The Sewers of Paris

Last week we heard from Great British Bakeoff’s Edd Kimber, and this week I’m so excited to bring you another guest whose life was touched by the show. Max Miller is the creator and host of the fantastic YouTube series Tasting History, where each week he shares a historical recipe as well as an intriguing story about the surprising origin of some food we still eat today — and occasionally have never even heard of. The series was inspired in part by historical segments that appeared on early seasons of Bakeoff, and Max never intended for it to be anything other than a fun hobby to entertain family and friends — which is why nobody was more surprised than he when it took off and shot him to YouTube fame, drawing unexpectedly on his background in musical theater and his time swinging from the rafters of a ship while playing Peter Pan. We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First a quick thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon — including this week’s newest members, Illana, Jason, and William! Visit Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards for backers. And if you’re like hearing about queer entertainment, check out my YouTube videos for dozens of deep dives into queer moments on TV and film that changed the world. I just posted a new video about the first married gay couple on TV way back in the 1970s — and as always, Patreon backers get early ad-free access to watch. Also, I wanted to let you know that I’m going to start regular livestreams over at Twitch.tv/mattbaume — join me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon for games and fun friendly chit chat. I’m also hosting a special Thanksgiving stream next Thursday, November 26th at 2pm pacific, and I hope you’ll pop by for that.

We’re getting close to Thanksgiving, and what better way to celebrate that than with good food, feeling of thanks, and a guest who does not actually observe the holiday at all. This week we’re diving into the Sewers of Paris archives for my 2016 conversation with Great British Bakeoff Winner Edd Kimber, who found his life forever changed when he won the first season of the cooking competition. Edd was a shy, unhappy banker when his cakes, cookies, and pies catapulted him to national fame, a life-changing time in his life for which he remains eternally thankful.  We’ll have that in a minute. First a quick thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon — including this week’s newest members, Sam, Bruce, and Rowan. If you’re enjoying the podcast, head over to SewersOfParis.com and click “support the show on patreon” to join the folks who make the show possible, and check out rewards for backers like gifts in the mail, patron-exclusive podcast episodes, and more. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And if you like hearing about queer entertainment, check out my YouTube videos for dozens of deep dives into the LGBTQ moments on TV and film that changed the world. I just posted a brand new video about the first married gay couple on TV way back in the 1970s and why nobody remembers them. There’s a link in the description.

What does it take for you to feel comfortable truly letting loose and being yourself? For my guest this week, it took some flamboyant game show guests, improv class, and more speedos than he knew what to do with. Brett White is a pop culture critic at Decider and biographer of unjustly forgotten queer TV stars. He was inspired by giddy flamboyant 70s figures like Charles Nelson Reilly to become a professional TV-gay… but he wasn’t expecting that inspiration to extend to swimwear in his personal life. We’ll have that in a minute. First a quick thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon — including this week’s newest members, Trevor and Frank. If you’re enjoying the podcast, head over to SewersOfParis.com and click “support the show on Patreon” to join the folks who make the show possible, and check out rewards for backers like gifts in the mail, patron-exclusive podcast episodes, and more. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on November 7 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And if you like hearing about queer entertainment, check out my YouTube series Culture Cruise for dozens of deep dives into the LGBTQ moments on TV and film that changed the world.

What unexpected superhero powers might you possess? My guest this week was inspired by Wonder Woman to become one of the world’s foremost experts on wastewater — and yes, I promise, it’ll all make sense once you hear it. Raul Pacheco-Vega has been obsessed with women superheros his whole life, an obsession his parents indulged by enrolling him in martial arts classes, perhaps knowing that their young gay kid might need to defend himself at some point. But heroism came in an unlikely form, lending his keen engineer’s mind to solve problems once thought unsolvable. We’ll have that in a minute. First a quick thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon — including this week’s newest members, Alfred, Karolin, and Happyninja42. Head over to SewersOfParis.com and click “support the show on Patreon” to join the folks who make the show possible, and check out rewards like exclusive video messages from me, a care package in the mail with Sewers of Paris buttons, and more. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on November 7 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And if you like hearing about queer entertainment, check out my youtube series Culture Cruise for dozens of deep dives into the LGBTQ moments on TV and film that changed the world.

