Hot Takes & Deep Dives

Jess welcomes the best butch in showbiz — comedian, jazz singer & Orange is the New Black’s “Big Boo” — Lea DeLaria! Lea discusses her big break performing as the first openly gay comic on TV in America (on Arsenio), working with Goldie Hawn on The First Wives Club and how her life changed within 24 hours of Netflix dropping the first season of Orange is the New Black. We also chat about Lea’s fri...

Jess is joined by writer/comedian Melody Kamali to recover from the whiplash of the Jen Shah arrest spectacular on Salt Lake City and the Ultimate Girls Trip binge on Peacock. We also discuss Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” Melody’s experience interviewing for a producer job on Love & Hip Hop, Love Life on HBO Max, the new lesbian reality show Tampa Baes and Miranda’s basically confirmed queerness...

On the heels of our Melissa Etheridge interview, Jess is joined by Tony Trius, co-host of MLVC (the Madonna podcast) to go deeper on the female singer-songwriters who defined the ‘90s Lilith Fair era and whose lyrics were the soundtrack to our babygay lives. We discuss why Sarah McLachlan, Ani Difranco, Fiona Apple, Tegan & Sara, Tracy Chapman, Aimee Mann, The Murmurs (and many more!) defined this...

Jess is joined by bonafide rock icon Melissa Etheridge! We mention it all, including her early Hollywood friendships with Rosie O’Donnell, Ellen and Brad Pitt, how she was initially discovered, nearly being outed when her first record was released and her wife Linda Wallem (Nurse Jackie co-creator/writer). We also go behind the music, getting the stories that inspired “Bring Me Some Water,” “Brave...

We are joined by return friend PetShopBoy for a culture catchup, featuring a review of the Housewives oral history book, Not All Diamonds & Rosé, Winter House and spending Halloween with Leah McSweeney (as Madonna). We later flash back to Bravo's glory days for a rewatch of Hey Paula (Paula Abdul’s series).  [ 5:30 - Not All Diamonds & Rosé ] [ 25:00 - Winter House ] [ 34:15 - Hey Paula rewatch ]...

Dream guest alert! We are FINALLY joined by Genesis Moss, your host’s “gay root” (aka most formative lesbian) and star of The Real World: Boston! Genesis chats about coming out in high school in Mississippi, her roommates Montana, Syrus, Elka & Sean Duffy, drama at the after-school center, bringing drag and trans awareness to MTV in 1997, her connection to Britney and already being contacted for a...

Jess is joined by Billy Taylor, highly revered docu-series executive producer with credits spanning MTV (Diary, True Life) and Bravo (Flipping Out, Work Out). We chat about his start at MTV News which evolved into him EPing MTV’s House of Style & MTV Diary.  He then moved over to Bravo where he EP’d Flipping Out, Work Out with Jackie Warner and Kell on Earth (Kelly Cutrone). Billy shares stories o...

Jess is joined by trailblazing New York City dancer~actress~performer Candis Cayne! Candis chats about her journey from initially coming out as gay, to building a career as a drag performer to eventually making her transition part of her act at Barracuda. She reminisces about performing in the streets - literal NYC traffic - cementing her legacy as one of the greatest performers in nightlife. She...

Jess is joined by fellow Howard Stern superfans, Ryan Bailey (So Bad It’s Good) and Jacques Peterson (Unpopular), to unearth a 2006 pre-Housewives Bethenny appearance on The Howard Stern Show. We then pull back the curtain on a leaked 2012 All Staff Meeting (think Howard’s Ted talk warning shot to his staff). We also discuss the Wendy Williams 2019 fight, not returning to the studio and debate whe...

Trixie Mattel- Elastic Thinking- In this episode of Alec Mapa: Hot Mess with Matthew Dempsey Psychotherapist, Alec and Matthew welcome world-famous drag queen, star of the hit show “UNHhhh” and host of the podcast The Bald and the Beautiful, the hilarious Trixie Mattel. The three have a fascinating conversation on the topic of elastic thinking, what exactly it means and how it can help us to heal....

Jess is joined by John Arthur Hill, Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM co-host, go-to producer and noted ex-boyfriend. We discuss their meet-cute origin story while John was starring in Hairspray on Broadway and how they've maintained such a good relationship nearly 15 years later. John discusses his experience as a writer/producer on Watch What Happens Live and Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List and talks...

Jess is joined by Jamie Stein for a deep dive on House of Hilton, the 2006 tell-all about the Hilton dynasty, heavily featuring the backstories of Kathy Hilton, Kyle & Kim Richards and their mother, Big Kathy. We explore Big Kathy’s mission for men, money and Hollywood and the ways in which she projected those dreams onto her three daughters, how their mom kicked Kyle & Kim’s father out of the hom...

