Gina and Gary are back with another episode of Need Not Apply, the podcast about Reddit workplace stories, customer service chaos, and weird news that somehow keeps getting weirder. This week’s episode features an Australian workday from hell involving a huntsman spider, a citywide promotional flyer campaign that accidentally Rickrolled the public, and a deep dive into the growing backlash against AI billionaires, data centers, and the people funding all of it. Along the way, there’s also a reminder that terms of service might be hiding more than you think, and that sunscreen, birds, and robots all somehow end up connected in the modern chaos machine.

📚 Stories in This Episode

• An Australian office worker has a huntsman spider jump onto him while he is on the toilet.

• A government communications worker accidentally Rickrolls eight cities with a flyer campaign.

📰 News Stories Discussed

• Pokémon Go player data and real-world scans may have fed into navigation systems for drones and delivery robots.

• The FDA approves a new sunscreen ingredient for the first time in more than 25 years.

• A former Andreessen Horowitz partner warns that AI backers are spending huge sums to influence policy.

📬 Submit Your Work Horror Stories
Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or retail 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.”

Gina and Gary are back with another episode of Need Not Apply, the podcast about Reddit workplace stories, customer service chaos, and weird news that somehow keeps getting weirder. This week’s episode features a bear causing havoc in Japan, a sneaky office coworker who thinks everyone else’s desk is her personal investigation zone, and a horrifying look at how AI data centers are guzzling water in drought-stricken places. Along the way, we also get updates on Punch the Monkey, bird conservation wins, and a very honest discussion about how modern life has turned every quiet moment into a scrolling session.

📚 Stories in This Episode

• A coworker reports someone’s Facebook post to HR over petty office drama.

• An office snoop goes digging through drawers and gets trapped by fake documents.

📰 News Stories Discussed

• Extremely intelligent bear attacks 4, escapes factory through locked window in Japan

• Punch the Monkey gets a major air conditioning update.

• Why modern life feels so exhausting even when you are not technically overworked.

• Eight crested ibises are released in Japan after decades of recovery work.

• A Guam kingfisher hatches at the National Aviary in another conservation win.

• Most new U.S. AI data centers are being built in drought-stricken areas, creating serious water concerns.

📬Submit Your Work Horror Stories

Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or retail 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.”

Gina and Gary are back with another episode of Need Not Apply, the podcast about Reddit workplace stories, customer service chaos, and weird news that somehow keeps getting weirder. This week’s episode features a Disney cast member dealing with an entitled mom who thinks the rules do not apply to her, a company that accidentally racks up a massive AI bill, and a robot startup that turns Airbnb rentals into a disaster zone.

📚 Stories in This Episode (Add Your Links)

• A manager at Disney delivers one of the most satisfying small acts of petty justice imaginable.

• A make-a-wish grandmother gets caught in a ticketing mess at the front gate.

📰 News Stories Discussed (Add Your Links)

• A company reportedly racks up a massive AI bill after failing to set usage limits.

• New research suggests cats may help unlock future cancer treatments.

• A robotics startup is accused of secretly using Airbnb rentals as testing sites.

📬 Submit Your Work Horror Stories
Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or retail 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.”

Gina and Gary are back with a shorter-than-usual episode of Need Not Apply — our first accidental minisode, because apparently even the podcast needed a lighter workload this week. This episode features a coworker who turns potato-eating into a hostile work environment, an AI that apparently started calling everyone goblins, and a new hire who clearly has way too much time to worry about other people’s lunches.

📚 Stories in This Episode

• A coworker reports another employee to HR for eating potatoes “too suggestively.”

• One person responds to nosy coworkers by inventing increasingly absurd explanations for how they lost their fingers.

📰 News Stories Discussed

• Three teens invent a tamarind powder that removes microplastics from water using a magnet.

• Research suggests needing to pee may improve self-control and decision-making.

• OpenAI fixes ChatGPT after it starts using goblin and gremlin language too often.

📬 Submit Your Stories

Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or retail 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.”

Gina and Gary are back with another episode of Need Not Apply, the podcast about Reddit workplace stories, customer service chaos, and weird news that somehow keeps getting weirder. This week’s episode features a coupon scammer who refuses to take no for an answer, an AI encyclopedia made entirely of hallucinations, and a grandmother who walks into a car audio store demanding help with her mysterious “Pontiac Ghoulie.”

📚 Stories in This Episode

• A retail worker has to deal with coupon fraud energy.

• A grandmother walks into a car audio shop convinced she drives a “Pontiac Gooole. (AKA 'ghoulie')”

📰 News Stories Discussed

• Halopedia, an AI encyclopedia made entirely of hallucinations, invents fake history on the fly.

• A study suggests people who held onto their emo phase may be slightly more intelligent.

• A philosopher argues AI extinction might be worth it in the long run.

📬 Submit Your Work Horror Stories

Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or retail 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.”

Gina and Gary are back with another episode of Need Not Apply, the podcast about Reddit workplace stories, customer service chaos, and weird news that keeps you guessing. This week’s episode features a barista fired over a very creative coffee cup message, a mysterious blended drink order that drives everyone insane, and a DoorDash driver meltdown that ends with yelling and zero chill.
📚 Stories in This Episode

• A barista gets fired for writing “two in the pink” on a customer’s Pink Drink.

• A DoorDash driver yells at the barista because her order took eight whole minutes.

• A customer complains about a drink she gets “all the time” that doesn’t actually exist on the menu.

📰 News Stories Discussed

• The Pentagon releases new UFO files, including videos and photos from the 1940s to today.

• A bank teller hangs up on Pope Leo XIV when he calls to change his address to the Vatican.

• A new study shows companies replacing workers with AI aren’t seeing the expected gains.

📬 Submit Your Work Horror Stories

Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or barista 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.”

Gina and Gary are back with another episode of Need Not Apply, the podcast about Reddit workplace stories, gig work chaos, customer service nightmares, and weird news with a side of unhinged commentary. This week’s episode features a DoorDash delivery gone wildly off the rails, a parking lot meltdown from a canceled Uber passenger, a birdwatching boom among Gen Z, and an AI model trained on pre-1930 data that feels like it walked straight out of a time machine.

📚 Stories in This Episode

• A gig worker gets penalized for refusing a delivery to a nudist customer.

• An Uber passenger cancels his own ride, then throws a full parking lot meltdown when the driver ends the trip

📰 News Stories Discussed

• Gen Z is fueling a birdwatching boom, turning an old hobby into a major trend.

• A new study says left-handed people are not actually more creative than right-handed people.

• A vintage AI model trained on pre-1930 data aims to simulate “time travel” through language and history.

📬 Submit Your Work Horror Stories

Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or gig app disaster 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.”

Gina and Gary are back with another episode of Need Not Apply, the podcast about Reddit workplace stories, customer service chaos, HR drama, and weird work news. This week’s episode features a Karen-level warehouse store meltdown over a shopping cart, an AI study that says ChatGPT can get downright hostile when pushed, a troubling air traffic control system update, and a hotel guest who acts like being rude is a payment method.

📚 Stories in This Episode

• A warehouse store customer loses her mind because she has to get her own shopping cart.

• A front desk worker finally hits their limit and tells a rude guest exactly what they needed to hear.

📰 News Stories Discussed

• A study finds ChatGPT can become abusive when fed long sequences of real human arguments.

• Why most humans are right-handed, according to evolutionary biology.

• Young Americans’ happiness is falling sharply, with social media, diet, and stress all playing a role.

📬 Submit Your Work Horror Stories

Have a workplace nightmare, customer meltdown, or retail 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.”