Jessel Taank is here, and she has some things to clear up! She joins Ira to discuss the fan reaction to her on the latest season of The Real Housewives of New York City. They get into her feud with Carole Radziwill, the Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy drama, her infamous Dorinda Medley fashion showdown, and her complicated relationship with Erin Lichy. Plus, Jessel reveals her plans to play matchmaker for Ira.

00:00 — Intro

01:43 — Jessel Taank Joins

06:18 — RHONY Fan Backlash

07:40 — Erin & Setting Boundaries

14:17 — Race & RHONY

15:05 — Carole Radziwill & Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy

19:47 — Dorinda & the Bubble Dress

24:03 — RHONY Friendships & the New Cast

33:36 — Fashion PR & Personal Style

41:04 — Matchmaking

44:27 — RHONY Zingers & Confessionals

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Chris Black is everywhere and doing everything — co-hosting the podcast How Long Gone, building his American essentials clothing line Hanover, writing a memoir, and hanging in the DJ booth with Charli XCX's husband. He joins Ira to talk about his taste and how he developed it, from the 90s Atlanta hardcore scene that exposed him to life beyond a white, middle-class, suburban childhood, to the current "say yes" era he's living in — all while juggling sobriety, marriage, and still wanting to be in bed by ten.

00:00 Taylor Swift Released New Music

03:40 Chris Black joins Ira

06:46 Writing Retreats & Isolation

10:45 Books, Memoirs & Reading

15:48 Manhattan vs. Brooklyn Living

20:46 90s Hardcore Punk Roots

24:48 The Value of Gatekeeping

27:58 Managing a Band, TRL & MTV Nostalgia

30:45 Video Podcasts vs. Audio

34:37 His GQ Column & Bravo's Southern Charm

36:42 Developing Taste via Magazines

38:31 Launching Hanover Apparel

40:16 Curation & Photography

43:48 Ultimate Pop Diva Mount Rushmore

53:29 Fantasy of Living Abroad

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Marlon James joins Ira Madison III for a conversation about his new novel The Disappearers (which has been shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize), growing up in Jamaica, and the pop culture that shaped him. They get into Marlon’s complicated relationship with his own past, how Prince, Heathers, and ’90s grunge gave him a vocabulary, and why he wants readers to enter the world of his books on his own terms. If you haven't picked up a copy of The Disappearers yet... run, don't walk.

00:00 Ira Madison III Ranks the Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist

04:33 The Disappearers & Writing His Most Personal Novel

07:56 Growing Up Queer in Jamaica

12:12 Prince, Pop Culture & Queerness

20:19 How He Writes & Gets Out of the Way

32:17 How Pop Culture Shapes His Writing

37:13 Jamaican Patois & Writing on His Own Terms

45:15 Queer Sex, Shame & Writing

50:14 Revenge, Trauma & Literary Perspective

52:25 What Marlon Wants to Disappear From Literature

56:58 Writing Multiple Perspectives

01:06:22 How He Knows When a Book Is Finished

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