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This episode, Eamon & Merlin talk a Halloween party that confronts a spooky mystery on Real Housewives of Atlanta; Vicki finding a new insult to be mad about on Real Housewives of Orange County; and a banging tea party on Big Brother.
5:03 - Real Housewives of Atlanta: Season 17: Episode 16
We are Eamon and Merlin, a queer married couple from Texas living in Pittsburgh, PA. We love reality television, wrestling, drag queens, and pretty much anything that can be called even kinda gay. A Gay & His Enby is a podcast where we talk about everything we love in terms of media and pop culture; everything thats gay and gay adjacent; basically all the conversations we have in our living room we are now putting in front of a microphone and on the internet for you.
We have launched our MERCH STORE! We are so excited to bring you these designs, all made by Merlin, commemorating some of our favorite iconic moments! Shop now at https://AGayAndHisEnby.Threadless.com
Every week, we have the pleasure and privilege of recording from Sorgatron Media Studios in Pittsburgh. The theme song for our main show is Pulsar by Shane Ivers, and the theme song for Binge Watch is Higher Up by Shane Ivers, both of which you can find at https://www.silvermansound.com
All of our social media can be found at our linktree: https://linktr.ee/agayandhisenby
We want to take a moment to uplift a powerful resource:
Let us be crystal clear: A Gay & His Enby stands for immigrant rights. Period.
This isn’t just politics—it’s about people. Families being torn apart. Communities being surveilled and silenced. And the same systems that criminalize immigrants also criminalize Black people, trans people, queer people, disabled people—anyone who doesn’t fit white supremacist standards of “belonging.”
We believe:
If you’ve ever wondered how to help, this guide is a great place to start. Share it. Donate if you can. Speak out even when it’s uncomfortable.
None of us are free until all of us are free.
In recent years, states have pushed forward a record number of bills that attack LGBTQ rights, especially transgender youth. The current obession with Drag Queens is no exception. This is a thinly veiled attempt to outlaw gender expressions that do not fall within the cisheteronormative guidelines. Please consider donating to one of the following charities to help make the US a safer place for Queer folks to live in peace.
American Civil Liberties Union
What happens when a PC gamer turns downloadable Steam games into physical cartridges? Sorg, Katie Dudas and Dave Podnar explore that inventive project alongside an AI-generated reality show starring romantic fruits, Xbox’s possible plan for preserving physical game collections, Fitbit’s long-awaited Apple Health support and a 9,000-pound rocket stage headed for the Moon.
The crew also discusses a travel app that automatically tells stories based on your location, the staggering first imagery from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Kevin Mitnick’s legacy in cybersecurity and several troubling decisions from the video game industry.
Support AwesomeCast and receive the ad-free edition at Patreon.com/AwesomeCast.
AwesomeCast is supported by Slice on Broadway, serving Pittsburgh podcasting with the perfect pepperoni pizza for more than a decade. Visit SliceOnBroadway.com.
Pro wrestler Gianni Michael Emricko joins Sorg, Rizz and Mad Mike for an episode packed with WWE SummerSlam reactions, Pittsburgh independent wrestling news and a spoiler-heavy trip through Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The crew opens by asking a surprising question: Was SummerSlam more enjoyable than WrestleMania? They examine a second night filled with fan-service moments, major returns and championship developments. Topics include Chelsea Green’s victory, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns seemingly closing another chapter of their shared history, CM Punk versus Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens returning to the championship picture, Nick Aldis stepping back into the ring, Dominik Mysterio’s success in AAA and WWE’s evolving relationship with lucha libre.
Gianni also receives some major news live on the show. His scheduled match at Prospect Pro Wrestling has changed, and he and Gorgeous Gregory will now challenge The Troublemakers for the NWA JCP Tag Team Championship. Gianni responds with an impromptu message for the champions and explains why the Italian Strongman plans to bring NWA gold home.
The conversation then turns toward Gianni’s recent match with EFFY at 880 Wrestling, his growing list of appearances throughout the region and the practical lessons he has learned while building his wrestling career. His advice is simple: get in the car, attend shows, help with the ring and production, introduce yourself and become someone promoters and wrestlers enjoy having in the locker room.
Sorg also reveals new details for Sorgstock, including a surprising battle between Psychedelic Dreams members Sammy Suntheimer and Billy the Alien, plus wrestling-theme music from Sykes.
