Feast of Fun: Gay Talk Show

By now you’ve probably sick of hearing about the weird video made by McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempciznski, where he nervously takes a tiny bite of their new burger, referring to it as a “product.”  Since then, a myriad of executives have tried to one-up each other with their own burger “eating” videos, creating a full-fledged social media spectacle with the hopes of raising sales and building brand lo...

People love sports for the thrill of the challenge, to push their bodies to boldly go where they’ve never gone before. But in Star Trek, how would people compete in a universe where physical augmentation makes almost anything possible?  What happens to bodybuilding a thousand years from now? Today’s episode is a dual drop from Feast of Fun and Let’s Grow Big Together, think of it as a transporter...

The sexual revolution didn’t happen all at once, it came in throbbing waves: the Pill. Stonewall. The AIDS crisis. The Internet. Grindr. PrEP. Doxy PEP. Sniffies!  We have more options than ever before and yet some still feel lonely. Swipe culture gives us abundance, but it also trains us to treat each other like custom coffee drinks.  How do we build intimacy without running a background check on...

Considering the rebellious spirit of reggaeton music, folks were all up in a knot as Bad Bunny took to the Super Bowl stage, expecting a vulgar, over-the-top spectacle. Instead, we got a triumphant celebration of Puerto Rican culture, and at the end, a giant billboard reminding us: “The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love.”  Not just a jolgorio for Puerto Rico, but a nod to queer icons like...

Move over RuPaul’s Drag Race! Straight women are now obsessing over a whole new TV show packed with competitive queens, only this time it’s hunky hockey players playing a little tonsil hockey off the ice. Heated Rivalry, the sizzling new TV show based on Rachel Reid’s bestselling series about the secret gay romances of rival star hockey players, is scoring big with audiences. Like Brokeback Mounta...

Happy Holidays, everybody! One of the best parts of the season is when friends and family come back to town to bring the light, the noise, and the funk. Today we welcome back one of the first openly gay comedians in Chicago’s stand-up comedy scene: Bill Cruz. After his time in LA, Bill has returned to Chicago and is here to help us wrap up this difficult year without crying into our coquito. Back...

One of the hardest things about building muscle is being able to consume vast amounts of food. And that’s why we say competitive eating is bodybuilding's distant cousin.  But for a plus sized drag queen, who is already big, it’s a challenge pivoting into bodybuilding and losing fat while building muscle at the same time.  Let’s Grow Big Together! It’s the podcast that reminds you it takes a lot of...

As Republicans trip over themselves trying to explain why Jeffrey Epstein’s emails are “no big deal,” we’re all being reminded how easily the powerful can redefine sexual violence when it suits their needs. Meanwhile our friend Dan Cass has been living the opposite nightmare. Dan was falsely accused by his ex-girlfriend of sexual assault, and unlike Republicans who can just get Megyn Kelly to shru...

Transformations are often quite painful. Whether we’re growing emotionally or undergoing a physical metamorphosis, real change usually demands discomfort, and sometimes even danger. In Jon M. Chu’s Wicked films, the characters literally burst through their own limits: they sprout wings, become tin or straw, or learn to fly by defying gravity. Like all the past Wizard of Oz books and films, Wicked...

Sometimes life forces you to hit the pause button. Not because you wanted to, but because your body says, “sit down honey, we’ve got work to do.” After nearly two decades of podcasting, we thought we’d seen it all, until this summer, when I had emergency eye surgery to save my vision, and Marc had his heart shocked back into rhythm after a scary bout of atrial fibrillation. Between the two of us,...

One of the most divisive books in children’s literature is Shel Silverstein’s "The Giving Tree," the story of a dysfunctional relationship between a boy and a sentient apple tree who gives him everything she has, from her apples and leaves to her branches and trunk, until all that's left is a stump. Meant as a parable of unconditional love, writer Topher Payne thought our doomed pair needed a bett...

After threatening Americans with raising their taxes by 68%, President Trump managed to strong-arm Republicans in Congress into passing his Big Burglary Bill: a sweeping economic and policy package that slashes healthcare funding, shuts down hospitals, inflates ICE’s budget to be larger than the Marines’, opens new concentration camps in Florida, adds $3.4 trillion to the national deficit, and giv...

When the world is falling apart, sometimes the best thing you can do is make art. Just because Republicans are doing everything they can to crush the joy in people’s hearts, doesn't mean you can’t dumpster dive a feather boa, borrow a pair of heels and put on a show. Remember, that some of the greatest works of art have blossomed in the shadows of fascism.  Today we're talking with comedian and sh...

