EP 473: Score (feat. Kennedy Ryan & Sam)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Decisions, Decisions – EP 473: "Score" (feat. Kennedy Ryan & Sam)

Date: May 18, 2026
Hosts: Mandii B & WeezyWTF
Guests: Kennedy Ryan (bestselling author) & Sam (her husband, for first half)
Podcast Theme:
This special episode explores non-traditional relationships, candid sex and love talk, and the creative, personal, and relational journey of Kennedy Ryan, a New York Times bestselling author known for pushing boundaries in romance fiction. The show takes listeners inside Kennedy’s marriage, her writing process, the representation of sexuality and identity in her novels, and the importance of validation and authenticity in relationships.

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Main Theme & Episode Purpose

This episode brings together probing, hilarious, and heartfelt conversations about romance writing, breaking patriarchal norms, and the realities of partnership and creativity. With Kennedy Ryan and her husband Sam, Mandii and Weezy dive into:

• The making of "Score" and other Kennedy Ryan books
• Marriage and role reversals, especially with special needs parenting
• Faith, stigma, and sexuality in Black communities
• Representation and intention in fiction (pegging, bisexuality, bipolar disorder)
• Navigating the success, speculation, and impact of Black authorship

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins, Faith, and the Ryan Marriage Dynamic

[04:49–09:41]

• Kennedy and Sam have been married for 29 years; they met in college through church circles (Kennedy is a pastor's kid; Sam worked in campus ministry).

• Both note that church-influenced upbringings intersected with sexual curiosity, especially as Kennedy smuggled romance novels into her home as a teen against her pastor-mother’s wishes.

  “My mom…they’re pastors. And my mom was like, ‘you ain’t gonna bring the devil in my house.’ So I had to smuggle the romance novels in, in like my clothes, in purses…”
  – Kennedy Ryan [07:00, 12:03]

• Their wedding was massive (40-person bridal party) due to Sam’s tendency to ‘adopt’ friends. They married young and were honest about facing major struggles and near breaking points, especially at the 7–10 year mark.

2. Transitioning Roles & Special Needs Parenting

[13:23–21:44]

• Kennedy initially ran a foundation for families with autistic children, drawing on their son’s diagnosis; Sam lost his job immediately after their son's diagnosis, leading to a non-traditional, collaborative approach to parenting.
• Sam became a stay-at-home dad, supporting their son's therapy, while Kennedy became the primary breadwinner.
• The couple emphasizes “building a team” instead of sticking to traditional gender roles:

  “We’re not trying to be traditional when it comes to roles and expectations…Let’s custom it to what works for us.”
  – Sam [20:07]

3. Romance vs. Erotica – Navigating Public Perception

[09:41–14:55]

• Kennedy distinguishes clearly between writing romance and erotica; romance is about a central relationship and always has happy endings.
• She describes the challenge, especially as a Black woman with faith roots, of external perceptions blurring the lines with sex work or tawdry content.
• Her career path included years in journalism, ghostwriting, and advocacy before stepping into fiction.

4. The Publishing Hustle & Realities of Author Success

[28:23–32:47]

• Honest discussion about early career finances:

  "I had made as much in a day as I had made in the entire three years."
  – Kennedy Ryan [32:07]
  "She had made in that day more than what I was making in a month."
  – Sam [32:15]

• Kennedy and Sam struck a deal—if Kennedy could self-publish and show earnings, she wouldn’t need a “real job.” Her first self-published novel was a smash, affirming both the value of self-belief and partnership.

5. Male Insecurity, Female Success, and Support

[18:40–21:44]

• Sam speaks candidly about being secure with Kennedy’s success and the cultural anxiety some men have about successful partners:

  “I get excited to see my wife soar…To see that happen is a real joy…It would almost feel counterproductive if I’m not coming alongside, making sure that she feels encouraged and supported to do what it is, because she basically does the same thing for me.”
  – Sam [18:53]

6. Stigma, Therapy, and Teamwork

[26:15–28:22]

• The Ryans utilize couples therapy as a proactive tool during major life transitions (“tectonic” changes), not just for fixing problems.
• Kennedy references how she weaves these ideas into her books, particularly addressing stigma around Black therapy uptake.

7. Representation: Sex Positivity, Pegging & Queer Discourse in Black Romance

[47:24–54:20]

• Discussion of why Kennedy included pegging in "Score"—to normalize sexual exploration and challenge homophobia and fragile masculinity in the Black community:

  “The homophobia goes deep, deep...I wanted to write a hero…who is all of those things, but secure enough to explore that…It’s stimulation, it’s a biological response…And in a relationship where there’s this intimacy that he trusts her with, that is something…”
  – Kennedy Ryan [51:05]

• She weaves discussions around shame, faith, and the policing of Black women and men’s sexuality with social justice themes in her narratives.

8. Bisexuality & Bi-Erasure in Romance

[58:02–60:39]

• Kennedy intentionally writes bisexual heroines whose queer desire isn't “erased” by only showing hetero relationships, pushing for fuller depictions and countering romance’s hesitancies.
• Mandii and Weezy share their own experiences of bisexuality and the complexities of queer identity labels.

9. Motherhood, Worth, and Defying Patriarchal Narratives

[65:18–70:25]

• Kennedy pushes back against the idea that single mothers or women without children are less valuable:

  “I don’t like to hear women’s value in the context of—it’s defined by their relationship to a man…The first and most central form is loving yourself…if you don’t have that, you’re constantly looking for it in other people…”
  – Kennedy Ryan [66:16–67:46]

• In her series, she writes characters who are single mothers, childfree by choice, or breaking stereotypes around motherhood and worth.

10. Writing Marginalized Communities with Care: Research & Sensitivity

[72:12–78:17]

• Kennedy describes her exhaustive process for depicting identities like bipolar disorder, limb difference, lupus, and diverse sexualities, consulting sensitivity readers and editors from those backgrounds.
• She takes a “Hippocratic” approach (“first, do no harm”) in fiction, digging into real experiences for authenticity.

11. Celeb Fans, Authenticity & Black Joy in Publishing

[42:25–46:27, 64:03–66:16]

• Kennedy shares anecdotes of John Legend and Chrissy Teigen loving her books, and the sense of imposter syndrome that persists even as her reputation grows.
• She remains invested in art, social justice, and the importance of community.

12. Book Adaptations & Dream Casting

[82:14–85:40]

• Kennedy discusses the forthcoming TV adaptation of her Skyland series and her Pinterest boards of dream casting (e.g., Teyonah Paris, Danielle Brooks, Dasha Polanco), and the desire for more Black and Afro-Latina representation in Hollywood.

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “I don’t like to hear women’s value…defined by their relationship to a man…I like to write women who are whole or who want to be whole.”
  – Kennedy Ryan [66:16]

• “We early on said we’re building a team. We’re not trying to be traditional when it comes to roles and expectations and all of that.”
  – Sam [20:07]

• On stigma and pegging:
  “There’s so much fragility around their masculinity…If you stimulate it, you’re going to have an orgasm…It’s a biological response…my goal was discourse.”
  – Kennedy Ryan [51:05–52:29]

• On therapy and Black community:
  “Josiah…is very resistant to therapy. They end up divorcing. And then…it’s over the course of the book that he realizes the value of therapy. That was very specifically because of the stigmatization of therapy in our community.”
  – Kennedy Ryan [48:55]

• “It would almost feel counterproductive if I’m not coming alongside, making sure that she feels encouraged and supported to do what it is, because she basically does the same thing for me.”
  – Sam [18:53]

• On writing marginalized experiences:
  "I want you to tell me if I’m ever infantilizing these characters…if I’m using language that’s outdated…if this is harmful. And then we’re going to go through this book line by line, and…purge everything…potentially harmful, because I don’t want that to get in the way—this is someone’s life."
  – Kennedy Ryan [77:05]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Guest Welcome: [04:14–05:28]
• Marriage Origin Stories: [06:14–09:41]
• Faith, Church Influence, & Romance: [07:00–12:03]
• Parenting & Non-Traditional Roles: [13:23–21:44]
• Making the Switch: Self-Publishing Hustle: [28:23–32:47]
• Therapy & Stigma in Black Marriages: [26:15–28:22]
• Defining Romance vs. Erotica: [09:41–14:55]
• Supporting a Successful Spouse: [18:40–21:44]
• Representation & Writing Sex Positivity: [47:24–54:20]
• Bisexuality, Queerness, & Romancelandia: [58:02–60:39]
• Value, Motherhood, and Defying Patriarchy: [65:18–70:25]
• Mental Health & Bipolar Representation: [71:32–78:17]
• On TV Adaptations & Representation: [82:14–85:40]

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Notable Segment – The Smut Quiz!

