What Feels Euphoric to Me (Ep 477: JP Karliak/X-Men 97)

Returning to The Sewers of Paris this week is voice actor JP Karliak — you heard him as the voice of Morph on X-Men ‘97, but he’s also been keeping busy with lots of other projects, from advocating for up-and-coming queer voice actors to performing alongside Rhianna in an upcoming Smurfs movie. We last spoke in 2020, and a lot has happened since then — both in JP’s career, and in voice acting in general.

We’ll have that conversation in a moment. First, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting the show on Patreon. Patrons get access to an exclusive Discord server, stickers and books in the mail, bonus videos, and more. You can join the Patreon at patreon.com/mattbaume.

And you may also enjoy my other projects —  like my YouTube videos for a queer look at movie and television history, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my email newsletter. Or you might like Matt’s So-Cast Pod, a new podcast about the 90s TV series My So-Called Life.

The Performance of Sex (Ep 476: Gay Porn/Christopher Rice)

This week I’m chatting with Christopher Rice, a returning guest who’s just published a fourth book in his steamy “Sapphire Cove” series. This latest novel, entitled Sapphire Dawn, features a plucky porn performer butting heads with an unlucky-in-love wedding planner. Christopher, writing under the name C. Travis Rice, did a lot of research to make sure he captured the realities of the adult industry — both good and bad.

We’ll have my conversation with Christopher in a moment. First, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting my work on Patreon for as little as $2 a month. Patrons get access to a Patron-exclusive Discord server, stickers and books in the mail, bonus videos, and more. You can join the Patreon at patreon.com/mattbaume.

And you may also enjoy my other projects —  like my YouTube videos for a queer look at movie and television history, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my email newsletter. Or you might like Matt’s So-Cast Pod, a new podcast about the 90s TV series My So-Called Life.

Hollywood Pride (Ep 475: Queer Hollywood History/Alonso Duralde)

My guest this week is Alonso Duralde, author of the new book Hollywood Pride, a fascinating historical tour through queer Hollywood history. If Alonso’s name sounds familiar, you might recall him from several past Sewers of Paris conversations, or from the movie and TV podcasts he hosts with his husband Dave White — two men of excellent taste and encyclopedic knowledge of entertainment history.

We’ll have my conversation with Alonso in a moment. First, a reminder that if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll check out my other projects —  like my YouTube videos for a queer look at movie and television history, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my email newsletter. Or you might like my new podcast about the 90s TV series My So-Called Life, titled perhaps a bit too obtusely Matt’s So-Cast Pod.

And if you support my work on Patreon, you’ll get backer rewards like Discord access, weekly bonus videos, queer stickers in the mail, and more. You can join the Patreon at patreon.com/mattbaume.

The Best of The Sewers of Paris: Science Fiction

Apologies for this week's episode coming a day late! I'm just catching up between Pride events and a power outage that halted editing for a bit. But here's the latest Sewers of Paris, continuing the monthlong Pride specials with excerpts from some of the best conversations I’ve had over the last nine years.

This week, we’re talking about science fiction. We’ll hear from folks for whom sci-fi was an escape … and also an inspiration for future work, from throwing parties to inventing the technology that powers the Internet, to sending robots to Mars.

Full conversations that are excerpted in this episode:

The Best of The Sewers of Paris: Comic Books

This week, I’m continuing the monthlong Pride special, bringing you excerpts from some of the very best Sewers of Paris conversations I’ve had over the last nine years.

This week, we’re talking comics books. We’ll start with a conversation with writer Andrew Wheeler, whose tales of adventure and intrigue stand in sharp contrast to his domestic life. Then moving on to artist DJ Kirkland, who pursued his dreams in spite of — or maybe in order to spite — a particularly mean art school teacher. Then we’ll hear from artist Justin Hall, whose erotic imaginings are seemingly without limit. And finally the delightful writer Anthony Oliveira, who hosted a panel with me just last week at the Toronto Public Library.

And also a quick note: if you’re in Seattle, I hope you’ll come see me at Elliott Bay Books this Friday, June 21st! I’ll be talking about The Golden Girls, and what made those ladies such powerful queer icons  — both on screen and in real life. Full details on all that at mattbaume.com/events.

Full conversations with this week’s guests:

The Best of The Sewers of Paris: Musicals!

