mattbaume

Nothing Went Fine (Ep. 144 - Les Miserables)

According to the FBI, my guest this week was involved in one of the largest fraud schemes in history -- the nearly half-billion dollar failure of the National Heritage Life Insurance Company, which had 26,000 elderly policyholders. While Michael Blutrich was involved in the insurance scheme, he was also running a strip club called Scores that had mafia ties, and he secretly recorded conversations that helped the government convict numerous organized crime figures. Before his life took a turn tow...

Update: Changes to Patreon Fees - never mind, lol

Hello Sewers of Paris patrons!

Monday I let you know that Patreon was planning to make changes to the way that they process credit card fees. But today, they've announced that they won't be making those changes after all. You can read about their decision here: https://blog.patreon.com/not-rolling-out-fees-chang...

Changes to Patreon Fees (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Patreon is no longer making this change. I've written a new post about what this means for The Sewers of Paris: https://www.patreon.com/posts/update-changes-15874702 

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Hi Sewers of Paris supporters!

You might have heard there've been some changes at Patreon. Last week creators were informed that Patreon is changing the way they apply payment fees. Previously, c...

Surrounded by Death and Drugs (Ep. 143 - Sina Grace & Iceman)

My guest this week set out to answer a simple question: how do you live a content life? Sina Grace is the comic author and illustrator behind autobiographical books like Self-Obsessed, and Marvel's current Iceman series. A few years ago, he reached a point of disillusionment with the American dream, discovering getting all the money and possessions you wanted isn't as fulfilling as family, health, and love. Isolated and literally wasting away,  Sina set in motion some changes that would eve...

Everything is Queer (Ep 142 - Matt Rogers)

Where do you learn where you belong? My guest this week is Matt Rogers, half of the comedy team behind the Las Culturistas podcast. Matt's upbringing taught him that there was only one acceptable way to be masculine, while deep down inside he longed to belt showtunes. So how did he get from sporty athlete to an arbiter of the queerest of New York homosexual culture? All it took were a few pani...

A Britney-Whitney Gay (Ep. 141 - Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)

When it's hard to find the words you know you need to say, can you use someone else's? This week's guest is actor and producer Emerson Collins, whose new film A Very Sordid Wedding is a sequel to the classic Sordid Lives. Growing up around the big hair and church bells of Texas, Emerson struggled to speak openly about who he really was. Until he got up on stage.

Big thanks to everyone supporting the Sewers of Paris on Patre...

A Sandbox of Weirdness (Ep. 140 - Jamie Pierce)

How do you balance a need for solitude with a need to collaborate? This week's guest is Jamie Pierce, an actor, comedian, and dancer who's no stranger to career changes. Several years ago, he decided to transform his work and his  life after an experience onstage. And just last year, he reached another turning point in part because of this show.

I originally interviewed Jamie back in 2016, but then his episode kept moving around in the schedule and a few months went by before it was going...

Everyone Should Have Secrets (Ep. 139 - Imitation of Life)

What are the secrets you're carrying around, and what would happen if you dropped them? This week's guest is Tim Kirkman, a storyteller with a knack for exploring the things people don't say. His film Lazy Eye is about confronting secret loves, and his documentary Dear Jesse is about his unexpected connection with America's most notorious homophobe. What Tim's found, in his work and in his life, is that the information people withhold about themselves is often the key to understanding them -- pr...

Bonus Episode! The Lost Treasure of the Neverglades

Welcome to a special bonus episode of the Sewers of Paris! Last weekend some familiar friends and I hosted a fundraiser for Seattle Children's Hospital, bringing together a group of gays to play a custom made Dungeons and Dragons adventure for a livestream audience. Joining me were comedian Bryan Safi, Carlos Maza from Vox.com, 2017-11-08 17:47:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Putting Your Body Through a Car Wash (Ep. 138 - Spirited Away & BDSM)

If you could step out of your body and look at yourself from the outside, how unfamiliar would you look? It's impossible to evaluate yourself with complete impartiality, but my guest this week has found ways to get as close as possible. Professor Ali Mushtaq's preferred method for clearing his mind and achieving a meditative state: flogging, leather sex, and physical transformation.

Big thanks to everyone supporting the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. I could not make the show without you. If you'...

Underground Culture (Ep. 137 - The Smiths & To Kill a Mockingbird)

How do radical movements for justice become mainstream over time? This week I'm talking to two guests: the first is Walter Naegle, the surviving partner of Bayard Rustin; and the second is Matt Wolf, who made a documentary short about Walter entitled Bayard and Me. Bayard was a key figure in the civil rights fight starting in the 60s -- he was a mentor to Martin Luther King Jr, worked on behalf of refugees, and becam...

