Jess is joined by the filmmakers behind The Lesbian Bar Project (Erica Rose & Elina Street), a new TV docu-series inspired by the decline in women's queer spaces in the US (from 200 in the 1980s to under 25 today). The Lesbian Bar Project has evolved from a short film into a full-fledged TV series exec. produced by Lea DeLaria -- now airing on the Roku channel! -- showcasing the stories of queer bar owners and the spaces they have created. We go deep on how "gay bars" aren't just "bars" - bu...
Nov 14, 2022•50 min
Jess is joined by 5x Emmy-nominee SUDI GREEN for her work on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE! Sudi joined the writing staff of SNL at age 24, after becoming best friends with fellow NYU & UCB alumni Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers. Sudi discusses getting the SNL call, the highs and lows, her biggest f-up's on the job and the cultural shift of openly gay cast members. We also discuss NYU culture, writing the second season of I LOVE THAT FOR YOU, how 30 min comedies are actually dramas & a lot more! IG: @j...
Nov 07, 2022•55 min
Jess is joined by legendary drag performer Peaches Christ to analyze the legacy of the cult classic SHOWGIRLS and to answer the questions of why and how did this “masterpiece of sh*t” get made. Peaches Christ has been producing full-blown Showgirls drag theatrical extravaganzas in San Francisco for 20 years. Peaches also sheds insider light on Elizabeth Berkley’s Showgirls journey herself and also discusses camp classics DEATH BECOMES HER & HOCUS POCUS. IG @jessxnyc | @peacheschrist * uncomm...
Oct 31, 2022•46 min
Jess is joined by stand-up comedian Fortune Feimster! We chat about her time on CHELSEA LATELY, spending Thanksgiving with Jennifer Aniston at Chelsea Handler's house, auditioning for SNL 2x, Jeff Lewis pressuring Fortune to sell her house and meeting her wife at Chicago Pride. Plus, Tina Fey producing a show about her life, the nonsensical innerworkings of showbiz and naturally, THE L WORD. At the top of the episode, Jess addresses the manifestation of Jenna Lyons’ RHONY casting. IG: @jessxnyc ...
Oct 24, 2022•54 min
Jess is joined by Bruce Bozzi to answer the age-old question of who is Bruce Bozzi, and how does he fit into the Bravo zeitgeist? We chat about why he and best friend Andy Cohen never dated, his friendships with Madonna and Bethenny Frankel, Madonna's instagram and his wish to become the first gay Househusband / Housewife of Beverly Hills. We also discuss being the step-father to actress Billie Lourd, daughter of Carrie Fisher and his husband, Bryan Lourd - managing director & co-chairman of...
Oct 17, 2022•50 min
Jess is joined by writer/comedian Carolyn Bergier for an honest review and conversation around both Billy Eichner's "Bros" and Joel Kim Booster's "Fire Island." We review the movies, dissect the Twitter discourse, analyze the marketing and theorize why "Bros" failed at the box office. Jess attended an event with Billy Eichner and Harvey Fierstein the night before recording (Billy's first interview since his ~bad week~ on Twitter) and recaps that evening. We also discuss the true target audience ...
