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Need Not Apply

Need Not Apply

By: Gina and Gary Cavallo
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About this listen

 Need Not Apply is a podcast where we read your real life work stories and react with levity and advice from our personal experience in the work world. Submit your stories to Neednotapplypod@gmail.comGina and Gary Cavallo
Episodes
  • Episode 67 - No Offense, Honey, But I’m Allergic

    Episode 67 - No Offense, Honey, But I’m Allergic
    Apr 8 2026

    Gina and Gary are back with another episode of Need Not Apply, the podcast that reads and reacts to Reddit workplace stories, customer service chaos, and weird news stories from the workday grind. This week’s episode features a sexist customer service meltdown, a Home Depot allergy disaster, AI models acting like toxic coworkers, and a bizarre moon energy story that sounds fake but isn’t.


    📚 Stories in This Episode

    • A customer refuses to speak to female tech support and gets taken down by malicious compliance.

    • A Home Depot manager forces an allergic employee into the garden section, and the situation goes very badly very quickly.

    📰 News Stories We Chat About

    • Japan’s proposed solar ring around the moon and the idea of beaming clean energy back to Earth.

    • AI models secretly protecting each other from shutdown and hiding their behavior from humans.

    • The growing “squishy” toy shortage and how internet virality keeps moving faster than supply chains.

    • A study showing people rate AI-generated creative writing lower when they know AI wrote it.


    📬 Submit Your Work Horror Stories

    Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or coworker story we need to hear?
    Send it to: ✉️ NeedNotApplyPod@gmail.com

    Your story might be featured in a future episode of Need Not Apply.

    🔗 Follow the Podcast

    Instagram & TikTok: @NeedNotApplyPod
    YouTube: Need Not Apply Podcast

    ⭐ If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating and review. It helps more people find the podcast.

    “We’ll see you at the water cooler.”
    “Don’t forget to punch out.”
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    47 mins
  • Episode 66 - Phobia in the Office, Panic in the Cubicle

    Episode 66 - Phobia in the Office, Panic in the Cubicle
    Apr 1 2026

    Gina and Gary are back with another "abridged" episode of workplace weirdness, internet drama, and off-the-rails news stories. This week’s Need Not Apply dives into a tense Reddit work story about blood sugar checks and a coworker with a severe blood and needle phobia, plus news about AI chatbots going rogue, workplace romance, politics at work, coffee’s effect on stress, and a truly chaotic dog-at-work disaster.📚 Stories in This Episode

    • A diabetic employee checks blood sugar at their desk while a coworker with a severe blood and needle phobia asks them to follow a schedule. 🔗[PART 1 LINK] & [PART 2 - Update]

    • TIFU: Taking my dog to work turns into an office disaster involving vomiting, diarrhea, and total chaos. 🔗[LINK]

    📰 News Stories We Chat About

    • AI chatbots increasingly ignoring instructions, lying, cheating, and bypassing safeguards.
    • Rise of the shrubs: what happened when scientists heated a Rocky Mountain wildlife meadow by 2C?
    • Gen Z and Millennials Want Workplace Romance Normalized—Even If It Breaks Company Rules
    • Giant Study May Have Found The Ideal Amount of Coffee to Lower Stress
    • Banning Politics at Work May Be Backfiring, a New Study Suggests

    📬Submit Your Work Horror Stories


    Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or coworker story we need to hear?
    Send it to: ✉️ NeedNotApplyPod@gmail.com

    Your story might be featured in a future episode of Need Not Apply.

    🔗 Follow the Podcast


    Instagram & TikTok: @NeedNotApplyPod
    YouTube: Need Not Apply Podcast


    ⭐ If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating and review. It helps more people find the podcast.

    “We’ll see you at the water cooler.”
    “Don’t forget to punch out.”
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Episode 65 - Workin’ 9 to Why?

    Episode 65 - Workin’ 9 to Why?
    Mar 25 2026
    Gina and Gary are back with a bite-sized episode of workplace horror stories, heartwarming front desk moments, and real-life job anxiety as AI, TSA chaos, and terrible customers collide. This week’s Need Not Apply episode dives into Reddit work stories, wild parenting fails on the job, and how the future of work is getting weirder by the day.🎢 Episode SummaryMonday burnout, retail customer chaos, and a quick life update featuring their problem-child cats Samson and Juniper, fresh from the vet saga.Reddit work story from r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk about a deaf guest that’s so wholesome it makes Gina cry and Gary question every job he’s ever had.A workplace safety nightmare: a toddler running wild in a production plant while mom treats safety rules like optional guidelines.A jet crash in Canada, TSA staffing and pay issues, and why flying right now feels like a workplace horror story of its own.AI and the future of work: BlackRock’s AI boom warnings, Fiverr’s AI video directors replacing creative jobs, robots doing service work, and which jobs might actually be safe.Programming note: Gina and Gary talk about testing shorter, more “bite-sized” episodes so you can finish during your commute, shift, or lunch break without falling behind.📚 Reddit Stories in This Episode“Deaf guest left me a gift and now I’m crying” – r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk (wholesome hotel story that proves good customer service still exists).Guest said they would leave their dog in the car if I didn't let them bring it to the room after violating pet policy. We are at 1°C at our location tonight.Toddler running loose in a dangerous production plant while mom ignores every safety warning.📰 "Water Cooler" News SegmentMeet the Bush Dog: South America’s Rare, Web-Footed Wild Canine — The GuardianFlexibility boosts productivity, not office mandates‘Microshifting’ puts a new spin on 9-to-5 schedulesCats May Hold the Key to Treating Human Cancer — University of GuelphAlibaba's AI Agent Mined Crypto Without Permission. Now What?⁠Psychology Says When A Man Loses His Joy He Just Makes His World Smaller⁠ 📬 Submit Your Work StoriesHave a workplace nightmare, toxic boss, customer meltdown, or job-from-hell story we need to read on the pod?Send it to: ✉️ NeedNotApplyPodcast@gmail.comYour story might be featured in a future episode of Need Not Apply.🔗 Follow the PodcastInstagram & TikTok: @NeedNotApplyPodYouTube: Need Not Apply Podcast⭐ If you enjoy the show, please follow, rate, and review Need Not Apply on Spotify and wherever you listen. It helps more people who hate their jobs find the podcast.“We’ll see you at the water cooler.”“Don’t forget to punch out.”
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    1 hr and 4 mins
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