The Sewers of Paris

My guest this week is Steven Salvatore, author of young adult romances like And They Lived…, No Perfect Places, and When Love Gives You Lemons. Steven’s plan, when he was younger, was to be an artist… until a cruel art teacher crushed his dreams. But that set the stage for him to discover a passion for writing, and for exploring stories about young queer people in love.We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick heads up that I’m planning a European book tour this spring and summer, where I’ll be reading from my book Hi Honey I’m Homo!, as well as sharing clips from classic queer sitcom episodes. Plans for that are still coming together. But if you or someone you know is connected to a bookstore, university, community group, or any other organization in Europe that would like to collaborate on a book event in May or June of 2026, please get in touch so I can try to make it happen!

My guest this week is game developer Tim Cain, who’s shown us what the end of the world looks like. Back in the mid-90s, Tim was working with a small team on a post-apocalyptic game with a 1950s aesthetic — a weird mix of styles that Tim was worried would bomb so hard he expected his next job would be serving fast food. But … that game was Fallout, which became a massive phenomenon, with multiple sequels and a TV series based on the game that just wrapped its second season. One of the recurring themes of Fallout is people stepping out of bomb shelters and discovering there’s more to life than self-isolation. Something Tim had to force himself to do when he decided it was time to emerge from the closet.Watch Tim's YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@CainOnGamesAnd check out his chocolate blog: https://chocolateihaveknown.wordpress.com/Also, a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those — lately we’ve been watching the film Strangers on a Train and comparing it to the screenplay and Hitchcock’s original, even gayer cut of the film. Plus — check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume. 

My guest this week is Massachusetts State Senator Julian Cyr, whose district includes Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket — a situation he never expected to find himself in. As a teenager, Julian was mainly focused on singing, and planned to pursue a career in the humanities. But when budget cuts threatened local arts programs, he organized people to speak up, and discovered he had a knack for leadership that eventually brought him to a specialized program at NYU, the Obama White House, and now to the last place on Earth he ever thought he’d go — the place where he grew up.We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those; also check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume.

My guest this week is queer artist and illustrator Cheyne Gallarde, whose style blends drag icons with classic comic book covers. Cheyne first discovered drag in queer bars of Hawaii, and after a memorable night getting pulled up onstage, he started translating the magic that he saw in the community into literal super powers.We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those; also check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume.

Congratulations to actor-writer-comedian Joel Kim Booster, who got married last month to his partner John. You might know Joel as the writer and star of the movie Fire Island, or as a voice actor in KPop Demon Hunters, or from shows like Big Mouth, Search Party, and Loot. But before all that, Joel was a guest on The Sewers of Paris, way back in 2017, when we talked about his childhood, his coming out, and a period when he was homeless. To celebrate his wedding, we’re taking a trip back to that conversation for this week’s episode.And by the way, if you’d like to see Joel live, he has a shows coming up in San Francisco, part of SF Sketchfest: https://sfsketchfest.com/2026-lineup/

You may know this week’s guest from his online persona, The Black Gay Comic Geek — an identity that grew out of his Buffy fandom, which was so intense that for a time he was an administrator of a Buffy role-playing community where he was a magic shop owner and queen of the vengeance demons. These days, Michael flies around the country covering pop culture, always looking for his great passions: Blood, sex, gore, and magic.Check out Michael’s work at https://linktr.ee/blackgaycomicgeek We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll just us for those; also check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume. 

My guest this week is author Jumata Emill, whose new novel is entitled I Don’t Wish You Well. It’s about a true-crime writer who uncovers a queer coverup in his hometown — based in part on Jumata’s prior work as a real-life crime reporter, before he made the jump to fiction.We’ll have that interview in a moment. First, a quick heads up that I have a new video out about the making of the Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme holiday special. Check that out at youtube.com/mattbaume.And please join me for weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch; check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume. 

