Everything & Anything...and a bit gay Podcast

Zach Randles-Friedman
  • 4.8 (58)
  • Relationships
  • Updated Daily

Queer-hosted and unapologetically curious. We cover everything and anything — and yes, it's a bit gay.

  1. 14h ago

    Ep. 333: The Gay Bit: LinkedIn Is the New Dating App — Thirst Traps, Scam Texts & Matchmaking

    Is LinkedIn secretly the hottest dating app out there? On this week’s Gay Bit, Zach Randles-Friedman ends the week super gay with a campy deep dive into the world’s most “professional” social network, where the job posts are depressing, the headshots are suspiciously gorgeous, and the scammers never sleep. In this episode: The LGBTQ+ Professionals group: Why Zach and a friend trade screenshots of impossibly hot “just introducing myself” posts, and whether some of these men are AI (spoiler: one wasn’t)Zach the matchmaker: The time he slid into a stranger’s LinkedIn DMs to set up his friend Greg, and why an open relationship in another city was a dealbreakerEquinox Seaport flashbacks: Feeling like a 4 among perfect 10s at 5:30 a.m., plus the mystery of barefoot and shirtless gym guysLinkedIn’s sad era: Layoff posts, overshare culture, AI-polished resumes, and why LinkedIn is starting to feel a little too FacebookyVetting your date: Only about one in five people say they use LinkedIn mainly for job hunting — many are using it to check whether that “Fortune 500 CEO” from the bar is legitSpam folder safari: 1,317 unread spam emails, domain buyers, fake delivery notices, and the long-lost princeWrong-number texts: “Grace” thinks she’s texting Zach’s husband Andrew, and a surprise Australian call that turns out to be an MLM pitchThe big idea: A blind-date matchmaking app — answer a questionnaire, get matched, meet at a coffee shop in Somerville without ever seeing a photoPlus: Google yourself after this episode. You might be surprised. Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Ep. 333: The Gay Bit: LinkedIn Is the New Dating App — Thirst Traps, Scam Texts & Matchmaking

  2. 1d ago

    Ep. 332: Dr. Frankie Bashan on Ghosting, Dating App Burnout & Finding Real LGBTQ+ Love

    Why does everyone ghost? Why do dating apps feel like a hamster wheel? And is there still a way to find real, lasting love in the LGBTQ+ community? Zach sits down with Dr. Frankie Bashan, clinical psychologist, certified sex therapist, and founder of Little Gay Book, one of the nation's leading LGBTQ+ matchmaking agencies. Since 2009, Dr. Frankie has combined her psychology training with a lifelong knack for setting people up, building a matchmaking service with an 80–85% success rate. They get real about the state of modern dating: ghosting, gamified apps, AI-filtered photos, scam profiles pushing you to WhatsApp, and why so many people keep swiping in search of someone "a little bit better." Dr. Frankie shares how the matchmaking process actually works, why feedback within 24 hours changes everything, her take on open relationships and polyamory, and the most meaningful transformations she's seen in her sex therapy practice.  Little Gay Book (LGBTQ+): https://littlegaybook.comLittle Black Book Matchmaking: https://littleblackbookmatchmaking.com Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Ep. 332: Dr. Frankie Bashan on Ghosting, Dating App Burnout & Finding Real LGBTQ+ Love

  3. 2d ago

    Ep. 331: Behind the Bravo Edit: Timothy Hedden on Dead Housewives of Philadelphia

