Midnight Sex Talk

SUNDAY 26th MARCH - SPRING PSYCHO SPECIAL!

Brought forward from Easter, we're pondering the cult of the serial killer, and wondering why people on the extreme sexual margins of society get so much attention, sometimes to the point of near-canonisation. Al Needham will be dropping by on the phone to talk about Peter Sutcliffe (AKA The Yorkshire Ripper), I'm examining Ted Bundy, having been gobsmacked more than usual by Anne Rule's The Stranger Beside Me, and Kim is taking us on a tour round the head of Jeffrey Dahmer. Other guests, and psychos, to be confirmed...

I was going to put up some actual photos, but suddenly that made me feel a bit sick, so here instead, available from Shel-tone, are a couple of Michael H Price's Mass Murderer Trading Cards (can't find a decent link) that apparently caused such a stir among censors back in 1992. This one must have passed me by at the time. Actually, looking back through my annals, 92 was a seriously lost year for me.

And another thing. That announcement I was talking about.

*drum roll*

We're taking a break from doing live shows till the summer. Kim's got a new job and I'm writing a book, so no more late Sunday nights in the studio for a while. But please stick around: we've got lots more shows to podcast, and there will be brand new podcasts too. Check this site for details. Speaking of podcasts, Porn versus Erotica and Decline of the Gay Bar? are now available for download. Thanks for listening. :-)

SUNDAY 12th MARCH - DECLINE OF THE GAY BAR?

We've been pondering this one for a while at Midnight Sex Talk. Back in the 1990s, gay bars and clubs were the places to be. Everyone there seemed to be partying faster and harder, and more attractively, than anyone else, including the refugee straight women who'd had enough of the beer-smelling gropers in your average pub. Anyone who piped up about remembering the activism that allowed that scene to develop in the first place was told to fuck off in no uncertain terms.

But everything's changed a bit since then. What we're asking this week is: have hook-up sites like Gaydar taken the emphasis away from the bar scene, and levelled the playing field a bit?

It's not all roses in the rainbow nation. Things are bad enough for women. I wince every time I read about any married female superstar who happens to be over 40 (or less!), talking about her two or more desperate hours in the gym every morning. But equally, I've heard too many gay men say that once you're over 30, you've had it, and listened to sad stories of gym visits increasing to the point of injury, all in the name of looking younger and more pull-worthy. So, if you can't stand the scene any more, (or don't want to go there in the first place), what better place than the internet?

Also, if you live miles away from any 'gay village', in an area where you just aren't going to out yourself, period, you might be wishing for even one bar where you could go out in safety. Again, Gaydar & co to the rescue.

What do you think? Do you hate bars, and find the whole thing a massive, pretentious bore? Or do you love them? Do you think that trying to meet someone on the internet is just for losers? Or has Gaydar changed your life?

Tune in, as usual, from 11.30pm-12.30am UK time, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com. You can text us during the show on 07957 362 182, and you can email us anytime using the 'Email me' link to the left. If you want to talk live on air, send us your number and we'll you back.

SUNDAY 26th FEBRUARY - TAKING A BREAK

Yes, my lovelies - even your intrepid presenters need some time off now and again, so we won't be in the studio this week.

But wait! You will instead be able to hear our second ever show, Porn versus Erotica. With guests Robert Posner and Lou Errington, we tease out the similarities between these two supposedly dissimilar concepts. And watch out for the hand-selected worst porn movie titles ever. Here I must namecheck the dude who sat down and sourced all this stuff. Brad Yung, we salute you. If you missed it first time round, here's a chance to catch it again.

WHEN: Sunday 26th February, 11.30pm-12.30am UK time.
WHERE: Resonance 104.4 FM in London, or online worldwide at http://www.resonancefm.com.

Email us anytime at midnightsextalk at gmail dot com, and we'll be back live in the studio on Sunday 12th March.

SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY - PROSTITUTION AND THE NEW UK SEX LAWS

There's been a lot going on with our sex laws recently, here in the UK.

Similar to the abortion debate, there is the usual forest of moral panic to negotiate, before you get anywhere near the people who actually do it, or who work with those who do. As always, there are conflicting sets of arguments, between those who say that many sex workers are not coerced, and are doing it of their own free will, and those who say the opposite.

Then there is the class argument, whose two poles are the girl who is addicted to drugs and has to work on the street just to keep going, and the more middle class sex worker, who does it to support her studies, or just likes the shopping possibilities.

We'll be speaking to Ana Lopes of the International Union of Sex Workers, who is also president of the sex workers' branch of the GMB. We will also be speaking to a representative from the English Collective of Prostitutes.

Tune in, as usual, from 11.30pm-12.30am UK time, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com. You can text us during the show on 07957 362 182, and you can email us anytime using the 'Email me' link to the left. If you want to talk live on air, send us your number and we'll you back.

Below, UK parliament. Who knows what goes on there?

CROSS BONES PETITION
Finally, here's the petition we've been promising, about creating a memorial garden at the site of the old Cross Bones prostitutes graveyard in Southwark. Grab it and get everyone you know to fill it in.
Cross Bones Petition pdf (41.8K).

SUNDAY 29th JANUARY - ADDICTED

Well, possums, this has been the most difficult week for me in a long time, and for others too, but the show must go on.

This Sunday we're looking at addiction. That means sex addiction (fact or fiction?), and also what addiction can do to a relationship. If you're with someone who's an addict, (and that could be drink, drugs, gambling etc, or, of course, sex), there are three of you in that relationship, whether you like it or not. Love itself is an addiction, and can mimic a lot of the same behaviours. Either way, you end up doing things you'd never imagine. See the charming little scene below, which did the rounds of the internet last year.

Us Brits really are love gods, it has to be said.