I can think of few better ways to spend the holidays than seeing some live queer theater, whether it’s Golden Girls Live, a sing-along to Mame, or shows with some of my local Seattle drag legends like Dina Martina and Scott Shoemaker. And one of the most iconic holiday duos to emerge from the Emerald City is Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme. Every year they create a new holiday show and tour it around the world, and you might recall that when theaters were closed in 2020 they taped a holiday special and streamed it online. My latest YouTube video is the behind-the-scenes story of that special’s creation. And I was very fortunate to speak with the writer, director, co-producer, and co-star, BenDeLaCreme — who graciously made time to chat with me while on tour this year. For this week’s Sewers of Paris, we’ll hear that full conversation. We talked about DeLa’s history with the holidays, the ulterior motive behind the holiday show, and the future of queer theater.Huge thanks to DeLa for chatting with me. When this episode goes live, there are still a few performance dates left on this year’s tour, and you should absolutely go see them live if you can. And if not, stream past year’s shows at JinkxAndDeLa.com/.

My guest this week is Steven Milliken, author of a book of autobiographical essays entitled Late Bloomer Baby Boomer. Steven was a class clown who grew up to become a teacher in some fairly rough schools, and had to move in and out of the closet over the years as he navigated sensitive careers alongside alcoholism and sobrietyWe’ll have that interview in a moment. First, a quick heads up that I have a new video coming this weekend about the making of the Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme holiday special, including an exclusive interview with BenDeLaCreme and lots of never before seen behind the scenes footage. That goes live this Sunday, December 21 — check out my videos at youtube.com/mattbaume.And if you’re doing some holiday shopping right now, just a reminder that my book Hi Honey I’m Homo makes an excellent present — and although shipping deadlines might be tight, you can still get the ebook, and audiobook at gaysitcoms.com.Plus: I’ve activated gift memberships on Patreon — so you can give your friends and lovers access to literally hundreds of hours of bonus videos. That’s at Patreon.com/mattbaume .

My guest this week had his big screen debut alongside Adam Baldwin and Matt Dillon in 1980; made a career getting gays online with PlanetOut in the 90s; and today work for TED Talks, bringing together who are doing, as he describes it, some of the weirdest work in he world. Tom Rielly’s had a lot of jobs, and one of the constants has been figuring out new ways to bring audiences along for an unpredictable ride.We’ll have that conversation in a moment. First, a quick heads up that I have a new YouTube video out about the powerful gay magic behind The Wizard of Oz and Wicked. Check out my videos at youtube.com/mattbaume.And if you’re doing some holiday shopping right now, just a reminder that my book Hi Honey I’m Homo makes an excellent present — you can get it in paperback, ebook, and audiobook at gaysitcoms.com. And I’ve activated gift memberships on Patreon — so you can give someone access to literally hundreds of hours of bonus videos starting at about $21 for an entire year. That’s at Patreon.com/mattbaume .

For this week’s Sewers of Paris, I’m chatting with four Oz superfans about their intense connections to films like The Wizard of Oz, books like Return to Oz, and adaptations like Wicked. These conversations are all part of my new video about Oz and queer culture that just went live on YouTube — check that out at YouTube.com/mattbaume . In this episode, you’ll hear from writer and artist Terry Blas about his childhood traveling between Idaho and Mexico, which felt very similar to Dorothy’s journey; you’ll hear from writer Josh Trujillo about his youthful obsession to Oz collectibles; from YouTuber Emma McMahon about the positive lessons she picked up from Wicked, before she even knew she needed to hear them; and Oz scholar Dee Michel about his surprising historical discoveries about Oz and queer culture.Dee Michel: https://www.deemichel.info/Josh Trujillo: https://www.joshtrujillo.com/Terry Blas: https://terryblas.com/Emma McMahan: https://www.mcmahan.media/ Emma’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mediaprocessingchannel/Watch Emma's video about Wicked's stage-to-screen adaptation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWZ1nB1mNy0

