Reality Bytes

For the 18th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome writer & comedian Travon Free. First: The triad talks about the spectrum of sexuality, that we're all a little gay & how male bisexuality is discouraged in our culture. Then: Travon waxes poetic & hilarious about the unnecessary sexualization of the term bisexual, his new series in development with Issa Rae & HBO called Him or Her, what it's like to be the Jackie Robinson of bi guys in Hollywood, the bi double standard: why is it okay or encouraged for women, but not for men?, the fact that a lot of straight male culture is actually pretty gay, the book Not Gay by Jane Ward, publically coming out via a blog post in 2011, the changing media landscape in terms of LGBTQ+ issues, the slower shift towards acceptance in less liberal communities, gay-straight alliances in high school, the invisible B, leaning into your partner’s identity, his first relationship with a man which inspired h

For the 17th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome senior editor & Playboy Advisor Anna del Gaizo. First: Sofiya challenges Courtney to a 7-day blowjob challenge to prove who's the most "not like other girls."  Then: Anna spills the tea about how New York City kids grow up fast, her high school drug dealer, practicalities of the female condom (hint: not recommended unless your life is on the line), why Chlamydia is NBD, attending the AVN Awards, queefing v. farting, insecurities around sex, falling in love with Gia at the Spearmint Rhino, her current relationship status, Playboy parties, Connor Hefner assuming Hef's throne & posing for Playmate of the Month as a source of female empowerment. REMINDER: DOC JOHNSON GIVEAWAYS ALL WEEK – watch our IG @realitybytespod to enter! For more Anna del Gaizo: Read her Playboy Advisor column Follow her on Instagram @thisannaisbananas Follow her on Twitter @AnnaDelGaizo If you love th

For the 16th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome Chad Braverman (COO & Chief Creative Officer) & Erica Braverman (Head of Communications & Consumer Marketing) from Doc Johnson, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of pleasure products. This brother-sister duo run the largest sex toy company in the world with their dad Ron Braverman, who co-founded Doc Johnson in 1976. First: Dave gives us the 411 on his 1st sex toy experience (with the Mood Thrill ULTRASKYN stroker) & an update on his relationship status with pizza, Courtney shares a mortifying story about masturbating in a CVS parking lot, Sofiya & Courtney give their iWand testimonials & talk about being #MasturbationTwins. PLUS, DOC JOHNSON GIVEAWAYS ALL WEEK – watch our IG @realitybytespod to enter! Then: Chad & Erica tell us how their dad hid the truth about family business when they were kids, how they finally figured it out, what it was like to grow up in a sex-positive bubble

For the 15th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome Michael Feldman & Michael Rachlis to chat about their web series inspired by their real-life relationship, Michael And Michael Are Gay. We delve into their meet-cute on the dance floor at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Rachlis' boyfriends (plural) at the time, being a late bloomer, going down on girls in high school, realizing you're gay & coming out in one fell swoop, a casting couch true story, musical theater-loving Jewish dads, coming out to their dads first, the proposal, their Michael-themed wedding, the lowdown on Burning Man sex, the evolving rules of their open relationship, dealing with jealousy, the danger of hooking up with friends & Feldman's love of happy endings – plus Sofiya gives a SURROGATE UPDATE! For more Michael Feldman & Michael Rachlis: Watch Michael And Michael Are Gay on YouTube Follow Feldman on Instagram @michaeljfeldman Follow Rachlis on Instagram @mi

For the 14th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome Emma Koenig to fill us in on her latest book, Moan: Anonymous Essays on Female Orgasm (foreword by Rachel Bloom!). We dig into the anthology's origin story as a popular blog entitled How to Make Me Come, the blog-to-book publishing strategy, her approach as a "fan of sex" vs. an expert, contradictions among the spectrum of sexuality, childhood shame surrounding public masturbation (fair enough), meeting her boyfriend as soon as she finished the book & tips for anyone who wants to better communicate with their partner(s) about how to get them off – plus Emma issues a listener challenge. Also, DFR shares an update on his depression journey & the squad raves about the benefits of journaling. This episode is brought to you by Ritual vitamins. Check out ritual.com/reality to try Ritual – happiness guaranteed, or your 1st month's on them! For more Emma Koenig: Order Moan: Anonymous Es