Royalties and a Husband (Ep. 136 - West Side Story & Eric Marcus of Making Gay History)

Is it a problem that there's "sex" in "homosexual"? My guest this week is Eric Marcus, a writer and journalist who often found himself called upon to represent the model gay man on shows like Good Morning America and The O'Reilly Factor. For years, Eric strove to put across an image of respectability and harmlessness. But these days, as the creator and host of the excellent podcast Making Gay History, and he's ready to share the pieces of our past that are enough to make anyone blush.

I Always Thought Your Father was a Bit of a Poof (Ep. 135 - Sonnet 20)

What are the things you're not telling people -- and what's stopping you? My guest this week is Will Kostakis, author of award winning young adult novels and the upcoming book The Sidekicks. Growing up, Will and his best friend were as close as friends could be, or at least, they told themselves they were. There was something neither one was telling the other. And never will.

Big thanks to everyone supporting the Sewers of Paris on Patreon. If you're enjoying the show, you can help keep it ind...

Tina Turner Realness (Ep. 134 - Proud Mary)

What's it like to go from a fan to a friend? This week's guest is Tony Moore, who hosts celebrity interviews on his show Loungin' with Tony. For years, he looked up to actors and entertainers as role models. And he found that the more he worked alongside them, the more they opened up to him -- not just as personalities, but as people.

How to be Awesome (Ep. 133 - Terry Pratchett)

We all know life's short, so how do you make the most of the time you've got? My guest this week is Scott Flashheart, comedian and host of the podcast Probably True. He grew up in a tiny British mining town -- or at least, what WAS a mining town, before the mine was closed, sending the place he lived into a slow downward spiral. He knew he didn't belong there, but he also felt out of place among other gays. It took a lot of ...

The Priests of Hollywood (Ep. 132 - Designing Women & Gone with the Wind)

What are the excuses you make for not doing what makes you happy? It's so easy to come up with reasons that NOW is the wrong time to launch into that project or hobby or career change you've always wanted. So where do you find permission to make a change in your life? This week's guest, Jason Powell, has only recently learned to give that permission to himself. Jason's one half of the podcast Ladywatch -- I interviewed his co-host, ...

Super Extra (Ep. 131 - Gabriel Fontana & Britney Spears)

How much are you willing to do for love -- and how much can love do for you? This week's guest is Gabriel Fontana, who grew up in violent crime-ridden Brazilian ghettos before escaping to Sweden, where he rose to pop stardom as the winner of a Swedish Idol spinoff. Gabriel's always been something of an escape artist, relying on a mix of hard work, talent, and love to pull himself out of places he didn't want to be. Now, with thousands of fans following his every move, he's feeling more intoxicat...

Bonus Episode: Dungeons and Drag Queens

Welcome to a special bonus episode of The Sewers of Paris! 

A few days ago, some amazingly talented drag queens and I got on stage for a live show called Dungeons and Drag Queens. We played a custom-made Dungeons and Dragons adventure in front of a live audience, and I’m really excited to share it with you.

If you don’t know anything about Dungeons & Dragons, that’s OK. Some of the players didn’t either! Basically, we sit around a table, I describe a situation, the queen...

It's F*cking Tough to be Reasonable (Ep. 130 - Suikoden 2)

If you were to form a band of adventurers, what role would you want to serve -- fighter or healer? My guest this week is Carlos Maza, who knows how to put up a verbal fight as the host of insightful explainer videos for Vox.com. But off camera, the role in which he's most at home is that of caretaker, looking after others and supporting the well being of those around him. But as he's found, that doesn't always leave time for taking care of himself.

Watch clips of stuff we talked about: 2017-09-07 13:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Glitter and be Gay (Ep. 129 - Julie Andrews)

What hidden worlds are waiting to be found right under your nose? My guest this week is Kevin Clarke, who grew up in a divided Berlin, so close to the wall he could hear the police threatening to shoot people who came too close. He was eager to leave as soon as he could -- but he was drawn back to the city years later. By then, he was old enough to discover and explore a bawdy underground gay culture that had always been hiding right in his own back yard.

Watch clips of stuff we talked about a...