As we stumble along through spooky season, I want to dive into the Sewers archives to revisit my 2015 episode about The Rocky Horror Picture Show. My guest back then was Matthew Hintzen, a programmer who found Rocky Horror in its early days, the late 70s, when he was a closeted kid on the verge of running away from home to live on the streets. He found that the rebellious community developing around this weird new horror-musical was exactly what he needed back then — but he also found that there’s a dangerous downside to becoming emotion’s slave. Also -- a quick thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon — including this month’s newest members, Sabrina, Chris and Seth. Head over to SewersOfParis.com and click “support the show on patreon” to join the folks who make the show possible. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on October 24 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And if you like hearing about queer entertainment, check out my YouTube series Culture Cruise on YouTube for dozens of deep dives into the LGBTQ moments on TV and film that changed the world.

The Sewers of Paris is independent, ad-free, and listener supported. Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to join the folks who make the show possible, and to check out the rewards for backers. My guest this week is the legendary performer Peppermint, star of stage and screen, from Drag Race to Pose to Broadway. Her new album “A Girl Like Me” comes out this week, featuring autobiographical songs about a turbulent relationship, along with a steamy music video called Good Sex. And she’s got some livestreams and fundraisers and election events in the works as well — a very busy lady. We’ll have that in a minute. First, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook, where I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on October 24 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other shows! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones — I just posted a video about the 90s show Dinosaurs, and its unlikely link to a real-life gay Transylvanian dinosaur hunter from the 1800s. 

My guest this week is the drag artist known as Deere. You may know her from her livestreams on Twitch, where she plays primarily horror games. She’s also the founder of Stream Queens, a collective of drag artists, makeup monsters, and creatures who adopt amazing costumes and personas to livestream games. Off-camera, Deere’s a quiet introverted artist who never expected her drag alter ego to take on a life and career of her own. We’ll have that in a minute. First, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook, where I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on October 10 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other shows! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones — I just posted a video about the 90s show Dinosaurs, and its unlikely link to a real-life gay Transylvanian dinosaur hunter from the 1800s. And check out Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy. More links to check out: Arson Nicki is a meticulous gamer who loves to chat while streaming makeup transformations, life simulators, and the occasional RPG or party game. You can find her at twitch.tv/arsonnicki. Fraya Love is an artist who streams makeup and exploration games like Breath of the Wild, at twitch.tv/fraya_love. And Londyn Bradshaw is a chaotic queen whose streams are never not surprising. She’s at twitch.tv/londynbradshaw. And here's the moderator video that Deere talked about: https://twitch.tv/videos/507819705

My guest this week is Chris Pepin-Neff, the world’s foremost expert on human-shark interaction. His life was shaped, you will be shocked to hear, by the movie Jaws — but also by his time in a socialist commune, as well as working alongside Frank Kameny, one of the leading gay rights activists of the 20th century, not to mention his friendship with Gore Vidal. Chris has so many fascinating stories to share and I am so excited to bring them to you. But first, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook, where I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on October 10 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other shows! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones — I just posted a video about the 90s show Dinosaurs, and its unlikely link to a real-life gay Transylvanian dinosaur hunter from the 1800s. And check out Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy.

You may have seen the very exciting news this week that BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon will release a holiday special this year — an adaptation of their wonderful live holiday show. I helped out with the shooting of the special and without giving away too much, I can tell you that it is going to be AMAZING. For this week’s Sewers of Paris, we’re jumping into the archives to revisit my 2016 interview with BenDeLaCreme, a performer who specializes in breaking boundaries, upending order, and causing mischief. You probably know her best from Season 6 of Drag Race, or the even more shocking All-Stars twist. If you enjoyed her on reality TV and at her live shows, just wait until you get to know Ben, the alter ego behind the character. But first, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook, where I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on September 25 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other shows! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones. And check out Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy.

Love is in the air this week with my guest Philip William Stover, writer of numerous romance novels both gay and straight. Growing up, he hid his love of romance, tearing the covers off of books so nobody would notice what he was reading. But as he grew up, he started to realize the extent to which queer people are often denied an opportunity to see loving relationships depicted in media. And so he made it his mission to fix that. Also, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook, where I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on September 19 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other shows! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones. And check out Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy. And a quick note — the audio on my side of the recording is a bit muffled at the start of our conversation. But fortunately I don’t talk much and then it improves pretty quickly.