To mark the recent release of the second Wicked film, for this week’s episode we’re revisiting my 2020 interview with Dee Michel, author of the book Friends of Dorothy: Why Gay Boys and Gay Men Love the Wizard of Oz. Dee’s book is an in-depth examination of queer Oz fandom, which for him has its roots in happy memories of watching the movie with his dad. Dee grew up in the 1950s with the threat of the red scare looming over his family — his parents met at a Communist Party meeting, and there was the constant threat that the family would be exposed. Added to the general chaos of the time was the discovery that his father was gay, and Dee’s own struggle to find his place in the world.And before we get to that, a quick heads up that I have a new YouTube video coming this weekend about the powerful gay magic behind The Wizard of Oz and Wicked. Check out my videos at youtube.com/mattbaume.

I am delighted to welcome back a friend of the Sewers, film critic and holiday aficionado, Linoleum Knife’s Alonso Duralde. His book, Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, is now out in a revised and updated edition, gathering even more expert recommendations for holiday films to enjoy this season and year-round. We chatted about how Christmas movies have changed since he wrote the first edition of his book, fifteen years ago, and what the future of holiday films might be. And also why he’s been baking Christmas cookies all year long.And before we get to that, a quick heads up that I have a new YouTube video coming at the end of this month about the powerful gay magic behind The Wizard of Oz and Wicked. Check out my videos at youtube.com/mattbaume.And as always, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to become a member, support the show, and get access to bonus videos and much more.

The second of the Wicked films comes out later this month, and so for this week’s episode we’re jumping into the Sewers archives to hear my 2017 chat with Tony winner Stephen Oremus, who was the music director for Wicked on Broadway and conducted the orchestras for the two Wicked films. He was also music director for the Academy Awards, taught Idina Menzel how to sing “Let it Go,” and worked on everything from Book of Mormon to Avenue Q to 9 to 5. Not bad for a kid who started his musical career by sneaking out of the house to sing showtunes at his best friend’s piano.We’ll have that conversation in just a minute. First, a quick heads up that I have a new YouTube video out about Frankenstein and the gay director who brought the monster to life, James Whale. And I have a new video coming later this month about The Wizard of Oz. Check out my videos at youtube.com/mattbaume.And throughout November, join us for Wizard of Oz themed livestreams over at http://twitch.tv/mattbaume.And as always, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to become a member, support the show, and get access to bonus videos and much more.

My guest this week is Trung Le Nguyen, author of the new graphic novel Angelica and the Bear Prince. Trung’s books emerge from his lifelong love of fairy tales, some of them quite dark, and also his fascination with people figuring out how to take care of each other. We’ll have that conversation in just a minute. First, a quick heads up that I have a new YouTube video out about Frankenstein and the gay director who brought the monster to life, James Whale. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume. And throughout November, join us for a week of Wizard of Oz themed livestreams over at http://twitch.tv/mattbaume — leading up to a new video at the end of the month about why that film has always held particular importance for the gays.And as always, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to become a member, support the show, and get access to bonus videos and more.

My guest this week has been giving a lot of thought lately to what he was born to do. Wellington Love is one of the producers of the new documentary I Was Born This Way, which tells the story of Archbishop Carl Bean. That might not be a household name, but you’re certainly familiar with his work and the people he’s influenced — from his pioneering activism around HIV/AIDS, and also his musical career and the disco anthem that inspired Lady Gaga’s Born this Way. We’ll have that conversation in just a minute. First, a heads up that I have a new YouTube video out about Frankenstein and the gay director who brought the monster to life, James Whale. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.And to celebrate the occasion, we’ll be watching the 1970s parody, Young Frankenstein, on Twitch — and following along with the screenplay, comparing the very funny script to what made it to the screen. Join me for that this Saturday and Sunday at noon pacific at Twitch.tv/mattbaume.And as always, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to become a member, support the show, and get access to bonus videos and more.

