My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is author and architect Robert Raasch, whose recent debut novel The Summer Between is a coming-of-age adventure set in Greenwich Village of the late 1970s. It’s a topic ...
2025-03-27 16:00:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there!
It's hard to believe how many mistakes John Wojtowicz & company made when they decided to rob a bank in August of 1972 -- the heist that was eventually dramatized in the film Dog Day Afternoon. That movie includes a few of their goofy missteps, but it leaves out some of my favorites: The three failed attempts that began the day; the terrible timing with the armor...
2025-03-23 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on The Sewers of Paris podcast this week is writer SW Kent, whose new novel is The Storyteller from Balincia. He’s been a storyteller himself since he was a kid, but for the first act o...
Hello there!
The film Dog Day Afternoon opens by saying that it's based on a true story, and it is: The events of the movie unfold almost exactly as they did in real life, with a bisexual bank robber holding up a bank and telling everyone that he needs the money to pay for his wife to get (in the parlance of the time) a "sex change operation."
There's just one problem with that, whi...
2025-03-16 16:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post
We’re trying different for this week’s Sewers of Paris podcast. Instead of one guest, we have three — the cast of the new film Throuple. It’s a polyamorous romcom, a concert film, a coming-of-age story … and also a c...
2025-03-13 17:42:42 +0000 UTC View Post
When you think of great queer allies in Hollywood, Al Pacino may not be the first name that springs to mind. But it turns out that he not only had a surprisingly progressive attitude towards LGBTQ+ folks, going back decades ... but he secretly did some very important charitable work on behalf of queer lives.
I've got the details in this week's bonus video plus a look ahead at my next vide...
2025-03-09 16:00:35 +0000 UTC View Post
With the Oscars this weekend, we’ve reached the culmination of the year’s awards season. And for this week’s Sewers of Paris podcast, we’re diving into the archives to revisit my 2017 chat with an awards show legend: Bruce Vilanch, who's been slipping sly queer comedy into o...
2025-03-06 17:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there! In this week's bonus video, I have a curious case of conflicting stories from Cruising director William Friedkin, most of them relating to Al Pacino. To hear Friedkin tell it, Pacino was one headache after another: He was unprepared, didn't know his lines, showed up late, and his hair looked terrible.
However! I have a feeling that's not the truth (Ellen) and t...
2025-03-02 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is director Corey Sherman, whose latest film is Big Boys — a story of a teenager who isn’t even out to himself when he goes on a camping trip and s...
2025-02-27 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is author and psychotherapist Wayne Scott. His new book, The Maps T...
It's 1978 and director William Friedkin needs to do a little research, so he strips down to a jockstrap and walks into The Ramrod with a friend who's carrying a concealed revolver. In this week's bonus video, I have the weird story of how Friedkin found himself nearly nude and surrounded by orgiastic queer pleasures in New York's meatpacking district.
Plus! Some tantalizing details about ...
2025-02-16 17:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Welcome to a special episode of The Sewers of Paris! All this month, the Old Church Concert Hall in Portland is celebrating Black History Month with performances honoring Black artists. And I was lucky enough to speak with Kingsley, who helped organize the venue’s Blacker the Berry nig...
2025-02-13 17:00:49 +0000 UTC View Post
There was a nude photo scandal that nearly stopped The Real World from ever making it to air -- early in Season 1, over half the cast threatened to walk away from the project because of how the producers were treating them. I've got the behind-the-scenes story in this week's bonus video ... plus the story of a hookup between one member of the cast and a director, including de...
2025-02-09 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on the Sewers of Paris podcast this week is musician George Alley — a returning guest who 2025-02-06 17:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Huge thanks to Patron Kimberly, who pointed me in the right direction to find the never-aired pilot of The Real World! In this week's bonus video, I want to share a bunch of fascinating moments from this experimental not-for-broadcast artifact, from the awkward meetings to a loft party to a fake romance staged for the cameras.
Plus: You might've heard that the publisher EA fired ...
2025-02-02 17:47:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Cast your mind back, if you will, to the 1990s, when reality TV was new. Though the genre was young, many had already written off shows like The Real World as trash. But one young man saw an opportunity, and thought that maybe there was a way he could use television to save lives. His na...