After an official spoiler warning, the crew dives deeply into Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Gianni gives the film a 9.6 and calls it one of the most authentically Spider-Man stories yet. The discussion covers Peter Parker’s stripped-down life, the introduction of Jean Grey, Punisher’s role, mutant technology, the Hulk battle, Ned’s potentially significant handshake, Miles Morales speculation and possible connections to Secret Wars and the wider multiverse.
The episode closes with the viral video of Beastman and Sam Adonis helping break up a festival fight, followed by “What We Learned,” where Mad Mike argues that WWE is misunderstanding the basic appeal of Joe Hendry.
Sorg:
Gianni Michael Emricko:
Mad Mike:
Rizz:
In Fishing Without Bait 526, we continue our conversation with Vic Costik of the New Rust Pittsburgh Podcast. In Part 2, Vic joins Jim Ellermeyer for a thoughtful discussion about identity, community, safety, recovery and the daily work of becoming a more compassionate person.
Vic explains why they try to approach ignorance through “neutral inquiry,” beginning with questions rather than immediate confrontation. The conversation examines the experiences of transgender people navigating public spaces, the importance of listening to people when they tell us who they are and the need to create communities in which people feel welcomed rather than merely tolerated.
Vic also discusses their commitment to Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ+ community and the fear that has caused some transgender people to leave their homes in search of safer places. That concern helped inspire Vic’s community involvement and ultimately contributed to the creation of New Rust Pittsburgh.
Jim and Vic connect these ideas to the principles of 12-step recovery, including acceptance, accountability, making amends and changing both thoughts and actions. They consider the pain of perfectionism and the healing that can begin when we acknowledge our flaws, accept responsibility and reconstruct ourselves through what we have learned.
The conversation then turns toward the overlooked side of Pittsburgh. Vic describes the artists, entrepreneurs, makers, small businesses and unusual creative communities that exist throughout the city. From strangers playing music together before the Fourth of July fireworks to the Andy Warhol Museum, neighborhood restaurants, local shops and nighttime bike rides across the Smithfield Street Bridge, Vic shares the memories that have made Pittsburgh feel like home.
The episode closes with a discussion about authenticity, privilege, personal boundaries and relationships. Vic reflects on overcoming people-pleasing, cultivating relationships with people who provide encouragement and stepping away from relationships that repeatedly cause harm.
Ultimately, New Rust Pittsburgh is more than a guide to interesting places. It is Vic’s effort to create a love letter to Pittsburgh—one that embraces the city’s people, creativity, weirdness and potential to become a more welcoming home for everyone.
Explore the New Rust Pittsburgh Podcast at NewRustPodcast.com.
Subscribe to Fishing Without Bait through your favorite podcast player so you never miss an episode.
Listen without advertisements and help support the show through Patreon:
Continue your mindfulness journey with our book, “Learn to Fish Without Bait: A 365-Day Mindfulness Journal and Adult Coloring Book”:
What happens when drones go somewhere they’re not supposed to go?
In this AwesomeChat, Sorg talks with Logan Harris, CEO of Spotter Global, about the technology being developed to detect drones, track their operators, protect critical infrastructure, and give security teams a better picture of what is happening across large areas.
Spotter Global began by shrinking ground-surveillance radar technology that once required large equipment, significant power, and multiple operators into compact systems designed to provide situational awareness in the field. Today, that technology has expanded into critical infrastructure, public safety, drone detection, and some surprisingly unexpected applications.
Logan demonstrates how radar, cameras, GPS tracking information, video analytics, and Remote ID can work together to help operators identify what is actually moving instead of simply generating another security-camera alert.
The conversation also explores a rapidly changing drone landscape: public-event incursions, Remote ID regulations, DJI’s changes to its geofencing system, DIY aircraft, fiber-optic drones that cannot be detected or jammed through conventional radio-frequency methods, and the growing challenge of defending against inexpensive drones without using dramatically more expensive countermeasures.
Learn more about Logan Harris and Spotter Global at www.spotterglobal.com.
