For this week’s episode of The Sewers of Paris, we’re trying something new — I’ll interview my guest, Christian Garcia, about the movies that changed his life. And then he’ll interview me about the media that shaped mine, for his podcast. Christian’s the host of That Ol’...
2025-07-24 16:00:21 +0000 UTC View Post
You might know Dante Basco as Prince Zuko from Avatar, or as Jake Long, or as Rufio from Hook. But back in the 90s, he was a break-dancer and he played a gay wrestler in But I'm a Cheerleader -- though the director was worried that he wouldn't manage to pull off the required gay kiss. Not only did he prove her wrong, it turned out to be a learning experience for everyone.
I've got the story in this week's bonus video, plus the story of the Chiquita Banana's te...
2025-07-21 16:00:33 +0000 UTC View Post
On last week’s episode of The Sewers of Paris, I talked with comedian Tim Murray, co-star of the new show Wish You Were Queer, alongside 2025-07-17 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there! For this week's bonus video, I wanted to give a little context for why, in this house, we adore Natasha Lyonne -- starting with her adorable early roles in commercials and Pee-Wee's Playhouse, and then of course with her teen appearance in But I'm a Cheerleader. Things took an unpleasant turn for a few years in her 20s: Some people in her life who did not have her best interests at heart; and a health crisis that nearly took her out. But fortunately for her -- and us! -- she's ma...
2025-07-13 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week on the Sewers of Paris podcast is comedian Tim Murray, co-star of the new show Wish You Were Queer, alongside 2025-07-10 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Pretty much any time a book is adapted into a movie, the book was better ... but there are a few notable exceptions, and one of them is Brokeback Mountain. And that's according to Annie Proulx, who wrote the book! In this week's bonus video, we're looking at one change to the story that she vigorously opposed ... until she saw it on the screen and realized that Ang Lee's changes to her story made them movie better.
Plus! More Brokeback Mountain jokes, including a bunch that Pat...
2025-07-06 16:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week on The Sewers of Paris is Professor Luis Alvarez-Hernandez, whose book See Me! tells the stories of gay and trans men in South Texas. Luis was inspired, in part, by ...
2025-07-03 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello, here's a rare Monday-afternoon bonus video! Usually I post these on Sundays, but because we've had a lot of folks joining from my new Brokeback Mountain video, I didn't want to keep you in suspense for a week with this one: The best (and mostly worst) Brokeback Mountain jokes from the early 2000s.
I've got some clips to share from SNL, of course; but also from Jay Leno, Family Guy, and some resourceful YouTubers who jumped on the then-popular t...
2025-06-30 19:57:58 +0000 UTC View Post
This week, I’m welcoming author Christopher Rice back to The Sewers of Paris to talk about his new book, Party of Three — a steamy romance about a gay couple who finds room for a third. On past episodes, I’ve chatted with Christopher about finding inspiration, for example fr...
2025-06-27 19:37:30 +0000 UTC View Post
Okay, sure, Anne Hathaway told a little lie during her audition for Brokeback Mountain. But can you blame her for not wanting to do Princess Diaries sequels for the rest of her life?
Anne's little fib helped her land the part, but that was just one many problems faced by the film. Today, Brokeback Mountain is regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made (at least, regarded that way by me) ... but back in the early 2000s, it was nearly impossible to find st...
2025-06-22 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week is drag legend Courtney Act, who you may know from Drag Race, Australian Idol, and from her countless live shows and music videos and albums. Now Courtney has a new podcast called RnR w...
2025-06-19 22:01:59 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week is the comedian Ricky Sim, who’s currently touring with his show Coming Out to Dead People. As the name might suggest Ricky’s coming-out process was a little bumpy. Starting with the time that he smuggled an adult VHS tape into the one p...
2025-06-12 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
The animated Star Trek spinoff should have been cheap and terrible ... but thanks to a fluke of timing and a very brave demand from Leonard Nimoy, it wound up having some surprising bright spots. (It was still pretty cheap, though.) So why is the writing and acting so much better than the same company's Archie cartoon that came before, and the He-Man series that followed?
Plus: A sneak peek at an upcoming Brokeback Mountain video, and its BONKERS straightwashing ad cam...
2025-06-08 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week is culture writer Erik Piepenburg, author of the new book Dining Out: First Dates, Defiant Nights, and Last Call...
2025-06-05 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to have gay characters on the show, and even instructed writers to include gay couples on Next Generation ... so why didn't they? This week's bonus video's all about Gene's vision for making the future queer, the forces that stood in his way, and how actors and fans managed to bring his vision to life.
Plus! If you're in Seattle, I have several live events coming up!
Sunday, June 8: Book signing & sitcoms at No...
2025-06-01 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on The Sewers of Paris podcast this week is writer Christopher Tradowsky, who loves nothing more than to slip into the sanctuary of an old-fashioned movie palace, to commune with strangers all indulging together in whatever escape is unspooling up on the screen. These days, those great vintage movie houses are...