For the 13th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome the hosts of the HowStuffWorks podcast Ethnically Ambiguous Anna Hossnieh & Shereen Lani Younes to talk about the complexities of growing up with Iranian-American & Syrian-American identities (respectively). We go deep into what it’s like to grow up with strict, immigrant parents, the inexplicable ways of Anna’s Zumba instructor cousin, Anna meeting her surfer bro boyfriend at Meltdown Comics, IRL implications of the travel ban, tattoos, coming out, what NOT to say to someone during a breakup, what’s up with exes who still watch your IG stories (!!!), the temptation to rewrite history after things end badly, Arabic analogies for explaining sex to kids, putting virginity on a pedestal, parents around the world just don’t understand, covering your hair, gender-based power inequities in the Middle East & crying while tripping – plus, our reaction to the Blasey Ford/Kavanaugh hearing (l

For the 12th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome two guests. First, sociologist & author of Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society, and Adult Entertainment Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals unpacks the invisible economic discrimination against sex workers & how Motorbunny took ride-along sex saddles from niche to accessible. Then humor writer & essayist Riane Konc joins us from the Midwest (Cincinnati, Ohio to be exact)! She tells the hilarious, tortured tale of meeting her now-husband at age 13, recognizing she would want to be with him someday, but NOT wanting to date him yet – thus leading to a decade-long rejection before they got married & had a kid. We also talk about attending a small religious college, how to evade income tax by having 12 kids, using God as a manipulation strategy, LiveJournal for poets, pregnancy, baby colic, star-based poems, hormones, depression, advice she would give her younger self prior to having a chi

For the 11th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome standup comedian, writer & Queery podcast producer Sierra Katow to talk about her college relationship blossoming into adulthood. We also chat about her starting standup in high school, party culture at Harvard, her season on Last Comic Standing, turn-ons, tips for keeping the peace & post #MeToo comedy comebacks – plus Courtney & Sofiya rant about the dismissive responsive to Dr. Chistine Blasey Ford's allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh & the ugly fact that our society doesn't believe women (while DFR supports them like a good ally). This episode is brought to you by Ritual vitamins. Check out ritual.com/reality to try Ritual – happiness guaranteed, or your 1st month's on them! For more Sierra Katow: Follow her on Instagram @sierrakatow Follow her on Twitter @sierrakatow Sign up for her newsletter!  If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy r

For the 10th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome actor, writer & creator of Comedy Central's How to Be Broke Biniam Bizuneh to give us tips on broke dating. We chop it up about gender parity in paying for dates, feminism's financial double standard, disposability in modern romance, love languages, practice relationships, defense mechanisms, the spark v. making a choice to fall in love, not wanting to date other comedians, unironic Jack Johnson fandom & what Biniam finds attractive – plus DFR dishes on his Jumbo's Clown Room date(?) & Sofiya gives a surrogate update. For more Biniam Bizuneh: Watch How to Be Broke on YouTube Follow him on Twitter @biniambiz Follow him on Instagram @biniambiz If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the 9th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome standup comedians, internet personalities & married couple Adrienne Airhart & Aristotle Georgeson to give us the download on their relationship built on the crucial compatibilities of sex, drugs & rock n' roll. We also chat about their comedy club meet cute, Adrienne getting arrested the night they met, fucking on the 1st date, Aristotle's ad agency days, moving out to LA together, Twitter in the age of Trump, taking a step back from social media, deciding to get married post-ayahuasca trip, the most chill wedding ever, roasting each other in their vows, not wanting kids, quitting weed & why their relationship works – plus the crew shares updates on their friend Stacey's wedding, DFR's prostate, Sofiya's surrogate (fingers crossed!) & Courtney's thirst trapping. This episode is brought to you by Motorbunny. Visit motorbunny.com & use code REALITY to save $50 on either the starter ki