The Doctor's Wife (Ep. 128 - The Witches)

What are you willing to sacrifice for your freedom? My guest this week is Australian-Icelandic comedian Jonathan Duffy, who's found a way to laugh through good times and bad, whether serving as Creative Director for Iceland's entry into Eurovision... to an unexpected calling tending to people near death in a small town the Australian Outback. There used to be a time when he just sat back and let the world pass him by. But his real adventures began when he started giving up the things he loved to...

I am Militantly Vulnerable (Ep. 127 - Sailor Moon)

What's the future you want to see? My guest this week is drag queen Gilda Wabbit, who experienced a strange moment of internet fame thanks to a photo of her riding the subway in full drag next to a Muslim woman. What that photo didn't capture was Gilda's background searching for her voice -- literally, as for years she struggled as an opera singer to find roles that felt right. Turns out putting on a wig and a dress helped point her in the right direction.

Watch clips of stuff we talked about:...

Sewers of Paris: Swept Away by Dracula (Ep. 126 - horror films)

We're noted from time to time on this show that many gay men hold a special place for horror in their hearts. But that's only a fraction of the story with this week's guest. Jeffrey Schwarz has made a lifelong study of film, starting with an early job editing the documentary The Celluloid Closet, right up to today with a new documentary about flamboyant producer Allan Carr. As a weird young gay man, he found kindred spirits in people who, like him, reveled in intensity and excess. And now as a f...

Everything but the Snakes (Ep. 125 - Worship songs)

What's the project of your life? My guest this week is Josef Krebs, who's done a lot of thinking about the impact he can have on the world, whether through the evangelical church in which he grew up, or the world of theater where he eventually found a more satisfying home. Josef's work has always been about chasing the feeling of ecstasy, not just for himself but for the people around him.

Luxury Music for Surplus People (Ep. 124 - Madonna & Prince)

What makes you feel ugly, and do you try to hide it or highlight it? My guest this week is Thomas Hårdell, a Danish student-teacher and musician. Growing up, he was told to blend in like a stalk of wheat, and to avoid standing out like an oak tree -- which is ironic, given that he's well over six feet tall. There were times that standing out put him at risk, like when a host family found out he was gay and left him stranded in a foreign country. But over time, he's learned that standing out and...

Going to Face the Dragon (Ep. 123 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

We usually talk on this show about the entertainment that's changed the lives of gay men, but this week we're also talking about how gay men have changed entertainment. My guest is television writer Drew Greenberg, who's written romantic scenes between Willow and Tara on Buffy, helped introduce queer characters on shows like Warehouse 13, and is currently working on season 5 of Agents of SHIELD. Throughout his career, he was told his shows could never have queer leading characters. And throughou...

Elizabeth Taylor is my Higher Power (Ep. 122 - Hillary Clinton)

We all have our sources of security -- it could be a career, a home, a relationship, a circle of friends. How would you handle the loss of all of those things? This week's guest is Ryan O'Connor, co-host of the outstanding LadyWatch podcast. A few years back, Ryan was pretty sure all of his goals were coming together like a tidy checklist. And then, one by one, they all fell apart, and he discovered that when you lose everything you have, you find out who you are.

2017-07-13 13:00:59 +0000 UTC View Post

We've Cornered the Market on Mermaids (Ep. 121 - Joel Kim Booster)

When did you first escape your bubble? We all start life protected by adults, looked after and shielded from the harsh realities of the world. Some of us burst out of it as fast as we can, and others like to pretend they never have to leave. This week's guest is comedian Joel Kim Booster, whose parents tried so hard to control his life that when he finally did come out, it was with so much momentum he found himself homeless -- until a family he hardly even knew took him in.

Watch clips of stuf...

Anita Bryant, God Bless Her (Ep. 120: Gore Vidal)

What's the difference between an end and a beginning, and are they sometimes the same thing? My guest this week is Albert Williams, a longtime queer artist and activist who's seen the queer world transform over the course of his life. Throughout that time, there were periods when change just wasn't coming fast enough, and that's when he and his friends found ways to force one era to end and a new one to begin.

Watch clips of stuff we talked about at 2017-06-29 07:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post

He Found Out my Secret - (Ep. 119: Matchgame & Press Your Luck)

This week's guest is Mandel Ilagen, but it's not the first time his name's come up on the show. He's a ringleader of a group of gays who are obsessed with game shows -- you might remember past guests Louis Virtel and Randy West describing Mandel's house parties that are like TV show tapings mixed with cocktails and queens. Game shows might seem like frivolous entertainment, but for Mandel and many of his friends, they provided a way to prove themselves amongst their peers -- and, for the first t...