Jess is joined by comedians and co-hosts of “You Might Know Her From,” Damian Bellino and Anne Rodeman, for The L Word deep dive of our dreams. Damian and Anne are best friends and L Word historians, ready to go deep on everything from Bette & Tina to their wild interview with Guinevere Turner. We share our L Word origin stories, review the reboot (Gen Q), our obsession with Sepideh Moafi (Gigi),...

Jess is joined by RHONY fave Dorinda Medley! Dorinda goes deep about renovating Blue Stone Manor to be “Frankenstein meets Marilyn Monroe,”  working as both a real estate agent (where she met Richard Medley) and an  aerobics instructor in New York City, plus her relationship to money, astrology (Sun in Sagittarius, Moon in Aries) and healing herbs. Dorinda also describes why filming Housewives is...

Jess is joined by Andy Bellatti, astrologer to the Housewives and the pop divas, this time to celebrate Madonna’s birthday — our Leo Queen. Madonna is a Leo Sun, Virgo Moon, Aquarius Rising and we examine her life & career milestones through the lens of her birth chart: NYC dancer (‘79-‘80), debut album (’82), “Like a Virgin” VMA performance (’84), Sean Penn relationship (’85-'89), Like a Prayer (...

Jess is joined by Ben Rimalower (aka Countess Luann’s cabaret director) for the Fire Island deep dive of our dreams. Ben and Jess share an intense affinity for the history and culture of the gay safe haven hamlets of Cherry Grove and The Pines. We go deep on our first experiences of FI, history of The Invasion and the Meat Rack, discuss share house culture, being sober in the wonderland of sex & d...

Jess catches up with the first openly gay contestant on America’s Next Top Model, fellow New Yorker Kim Stolz. Kim Stolz was one of the most recognizable faces in the NYC gay scene in the mid-‘00s after a bet among college friends sent her auditioning for (and being cast on) the Tyra Banks show in Cycle 5. Kim later became an MTV News correspondent where she worked alongside John Norris & Kurt Lod...

Jess is joined by two of the most unfiltered and knowledgable Bravo pundits in the game, returning friends Zack Peter (No Filter) & Jacques Peterson (Unpopular). Together, we analyze Erika Jayne’s ~performance~ on RHOBH, Zack’s latest discoveries in the Girardi scandal and our take on Housewivesian lawyer Ronald Richards. We then move on to RHONY — primarily the Eboni elephant In the room — plus,...

Jess is joined by the man, the myth, the DSLs: Mikey Minden. As Erika Jayne’s creative director & choreographer Mikey Minden is responsible for the looks, moves, lighting, makeup & general artistry in her music videos, photoshoots & appearances on RHOBH. We chat about Mikey’s career as a child dance prodigy and his work with The Pussycat Dolls, Usher, Kim Kardashian & Pink. We also go deep on his...

There's so much celebrity gossip that it's impossible to keep up. From the twists and turns of #FreeBritney to the latest Royal family dust-up, there’s a new podcast that has you covered. From Wondery, RICH AND DAILY delivers laughs and all the latest celebrity gossip. Hosts Brooke and Aricia are comedians, besties and the perfect guides to give you your daily dose of pop culture. They'll keep you...

Jess is joined by Madonna MLVC pod co-host Tony Trius in his third appearance, this time for our official Sandra Bernhard Showbiz Glamour Power Hour. We share our Sandy origin stories, New York City run-ins, nights at Joe’s Pub, discuss Without You I’m Nothing,  appearances on Howard Stern, Letterman and Roseanne + relive the late-80s clique of Madonna, Sandy, Debi Mazar and Jennifer Grey. Plus, J...

Jess is joined by Andy Bellatti (aka Astrology with Andy), who in addition to our astrologer to the Housewives and pop queens, is also our resident Drag Race expert. Andy provides guidance on how to begin one’s Drag Race Journey before going deep with trivia and history surrounding the show’s evolution, behind the scenes tea, Untucked, RuPaul controversy, Michelle Visage, why the tide turned in se...

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, his initial screenplay and how Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk eventually came on as executive producers to get the show made. Canals goes deep on ballroom culture, Houses, Madonna, “Vogue,” and how the song/music selections...

Jess is joined by Real Housewives of Beverly Hills OG Taylor Armstrong for a deep dive into one of the darkest Housewives storylines to play out on the show.  Taylor describes the initial casting for RHOBH, with thousands of Hollywood types trying out for the “part” (including Lisa Rinna). We dissect the infamous “But Now We Said It” scene and the new context that was brought to light re: Camille...

Jess is joined by comedian Gina Yashere, star of three Netflix stand-up specials and the co-creator and star of the CBS sitcom “Bob Hearts Abishola.” Gina discusses her experience working as the first female Otis elevator engineer before pursuing comedy and shares how she was eventually discovered by “king of sitcoms” Chuck Lorre (Roseanne, Cybill, Big Bang Theory) to co-create a show about a Nige...