The Sewers of Paris is independent, ad-free, and listener supported. Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to join the folks who make the show possible, and to check out the rewards for backers. My guest this week likes a good scare. As a kid, Sam Irvin loved Bride of Frankenstein, and he brought that influence with him as an adult when he directed the show Dante’s Cove and the movie Elvira’s Haunted Hills — among many other projects. Whether working with Christopher Lee, Brian DePalma, or Ian McKellan, Sam is an endless source of amazing stories, and I’m so glad to bring them to you on this episode. First, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook, where I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. This week I’ll be posting my favorite clip of all time from Bride of Frankenstein, Dante’s Cove, and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on September 19 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other shows! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones. And check out Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy.

This is the three hundredth episode of the show, and I just want to take a moment to say how incredibly grateful I am to the hundreds of amazing guests who’ve made time to talk to me, listeners like you who download the show and recommend it to friends, and of course everyone on Patreon whose support allows me to create the show week after week. In the nearly five and a half years that I’ve been doing The Sewers of Paris, I’ve spoken to hundreds of fascinating people, and for this three hundredth episode I wanted to gather clips from some of my favorite conversations over the years. You’re about to hear excerpts from my interviews with sex advice columnist Dan Savage, comedy writer Bruce Vilanch, NPR reporter Sonari Glinton, drag icon Coco Peru, Lebanese pop singer Hamed Sinno, pop culture host Louis Virtel, actor Patrick Bristow, and finally Drag Race star Alaska Thunderfuck. Each of these people is creating art and culture and entertainment, and I’ve selected clips from each episode that provides insight into their unique styles and inspiration. And of course, if you’d like to hear the full interview with any of them, you can find them all at SewersOfParis.com. Also, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook — I’ll be posting links to each of these guests’ original episodes throughout the next week. And don’t miss my next livestream — a nice time to just hang out and talk about the book and movies and music and shows we love, trade recommendations, and just chill out with queer friends. The next one is September 19 at 11am pacific. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other podcasts! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones. And check out Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy. So let’s begin with a clip from episode 100, my conversation with Dan Savage. Though you probably know Dan for his Savage Love sex advice column, we wound up talking mostly about theater. Dan’s background is as an actor, and when he first moved to Seattle, he made a name for himself locally with a particularly daring troupe known as Greek Active. 

On this episode we’re remembering Chi Chi DeVayne, performer and Drag Race star who passed away last week at the age of 34. I spoke to Chi Chi back in 2018, when she was appearing on All Stars, about her roots, her religion, and how she drew on military training as she discovered her love of drag.This week I’ll also be posting some clips on the Sewers of Paris Twitter and Facebook of stuff that Chi Chi and I talked about — Big Freedia, To Wong Foo, and Bulletproof.Also I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on August 29 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.And if you’re looking for more queer entertainment, check out Culture Cruise on YouTube for a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones. And take a listen to Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, , two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy.

The topic this week: Tori Amos, Steel Magnolias, and Alice in Wonderland. What piece of media gets you through your rough patches? For my guest this week, it’s Steel Magnolias, a movie that helped him understand his place as a little gay kid among powerful southern women. It’s also the film that got him through election night 2016. First, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook, where I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. This week you can look forward to of course some Steel Magnolia clips, along with the best Tori music videos and a little Disney. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on August 29 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other shows! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones. And check out Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy.

 Imagine if there was someone out there who could, in a matter of minutes, help you make sense of the unanswered questions you’ve asked about yourself for as long as your can remember. My guest this week is JP Karliak, a voice actor and writer who you might recognize as the voice of the characters Boss Baby, Wile E Coyote on those occasions when he speaks, as Spider-Man and Willy Wonka and tons of voices from The Last of Us to Castlevania to Evangelion. JP was always making of characters and voices and stories, going all the way back to his childhood love of Skeletor or Auntie Mame — and some of those tendencies started to make a lot more sense as an adult, when for the first time he met his birth mother. Also, a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook, where I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. This week I’ll be posting my favorite clip of all time from He-Man, as well as some extremely gay moments from Auntie Mame and also a little quiet time with Rita Repulsa. And I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on August 15 at 11am Pacific. It’s a nice relaxing time to just hang out and chat. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And don’t forget to check out my other shows! Culture Cruise on YouTube is a deep dive into queer entertainment milestones. And check out Queens of Adventure and Queens of Adventure: Legends, two narrative comedy shows with drag heroes going on adventures in a world of fantasy.