Sweaty Good Times (Ep. 235 - Dance Music/Ryan Whedon)

How do you balance time spent in your head with time spent around other people? My guest this week is Ryan Weadon, host of the podcast Ex-Rated Movies where he chats about films with his ex boyfriend. After searching for years to find the work that he loved, Ryan found his true joy on a sweaty dance floor, and now his passion project is mixing exuberant dance with thoughtful conversation between friends and solitary contemplation.

We'll have that conversation in a minute. First 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 June 8, 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.

Fantasy Worlds with Quests and Wizards (Ep. 234 - Dungeons & Dragons/David Gaider)

This weekend, I'll be attending The Descent, a Dungeons and Dragons live event in Los Angeles. And so for this week's episode, we're diving into the Sewers archive with a conversation from 2016 featuring game writer David Gaider.

You may recognize his name as one of the co-creators of some of the most popular sci-fi and fantasy stories in the world -- his work appears in Baldur's Gate 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age, Neverwinter Nights, and many more.

Though he's been telling stories his whole life, David never planned to become a professional game designer. He didn't think creative work could ever be practical, and even went so far as to turn down the job that would eventually change his life. For years, he operated under the assumption that nobody would be interested in the kinds of stories he really wanted to tell. Until one day he included a piece of himself in his work and found that it didn't just open a door for him, but unlocked new possibilities for everyone around him.

And if you like hearing about queer game creators, you might also like Sewers of Paris episode 177, where I chat with Jeremy Crawford, lead rules designer for Dungeons and Dragons.

Big thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon -- head over to Sewers and click "Support the show on Patreon" to check out the rewards for backers.

I Was a Pet Project (Ep. 233 - Lady Gaga at the Superbowl/Bucky Flores)

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How much searching does it take to find your passion in life? My guest this week is Bucky Flores -- before he was performing with Lady Gaga in the Superbowl, Bucky drifted through his early 20s, trying to figure out what he wanted out of life beyond menial jobs and going out drinking. Stuck in a small town with only a few options, it was a chance audition for a color guard group that snapped him out of his malaise and showed him what happiness could look like -- but not without a lot of work first.

And a heads-up that I'm traveling to LA later this month to cover DragCon and also a big Dungeons & Dragons Live event. I'll also be hanging out at Musical Mondays at Rage in WeHo on May 20th. So if you're in LA, I hope to see you at one or two or all of those events!

As always, huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards available to backers.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for a brand new weekly queer Dungeons & Dragons stream, every Saturday at 11am Pacific. Join me and Connor Olmstead, Brian Moreno, Justin Saint, Jen Vaughn, and my partner James as DM. We just started and now's a perfect time to join us at twitch.tv/prettyprettypixel.

And of course, I'm also doing twice-monthly hangouts on YouTube, where I chat with you about the books and movies and music and shows that you're obsessed with right now. There’s a link to the next one on the Sewers of Paris Twitter feed.

The Psychology of Harry Potter (Ep 232 - Harry Potter/Victoria Lee)

My guest this week is writer and psychologist Victoria Lee. She’s got a soft spot for villains — not just for the deeds they do, but for the emotions they feel and the creativity with which they solve problems. Understanding the difference in everyone’s perspective on good and evil informs the work she does today, conducting experiments to figure out how people respond to challenges in real life — and also in her fiction, which draws on her love of fantasy, science, and the human brain.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for a brand new weekly queer Dungeons & Dragons stream, every Saturday at 11am Pacific. Join me and Connor Olmstead, Brian Moreno, Justin Saint, Jen Vaughn, and my partner James as DM. We just started and now's a perfect time to join us at twitch.tv/prettyprettypixel.

And of course, I'm also doing twice-monthly hangouts on YouTube, where I chat with you about the books and movies and music and shows that you're obsessed with right now. There’s a link to the next one on the Sewers of Paris Twitter feed.

As always, huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards available to backers.

A Musical Theater Teen Factory (Ep 231 - Peter Pan/Marc Snetiker)

We never get back the time we spend in the closet, so once queer people come out we often have to find time to make up for lost time. But if you could go back, and enjoy the things you wanted to, what would you give yourself permission to love? My guest this week is Marc Snetiker, senior editor at Entertainment Weekly. It's a role where he has the freedom to chase the pop culture that he craved as kid and feared being found out for loving.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for a brand new weekly queer Dungeons & Dragons stream, every Saturday at 11am Pacific. Join me and Connor Olmstead, Brian Moreno, Justin Saint, Jen Vaughn, and my partner James as DM. We just started and now's a perfect time to join us at twitch.tv/prettyprettypixel.

And of course, I'm also doing twice-monthly hangouts on YouTube, where I chat with you about the books and movies and music and shows that you're obsessed with right now. The next one is on Saturday May 4 at 9am pacific, noon eastern with special guest Jaymes Mansfield from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

As always, huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards available to backers.

