Into The Mud Podcast

What if joy is the most radical form of resistance we have? In this deeply moving episode of Into the Mud, Drew and Alex welcome Mila Jam, recording artist, activist, author, and self-described “pretty pop artivist,” for a conversation about choosing joy in a world that often tries to erase it. Mila opens up about growing up Southern Baptist, finding refuge in theatre, and becoming a proud trans woman who leads with joy as both a personal practice and a political act. Together, they explore trans visibility, pronouns, burnout, rest as resistance, and the daily rituals that help Mila protect her light during an increasingly hostile cultural moment. With honesty, humor, and heart, this episode is a reminder that standing in your truth and doing so joyfully is itself an act of defiance.

Bio: Mila Jam is an American trans singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and LGBTQ+ activist. Best known for her powerful blend of pop music and advocacy, Mila first gained attention through her viral YouTube performances and later toured internationally with Broadway’s Rent. Her discography includes singles like Faces, Twilight Zone, and Eye on You, and her work centers on themes of self-acceptance, identity, and queer empowerment. A celebrated performer on stages from BBC to MTV, Mila uses her art to elevate trans visibility and celebrate radical joy in the face of societal barriers.

Mila’s Social Media: @TheMilaJam

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Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

Marc Shaiman, the legendary composer and lyricist behind Hairspray, Mary Poppins Returns, When Harry Met Sally…, Sister Act, and countless other cultural touchstones, gets deeply muddy about the whiplash of success, the grief that shaped his artistry, and why even a dream career does not protect you from disappointment. From Marie’s Crisis to the AIDS crisis, from Bette Midler to Broadway, this conversation is raw, hilarious, and profoundly moving. The episode features unforgettable snippets and wild stories pulled straight from Marc’s new memoir, Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner, available everywhere January 27, but to hear the full stories, you'll just have to read the book.

Bio: Marc Shaiman is a Tony, Grammy, and Emmy-winning American composer, lyricist, arranger, and music producer known for his vast body of work in film, television, and theater. He began his career as a musical director and arranger for Bette Midler before rising to prominence with scores for iconic films such as When Harry Met Sally…, The Addams Family, Sister Act, City Slickers, Sleepless in Seattle, The American President, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and Mary Poppins Returns. On Broadway, he co-wrote the music and lyrics for Hairspray and collaborated with Scott Wittman on Catch Me If You Can, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Some Like It Hot, and the stage adaptation of Smash. Shaiman has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards and has won a Tony, two Emmys, and two Grammys for his prolific and emotionally resonant work. 

His career also spans celebrated television work and creative partnerships with some of entertainment’s biggest names. In television he has contributed to Saturday Night Live, multiple Academy Awards broadcasts, and shows like Only Murders in the Building, and he has produced and arranged for artists including Harry Connick Jr., Mariah Carey, and more. Born in New Jersey, Shaiman continues to shape the sound of American entertainment with a blend of musical theater sensibility and cinematic storytelling.

Marc's Social Media: @Marc_Shaiman

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For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

Tony Award winner Julie Halston joins Into the Mud for a deeply moving and hilarious conversation about grief, caregiving, and turning loss into lasting advocacy. From surviving the AIDS crisis and losing her husband to pulmonary fibrosis to founding Broadway Belts and raising millions for research, Julie reflects on how comedy, community, and purpose carried her through life’s darkest chapters. This episode is a powerful reminder that even in grief, connection can save your life.

Bio: Julie Halston is a celebrated actress and comedian whose career spans Broadway, television, and film. Her Broadway credits include Tootsie, Hairspray, Gypsy, Anything Goes, On the Town, Twentieth Century, and more, and she is widely known to TV audiences for her iconic role as Bitsy von Muffling on Sex and the City and And Just Like That…

Beyond the stage and screen, Julie is a dedicated advocate and humanitarian. She is the co-founder of Broadway Belts for PFF!, an annual event that has raised millions of dollars for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation following the loss of her husband, Ralph Howard, to the disease. For her extraordinary advocacy and service to the theatre community, she was honored with the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award, joining the ranks with such acclaimed artists as Bernadette Peters, Stephen Schwartz, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Rosie O’Donnell, Eve Ensler, and David Hyde Pierce.

