Welcome back to the Sewers of Paris. Thanks for your patience during the brief pause in the podcast during the month of June — and now I’m delighted to get back behind the mic for more conversations about the entertainment that changed the lives of queer people. On tonight’s episode:
My guest this week is Manuel Betancourt, whose new book of essays about hunks, heartthrobs, and what pop culture taught him about men — and the desire for them. Manuel’s found his way through a series of re-inventions, moving from Colombia to Canada to New York and California, each time deciding to try out a new life as he zeroed in on the one that fits best — one that, it turns out, includes naked garden parties.
We’ll have that conversation in a minute. But first — you may have heard that I too have a new book out! It’s about the behind-the-scenes history of queer characters on sitcoms, and the role that comedy played in queer liberation — and continues to play to this day. It’s called Hi Honey, I’m Homo! and it’s available now wherever books are sold. I can even sign and personalize your copy before shipping it to you — just go to gaysitcoms.com and look for the instructions for ordering a signed copy.
Also if you’re a fan of queer culture, and I’m sure you are, don’t forget to swing by my YouTube channel for my videos about film and TV history. That’s at YouTube.com/mattbaume — and I’ve got a new video premiering this weekend all about Norman Lear that I think you’ll love. You can also subscribe to my email newsletter for weekly dispatches, and join me every Sunday for livestreams over on Twitch at twitch.tv/mattbaume — on the last livestream, we watched clips from a bunch of my favorite failed TV show pilots, and there’s lots more to watch on the next one.
Oh and one more thing — I’ve added two new free features to my Patreon. The first is a free tier that gets monthly Q&A videos where I respond to questions and clips sent in by folks like you. And the second is a free trial, so you can watch hundreds of Patreon-exclusive bonus videos for a week, and then decide if you want to stick around. You can check out the Patreon at patreon.com/mattbaume.
It Was a Mindf**k (Ep 294 - Carol Channing/Terry LaBolt)
The Manic Fervor of a Tennessee Williams Heroine (Ep 293 - Sunset Blvd/Dashiell M. Silva)
Legendary Slumber Parties (Ep 292 - Greenwich Village/Robert Patrick)
Strip Mall Hypnosis (Ep. 291 - Clan of the Cave Bear/Michael Hobbes)
A Really Accomplished Fake (Ep. 290 - Video games & Radiohead/Daniel Villareal)
We Were Too Busy Being Gay (Ep. 289 - Stonewall/Tree)
The Pack Rat (Ep. 288 - Norman Lear/Steven Capsuto)
Superheroes Are Basically Naked (Ep. 287 - Marc Andreyko/Moonlighting)
Fairies and Mortals Can't Get Married (Ep. 286 - Dee Michel/The Wizard of Oz)
It Started as a Sexy Fun Project (Ep. 285 - Amos Mac/Original Plumbing)
Kind of Right & Kind of Wrong (Ep. 284 - Seth Rudetsky & Broadway)
I Paid my Dues, Baby (Ep. 283 - Charles Busch/Vampire Lesbians of Sodom)
The Night Australian TV Lost its Virginity (Ep. 282 - Number 96/Andrew Mercado)
Dream Role, Dream Show (Ep. 281 - Hedwig/Trystan Reese)
Don't Make Superman TOO Sexy (Ep. 280 - Joeboys/Joe Phillips)
Connect, Not Just Sex (Ep. 279 - Luis Buñuel/Dale Lazarov)
The Most Expensive Flop in History (Ep. 278 - Madeline Kahn/William V. Madison)
Failed Mystics (Ep. 277: Buffy, X-Men, He-Man, and Lwaxana Troi)
Queer People Before There Were Queer People (Ep. 276 - X-Men/Mike Ciriaco)
My Mentor was a Murderer (Ep. 275 - Muppet Show/Dan Steadman)
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