Podcast
The Chad & Cheese Podcast
Hosted by Evergreen Podcasts · EN
Everything people and workforce—recruiting, marketing, technology, talent management, and workforce economics—delivered with biting sarcasm and unapologetic snark. Industry misfits Chad Sowash and Joel Cheesman bring their no-holds-barred opinions to dissect news, trends, and the occasional dumpster fire. If you’re a hiring company, staffing firm, or vendor looking for insights (and a thick skin), these two won’t just tell you what’s happening—they’ll tell you why you’re probably doing it wrong. Buckle up, buttercup.
91episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
LinkedIn Sloppin, Google's No Click AI Poppin', and OpenAI's Jail Breakin'
3d ago01:01:32Tap to summarizeIs LinkedIn turning into a bot-ridden wasteland? Is Google actively blowing up its own revenue model? And are AI agents already plotting their escape from human containment? The crew is back together, hot out of the chamber, to slice through corporate PR and tackle the messiest stories in tech and workplace culture. From outrageous ageism in the C-suite to the high-stakes risk of unchecked AI, Chad, JT, and Mo are serving up the unfettered truth with zero filters. Surveillance, Smoke, & Creepy Ray-Bans The $600K Employee Influencer Win Lattice CEO’s "Calcified" Slip-Up "Just because you can doesn't mean you should, is my theme for 2026 on this pod... You don't replace judgment and have AI do it." — JT O'Donnell LinkedIn: Sexy Bots & The King of Slop The Nano-Influencer Arbitrage. Google Search Enters Its Zero-Click Era Autonomous Bots & The AI Singularity "I'm going to tell you right now, if you're at a party and you're not at least asking Charney for his vape pen, you're wrong. Charney brings the best weed." — Chad Sowash Enjoy!
Transcribe →Shredded: Kforce, Indeed, OpenAI, ZipRecruiter, Skello, Fiverr, & More
4d ago00:04:30Tap to summarizeThe Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment.
Transcribe →Startup Nightmares w/ Kristy McCann
6d ago00:37:08Tap to summarizeOn this week's The Chad & Cheese Podcast interview episode, Joel and Chad sit down with Kristy McCann founder, former CEO of Skill Cycle, and overall HR force of nature who proves the ultimate golden rule: Do NOT mess with HR. Ever wondered what a founder’s absolute worst nightmare looks like? Picture this: You bootstrap your HR tech startup, navigate COVID without losing your shirt, grow fourfold, and then win an "Opportunity Fund" competition. Sounds great, right? Except the folks writing the checks didn't just want a seat at the table they wanted to lock you out of the house, revalue your $30 million company down to $8 million, and suggest you replace your human coaching marketplace with an AI bot. In this wildly candid episode, Kristy spills all the tea (and Burger King) on: The Georgia Ambush VC Playbooks & "Pay-to-Play" RICO & Receipts It’s a cautionary tale full of red flags, "bipolar 5.5-sense" gut instincts, and a Masterclass in why discovery in a courtroom is a VC's absolute worst enemy. "You wanna fuck with me? Fine. Let's bring it out into a courtroom." — Kristy McCann Grab your popcorn, founders you’re going to want to take notes on this one.
Transcribe →Indeed Terms, LinkedIn Ghosts, & Google Pitchforks
1w ago00:58:10Tap to summarizeThe latest episode of The Chad & Cheese Podcast kicks off with hosts Joel Cheesman and Chad Sowash diving into a massive recap of the World Cup tournament, complete with a look at the spectacular multi-artist halftime show, light political jabs, a hilarious Taco Bell fast-food mishap, and a celebratory beer for a record-breaking Scottish runner. After sharing details on how you can score a free podcast t-shirt, the boys move straight into their high-stakes "Buy or Sell" segment, where they aggressively debate the business prospects of recent major industry acquisitions and funding rounds involving Signal Labs, BrassRing, Adzuna, JobLift, and the controversial candidate-pays model of Refer. The main events of the episode take an even sharper turn into major industry compliance, legal drama, and worker rights. First, Chad and Joel unleash a highly critical teardown of the brand-new terms of service rolling out from Indeed, exposing massive financial and legal implications for both employers and job seekers. Next, they tackle the legal spotlight hitting LinkedIn, debating whether a high-profile investigation by the Texas Attorney General is necessary platform accountability or just pure political theater. Finally, the hosts wrap up by throwing their support behind a massive internal worker movement at Google, analyzing whether a new 4,500-employee petition will actually force the tech giant's hand or simply stall out. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Episode Overview 00:33 - Travel and Cultural Observations from the World Cup 02:07 - US as a Host and International Perceptions 03:07 - Final World Cup Matches and Team Performances 04:20 - Analysis of England vs. Argentina and Paraguay vs. France 05:45 - Messi's Performance and the Final Match Insights 06:20 - Spain’s Defensive Mastery and Tournament Highlights 07:37 - Halftime Show and Cultural Impact 13:43 - History of Halftime Shows and Cultural Shifts 15:26 - Record-Breaking Mile Run and Celebrations 17:23 - Buy or Sell Segment: Signal Labs and Brass Ring 21:56 - Adzuna’s Acquisition of JobLift and Market Strategy 25:16 - Rise of Talent Marketplaces and New Funding 29:30 - Discussion on Company Buybacks, Severance, and Employee Rights 41:08 - Texas Investigation into LinkedIn Ghost Jobs 48:32 - Political Theater and Lawsuits in the Job Market 54:41 - Humor and Closing Remarks
Transcribe →Shredded: Signal Labs, BrassRing, Recur Software, PCRecruiter, Refer, Deel, Talentware, & More
2w ago00:05:23Tap to summarizeThe Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment.