For the 8th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome standup comedian & star of Oxygen’s Funny Girls Ester Steinberg to give us the 411 on her foray into polyamory, which (spoiler!) didn't work out because now she's monogamous, engaged & writing a romcom about the whole ordeal. We get into how Ester wore her now-fiancée down, her giant fucking engagement ring, their podcast meet cute, their attempt at an open relationship, The Ethical Slut, her musician side piece, why previous guest Nicole Aimée Schreiber deserves the good friend award, what's it like when your partner is uber-successful in a similar field, WGA health insurance, infatuation, orgasms, cumming with intention, manifesting her 1st commercial, moms who party & Cheryl Strayed's amazing Dear Sugar column "The Ghost Ship That Didn't Carry Us" – plus Sofiya shares a surrogate update. This episode is brought to you by Ritual vitamins. Check out ritual.com/reality to try Ritual

For the 7th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome comedian, writer & host of the Nerdificent podcast Dani Fernandez to get nerdy with us about all things sex, relationships & dating. This episode opens with a MUST-LISTEN story about Dave's virgin butt getting turned out by Dr. Alvaredo during his 1st prostate exam (spoiler: he liked it like a lot!), plus we talk about eating ass and butt sex in general, as well as issue a Man School song apology to Dave's sister (who happens to be a long-time listener – we love you, Deb!). Then we GET. INTO. IT. with mega babe Dani (trust us, you're gonna want to peep her IG) about losing her virginity in the OC, how sexy women are perceived in comedy, being too sexually eager as a turn-off, marrying her college sweetheart at age 24, getting divorced a year later, preserving her amazing wedding pics in the best way possible, dating in the entertainment industry, her last long-term relationship, the

For the 6th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome creator of the viral Instagram account @byefelipe & host of the V Single podcast Alexandra Tweten to discuss her new book Bye Felipe: Disses, Dick Pics, and Other Delights of Modern Dating. We get into how she started the account, reflect on her (& Dave's!) decade of dating in LA, the hilarious fact that hookups are DM-ing her to see if they’re in the book, the relationship status of being monogamous with your career, the phenomenon of forgetting you went on a date with someone when you run into them later, a review of the Field app (formerly Thrinder), Alexandra's discerning dating style, the legend of Ryan, dudes who like to be humiliated about their small dick size (get at us, we wanna talk to you!!), what constitutes a good date, tips for men & women trying to date on the Internet, Google reserve image search & the story of Dave getting catfished by a “London DJ.” For more Alexa

For the 5th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome comedian & Grindr meme god Zach Noe Towers to discuss his new LGBTQ standup special OUT on Stage. We chat about Zach's (& Dave's!) high school a cappella group, being such a dreamboat he had a legit fan club, his type, his transition from twink to otter, gay nomenclature, dating on Grindr, the obsession with masculinity & repressed misogyny & homophobia within the gay community, little v. big spoon preference, choosing career over a relationship, the effect of seeing monogamy modeled successfully & sugar baby fantasies – plus we talk about trying to find personal space when you live with your partner in a tiny apartment. This episode is brought to you by Ritual vitamins. Check out ritual.com/reality to try Ritual – happiness guaranteed, or your 1st month's on them! For more Zach Noe Towers: Check out his website  Follow him on Twitter @ZachNoeTowers Follow him on Instagram @za

For the 4th episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome comedian & chanteuse Scout Durwood to chat about her new musical comedy album Take One Thing Off. Our conversation runs the gamut, touching on topics including: the history of burlesque, Dita Von Teese, solving a 6-year mystery for Dave, testing your sexuality, lesbian clothes swapping, body shaming your partner (don't do it!), the correlation between homosexuality & intelligence, pansexuality as a universe baseline, breakups, learning to let go, turning heartbreak into art, the lost art of setting up single friends, marriage, monogamy & acknowledging that most relationships end – plus Sofiya fills us in on their search for a surrogate. For more Scout Durwood: Buy her album Take One Thing Off Watch her in our trailer for The Clapback Follow her on Twitter @scoutdurwood Follow her on Instagram @scoutdurwood If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy r

