→ Listen to Our Black Gay Diaspora — every episode, on Acast, YouTube and the usual podcast apps.
Our Black Gay Diaspora is Erick Taylor Woodby's podcast — 140-plus episodes, guests from 28 countries, no shortage of range. Going back through it, though, what struck us wasn't the range. It was how much of it is us. British voices turn up in every year of the show, from its very first episode, without ever having been gathered in one place.
So Erick gathered them. He went back through his own archive and compiled the list below, newest first. We haven't picked favourites — we're still listening our way through.
Some of who you'll find: Leon Lopez, director and former Brookside actor, who was Erick's very first guest in April 2021. Cyril Nri, BAFTA-nominated for Cucumber. Marc Thompson, on three decades of HIV activism, PrEP and growing up in Brixton. Two therapists — Dennis Carney and Wayne Mertins-Brown — on Black gay mental health. The photographer Ajamu X. The poets Dean Atta and Keith Jarrett. Jay Jay Revlon, from London's ballroom scene. Gamal 'G' Turawa — the Met's first openly gay Black police officer, and the man at the centre of The Black Cop — who comes back three times, once to turn the microphone on Erick.
What do they say together, and where do they part company? That is the subject of a longer piece to come. For now, the list.
2026
Ep. 138 · Wayne Mertins-Brown — psychotherapeutic counsellor, on Black gay mental health and culturally competent therapy
Ep. 127 · Lloyd Young — on sexual violence advocacy and Black queer life in the UK
Ep. 126 · Keith Jarrett — poet, on Black British queer poetry and identity
2025
Ep. 122 · Dr. Martin Patrick — Black gay British author
Special · Dr. Harvey Kennedy-Pitt — trustee of ReportOUT, on LGBTQ+ health equity and global advocacy
Ep. 118 · Steve Morris — founder of Outbound Adventures, on LGBTQ+ travel
Ep. 109 · Dean Atta — poet, author of The Black Flamingo
Ep. 107 · Vernal Scott — author, on being “UK Black”
Ep. 101 · Nzube Ufodike — entrepreneur, on fintech and more
2024
Ep. 96 · Eric Yassine — British-based and Ivorian, on self-acceptance
Ep. 95 · Dr. Topher Campbell — on Black British queer identity
Ep. 83 · Ajamu X — photographer, on Black queer art and history
Ep. 76 · Dennis Carney — therapist, on mental health and queer identity
Ep. 74 · Marc Thompson — on Black queer health, HIV prevention and PrEP
2023
Ep. 68 · Rev. Jide Macaulay — on faith, sexuality and activism
Ep. 65 · Rob Berkeley — founder of BLKOUT UK, on why he started an organisation to save his life (read the essay)
Ep. 49 · Adé Adeniji — consultant and coach, co-founder of The Quest Collective, on identity
Ep. 48 · Cyril Nri — BAFTA-nominated actor, on four decades of stage and screen
2022
Ep. 40 · Gamal ‘G’ Turawa — back for National Coming Out Day
Ep. 39 · Jay Jay Revlon — DJ and artist, and a shaping hand in London’s ballroom scene
Ep. 23 · Gamal ‘G’ Turawa — facilitator, and the protagonist of the BAFTA-winning The Black Cop
2021
Ep. 12 · Lennox Benson — children’s author, on queer honesty
Ep. 11 · Yassine Senghor — facilitator and director of Confronting Change
Ep. 5 · Pierre Monnerville — photographer and founder of Unapologaytic, from Martinique and Paris to the UK
Ep. 3 · Shaun Wallace — interdisciplinary researcher, on building community cultural infrastructure
Ep. 1 · Leon Lopez — TV and film director, and the show’s very first guest
When the microphone turns
Twice, a British guest has turned the tables and interviewed Erick himself: Ep. 59 · Gamal ‘G’ Turawa interviews Erick and Ep. 125 · Dr. Martin Patrick interviews Erick. If you're new to the show, either is a good door in.
Our thanks to Erick for doing the digging. If you know a UK conversation that belongs here, tell him — and tell us.
New from Erick: In Convo with Erick. This month Erick launched a second show — in-depth interviews with people from around the world about their working lives and the stories that shaped them. The first episode, with award-winning filmmaker Peter Fitzgerald, is out now; guests from Australia, Sweden and the US are coming up. Listen to In Convo with Erick.