    What happens when a Real Housewives editor decides to kill off the Housewives himself? Timothy Hedden has spent 25 years behind the scenes of reality TV, cutting Real Housewives of Atlanta, New Jersey, and Potomac, plus Mob Wives. Now he's channeled all of it into his debut novel, Dead Housewives of Philadelphia, a campy, dark-comedy murder mystery out today. And this is his very first podcast interview. Timothy's path to the edit bay was anything but direct: a would-be actor kicked off the set of Law & Order, a fur salesman at Saks Fifth Avenue, a stand-up comic, and a 38-year-old production assistant at the Food Network before working his way from audience coordinator to editor. He opens up to Zach about meeting the Housewives, why the shows have become so formulaic, and why the women on screen are far more than the characters they play. He also shares, with remarkable candor, his life as a long-term HIV survivor: diagnosed in 1988, a drug trial that saved his life, the moment he told his mother, and why a run-in with a young guy at Pride pushed him to write his award-winning essay The AIDS Dinosaur. In this episode: 25 years in reality TV and meeting Kenya Moore, Phaedra, Teresa, Dolores, and moreWhy Dolores is the inspiration for one of the book's charactersMob Wives, Big Ang, and the night Timothy and his husband ended up on cameraFrom Food Network PA to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to Housewives editorThe prime-time shoot that made him quit producingMeeting his husband of 20 years after a dramatic gym transformationWriting as a dyslexic author, and his first novel that almost got publishedLiving with HIV since the '80s and the life insurance policy he bought to cover his own funeralThe drug trial at Rockefeller University that saved his lifePrEP, condoms, and what younger gay men don't understand about the epidemicInside Dead Housewives of Philadelphia: Bailey, Skylar, a séance, and a ratings stunt gone wrongHis dream cast, and why Kenya Moore should play ErinRunning into Andy Cohen after a week of editing his footageWhy reality stars are real people, and why we all need a page-turner right nowLinks: Dead Housewives of Philadelphia: https://deadhousewives.com/ Timothy Hedden: https://www.instagram.com/heddenwrites/   https://heddenwrites.com/ Buy the book an Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HH8XG8HV  Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Ep. 331: Behind the Bravo Edit: Timothy Hedden on Dead Housewives of Philadelphia

  4. 4d ago

    Ep. 330: This Is Everything: Why Is Everyone So Tired? Doom Scrolling, Bad News & Finding Joy

    In this solo This Is Everything episode, Zach Randles-Friedman takes on the exhaustion so many people are feeling right now. He talks about doom scrolling and a news cycle that feels like a horror show. He covers a job market where AI-polished applications flood every listing, grocery prices that jumped his weekly Instacart order from $200 to $312, and a McDonald's hot fudge sundae that now costs $6.99 on DoorDash. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Zach reacts to Senator Tuberville's "furry pilots" claims, to rhetoric targeting trans people, and to calls for violence against queer people. He also explains why he believes the November midterms matter so much. Through it all, he finds signs of hope: strangers being a little kinder, a TikTok plant auction that brings him joy, and the comfort of good friends. He closes with simple ways to feel better, including limiting screen time, volunteering, FaceTiming with a heads-up, sending voice notes, guarding your social battery, and getting help when you need it. It's a candid reminder that if you're in a funk, you're not alone. Intro music by Six Foot Five. Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Ep. 330: This Is Everything: Why Is Everyone So Tired? Doom Scrolling, Bad News & Finding Joy

  5. 5d ago

    Ep. 329: Kiko Zhang on Chomp, Belonging, and Building a More Honest Internet

    What do people really think when no one is watching? Startup founder Kiko Zang joins Zach to talk about the gap between how we perform online and what we actually believe, and why she's betting $3.6 million on closing it. Born in China and sent to an all-girls boarding school in small-town New Zealand at just 12, Kiko grew up as one of only a handful of Asian people in town. She opens up about the questions, the exclusion, and the moments of outright hostility that shaped her, including a story she's never shared publicly before. From there, her path winds through jazz conservatory, USC, the H-1B lottery, seven years in Shanghai, and a year and a half in Singapore. Now she's building Chomp, an app that asks you what you think and what you think everyone else thinks. The results are often surprising: Zach guesses wrong on both questions Kiko puts to him live on the show. In this episode: Growing up Chinese in a town of 50,000 on New Zealand's South IslandWhy her parents sent her abroad, and why she's not mad about itRacism, ignorance, and becoming "prickly" as protectionWhy "being different" may be the most universal experience there isZach on once wishing he were straight, and why he'd never trade it nowHow social media rewards people for pretending to be authenticThe perception-versus-reality gap, and how algorithms make the world seem more extreme than it isWould you cheat for $100,000? The surprising Chomp answerSaying "I love you" in the first month: red flag or green flag? 93% say greenThe couple who hit a 100-day streak answering Chomp questions togetherWhy brand partnerships hurt user enthusiasmKiko's bigger vision: a more honest internet and AI that understands lived experienceTexting after a first date, and whether phone calls are now a "what the f—" momentWhy Kiko held her wedding in New ZealandLinks: Chomp: https://chomp.fyi/ https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chomp-can-you-read-the-room/id6758931572 Follow Kiko: https://www.instagram.com/kikochomps/ 500 users to receive 1 month free https://apps.apple.com/redeem?ctx=offercodes&id=6758931572&code=EVERYTHINGCHOMPS    Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Ep. 329: Kiko Zhang on Chomp, Belonging, and Building a More Honest Internet