[35:04–39:47]

• The hilarious “smut quiz” where Sam tries to guess whether explicit lines are from Kennedy’s books or not, highlighting the playful dynamic between the couple and the hosts.

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Final Notes: Tone and Style

• The tone is witty, brutally honest, warm, and full of pop-culture savvy. Mandii and Weezy balance humor and depth, prompting Kennedy and Sam to share both vulnerable and laugh-out-loud moments.
• The episode is rich for both fans of Kennedy Ryan’s books and listeners hungry for nuanced, empowering conversation about Black love, sex, identity, and breaking the mold of what relationships “should” look like.

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Want More?

• Kennedy’s new novel "Score" is available through indie and Black-owned bookstores, with special editions and incentives for shopping indie.
• The Skylands series is in development for TV (involvement of John Legend, Universal, Peacock).
• Follow Kennedy Ryan on social for updates and “behind the scenes” of the publishing world.

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Summary by [Podcast Summarizer AI] — For those who love their romance, social justice, and real talk as electric as their banter!

Transcript

[Sam]

I get excited to see my wife soar, to see her really take off in areas where she's dreamed, where she's wanted to, where she's wanted to. You know, these goals and aspirations that she come together to see that happen is a real joy.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And I had made as much in a day as I had made in the entire three years.

[Sam]

But not just that. Not just that. She had made in that day more than what I was making in a month.

[Weezy]

What book was that?

[Sam]

And I was like, wait, but see,

[Kennedy Ryan]

my mom, they're pastors. And my mom was like, you ain't gonna bring the devil in my house.

[Sam]

Yes.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So I had to smuggle the romance novels in, in like my clothes, in purses. I stuffed them in the closets. I, you know, shoved them in the mattress. I couldn't read it. This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.

[Mandy B]

Yes, it's me again.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And we prepped.

[Mandy B]

It's the time for empowerment. And I've got a message for you.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Guess who. Guess who's back.

[Mandy B]

You gotta think about sexual health no matter what. Dinner with who. Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mandy B]

To all you lovers out there, ain't no judgment. This is your cue.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Guess who. Guess who's better.

[Mandy B]

It's time to talk about pre special prophylaxis, a part of HIV prevention.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh.

[Mandy B]

So your Prime. Talk to a healthcare provider and visit

[Weezy]

carefortheculture.com to learn more this summer. Find your next obsession on Prime.

[Mandy B]

And let's be honest, we're all due for a new one.

[Weezy]

It's been a minute.

[Mandy B]

Steamy romance, addictive love stories, and the book to scream favorites you've already read twice. Because once was obviously not enough.

[Weezy]

Off campus. Elle, the Love Hypothesis and more Slow burns. Second chances chemistry. You could feel through the screen the tension. I was set.

[Mandy B]

Binge worthy series. Can't miss the movies. This is the kind of content you start to just check out and suddenly

[Weezy]

it's 1am Ask me how I know.

[Mandy B]

Obsession is officially in session only on Prime Video.

[Weezy]

Pressure has a way of revealing what remains steady. In the latest Nissan campaign, the Nissan

[Kennedy Ryan]

Rogue was tested to the extreme to

[Weezy]

demonstrate that it's built to last through

[Kennedy Ryan]

durability and reliability challenges inspired by real

[Weezy]

tests conducted by Nissan engineers.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Brutal potholes, a steady force of water,

[Weezy]

even a jet powered sandstorm.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And each challenge inviting a deeper look at how quality, durability and reliability hold their ground in real world conditions. Every test was 100% real.

[Weezy]

No CG, no AI.

[Kennedy Ryan]

To see how the Rogue held up, visit nissan-duordability.com. a lot of you ask how I

[Weezy]

actually run my business behind the scenes.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And honestly, Shopify is the reason it exists.

[Weezy]

For me, Shopify is the place where

[Kennedy Ryan]

I took this little idea I had and turned it into a real time business. I still remember the first ever sale I made for my fashion brand.

[Weezy]

Embellished. It was a huge moment for me

[Kennedy Ryan]

and Shopify made it all possible.

[Weezy]

Build your store, own your audience, and create something that lasts.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Start [e-mail] Ben

[Mandy B]

decision decisions. Oh, my God. We they. We've only been waiting forever to add actually finally have this guest on our podcast. And of course, Weezy loves to make it an orgy. So we added an additional person, at least for the first 20 minutes of this episode. Y', all, we are really, really excited. Welcome to another episode of Decision Decisions. I am your girl, Mandy B, AKA Pegan Markle, AKA Peg the Stallion, AKA that Beach.

[Weezy]

Listen, well, now you know about Peggy. Y' all haven't read store yet because it just came out today and. Hey, y', all, I'm Weezy, and I just want to say I'm so excited for this episode. There's not many people we get to interview that we're like, we love. And I know all of you probably love her. I didn't know you were pretty in person. You know, like, it's just a little photo, so I'm even really a lot more excited. But Kendi Ryan is on today. She's a New York Times bestseller, USA Today bestselling author, known for, I think the most popular book. Correct me if I'm wrong if I see one more bitch on a train with Before I let go.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Before I let go.

[Mandy B]

Hello.

[Weezy]

Wow, 20 novels. Or is it 40? Cause ChatGPT and Google is good.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, I think now it's probably around 27, like, counting short stories and things like that. That's when it.

[Mandy B]

Yeah, 27.

[Kennedy Ryan]

That's not a lot.

[Mandy B]

Wait, you said that's not a lot. Bitch, we got one. That's a lot.

[Weezy]

Well, not only are we lucky for the first 20 minutes of this episode to have her partner here with us, but Mandy and I have had a new way of wanting to do this show with interviewing couples and talking to couples about their love and their dynamics and their mess, but they ain't got it, so. But clap it up for Kennedy and Sam. Okay. Have you guys done an interview together?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, I mean, some.

[Sam]

It's been a while. Last time we actually got in front of a camera.

[Weezy]

Now, you know, we have to say Candy's Public said, no personal questions. I was like, okay, no, no, no. When I'm telling you, the joke was, I said, let me delete, delete. Last time y' all had sex. Just kidding.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You'd be like, name.

[Weezy]

Because to me, to experience love, especially while single, reading your book, you always have a happy ending, and we're getting to read this, but knowing you were married was kind of the icing on the cake for me, because you live your reps, I feel like. And just even seeing how happy you guys are is a great feeling to see. So I want to know how long you've been together. You know, how you met. Did you have a breakup moment? Like, what's the tea? Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You want to talk about? Well, we've been married 29 years.

[Mandy B]

That's a long time.

[Kennedy Ryan]

It is a long time.

[Weezy]

Yeah. Wow.

[Mandy B]

How long and where did you guys meet?

[Kennedy Ryan]

We met in college. Well, I was in college. He was a year out of college. He was working with. You guys are going to love this. He was working with a campus ministry

[Sam]

and with churches and nonprofits.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So, you know, I'm a pastor's kid. Like, I'm a pk.

[Mandy B]

That's why your brain work like this.

[Weezy]

Okay.

[Mandy B]

It all makes sense.

[Kennedy Ryan]

He's like, okay, it's all coming together.

[Weezy]

Boy, did that make it make sense. Kennedy, we been doing this show 10 years. Anytime somebody's, like, almost too freaky, we're like, so, what's going on? They're like, well, when I was in the church.

