Beauty in Trash (Ep 334 - Bruce Vilanch/Bette Midler)

On last week’s episode I talked with James Sie about the importance of one well-placed Bette Midler album, and this week I want to dive into the Sewers archives with another guest whose life was changed by Bette — in his case, when she called him to offer him a job. Today we’re revisiting my 2017 interview with Bruce Vilanch, a writer an comedian who’s been slipping sly queer jokes into mainstream entertainment since before some of us were even born.  Starting out as a writer for great divas of the 1970s and then moving on to variety shows, the Oscars, and a notorious Star Wars holiday special, Bruce provided a subtle queer infusion into American showbiz for decades. And this week we'll talk about how he managed to get away with it.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. I’ve got a new video about The Nanny, and how Fran Drescher managed to set the show apart with its treatment of queer characters at a time when TV was not quite so inclusive. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

Also, a reminder that I’ve got a newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. You can sign up at mattbaume.com.

It Was All There in One Album (Ep 333 - Bette Midler/James Sie)

My guest this week is James Sie, whose voice you may recognize from Kung Fu Panda, Curious George, King of the Hill, and as an unlucky cabbage merchant on Avatar. He’s also the author of Still Life Las Vegas, and a new queer young adult novel called All Kinds of Other, which will have a launch celebration next Friday, May 7, to benefit the Los Angeles LGBT Center. As a young gay man entering college, James wasn’t where to look for community — but he started to pick up some clues thanks to a Bette Midler album.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And just a reminder that I’ve got a newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. You can sign up at mattbaume.com.

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. I’ve got a new video coming this weekend about The Nanny, and how Fran Drescher managed to set the show apart with its treatment of queer characters at a time when TV was not quite so inclusive. That’s premiering this weekend, Sunday May 2nd, with a livestream starting at 11am before the video premieres. I hope you’ll join me for that over at youtube.com/mattbaume, and there’s a link on my twitter @mattbaume. 

And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over at Twitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon!

My Life Was a Game of Survivor (Ep 332 - School of Rock/Brian Falduto)

You may recognize my guest Brian Falduto for his music, his coaching, or his role in the 2003 movie School of Rock as Billy, the stylist kid. When he shot his scenes, Brian had no idea what gay even meant, but as soon as the movie came out, it seemed like the whole world was telling him who he was. That pushed him deep into the closet, until another musical experience helped him find his authentic self again in an unlikely genre — country.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And just a reminder that I’ve got a newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. Last week’s newsletter was about how I came to realize how wrong I’ve been about Fran Drescher and Steve Urkle. You can sign up at mattbaume.com.

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume. I’ve got a new video in the works about the show The Nanny!

If you like weird old pop culture nostalgia, I livestream a lot of my research for my YouTube videos. Join me as we dive through old archives, discovering obscure clips and news articles — the next of those streams is coming up on Sunday, April 25 — not Saturday, as they’ve been in the past — at 11am pacific. There’s a link on my twitter @mattbaume. 

And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over at Twitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon!

Queer People Everywhere (Ep 331 - Queer as Folk & Minari/Steven Wakabayashi)

 A few years ago, this week’s guest Steven Wakabayashi lived to party. His gay agenda centered on nightlife and a relentless fitness routine, but that all came to an end when the physical toll became too much for his body to bear and he found himself hospitalized for months. To recover, he had to completely change his life and set himself on an entirely new path — one that’s led him to film and literature he would never have otherwise known.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And just a reminder that I’ve got a newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. You can sign up at mattbaume.com.

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume. I have a new video up this week about the gay secrets of the show Friends.

And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over at Twitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon!

Everyone is Gay (Ep 330 - Buffy & My So-Called Life/Kristin Russo)

This week I’ve got a very special guest — the wonderful Kristin Russo, whom I’m sure you know from the podcast Buffering the Vampire Slayer, the YouTube channel Everyone is Gay, the book This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids, all-ages Pride in New York, and oh my God so many great projects. And it all started with a young queer woman watching My So-Called Life, wondering if she was more like the free-spirted Rayanne or the teen-angsty Angela. When you watch My So-Called Life, your favorite character never winds up being the one you think it’ll be.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And just a reminder that I’ve got a newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. Last week’s newsletter shared a discovery about Hollywood’s Agnes Moorehead vortex, and next week I’m going to show you the cutest, ugliest mascot in the world. You can sign up at mattbaume.com.

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over at Twitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon!

Now, here’s Kristin.