Julie’s Social Media: @ActressJulieHalston

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For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

Rev. Micah Bucey, senior minister of Judson Memorial Church, joins Into the Mud for a deeply expansive conversation as Drew and Alex, who do not identify as religious, bring genuine curiosity to the roots of Christianity and spirituality and how they’ve been distorted by MAGA Christianity and white Christian nationalism. Together, they explore how faith has been weaponized in America, how it can also be reclaimed as a force for justice and repair, and why humility and wonder matter more than rigid belief. This episode is ultimately about protecting the most endangered among us without letting our hearts rot.

Bio: Be the glitter you wish to see in the world. 

Rev. Micah Bucey is a passionately progressive faith leader, writer, and minister at Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village. A regular contributor to Spirituality & Practice, Micah is the author of The Book of Tiny Prayer(Fordham University Press) and is widely known for exploring the intersections of expansive spirituality, radical social justice, and unfettered creativity. Ordained in the Christian tradition but grounded in an interspiritual approach, Micah’s work centers artists as modern-day prophets, embraces curiosity over certainty, and boldly reclaims the revolutionary, inherently queer roots of Christianity.

Micah’s Social Media: @RevMicahB, www.MicahBucey.com, www.Judson.org

Follow along at @IntoTheMudPodcast on all platforms!
For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

Dating is hard enough, but for drag queens, finding love comes with an entirely different set of challenges. In this episode of Into the Mud, Pixie Aventura (aka Cesar Villavicencio) gets honest about what it’s actually like to date as a drag queen. He walks through the six biggest obstacles he’s encountered in relationships, including fetishization, intimidation, internalized homophobia, and the challenge of being seen as a persona instead of a person. This conversation is funny, vulnerable, and deeply real, touching on the struggles of queer dating, intimacy, and how to stay open to love in a dating culture that feels impossible.

Bio: Pixie Aventura (aka Cesar Villavicencio) is a Miami-raised and New York City–based drag performer, host, and nightlife fixture with more than a decade of experience in the NYC drag scene. Pixie is a longtime staple at iconic venues including Barracuda, Industry, Therapy (RIP), and on Fire Island, and currently hosts weekly and recurring shows at Industry and G Lounge. During the pandemic, Pixie created and produced the digital series Drag Me Out, which reached a wide online audience and spotlighted drag artists during COVID. Known for high-energy performances that blend comedy, music, and audience interaction, Pixie continues to be a leading presence in New York nightlife.

Pixie’s Social Media: @PixieAventura

Follow along at @IntoTheMudPodcast on all platforms!
For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

In this raw and unfiltered episode of Into the Mud, Alex opens up about her fresh two-day-old breakup and the emotional whiplash of grieving a future she thought she had. Drew and Alex break down heartbreak in real time — confusion, somatics, rejection spirals, coping strategies, and the messy, human work of choosing yourself when everything hurts. 

Bio: Alex is a New York based comedian by way of Chicago and Boston whose bold and whip smart standup delights crowds across the US. Credits: The Comedy Cellar, New York Comedy Club, NBC’s "That Clip Show: Holiday Edition”, 2021 season of Comedy Central Standup Featuring.

Bio: Originally from Massachusetts, Drew is a Broadway dancer, actor and writer living in New York City. Credits: Broadway’s “Tootsie” and “On the 20th Century”, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, Ryan Murphy’s “Feud: Capote VS The Swans”, The Tony Awards, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Saturday Night Live, and the 2021 Met Gala.

Follow along at @IntoTheMudPodcast on all platforms!
For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

In this deeply honest conversation, singer-songwriter Ben Abraham opens up about the highs and lows of his career — from major-label deals, Grammy-stage moments, and writing with artists like Kesha, to getting dropped, starting over at 40, and redefining what artistic success means. Together, Ben, Drew, and Alex get muddy about the tender work of finding joy again when the industry breaks your heart — and how returning to the purity of making art can reshape everything.

Bio: Ben Abraham is an award-winning Australian singer-songwriter celebrated for his emotive vocals, cinematic songwriting, and cross-genre collaborations. Originally from Melbourne, he first emerged on the international scene with his debut album released through Secretly Canadian—the influential indie label behind artists such as Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers. His songwriting quickly attracted industry attention, leading to a major-label deal with Atlantic Records and the release of Friendly Fire, a critically acclaimed and deeply personal sophomore album. Abraham’s work includes high-profile collaborations with global artists, most notably co-writing Kesha’s Grammy-nominated hit “Praying” and performing with her at the Grammy Awards. Now based in Los Angeles, he continues to compose, record, and perform worldwide.