Oct 10, 2022•47 min
Jess is joined by Rich Juzwiak, senior writer at Jezebel, Slate advice columnist and co-host of Pot Psychology. Rich takes us inside the culture at GAWKER, the epicenter for Manhattan media news and gossip where he was a senior writer from 2012-2016. Gawker began as small blog founded in 2002, which grew into a full-fledged media company, before going bankrupt due to a $140 million legal judgement. We go deep on: Gawker Stalker, outings, dealing with nightmare publicists, Gawker's landmark artic...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Jess is joined by queer indie cinema queen, Guinevere Turner! Guinevere Turner wrote and starred in the breakout '90s film GO FISH which launched her career at the Sundance Film Festival. While at Sundance, she met CLERKS filmmaker Kevin Smith who based his film CHASING AMY on his friendship with Guinevere. She later went on to write the iconic Christian Bale film AMERICAN PSYCHO and launch THE L WORD where she wrote on several seasons, titled the show, created The Chart and played Alice's ex Ga...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr 12 min
Jess is joined by Tony Trius & Stefan Mreczko, hosts of MLVC: The Madonna Podcast, to chat about their favorite unreleased Madonna tracks across her different eras (80s, 90s, 00s). We also touch down on the gayness of the A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN TV series, status of the Madonna biopic, Tony's recent move to San Francisco, Stefan's work as our AND JUST LIKE THAT background actor correspondent and a lot more! IG: @jessxnyc | @mlvcpodcast
Sep 12, 2022•45 min
Jess is joined by the powerhouse Mother of Black Hollywood, the one and only Jenifer Lewis! Jenifer discusses living with DRAG RACE's Shangela (aka DJ Pierce) for 10 years, working with Bette Midler as a Harlette at the height of Bette's career, Whitney Houston and putting a con artist behind bars. Plus, appearing as the first Black person on FRIENDS, working with Molly Shannon and Matt Rogers on I LOVE THAT FOR YOU and a lot more! IG: @jessxnyc | @hottakesdeepdives...
Aug 29, 2022•41 min
Jess is joined by comedian, actor and Broadway star MARIO CANTONE! We go deep on his friendships with Michael Patrick King & Sarah Jessica Parker, critic & fan reaction to AND JUST LIKE THAT, not reading the script for SEX AND THE CITY 3, Willie Garson's death and the original plans for Stanford & Anthony's storyline. Plus, his impressions of Liza Minnelli & Julia Child, turning down THE LION KING on Broadway, his time at THE VIEW, Andy Cohen asking him to do a "LIFE ON THE D LIS...
Aug 15, 2022•51 min
Jess is joined by your fave Queer as Folk & L Word Historians, Damian Bellino & Anne Rodeman (You Might Know Her From), for a truly unhinged episode centered on the new Queer as Folk (Peacock). We review the QAF reimagining and discuss Kim Cattrall living out Miranda's storyline on And Just Like That, singing "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret and QAF filming at The Real World New Orleans' Belfort Mansion. Plus, Damian's take on Brian Kinney as a toxic villain, Melanie & Lindsay, The L W...
Aug 08, 2022•58 min
Jess is joined by Andy Bellatti (Astrology with Andy) to explore the unparalleled career and influence of pop songwriter-producer Max Martin. While pop stars come and go, Max Martin is the constant in the modern music era. We go through his many reinventions and flexibility with genre from the Britney, Backstreet Boys, NSync early days to his popified version of punk rock music with Pink, Kelly Clarkson & Katy Perry to his EDM era with Kesha, Usher, Demi Lovato & Britney (again) to his w...
Aug 01, 2022•47 min
Jess is joined by empath & intuitive Jamie Stein for a review of Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip season 2. We go inside Dorinda Medley's house of horrors to explore the pathology behind Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge, Brandi Glanville, Taylor Armstrong, Phaedra Parks, Eva Marcelle, Jill Zarin and of course the mistress of torture, Dorinda. Plus, Tamra's return to RHOC, Marco the Butler is an actor, why Dorinda & Jill dislike each other, Brandi charming us, Vicki motivating Jess to watc...
Jul 25, 2022•1 hr
Jess is joined by ROXANE GAY, best selling author (Bad Feminist & Hunger) and cultural commentator for a wild culture catchup. We discuss Roxane's desire to write for THE L WORD GEN Q, how she would have handled the Miranda/Che Diaz storyline on AND JUST LIKE THAT and her work as a writer/producer on the new QUEER AS FOLK. Plus, how Roxane’s wife chased (and won) her over, Shonda Rhimes vs. Aaron Sorkin's TV writing Masterclass, the Dorinda Medley “She’s Startin’” meme on QAF, Wanda Sykes on...
