Bad Gays

Not every queer person in history was a hero, and Bad Gays is refreshingly honest about that. Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller profile the villains, the morally gray, and the outright terrible queers that mainstream pride narratives tend to skip over. Think less rainbow flags and more complicated human beings doing questionable things across centuries of history. The format works like a biography podcast with teeth. Each episode focuses on a single historical figure -- Tom of Finland, William Beckford, E.M. Forster -- and Lemmey and Miller dig into their lives with serious research and sharp analysis. Episodes typically run 45 minutes to over an hour, released biweekly, with 153 in the archive. The hosts have strong intellectual chemistry, bouncing between historical detail and broader cultural commentary without losing the thread. Fair warning: this leans academic at times. If you want a breezy listen, this might not be your first pick. But if you enjoy thinking critically about history rather than just celebrating it, Bad Gays is incredibly rewarding. The show spawned a book of the same name, and the 4.5-star rating from over 500 reviews reflects a dedicated audience that values nuance over comfort. There's also a premium subscriber tier for bonus content, though the free feed is plenty substantial on its own.