If you happen to be in Toronto this weekend, you may want to find your way down to Massey Hall on Saturday night for a one-night-only performance called Och and Oy!, starring actor Alan Cumming and NPR correspondent Ari Shapiro. Their collaborative show is a mix of cabaret and storytelling, and to mark its debut, I’m diving into the Sewers archives to revisit my 2018 conversation with Ari Shapiro, who was then as now one of the hosts of NPR’s flagship show All Things Considered. As a journalist, Ari primarily tells other people's stories, but his own story is considerably is more winding than you might expect -- behind his calm voice is a man who spent time as an undocumented immigrant, who carried mace for protection in high school, and who might never have found his place on the radio if a gay icon hadn't intervened on his behalf.
We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a book coming out this May about the history of queer characters on sitcoms, from Bewitched to The Golden Girls to Friends. It’s called Hi Honey, I’m Homo. Pre-orders are open — and those pre-orders are so important, so if you’ve been meaning to get one in, now’s the time! Head over to gaysitcoms.com to reserve your copy.
And if you like pop culture history, check out my YouTube channel for tales from behind the scenes of iconic movies and TV shows! I just posted a video about the movie The Birdcage and its long winding journey to the screen, and I’ve got another coming soon about a gay couple that transformed the way television depicted queer people in the 1970s — and the psychiatrist who tried to stop them. Check those videos out at YouTube.com/mattbaume.
It Was All There in One Album (Ep 333 - Bette Midler/James Sie)
My Life Was a Game of Survivor (Ep 332 - School of Rock/Brian Falduto)
Queer People Everywhere (Ep 331 - Queer as Folk & Minari/Steven Wakabayashi)
Everyone is Gay (Ep 330 - Buffy & My So-Called Life/Kristin Russo)
The Queer Radical (Ep 329 - James Baldwin/Steven Bull)
I am Nerdy and Kinky (Ep. 328 - Pup Amp/Cosplay & Bondage)
When You Don’t Have Words to Say, You Sing (Ep 327 - Angels in America/Jonathan Blalock)
Attracted to Jesus (Ep 326 - Michelangelo & Judy Garland/Rob Urbinati)
I Prefer the Term "Enchanted" (Ep 325 - Joe/Bewitched)
Let me See Where I Can Fit In (Ep 324 - Clue/Urban Bohemian)
It Didn't Feel Real (Ep 323 - Jygglypuffdaddy/Gaming)
The Sewers of Paris Valentine's Day Special!
I Want to Smear Chocolate on my Body (Ep 322 - The Smiths/Timothy Siragusa)
A Special WandaVision Chat with Brett White!
A Professional Bee Botherer (Ep 320 - Lord of the Rings/Lewis Bartlett)
Wholesome Vibes (Ep 319 - Twitch/Blizzb3ar)
My Love of Death (Ep 318 - Dennis the Menace/Sheldon Goodman)
The Joke of Being Gay (Ep. 317 - Polyester & Arrested Development/Richard Day)
The Sewers of Paris Holiday Special Special: Catwoman, Eyes Wide Shut, Arianna Grande, and Gay Men's Choruses
The Queer Merman of London (Ep. 315 - The Little Mermaid/Sacha Coward)
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