Jul 18, 2022•51 min
Jess is joined by Edward Russell, host of “Inside the Groove,” to dissect the stories behind a plethora of Madonna songs via the use of multi-tracks, demos, isolated vocals and interviews. We reveal the stories behind “Erotica,” “Deeper & Deeper,” “Vogue,” “Music,” “Don’t Tell Me,” “Hung Up” and "Live to Tell." Plus, discussion around unreleased songs, the Erotica album artwork, "Rain," “American Life,” and the polarizing “Bitch I’m Madonna.” IG: @jessxnyc | @hottakesdeepdives * feals.com/de...
Jul 11, 2022•52 min
Jess is joined by Damian Bellino & Anne Rodeman (You Might Know Her From), to discourse on the films that defined our young gay cultural experience. Movies discussed include: The Broken Hearts Club, Gia, Fame, American Psycho, Set It Off, The Talented Mr. Ripley, But I'm A Cheerleader, Carol, Fried Green Tomatoes and a LOT more. Plus a major deep dive into Chasing Amy and Kissing Jessica Stein. Finally, we play rounds of Star or Actress with Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Beals, Matt Damon, Ben Af...
Jun 28, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Jess is joined by legendary Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto! Musto discusses the origin of outing, psychology of blind items, how an unknown Madonna prevented him from sound-checking with his band in 1982, Gaga's Oscar campaign for House of Gucci and the trouble he got into after Andy Warhol's funeral. He also dishes on Malcolm Forbes, camp John Waters, Fran Lebowitz, getting banned from Twitter and the annoying parts of being a conduit to people becoming fabulous. IG: @jessxnyc | @...
Jun 20, 2022•50 min
Jess is joined by Fire Island scene stealer and leading man of Las Culturistas, Long Island's own Matt Rogers! Jess and Matt discuss growing up on LI, the death-trap amusement park Action Park and Cherry Grove vs The Pines. Matt gives behind the scenes tea on Fire Island, ie: improv’d scenes, filming on/off island and alternate titles for the film. Plus, Joel Kim Booster advising Las Culturistas to lay off the Housewives talk, Matt auditioning for (and nearly getting) SNL, attending a Countess L...
Jun 13, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Jess is joined by Ryan Bailey (So Bad It’s Good) and Jamie Stein (empath/intuitive AND former Assoc. Editor on four seasons of The Real World), for the final act of our NoLa Homecoming trilogy! Jess, Ryan & Jamie come together to analyze the production & editing and discuss picks for next Homecoming city. We take a psycho-spiritual look at Julie’s pathology, Julie+Jamie, Julie’s husband (!), Matt’s suppressed anger, and the cast’s clear distrust of production. Listen : Inside Real World'...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Jess is joined by the flashy girl from Flushing... FRAN DRESCHER! Fran chats about her best friendship with Rosie O'Donnell, Rosie using The Nanny's opening credit animation for her talk show, The Nanny's campy gay sensibility, working with Trump on his guest role and why Barbra Streisand never appeared. Plus, Fran's relationship with her gay ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson and a lot more! IG: @jessxnyc | @hottakesdeepdives * dipseastories.com * code deepdives
May 31, 2022•38 min
Jess is joined by Danny Roberts (Real World: New Orleans instant MTV icon) for his second appearance! This time Danny spills all the behind the scenes Homecoming tea, including: the orchestration of Paul's return, the fact that Julie's agent was her mother, Julie's narcissism, Danny on Matt’s Catholic dogma and the production behind what really happened at the gay bar that night. [45:00] We then revisit Danny's first appearance where he discusses the audition & filming process, the Paul rela...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 33 min
Jess is a joined by a career fitness professional to go inside the culture of his former cycling studio employer, while Jess shares her personal experience with SoulCycle. We go deep on: lack of certifications required to teach spin, the “training programs” at different studios, instructors abusing drugs, sexual accusations from riders and the “God Complex” cult of personality these studios cultivate. Plus, stories from Equinox/Soul corporate re: the Stephen Ross bombshell, the Peloton fall-out ...
