.comÂ
IMAGE CREDIT
Queen Nzinga Mbande (Anna de Sousa Nzinga) by Achille DevÊria, printed by François Le Villain, published by Edward Bull, published by Edward Churton, after Unknown artist hand-coloured lithograph, 1830s NPG D34632 Š National Portrait Gallery, London
Host : Don One
Guest : Rosie Jones
Historian : Ess Grange
Creator, Writer & Director : David Mark GrahamÂ
Writer & Producer : Marie HornerÂ
Executive Producer : Rishi Khosla
Hair & Make Up : Nicole Fairfield
Set Designer : Ellie KoslowskyÂ
Sound Designer : Jon Gray
Dubbing Mixer : Sam Morris
Theme music Composer : Adiescar Chase
Special thanks to the incredible historians who gave their time and knowledge as we developed this show; Claire Mead, Jas Bevan Nas, Tim May, Ema Sala, Tallulah Smart, Kit Heyam, Ess Grange, Jonty Stern, Kit Green and Siobhan McGuirk.
0:00 - 03:31 Intro 03:31 - 04:17 Time Travel 04:18 - 07:41 London Is Falling Apart 7:42- 09:25 Did Mary go to America? 09:26 - 12:38 What's on Trend? 12:39 - 27:57 Moll Cutpurse takes to the stage 27:58- 33:08 The Christmas Eve Flashing Incident 33:09 - 39:13 Crime Boss Era 39:14 - 51:28 Life and Death of Mary Frith 51:29 - 53:11 Maryâs legacy 53:12 - 55:28 Sorting out the fare and outro
REFERENCES
The Roaring Girl, Middleton & Dekker, 1611
The Life and Death of Mary Frith (originally published first in 1662), modern publication edited by Janet Todd and Elizabeth Spearing, 1994.Â
The Date of the Roaring Girl, P.A. Mulholland, 1977
Mary Frith alias Moll Cutpurse in Life & Literature, Gustav Ungerer, 2000
Plus Essâ PhD research, not yet published but we will shout about it when it is!
IMAGE CREDIT
London (Castle Street, Leicester Fields) : Published by W. Richardson, [between 1800 and 1899?]. Wellcome Collection Reference: 2015801i
Writer & Producer : Marie HornerÂ
Executive Producer : Rishi Khosla
Set Designer : Ellie KoslowskyÂ
Sound Designer & Dubbing Mixer : Jon Gray
Theme music Composer : Adiescar Chase
Special thanks to the incredible historians who gave their time and knowledge as we developed this show; Claire Mead, Jas Bevan Nas, Tim May, Ema Sala, Tallulah Smart, Kit Heyam, Ess Grange, Jonty Stern, Kit Green and Siobhan McGuirk.
0:00 - 03:23 Intro 03:24 - 04:06 Time Travel 04:07 - 08:58Â For Queer King and Country 08:59 -Â 11:52 There were two of us in this marriage 11:53 - 13:00 The Favourite number 1 Piers 13:00- 16:20 Whats On Trend!? 16:20-23:40 Piers the favourite continued 23:41 - 37:44 Favourite number 2 Hugh Dispenser 37:45 - 43:17 Revenge is a dish served red hot and pointy. 43:18- 45:30 Is Diana Spencer related to Hugh Despenser? 45:30- 46:56 King Edward II Legacy 46:56- 48:11 Sorting out the fare and outro
REFERENCES
Edward II the Man: A Doomed Inheritance â Stephen Spinks, Amberley Publishing, 2017.
The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327â1330 â Ian Mortimer, Jonathan Cape, 2003.
Joan of Kent: The First Princess of Wales â Penny Lawne, Amberley Publishing, 2015.
The Queen and the Mistress: The Women of Edward III â Gemma Hollman, The History Press, 2022.
Edward I â L. F. Salzman, Frederick A. Praeger, 1968
IMAGE CREDIT
Manuscript in Carlisle Castle from c. 14th century and an anonymous 19th century portrait of Edward II by unknown Author, accessed via Wikimedia Commons.