2025-01-30 17:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is filmmaker David Beck. His childhood love of theater led him to a life as an actor — and also a difficult struggle to keep his head above water in a career where work was unpredictable and fiercely competitive. After coming out of the c...
2025-01-23 17:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there!
I just came across the application letters from a bunch of the early cast of The Real World, and found a funny story about Pam (from San Francisco) and a high school experience that I suspect many of us will find familiar.
Plus! As we remember the wonderful work of David Lynch, I want to share a few recommendations for queer moments in his movies and TV shows. ...
2025-01-19 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there!
Imagine it's 1992, when being an openly gay person is tremendously dangerous in most of America -- and you've volunteered to have your big queer life broadcast to millions of homes. Norm from season 1 of The Real World had absolutely no idea what he was signing up for, but he knew enough to know it was a big risk, which is why I continue to be amazed by his brav...
2025-01-12 17:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
This month sees a rerelease of the classic ‘80s film The Goonies, which is about to turn 40. In honor of that milestone, we’re heading into the Sewers archives to hear my 2018 chat with Andrew Putschoegl, who...
2025-01-09 17:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post
They say laughter is the best medicine and I sure could use some of that right now, which is why I invite you to enjoy some performances of "Glitter and Be Gay," the aria from Candide in which a singer chortles in high C while covering herself in jewels. Iconic!
Alas, my back troubles as mentioned in last week's bonus video have gotten a touch more disruptive (don't worry, I...
2025-01-05 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week is Danny Roberts, one of the stars of Real World: New Orleans, which originally aired on MTV in 2000. Danny was planning to become a teacher and wound up on the show through a series of coincidences, accidents, and last-minute changes of plan, so he was a little unprepared ...
2025-01-02 17:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there!
I'm recovering from some back trouble this week so I'm sliiiiiightly woozy on muscle relaxers... but I won't let that stop me from making a bonus video! This week, I have the real life story of how MTV created The Real World in a desperate attempt to prove that they were still cool, and how the show wound up giving rise to the entire genre of reality TV (and also the animated...
2024-12-29 17:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
It's the 500th episode of the Sewers of Paris, and to celebrate James and I are doing a special Q&A with questions sent in by listeners! Huge thanks to everyone who sent questions, and let me know if you'd like to hear more episodes like these!
And as requested by patron David, here are some of my ...
2024-12-26 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there!
I have a video about The Real World coming your way soon, and for this week's bonus video I want to share some fun stories about the very silly origins of MTV -- how a bunch of music weirdos (and a Monkee) hijacked Nickelodeon to prove the idea could work, why they had to take a bus to New Jersey to see their own channel, and how it was initially named some thin...
2024-12-22 17:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris is Sean Hemeon — an actor, writer, painter, and former Mormon drug dealer. Sean’s currently working on a memoir that details just how deep he fell into a violent, and at ti...
2024-12-19 17:37:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello there!
I have a juicy tale of revenge in this week's bonus video! It's the story of how Lance Loud made the most of a very unpleasant dinner with an insurance industry CEO.
Plus! A little correction/update about what may have been some intentional deceit behind the scenes of An American Family.
And finally! A strange news magazine clip from 1979 of New York punk...
2024-12-15 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week is director Sav Rodgers, whose new film is Chasing Chasing Amy. It began as an exploration of the origin of the infamous ‘90s rom-com, but in the ...
2024-12-12 19:11:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi folks!
We're rapidly approaching the 500th episode (!!!!) of The Sewers of Paris, and to celebrate I'm doing a Q&A episode where I answer questions from listeners! But to do that ... I need questions. Got any for me?
Patrons have always been super involved in all of my work -- you're constantly sending me tons of great clips to check out, ideas for future videos, and...
2024-12-11 18:02:50 +0000 UTC View Post
My guest this week is pop culture writer Frank DeCaro, whose latest book is Disco: Music, Movies, and Mania under the Mirror Ball. Frank grew up in disco’s heyday, which he experienced through teenage disco parties in the New Jersey sub...
2024-12-05 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post