I’m continuing the monthlong Pride special, bringing you excerpts from some of the very best Sewers of Paris conversations I’ve had over the last nine years. This week, we’re talking musicals — a roundup of conversations about songs on stage and on screen. We’ll start with a conversation about Pippin with voice actor Cam Clarke; then moving on to Rocky Horror with a programmer named Matt; then a chat about Sondheim with NPR’s Ari Shapiro; and finally a talk with Gregory Maguire, author of the novel Wicked.

And if you’re in Seattle, I hope you’ll come see me at Elliott Bay Books next week, June 21st! I’ll be talking about The Golden Girls, and what made those ladies such powerful queer icons  — both on screen and in real life. Full details on all that at mattbaume.com/events.

Here are the full conversations with all my guests this week:

The Best of The Sewers of Paris: A Drag Race Spectacular!

Starting this week, I’m doing something special for Pride. Throughout the month of June, I’m going to bring you the very best of the last nine years of Sewers of Paris interviews — excerpts from some of my very favorite conversations. We’re starting this week with a roundup of some of the fabulous Drag Race performers that have stopped by the show, starting with BenDeLaCreme, continuing on the Peppermint, then Jaymes Mansfield, Alaska, and then paying tribute to Chi Chi DeVayne.

 I’ll have more best-ofs next week — for that episode, themed around musicals of stage and screen.

And if you’d like to hear the full interviews, check out these episodes:

And for some more BenDeLaCreme, check out Matt’s So-Cast Pod Episode 1.

Bright Colors, Zany Action (Ep 470 - Skeletor/JP Karliak)

You may have most recently heard this week’s guest on X-Men 97, where he plays the character morph — but you’ve also heard him as the voice of the Green Goblin, the Joker, Boss Baby, Archie, Wile E. Coyote, and so many more I’ve lost count. I spoke with JP Karliak back in 2020 about his career as a voice actor for video games and animation. And for this week’s episode, we’re celebrating season 1 of his X-Men role by revisiting that interview about the animated villains who inspired him as a kid.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that if you like The Sewers of Paris, you’ll probably also enjoy my other projects. This weekend I’ve got a new YouTube video premiering about the movie Cabaret — you can join us for a livestream and premiere at youtube.com/mattbaume starting at 11am pacific.

Or you might want to check out my new podcast where we dive into the 90s TV series My So-Called Life, one episode at a time — it’s available now wherever you listen to podcasts, just search for Matt’s So-Cast Pod.

And check out my Twitch livestreams, videos, my book, my newsletter, and more at MattBaume.com.

Dangerous Book of Secrets (Ep 469 - Lord of the Rings/Jared)

My guest this week is Jared Pechaček, author of the forthcoming fantasy-horror novel The West Passage. Jared’s work is heavily informed by his homeschooling and his upbringing in the Pentecostal church — influences that found their way into his writing without him realizing it. When he finally did understand just how much his fiction revealed about him, it was like finding clues that his brain had been dropping for years. Clues that helped point him in the direction of understanding his past, and coming to terms with it.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that if you like The Sewers of Paris, you’ll probably also enjoy my other projects. For example, my weekly livestreams on Twitch. 

Or you might want to check out my new podcast where we dive into the 90s TV series My So-Called Life, one episode at a time — it’s available now wherever you listen to podcasts, just search for Matt’s So-Cast Pod.

And check out my videos, my book, my newsletter, and more at MattBaume.com.

Don't Ask Me Out Again Until You've Written Chapter Two (Ep 468 - Steven Rowley/Tootsie)

Photo by Afonso Salcedo

The writer Steven Rowley is known for numerous novels: Lily and the Octopus; The Celebrants; The Editor; and The Guncle, which is about a gay man who finds his hands full when he takes in a niece and nephew he never expected to raise. Not only did that novel win the Thurber Prize — it’s now the first installment in a series, with his latest novel, A Guncle Abroad, coming out on May 21, 2024. For this week’s episode, I’m diving into the Sewers archives to revisit my 2016 interview with Steven. At that point, his debut novel Lily and the Octopus had just hit shelves. We spoke about how he’d spent a large chunk of his career disguising himself, writing rom-com scripts about heterosexual relationships. But there came a point when he decided to stop de-gaying his stories — and little did he know then just how much success that choice would bring him.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that if you like The Sewers of Paris, you’ll probably also enjoy my other projects. For example, my weekly livestreams on Twitch. This weekend we’ll be continuing our watch-along for the musical episode of The Love Boat.

Or you might want to check out my new podcast where we dive into the 90s TV series My So-Called Life, one episode at a time — it’s available now wherever you listen to podcasts, just search for Matt’s So-Cast Pod.

And check out my videos, my book, my newsletter, and more at MattBaume.com.