This episode is posting on the Fourth of July, and I’m going to celebrate America with a look back at one of my favorite early episodes of The Sewers of Paris — an interview from 2015 with director Wes Hurley, whose story of immigrating to this country is unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Wes was raised in Vladivostok Russia, where images of American culture floated to him through illegal midnight broadcasts and his life was so dangerous he had to carry a knife to school. His mother was able to bring them to America — she was a mail-order bride — but upon landing stateside as a young queer teen, Wes soon found the country wasn’t quite what he’d been led to expect.
Also, a reminder that I host twice-monthly livestreams where I chat with listeners like you about the book and movies and music and shows that are bringing you joy right now. The next one is on July 6 at 9am pacific, and there's a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed.
Big thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon -- head over to SewersOfParis.com and click "Support the show on Patreon" to check out the rewards for backers.
And for more queer podcasting, check out the show Queens of Adventure, featuring drag queens on an epic Dungeons and Dragons quest! That's at QueensOfAdventure.com. Visit queensofadventure.com or follow @dungeondrag on twitter.