The Sewers of Paris

When it’s time to start a new life, how do you decide what to shed and what to keep? My guest this week is Matt Olshefski, also known as The Shirtless Violinist. He came to terms with being gay at a silent retreat, but after his family learned the truth he had to endure a hostile home life until he finally climbed out a window with only the things he could carry. These days, he’s gained fame online for music videos featuring gay love stories, but it took a lot of time to rebuild a new life that brought him the joy of creating art with the man he loves.

We'll have that conversation in a moment -- first, I want to let you know about new project I’ve just announced. You’ve probably me talk about my show Queens of Adventure, a comedy storytelling podcast where Drag Queens play Dungeons & Dragons. Well, for the first time ever we’re taking our cast on the road, bringing them to Chicago to record a dozen hours of new adventures with local drag artists and D&D shows in the midwest. There’s a Kickstarter underway to make the trip possible, and if you support the project now you can get some gorgeous nerdy-gay enamel pins, bonus episodes, and even guest on an episode of the show. The campaign ends on September 14.