Hi there friends! Thanks again so much for your support on Patreon!
I'm about to release 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: Designing Women Goes Looking for a Lesbian
When we think about gay characters on sitcoms, we usually picture peo...
2018-09-28 13:00:03 +0000 UTC
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How do you make friends as an adult? Without school to throw lots of people together in far greater combinations than a workplace, it's easy to feel stuck in the wrong group -- especially when other gays are hard to find. So my guest this week did something about that. Nick Schiarizzi is the co-founder of the brutally bizarre dance party Cheryl, where everyone comes expecting something weird and leaves having something even weirder. But you'd never guess it to look at him -- Nick is calm, deadpa...
2018-09-27 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Acts of selflessness are great, but what's in it for me? This week I'm chatting with my friend Phuong, who's made a whole lifestyle out of making things for others. Whether it's bread or soap or knitted hats, it seems like every minute of his day is dedicated to creating stuff for the people around him. But even though he gives all this stuff away, there's something important that he's getting back.
Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or mor...
2018-09-20 13:00:03 +0000 UTC
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My guest on this bonus episode has a difficult task ahead of her, a different kind of gay marriage -- not of people, but of industries. Trish Bendix is the managing editor of Into, the queer news site connected to Grindr. And in that role, she's in charge of bringing news of the world together with social flirty hookups that made the app famous.
Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. There's rewards for folks w...
2018-09-18 13:01:00 +0000 UTC
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My guest this week is an artist whose creations include the persona he's established for himself. Since childhood, John Michael Byrd has always felt like more of a cartoon character than a normal human, which wasn't a particularly easy role to play growing up in a small southern town. But after spending years disconnecting from the physical world around him, he's found a place where he's finally free to be as animated as he's always felt.
Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris p...
2018-09-13 13:01:01 +0000 UTC
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You can't accuse this week's guest of ever making things easy for himself. Growing up south of Boston, he was the town's only gay metalhead before he decide to join the army, deploying to the middle east in the 1990s. Now he's enjoying his retirement by going back to school to become a physician's assistant, while also occasionally noodling around with other musicians and singing on military bases. It's hard to imagine that anyone else on Earth has lived a life like Dan's, or so many different l...
2018-09-06 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hi friends!
Happy back to school month! September's the best month for learning things, whether you're taking classes or just poking around on Wikipedia, so if you've picked any particularly interesting knowledge lately I'd love to hear about it. (For example, did you know King James, of the King James Bible, gave his boyfriend the title "Gentleman ...
2018-09-03 23:21:50 +0000 UTC
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Hello friends! This weekend is the 10-year anniversary of the Pink Party, a queer geek gathering in Seattle. In honor of that milestone, I'm digging into the Sewers of Paris archive this week to bring you an interview with its founder, Charlie Logan, originally posted in 2015. Charlie's story is full of twists and turns, from terrible danger to finding his place at Pride to living in the woods with gold prospectors to befriending his childhood heroes. Charlie's story is nothing short of amazing....
2018-08-30 13:00:03 +0000 UTC
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My guest this week has been under a lot of pressure in his life. Raised in an oppressive religious community, he had to deal with ex-gay scammers, a parent who was abusing other kids, and more guilt than any person should ever have to deal with. On top of that, he had a highly active libido that came out in... unusual ways, culminating in the invention of a truly unique form of erotic folk art -- and a career path requiring a lot of vulnerability and very little clothing.
Huge thanks to everyo...
2018-08-23 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hi there backer friends! Thanks again so much for your support on Patreon!
I'm about to release a brand new Culture Cruise video, and as always, everyone pledging at the $4+ level gets ad-free early access. Here's your special link to the video:
Early Access: Kate & Allie and the Little Old Lesbian Landladies
This month, we're taking a look at a very unusual episode ...
2018-08-21 20:53:55 +0000 UTC
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What would it look like if you celebrated Halloween and Christmas at the same time? My guest this week is Michael Varrati, host of the podcast Dead for Filth, and screenwriter of such films as Grindsploitation 4, From Hell She Rises, and Seven Dorms of Death. But he's also the writer of the Hallmark film Broadcasting Christmas, starring Melissa Joan Hart, as well as A Christmas Reunion and A Christmas in Vermont. Michael's genre-hopping might seem a little weird, but he's not alone in straddling...