[Sam]

That's right.

[Kennedy Ryan]

There it is.

[Sam]

There it is.

[Weezy]

But you talk about God a lot in your book, so you clearly still.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, I do. I mean, I. My faith is very important to me, you know, And I think what's interesting is you don't see a lot of romance novels that discuss faith, because I think there are a lot of people who. Who see them as diametrically opposed. And I think that's because of a lot of the shame that is promoted around sex in the church. And so people see those two things as, like, they can't kind of coexist. And I talk about faith pretty freely in my books and don't shy away from it, because it's very much a part of my life, and so is my career. It's so funny that when I. Nobody will know who this is because we had 40 people in our wedding. Right. So that's small.

[Mandy B]

Is it that small?

[Sam]

At the time?

[Weezy]

Wait, I was big. There's.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Wait, wait, that's your wedding? Like, the wedding party?

[Sam]

The wedding party.

[Kennedy Ryan]

In our wedding party, we're talking about, like, bridesmaids, scroogers.

[Mandy B]

Oh. Oh, wait. Y' all aren't talking about attending?

[Sam]

We're not talking about.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Mandy B]

It was 40 inside the wedding.

[Sam]

40. And so we don't know about.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You said y' all had that many friends. I don't have a lot of friends.

[Mandy B]

Oh, this was him.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I had to start digging friends out of the woodwork to match the groomsmen. I'm like, I knew you from the eighth grade. Could you come here at my wedding now, please?

[Mandy B]

Him?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Is this ca.

[Mandy B]

Basketball.

[Weezy]

And then I'm just guessing.

[Kennedy Ryan]

He did play basketball, but he only

[Weezy]

used to a certain height.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay, so this is the thing. Sam's the kind of person who, when people meet them, they immediately think that he's their best friend. Like, you know, after one time, they're just like, we're so close. We're best friends. And Sam just collects people.

[Mandy B]

They don't think it because he invited them all to be in the wedding. They are his best friends.

[Sam]

Exactly.

[Mandy B]

Yes.

[Sam]

It's like, certain people, you were like, oh, man, this is gonna be bad if this person's not in the wedding. You know what I mean?

[Kennedy Ryan]

But you had 20 of those.

[Sam]

It kind of happened like that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay, so.

[Mandy B]

And we were young.

[Sam]

You know what I mean? You don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

[Weezy]

How old were you when you got old?

[Sam]

We were 25.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I was 24.

[Sam]

I was like. We were 26, 27.

[Weezy]

That is very young.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Very young.

[Weezy]

You know, Kevin Sage told us when he came on the show, like, listen, I almost didn't make it. When he talked about running outside with his titties out, I'm like, oh, yeah. Like, sorry, I heard that story.

[Sam]

Yes.

[Weezy]

That is. The story's funny. In 29 years.

[Sam]

Yeah. 29 years.

[Weezy]

What is the year that you were like, oh, yeah, we're barely fighting anymore. Oh, no, Never. I don't think ever.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I mean, not.

[Sam]

There's been, like, a couple of big moments.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Not like we fight all the time, but I don't think there's ever, like. I think I can tell you when there are years where it's kind of like, are we gonna make it? You know, like, I would say probably. I don't know. A lot of. And I think a lot of married couples have this, like, the seven to ten year mark.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

That you're like, oh, for the. Forever. Forever.

[Sam]

Right, right.

[Mandy B]

I'm curious. When you met and got married, were you writing erotica and Romance at the time.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes. Okay, so this is the thing. Technically, I don't write erotica.

[Mandy B]

Romance.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Right.

[Weezy]

That's why she.

[Mandy B]

Look at his face, Sheston. I know what he's the thing.

[Kennedy Ryan]

People who read romance are very strict about definition.

[Weezy]

Yes.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So they'll be, oh, well, you should

[Mandy B]

have seen us writing this book.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Not write romance. She's just not as spicy as you.

[Weezy]

The way Simon and Schuster as a reason we should have been romance.

[Mandy B]

The way every call, she's like, but it's erotica. And they're like, weezy, the way your book can't be in the front of the store if it's erotica. Like, the way we actually need to put some self help into this book. Causari. You can't just write how great you suck dick for the whole book. Like, it was that. Right. And so I'm asking this because Weezy and I have a podcast where we talk about sex. Right? However, the people that we date and how people may perceive us is adjacent to sex work. Right. And so even though it's romance, because happy endings, there's happy endings in the book, too. And so what was that like in terms of you explaining to him that it's romance, not erotica? And then coming from the church, how was that discussed? And how did people accept that this was what she wrote?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Well, and I would say I was not writing. I've only been writing for 11 years. Like, I've been writing. I've been writing my whole adult life, but my background is journalism, so I was writing. We have a son who's on the spectrum. I used. For 11 years, I ran a foundation for families who have children with autism. A lot of my writing was around special needs parenting. I was doing some ghost writing. Like, I have been writing, but it was more technical. PR for foundations, churches, nonprofits. And then around, uh, I would say, well, my son. My son was diagnosed when he was 2. When he was around 5, that's when I started the foundation. And I grew up reading romance. Like, in the eighth grade, I started reading romance, which I thought was young, but I feel like Tia Williams, who's one of my best friends, was like, girl, I started in the sixth grade. I was like, good grief. You know, but see, I. My mom, they're. They're pastors. And my mom was like, you ain't gonna bring the devil in my house.

[Sam]

Yes.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So I had to smuggle the romance novels in in, like, my clothes, in purses. I stuffed them in the closets. I, you know, shoved them in the mattress. I couldn't read it. Like, she wouldn't let me read it.

[Mandy B]

Now, romance novels, when you were growing up, for us, growing up, and to me, it wasn't romance. I thought it was a little erotica, little hood. But we had Zayn, we had Sister Soulja. We had Eric Jerome Dickens. We had, like, who were the authors that you were reading?

[Kennedy Ryan]

So I went. So when I. I'm older than everybody else, right? So when I first started reading romance, I'm in the eighth grade. So it's like Harlequin romance, you know, it's like Mills and Boone. It's like Silhouette romance. It's like historical romances, the big bodice rippers. And so that's what I was reading, but it was only from the 8th to the 12th grade. And then when I went to college, I started reading, like, the serious books. Like, I just stopped reading romance. I started focusing on college, and I wasn't reading much for the.

[Weezy]

So, I mean, I guess that's when you met your partner, and so you didn't get to see that she was into the nasty stuff. Now, when did that happen?

[Kennedy Ryan]

When did it.

[Weezy]

When did. When did the layer come back? Was it the first time y' all got in bed together? You were like,

[Kennedy Ryan]

she putting words in my mouth.

[Weezy]

See, she loves doing that, girl.

[Mandy B]

She loved doing that. Yeah. I'm curious then, when you were introduced to this, if it impacted your, like, relationship at all.

[Sam]

Not at all. I think part of what I enjoyed was the fact that she was a great writer, and she had this story called Hindsight that no one was reading. Like, she had it kind of tucked away like it was some secret heirloom.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. I never planned to publish it.

[Sam]

She never had any plans of publishing it. And the only people who she allowed to read it was myself and her sister.

[Weezy]

Wow.

[Mandy B]

Two and the sister. That's it.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. Cause I. So this was, like, I was saying. I. I was running my foundation. I was working. I was doing all of that, and I needed something for myself. So that's when I started reading. That's when I started reading romance again as my own escape. And then I was like, I am a writer.

[Weezy]

I don't know if you know the inside of you, because I've always wondered, is this real? So I don't know if you've heard, but Freida McFadden, who did Housemaids. The housemaid, they say she's actually a brain surgeon.

[Kennedy Ryan]

She's a doctor. That's a real thing. Yeah, she's a real doctor. Yeah. And she actually was public about it last week because she wears this wig, you know, and she was like, yeah. And everybody was always like, okay, so it's real. Yeah, that's real.