Ben’s Social Media: @BenBenAbraham, www.BenAbrahamMusic.com

Follow along at @IntoTheMudPodcast on all platforms!
For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, authors of acclaimed photography books Loving and Loving II, get muddy about what it means to build visibility when your history was never written. They have spent more than 25 years excavating and reconstructing a queer past the world tried to erase. Through 4000+ intimate photographs of men in love from 1850–1950, they’ve pieced together a lineage that proves queer love has always existed — even when it wasn’t documented. This episode is a conversation about erasure, resilience, and the power of finding yourself in the eyes of people who lived even a century ago. 

Bio: Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell are the couple behind the internationally celebrated Nini-Treadwell Collection, a 25-year archive of more than 4,000 photographs documenting romantic love between men from the 1850s to the 1950s. Texas natives who met in 1992, Hugh—formerly a longtime ballet academy owner and artistic director—and Neal—an art-trained creative with a career spanning apparel, cattle, and cosmetics—accidentally began collecting after discovering a single 1927 photo in a Dallas antique shop. Their groundbreaking books Loving and Loving 2 have reframed how queer history is seen and understood, revealing a lineage of tenderness, partnership, and resilience long erased from public record. Through exhibitions, talks, and their ongoing archival work, Hugh and Neal are committed to rescuing overlooked stories and proving what has always been true: queer love has existed everywhere, across every era, even when the world refused to acknowledge it. 

Hugh and Neal’s Social Media: @LovingByNealAndHugh, www.Loving1000.org

Follow along at @IntoTheMudPodcast on all platforms!
For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

Tony Award–winning writer Robert Horn (Tootsie, Shucked, Hercules) gets muddy about aging, later-in-life success, and staying funny through rejection. In this candid and hilarious conversation, Robert opens up about his wild journey from an orphanage to Broadway, turning trauma into comedy, navigating fame in the social-media era, and learning to embrace getting older with humor and grace. Equal parts heart and hysteria, this one’s a masterclass in creative resilience. 

Bio: Robert Horn is an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer whose career spans television, film, and Broadway. A New York native, he studied theatre at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and at the Circle in the Square Theatre School, then relocated to Los Angeles where he launched his industry career with writing and producing roles on shows like Designing Women and Living Single. Over time he expanded into film and musicals, contributing to popular projects including Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie franchise.

On Broadway, Horn truly made his mark as the book writer for the hit musical Tootsie, which earned him the 2019 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. He also wrote for musicals such as Shucked and 13, collaborating with composers and artists to bring bold stories to the stage. His trajectory—from television comedy writer to celebrated Broadway storyteller—highlights his versatility, wit, and commitment to blending humor with real emotional stakes in every medium.

Robert’s Social Media: @RHorn1

Follow along at @IntoTheMudPodcast on all platforms!
For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com

When the government pulls Jimmy Kimmel off the air, what does that mean for comedy — and for free speech? In this raw and fiery episode, comedian Jay Jurden (The Problem with Jon Stewart, The Tonight Show) joins Drew and Alex to get muddy about censorship, courage, and comedy’s role in calling out power. From Lenny Bruce to late-night, this conversation proves that laughter is still one of the loudest forms of resistance.

Bio: Jay Jurden is a New York–based comedian, writer, and actor originally from Jackson, Mississippi. A graduate of the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama’s MFA Acting program, Jay has become one of the sharpest voices in stand-up today, known for his fearless wit and incisive takes on identity, politics, and power. He’s appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Corden, After Midnight, and HBO’s High Maintenance, and currently serves as a staff writer for The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+.

Named one of Variety’s “10 Comics to Watch,” Jay’s writing has been featured in The New Yorker, Vulture, McSweeney’s, and Teen Vogue, and his debut comedy album Jay Jurden, Y’all hit #1 on iTunes. His highly anticipated first comedy special, Yes, Ma’am, premieres November 7 on Hulu, showcasing his signature blend of razor-sharp humor, vulnerability, and unapologetic truth-telling. Follow Jay @jayjurden across platforms for tour dates, new work, and daily doses of brilliance.

Jay’s Social Media: @JayJurden, www.JayJurden.com

Follow along at @IntoTheMudPodcast on all platforms!
For the visual version, follow along on YouTube!

Your Hosts: Alex Kumin (@Alex.Kumin) and Drew King (@DrewKingNYC). 

Contributing Editors: Manthan Baldha, Sarah Webb (@SWAudioPost) and Drew King.

Filmed and recorded at @TheMalin in New York City.

www.IntoTheMudPodcast.com