Jewels and Gold and Butts (Ep 399 - Pink Narcissus/Ian MacKinnon)

Fifty one years ago this month, a strange and beautiful art film called Pink Narcissus had its San Francisco debut, and went on to forever change the life of my guest Ian MacKinnon. I spoke to Ian back in 2015, and this week we’re revisiting that interview to mark the half-century birthday of one of his favorite films. Growing up in the midwest, Ian couldn't even picture what life as a gay man even looked like. And he certainly couldn't have pictured what his life would become: parading up on stages as a performance artist, covered in brightly-colored phallic objects, to shout triumphantly in one-man shows about the pride he takes in being a sexual gay being.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a book coming out in 2023! It’s about how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom over the last half century, and I’ll be revealing the title and cover next week in my weekly newsletter — head over to gaysitcoms.com to subscribe and be the first to get all the details, and to pre-order your copy.

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

The Taste of an Old Queen (Ep 398 - Kyle Turner/Bringing up Baby)

Kyle Turner was one of those weird little kids whose tastes were more like those of a middle-aged gay man than those of his peers. He was raised on a steady movie diet of golden-age black-and-white comedies, and the resulting perspective that he gained set him apart from the other kids at his deeply conservative private school. He always believed he was destined to writing about classic film, and though a mix of hard work and good connections, as an adult those dreams have come true.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a book coming out next year about how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom over the last half century, and I’ll be revealing the title and cover later this month in my weekly newsletter — head over to gaysitcoms.com to subscribe and be the first to get all the details.

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

Like I Was the Star (Ep 397 - Kevin/Reality TV)

My guest this week was present for some of the earliest days of what we now recognize as reality TV — he helped produce Gay Riviera, a 2001 Bravo series about queer dating. Kevin Haddad never expected to find himself behind the scenes of a series that helped developed the rules of reality television — a few months earlier, he was a waiter at a family restaurant in Connecticut, and before he knew it he was staying out all night at New York’s hottest nightclubs and possibly getting picked up by a mobster.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First — hey, are you interested in the history of gay characters on sitcoms, from Bewitched to The Golden Girls to Modern Family? And how, hidden in those characters, is the real-life story of queer liberation? Well I’ve got a book coming out on exactly that topic next year! I’ll be revealing the title and cover later this month in my newsletter — head over to gaysitcoms.com to subscribe to the newsletter and be the first to get all the details.

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

Morbid Curiosities (Ep 396 - Disaster books/Chris Steadman)

My guest this week is Chris Steadman, an author and professor and podcaster whose childhood obsession was very grown-up books about disasters. Even as a kid, he took a very serious view of the world, placing on himself the burden of understanding and — hopefully — finding a solution to humanity’s greatest troubles. That led him down some unexpected paths, and now he helps guide other folks who are on similar explorations.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick reminder that I’ve got a weekly-ish newsletter that you can subscribe to at mattbaume.com. I’ll be sharing details there about my upcoming book about the history of gay characters on sitcoms. And I’ve got a YouTube channel where I post videos about film and TV history — I just posted one about Seinfeld’s “not that there’s anything wrong with that” episode — that’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

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.

My Heel Connected with his Jaw (Ep 395 - Tomie dePaola/Trung Le Nguyen)

My guest this week — and apologies for the slightly late post, it’s been a busy week! — is Trung le Nguyen, author and illustrator of the award-winning book The Magic Fish, among many other graphic works. Trung’s family made their way to the US from a refugee camp, and he grew up obsessed with cozy picture books. A sensitive boy, Trung could have been the target of a lot of bullying — but he wasn’t, thanks in part to a moment at a birthday party that involved his father, his friends, and a kick to the jaw.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a quick reminder that I’ve got a weekly-ish newsletter that you can subscribe to at mattbaume.com. I’ll be sharing details there about my upcoming book about the history of gay characters on sitcoms. And I’ve got a YouTube channel where I post videos about film and TV history — I just posted one about Seinfeld’s “not that there’s anything wrong with that” episode — that’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

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.