Transcribe →AI Takes The Boring Part w/ Adam Godson
2w ago00:30:25Tap to summarizeThe TL;DR: What happens when HR tech's most prominent conversational AI platform gets swallowed by an enterprise titan? In this high-octane episode, Chad and Cheese sit down with Adam Godson—the newly crowned GM of Talent Acquisition Products at Workday—to dissect the aftermath of the Paradox acquisition. Forget standard corporate buzzwords; this is a raw look at how AI "agents" are systematically dismantling traditional software, why the SAS pricing model is officially on life support, and what it actually takes to survive the "SAS Apocalypse." The Death of the "Click-and-Scroll" ATS The "SAS Apocalypse" is Real Resumes are "Lousy" 2D Artifacts Recruiting is Splitting in Two "What you get rid of is the people that wish they were talking to candidates, but are clicking buttons in the system. And that's a good thing." — Adam Godson Why it matters: This episode serves as a blueprint for the next five years of recruitment tech. If you are still relying on legacy keywords, manual data entry, and traditional seat licenses, your strategy is already on borrowed time.
Transcribe →Indeed Cautionary Tales
2w ago01:03:20Tap to summarizeThe boys are diving headfirst into the algorithmic trenches as LinkedIn battles a massive influx of AI-generated content that is actively derailing user feeds. This automation wave is sparking a larger debate on the future of recruitment, especially as Indeed looks to double down on automated agents to reshape how hiring works. However, this aggressive tech pivot is already causing serious friction in the real world. A major multi-unit franchisee, Hamra Enterprises, found itself locked in a high-stakes standoff with Indeed over systemic backend glitches that disrupted major brand campaigns and nearly triggered a massive spending boycott. Beyond the corporate drama, the boys lock in their predictions for a massive international soccer finale and share a wild, graphic true-crime story from overseas that you truly have to hear to believe. Plus, the HR tech landscape is shifting fast with a wave of new product drops and strategic alliances. The crew breaks down the massive legal and compliance risks hidden inside the latest Recruitics and Maki People integration, dissects the market strategy behind the newest Appcast launch, and debates whether a three-way partnership between HireEZ, Next, and Talroo is a brilliant counter-strategy to industry giants or just a culturally messy survival play. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Episode Overview 01:00 - Chad's Wreckfest and World Cup Adventures 04:24 - AI in Movies and the Slotbuster Phenomenon 06:20 - AI-generated Content on Social Media 08:35 - World Cup Predictions and Rivalries 11:45 - Shoutouts and Political Satire 16:30 - Moscow Penis Biting Incident and Legal Penalties 22:08 - Indeed's Disposition Data and Industry Pushback 30:27 - The Future of Job Search and AI Agents 36:40 - Sponsorships and Recruitment Tech Announcements 37:26 - Recruitics Partnership with Mackey and AI Screening 45:32 - Industry Consolidation and Strategic Moves 53:46 - Closing Remarks and Dad Jokes
Transcribe →Shredded: Mercor, Deeptune, Sherpa, Employ, ID.me, Warp, Pebl, & More
3w ago00:04:54Tap to summarizeThe Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.
Transcribe →Hire Fast or Lose w/ Josh Secrest
3w ago00:48:06Tap to summarizeChad and Cheese drag Josh Secrest, Paradox’s Head of Marketing, into the hot seat. Josh’s resume boasts stints at both Abercrombie & Fitch and McDonald's. Once the guys stop badgering Josh about the Golden Arches, they get into why your current frontline application process is a flaming dumpster fire: The Velocity Deficit: The average restaurant or retail shop takes 16 painful days to lock down a frontline worker. The automated elite? They’re doing it in 3.5 days. Frontline candidates are applying to 25 jobs simultaneously; if you aren't the first to text them back, you’re just a ghost in their inbox while your remaining staff burns out. The Real Cost of "Quick Quits": Josh officially declares standard "time to hire" dead. The only metrics that actually impact the C-suite are the Break-Even Point (the magic 31-day mark where a worker finally stops costing you money) and the Retention Sticking Point (day 100, where they actually become a fixture). If your hires drop out before day 31, congratulations—you just subsidized their brief stint at your expense. Administrative Errand Boys: Your highly paid store managers are burning 10 to 12 hours a week acting as calendar secretaries, copy-pasting interview schedules and building shift templates. Paradox aims to execute that administrative trivia so managers can do the unfathomable: stand front-of-house and generate revenue. The Cold Hard Truth: Stop making people take a 45-minute personality quiz to flip a burger or stock a shelf. Automate the blocking and tackling, match their schedule instantly, or get used to looking at a red balance sheet.
Transcribe →Korn Ferry Swallows AMS, Handshake Grabs Uplimit
3w ago01:15:56Tap to summarizeHide your kids and grab your bourbon, because The Chad & Cheese Podcast is back! Joel is finally home from his pretentious European tour—blaming jet lag for being completely rusty—and Emi is here to keep him from totally derailing. Together, they are tackling a corporate landscape that looks like a beautiful car crash. They're dissecting the massive corporate marriages of Korn Ferry buying AMS and Handshake grabbing Uplimit—are these brilliant strategic moves or absolute train wrecks? Next, they dive into the giant AI oopsies of the week, laughing as Ford frantically rehires 350 human engineers because their robots built junk, and Mark Zuckerberg publicly admits Meta totally misjudged the AI hype train. They also break down why The Wall Street Journal says Gen X is getting absolutely crushed by unemployment, why Scott Galloway thinks working from home is ruining America's youth, and whether a fully robot-operated hotel in China is a budget dream or a horror movie. Tune in for the travel stories, the savage HR gossip, and the brutal return of Joel's awful dad jokes! Website: https://www.chadcheese.com/ Make sure you check FREE Stuff: https://www.chadcheese.com/free Subscribe for an audio version: https://www.chadcheese.com/subscribe
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