Everything and Anything…and a bit gay Podcast Zachary Randles-Friedman

What happens when you finally put down the weight you’ve been carrying since you were five years old?

Ray Aubel is a hypnotist and coach who works mostly with gay men on the patterns that form from growing up hidden: the masks, the performing, the feeling of being different before you even had a word for it. Zach and Ray get into how hypnosis actually works, why Ray went from atheist to believer after visiting two of his own past lives, and what he’s seeing in clients right now as political news stirs up old fears.

They also talk about the growing divide between cis gay men and the trans community, the “I have a gay friend” brand of performative allyship, why straight men are afraid to admit another guy looks good, and the surprising number of listeners tuning in from countries where being gay is illegal.

Connect with Ray Aubel:

• Website and scheduling: intuitivemindhypnosis.com 
• Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @ray.aubel

Resources mentioned:

• Rainbow Railroad: rainbowrailroad.org

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

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In a rare serious episode of the Gay Bit, Zach Randles-Friedman makes his final pre-election case for voting in the November 3 midterms. He covers the first-ever anti-trans measures to go directly to voters, including Missouri’s Amendment 3, Colorado’s measures, and Arizona’s HCR 2003, along with Virginia’s vote to remove its constitutional same-sex marriage ban and the flood of anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed in 2026. He also covers what everyone is feeling: inflation back up to 3.7%, record diesel prices, and a costly Iran war now in its eighth month. Zach reminds listeners how confident polls were in 2016, and that the race came down to fewer than 78,000 votes across three states. His message is simple: every vote counts, so make a plan and go vote.

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

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October is LGBTQ+ History Month, and on this solo episode of This Is Everything, Zach takes you on a whirlwind tour through thousands of years of queer history — the heroes, the heartbreaks, and the hard-won victories most of us were never taught in school.

Zach starts with a candid take on religion and where homophobia really comes from (spoiler: the word “homosexual” didn’t appear in an English Bible until 1946, and Jesus never said a word about same-sex love). From there, it’s a journey through ancient Greece and Rome, the poet Sappho of Lesbos, and the Two-Spirit traditions of Indigenous North America.

Then the timeline gets real: England’s 1533 sodomy law and its colonial legacy, Oscar Wilde’s trial, Magnus Hirschfeld’s pioneering institute in Germany and its destruction by the Nazis, the pink triangle, Alan Turing’s conviction after helping win World War II, the Lavender Scare and Frank Kameny’s fight back, and Christine Jorgensen making international headlines.

Zach honors the civil rights connection through Bayard Rustin, Pauli Murray, and James Baldwin, then moves through Compton’s Cafeteria, Stonewall, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, the first Pride March, Harvey Milk, and the 1973 removal of homosexuality from the list of mental disorders.

He also gets personal, sharing what it was like growing up during the AIDS crisis in Miami, losing friends on South Beach, waiting days for HIV test results, and why he and his husband Andrew celebrate the day they met instead of their wedding day.

The episode closes with marriage equality’s long road — DOMA, Edie Windsor, Jim Obergefell — and today’s front line: transgender rights. Because we are a community of survivors, and these stories deserve to be told.

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.

What does a 25-year open marriage actually look like, and what happens when you let Showtime cameras into the bedroom? Zach sits down with KamalaDevi McClure, a sex and relationship coach, tantra teacher, author of seven books and former star of Showtime’s Polyamory: Married & Dating. She’s here to talk about her new memoir, One Fool’s Journey.

KamalaDevi explains how she told her future husband she was bisexual and polyamorous before she’d even give him her number, and how their second date included a third person. She breaks down the difference between polyamory and open relationships. She also covers why “you can have sex but you can’t fall in love” is a swinger agreement, not polyamory, and how couples build “designer relationships” outside the mononormative script. Zach, who has been monogamous with his husband for nearly 28 years, asks the questions many listeners are probably wondering about.

The two go behind the scenes of reality TV. KamalaDevi refused to let Showtime cut her young son from the show, set firm boundaries against staged sex, and had a contract barring her from talking about God or spirituality on camera. She shares how a solstice hike to Machu Picchu on her 50th birthday inspired the book. The memoir is structured around the 22 tarot archetypes and comes with a reimagined queer, poly and kinky companion deck. She also opens up for the first time about her experience as a “soul walk-in.”

Find KamalaDevi:

• Website, newsletter and a free sample chapter: kamaladevi.com
• Book: One Fool’s Journey https://kamaladevi.com/landing-page/ 

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.

Is your company committed to inclusion, or was it only ever for show? Celeste Warren, a diversity and inclusion leader with nearly 30 years at Global Fortune 100 companies and author of The Truth About Equity, joins Zach for a candid conversation about belonging at work. She shares the early-career moment that shaped her mission: presenting her own project to a room of men who directed every question to her boss. Zach and Celeste get real about tokenism, the myth that diverse hiring lowers the bar, and the wave of corporate retreats from DEI and Pride sponsorships. Celeste explains why performative programs fall apart so easily, why social progress moves like a pendulum, and why customers, employees, and shareholders need to remember who stood up during hard times. She also leaves CEOs with one challenge and listeners with a reminder that waiting isn’t enough. We have to act.

Connect with Celeste Warren:
Website: https://crwdiversity.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celestewarrenllc 
Instagram: @CRWDiversity
Also on Facebook and Substack
Book: The Truth About Equity
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1967587000?lv=shuf&psc=1&th=1&tag=bk00010a-20&geniuslink=true&channelId=1&plpRedirect=mhFallback 

Connect with Zach:
everythingandanythingpodcast.com | @TheRealZachRE

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.