Climbing a Mountain Every Day (Ep 395 - Stephen/Ballet)

Last week I spoke with Bret Shuford, one half of the couple known as the Broadway Husbands. This week I’m talking to his husband, Stephen Hanna, about leaving home to pursue a ballet career and discovering just how physically grueling that world could be — not to mention surprisingly hostile to sensitive young guys like him. The work took a heavy toll, and for a time Stephen found himself going down a dark path … until he found a way to change course and find the life he’d been looking for.

First, a quick reminder that I’ve got a weekly-ish newsletter that you can subscribe to at mattbaume.com. I’ll be sharing details there about my upcoming book about the history of gay characters on sitcoms. And I’ve got a YouTube channel where I post videos about film and TV history — I’ve got one this coming Sunday about Seinfeld’s “not that there’s anything wrong with that” episode — that’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

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.

Musical Theater on the Subway (Ep 394 - Brett/Broadway)

My guest this week is Bret Shuford, one half of the couple that calls themselves the Broadway Husbands. Bret met his husband Steven while they were both working on Broadway, and they started a blog about their lives together before embarking on their latest adventure — raising a kid. I’ll be talking to Bret this week about his childhood in Texas, his viral video career, and a problem that he steadfastly ignored until it threatened to destroy everything — and next week I’ll have his husband Steven on to share his story.

First, a quick reminder that I’ve got a weekly-ish newsletter that you can subscribe to at mattbaume.com. I’ll be sharing details there about my upcoming book about the history of gay characters on sitcoms. And I’ve got a YouTube channel where I post videos about film and TV history — I’ve got one coming up about Seinfeld’s “not that there’s anything wrong with that” episode — that’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.

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.

Becoming Real (Ep 393 - Wyatt/Velveteen Rabbit)

Before we start this week, I want to thank you for your patience — as you might’ve seen, I’ve been recovering from a balance issue that left me in a state of constant dizziness. As a result I had to cut back on editing for a few weeks, since that involves staring at a screen full of objects constantly scrolling left and right. But the good news is that I’m getting better and will be back to my usual Sewers schedule soon. Thanks again for bearing with me while I get back on my feet and back to making podcasts. 

You may recognize actor Wyatt Fenner from Gotham, Veronica Mars, Bones, or the movie Make the Yuletide Gay. He has a new film screening this week in Outfest called Chrissy Judy, which is all about what happens when you have to break up with a friend. It plays this Friday, July 15 at 7pm at the DGA in Los Angeles — tickets are available at Outfest.org.

This week we’re revisiting my 2018 interview with Wyatt, who as an actor is an expert at inhabiting personas and hiding behind someone else. But an accidental outing and a violent attack that could have killed him helped Wyatt realize who it really was that he was hiding.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a weekly-ish newsletter that you can subscribe to at mattbaume.com. And a YouTube channel where I post videos about film and TV history — I’ve got one coming up about Seinfeld’s “not that there’s anything wrong with that” episode.

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.

Demons & Ghosts (Ep 392 - Hamish Steele/Dead End: Paranormal Park)

Maybe you’ve seen the new animated series on Netflix entitled Dead End: Paranormal Park, featuring a cast of queer characters working at an amusement park that might be a portal to hell. I spoke to the show’s creator, Hamish Steele, several years ago when his comic book Deadendia was in the early stages of being adapted into a show, and now that Dead End has been completed and released, we’re revisiting that conversation this week to hear about the real-life friends who inspired the story… and also Hamish’s controversial opinions about the difference between films that merely have queer people in them versus films that queer people actually like.

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 one coming up about Seinfeld’s “not that there’s anything wrong with that” episode.

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.

Everything but His Underwear (Ep 391 - Swedish Drag/Markus)

My guest this week set himself a goal many years ago — to bring RuPaul’s Drag Race to Sweden, with an all-Swedish production, Swedish queens, and a Swedish host. Now it’s finally happening, thanks to my guest’s decade of work amidst international travel, seeking a country that felt like home, and meeting and falling in love with his husband.

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 one coming up this weekend about the show 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.