How Spotter Global started with military radar technology
A compact radar covering a surprisingly large area
SnapTrack brings live targets directly onto the map
Radar + cameras + video AI to reduce false alarms
Critical infrastructure and the Metcalf substation attack
Drones over a Fourth of July event
Remote ID: a “license plate” for drones
Spotter Global’s Remote ID sensor
The 250-gram threshold and smaller drones
DIY drones, RC aircraft, and external Remote ID beacons
DJI and the change from geofencing to warnings
Drone activity around major sporting events
Fiber-optic “FOG” drones
Why fiber-optic drones are difficult to stop
Long-range attack drones and the economics of defense
Fish farms need radar too
Avalanches, rockfalls, and polar bears
Entrepreneurship: do it for more than money
The Three Rs: Record, Remind, Report
Sorg welcomes guest co-hosts Tina Keys and TruePrinceofPro (T-Pop) for a packed Wrestling Mayhem Show!
The crew breaks down AEW Redemption, Kenny Omega and Kevin Knight, Will Ospreay and the Death Riders, Kyle Fletcher vs. Bandido, Maya World, Tommaso Ciampa and the continuing evolution of Ring of Honor.
Then it’s on to SummerSlam, including the two-night lineup, Punk and Cody, Roman and Seth, Penta vs. Chad Gable, the women’s ladder match and one extremely strange Joe Hendry/Danhausen segment.
Plus: WWE Radio and SiriusXM, changing wrestling streaming options, Rebel’s ALS benefit efforts, T-Pop’s complete AAA update, Dominik Mysterio joining forces with Omos, Penta’s AAA return, Sorgstock announcements, Pittsburgh indie wrestling and our weekly What We Learned!
Hosted by Sorg with Tina Keys and TruePrinceofPro.
More Wrestling Mayhem Show: www.wrestlingmayhemshow.com
Can AI make you better at Photoshop instead of replacing Photoshop? Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar explore that question on AwesomeCast 789 as Sorg shares a workflow for turning AI-generated concepts into editable graphics while keeping control of the final design.
The crew also gets into Pittsburgh technology history with plans to preserve Westinghouse’s Atom Smasher, the impressive Commercial Street Bridge replacement, and the accessibility origins of the modern audiobook.
Then the geekery kicks into high gear: Xbox expands its classic-game preservation efforts to PC, Hasbro combines Transformers with Jem and the Holograms, LEGO brings Smart Play to Star Trek, Robosen releases an Optimus Prime robot designed to reopen childhood wounds, and Universal plans movies based on ten Atari properties.
Plus, Chachi has gaming headlines involving Hasbro, Steam Deck and Atari, and the crew discusses the backlash surrounding a $58,000 humanoid robot proposed for use in a New York school district.
It’s Pittsburgh technology, AI creativity, retro gaming, accessibility, robots and pop-culture nostalgia on AwesomeCast 789.
In Episode 525 of Fishing Without Bait, Jim Ellermeyer welcomes Vic Costik for Part 1 of a conversation about community, authenticity, connection, and finding the courage to become more fully yourself.
Vic is a designer, community advocate, and the creator of New Rust, a podcast exploring Pittsburgh’s transformation through the individual stories of people doing interesting things throughout the city.
Growing up surrounded by the enormous crowds of New York City, Vic expected proximity to people to create connection. Instead, it was moving to Pittsburgh that showed him what community could truly feel like.
Vic talks with Jim about discovering Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community, building a found family, participating in the city’s creative and wonderfully unusual spaces, and realizing how helping others can create a support network in return. From jam nights and local zines to simply meeting people doing something they care about, Vic explains why Pittsburgh’s smaller communities became so important to him.
The conversation also explores judgment, curiosity, and what can happen when we approach unfamiliar experiences with a willingness to listen instead of immediately forming conclusions. Vic shares stories of talking with coworkers who had little or no previous experience with transgender people and choosing conversation as an opportunity to create understanding.
Vic also reflects candidly on his own journey toward authenticity. He discusses growing up without the language to understand what he was experiencing, repressing parts of himself, getting married to his high school sweetheart, and eventually recognizing that the life he was living did not feel like his own.
As Vic puts it, transitioning allowed him to “meet myself for the 1st time.”
What followed was more than a change in identity. Vic discovered a version of himself who loves being around people, participating in his community, sharing ideas, and embracing the wonderfully weird interests that make each person unique.
This is Part 1 of our conversation with Vic Costik. The conversation continues in the next episode of Fishing Without Bait.
Learn more about Vic’s New Rust podcast at NewRustPodcast.com.
Subscribe to Fishing Without Bait on your favorite podcast player so you never miss an episode.
