Every Gay Bar Was Owned by Mafia (Ep 390 - Stonewall/Tree)

June 2, 2022 Matthew Baume

Welcome to June, listeners. Every year for Pride month, I like to revisit my conversation with a man whose tales of old queer New York are absolutely captivating. He earned the nickname Tree thanks to his six-foot-five stature, and he’s been a part of New York’s gay community going back to the fifties, when he didn’t even know a community existed. Tree’s been a member of Brooklyn street gangs, worked with the mob, and counted among his friends Buddy Holly, Bea Arthur, and Rock Hudson. We talked back in 2020, as we were all heading into a lot of uncertainty around COVID, quarantines, and the future. The start of Pride month is a particularly apt time to reflect on Tree’s stories of endurance and liberation.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a weekly newsletter where I write stories about queer pop culture and also link to cute animal videos — subscribe to that at mattbaume.com. Also take a look at my YouTube channel for videos about film and TV history — I just posted a video about Will & Grace and I’ve got one coming up about the behind-the-scenes fight over the gay couple on Modern Family.

Also, big thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon! Patrons get hours of exclusive videos about super queer pop culture history, stickers and stuff in the mail, and shoutouts in the credits of YouTube videos.

Quite a Lovely Revolution We Were Having (Ep 389 - David Bowie/Joan Jett Blakk)

May 26, 2022 Matthew Baume

My guest this week is the fascinating Terrence Smith, also known as Joan Jett Blakk, a drag performer who ran for mayor of Chicago in the 90s, and after that, President. Terrence has some incredible stories about growing up in Detroit, seeing David Bowie and The Supremes perform live, sneaking onto the floor of the Democratic National Convention, and orchestrating, as he calls it, “quite a lovely revolution.”

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a weekly newsletter where I write stories about queer pop culture and also link to cute animal videos — subscribe to that at mattbaume.com. Also take a look at my YouTube channel for videos about film and TV history — I just posted a video about how Will & Grace premiered at what might’ve been the worst possible time, and I’ve got one coming in June about how the gay couple on Modern Family were prevented from getting married by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Magic Horses & Middle School (Ep 388 - Hugh Ryan/magic horses)

May 19, 2022 Matthew Baume

There’s a new book out this month about the history of The Women’s House of Detention, a women’s prison that was located just across the street from The Stonewall Inn, that played a role in the 1969 uprising, and that for better or worse shaped queer culture in New York’s iconic gayborhood. The author, Hugh Ryan, was my guest on the Sewers of Paris several years ago, and for this week’s episode we’re revisiting by 2020 interview with him about his previous book, When Brooklyn was Queer. Settle in for a chat about Hugh’s own favorite books — pulpy sci-fi novels, which filled his middle school days with magic horses. Growing up, Hugh became a mild mannered academic by day, rowdy party monster by night. And after a series of adventures, including one in which he moved into another person’s life, Hugh found a calling in creating pop-up museums of queer history.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a weekly newsletter where I write stories about queer pop culture and also link to cute animal videos — subscribe to that at mattbaume.com. Also take a look at my YouTube channel for videos about film and TV history — I just posted a video about how Will & Grace premiered at what might’ve been the worst possible time, and how the creators overcame the Ellen curse.

Camp is like Pornography (Ep 387 - Eurovision/Jānis)

May 12, 2022 Matthew Baume

We’re in the midst of Eurovision right now, the extravagant celebration of over-the-top music and outrageous costumes and, every now and then, taste. Eurovision is a great big ball of fun, and it was the subject of the very first episode of The Sewers of Paris. This week, we’re revisiting my 2015 interview with Jānis, who on this very show was the first person to introduce me to the joy of Eurovision, along with the German version of American Idol, gay-adjacent Hitchcock movies, and hard-core camp.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a weekly newsletter where I write stories about queer pop culture and also link to cute animal videos — subscribe to that at mattbaume.com. Also take a look at my YouTube channel for videos about film and TV history — I’ve got a video coming this weekend about how Will & Grace premiered at what might’ve been the worst possible time, and how the creators overcame the Ellen curse.

Did I Just Get Married? (Ep 386 - Pedro Almodóvar/Alejandro Varela)

May 6, 2022 Matthew Baume

My guest this week is Alejandro Varela, who was a mostly-closeted college student when he left the US for a semester in Spain. There he was able to start fresh, come out, and explore queer culture — with a little inspiration from filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar — and to come back to the US a completely changed person.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder to head over to mattbaume.com to subscribe to my newsletter. And take a look at my YouTube channel for videos about film and TV history — I just posted a video about the show Dynasty. And head over to my Patreon to support The Sewers of Paris and watch hours of bonus videos about super queer pop culture — lately I’ve been posting behind-the-scenes looks at the making of Will & Grace.