My guest this week is Jim Farmer, festival director of Atlanta’s Out on Film fest. Jim’s a longtime arts reporter in Atlanta, though he got his start in journalism doing just-the-facts newsgathering — a beat that bored him to tears, until he decided to take the reins and create his own career doing what he loved.We’ll have that conversation in just a minute. First, a reminder that for the entire month of October I’m hosting livestreams of films by and about James Whale, the iconic director behind many classic Universal horror films. This weekend we’re watching Whale’s Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. That’s at Twitch.tv/mattbaume this Saturday and Sunday.And also a reminder that I have a new YouTube video out about the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman. And I have a new video coming later this month about James Whale and Frankenstein. That’s at youtube.com/mattbaume.And as always, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume. 

Now that we’re in October already, it’s a fine time to reflect on the uncanny grasp that horror has in the hearts of so many queer people. So for this week’s episode, we’re heading into the Sewers archives for a chat with director Jeffrey Schwarz, for whom horror is just one small slice of the story. Jeffrey’s made a lifelong study of film, starting with an early job editing the documentary The Celluloid Closet, right up to today with documentaries about people like Divine, Vito Russo, and horror icon William Castle. I chatted with Jeffrey back in 2017, when he was about to debut a documentary about the flamboyant producer Alan Carr — a fitting subject, since as a young gay man, Jeffrey found kindred spirits in people who, like him, reveled in intensity and excess. We’ll have that conversation in just a minute. First, a reminder that I have a new YouTube videos out about the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman. That’s available now at youtube.com/mattbaume.And also! For the entire month of October I’m hosting livestreams of films by and about James Whale, the iconic director behind 1931’s Frankenstein and many other classics. Join me every Saturday and Sunday on Twitch for movies like The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, and of course Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein. This weekend we’ll be watching clips from the 1994 film Gods & Monsters, and examining how closely that fictional account of Whale’s life follows the reality. That’s at Twitch.tv/mattbaume this Saturday and Sunday.And as always, if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume.

My guest this week is writer Mark Waddell. His novel, Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World, comes out next week on October 7 — a queer story about an office worker whose career advancement involves world-ending consequences. There’s an autobiographical edge to the story, since in his real life Mark had a dream job going back to childhood… and it was only after he achieved it that he realized just how harmful his dreams were, and decided to leave it all behind to become a writer.We’ll have that conversation in just a minute. First, a few announcements: As I’m sure you know, I make YouTube videos about iconic movies and TV shows, and I have a brand new video out now about the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman — and how it was made in defiance of the film industry, in defiance of Ronald Reagan, and in defiance of multiple fascist dictators. That’s available now at youtube.com/mattbaume.The topic of next month’s video is the iconic 1931 Frankenstein film and its maker, James Whale — and in his honor, for the entire month of October I’m hosting livestreams of films by and about James Whale. Join me every Saturday and Sunday on Twitch for movies like The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man, Gods and Monsters starring Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser, and of course Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein. These films helped define a century of scary movies, and they are incredibly queer. It all starts this Saturday October 4 at noon pacific at Twitch.tv/mattbaume.

As you may have seen, I have a new video premiering this weekend about the 1985 film Kiss of the Spider Woman, which features an iconic performance from a then-obscure actor named Raul Julia. Thanks to my research into Raul’s career, I’ve had another of his iconic roles on my mind lately — that of Gomez Addams in the Addams Family films. So for this week’s Sewers of Paris, we’re diving into the archives to hear from someone whose creative work was heavily inspired by the Addamses. Back in 2020, I spoke with Hamish Steele, whose graphic novel Deadendia had just been adapted into an animated series at Netflix. Drawing from his love of Dr Who, The Addams Family Values, and other queer-ish ensembles, Hamish’s work in print and in animation has its own devoted cult following.We’ll have that conversation in just a minute. First — if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, I hope you’ll consider supporting the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume. You may also enjoy my YouTube videos about the making of iconic movies and TV shows. I have a new video premiering this weekend about the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman. And check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch; also check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!; and my email newsletter. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.