[Weezy]

So she.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And it has just been kind of, like, speculated on. And she came out. Came out last week and was like, I get tired. I've gotten tired of people speculating and all of this. And she was like, yes, this is a wig. And I. She didn't give her legal name, which I never do either, because people are weird sometimes. But she didn't give her legal name. But she was like, I am a doctor, I think. I don't know if it's brain surgery, but she is a medical doctor.

[Mandy B]

I'm curious.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Still a practicing medical doctor. I'm like, how do you have time

[Mandy B]

to write all these books?

[Weezy]

What about you?

[Mandy B]

I was gonna say, in terms of speculations, has there been anything speculated that you put into a book that people assumed was from this relationship, this marriage? Have you. Which speculations? Let's clear the air right now. What is not true? But also, like, have you felt like you've read something in the book that you felt like was inspired from real life?

[Sam]

Yeah, there's been several occasions where that's happened. I think one of the biggest was within the popular series, the Skyland series. And so, of course, this would be us.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh. But so when he was saying the book Hindsight, that I had never planned to publish, that I'd never planned to publish. That's before I let go.

[Sam]

That's before I let go.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, it was originally called. And I was not gonna publish it. And Sam was like, no, you should pull it back out.

[Weezy]

You sat on your most popular book.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I did. For 15 years.

[Mandy B]

And you told me and Daphne told me.

[Weezy]

Yeah.

[Sam]

Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I thought it wasn't. I mean, I rewrote a lot of

[Sam]

it, even though so much of it was different. Of course, when it came out and before I let go, I mean, the bones of it was still there.

[Weezy]

Now, what's special in that book is the prelude in. Is this the right series? I'm talking about when you talk about aut.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, that's. This could be us. That's the second book.

[Weezy]

And when I first started following you on Instagram, because, you know, first you read, and then you're like, now I gotta be locked in.

[Sam]

Right.

[Weezy]

When you took that break last year, how was that for your family? Did you encourage it?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Like, encourage.

[Weezy]

Like, you were like, destiny. You canceled all those shows. I mean, Kennedy. Wow.

[Mandy B]

I was so Kenny that's why you here in 2026 and not 2025.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay? So I'm gonna tell you. The real thing was, so in 2024, I think it. Out of 52 weeks, I was on the road 34. Like, I was on the road 34 weeks out of 52. And I was like, I'm not gonna do that again. And Sam's like, no, we're not gonna do that again. And then last year, I think I had gotten up to maybe in August, a good 25 weeks, something like that, same direction. And, you know, we just announced the deal that I have with Universal and all of that. But what nobody knew was. And now I can talk about it. I couldn't then, but I had just been asked by Peacock and Universal and our producers to co write the pilot. And I had never done that before. So I was finishing score, I was co writing the pilot. There was just a lot that was going on, and nobody knew that I was doing all of that. But my husband knew, and he was like, babe, like, when we got the news that I was gonna be co writing the pilot. And I have. I have. I can't talk about all of. But I have seven projects in development right now for television. And nobody knew that either, but Sam knew. And he's like, you've got all this stuff going on for tv. You're writing your books now. You're co writing this pilot. Like, this is a lot. And we still have, you know, a son with special needs who. His needs are very intense. And Sam was like, I think you should cancel. I think you should cancel the last quarter. And I was very resistant and resentful and pissed off.

[Mandy B]

Sam, I'm curious. The conversation on the Internet.

[Sam]

On the Internet.

[Mandy B]

On the Internet is how most men don't want a strong woman who has her own, who's independent, who is financially savvy. How do you show up to support Kennedy and, you know, make it to where you're okay with taking, you know, the backseat and being a support system as the man?

[Sam]

Well, I think. Because I don't get. I don't. I think part of it is just me being as old as I am. There's also. It's also just. I'm secure in who I am as a man.

[Mandy B]

So we need old men.

[Sam]

Yeah, you need to find your old man. But no, I think gotta have gray, you know, But I think it is just being secure in who you are as a man. Knowing. Knowing what it is that you provide for the relationship, what it is you bring to the relationship. But more specifically, I get excited to see my wife soar, to see her really take off in areas where she's dreamed, where she's wanted to. Where she's wanted to. You know, these goals and aspirations that she. That she's. And her finally meeting them come together to see that happen is a real joy. Like, I don't think it's. It would almost feel counterproductive if I'm not coming alongside, making sure that she feels encouraged and supported to do what it is, because she basically does the same thing for me. What does it look like for me to not reciprocate that?

[Mandy B]

You know what I'm saying?

[Weezy]

Because there has to be a way that she makes you feel secure.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Right.

[Weezy]

There's so many conversations on the Internet that Mandy's talking about, because we are having them all the time on the show. When women are making money, they are forgetting to do XYZ now with your son and all this other stuff, I'm sure she maybe doesn't have time to

[Kennedy Ryan]

cook for you sometimes.

[Sam]

Right, right, right.

[Weezy]

But also, what are those ways, if you could even say them out loud, that your wife makes you feel valued?

[Sam]

Well, I think part of it is we early on said we're building a team. We're not trying to be traditional when it comes to roles and expectations and all of that. And once you have a child and find out that he's on the spectrum, all of that stuff goes out the window. You know what I mean? You now have this team where you're overseeing this kid, and what does it mean to kind of get the best out of both of us? So what ended up happening? I'm gonna hit our history real quick. The day after our. I should say the day that our son got diagnosed, literally the next day, I was. I lost my job. I was in sales at the time my job ends. Right.

[Weezy]

That's a season.

[Sam]

So what ends up happening? Yeah, so what ends up happening is she's the primary breadwinner. I'm the one at home making sure he gets to therapy, making sure that he gets to, you know, his little activities and everything. And I think part of it was during that season, I really began to see, hey, this cannot look like the traditional setup if she's at work, and I'm the one taking her back and forth to therapy. And it was hard. Of course it was hard. I'm in my early 30s. At the time, it was like, oh, all my friends are at work. And, you know, I didn't have really a whole lot of people to connect with. It wasn't like a lot of, you know, online groups that you could kind of engage with during that time. So it was difficult. But it was during that season that I was just like, hey, this is not gonna look like your mom and dad's. This is not gonna look like her mom and dad's. This is gonna look like yours. So let's custom it to what works for us. And so we would continue to have these check ins, how things going, what's going on. We got involved in therapy. It's like you have to figure out what it is that works for you or couples counseling, but you have to figure out what works for you and then be committed to it.

[Mandy B]

We say it all the time. Y' all know I have been going through it with my hair, all the bleach, not getting the right moisture to my scalp. And since switching over to Baskin Lather, let me tell y', all, my hair has never felt so soft and scalp so hydrated. And that's probably because the stimulating scalp and hair balm nourishes and hydrates from the ins inside out. With 100% natural ingredients now, when used regularly, users have seen results in as little as three months. They also have a really dope hydrating hair mist that keeps any hair type soft, shiny, and hydrated. And ladies, it's 2026. We know the importance of having healthy, flourishing locs, okay? And we can only do that with using the right products. What else I love about Baskin Lather is that they are black owned and family operated. So hair care here starts with family love. The history behind how this brand started is also super dope. When a dermatologist misdiagnosed CEO Shayna's younger sister and said her hair may never grow back, the family basically took things into their own hands. And today her hair is down to her hips. You hear me? So explore the viral bestsellers and products of healthier hair of all types of from bask and lather, go to baskinlatherco.com and use code decisions for 20% off. That's 20% off at bask and lather.co.com code decisions.

[Weezy]

This is wheezy. Wtf? From decisions decisions. You know, a lot of us grew up not fully trusting the healthcare system. And honestly, the system has given us plenty of reasons to feel that way. But now it's time for us to take control of the conversation, to take control of our sexual health, learn the facts, ask questions, and advocate for ourselves. That's how we start changing the story. So let's talk. We like to think HIV is something that affects other people, but it is hitting our own community hard. Black women make up about 13% of women in the US but account for nearly half of all new HIV diagnoses around women. And being proactive doesn't mean you just don't trust your partner. It just means you trust yourself enough to stay in control. So know your options, ask questions, and protect your peace and your body. That's real power. Because protecting yourself isn't embarrassing, it's responsible. Sex is normal. Protecting yourself should be normal too. Actually, it's kind of badass. Taking control of your sexual health is grown woman energy. Sponsored by Care for the Culture from Gilead Sciences this summer Find your next obsession on Prime.