For the 3rd episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome relationship coach & author Matthew Solomon to discuss his new book Man School: Relating with Women in the #MeToo Era. We chop it up about the "actually" guys, the emotional labor of explaining the #MeToo movement to men who don't get it, the friend zone, how to handle & reframe rejection logically, the safety factor for women, why toxic masculinity hurts boys/men as much as girls/women, the danger in perpetuating gender roles, redefining what it means to be a provider, chivalry, tantra, magick with a "k" & so much more! For more Matthew Solomon: Order Man School: Relating with Women in the #MeToo Era Check out coachwithmatthewsolomon.com to learn more about his relationship coaching practice Follow him on Twitter @mattytheglue Follow him on Instagram @mattytheglue If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo Learn more about your ad choices.

For the 2nd episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome standup comedian & host of the Ignorance is #Blessed podcast Jessica Michelle Singleton to talk about her new solo show Codependent Arising, which will be playing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival August 2nd through 26th. We get into her last horrible breakup, the Eat Pray Love moment that inspired the show (going on 10-day silent meditation retreat), breakups in general, growing up with an alcoholic parent, abandonment issues, codependency, the quality of road dick for female comics & self-imposed celibacy (sort of).  For more Jessica Michelle: Get tickets to her show if you're going to the Edinburgh Fringe! Listen to her podcast Ignorance is #Blessed Follow her on Twitter @JMScomedy Follow her on Instagram @jmscomedy If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the 1st episode of season 4, your fearless triad – Courtney Kocak, along with new co-hosts Sofiya Alexandra & Dave Rankin – is thrilled to welcome relationship self-help gurus & real-life married couple Greg Behrendt & Amiira Ruotola to discuss their new book How to Keep Your Marriage From Sucking. Greg & Amiira are also the bestselling authors of He’s Just Not That Into You, It’s Called a Breakup Because It’s Broken & It’s Just a F***ing Date. They drop so much tried & true wisdom in this episode – it's a must-listen to set yourself up for wedded bliss! For more Greg & Amiira: Order How to Keep Your Marriage From Sucking  Listen to their podcast Maybe It's You Follow Greg on Twitter @gregorybehrendt Follow Amiira on Twitter @MsAmiirica If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*We apologize for the delay in releasing this final episode. There was an issue with Wade's sound that we were hoping to fix, but alas, this is the best we could do. Also maybe we didn't want it to be over. ;) Enjoy! REALITY BYTES is a show about sex, love, relationships & dating in the digital age, hosted by Courtney Kocak & Steve Hernandez, produced in partnership with JASH. For the 22nd (& final!) episode of season 3, the duo are thrilled to welcome their significant others, comedian & Who's Your Sign? podcast co-host Julia Loken & restaurateur Wade, to discuss meet cute stories, early relationship misfires, the monogamy vs. boyfriend/girlfriend conversation & what it's like when your partner has a sex & dating podcast.  This episode is brought to you by the Fab Skin, Hot Bodies with Dr. Jeannette Graf podcast & FabFitFun (go to fabfitfun.com & use code REALITY to get $10 off your first FabFitFun box). And if you like good eats, check out Wade's restaurants: Horsethief BBQ at Grand Central Market, Cafe Bir

REALITY BYTES is a show about sex, love, relationships & dating in the digital age, hosted by Courtney Kocak & Steve Hernandez, produced in partnership with JASH. For the 21st episode of season 3, the pair welcome actress Joy Nash (Dietland, Twin Peaks) for a deep ep about the lessons death teaches you about life, why it's so important to nurture a great relationship with yourself, dating app fatigue, her ideal beau (rhymes with Mavid Marber) & her amazing Dietland casting story – plus Courtney & Steve share their high school sexploits. This episode is brought to you by FabFitFun (go to fabfitfun.com & use code REALITY to get $10 off your first FabFitFun box). Please rate & review to tell us what you love! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices