mattbaume

Behind the Sewers of Paris (Ep. 209 - Star Wars)

Hello there! I hope you had a nice holiday time and New Year season. We’re doing something a bit different this week — a kick-back chat with me and my partner James about why I started The Sewers of Paris, how it  became what it is today, and the entertainment that changed my life (Star Wars, and also a roast). We’ll be back to the regular format next week, but let me know what you think of this slight departure from the normal Sewers style!

Taking Back Queer Femme Sexuality (Ep. 208 - Sylvia Plath)

It's a special bonus episode of The Sewers of Paris! My guests are Erika Rose and Chelsea Moore, who talk about Sylvia Plath, The L Word, and the Well of Loneliness. Erika and Chelsea are a New York filmmaking team who push the boundaries of queer sex and sexuality on screen.

More stuff for Patrons in 2019!

Hello friends!

Ohhhhh geez do I have some big news. Thanks to your generous support, I’ve been able to bring you tons of LGBTQ videos, podcasts, and livestreams in 2018 -- now get ready for even more in 2019!

What’s Changing

Starting on January 1, there will be new rewards for every backer tier.

$1/month Patrons

There’s more folks pledging at the $1 per month tier than any other, and it’s the backbone of this Pat...

2018-12-21 20:08:03 +0000 UTC View Post

2018: All thanks to you!

Hello friends!

As we bumble our way through the final days of the year, I just wanted to reach out with a huge THANK YOU for all of your support on Patreon. Whether you’re a longtime backer or just joined, your support made it possible for me to create more fun fabulous LGBTQ content in 2018 than ever before, and I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude.

This Patreon started in 2015 as a way to support The Sewers of Paris podcast, and when I decided to expand it this year to cover ...

The Sewers of Paris Holiday Special Special!

This holiday season, I hope you're surrounded with good cheer, fabulous family and friends, and comforts aplenty to keep you warm in the dark winter nights.

And when it comes to feeling cozy, I can think of no greater experts than Dave White and Alonso Duralde of the Linoleum Knife family of podcasts. Whether it's cooking glorious feasts, binging on cheesy specials, or unearthing obscure wintery films, this husband-a...

A Little Space Alien (Ep. 207 - Superman)

You might not recognize the name Glenn Kiser, but he's had a hand in countless films over the last three decades -- helping to craft films in editing rooms alongside directors like David Fincher, Spike Jonze, and Jane Campion, before moving on to run Skywalker Sound for George Lucas and now the Dolby Institute. As a kid, Glenn would obsess over movies and dream of the day he could make his own. And just like gathering elements of a story in an editing room, he crafted the steps in his career tha...

December Update: Videos! Podcasts! Livestreams! And Changes in 2019!

Oh hello, friends! I hope you're having a cozy winter time. Thanks for all your support and feedback and just generally being pretty great about being on the Internet -- it's because of you that I'm able to make some Neato Queer Stuff for the Extremely Online.

And just a heads-up: I'm going to be adding some items to the offerings and rewards starting in January! I'll have details for you soon, but basically you're going to be getting more more more stuff. Hooray! In the mean time, please don'...

What Do You Do When You're An Over The Hill Baton Twirler? (Ep. 206 - The Sound of Music)

How do you share your story when your story defies belief? My guest this week is Henry Goldring, whose upcoming memoir is entitled Unbelievable and recounts tales of audaciously bluffing his way into getting hired as Joan Rivers' opening act, despite never having performed before; and also getting committed by his siblings. Henry grew up in a generation that didn't have the internet, didn't have public role models, and was decimated by an epidemic. Considering all he's endured, it's no wonder he...

Unleash the Queen (Ep. 205 - Freddie Mercury)

I don't know if you heard, but somebody tried to make a movie about Bohemian Rhapsody recently. And it's nice that the film might introduce the band to a new generation, but there are some queers among us who got to live through Queen the first time. My guest this week is Jim Provenzano, author of the novel Now I'm Here, which tells the story of two small town boys who fall in love to the soundtrack of the late 70s. Jim's a product of that time as well, and grew up in a time of innocent homoerot...

This Boy is a Deviant (Ep. 204 - Jaymes Mansfield)

How much do you know about the people who paved the way for you? We all benefit from foundations laid by those who came before, but so often -- and particularly for queer people -- those forebears are lost to history. But my guest this week is dedicated to shining a light on the incredible queer pioneers who led unimaginably fascinating lives and blazed the trail we now walk. You might know Jaymes Mansfield from her appearance on Drag Race Season 9. And these days you can catch her on YouTube, w...

Bonus Episode: Beyond the Sewers of Paris! We Were Born for This Moment (Ep. 203 - Annie)

Thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon -- with your pledges I'm able to release monthly bonus episodes like this one. This week we'll be going beyond The Sewers of Paris with someone for whom I am truly grateful. Kate Kendell is the outgoing director of the National Center for Lesbian rights. Over the last 22 years of history-changing moments for LGBTQ people, she's not only had a front row seat, but she...

