Friends Without Benefits

Friends Without Benefits

By Uptown Dale & Rachel SobelComedySociety & CultureRelationships
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Friends Without Benefits episodes

  • S5 Ep. 35 - THC Maxx and the Dating Olympics

    Rachel has officially taken retail therapy to a whole new level. Between her adventures at “THC Maxx,” late-night TikTok Shop purchases, and a bedtime routine involving mouth tape, a silk bonnet, earplugs, and a weighted sleep mask, Dale is questioning everything about her lifestyle. And just when he thinks things can't get any stranger, Rachel announces she's preordered a Bernedoodle named Dr. Roger Sobel, DDS. Yes, the dog has a medical degree. No, Dale is not okay with any of it.

    Meanwhile, Dale has been living his best concert life, hitting Bruno Mars and the Jonas Brothers with two different women. But Rachel wants answers. Were these dates or just friends enjoying live music? Dale breaks down his rules for dating, reading body language, and why he'll never risk a good friendship by making the first move. They also get into expensive concert tickets, the full Uptown Dale experience, and why one ungrateful football date earned herself a permanent spot on his do-not-call list.

    Things wrap up with a rant about adults fighting at kids' sporting events, the ridiculous prices at dollar stores, and Dale's very passionate public service announcement about wearing bonnets in public. Somewhere along the way, they also manage to question whether artificial intelligence is taking over the world. Just another perfectly normal conversation between two friends who couldn't be more different.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    36 min
  • S5 Ep. 34 - Grown, Sexy, and Stuck in the 90s

    After 30 years of friendship, Dale finally calls Rachel sexy, and she's not about to let him forget it. The conversation quickly moves from Rachel's reconstructed boobs to Pauly D's engagement, their shared obsession with Jersey Shore, and Rachel's determination to finally meet her favorite DJ. Then it's time to break down the Big Brother finale, including Dee's elimination, Devins' big win, and the surprising amount of money reality TV contestants can make.

    Rachel shares some exciting news about her book, Breast Case Scenario, including an upcoming appearance on a Times Square billboard and a speaking engagement at Weill Cornell. Her daughter Sienna is already proving to be her best salesperson. They also get into their latest TV obsessions, including Lioness and 99 to Beat, before Dale brings some bizarre news stories to the table. But Rachel has a new segment of her own: Whatever Happened To? Remember cassette singles, Hypercolor shirts, Orange Julius, Von Dutch hats, and Domino's infamous Noid? Apparently, they're officially old enough to be nostalgic about all of it.

    Finally, Halloween brings out two very different opinions. Rachel loves her daughter's creepy costume ideas but wants absolutely nothing to do with haunted houses. Dale, meanwhile, has found his favorite seasonal entertainment: watching hurricane reporters stand outside in dangerous winds to announce that it's windy. Because nothing says breaking news quite like a reporter standing knee-deep in water to confirm that there's flooding.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    38 min
  • S5 Ep. 33 - What in the News Is Going On

    Dale and Rachel have a lot of questions about what's happening in the world, and Dale's brand-new news segment is delivering stories nobody could make up. A mom allegedly leaves her three kids home alone to take a cruise, a woman sues a Las Vegas nightclub after getting injured riding a mechanical penis, and an intoxicated airline passenger takes her in-flight entertainment way too far. Add a fake substitute teacher who apparently hates kids, a shirtless airplane passenger, and Rick Ross talking about heavy marinara sauce, and there's plenty to unpack.

    Things get more serious when Dale and Rachel debate a reported botched execution and the allegations involving the Cornell 7. The conversation turns into a heated disagreement about consent, accountability, and the difference between making bad decisions and being responsible for someone else's actions. Rachel also reflects on Breast Cancer Awareness Month and why the conversation needs to continue long after October ends.

    They finish with Rachel defending her refusal to participate in game nights, a shoutout to Dale's former vegan date, and Dale attempting to invent a new dating term. Forget breadcrumbing. He wants to call it “Chipotleing,” inspired by the tiny portions he says he gets at Chipotle. Unfortunately, Rachel can't get past the way he's pronouncing it.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    39 min
  • S5 Ep. 32 - Sleepaway Camp, Twerking, and Zero Letters Home

    Rachel sent her nine year old to sleepaway camp for seven weeks and quickly discovered her daughter was doing just fine without her. No letters home, no missing her parents, and absolutely no electronics. Instead, she became color war captain, started her own nightly “Sienna Show,” and apparently taught an entire group of kids how to twerk. Her one visiting day request? Penne alla vodka and McDonald’s.