Support the show on Patreon and receive ad-free episodes:
Pick up “Learn to Fish Without Bait: A 365-Day Mindfulness Journal and Adult Coloring Book”:
This episode, Eamon & Merlin talk the finale they forgot to talk about on Love Island USA, Phaedra’s cemetery adventures on Real Housewives of Atlanta; the intricacies of podcasting on Real Housewives of Orange County; and a heated and egg-citing nominations ceremony on Big Brother.
4:34 - Love Island USA: Season 08: Finale
We are Eamon and Merlin, a queer married couple from Texas living in Pittsburgh, PA. We love reality television, wrestling, drag queens, and pretty much anything that can be called even kinda gay. A Gay & His Enby is a podcast where we talk about everything we love in terms of media and pop culture; everything thats gay and gay adjacent; basically all the conversations we have in our living room we are now putting in front of a microphone and on the internet for you.
We have launched our MERCH STORE! We are so excited to bring you these designs, all made by Merlin, commemorating some of our favorite iconic moments! Shop now at https://AGayAndHisEnby.Threadless.com
Every week, we have the pleasure and privilege of recording from Sorgatron Media Studios in Pittsburgh. The theme song for our main show is Pulsar by Shane Ivers, and the theme song for Binge Watch is Higher Up by Shane Ivers, both of which you can find at https://www.silvermansound.com
All of our social media can be found at our linktree: https://linktr.ee/agayandhisenby
We want to take a moment to uplift a powerful resource:
Let us be crystal clear: A Gay & His Enby stands for immigrant rights. Period.
This isn’t just politics—it’s about people. Families being torn apart. Communities being surveilled and silenced. And the same systems that criminalize immigrants also criminalize Black people, trans people, queer people, disabled people—anyone who doesn’t fit white supremacist standards of “belonging.”
We believe:
If you’ve ever wondered how to help, this guide is a great place to start. Share it. Donate if you can. Speak out even when it’s uncomfortable.
None of us are free until all of us are free.
In recent years, states have pushed forward a record number of bills that attack LGBTQ rights, especially transgender youth. The current obession with Drag Queens is no exception. This is a thinly veiled attempt to outlaw gender expressions that do not fall within the cisheteronormative guidelines. Please consider donating to one of the following charities to help make the US a safer place for Queer folks to live in peace.
American Civil Liberties Union
The negotiations are open once again as the Wrestling Mayhem Show presents Brianna & Bradley Summit 2, hosted by Sorg with Patreon Manager Bradley and pro wrestler Brianna Bandz.
Bradley has apparently purchased the Wrestling Mayhem Show for the afternoon and transformed it into “Bradley Radio,” which means there is only one order of business: finally settling his complicated relationship with Brianna. There’s just one problem—Brianna insists she already moved on.
Brianna talks about the personal and professional changes she has experienced since the last Summit, including taking time for herself after the loss of her grandmother, losing a longtime job and navigating a difficult stretch outside of wrestling. She explains why she feels ready to get back to a more regular schedule and how music from Madison Beer inspired both a change in outlook and the angel wings that have become part of her wrestling presentation.
The conversation also gets serious as Brianna reflects on her Fight for Pride match with Nikki Winters. Long before stepping into a real wrestling ring together, the two friends were creating themselves in wrestling video games and imagining the careers they wanted. Years later, they found themselves across the ring from one another for an emotional match celebrating representation—and realizing the impact their journeys could have on people watching.
Brianna also discusses growing her career beyond her home area, working across multiple states and Canada, and the role social media has played in creating opportunities. One infamous interaction involving Bradley has now reached approximately six million views.
Then it’s time for Bradley’s Declarations. He confirms that he really does have a job, celebrates winning $105 at Beastman’s Birthday Bash, explains his problem with WWE’s Green Shirt Guy, gets deep into some wrestling grievances and finally looks back at his own participation in the Wrestling Mayhem Show’s 20th anniversary event.
That anniversary experience leads to an unexpectedly insightful discussion about performance anxiety, preparation, improvisation and why getting into a wrestling ring—even just to talk—is much harder than fans may realize.
But the biggest declaration comes last.
After years of insults, social-media fights and Brianna repeatedly attacking Bradley’s shins, real-life struggles gave the two a different perspective on one another. Bradley admits that somewhere along the way, the feud turned into an actual friendship.
Brianna agrees.
Mostly.
And after the Summit, watch Brianna Bandz and the rest of the action from MV Young’s Big Ass BBQ 5:
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