2018-08-16 07:01:59 +0000 UTC
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What happens when you allow yourself to become a character in the stories that you tell about the world around you? My guest on this episode is the fantastic Gaby Dunn -- actress, journalist, writer, comedian, activist, blogger. Her podcast and forthcoming book are both entitled Bad with Money, and chronicle Gaby's attempts to help others manage their finances as she learns to manage her own. Gaby's background is in journalism, where the first rule is to remain neutral and never inject yourself ...
2018-08-15 07:01:59 +0000 UTC
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Is it possible to be a responsible adult without giving up the imaginary worlds you enjoyed as a child? My guest this week is Anthony Hudson, also known as Portland's premier drag clown Carla Rossi. Growing up, he'd slip into fantasy worlds to escape the reality of the dreary little town where he lived. But his reliance on escapes as a kid meant that he was unprepared for life as a grown up -- until he figured out how to invite real life into his fantasies.
Huge thanks to everyone who makes Th...
2018-08-09 13:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Hi Friends!
Happy LGBTQ Sloth Month! (Or Lust Month, depending on whom you ask.) 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 August:
Livestream on August 11: Join us at 2pm PST for another Sewers of Paris livestream! The special guest this month is horror expert Isabella...
2018-08-02 18:46:51 +0000 UTC
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Where do you see yourself 200 years in the future? My guest this week is artist Nayland Blake, for whom sci-fi and fantasy were an opportunity to create the future that he was sure he'd never have. Growing up in New York in the 1960s and 70s, it seemed like imaginary worlds were his only opportunity to inhabit a world where he could be openly gay. But then he moved to San Francisco, and lo and behold, it appeared that the future had finally arrived.
Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers...
2018-08-02 13:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Thanks to everyone who pledges their support on Patreon, I'm able to put out bonus episodes of The Sewers of Paris! Here's a conversation with Zack Ford, who never planned to become the LGBTQ Editor at ThinkProgress.org. He was going to be a music teacher, and writing about current events was just a hobby. But after he came out in college and began living a more authentic life, he realized that he was holding himself to some expectations that he simply didn't want to meet. And that his happiness...
2018-07-31 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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My guest this week is Nick Kochanov, host of the podcasts Squirrel Friends Cocktail Hour and The No Good, Very Bad Gay. Growing up, he dreamt of having his own version of the salon from Steel Magnolias. He envisioned himself hanging out with his own versions of Dolly Parton and Sally Field and Julia Roberts. But it took years for him to realize that there was a problem with his vision -- that the man he was envisioning hanging out with them wasn't really authentically him.
Huge thanks to...
2018-07-27 01:00:01 +0000 UTC
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This week's episode addresses some upsetting topics. It wasn't until his parents died that J. Ronald M. York learned about accusations of childhood sexual abuse in his family. Letters in a box in his father's garage finally revealed the terrible secrets that his family had kept from him his entire adult life. And in turn, that started his process for dealing with the secrets of his own abuse that he'd been carrying for years.
These are hard things to talk about -- but they're important to ackn...
2018-07-19 13:00:00 +0000 UTC
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What role does confidence play in reaching your goals -- is confidence as important as skill, or more, or less? My guest this week is Jonathan Lovitz, senior vice president at the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Before he stepped into that role, Jonathan enjoyed a successful acting career on stage an screen. But then he found his enthusiasm turning to LGBTQ advocacy, and now speaks out to improve economic opportunity for queer people. An funnily enough, in both roles, a lot of success comes d...
2018-07-12 13:01:00 +0000 UTC
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How do kids learn to be people when the adults in their lives aren't teaching them? Kai's parents weren't always there to give her the guidance she needed, and so she was forced to fend for herself. That meant learning basic life skills on her own, but also how to function around other people -- and how to take care of herself during a period of homelessness, moving across the country, and starting fresh with a day job in education and a nighttime gig in drag shows.
By the way, Kai is one of t...
