My guest this week is Lucas Hilderbrand, author of the new book The Bars Are Ours, which provides a deep look at the history of gay bars. Before he launched into this intriguing field of study, Lucas bounced around queer culture for several years, looking for the place where he fit in — a journey that included a particularly traumatic experience in musical theater. And it’s probably not a surprise that his attention focused on the ways that queer people connect with each other, and the things that we lose when we lose institutions like gay bars.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a couple quick announcements, starting with a reminder that if you like this podcast, you’ll probably like my weekly newsletter where I share fun stories about the making of iconic movies and TV shows, as well as the fascinating people behind them. You can sign up at MattBaume.com.

Also, I’ve got a video coming your way on December 10 about the creation of 50s heartthrob Rock Hudson — and the group of secretly-gay men who designed an icon of American masculinity. That’s at YouTube.com/mattbaume.

And I hope you’ll join me for weekly livestreams over on Twitch every Sunday afternoon. This weekend we’ll be watching my favorite rom-com of all time, His Girl Friday, which started out as a play about two men before being gender-swapped to include the future Auntie Mame. That’s at twitch.tv/mattbaume, Sunday at noon pacific, 3pm eastern.

Also! If you haven’t yet, take a look at my new book about the history of queer characters on American sitcoms, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! — available now wherever books are sold, and a very pleasant holiday gift. Go to gaysitcoms.com for details and to get a signed copy.

Big thanks to everyone who makes all my work possible on Patreon — visit patreon.com/mattbaume to support Sewers of Paris and get patron-exclusive benefits.