  6. Oct 2

    Ep. 328: The Gay Bit: Reading My DMs — Heartwarming, Hilarious & Unhinged Messages From Listeners

    and Facebook and finds thousands of unread DMs waiting for him. After wading through the Nigerian princes, SEO pitches, and spam, he pulls out the real ones and reads them on air, Jimmy Kimmel mean-tweets style, except not all of them are mean. In this episode: Why Zach ignores most comments, and the one thing that always gets a clapback (anyone coming for trans people)A listener who has walked 600 miles and lost 11 pounds to the show after a bad breakupThe commuter who missed an exit, drove 11 extra miles, and blamed "traffic"A 24-year-old's "not flirtatious" career inquiry, and Zach's honest advice on starting a podcastA 58-year-old who came out to their kids in January and just wanted someone to knowListening in a truck with the windows up in a town of 3,000: why it feels like somewhere to goThe first thing one listener could get through after losing their momFive-point "constructive feedback" that's really a backhanded love letterA testosterone supplement pitch from someone who isn't sure the show is what he thought it wasShout-out to Six Foot Five, the artist behind the intro musicA listener who disagrees with everything Zach believes but keeps listening because he sounds like their Uncle RayWill there ever be a co-host again? (No.) An in-person show? (Maybe, Oprah, call him.)"The call is coming from inside the condo," the comment that roasted Zach's gay voice episodeWhy Zach covers transgender news so often, and why every part of the LGBTQ+ community should careHave a question? Email Zach at zach@everythingandanythingpodcast.com. Comments can still go to the DMs; he'll get to them eventually. Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Ep. 328: The Gay Bit: Reading My DMs — Heartwarming, Hilarious & Unhinged Messages From Listeners

  7. Oct 1

    Ep. 327: Julie Ryan on Medical Intuition, Past Lives & Spirit Talk: The Buffet of Psychicness

    What happens when a surgical device inventor and serial entrepreneur discovers she can "see" inside the human body from across the world? Zach sits down with Julie Ryan — medical intuitive, psychic medium, author of eight books, and host of the Ask Julie Ryan show — for a wide-ranging conversation about what she calls "the buffet of psychicness." Julie shares how a birthday gift of Caroline Myss's Anatomy of the Spirit sent her on a 30-year journey from hospital supply sales rep to one of the most recognized intuitive healers working today. She explains how she scans people energetically (with permission, always), why she believes nobody ever heals anybody else, and how a jar of Dippity-Do became one of her favorite healing analogies. The conversation moves into end-of-life experiences and her "12 phases of transition," the reason her book Angelic Attendance is now handed out by churches, hospices, and military chaplains, and her belief that nobody ever dies alone. Zach opens up about his late mother-in-law, Irene, and the quarters that keep appearing — and Julie offers a meaning he didn't expect. They also get into past lives (including Julie's own lifetime during the Irish potato famine), how she handles skeptics, her take on TV mediums who read strangers uninvited, and her simple first step for anyone who wants to start developing their own intuition.   Connect with Julie Ryan: Website, free copy of Angelic Attendance, and workshop registration: https://askjulieryan.com/Socials: @AskJulieRyan on all platformsAsk Julie Ryan live call-in show: Thursdays at 8 pm ETConnect with Zach: everythingandanythingpodcast.com@TheRealZachRE on all platforms Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Ep. 327: Julie Ryan on Medical Intuition, Past Lives & Spirit Talk: The Buffet of Psychicness

  8. Sep 30

    Ep. 326: When You Stop Caring: Friendship Cleanses, Frozen Shoulder & the Truth About Life After 50

    In this solo episode, Zach talks about something most of us hit eventually: the moment you just stop caring what people think. For him, it clicked at 50. Now 53, he's still cutting people out, or at least putting them "on pause." He gets candid about the second half of life and the things nobody warns you about, from a surprise frozen shoulder diagnosis to the role reversal of caring for aging parents. Zach also takes on friendship: why the friends you've had since sixth grade are forever, why some newer ones wouldn't make the cut if you met them today, and how to tell a normal rough patch from a friendship that's all take and no give. Then he turns to modern dating. He explains why he'd never want to be single today and reacts to news that a gay dating app promising "verified" profiles was found to have a big chunk of AI accounts. He closes with the growing wave of midlife professionals walking away from corporate burnout, and his own decision about whether to go back. Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    Ep. 326: When You Stop Caring: Friendship Cleanses, Frozen Shoulder & the Truth About Life After 50
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Queer-hosted and unapologetically curious. We cover everything and anything — and yes, it's a bit gay.

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