Driving a Jeep at 90 Miles an Hour (Ep 409 - Brini Maxwell/Auntie Mame)

Driving a Jeep at 90 Miles an Hour (Ep 409 - Brini Maxwell/Auntie Mame)
Matt Baume & Sam Sander/Brini Maxwell

My guest this week is Ben Sander, creator of the character Brini Maxwell, a drag hostess who’s helmed shows about crafting, cooking, and homemaking, for decades. It all started with a little cable access show that he produced with some help from his mother, before becoming a cable TV series, with live shows that continue to this day — with Brini the character continuing to evolve as Ben her creator explores new artistic frontiers.

(Also: if you’re a fan of pop culture history — and I think you are — you’ll probably enjoy Sam’s great blog from a few years back, The Obscurity Factor.)

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a book coming out next year about queer sitcoms! It’s called Hi Honey, I’m Homo, and pre-orders are open — head over to gaysitcoms.com to get all the details.

Also, big thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon! Patrons get hours of exclusive bonus videos about pop culture history, stickers and stuff in the mail, and names in the credits of YouTube videos.

Maybe I'm Not Gay, Maybe I'm a Skater (Ep 408 - Edgar/Tony Hawk)

Maybe I'm Not Gay, Maybe I'm a Skater (Ep 408 - Edgar/Tony Hawk)
Matt Baume & Edgar Gomez

My guest this week is Edgar Gomez, author of the book High Risk Homosexual. Edgar spent years trying to figure out who he was, bouncing from one group to another — which took him from skater cliques to an encounter with a sex worker in Nicaragua to enrolling in school to become a cop, until he was expelled after being falsely accused of being a drug dealer. Edgar auditioned a lot of identities before he found one that felt right — one that allowed him to continue infiltrating and exploring all the different ways that human beings find to connect with each other.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a book coming out next year about queer sitcoms! It’s called Hi Honey, I’m Homo, and pre-orders are open — head over to gaysitcoms.com to get all the details.

Also, big thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon! Patrons get hours of exclusive bonus videos about pop culture history, stickers and stuff in the mail, and names in the credits of YouTube videos.

Beware of the World (Ep 407 - Josh/My Best Friend's Wedding)

Beware of the World (Ep 407 - Josh/My Best Friend's Wedding)
Matt Baume & Josh Weed

My guest this week is Josh Weed, who ten years ago became a minor online celebrity after writing a blog post about how he was gay, Mormon, and happily married to a woman. Well, things have changed a bit since then. In 2018, Josh and his now ex-wife decided that it just wasn’t working, and they parted ways to pursue new relationships. Since then, they’ve both re-married, and remain close friends. And Josh has had some space to reflect on the cultural forces that gave them a distorted view of human sexuality … and those that helped them break free, including a handful of unexpected films.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a book coming out next year about queer sitcoms! It’s called Hi Honey, I’m Homo, and pre-orders are open — head over to gaysitcoms.com to get all the details.

Also, big thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon! Patrons get hours of exclusive bonus videos about pop culture history, stickers and stuff in the mail, and names in the credits of YouTube videos.