Podcast
The Sewers of Paris
Hosted by Matt Baume · EN
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?
36episodes
Episodes
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Power Will Corrupt (Ep 556 - Fallout/Tim Cain)
Feb 501:03:06Tap to summarizeMy 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.
Transcribe →A Little Scared and a Little Intrigued (Ep 555 - High school chorus/Julian Cyr)
Jan 2900:39:05Tap to summarizeMy 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.
Transcribe →Transporting You to an Amazing Place (Ep 554 - Drag superheros/Cheyne)
Jan 2200:40:52Tap to summarizeMy 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.
Transcribe →We've Cornered the Market on Mermaids (Ep 553 - Joel Kim Booster/murder mysteries)
Jan 1500:51:17Tap to summarizeCongratulations 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/
Transcribe →Blood, Sex, Gore, and Magic (Ep 552 - Buffy/Michael)
Jan 800:40:03Tap to summarizeYou 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.
Transcribe →It was a Rock Concert (Ep 532 - A Star is Born/Jon Kinnally)
Aug 1400:49:59Tap to summarizeMy guest this week is Jon Kinnally, author of the new memoir I'm Prancing As Fast As I Can: My Journey From a Self-Loathing Closet Case to a Successful TV Writer With Some Self-Esteem. Jon knew from an early age that he wanted to entertain people, and he got his shot in the ‘90s when, barely making ends meet as a cater-waiter, he landed a dream job writing for a new show called Will & Grace … and suddenly found himself at the center of a phenomenon that made him feel like a star at a rock concert.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. And check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch where we’ve been watching the X-Men films; my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!; and my email newsletter full of stories about the making of gay movies and TV. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.
Transcribe →Old Enough to be a Geek (Ep 531 - Star Trek/Seán)
Aug 7, 202501:02:01Tap to summarizeMy guest this week is from the future. Sean’s the host of the TrekCulture podcast, an expert on all things Star Trek, and his name is even the inspiration for a Star Trek character in one of the novelizations. That’s fitting, because it was a novel that helped point Sean in the right direction with his life — not a Star Trek novel, but the story of a gay teen in Ireland in the mid 90s. I was recently a guest on Sean’s podcast, where we went deep on sci-fi, and now I’m thrilled to have him join me here.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’ve got a new one out about the movie But I’m a Cheerleader. And check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch where we’ve been watching the X-Men films; my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!; and my email newsletter full of stories about the making of gay movies and TV. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.
Transcribe →Your Secret Would be Out (Ep 530 - Planet of the Apes/Bill)
Jul 30, 202501:28:14Tap to summarizeYou are almost certainly acquainted with my guest on this week’s episode — through the episodes he wrote of Will & Grace, Roseanne, Frasier, and the show he helped create, The Chris Isaak Show. Bill was a theater guy who get his foot in the door of TV thanks to a few lucky breaks and some colleagues who recognized how funny he was, and he went on to play an important role in shaping TV comedy in the ‘90s. And now, after a break to raise two kids, he’s picking up where he left off. 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’ve got a new one out about the movie But I’m a Cheerleader. And check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter full of stories about the making of gay entertainment. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.
Transcribe →The Great Movie Ride (Ep 529 - Turner Classic Movies/Christian)
Jul 24, 202500:48:43Tap to summarizeFor 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’ Gay Classic Cinema, which focuses on the golden age of Hollywood. And as you’ll hear… after years of thinking that he could only enjoy old movies by himself, creating the podcast brought him in contact with a community he never knew existed.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. You may also enjoy my YouTube videos about the making of iconic movies and TV shows — I’ve got a new one coming this weekend about the movie But I’m a Cheerleader. And check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter full of stories about the making of gay entertainment. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.
Transcribe →We Love Making Gay Sh*t (Ep 528 - Frank/Wish You Were Queer)
Jul 17, 202500:41:24Tap to summarizeOn last week’s episode, I talked with comedian Tim Murray, co-star of the new show Wish You Were Queer, alongside Michael Henry and Trixie Mattel. This week, we’re going behind the scenes to chat with the show’s producer, Frank Spadafora. Frank’s a former theater kid who realized that his real talent lay in wrangling his weird queer friends into making zany projects — sort of like Kermit the Frog, but very very gay.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. You may also enjoy my YouTube videos about the making of iconic movies and TV shows — I just posted a new video about the twenty-year anniversary of Brokeback Mountain, and I’ve got a new one coming soon about the movie But I’m a Cheerleader. And check out my weekly livestreams on Twitch, my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo!, and my free email newsletter full of stories about the making of gay entertainment. There’s links to all that in the episode shownotes, and at MattBaume.com.
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