My First Gay Gasp (Ep 230 - Gilmore Girls & Nico Lang)

My guest this week has been through a lot -- growing up with caretakers who were processing a lot of pain, losing people he thought he could count on, confronting alarming mental illness, and learning far later than most people how to function in the world. Despite all that, Nico Lang's still here, still discovering what it means to be a functioning human being, and still working on understanding everything that happened to him and why.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for a brand new weekly queer Dungeons & Dragons stream, every Saturday at 11am Pacific. Join me and Connor Olmstead, Brian Moreno, Justin Saint, Jen Vaughn, and my partner James as DM. We just started and now's a perfect time to join us at twitch.tv/prettyprettypixel.

And of course, I'm also doing twice-monthly hangouts on YouTube, where I chat with you about the books and movies and music and shows that you're obsessed with right now. The next one is on Saturday April 27 at 9am pacific, noon eastern.

As always, huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards available to backers.

Humans Trying to Make Sense of God (Ep. 229: The Good Place & Ross Murray)

How do you reconcile two communities that have been at odds for as long as any of us have been alive? My guest this week is Ross Murray, Senior Director of the GLAAD Media Institute and the Naming Project, as well as a Lutheran Deacon. He felt from an early age that he was called to a life of service to the church, and was lucky enough to live in a bubble where his sexuality and his faith weren't in conflict. And now he's doing what he can to make that a reality for others.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for a brand new weekly queer Dungeons & Dragons stream, every Saturday at 11am Pacific. Join me and Connor Olmstead, Brian Moreno, Justin Saint, Jen Vaughn, and my partner James as DM. We just started and now's a perfect time to join us at twitch.tv/prettyprettypixel.

And of course, I'm also doing twice-monthly hangouts on YouTube, where I chat with you about the books and movies and music and shows that you're obsessed with right now. The next one is on Saturday April 27 at 9am pacific, noon eastern.

As always, huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards available to backers.

The Last Person Who Was Taught to Cruise (Ep. 228 - Roger Rabbit & John Leavitt)

My guest this week is busy fomenting revolution, but not without his spreadsheets. John Leavitt is an artist and community organizer pushing for the end of debt, plutocracy, and capitalism itself -- sometimes on the front lines of protests, but it turns out social upheaval also requires a lot of office work, and it doesn't hurt to have a wealthy patron or two. If that sounds like a bit of a throwback to a hundred years ago, it's because that's really where John feels the most at home, sometimes calling himself the last person to learn how to cruise in bushes before apps took over.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for a brand new weekly queer Dungeons & Dragons stream, every Saturday at 11am Pacific. Join me and Connor Olmstead, Brian Moreno, Justin Saint, Jen Vaughn, and my partner James as DM. We just started and now's a perfect time to join us at twitch.tv/prettyprettypixel.

And of course, I'm also doing twice-monthly hangouts on YouTube, where I chat with you about the books and movies and music and shows that you're obsessed with right now. The next one is on Saturday April 27 at 9am pacific, noon eastern.

As always, huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards available to backers.

Buffy is How I Found Friends (Ep. 227 - Buffy & Ray Goldberg)

My guest this week has honed a variety of superpowers -- among them a skill that so many queer people discover they have, assembling a logical family to achieve greatness that once seemed impossibly distant. Ray Goldberg is a content producer with the podcast Tabletop Potluck, and a screenwriter based in Chicago who had a series of life-defining revelations -- from finding happiness to finding themselves.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for a brand new weekly queer Dungeons & Dragons stream, every Saturday at 11am Pacific. Join me and Connor Olmstead, Brian Moreno, Justin Saint, Jen Vaughn, and my partner James as DM. We just started and now's a perfect time to join us at twitch.tv/prettyprettypixel.

And of course, I'm also doing twice-monthly hangouts on YouTube, where I chat with you about the books and movies and music and shows that you're obsessed with right now. The next one is on Saturday April 20 at 9am pacific, noon eastern.

As always, huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards available to backers.

You're Going to Have a Lot of Feelings (Ep. 226: Tobin Low & the Tonys)

A few weeks ago, I welcomed Kathy Tu to the Sewers of Paris -- she's the co-creator of the podcast Nancy from WNYC. And this week, we're chatting with Nancy's other parent, Tobin Low. He's a recovering cellist-turned-podcaster who realized he hated his career and needed to make a change for his own good. As a young queer person, Tobin got swept up in the fairytale love stories of rom-coms and wedding announcements, but life got messy when it turned out relationships aren't all storybook romances.

And BTW, I hope you'll join us for a brand new weekly queer Dungeons & Dragons stream, every Saturday at 11am Pacific. Join me and Connor Olmstead, Brian Moreno, Justin Saint, Jen Vaugn, and my partner James as DM. We just started and now's a perfect time to join us at twitch.tv/prettyprettypixel.

And of course, I'm also doing twice-monthly hangouts on YouTube, where I chat with you about the books and movies and music and shows that you're obsessed with right now. The next one is on Saturday April 6.

As always, huge thanks to everyone who makes The Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon.com/mattbaume to check out the rewards available to backers.