Hot Takes & Deep Dives

We will have our comprehensive review of CONFESSIONS II next week! But first, Jess joined by Mark Snyder & Kenny Finkle (All I Want To Do Is Talk About Madonna) and Tony Trius (MLVC) for a culture debate — MADONNA EDITION! Topics: our unpopular opinions, best live performance, best Truth or Dare moment, Tears of a Clown, how to fix Madonna, was longtime collab Mirwais trying to sabotage her? … and...

Jess is joined by David Kennerley to pour over his coffee-table book ( Getting In ) showcasing more than 200 flyers he collected from NYC queer bars & clubs of the 1990s (ie: Limelight, Splash, The Saint, Pyramid, The Roxy), with commentary from Michael Musto, Linda Simpson, Lady Bunny, Chip Duckett, Ernie Glam, Mark Allen and more! Topics: the "Disco Sucks" era, backrooms during the HIV/AIDS epid...

ANNOUNCEMENT! 🌲🍒 Finding Fire Island returns for Season 2 on June 11, with two episodes premiering on launch day. This season features interviews with Billy Porter, John Waters, Julio Torres, DJ Lina Bradford, Broadway Bares creator Jerry Mitchell, Fire Island icon Bob "Rose" Levine, and dozens of longtime Pines residents whose stories bring Fire Island's hidden history to life. Through 8 brand...

Jess is joined by playwright and "male actress" CHARLES BUSCH! Topics include: ROSIE O'DONNELL producing the disastrous Boy George musical 'Taboo,' performing at The Duplex in the late 70s, becoming close with JOAN RIVERS, the chaos of interviewing LIZA, working with NATASHA LYONNE, and how 'Vampire Lesbians of Sodom' became one of the longest-running Off-Broadway plays of all time. ⭐ Night of 10...

Jess is joined by empath & intuitive JAMIE STEIN ( @jamiestein ) for a SUMMER HOUSE psychological deep dive. We unpack the subconscious dynamics behind West Wilson, Amanda Batula, Ciara Miller, Kyle Cooke, Lindsay Hubbard and Carl Radke. Topics— Kyle & Amanda's codependency, West's "Talented Mr. Ripley" / "Catch Me If You Can" shape-shifting energy, Carl & Lindsay, the spinoff "In The City," Tom S...

Jess is joined by RACHEL DRATCH — beloved for her seven-season run on  Saturday Night Live. Topics:  Rachel's decades-long friendship with TINA FEY , her SNL casting story, being replaced by  JANE KRAKOWSKI on 30 ROCK , and the surprise of discovering she was pregnant at 43. Plus: WINE COUNTRY , inspired by her real-life 50th birthday trip, and performing in COUNTESS LUANN's cabaret debut at 54 Be...

Jess is joined by the co-creator / writer / director of the FX series POSE — STEVEN CANALS! Canals discusses the series' inspiration via the landmark documentary PARIS IS BURNING and getting the script into RYAN MURPHY's hands. We discuss ballroom culture, Houses, "Vogue," and the series' music placements. We also discuss the casting of MJ Rodriguez (Blanca), Indya Moore (Angel) and Sandra Bernhar...

Jess is joined by performance artist and rocker AMBER MARTIN ( @msambermartin )! Topics — the origins of her Bette Midler at the Continental Baths show "Bette, Bathhouse & Beyond," winning the NYC artist housing lottery at Manhattan Plaza, touring with the Scissor Sisters, the Allways Cabaret in New Orleans, working as a flight attendant, radical faeries and more!  ⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | @msambermarti...

Jess welcomes beloved NYC drag legend HEDDA LETTUCE , boots on the ground in Puerto Vallarta after the recent cartel attack. Topics — Playing Kim Cattrall's ex-boyfriend on Sex and the City  on stage with Madonna at the 1999 MTV VMAs, neighbors with Quentin Crisp , and cult movies  at Chelsea Clearview Cinema. Plus — Shirley Q. Liquor, Heather Locklear at Cherry's on the Bay, and Hedda's journey f...

Jess is joined by Broadway composer / orchestrator / adult star JONAH WEELER! ( @showoffjonah ). Topics — blind items about this worst Broadway experiences, music directing Sweeney Todd Off Broadway and the final straw that pushed him toward a full-on career pivot to OnlyFans. Plus: beating Instagram censorship, creating a new cabaret about that pivot with partner John Coons, the origin story of h...

Jess is joined by DAMIAN BELLINO & ANNE RODEMAN (co-hosts of "You Might Know Her From") for a wintertime culture catch-up! Topics — Jill Zarin fired (again), Sandra Bernhard cast in The White Lotus S4, The L Word corner, and why is Heated Rivalry accepted by gay men while Queer as Folk was not? Plus — we review the films Twinless, Pillion & Plainclothes. ⭐ IG:  @jessxnyc | @damianbellino | @rodem...

Jess welcomes back nightlife impresario DANIEL NARDICIO to talk about his latest venture in Zipolite, Mexico and the runaway success of running The Ice Palace in Cherry Grove. Topics — legalities of throwing s*x parties, surviving Patti LuPone's rider and stories from working with Sandra Bernhard, John Waters, Jennifer Holliday and more! ⭐ IG:  @jessxnyc  |  @the_danielnardicio ⭐ Jess' docu-seri...

