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Evergreen Podcasts

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.

The Chad & Cheese Podcast

This week, the gang kicks things off with LinkedIn’s shiny new 100-million-strong verification army, because nothing says “I’m a real human” like flashing a blue badge that apparently gets you 60% more profile views and 50% more love on posts (fake LinkedIn influencers are sweating bullets right now). 

Then the trio dissects Findem’s mysterious acquisition, wondering if it's a path to riches for job boards or a one-way ticket to obselescence for the agent phenomenon. Walmart sneaks in as the dark-horse employment hero, proving even the retail behemoth can out-innovate and outsmart the market while competitors are still trying to get their own employee engagement strategies from hallucinating.

Additional fireworks come when Chad, J.T. and Joel tackle AI-generated content—specifically OpenAI’s Sora. Joel wonders if we’re about to drown in perfectly polished, soulless videos, JT argues creators can finally clone themselves (hello, 48-hour workdays!), and Chad just wants to know who’s actually going to pay for all this sci-fi wizardry instead of, you know, real revenue. 

And, naturally, it wouldn’t be Chad and Cheese without Chad recounting his house-selling saga like it’s a Greek tragedy and Joel dropping holiday nostalgia bombs that somehow make like worth living again. Too much?

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Podcast Overview

02:01 - The Impact of AI on Creativity and Content Creation

05:00 - Personal Updates and Life Changes

07:56 - Nostalgia and Tribute to John Candy

10:59 - Women in Corporate America: Challenges and Changes

14:01 - Engagement and Feedback in the Corporate World

16:06 - The Concept of 'Enshitification' in Platforms

21:07 - Recent Layoffs and Corporate Decisions

22:39 - The Impact of Layoffs and Economic Trends

24:26 - LinkedIn's Verification Program and Its Implications

29:01 - Findem's Acquisition of Getro and Job Market Dynamics

34:11 - Walmart's Transformation and Employee Investment

40:24 - NFL Talent Management and Corporate Parallels

LinkedIn's Trust Tree

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment. The Shred is brought to you today by Jobcase.

Shredded: Pine, Fronted, Findem, Getro, & More

Charlene Li joins Chad and Cheese to tackle the messy reality of AI in the workplace, stressing that while the technology is hyped, successful adoption is always about people, not tech. She exposes the painful truth: 95% of AI pilots never scale because leaders treat it like a technology implementation, not a strategic transformation. 

To win, organizations must form a Minimally Viable Team (MVT) that includes HR and key strategic thinkers, focused on supporting top business objectives. Before any training, leaders must address employee fear and anxiety about job loss, creating a safe space to discuss concerns. 

According to Li, speed is the new moat, meaning companies must move beyond pilots to adopt a rolling 18-month AI Roadmap, prioritizing clarity and continuously adapting their plans every quarter. 

The goal is to cultivate integrated intelligence, using AI not just for productivity, but to enhance uniquely human traits like empathy and judgment, ultimately turning employees into "super humans."

Chapters00:00 - Intro & Bio02:00 - Book Origin04:00 - 95% Pilot Fail06:00 - MVT & Strategy08:00 - Fluency Mandate11:00 - Fear & Culture14:00 - Speed Moat16:00 - Superhumans22:00 - Roadmap & Messy Middle31:00 - Shadow AI Amnesty34:00 - Teen Advice39:00 - Wrap

You're Doing AI Wrong with Charlene Li

Strap in, kids — this week on The Chad & Cheese Podcast, the gang returns from skiing, globetrotting, and loudly judging their Spotify Wrapped to break down a blockbuster week in TA.

First up: VONQ drops its biggest launch in years, rolling out its shiny new “Echo” platform like they're gunning for an Apple keynote. Did they finally build something the industry actually needs? Did they actually stick the landing? And is this the opening move in a coming acquisition play? We’ve got thoughts… lots of them.

Then: Indeed pulls the ladder up — again. Anonymous job alerts? Gone. New walls? Higher. Data grabs? You bet your ass. We’re diving into why job seekers are about to get screwed and why employers should be panicking yesterday.

