The Sound of Trans Freedom - 015

2026-07-22

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A stack of letters written by trans people asking for help in the 90s is an essential piece of queer history. The letters are rightly kept confidentially, but a year ago we were given special access to make a sound art piece using them. Today we’re marking the anniversary of that work, which was produced by Tash and Arlie Adlington, with contributions from Jesse Lawson, Kamari Romeo, naafi, and Imogen Sayers.The Sound of Trans Freedom audio piece in full: Soundcloud | YouTubeShort films mentioned in this episode: Sweetheart (dir Luke W...

The Sound of Trans Freedom audio piece in full: Soundcloud | YouTube

Short films mentioned in this episode:

Sweetheart (dir Luke Wintour, 2025)

Dandelion (dir Fiona Obertinca, 2026)

The Sound of Trans Freedom was supported by an Engagement Grant from The National Archives

Thanks to all the contributors who gave their voices, thoughts and feelings to the pieces

The Press for Change archive letters read throughout the piece were by Serena James, recorded by David Pye

The featured artists were:

naafi, Kamari Romeo, Tom Sayers, Jesse Lawson

Archival audio courtesy of:

Gender Talk, a radio show speaking the language of gender created by Nancy Nangeroni, originally broadcast on WMBR Cambridge and Boston, USA. Find them at gendertalk.com.

Out-FM, a multi-racial, progressive LGBTQ+ public affairs and culture show on WBAI New York, USA. Listen to their extensive archive at outfm.org.

The Sound of Trans Freedom was...

Compiled and mixed by Arlie Adlington

Produced by Tash Walker

And the Executive Producers for Aunt Nell were Tash Walker and Adam Zmith

Thanks to:

Stephen Whittle

Press for Change

The National Archives

and

The Hall-Carpenter Archives at LSE

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