[Mandy B]

And let's be honest, we're all due for a new one.

[Weezy]

It's been a minute.

[Mandy B]

Steamy romance, addictive love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice because once was obviously not enough.

[Weezy]

Off Campus Elle, the Love Hypothesis and more Slow Burns, Second chances chemistry you could feel through the screen.

[Mandy B]

The tension. I was set Binge worthy series, can't miss the movies. This is the kind of content you start to just check out and suddenly

[Weezy]

it's 1am ask me how I know

[Mandy B]

Obsession is officially in session. Only on Prime Video.

[Kal Penn]

Hey everyone, it's Kal Penn. I'm the host of Irsay the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. This week on the podcast, I am sitting down with Ray Porter, the narrator of Andy Weir's audiobook project Hail Mary, massive sci fi adventure about survival and science and what happens when you wake up alone, very far from Earth. I really had to make a decision because I caught myself getting that frog in my throat and starting to get teary as I'm narrating some of these sections. And it's like, okay, yo, yo, yo, is this indulgent? And I really thought about it. I was like, no. At this point it would kind of be betraying the trust the the author and the listener have in telling this story if I don't go through it. But there's places in this book that that deeply, emotionally affected me. And I left it on the mic. That's great because it served the story. People will say like, oh my God, I cried at the end. It's like, yeah, dude, me too. Listen to Irsay the Audible and iHeart audiobook club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Weezy]

How is it not? I feel like there's so much shame around couples therapy. I don't think it's easy to fake happy. You could fake, like, y' all cool. I don't believe it's easy to fake happy. And I think a lot of people need to hear and know that therapy is worth it. Can you talk about the biggest breakthrough, like, or the biggest. The best advice without telling your personal stuff? It's just a piece of advice in couples therapy that was like, oh, yeah, this is. Is the one for us.

[Sam]

Wow, that is a great question, I think. Go ahead.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I don't know. I don't know that it was a piece of advice. I think it was a mindset one, because we got into. We've been in couples counseling before. We needed it. You know what I mean by that is when we would come to these big transitions, and you're like, okay, this is going to be tectonic for us. This is gonna shift the place in our relationship. It's gonna change the roles. It's gonna change things. Then we should preemptively get into couples counseling so that we are communicating and that we, you know, understand what this new season is gonna look like and how we're gonna function together. I think that's a value for us. And I think it's interesting because when Sam was talking about. Sam is incredibly secure.

[Weezy]

We could tell, girl, yeah, he did that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

He's very secure. And I. We are. Our roles have traded back and forth, like, throughout our marriage. Sam talked about when he lost his job and I was the primary breadwinner. And then, I mean, I wouldn't have been able to do any of this, you know, without Sam's support, because I was working. And then we were gonna. We were gonna move to San Diego from Atlanta. San Diego was very expensive, and so I didn't have a job in San Diego and Sam did, but we were like, we're gonna need more money than this. And I had started writing, but I was making no money. No money writing. And he's like, can we talk about, you know, San Diego? It's gonna be expensive. I'm like, yeah, no, we were there. Yeah, okay.

[Sam]

I'm like, already in San Diego.

[Mandy B]

We were sitting.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So he's like, it's gonna be expensive.

[Sam]

She's been nice with this story.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I'm like, yeah.

[Weezy]

So y' all was eating? Not yet, so. Not yet.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Not yet. Not yet.

[Mandy B]

Gon be, though.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So Sam was like, let's just have an open conversation. You know, it's expensive to live in San Diego. I have a job. What are you gonna be doing, you know. And I was like, well, I write. And he's like, yeah, but you don't make any money. But you don't make any money yet.

[Weezy]

You know?

[Kennedy Ryan]

And so Sam, this is the funny story, tell the story. Sam was like, I mean, maybe you could be a barista.

[Mandy B]

You could work in Starbucks now. He tried to put you into Starbucks.

[Kennedy Ryan]

He was like, I'm not. He was like, anywhere. Whatever you want to do, but we can just figure it out. And so we struck a deal. And this is when I was traditionally published but making no money and self publishing was just taking off.

[Mandy B]

And I was, you ain't gotta hear no money no more.

[Sam]

No, you gotta understand, it was a very challenging time. It was a very challenging time.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Is this thing like this was not

[Sam]

Atlanta, this is not Atlanta money.

[Weezy]

This was Maniago money.

[Sam]

Let me tell you something. It was a big change, a big zero.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So I was like, okay, let's, let's, let's negotiate. Let's negotiate. Let's make a deal. Give me. I don't remember what it was.

[Sam]

Well, part of it. I'm going to jump in at this point I was having a conversation because she had already done three books, was writing a fourth and no money with no money.

[Weezy]

What books were they?

[Kennedy Ryan]

It was my Bennett series, which is like, these are first, the very first series. They were traditionally published. And you just, I mean most, it seems like you might make a lot of money. Most authors who are traditionally published are not making a lot of money.

[Mandy B]

Yeah, we don't.

[Weezy]

I really don't think people understand.

[Mandy B]

No, they don't.

[Weezy]

What like, so Mandy and I, because we have a show, we got, you know, offered money and we're on Charlamagne's imprint.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Weezy]

What is the average, like, what is that? What do you mean with. No. Is it like $10,000?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, that's a lot.

[Mandy B]

Wow.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Because not even that most author authors are not full time. Like most, like the majority of people who are publishing are not even full time. Like most of them are bivocational. And then you have like this tier of like mid level authors who may be able to, you know, live, but they're not like six figure, seven figure authors.

[Weezy]

Oh yeah, girl, you should have been right at that Starbucks.

[Kennedy Ryan]

There was no, there was no money. There was, there was no money. And I think so, yeah, I was gonna say this is when self publishing first started taking off. And I said, okay, let's negotiate, let's make a deal. If you give me the time to self publish My first novel. If it does well, if it does anything, we go from there. If it doesn't do anything, you gonna Starbucks, then I'll go to Starbucks, bring

[Sam]

the application to the crib. But here's what happened. Here's what happened. I was so proud of her in this moment too. Cause it literally jarred me. So she releases the book and that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

My first self published novel.

[Sam]

My first self published novel. Novel. We're living in San Diego. I come in, my job had me traveling a lot. It was a decent job. Six figures. It was doing well. So I come in from a trip and she's sitting in front of her computer, just hitting the reset. Refresh, refresh, refresh on her computer. Because with each refresh, you could see how much money, like when you, when

[Kennedy Ryan]

you was coming in, when you self publish, you like, especially like Amazon, you

[Mandy B]

just, you can see it.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You can see as it comes in.

[Mandy B]

I self published my first. Yeah, it's a real.

[Kennedy Ryan]

With traditional publishing, like, you have to wait. And it's like a portal and all this stuff.

[Mandy B]

But all the sales come in real time.

[Weezy]

Ticket sales. A little bit.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mandy B]

Literally, like our ticket sales. Yes.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And so I turned my laptop around to show him, and I had made as much in a day as I had made in the entire three years of my contract.

[Sam]

But not just that she had made in that day more than what I was making in a month.

[Weezy]

What book was there?

[Sam]

And I was like, wait, wait a minute.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I was like, I literally had to

[Sam]

go to the bedroom and just sit on the bed. Like,

[Weezy]

so the security took time.

[Sam]

It really did. Like, I was shocked. But I was also like, hey, man, if this is her lane, let's go for it. Let's see where it goes. You know what I'm saying? It wasn't like a, oh, my God, she's making more money than me. It was like, yes, let's see where this goes. This could be incredible.

[Mandy B]

You know what I mean?

