November 18, 2025

Brian and Judson hookup with James Nguyen and AC Gottlieb and talk sex between friends, couples therapy, racism in the queer community and designing for Chappell Roan

1 hour 23 minutes

Brian celebrates his first successful afternoon on the apps in six weeks, applying a lesson from a recent episode and proving a point he's made in others. Judson shares recommendations for Anthony Amiewalan’s novel Eddie & Alan, Michael Finkel’s biography of Stéphane Breitwieser, The Art Thief, Kaveh Akbar’s novel, Martyr!, and Nicholas Colia’s film, Griffin in Summer. Both hosts are tickled by the Hookup of the Week, which describes a listener's decision to throw himself a birthday party to reclaim the sexual awakening that homophobia denied him as a teenager. Then, Brian and Judson are joined by partners in life and work, James Nguyen and AC Gottlieb, costume designers currently represented on stage by Chappell Roan in her Visions of Damsels and Other Dangerous Things tour and by Messy White Gays off-Broadway. James and AC chat with the hosts about the origin of their relationship and their evolution to openness, making and maintaining queer friendships–including navigating boundaries around sex with friends, entering into couples therapy, and their past dalliances with throuple-dom. The pair also discuss finding independence within a codependent relationship, how much we let dating apps inform our feelings about ourselves, the pursuit of their professional dreams, and how they came to design for Chappell Roan. Finally, James and AC help Brian and Judson respond to a Go Ask Your Dad question submitted by a listener who has concerns about hosting hookups at home.

Find James and AC online at https://www.jamesandac.com

Find James on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/itsjamesnguyen/

Find AC on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/alexand3rcole/

Email your Hookup of the Week and Go Ask Your Dad submissions to [email protected]

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