    From there, Dale and Rachel catch up on Toronto, sorority rush dances, Dale’s birthday trip to E11EVEN, and the difference between a strip club and a “strip club adjacent” nightclub. Then Dale turns celebrity government names into a game, with Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga, Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Natalie Portman, and Gene Simmons all getting exposed.

    They wrap with old TV shows that could probably never get made today, Rachel’s latest true crime watch, and a plea to stop messing with perfectly good games. Justice for original Uno. Dale has a problem of his own: gas prices are officially affecting his dating radius. If you live too far away, apparently love is going to have to wait.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    35 min
  • S5 Ep. 31 - Gym Etiquette and Bathroom Emergencies

    What do you do when you’re a guest in someone’s house, use the bathroom, and the toilet absolutely refuses to flush? Rachel and Dale tackle the nightmare scenario, which somehow leads to farting during physical therapy, whether you can ever show your face again afterward, and Janine revealing an actual bathroom disaster involving a toilet brush that never needed to happen.

    Then it’s time for gym grievances. Dale has a new trainer, Rachel has opinions, and together they run through the people who make working out unbearable: machine hogs, speakerphone offenders, excessive grunters, treadmill invaders, naked locker room wanderers, unsolicited gym talkers, and couples turning the workout floor into foreplay. Plus, Rachel and her brother have nicknames for their gym regulars, including Spider-Man, Rocky, and a woman doing full-on gymnastics while everyone else is just trying to finish their workout.

    They wrap with what they’re watching, including the Raygun breakdancing documentary, Lioness, Outer Banks, and Ted Lasso, before putting the new Dancing with the Stars cast through a very simple test: if Dale and Rachel have to ask who you are, are you really a star? And Rachel gets one final thing off her chest: please stop inviting her to game night.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    46 min
  • S5 Ep. 30 - Big Brother Got Way Too Suggestive

    Dale and Rachel are deep into Big Brother, but one competition has them questioning what exactly they were watching on primetime television. Between the hip thrusting, extremely committed tongue work, and camera angles nobody asked for, Rachel now knows way too much about the contestants. They break down their favorites, Dale’s connection to Dee, and whether they can convince her to come on the podcast after the season.

    Then the hot topics start flying: a teenage girl storms a football field to defend her little brother, a mom goes viral for trying to ban Oreos from everyone else’s lunches, another mom attempts to arrange her daughter’s date complete with a black car, and a fake 49ers player allegedly convinces women he’s the real deal. Somehow $3,000 worth of cinnamon rolls, an Uber driver, and ICE also enter the conversation, leading Rachel to devise a very specific plan involving Dee, an Uber, and a stop at Roll and Dough.

    Dale shares why the Jason Taylor Foundation’s annual back-to-school shopping event means so much to him, while Rachel gets something off her chest about everyone who says they “should write a book” now that she knows exactly how much work it takes to actually publish one. They wrap with Dale’s thoughts on unhoused people with dogs, what he’d do if he ever had serious money to put toward homelessness, and another push toward the elusive 500 Instagram followers.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    42 min
  • S5 Ep. 29 - Steve Aoki Caked Dale at the World Cup

    Dale and Rachel are back for season five, and apparently Dale spent his summer getting internationally caked in the face by Steve Aoki. He breaks down his World Cup hosting gig, why he personally supplied the Publix cake, the ridiculous amount of approval it took to get it thrown at his face, and what it was like hosting soccer fans from around the world. Rachel has a major summer update of her own with her book Breast Case Scenario officially available for presale.

    Then things get appropriately chaotic. Dale recaps his toga birthday party, Janine admits she drunkenly exposed his secret second barber, and the first round of “Would You?” tackles BBLs, porta potties, food off the floor, Florida tap water, barefoot gym showers, and going commando. Somehow, a podcast recorded inside a driverless Waymo may now actually happen.