[Sam]

So, yeah, and that was one of our moments where, you know, it was kind of like, well, let's jump on this bang wagon.

[Weezy]

We didn't have too much time with you.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, no, no, no.

[Weezy]

I actually really want to know this question because it's one I would love to ask Kennedy, but I'm curious to ask you now.

[Sam]

Oh, Lord.

[Weezy]

So I. We've only had a book out for a year, and I've had one instance where I saw it out in the world and also tapped the girl on the shoulder because I was so hyped. And then she Turned around and it

[Kennedy Ryan]

took her a minute.

[Weezy]

Cause I ain't got braids right now. And was like, oh, she. Yeah. Have you had a moment where you were out and saw it or saw someone with it or, like, heard her name and were like, that's my wife.

[Sam]

You know what's interesting? I try not to be. That's my wife. I try not to be, but I do. So what happens is. What happens is I'll go to. Again. I travel a lot, so I'll go to a bookstore just in the airport, just to see if it's there.

[Weezy]

Always, always.

[Sam]

Take a picture.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Send me a picture.

[Sam]

Look, it's. Yo, look what they got up in the mug. You know what I mean?

[Mandy B]

I love it.

[Sam]

So, yeah, it's. It's still new to me in some ways. You know what I mean? See the love that.

[Weezy]

It's been 29 years you've been together. And how many of these years was she writing Kennedy, Ryan, the King?

[Kennedy Ryan]

I've only been writing novels for 11 years.

[Sam]

11 years.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And I mean, it wasn't like when we are in airports. I don't know why it's airports, but people always come up to me in airports.

[Mandy B]

I love it.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And they're like, kennedy. And it's so strange. Like, it's only started happening over the last couple of years. But we were. And Sam is always. It delights him. I'm just like, I love it. Get your picture. You want me to take a picture? Do you want a hug from her?

[Mandy B]

Right?

[Sam]

Exactly.

[Weezy]

My mom does that. My mom offers me up in front of people. They'd be like, weezy, Gila, come here.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Come.

[Weezy]

She'll buy your coffee, too.

[Mandy B]

Now, that was a very PG question. Before we get out, I'm going to boost it up and spice it up.

[Weezy]

Just, you know, the nasty chip.

[Mandy B]

I know. Because then we're going to have girls talk. So we do have to send you on your way. But Kiri's knowing too now that you read all of the books before they get published.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, after.

[Sam]

After, after.

[Mandy B]

Okay.

[Kennedy Ryan]

He read Hindsight because I never planned to publish it neither.

[Weezy]

After they're published, he hasn't read.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Score.

[Weezy]

Oh, well, this will be fun for the game we have.

[Mandy B]

I'm curious to know if there's any scene in any of the books that you've read. And you were like, huh? I'm sure. Like, huh. Is that something you want to do? Is there something in your mind? Where did this come from? Like, has there just been any.

[Sam]

So many ways I could answer that question. Like, there's like. I mean, you're giving me.

[Mandy B]

You know what?

[Weezy]

We're not Good Morning America. You can actually answer it. Answer it.

[Mandy B]

How y' all feel comfortable? Any of the scenes that you've read that were like, mm, my lady's mind is vast.

[Sam]

I think it's probably more so like, okay, I inspired that one. I am the inspired.

[Weezy]

That's actually adorable. The eye roll is so cute. Hey, dog.

[Sam]

Hey, yo. I'm your boy. I'm your boy. So it's probably a little bit of that.

[Mandy B]

Okay, okay.

[Sam]

But it's also sometimes where I'm reading it and I'm just like, yo, that is. That's nice. I like that. Was that kind of.

[Weezy]

Now, you fell asleep too early last night, but yeah, okay. Speaking of Yasmin and more characters. So no holds barred is on the table. Real score. But there's also so many other books. We've just got a sentence.

[Mandy B]

Just a few.

[Sam]

Okay.

[Mandy B]

Yes.

[Weezy]

You gonna tell us, Is it my wife or the two light skinned girls?

[Mandy B]

Let's see how well you know the smuts.

[Sam]

Oh, okay.

[Weezy]

Okay. Your dick will be in her mouth and I'll strap it on and hit it from the back.

[Sam]

That ain't her.

[Weezy]

Well, well.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay. He has not read that. Okay, no, that's fine. Stop saying no. Yes.

[Mandy B]

You said no. Yes.

[Kennedy Ryan]

He said stop my wife. He has not read it yet. Thanks, guys.

[Mandy B]

It's about to be a three podcast.

[Kennedy Ryan]

We haven't talked about it yet.

[Mandy B]

Thanks, Gu.

[Weezy]

Okay.

[Sam]

Great call, though. Good looking out.

[Mandy B]

Good looking out.

[Sam]

Good looking out. Yes. Yes. Good job. Good looking out.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay.

[Sam]

I can't wait.

[Weezy]

He wanted to feel me from the inside. And she nodded to Grant all the permission he had been seeking.

[Sam]

I feel like this can't get enough.

[Weezy]

It's no holds part.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I was gonna say. It's the two light skit girls.

[Sam]

Yeah, guys, it's the two light skinned girls.

[Weezy]

Oh, sorry.

[Sam]

I'm old for two.

[Mandy B]

I feel like that was yo.

[Weezy]

So that was yours?

[Mandy B]

That was your. My story.

[Weezy]

It was you with a couple in Mexico.

[Mandy B]

Oh, and the couple in Mexico. It was okay. It sounded familiar.

[Weezy]

No, we live our raps. Okay. I propped my legs up as if to have a gynecologist giving me an annual pap.

[Sam]

Can I get a little bit more than that sentence?

[Weezy]

That's the only one.

[Kennedy Ryan]

That's it.

[Sam]

That's it.

[Mandy B]

There's a period at the end.

[Sam]

Okay, I am going to say that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Damn.

[Weezy]

0 for 3.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No way.

[Mandy B]

043. Wow. You gotta reread the smut.

[Weezy]

Groaning, he runs his nose up and down the front of my pussy and mouths me through the panties, greedily seeking.

[Sam]

That's her. Yes, that's her.

[Mandy B]

Look, hey, we ain't putting that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

But wait, don't get.

[Sam]

Boy, way too many words, way too many details. That's her.

[Weezy]

Oh, okay. We take a bit of a long run.

[Sam]

You probably got one for three.

[Mandy B]

You know, the book that that's in

[Sam]

or the series, I feel like that is. I feel like that's a Skyland series, if I'm not mistaken.

[Weezy]

That's all right. At least you got it with you. That was from Hookshot.

[Mandy B]

Okay.

[Sam]

Okay, man.

[Weezy]

Yes, one sentence.

[Sam]

You guys went way back then.

[Mandy B]

Listen, I thought you guys gonna get something, right?

[Weezy]

That's my favorite. And the Skyland I know is. Everybody says something about that. You know, it was a little witchcraft in there.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes. You know what? That. Lotus is most people favorite character. Lotus is most people's favorite character of mine. Her and Hendrix. Yeah, people love Lotus.

[Weezy]

People love a toxic. That is really what it is. Okay, I've got two more. Oh, God. Oh, Lord. He grabbed the back of my head so as not to move the blindfold and started face fucking me.

[Sam]

So as not to lose the blindfold.

[Mandy B]

Oh,

[Sam]

yo, I'm gonna plead a fifth on that one. I feel like that is my girl, but I'm. I can't remember the book, so I'm gonna say that's y'.

[Kennedy Ryan]

All.

[Weezy]

You know what? Have you been married 29 years? Listen, that actually made me feel so good because now I know we are that good of writers.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. You guys, y', all clap it up.

[Weezy]

Thank you, Sam, so much.

[Sam]

Too bad.

[Mandy B]

I feel like you were a little nervous. We went easy on you.

[Sam]

Yeah. Thank you so much for going easy. Thank you so much.

[Kennedy Ryan]

It was easy on me, I'm sure.

[Mandy B]

Well, guys, don't go anywhere. Gonna continue the conversation with Ms. Kennedy Ryan. We'll be right back.