A beloved Pride tradition around the world is the roar of Dykes on Bikes: a fierce motorcade of motorcycle mamas who kick off the parade with a chrome-plated spectacle of queer power, and noise. They first rolled onto the scene at San Francisco Pride in the mid-’70s and quickly became a staple all over the world.  Inspired by those heavy-metal heroines, Chicago’s own Bikes and Mics emerged—a no-ru...

Spring is here, and things are getting rough.  T.S. Eliot called April "the cruelest month,” and honestly, he had a point. After a long, cozy winter of emotional hibernation, spring forces us to feel things again.  Today, Chicago comedian and part-time Russian dance expert Dan Cass joins us to explore the hilarious side of a world that’s struggling. Should we start an OnlyFlans? A nude comedy show...

About 20 years ago, Kate Bornstein wrote Hello, Cruel World to give people permission to stay alive in a world that makes that feel impossible. Today, that world is trying even harder to crush anyone who lives outside the binary—trans, queer, disabled, neurodivergent, or just too free for a system built on control. Attacks on trans rights aren’t just about gender—they’re a strategy to dismantle al...

Conservatives are always forcing their outdated vision onto culture, education, and policy because deep down, they know they’re losing the long game.  A leaked Kennedy Center board meeting reveals Trump is pushing to make the nation’s cultural hub more conservative by stacking its lineup with right-wing musicals. So, what’s next? MAGA: The Musical? Today, comedian Dan Cass joins us to break down h...

As the United States slides deeper into fascism, Republicans are ramping up attacks on trans people, immigrants, and pretty much anyone who stands in their way. One thing is clear—most Americans don’t personally know any trans people so it is easy for Republicans to scapegoat them.  But here’s the thing: LGBTQ+ people are everywhere. And with polls showing that more people than ever identify as LG...

Chicago’s very own Kyle Smolinski is a rising star in the Open Bodybuilding scene, dominating some of the top NPC heavyweight contests—including a gold-medal win in the heavyweight division at the NPC Jay Cutler Classic in Virginia.  But beyond his impressive size and stage presence, Kyle is also openly gay and known for his signature rainbow-colored hair. Let’s Grow Big Together! The podcast that...

One of our all-time favorite wacky and wild films is RuPaul’s Starrbooty. Created during a lull in her career, the film revives one of Ru’s early cable-access TV characters- Starbooty—a private detective turned sex worker who lands herself in increasingly ridiculous situations. The film celebrates RuPaul’s love for sexploitation, melodrama, gratuitous nudity, and her circle of kooky friends. Many...

America is under attack by the wolves in the federal government who are chewing it apart. As the nation spirals into confusion and despair, we are left wondering—why does it feel like no one is fighting back? As Harvey Milk said, “Get out of the bars and into the streets!” Now more than ever, we need to step away from our screens, show up in public spaces, and organize. In the absence of leadershi...

Americans are now queerer than ever! A new Gallup poll shows 9.3% of folks now identify as something other than straight—up from 7.6% in 2023. And Gen Z? A whopping 23%! Party! While it seems like the country’s getting more conservative, people's sexuality and gender identity says otherwise.  Joining us today is the self-proclaimed ‘lesbian on the weekends’-- the West Side comedy queen of raunch,...

In The Wizard of Oz , Glinda asks, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” As it turns out, most witches are good—because the bad ones end up cursing themselves into oblivion.  Today, we’re chatting with one of our favorite wicked but wonderful witches, musician Caleb De Casper. A fierce advocate for queer rights, Caleb is known for his electrifying performances and signature blend of dark synth-po...

Netflix’s Emilia Perez is a hot mess of a movie. This musical crime drama, written and directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, follows a de-greenified Zoë Saldaña working as a lawyer for a Mexican drug lord who transitions. Saldaña’s character later goes on to support the former Mexican drug lord as she attempts to atone for her criminal past by founding a nonprofit to rescue the victims of...

The LA fires impacted thousands of lives, with entire neighborhoods and landmarks reduced to ash. In moments like these, it’s easy to feel a sense of dread and despair, but that’s when comedy is at the most vital. Laughter doesn’t fix the chaos, but it reminds us to breathe, connect, and find light even in the darkest moments. Today comedian and Feast of Fun legend Amanda Cohen joins us to talk ab...