The Sewers of Paris

Matt Baume
  • 4.8 (383)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY
The Sewers of Paris

Revealing stories about the books, movies, tv, music and more that have changed the lives of gay men. Each week, a guest plucks a piece of entertainment from their past, and answers the question: how did it change your life?

  1. 6D AGO

    Epic Dark Sword and Sorcery (Ep 511 - The Last Unicorn/SW Kent)

    My guest this week is writer SW Kent, whose new novel is The Storyteller from Balincia. He’s been a storyteller himself since he was a kid, but for the first act of his career he had to rest his fiction-writing muscles so that he could concentrate on his job, which largely concerned programs for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In that role, he helped people in marginalized communities tell their stories. Now it’s his turn to tell his own story, through his favorite genre of dark epic fantasy. We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting the show on Patreon. You may also enjoy my YouTube videos about the making of iconic movies and TV shows. And check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.

    35 min

  2. MAR 13

    You Were Too Good (Ep 310 - Throuple)

    We’re trying different for this week’s Sewers of Paris. Instead of one guest, we have three — the cast of the new film Throuple. It’s a polyamorous romcom, a concert film, a coming-of-age story … and also a culmination of a long journey for Michael Doshier, Tommy Heleringer, and Stanton Plummer-Cambridge, who each individually struggled to find their place in the world before coming together for a movie that was extremely difficult to get made. Throuple has its theatrical debut in New York and LA this week, and then it’ll be available online later this year. We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting the show on Patreon. You may also enjoy my YouTube videos about the making of iconic movies and TV shows. And check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.

    36 min

  3. MAR 6

    Beauty in Trash (Ep 309 - Bruce Vilanch)

    With the Oscars this weekend, we’ve reached the culmination of the year’s awards season. And  for this week’s Sewers of Paris we’re diving into the archives for a chat with an awards show legend: Bruce Vilanch, who's been slipping sly queer comedy into our entertainment since before some of us were even born. Starting out as a joke writer for great divas of the 1970s and then moving on to variety shows, the Academy Awards, and a notorious holiday special, Bruce provided a subtle queer infusion into American showbiz for decades.  We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting the show on Patreon. And you may also enjoy my YouTube videos — I just released a new video about the movie Cruising, and how a Hollywood director accidentally wandered into an explosive fight between New York’s gay leaders and the NYPD. Also check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.

    1h 3m

  4. FEB 27

    A Gay Wolf Who Goes to a Liberal Arts College (Ep 508 - Big Boys/Corey Sherman)

    My guest this week is director Corey Sherman, whose latest film is Big Boys — a story of a teenager who isn’t even out to himself when he goes on a camping trip and starts to develop feelings for his cousin’s boyfriend. Corey’s work has often had an autobiographical element, going back to his college webseries Billiams about a queer wolf attending a liberal arts school. Big Boys gave him a chance to tell a personal story that had been building up inside him ever since he was a kid, running around with a camcorder and making movies with his friends … and also holding onto desires that he wasn’t sure he was supposed to have. We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting the show on Patreon. And you may also enjoy my YouTube videos — I just released a new video about the movie Cruising, and how the Hollywood filmmaker accidentally wandered into an explosive fight between New York’s gay leaders and the NYPD. Also check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.

    35 min

  5. FEB 20

    Secrets Do Not Serve Me (Ep 507: Shane/Wayne Scott)

    My guest this week is author and psychotherapist Wayne Scott. His new book, The Maps They Gave Us, is a memoir about navigating a rocky period in a marriage, about narrowly dodging divorce through non-monogamy, and about rediscovering his relationship with the queer community with support from his wife. It’s a complex journey, with surprising parallels to a cowboy story that was a point of obsession and mystery in his youth. We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting the show on Patreon. And you may also enjoy my YouTube videos, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.

    39 min

  6. FEB 13

    I Don't Really Care What the Rules Are (Ep 506: Usher/Kingsley)

    Welcome to a special episode of The Sewers of Paris! All this month, the Old Church Concert Hall in Portland is celebrating Black History Month with performances honoring Black artists. And I was lucky enough to speak with Kingsley, who helped organize the venue’s Blacker the Berry night, coming up on Saturday the 22nd. Kingsley’s inspirations span a wide range of genres, starting with a youthful obsession with heartbreak songs before her heart had ever been broken; continuing with a degree in opera; and with her recent work which gleefully breaks all the rules she spent years learning. Check the shownotes for more info about Kingsley, The Old Church’s Black History Month lineup, and the Blacker the Berry show next weekend. And if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting the show on Patreon. And you may also enjoy my YouTube videos, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com. Kingsley: https://www.iamkingsley.com/ Old Church Concert Hall: https://www.tocportland.org/all-events Blacker the Berry tickets: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/91587145/the-blacker-the-berry-iicelebrating-black-creatives-featuring-kingsley-with-veana-babythe-dutchess-more-portland-the-old-church

    31 min

  7. FEB 6

    Sometimes I am the Villain (Ep 505: Siouxie and the Banshees/George)

    My guest this week is musician George Alley — a returning guest who first appeared on the podcast in 2018. Back then, we talked about how he escaped some rough bullying as a kid by creating music … and by joining a street gang. Now, he’s released a new album with a Valentine’s Day twist, so I invited him back for a new chat about the punk artists who were his musical influences, and about why he doesn’t mind being the villain of his own songs. 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. And you may also enjoy my YouTube videos, my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com. George’s music: https://www.georgealley.com/

    35 min

  8. JAN 30

    The Entire Planet Was Paying Attention (Ep 504: The Real World/Judd Winick)

    Cast your mind back, if you will, to the 1990s, when reality TV was new. Though the genre was young, many had already written off shows like The Real World as trash. But one young man saw an opportunity, and thought that maybe there was a way he could use television to save lives. His name was Pedro Zamora, and his work wound up changing the course of more lives than he could have possibly imagined. That story’s the subject of a new video that I just posted this weekend — about Pedro, about MTV, and about a turning point in the fight against AIDS. When Pedro was on The Real World in 1994, one of his closest friends was an artist named Judd Winick. Judd very generously spoke to me about his time on The Real World for my video. I have excerpts from that interview in the video on YouTube. But Judd shared so many fascinating stories and insights that I wanted to make our full conversation available. So this week, for a special episode of the Sewers of Paris, you’ll hear my full interview with Judd Winick. We chatted about getting onto The Real World, about befriending Pedro, and about becoming part of a movement that changed the course of history. Check the episode description for a link to my YouTube video about Pedro’s work and legacy. And if you want to see more of Judd’s work, I’m also including links to his book Pedro & Me; to the upcoming 11th book in Judd’s HiLo series; and more information about the National AIDS Memorial and the Pedro Zamora Scholarship. My video about Pedro: https://youtu.be/o2Le9Bf_s3w Pedro & Me: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805089646/pedroandme/  HiLo Book 11: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741634/hilo-book-11-the-great-space-iguana-by-judd-winick/  The Pedro Zamora Scholarship: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/pedro-zamora-scholarship  Donate to the National AIDS Memorial and the scholarship: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/donate-now

    50 min
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    4.8
    out of 5
    383 Ratings

    About

    Revealing stories about the books, movies, tv, music and more that have changed the lives of gay men. Each week, a guest plucks a piece of entertainment from their past, and answers the question: how did it change your life?

    Information

    • Creator
      Matt Baume
    • Years Active
      2015 - 2025
    • Episodes
      298
    • Rating
      Clean
    • Show Website
      The Sewers of Paris

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