[Weezy]

Jorge, we have a surprise.

[Mandy B]

That's right. We are hitting the stage like we've done for so many years. For one night only. Weezy, tell them where it's at.

[Weezy]

So it's at Sony Hall, June 9. It's only one night only because it's not us getting along tour and we just getting along.

[Mandy B]

I don't know why you keep saying tour. Because not a tour.

[Weezy]

One date for the tour. Because not us getting along.

[Mandy B]

Sis, if we keep getting along, we

[Weezy]

finna add another date.

[Mandy B]

So whether you go to the Sony hall website or the description of this episode, make sure you get A ticket now. Because it will only be one show until we decide to make it mo. Get your tickets now. June 9, Sony Hall, New York City. See you there.

[Weezy]

So, y', all, we're gonna start this episode off just with a little sneak preview. So I unfortunately got scores super late. So I asked my sister Simone. I'm like, okay, let's split this. Let's figure this out. So I hit her up. I'm like, what happened? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And this is what she sent me.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, God.

[Weezy]

Before I dug into it. Cause how you not gonna click on it after?

[Mandy B]

Okay. But then another part of the book

[Kennedy Ryan]

I think you'll like is that toward, like, the end, she wounds up pegging

[Mandy B]

him and, like, playing with his butt and stuff.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So I feel like that's what people are like.

[Weezy]

I said, I feel like, okay, so by the way, outside of a bar, by the way. And I was like, oh, what chapter is that?

[Kennedy Ryan]

I'm just. Skip ahead.

[Weezy]

Hey, if the threesomes on two. So that's all we gonna leave you with before we have got to dig into the deal. It's on all of our phones right now. Everybody's so excited for you. And also, the comments kind of feel like that's their home, girl. And they finally seem like, oh, yes, girl. Tell us. So this is gonna be a show?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, and I think the announcement that we just made, we had announced that there was gonna be a show, like, two years ago. You know, so. So the question I get the most is what is happening with the show, which is, you know, the Skylands series, which is, you know, arguably my most popular series before I Let Go, is the first book in that. And so we had announced, like, two years ago. It was a deal optioned by Universal in development at Peacock. Great producers, Malcolm D. Lee, John Legend, Deborah Martin Chase. You know, you're like, whoa, how did

[Weezy]

John Legend have it? Was Christy in love with it? And she was like, you gotta get her.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You know, I don't know if I can say this, but we were in a bidding war. So the book we were in, it wasn't just Universal. It was several entities that, you know, we were. Who were bidding for the book, basically. And John. There's a group at Universal which was John Legend, Deborah Martin Chase's company, and Malcolm D. Lee's company. And they had come together like, we are the Universal team. We're representing Universal. And John sent me an email about how much he and Christy loved the book and what it meant to them. And Then right before I made my decision, he sent me another email, and he was like. Because I think we had maybe like, one last call and he couldn't be there. And he was like, I'm on my way. I'm on a plane to Dubai. But if I wasn't, I would be on the call because I had like, a few last calls with the last team. So that was. I mean, he's involved because his, you know, his company, Get Lifted is involved. But that was. I was like, I have emails from John Legend, which is amazing.

[Weezy]

Now, you. Someone else has read this book before I let go of the Beyonce song. So all I have there been anybody else that you could say, not even a huge celebrity actor you like or anybody that you were like, what? Or that tagged your book or something like that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You know it. For me, it's some of the people. Some of the people who know me. I'm like, how do. I don't think that people would know me? Like, that's my default. And I won't say, I don't know.

[Mandy B]

Go ahead, girl, give it up.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, I mean, I was the other day, and it's public, so, you know, it's not like I'm telling something that's not there. But I love Sterling and Ryan. I love them so much.

[Weezy]

Girl.

[Mandy B]

On each side. Yeah. Because this one right here, I didn't believe it.

[Weezy]

I didn't think.

[Mandy B]

By the way, I know you do, because your man is giving Sterling King Brendan energy.

[Kennedy Ryan]

The energy.

[Mandy B]

The energy is giving. But that's so funny the way.

[Sam]

You know what?

[Weezy]

Sterling has a very mask, but also charming. Like, kind of cheesemo. That makes you feel like you don't like women. Yeah, I'm so tired of that. Like, women want this man that's like, he's so charming. You want him to look like that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mandy B]

Oh, my God. I could imagine y' all on his. He has a podcast that he does with his wife.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So I was so excited. We love Paradise. It's one of our favorites.

[Mandy B]

So good, so good, so good.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And so I think I commented on one of her posts, and she goes, oh, my God, Kennedy Wright. And I was like, how do you even know I exist? You know? But that kind of thing happens to me a lot where people will. Who was it the other day, babe? See, we're basketball and sports people. And isn't Monica McNutt? McNutt? Yes. So her makeup artist is the makeup artist I use when I come to New York and do media and TV and stuff. And she tagged Me. And she was like, I finally read Kennedy's novel because Monica told me to. And I was like, how I love Monica. And I was like, I didn't even know that you knew I exist. She goes, girl, I love your books. You know, so I'm constantly just shocked that anybody knows I exist.

[Weezy]

You really do have that attitude. I want to share. Everybody tonight in New York, we could also cut this if there's no more room, which there probably won't be, but Kennedy asked me to moderate a conversation for her tonight about score. And you sent this to me while I was on vacation.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah.

[Weezy]

By the way, I'm also going to be on vacation during this time. And I was like, fuck, we leaving?

[Kennedy Ryan]

She was like, I will come back early for you.

[Weezy]

So Kennedy responds after asking me with a voice note, and we're sitting at breakfast, my wife and I.

[Mandy B]

She goes, oh, my God, I can't believe you said yes.

[Weezy]

And I said, she fucking crazy. But you really do have this attitude that I think makes it so special, because when people get big and the bigger and bigger they get, we start to feel it, and then you don't want them anymore. Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And I don't feel like even when you say that, I don't feel that. Do you know what I mean? Like, I don't. I don't feel that. And somebody on threads tagged me, and they were like, I don't know if I want to be famous, like Kennedy. And I was like, I'm not famous. Like, I'm not famous, you know, which I'm not. But it just. I kind of like being insulated from it. So I never take it for granted, for one. And the other thing is, it helps me to be, like, focused on what's important, I guess, because I really am very, like, we talk a lot about the racy and the smut and all of that stuff, but, like, I am really, really committed to the art and to the social justice and to the conversations and to the discourse, and it takes a lot of time to do that. And I like to focus on craft. I like to focus on and all of that. And I don't know, it just helps me be really more focused in terms

[Mandy B]

of social justice and discourse. Is that why you chose to add pegging to this most recent novel? Like, was it a.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Actually, yes. Yes.

[Mandy B]

Wait for really? I want to know the social justice around pegging, please.

[Weezy]

Do you know Mandy's akas on the show?

[Mandy B]

Yes. She heard it when we started Run. The whole akas are Peg, Thee, Stallion, Peggy Bundy, Peg and Markle. And so. But I'm curious because the way that we've had this podcast for almost a decade now, even the book, right, Adding the elements of sex, Simon and Schuster, and how we wanted to portray sex within our book, also had to come from a place of education, education, self help. And so to know that you lean into. Into, you know, the conversations in your books and even the smut, but from a social justice and meaningful way. What made you add that type of sex act into this? And then we'll get into the threesome, too, because these are conversations that are being more had today than Maybe they were 11 years ago when you got into the publishing.

[Kennedy Ryan]

When I talk about social justice, like, people, I've written about the Crown act and, you know, domestic violence and like, all these things that I write about that people think as social justice. So I don't know that the pegging is social justice, but it's discourse, like a discourse that I want to have. And most like, I have a very diverse readership, but my most reliable reader is a black woman.

[Mandy B]

Hello.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And so most of the conversations that happen around my books are happening in the black community. Not that there aren't other readers, but most of it's rooted in the black community. So just like when I wrote before, I let go and I really took aim at the fact that so often so many of us are suffering in silence because of the stigma that's around therapy. I really wanted to attack that and expose that. Josiah, the husband, is very resistant to therapy. They end up divorcing. And then it's over the course of the book that he realizes the value of therapy. That was very specifically because of the stigmatization of therapy in our community.

