My guest this week has spent the last 25 years tapping into inner heroes — first on screen, and then in real life. David Yost played Billy, the Blue Ranger on Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, portraying a teenager with attitude who saved the world every week. But in his private life, he struggled to accept himself and to resist the homophobia of his colleagues. With on-set harassment exacting a heavy toll, he walked away from Power Rangers as an act of defiance and self-care, beginning a journey of self-acceptance that required as much bravery as his on-screen counterpart.
Also, a reminder that I host twice-monthly livestreams where I chat with listeners like you about the book and movies and music and shows that are bringing you joy right now. The next one is on July 6 at 9am pacific, and there's a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.
Big thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon -- head over to SewersOfParis.com and click "Support the show on Patreon" to check out the rewards for backers.
And for more queer podcasting, check out the show Queens of Adventure, featuring drag queens on an epic Dungeons and Dragons quest! That's at QueensOfAdventure.com. We’re doing a special preview weekend at the end of June, making over 20 hours of backer-exclusive bonus episodes available for anyone to listen to. Visit queensofadventure.com or follow @dungeondrag on twitter, where we’ll post more information in the coming weeks.