Betrayed by Books (Ep 385 - Fantasy novels/Oliver Darkshire)

April 28, 2022 Matthew Baume

My guest this week is Oliver Darkshire. As a young adult, he found himself drifting away from his friends, due in part to what turned out to be an undiagnosed illness that made it hard for him to participate in day-to-day activities. It was a fantasy novel that turned things around for him — a book that took an approach to sex that had never occurred to Oliver to seek out.

Learning to be Myself More (Ep 384 - Live drag soap opera/Harold Slazer)

April 21, 2022 Matthew Baume

My guest this week is Harold Slazer, an actor-writer-director whose life was changed in an instant after a car crash and ensuing memory problems that left him unable to remember people, places, and his own work. He rebuilt his life and created a popular live show in New York called The Honeysuckles — a comedic hybrid of live soap opera and comedy cabaret — which nearly made its may into millions of American homes when it was adapted into a TV show at Fox. But there were a lot of obstacles to getting such a daring project on the air, which is why one of Harold’s memories from those days was hiding in a closet in full drag so Rupert Murdoch wouldn’t find him.

Watch The Honeysuckles pilot here: https://youtu.be/zTGq-4tn1BI

Oracular Garbage Pile (Ep 383 - James Bond/Andrew Wheeler)

April 14, 2022 Matthew Baume

This week sees the release of Love and War, a new comic book set in the competitive world of varsity tug-of-war and featuring a lovely upbeat queer romance. The author, Andrew Wheeler, was my guest on The Sewers of Paris back in 2018, and for this week’s interview we’re diving into the Sewers archives to revisit our conversation about awakening untapped courage with defiantly gay comic characters. Though his stories are swashbuckling, Andrew tends to live a more quiet and domestic life than his globetrotting heroes. But it was through his books that he was able to explore beyond the town where he grew up -- in literature and eventually in real life.

A Crew of Proto-Queer Boys (Ep 382 - Spice Girls/Little Miss Hot Mess)

April 7, 2022 Matthew Baume

My guest this week is the performer, author, and academic known as Lil Miss Hot Mess, who was fortunate enough to grow up with a proto-queer friend group that paved the way for a professional drag career. Over the years, what began as a hobby for Lil Miss Hot Mess gradually morphed into a method for grabbing attention at protests, a full-time job that included an SNL performance with Katy Perry, and then a PhD and academic study into the very nature of drag itself — and now most recently a picture book for kids.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder to head over to mattbaume.com to subscribe to my newsletter. And take a look at my YouTube channel for videos about film and TV history — I’ve got a video coming this weekend about the show Dynasty. And head over to my Patreon to support The Sewers of Paris and watch hours of bonus videos.

Space Ballerinas (Ep 381 - Sailor Moon/Ryan La Salla)

March 31, 2022 Matthew Baume

This month marks the 30 year anniversary of the American debut of Sailor Moon, and to celebrate we’re diving back into the Sewers of Paris archives to hear my 2018 chat with author Ryan La Salla. When we last spoke, Ryan was about to publish his first novel — Reverie, a queer adult fantasy. Since then, he’s written a second book, Be Dazzled; and his third, The Honeys, comes out this summer. Ryan’s been an imaginative creator his entire life, but as you’ll hear, he didn’t always use his powers for good.

Now, here’s my 2018 conversation with Ryan.

About The Sewers of Paris

The Sewers of Paris is a podcast about how queer lives are shaped by our favorite books, movies, music, and shows. Each week, guests open up about their secret struggles, hidden passions, and surprising triumphs by plucking a piece of entertainment from their past and answering the question: What’s the entertainment that changed your life?

About Defining Marriage

Each week on Defining Marriage, hosts Matt Baume and James Morris chat about what's happening with marriage equality, featuring frequent digressions into pop culture, silly banter, and the jokes and quibbles that have kept them together as a couple for over a decade.

The first eighteen episodes of the podcast contain the complete audiobook version of the book Defining Marriage, which traces the decades-long evolution of marriage through the personal stories of those who lived through it, featuring personal insights from the lives of Evan Wolfson, Dan Savage, Ken Mehlman, Dustin Lance Black, and many more.

About Matt's So-Cast Pod

Revisit the iconic '90s drama My So-Called Life, one episode at a time. Every week, host Matt Baume & his guests delve into the teen angst, the grown-up turmoil, and the endless flannel of the 90s -- and examine the show's impact on television and our lives.