May 16, 2022•57 min
Jess is joined by the OG of RHONY, Jill Zarin (and daughter Ally!), for a Mother's Day Special in which Jill doles out advice, Secrets of a Jewish Mother-style. First we get into Jill's reaction to the RHONY split and upcoming Housewives Berkshires Girls Trip. Then, Jill & Ally answer questions related to dating, relationships and friendships including: the Instagram follow in dating, deleting and rewriting your profile on the apps, how Jill would feel if Ally fell in love with a non-Jewish ...
May 04, 2022•53 min
Jess is joined by Gary Janetti, best known for writing/producing Will & Grace, Family Guy and being married to Brad Goreski! Gary discusses meeting a 23 year-old Brad Goreski while on vacation in Mykonos and turning it into a 20+ year relationship, writing Will & Grace, working on Britney & Madonna's guest appearances and the sexual ambiguity of Family Guy's Stewie. Plus, TripAdvisor reviews, Gary's travel tips, gay restaurants, anticipating RHOBH + a lot more! IG: @jessxnyc | @garyj...
May 02, 2022•52 min
Jess is joined by Real World: New Orleans' breakout fave, Melissa Beck! Melissa chats about her journey through the MTV machine from auditioning, filming for five months (OG show), paid just $5,000 total. Post-MTV, Melissa discusses trying to make it in comedy and getting cast on Girls Behaving Badly alongside an unknown Chelsea Handler. Plus, the impact of “Come On Be My Baby Tonight,” how Mariah Carey informed Melissa's biracial identity (Black & Filipino), converting to Judaism and nearly...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr
Jess is joined by Zack Peter for a deep dive into the waters of Bethenny’s one season talk show. We review her episodes with Kim Richards, Ramona stealing the dress, Luann, Tracy Anderson, Andy Cohen as well as bizarre yet fascinating segments with audience members. We also discuss B's manic podcast, the time Jess called into Bethenny's SiriusXM show, Jason & Bryn Hoppy and do a tight 5 on good eyebrows. Zack also recaps his “Spilling Tea Live” shows in LA and Nashville feat. Tom Sandoval, T...
Apr 18, 2022•55 min
Jess is joined by JUDY GOLD, Emmy-winning writer/producer for The Rosie O’Donnell Show and NYC stand-up fixture over the last two decades. Judy chats about Joan Rivers, Janeane Garofalo and Rosie’s talk show vs. Ellen. Plus, Madonna using Judy's son as a stand-in for baby Lourdes Leon, meeting her partner via a Time Out New York dating ad, reality stars (Countess Luann, Stormy Daniels) doing cabaret/stand-up and a lot more! IG: @jessxnyc | @hottakesdeepdives | @jewdygold...
Apr 11, 2022•45 min
Jess is joined by RHONY's Leah McSweeney (aka LeahMob)!! Leah chats about everything including growing up in Chelsea club-kid culture, sex with girls in high school, her love (and concern) for Britney, Madonna & Courtney Love at the VMAs, experiences in rehab, psych wards and dating a married couple. We also discuss Bethenny quitting RHONY right before Leah started, friendship with Kelly Cutrone and her reaction to cast-mates' comments in Not All Diamonds and Rosé. IG @jessxnyc , @hottakesde...
Apr 04, 2022•47 min
Wow, RHONY, Wow. Jess is joined by writer/comedians (and co-hosts of the pod Dyking Out), Melody Kamali & Carolyn Bergier, to react to the breaking news of RHONY being split into two shows. We discuss why the new RHONY should be built around style icon Jenna Lyons, plus the Carole Radziwill / Samantha Ronson connection. We also discuss Carolyn & Melody's foiled attempt to get Sara Ramirez to appear as Che Diaz at their Stonewall stand-up show, news of And Just Like That's season two rene...
Mar 28, 2022•46 min