Jess welcomes LOLA ROCKNROLLA , filmmaker of the brand-new documentary THE BIG JOHNSON , exploring the life and eerie death of DEAN JOHNSON : the 6'6", genderf*cky, rollicking rock-star frontman who helped define 1980s–90s East Village nightlife. Topics — the still-unsettled details around Dean's 2007 death, his bands Dean & the Weenies and The Velvet Mafia , being an HIV+ party promoter & more! "...

Jess is joined by WALTER AFANASIEFF , the Grammy-winning songwriter and producer behind MARIAH CAREY's biggest '90s hits — including "Hero," "My All," "One Sweet Day," and  "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Topics — how the modern Christmas classic was written, his professional fallout with Mariah Carey , and how the songwriting biz has radically changed since the '90s. Plus — producing CELINE DI...

Jess is joined by interior designer Dale Saylor ( Hollymount Design ) to react to some of our favorite Architectural Digest home tours. Topics — BETHENNY FRANKEL's Florida move, ANDY COHEN's West Village duplex, AMY SEDARIS' Greenwich Village funhouse, SARAH PAULSON's Malibu studio, RUPAUL in LA, NEIL PATRICK HARRIS' Harlem brownstone & KELLY RIPA's UES townhouse. Plus — advice for max impact in s...

Jess is joined by  All I Want to Do Is Talk About Madonna co-host Mark Snyder for a 2025 revue of our favorite theater, films, and concerts. Topics— Wicked ambivalence, Kristin Chenoweth's rough year, a Chess revival, Oh Mary predictions, the Plainclothes film, the Lilith Fair documentary, Mike Albo's Hologram Boyfriends , Julio Torres' Color Theories , and Linda Perry's reunion with 4 Non Blondes...

Jess sits down with powerhouse docu-series Executive Producer Billy Taylor! Topics — Billy's jump from MTV News to producing MTV Diary, then showrunning the Bravo glory days of Jeff Lewis Flipping Out, Work Out w/ Jackie Warner, and Kell on Earth w/ Kelly Cutrone. Plus — trailing Kanye West with a camera, Britney: In the Zone & Out All Night, directing Selling Sunset pilot, and more!  ⭐ IG:  @jes...

Jess is joined by indie cinema queen GUINEVERE TURNER ( @guinevereturner )! Topics — writing & appearing in THE L WORD, being caught on HBO's TAXICAB CONFESSIONS in 1994 right as her debut film (GO FISH) was in theaters, inspiring Kevin Smith's CHASING AMY, the iconic East Village lesbian / rock bar Meow Mix and co-writing the Christian Bale film AMERICAN PSYCHO. Plus — her experiences dating Port...

Jess is joined by "the accidental gay historian" Mike Balaban ( @bammer47 ) — a man who's photographed faces, places & ephemera that defined gay life in the early 1970s-1990s. Topics — gay life in the '50s & '60, Mike's 44 years in NYC, the use of personal ads, hanky codes, 1-900 phone lines, and why he thinks younger guys are drawn to older men.  ⭐ IG:  @jessxnyc | @bammer47 ⭐ Jess' docu-series...

Jess is joined by comedian ZACH NOE TOWERS ( @zachnoetowers )! Topics — roommates with Bob the Drag Queen, friendship with Leslie Jordan, 10 years of sobriety, AOL chat rooms, Jeff Lewis Live, 'movies' vs. 'films,' his TWO horror movie screenplays, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Jennifer Lopez & more!  ⭐ IG:  @jessxnyc   ⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle —  Cult of Body & Soul ⭐ Jes...

Jess is joined by comedian & Drag Race winner BOB THE DRAG QUEEN!  Topics — RuPaul discovering Bob at The Monster in the West Village (via Kathy Najimy), a weekend with Whoopi Goldberg, getting lost in Brooklyn & Long Island, ruling Barracuda after Candis Cayne & Peppermint, his first drag name, "Kitten with a Whip," and his love for To Wong Foo. Plus — the story behind his awkward Watch What Happ...

Jess welcomes legendary Manhattan and Fire Island DJ Susan Morabito (aka Morabito ). Topics — her dream of spinning at The Saint and working at Vinylmania, why The Saint remains the greatest NYC nightclub, and how she cemented her legacy at The Pavilion in The Fire Island Pines. Plus — why she prefers gay boy nightlife to girl parties, Roseland Ballroom, DJ Lina Bradford, playing the GMHC Morning...

Jess is joined by Broadway & cabaret star NATALIE JOY JOHNSON (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Lempicka)! Topics — performing on an Atlantis Cruise to Tahiti with Patti LuPone, her many, MANY lesbian theater roles, winning the Tony for playing Jackie Warner in Work Out: The Musical, being a Craiglist internet wh*re, selling weed & sex toys in between starring on Broadway, bonding with Countess Luann....

Jess is joined by TV writer & producer (Will & Grace, Ugly Betty) — JON KINNALLY! Topics — living in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn in 1988, working in ACT UP, The Cut article "We've Reached Peak Gay Sluttiness," his writing partner Tracy Poust was one of the original NYC spinning instructors, Barbra Streisand DVD commentary on A Star Is Born & more! ⭐ IG:  @jessxnyc ⭐ Jon Kinnally's memoir: I'm Prancin...

Jess is joined by "The Shakespeare of Pop Culture" (per NYT ), writer-performer Ryan Raftery ( @ryanraftery ), to debut his new show exploring society's obsession with true crime. Topics — Stephen Sondheim summoning Ryan to his townhouse, a Kabbalah circle with Madonna & Christopher Ciccone, possibly writing the Patricia Field musical with  Hedwig 's Stephen Trask, Barbra Streisand's disdain for S...