We’re also hitting Instagram’s five-day RTO mandate (spoiler: it’s not about “saving employees from depression”), Australia’s crackdown on under-16s on social media, and one of the most creative protest videos to hit Home Depot’s parking lot.

Plus: whiskey, fantasy football standings, union-staffing détente, and enough holiday chaos to make Santa call HR.

It’s spicy. It’s snarky. It’s peak Chad, JT, and Lieven. You’ve been warned.

VONQ Goes Hollywood & Indeed Builds a Death Star

Shredded: Tutor Intelligence, Jeeva AI, Helio AI , Pack, GoTu, Cyberr, LizzyAI, & More

In this episode of The Chad & Cheese Podcast, hosts Joel Cheesman and Chad Sowash welcome Desiree Throckmorton, senior consultant at OutSolve and former Kaiser Permanente TA manager, for a deep dive into the escalating world of I-9 compliance amid unprecedented ICE enforcement. 

Desiree breaks down I-9 fundamentals: a decades-old (1980s) federal mandate requiring employers to verify every new hire’s identity and work authorization via Form I-9, regardless of company size. Section 1 is completed by the employee on day one; Section 2 by the employer within three business days using original documents (List A, B, or C). Remote verification via video has been allowed since 2023, but errors—missing fields, wrong dates, or accepting invalid docs—can trigger fines from $281 to $2,789 per form, with knowingly hiring unauthorized workers costing up to $27,894 per violation.

The real alarm bell? A $170 billion ICE budget boost, including $30 million to hire 10,000 new agents focused on workplace audits and raids. Desiree notes 15,000 targeted I-9 inspections planned for 2026—more than double pre-COVID levels—shifting from Trump’s first-term focus on arrests to systematic compliance checks. Recent raids (e.g., Hyundai’s Georgia plant detaining ~500 South Korean contractors on wrong visas) highlight risks, while a Colorado case saw $8 million in fines for systemic errors and unauthorized hires. She warns employers to organize I-9s, centralize processes, and audit internally—many don’t even know where forms are stored.

The H-1B “genius visa” program takes a hit too: fees jumping from $2,000–$5,000 to $100,000 per sponsorship, pricing out mid-sized firms and favoring tech giants. Desiree and the hosts lament lost innovation, economic contributions ($100 billion in taxes from immigrants last year), and community diversity, especially in industries like healthcare (40%+ immigrant home health aides) and agriculture.

With OFCCP effectively defanged, C-suites must redirect compliance resources to ICE readiness. Desiree’s advice: map vulnerabilities, understand your workforce footprint, and treat I-9s like payroll—accurate, auditable, and non-negotiable. “ICE ICE baby could be coming for you" ... Employers ignoring this do so at their peril.

ICE, ICE Baby with Desiree Throckmorton

In this turkey-fueled episode of The Chad & Cheese Podcast, the boys stuff themselves like it’s Thanksgiving every day (because, let’s be honest, their content diet is already 90% gravy) with a little help from their friends - J.T. O'Donnell, Allyn Baily, Mo' Clough, Julie Sowash and Michelle Meehan.

 They kick things off by swapping heartwarming family traditions—like which uncle still thinks “pass the stuffing” is code for “pass the political hot takes”—before pivoting to the real national religion: soccer finally mattering in America now that Lionel Messi has descended from Mount Olympus to sprinkle GOAT dust on MLS fields.

From there, it’s straight into the AI Thunderdome, where the gang swing the banter hammer at every shiny new model like they’re judging a middle-school science fair on bath salts. They roast ZipRecruiter’s podcast so hard you’ll smell burnt Phil from here, expose the shameless corporate-welfare grift masquerading as “HR innovation,” and deliver a fantasy-football update that’s equal parts trash talk and emotional damage.

They also review Indeed’s latest product (spoiler: it’s a feature, not a miracle), reenact actual spy-vs-spy drama happening right now in HR tech like it’s a Jason Bourne movie but with worse expense reports, and wrap the whole glorious mess with a Thanksgiving dad joke so corny it should come with its own butter sculpture.