What Happens in a Gay Bar (Ep. 202 - Lady Gaga)

This week's episode is going to be a bit of a song and dance. My guest is Bryan Lowder, associate editor at Slate and co-host of the Outward podcast. Known now for his cerebral essays and thoughtful analysis of queer culture, as a college student Bryan was drawn to New York's underground dance clubs, where years ago he found inner peace, and also encountered up-and-coming artists like Lady Gaga.

And the next Sewers of Paris live chat is this weekend -- Saturday November 17th at 2pm pacific. I ...

November Update: Videos, Podcasts, and Thanksqueerving

Hail and well met, friends, and I hope you're having a lovely weekend wherein you take at least a few moments to appreciate how good you look in scarves.

We're rounding out the year with American foodmonth, AKA Thanksgiving, and I have a QUESTION for you about how you'd like to celebrate. Should we do a Sewers of Paris livestream on Thanksgiving, November 22? Seems like it might be a nice time for us all to have a couple hours to connect with a queer chosen family. Or maybe yo...

What Makes You Have a Fabulous Life (Ep. 201 - Madonna)

How do you measure your success? For a lot of us it's career or fame or money or family, but the common theme among all of those is happiness. That is, what makes you happy? But often happiness as a goal gets drowned out by the things that we think are supposed to get us there. My guests this week are John and David, a husband-and-husband team behind the Queer Money podcast. They met on the dance floor and formed a bond tha...

She Made me Dress up as the Pink Carebear (Ep. 200 - Kevin Yee)

We're going back into the Sewers of Paris archives this week, for an interview with ex-boybander Kevin Yee. Kevin's new comedy special recently premiered Hulu, as part of the Comedy InvAsian series. He's been a performer for almost all his life, with his career taking a wild twist in his teens when he was cast in a 90s boy band. Three years later, things hadn't quite turned out as he'd hoped, and he thought his dreams of performing were over before he had even reached adulthood.

These days thi...

You Were Great in Lawnmower Man (Ep. 199 - Neuromancer)

This week's guest is an imaginary creature -- or at least, that's primarily how the public knows him, though character and places he invents. Every day, Adam Koebel runs role-playing games where players invent new personas, work together to solve problems, and tell stories that exist in their collective imaginations. He's also the co-creator of Dungeon World, a game that's driven by the relationships between characters. As a result, a lot of Adam's time is spent inhabiting roles and expressing f...

The Go-Out Girls (Ep. 198 - Alaska Thunderf*ck)

We've got a special two for one deal on this episode: Drag Race star Alaska, and her friend and collaborator Jeremy. With a friendship dating back to their weird college days, Alaska and Jeremy recently released an album of songs called Amethyst Journey that is surprisingly sweet and folksy. We talk about all about their early influences, watching Rocky Horror together on a little laptop screen, and also the creation of Alaska, the time they sang Dolly Parton songs so loud the cops were called, ...

There's no Comedy Without Conflict (Ep. 197 - Improv)

How do you muster the nerve to keep going when it seems like the odds are stacked against you? My guest this week picked up some life advice from improv comedy -- in particular, the lesson to say yes and then heighten whatever's happened so far. Though you may know Michael Henry from his YouTube comedy videos, his acting background is far more serious, and he expected to become a serious dramatic actor. The fact that he could only seem to make audiences laugh troubled him for years -- until he r...

New Culture Cruise Video! The Absolute Pleasure of the Rocky Horror Picture Show

Hello there and thanks again so much for your support on Patreon!

Next week, I'm releasing a brand new Culture Cruise video. And as always, everyone pledging at the $4+ level gets early ad-free access. Here's your special link to the video:

Early Ad-Free Access: The Absolute Pleasure of the Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Rocky Horror Picture show was a huge failure, at le...

2018-10-13 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post

My First Job with RuPaul (Ep. 196 - Jamal Terry-Sims)

You've seen this week's guest on RuPaul's Drag Race, and you've seen his choreography in Footloose, on the Emmys, and videos and stage shows for Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, and the Spice Girls -- despite having never taken a dance class. Jamal Sims' dream began when he saw The Wiz and knew he needed to be up on stage dancing. And now, after a career spanning nearly three decades, he's shining a spotlight on up-and-comers with the documentary When the Beat Drops.

We'll have that conversation in a ...

October Update: Videos, Podcasts, a Super Special Livestream with Friends!

Hi Friends!

Happy Spooktember, the second-scariest month of the year (after March, which was invented by spiders). Thank you so much for all of your wonderful support, which makes all of this month's livestreams and videos and Sewers of Paris episodes possible.

Here's what I'm bringing you in October:

• October 13 - Sewers of Paris livestream: Join us at 2pm PST for another Sewers of Paris livestream! The special guest this month is Trish Bendix, managing edito...
  2018-10-09 17:15:02 +0000 UTC View Post

The First Time I Could be a Gay Person (Ep. 195 - Alien)

My guest this week is Nathaniel Atcheson, writer and director of the film Domain, which comes out this week. Like the movies that inspired him as a kid, Domain is a story about isolation and loneliness and coping with the fear of being life-threateningly disconnected from other people. That might sound grim, but behind the scenes of his work, Nathaniel is hardly disconnected -- for him, making films is a way of finding a union with other people, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obsta...