    They close things out with Rachel encountering a coyote in her Boca neighborhood and deciding she’s now walking her dog armed with a taser, while Dale discovers he’s been paying for SiriusXM for years without using it and spends 30 minutes trying to escape the subscription. Season Cinco has officially begun.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    45 min
  • S4 Ep. 28 - Baby Jessica Got Arrested and Rachel Got a Book Deal

    Then the headlines come in hot: TSA officers at Miami International got caught stealing wallets mid-screening in a coordinated distraction scheme, a nurse wins $300K from Carnival for being over-served tequila over nine hours on a cruise (14 shots, grown adult, still won), Baby Jessica from the Texas well incident grew up and got arrested for domestic assault, a Boca woman crashed into a school bus and asked cops to take her to a church with a pool, and a California man returned Lego boxes filled with dry pasta approximately 70 times before anyone noticed. 

    To close out the season, Rachel announces she's walking in a swimsuit fashion show benefiting BRCA Strong and POST SWIM, a swimwear company for breast cancer survivors (or anyone looking for more coverage and a confidence driven brand, and casually drops that she signed a book deal. Dale achieved a bucket list thing he cannot talk about yet and a new fashion habit he probably should not talk about, and zero regrets. Rachel is thriving with her TJ Maxx egg drawer and wants you to know that is a completely valid place to be in life.

    Episode Sponsor:
    Presented by 1-800 Call Lee — South Florida’s trusted personal injury team. Learn more at calllee.com.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    36 min
  • S4 Ep. 27 - The Boca E-Bike Incident and Dale's Stingy Instagram Grid

    Things kick off with a full breakdown of the e-bike drama taking over Boca. A middle-aged man threw water bottles at a kid, grabbed his phone, and somehow rallied a crowd of neighbors like he put out a bat signal. Rachel and Amy unpack why this guy isn't in handcuffs, what it means for every teen in the community, and why e-bikes in the hands of unsupervised kids are a whole separate problem nobody wants to deal with.

    Then Rachel makes her case for why Dale is basically a deadbeat podcast dad. Four years in and she has earned exactly one square on his Instagram grid, and only because of a life-threatening health crisis. Dale's defense is weak. The conversation somehow turns into a pitch for a Friends Without Benefits Dating Game episode, courtesy of Rachel's mom Arlyne, who called in fresh off receiving Gucci sneakers from Rachel's dad mid-episode and immediately volunteered to interrogate Dale's future dates. Amy also makes her case for Coachella, the value, the vibes, the one girl who had a breakdown, and why T-Pain deserves way more credit than he gets.

    The episode wraps with Rachel's PSA about human dog beds (she wants one, she's not sorry) and Amy's desperate plea for someone to tell her early morning parenting has an expiration date.

    Episode Sponsor:
    Presented by 1-800 Call Lee — South Florida’s trusted personal injury team. Learn more at calllee.com.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    34 min
  • S4 Ep. 26 - The $500 He Never Asked For Back

    Dale has been sitting on a $500 loan for almost a year, has seen the guy in person, and still hasn't said a word. Rachel and Amy Lundy — creator of MOABs, the Mother of All Baby Showers, and today's in-studio guest — talk him into sending a Venmo request like a normal person. He won't. Meanwhile, Rachel's daughter crashes the call-in line, reports on the missing hair dryer, eats fruity pebbles, and gives the room a masterclass on throwing it in a circle. Amy survives all of it for her very first podcast appearance.

    Rachel's best friend Marni calls in from her Uber mom afternoon to settle the funniest-friend debate once and for all (she loses), bond with Dale over Friends trivia, and pitch everyone on scoring media passes to Bruno Mars. Summer concert season comes up — Usher, Chris Brown, Lionel Richie, Yacht Rock at a Marlins game — and somehow it all connects back to white people and Teslas.

    The episode closes on a sinus infection waiting room rant, a teaser about e-bikes that's going to get heated next week, and a Two Live Jews sponsorship read that nobody saw coming.

    Episode Sponsor:
    Presented by 1-800 Call Lee — South Florida’s trusted personal injury team. Learn more at calllee.com.

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale

    Contact Rachel Sobel:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.whineandcheezits.com
    Facebook:  Whine and Cheez - its by Rachel Sobel   
    Instagram: @whineandcheezits
    TikTok: @rachel.sobel.writes

    Purchase My Book Here!

    Contact Dale McLean:
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: dalethehost.com
    Instagram: @UptownDale



    43 min

About Friends Without Benefits

From the publisher's feed

One woman. One man. Thirty plus years of strictly platonic friendship with ZERO romantic history between them.This is Friends Without Benefits.Rachel Sobel is the face behind the popular blog and…