2025-05-29 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on the Sewers of Paris podcast this week is filmmaker Peter McDowell, whose documentary Jimmy in Saigon is a sort of detective story that follows Peter’s attempt to unravel into the strange death of his brother … and also an unspoken love story ...
2025-05-22 18:27:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Why did William Shatner need to steal so many wigs from the set of Star Trek, and what was he doing that rendered them "unphotographable"? For that matter, what happened to the wigs belonging to the producer's multiple mistresses in the cast? We're tackling those hairy riddles in this week's bonus video. Plus! The story of how a humble housewife saved Star Trek ... and why the version of the story that's usually told is not the whole truth about just how clever that housewife really ...
2025-05-18 18:34:48 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week is Alexis Langlois, director of the film Queens of Drama — a musical love story about two performers who enter a forbidden romance behind the scenes of a pop-star competition. Alexis has been making films with a tr...
2025-05-15 16:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Happy mother's day, let's talk about the horniest mom in the galaxy! I've dug up some fascinating behind-the-scenes details about Star Trek, the character Lwaxana Troi, and the real-life saucy shenanigans going on behind the scenes of the show from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Plus! If you're as excited as I am to see Bosco and Irene the Alien on Drag Race All Stars right now, I think you'll love listening to these two drag icons playing Dungeons & Dragons. A few years ...
2025-05-11 16:00:20 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is Pete Crighton, whose debut book The Vinyl Diaries comes out next week on May 13. It’s a memoir and a disocography, based on a journal that Pete kept of his various hookups with men over the years and the soundtrack of...
2025-05-08 18:17:49 +0000 UTC View Post
This may be one of the most awkward interviews I've ever seen: Ian McKellen talking to Dick Cavett, ostensibly about Ian's appearance at the 1992 Tonys and his touring production of Richard III, but it quickly turns into a weirdly tense confrontation about homosexuality, coming-out, and the use of slurs. Dick seems to be on another planet, and Ian handles himself admirably, I think.
Backup link in case the above video doesn't work: 2025-05-04 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
A new film called Lavender Men comes to theaters this month, and streaming in June — it’s about a theatrical stage manager who daydreams about her connection to Abraham Lincoln through queer romance. I’m chatting with two of the folks involved in the film this week: 2025-05-01 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week is the writer, director, and co-star of the new Argentinian film Most People Die on Sundays. Iair grew up watching soap operas, pulled into on-screen melodramas. And now as an adult, he gets to make movies and work alongside the actors he used to watch on his favorite shows. But that’s only the st...
2025-04-24 16:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post
Is there any more friendship in showbiz as wholesome as Ian McKellen's and Patrick Stewart? I've been doing a lot of Ian-related research for an upcoming video about his show Vicious, and I just keep coming across really lovely stories about how close these two actors are -- so for this week's bonus video, we're diving into their long lovely relationship, from their roles in the X-Men films to giving each other (sometimes terrible) career advice to even officiating a wedding (twice, ...
2025-04-20 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
You may have seen writer, actor, and comedian Jeffery Self on the shows 30 Rock, Desperate Housewives, and Jeffery & Cole Casserole alongside Cole Escola. Or you might know him from his books, Drag Teen and A Very Very Bad Thing. Jeffery’s latest book Self-Sabotage: An...
2025-04-17 16:01:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there!
I'm chugging away on multiple videos for you right now -- one about Roy Cohn and Angels in America; and another about the 2013 British sitcom Vicious. For this week's bonus video, I've got some fun backstage stories from the stars of Vicious, the always-iconic Sir Ian and Sir Derek, regarding their youthful hairstyles and run-ins with various other queer creatives. Was Noël Coward making a pass at Derek, or just being really fucking weird?
...
2025-04-13 20:01:36 +0000 UTC View Post
You might’ve seen this week’s guest, Andrew Gurza, in the news lately. An activist and advocate for people with disabilities, he recently drew headlines for talking openly about how sex workers have changed his life, and why he believes the government should pay for them. Andrew has a new book coming out this month called Notes from a Queer Cripple: How to Cultivate Queer Disabled Joy (and Be Hot Wh...
2025-04-10 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there!
So, you've just been through a bank heist. Robbers have held you at gunpoint for hours, the FBI rescued you, and ... what happens next? Do you have to go in to work the next day, do you get overtime, and how does anyone know that YOU weren't one of the bank robbers? In this week's bonus video, we're diving into the day-after details of the bank heist that inspired Dog Day Afternoon. Plus a fun glimpse at Patty Hearst's cute t-shirt.
Backup link in case the video doesn...
2025-04-06 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
As you might’ve heard, I have a new video up on YouTube about the film Dog Day Afternoon, and a queer bank robber who stunned New York way back in the 1970s. For this week’s podcast episode, we’re diving into the Sewers of Paris archives to explore queer life (and, occasionally, crime) in New York of the ‘70s. ...
2025-04-03 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post