Suzanne Noble who, among other things, makes the excellent Modern Loving series of sex guides, will be joining us in the studio. In fact, she was our first ever guest on Midnight Sex Talk.

Tune in, as usual, from 11.30pm-12.30am UK time, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com. As always, you can text us during the show on 07957 362 182, and you can email us anytime using the 'Email me' link to the left. If you want to talk live on air, send us your number and we'll you back.

See you there...

SUNDAY 15th JANUARY - INTERNET CENSORSHIP

Happy new year to you all.

This Sunday we'll be looking at internet censorship, with special reference to the Scottish Executive's consultation paper on possession of what they call 'extreme pornographic images'. The consultation period is now over, and many wrote in to express their concerns.

In the studio we're welcoming back UKRudeGirl, and Demolition Red from Backlash, who have been keeping a close eye on all this. The point is, whether you care about someone's private 'extreme' picture collection or not, this has implications for all of us.

STOP PRESS! Also joining us in the studio is Lawrence Pay, former probation officer and psychologist. (My bad - I posted this while rushing around first thing this morning before going to work.)

The Sexual Freedom Coalition and MelonFarmers have also been on the case. Check out the censor watch page as well.

We're also going to look at the case of Christopher Wilson, owner of the site nowthatsfuckedup.com, which is a subscription site for 'user submitted amateur wife and girlfriend pictures', among others. We've mentioned them before, as they became notorious for their offer of a free subscription to serving soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan if they provide images from those places, including extremely gory ones. (And they are gory - you have been warned).

Last autumn, the Florida authorities suddenly decided to take offence at a small number of pictures which may (or may not) have included homoerotic content, and Mr Wilson was thrown in jail for a short time. He was let out again, but the case is still ongoing. Apart from the issues themselves, the ironies in all this are enormous, as you can imagine. We would love to speak to someone about the case. I've been in touch, and I'm hoping that someone will get back to me before Sunday night.

Tune in, as usual, from 11.30pm-12.30am UK time, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com. You can text us during the show on 07957 362 182, and you can email us anytime using the 'Email me' link to the left. If you want to talk live on air, send us your number and we'll you back.

See you on Sunday.

SUNDAY 18th DECEMBER - LE PETIT MORT

Death. Sex and death. Snuff porn. Necrophilia.

A doctor will be in attendance.

11.30pm-12.30am UK time, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com.

Text us during the allotted time on 07957 362 182. Email us using the 'Email me' link to the left. If you wish to address us live on air, send us your number and we may call you back.

Compliments of the season.

SUNDAY 4th DECEMBER - MEDIA MASSACRE!

We had to turn on our own sooner or later, or at least give it a darn good going-over. This Sunday, Midnight Sex Talk is taking a long hard look, (as always), at the media's influence over our sexual lives. Are 'Position of the Month', and tit jobs for girlfriends offered as prizes, leading us where we don't really want to go? Or are magazines right in claiming, like certain rappers, that they're simply reflecting back what we've been doing all along?

Do you believe all those celebrity shag stories? Have you ever felt bad after reading a story about somebody's else's allaged sexual prowess? Do you believe that women's magazines are really promoting sexual liberation, or just another set of 'rules' for 'keeping your man'? And do you think the top shelf has seeped inexorably downwards, or are men's glossies just a bit of fun?

In the studio, we have, finally, Al Needham (left) - in person! \o/ We will be rolling out the shagpile in his honour. Other guests to be confirmed.

You can text us during the show on 07957 362 182, or email us anytime using the 'Email me' link on the left. If you want to talk live on air, send us your number and we'll call you back. PRIZE for the best email/phone call as usual!

Where & When: Sunday 4th December, 11.30pm-12.30am UK time, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com everywhere else in the world.

SUNDAY 20th NOVEMBER - SEX & DRUGS

This Sunday Midnight Sex Talk is linking up with The Good Drugs Guide, (broadcast on Resonance FM every Thursday, from 9-9.30pm), for a seasonal look at most people's two favourite pastimes, and how they interact with each other. Before you deny everything, we're not just talking about illegal stuff. ;-)

Joining us in the studio are presenters Piers Gibbon and David McCandless, who are extremely knowledgeable, I can tell you.

Below, guess what this is. It's powerful, and it's everywhere...

If you'd like to ask Piers or David anything, or tell us what does it for you and what doesn't, drop us a line. You can text us during the show on 07957 362 182, or email us anytime using the 'Email me' link on the left. Prize as usual!

Where & When: Sunday 20th November, 11.30pm-12.30am UK time, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com everywhere else in the known universe.

SUNDAY 6th NOVEMBER - SACRED PROFANITY: SAMHAIN AT CROSS BONES GRAVEYARD

We said we'd go back, and we did. Midnight Sex Talk returned to Cross Bones on Monday night for a proper celebration of the outcast dead, with much singing, drinking and beating of drums. We then processed from the Ship, in Borough Road, (said to be the most haunted pub in the area) to the site in Red Cross Way.

As anyone might have expected, the dark side of Old Southwark slipped out through the cracks when some of the local feral children appeared, (including a few who were old enough to know better), threw fireworks at our 60-strong party and then punched somebody on the nose. Such is Halloween...

The most moving part of the ceremony was when we read out the names of those buried there, and then hung tributes on the gate.

In the studio we've got Mistress of Ceremonies Jahnet Delight, who last appeared the studio almost exactly a year ago, on our show about the future of prostitution; and we're very much hoping that founding visionary John Constable will be able to make it after his gig in West London.

More detail about Cross Bones here; and check out the Southwark Mysteries homepage.

Were you there? Would you like to know more? You can text us during the show on 07957 362 182, or email us anytime using the 'Email me' link on the left.

Where & When: Sunday 6th November, 11.30pm-12.30am UK time, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com everywhere else in the world.