2018-07-07 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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This week's guest has had a hand in shaping a lot of queer culture we enjoy today. Q. Allan Brocka created one of the shows that aired on Logo as the network was getting off the ground; he directed the Eating Out series of films that have been a mainstay at LGBT film festivals for over a decade; and he's currently working on some intriguingly upcoming film and TV projects. Before he was a successful filmmaker, he was a shy kid from Guam, quietly absorbing what seemed then like forbidden culture....
2018-07-05 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Imaging growing up to find that the fantasy worlds you envisioned as a kid aren't just real, but have been waiting for you to lead them. My guest this week is Jeremy Crawford, lead rules designer for Dungeons & Dragons. We'll be talking about the witches, wizards, and elves who shaped his work in games, his relationship with his husband, and the queer content he now gets to insert in the world's most iconic tabletop game.
And BTW, I hope you'll join us for the next Sewers of Paris live cha...
2018-06-28 13:00:00 +0000 UTC
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My guest this week is Ryan La Sala. He's got a very queer fantasy novel coming out next year, and while he's always been imaginative, he didn't always exactly use his powers for good.
BTW, I hope you'll join us for the next Sewers of Paris live chat. It's on June 30th -- there's a link to the next livestream at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed, and you can set a reminder to get a notification when we go live.
Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris po...
2018-06-21 13:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Do you always NEED to dream big, or is it sometimes ok to just be happy with what you've got? My guest this week has some experience when it comes to achieving big dreams -- Scott Flanary was the winner of Season 29 of The Amazing Race, which had been a goal for pretty much all of his adult life. So now that he's accomplished goals that once seemed impossibly difficult, he's grappling with a tough question: now what?
Thanks to everyone who joined us for the Sewers of Paris live chat last weeke...
2018-06-14 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Hi Friends!
Happy Pride month, one and all! We've got lots of livestreams and videos and Sewers of Paris episodes coming this month. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful support, which makes it all possible. Here's what I'm working on for you in June:
Livestream on June 5: Join us at 2pm PST for another Sewers of Paris livestream! The special guest this month is John Coons -- musician, teacher, opera singer, and very tall person. Head over here to watch, and sign ...
2018-06-07 18:59:14 +0000 UTC
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Join us on tonight's episode when my guest D'Arcee recalls what may have been the worst thing anyone's ever been told by their boss.
We'll have that conversation in a minute -- but first, if you're looking for more podcasts to listen to, check out the show I just launched along with some fantastically funny drag queens. The show's called Queens of Adventure, and it's based on our live shows where drag queens play a real Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Queens of Adventure brings together larg...
2018-06-07 13:00:00 +0000 UTC
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A well-told joke doesn't just have the effect of making an audience laugh -- it can also provide armor for the person telling it. My guest this week is actor and comedian Byron Lane, whose projects include the webseries Last Will and Testicle, and the stage show Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist. Through his work, he went from the kid who always wanted someone to protect him to a man who could protect himself through laughter.
We'll have that conversation in a minute -- but first, I wa...
2018-05-31 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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How do you know when it's time to move versus when is it time to stay put? My guest this week is Santiago Melli-Huber, who's on a constant hunt for a place that feels right. Whether trying new jobs, new cities, or new social circles, he's made himself into a bit of an investigator, always asking what needs to change and then taking action to try something new.
Huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of a dollar or more a month on Patreon. If you're enjoying...
2018-05-24 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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No matter how thoroughly you've planned, life has a way of taking you by surprise -- and when it does, it's often family that gets you through the tough times. Alexis was born to a woman unprepared for motherhood, and so grandparents stepped in to raise her. As she grew older, Houston's drag scene provided a second family where she was free to express herself more freely. But it was an unexpected health crisis that brought both families together when their daughter needed them most.
BTW, The S...
2018-05-22 13:00:04 +0000 UTC
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My guest this week is Phil Stamper, whose book The Gravity of Us tells the story of two young men who fall in love amidst the drama of a mission to Mars. For years, Phil struggled to balance competing impulses to be silly and serious, and to keep his creative spark alive throughout the drudgery of office work. The result is an upcoming debut novel that amplifies his own queer experiences with some help from science fiction.
Just a reminder -- I hope you'll join us for 2018-05-18 13:00:01 +0000 UTC
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