Afleveringen
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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 epidemic and more.
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | gettinginclubbook.com
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 new episodes, we uncover the historic rivalry between Cherry Grove and The Pines, trace the evolution of Tea Dance and the art of cruising before apps, explore how DJs shaped NYC and Pines nightlife, and meet the Pantry Girls and queer firefighters who keep the island running.
⭐ Subscribe to Finding Fire Island wherever you podcast!
⭐ Watch all episodes on YouTube
⭐ findingfireisland.com
⭐ @jessxnyc -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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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 1000 Judys: June 1 @Joe's Pub
* all donations benefit The Ali Forney Center *
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 Sandoval vs. West as the better villain, and more!
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | @jamiestein
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul -
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 Below.
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | @raedratch
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 Bernhard.
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 | @msambermartin
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island
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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 from rock bottom in Provincetown to reigning on Fire Island—and now wintering in Puerto Vallarta.
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | @heddalettuceofficial
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island
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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 his p*rn name "Jonah Weeler" (he is the artist formerly known as Matt Aument) and more!
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc
⭐ Jonah Weeler & John Coons in NYC - Mar 22
Finding Fire Island
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island —
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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 | @rodemanne
⭐ Tix for "You Might Know Her From" live Feb 28 in NYC! -
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-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul
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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!
"The Big Johnson" screens at NYC's Quad Cinema January 23–29, streaming avail in February
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | @lolarocknrolla13
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 DION's "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, writing with BEYONCÉ and BARBRA STREISAND, and the story of how a record label sabotaged a future American Idol winner.
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 small spaces AND Dale critiques a walk-through of Jess' apartment.
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | hollymountltd.com
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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. Plus— an in-memoriam for Diane Keaton & Jill Sobule, and major existential Madonna happenings in 2026.
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | @markbsnyder2025
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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: @jessxnyc
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 Portia de Rossi, Tracy Chapman and Kd Lang... and more!
📺 Clip of Guinevere's Taxicab Confessions
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc | @guinevereturner
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island -
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 Happens Live appearance.
⭐ IG: @jessxnyc
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul
⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island - Laat meer zien