The Queer Radical (Ep 329 - James Baldwin/Steven Bull)

This week’s guest spent time on the front lines of a revolution in the 60s and 70s. Steve Bull is an activist who fought for gay liberation in Los Angeles, and then brought those tactics to his small town in Maine when it was time for him to retire and move back home. Now he teaches the radical queer tactics that he learned to young organizers who want to follow in his footsteps.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And just a reminder that I’ve got a newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. You can sign up at mattbaume.com..

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over at Twitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon!

I am Nerdy and Kinky (Ep. 328 - Pup Amp/Cosplay & Bondage)

Back in 2015, one of the very first guests on The Sewers of Paris was my friend Amp, who was then just getting started on his career as a kink educator and adult performer. In the years since, he’s built a huge following for his podcast and YouTube series, Watts the Safeword, and on Friday of this week he’ll appear on the Epix TV show Sex Life, a documentary series about sex-positive households.

For this week’s episode, we’re revisiting our 2015 conversation about Amp’s quiet Catholic upbringing, and the childhood he spent hiding from constant teasing by playing videogames in his basement. Early in his life, Amp learned the value of re-inventing himself when it was time to move to a new school, turning himself from a shy nerd to a true star.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And just a reminder that I’ve got a newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. You can sign up at mattbaume.com..

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over at Twitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon at 5pm pacific!

When You Don’t Have Words to Say, You Sing (Ep 327 - Angels in America/Jonathan Blalock)

A few years ago, the Royal National Theater in London recorded an amazing production of the play Angels in America, starring  Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, Russell Tovey, and more. And they just made that recording available to stream at NTatHome.com. For this week’s episode, we’re revisiting my 2015 interview with actor and singer Jonathan Blalock, whose life was completely changed by Angels in America, in part because of his religious upbringing. Jonathan grew up surrounded by spiritual music that at first filled him with joy, and then pain as he realized that his homophobic surroundings were turning on him. But as an adult, he finally gave himself permission to explore new forms of performing and song, and discovered that the intense emotions music always gave him didn’t have to come from a church. They could also come from him.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And just a reminder that I’ve got newsletter where you can see the stuff I’m working on and fun surprises I’ve discovered. You can sign up at mattbaume.com..

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over at Twitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon at 5pm pacific — a new later time!

Attracted to Jesus (Ep 326 - Michelangelo & Judy Garland/Rob Urbinati)

My guest this week is Rob Urbanati, a New York playwright and director. He had a unique upbringing — he grew up openly gay in a small suburb in the 1960s, and people were generally accepting. That gave him an unusual freedom to explore the gay scene, the hippie scene, the club scene, and the drug scene. But the great mystery that he wonders about to this day is how he wound up interested in the movies and art that he did.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. And to everyone who’s reviewed it on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

And just a reminder that I’ve started a new weekly newsletter for all the stuff I’m working on. You can sign up at mattbaume.com — each week I give you a little sneak peek into stuff in the works, little bits of weird fun cultural artifacts I’ve uncovered in various archives, and of course links to cute animal videos.

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

And I hope you’ll join me for regular videogame livestreams over atTwitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon at 5pm pacific — a new later time!

I Prefer the Term "Enchanted" (Ep 325 - Joe/Bewitched)

You might’ve seen that I just released a new video over on YouTube about the queer secrets of the show Bewitched, and how this bizarre sitcom from the 60s managed to be about homosexuality without ever saying so. For this week’s episode, we’re jumping into the Sewers archives for another conversation about witchcraft — it’s my 2015 interview with a Minnesota entertainer named Joe, a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence who was inspired by imaginary worlds and TV witches to conjure up magic wherever he went, whether it was on military bases or in his ice cream truck.

But first, a, a quick thanks to everyone who supports the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. Visit Patreon.com/mattbaume to join the folks who make the show possible and get some backer rewards.

And just a reminder that I’ve got a weekly newsletter for all the stuff I’m working on. You can sign up at mattbaume.com — each week I give you a little sneak peek into upcoming projects, little bits of weird fun cultural artifacts I’ve uncovered in various archives, and of course links to cute animal videos.

Also check out my YouTube videos for deep dives into queer pop culture history. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume. The latest one is all about the secret queerness of the show Bewitched.

And I hope you’ll join me for regular livestreams — I hang out every Saturday on YouTube starting at 11am pacific, and on Twitch at Twitch.tv/mattbaume every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon at 5pm pacific.