Grab a plate, loosen the belt, and hit play—you’ll laugh, you’ll cry (from laughter), and you’ll never look at cranberry sauce the same way again.

Chapters
00:00 - Thanksgiving Traditions and Family Gatherings
03:57 - The Rise of Football and Sports Culture
05:13 - AI Innovations and Competitive Landscape
08:40 - Fantasy Football Highlights and Insights
10:11 - Critique of ZipRecruiter's Podcast
13:02 - Jive Turkey Awards and Industry Commentary
14:25 - Introduction and Call to Action
14:50 - Dystopian CEO Behavior and AI Layoffs
15:47 - Corporate Welfare and Job Losses
17:58 - Indeed Connect: A New Product Review
21:57 - The Broken Indeed Model
22:57 - AI's Impact on Job Security
25:12 - Marketing in the Recruitment Space
27:53 - The Jive Turkey Award: A Spy Story
31:48 - C'mon, you know, Dad Joke time!

TURKEYS: Indeed, Randstad, SHRM and....

On the Chad & Cheese Podcast, hosts Joel Cheesman and Chad Sowash welcomed Julia Levy, a seasoned talent acquisition (TA) leader, job search strategist, HR tech advisor, and author of From Hi to Hired: Your Insider Guide to Internships. 

Julia, recently departed from AutoZone, shared her 25+ years of TA experience across diverse industries, including tech consulting, staffing (Robert Half), financial services (MetLife, Fiserv), and manufacturing (Comscope). She discussed navigating the complex HR tech landscape, emphasizing the importance of identifying specific organizational problems before selecting technology, rather than chasing trendy solutions at conferences like RECFEST. 

Julia highlighted the challenge of distinguishing genuine AI innovations from rebranded legacy systems and shared her approach to vendor due diligence, leveraging networks and customer references. Transitioning to consulting, she noted a shift from corporate constraints to a more fulfilling role, though still receiving sales pitches as if she were at AutoZone. 

Her book targets college students facing a tough job market, offering strategies like being a "connector" on LinkedIn, targeting company problems, and turning rejections into growth opportunities. Julia stressed the value of internships and alternative career paths in trades or growth-oriented companies like AutoZone, noting a 10-20% reduction in internship programs due to economic uncertainty. 

Find out more at https://www.hi2hired.com/from-hi-to-hired.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to 

02:20 Navigating the Talent Acquisition Landscape

05:21 Preparing for Conferences and Vendor Interactions

08:13 Insights from RecFest and Vendor Evaluation

11:12 Transitioning from Corporate to Consulting

14:09 The Importance of Internships for Students

17:05 Adapting to a Changing Job Market

20:05 Strategies for Students in Job Hunting

23:16 Understanding Rejection and Learning from It

From Hi to Hired w/ Julia Levy

Zoom just bought AI interview intelligence darling BrightHire. Chad and Joel discuss why this is a savvy chess move to stop Microsoft Teams, and if the brand will really survive the deal. Moving on, Meta says your 2026 performance review is an AI report card. We explain why every job is now a tech job and why Big Brother AI is watching.

Verizon is yeeting 15,000 people. We go deep on the real, uncomfortable reasons behind their biggest layoff ever. Workday is playing Hungry Hungry Hippos on a massive M&A spree. And finally, 22% of candidates are finding work by sliding into DMs on Tinder and Bumble!

Acquisitions, AI overlords, mass layoffs, and dating apps posing as job boards. Zero apologies, maximum truth bombs. Hit play!

Zoom & Workday Get Busy

Shredded: Zoom, BrightHire, Equifax, Vault Verify, Employ Inc., Jobot, Workday, & More

The boys cover just about everything with Smashfly’s Josh Zywien, Delta Airlines’ Holland McCue and Fiserv’s Julia Levy. Enjoy this live show from Boston and throw our sponsors – Sovren, JobAdx and Canvas – lots of love.

Live from Smashfly’s Transform Conference

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