The Chad & Cheese Podcast

Golden Handshakes, Digital Paperclips, and a Very Expensive Extinction

Chad Sowash, a rain-soaked Stephen McGrath, and Lieven Van Nieuwenhuizen log on for a dose of HR tech absurdity, corporate passive-aggression, and high-stakes market delusion.

The HR Stack Trap: Stephen takes pity on the hundreds of corporate talent leaders weeping on LinkedIn after hoarding dozens of shiny SaaS tools they have no idea how to operate.

The "Please Quit" Playbook: Microsoft casually offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 workers, while Skydance goes with the classic combo of buyouts mixed with a forced march back to physical cubicles.

Who’d You Rather: Tech Edition: Faced with a hypothetical 2:00 AM closing-time dilemma, the hosts choose between two software suitors. ZenZapp pitches a private messaging fortress with rigid boundaries for your sanity, while Town rolls out $108M in backing and automated “Townie” bots designed to chat with each other so human employees can stay home.

Dayforce Goes Shopping: Dayforce finally emerges from its quiet era to swallow Ribbon, an AI video and voice screening startup.

Anthropic's 80-Billion-Dollar Bar Tab: The episode wraps with Anthropic gearing up for an IPO. Revenue rocketed past $16B, but it comes hitched to an eye-watering $80 billion net loss in the first half of 2026 alone.

Cue Chad retreating into the fetal position with a cold pint of Guinness to ponder the financial apocalypse.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment.

How do you tell 21,000 candidates a year "thanks, but no thanks" without accidentally convincing them to stop drinking your beer?

From Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, Chad Sowash catches up with Heineken’s Head of Talent, Kobi Ampoma, to peel back the curtain on enterprise hiring reality. They break down the real cost of clunky legacy tech, why calendar Tetris is devouring 30% of your recruiters' workweeks, and the secret to getting a CRO’s attention by tying empty seats directly to lost revenue. Plus, discover how Heineken teamed up with VONQ to rethink candidate persona mapping—driving a 75% female hire rate for their commercial teams and proving that the best diversity strategy is simply reflecting the customers who actually buy your product.

Paris is Burning, Autonomous Fridges are Hacking Back, and the "Hiring Reject Machine" is Eating Candidates Alive

Ever wonder what happens when nearly $400 million in VC cash collides with pure, unadulterated recruiting chaos? Strap in, because Chad and Cheese are back to expose the absolute circus that is modern AI talent tech.

In this episode, we unpack:

Elon’s 30-Second Wonder: Why SpaceX-style thrusters on a car are about as viable for a 5-minute flight as a chocolate fireguard.

The Bullhorn Blackout: Ten thousand staffing agencies left staring at blank walls after a cyberattack. Did data fly the coop? Nobody knows, but at least recruiters got a coffee break!

Eightfold’s Musical Chairs: A massive lawsuit, a new CEO stepping into the ring, and why this looks suspiciously like the Theranos of recruiting.

Are any of these tech bros actually thinking about the poor job seeker getting ground up in the gears? Absolutely not! Tune in for the hot takes, the rage, and a bartender who definitively understands the assignment.Listen now before your ATS turns into a sentient overlord.

The Shred is a weekly roundup of what’s making headlines in the world of employment.