[Weezy]

And we just talked about that earlier,

[Kennedy Ryan]

so that's that I very want. I very much wanted to unearth the discourse that I already know is going to happen that we have. I mean, the homophobia goes deep, deep, like in our. In our community. And when you talk to people about pegging, like, they immediately like, oh, that men and their assholes.

[Mandy B]

It's the gateway to their masculinity.

[Weezy]

It's not the gateway, right?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Like, this has nothing to do with gender. Don't touch that. Don't mess with that. Oh, don't, you know.

[Weezy]

Do you know, knowing that that was in the book literally made me think, is that what she's been saying? Make sure I'm. Make sure to get into horrible decisions. And I'm like, I don't know if you knew he was a girl. But it felt great to know that a writer at your level, because people look at talking about things like that as so, like, low brow.

[Mandy B]

You know what's crazy? We started this pod almost 10 years ago. She wanted to bring that up almost immediately, like episode one. And I literally was like, no, bro, let's save it. She brought it up freaking episode three. And the same way you're thinking. I was like, we're gonna, like, I know we're gonna have a black woman audience, and I don't want the people listening to us that I know we're gonna listen to it. I didn't want to scare them away. She's like, yeah, girl, you put a strap on and poked him in the ass. And I'm like, oh, my God, no one's gonna wanna listen to this podcast anymore. So I love that 11 years later, you're like, this is still discourse. Yeah, I know that this is still happening within our community. And I'm gonna put it in this book so that the conversation can continue.

[Weezy]

Especially. Cause it's a black man.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes, a black man. And I think so often, like, there's so much fragility around their masculinity. And I wanted to write a hero. And I think people are used to thinking of my heroes like, they're, you know, super masculine, they're, you know, tall, dark, handsome, all of that. And this hero is that. But I wanted to present a hero who is all of those things. But that is secure enough to explore that, you know, because, I mean, pegging doesn't mean that you're. And this is such an interesting conversation. This is a sexual organ. You know what I mean? You know, like, those are nerves. Those are. It's stimulation. If you stimulate it, you're going to have an orgasm. Like, it's not about, am I gay? It's not. This is just. This is a biological response to a stimulation. And in a relationship where there's this intimacy that he trusts her with, that is something. And it's also. Cause he's a pk, you know, He's a pk, right? He's a pastor's kid. And he is unpacking all of the shame that so often surrounds sex for people who grow up in church, who are rooted in church. He's unpacking that. He's unpacking the homophobia. And if you notice after it happens, they talk about it.

[Mandy B]

I love that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You know, and he talks about, like.

[Weezy]

And he says, was that an intentional.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Like. Oh, very much intentional.

[Weezy]

We can't just skip this yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. Because I was like, it would be fine if it was just pegging for the sake of pegging. But my goal was discourse, you know? And my goal was, let's dig out some of this homophobia. Let's dig out some of this fragility. Let's dig out some of the dismissiveness that comes with writing about sex. Because romance is largely dismissed in broader culture, people don't think of it as literature. People think it's just smut or whatever. And it can be, like, it's fine if it is. But there's a very dismissive attitude about romance in broader culture.

[Mandy B]

Can I ask you. Because Weezy also said, and maybe this is why, like. And I wonder if this is why it's romance. Does romance always have to have happy endings?

[Weezy]

Yeah.

[Mandy B]

So that is a part of romance. And why it wouldn't be considered erotica or smut. Because I'm used to people dying, people cheating on each other. Like, it getting rough.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes.

[Mandy B]

Yeah. So when Wheezy express, like. Cause she's read more books than I have of yours, and I'm ready to dive in. But she's like, and they all have happy endings. So is that why they're also under the guise of romance and that genre and this.

[Kennedy Ryan]

People debate this, but there really isn't a debate. Like, people are like, he died at the end, but it's a romance. And we're like, no. So each genre has definitions, and it has, like, boundaries. And one of the boundaries of the genre definition for romance is that there's a central. There's a central relationship. It could be a couple. It could be a throuple. Now we have why Choose Romance? It could be seven of them. You know, like, that's called why choose? You know, which is, you know, a relationship with multiple people.

[Mandy B]

Oh, is it me?

[Weezy]

Is that our book?

[Mandy B]

That's me. That's where we go.

[Kennedy Ryan]

It's a whole sub genre now called why choose Romance? But it has to end happily. Can you do it? It can be a love story, but not a romance.

[Mandy B]

Okay.

[Weezy]

Oh, okay, okay, okay.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So there's a distinction.

[Weezy]

Because now that Pagan and Threesomes is coming from a Kennedy Ryan book you got, somebody got to die at the end of the next one

[Kennedy Ryan]

because that

[Weezy]

would be like, she has to end up with his brother.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Like, you've got to take us on a chance.

[Mandy B]

No girl. Sam says she's staying in romance. She ain't going over to the dark side.

[Weezy]

Okay, This is Weezy. WTF From Decisions, decisions. You know, a lot of us grew up not fully trusting the healthcare system. And honestly, the system has given us plenty of reasons to feel that way. But now it's time for us to take control of the conversation, to take control of our sexual health, learn the facts, ask questions, and advocate for ourselves. That's how we start changing the story. So let's talk. We like to think HIV is something that affects other people, but it is hitting our own community hard. Black women make up about 13% of women in the US but account for nearly half of all new HIV diagnosis around women. And being proactive doesn't mean you just don't trust your partner. It just means you trust yourself enough to stay in control. So know your options, ask questions and protect your peace and your body. That's real power. Because protecting yourself isn't embarrassing, it's responsible. Sex is normal. Protecting yourself should be normal too. Actually, it's kind of badass. Taking control of your sexual health is grown woman energy. Sponsored by Care for the Culture from Gilead Sciences this summer, find your next obsession on Prime.

[Mandy B]

And let's be honest, we're all due for a new one.

[Weezy]

It's been a minute.

[Mandy B]

Steamy romance, addictive love stories, and the book to scream favorites you've already read twice because once was obviously not enough.

[Weezy]

Off Campus L the Love Hypothesis and more Slow Burns, Second chances chemistry you could feel through the screen the tension I was set.

[Mandy B]

Binge worthy series. Can't miss the movies. This is the kind of content you start to just check out and suddenly

[Weezy]

it's 1am ask me how I know

[Mandy B]

Obsession is officially in session only on Prime Video.

[Kal Penn]

Hey everyone, it's Kal Penn. I'm the host of Irsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. This week on the podcast, I am sitting down with Ray Porter, the narrator of Andy Weir's audiobook project, Hail Mary Massive sci fi adventure about survival and science and what happens when you wake up alone, very far from Earth. I really had to make a decision because I caught myself getting that frog in my throat and starting to get teary as I'm narrating some of these segments. And it's like, okay, yo, yo, yo, is this indulgent? And I really thought about it. I was like, no. At this point it would kind of be betraying the trust the author and the listener have in telling this story if I don't go through it. But there's places in this book that that deeply emotionally affected me. And I left it on the mic. That's great because it served the story. People will say like, oh my God, I cried at the end. It's like, yeah, dude, me too. Listen to your sake. The Audible and iHeart audiobook club on the iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Mandy B]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with

[Kennedy Ryan]

a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good

[Kal Penn]

in this world, stop with Mint.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying.

[Kal Penn]

No judgments.

[Kennedy Ryan]

But that's weird.

[Kal Penn]

Okay, one judgment anyway.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Give it a try. @mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per

[Weezy]

month required intro rate first 3 months

[Kennedy Ryan]

only, then full price plan options available,

[Weezy]

taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail]

[Kennedy Ryan]

so I have a

[Weezy]

question for you because how did you get the inspo for them to have a threesome as the first encounter?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, everything I do is very intentional. So Verity is a bisexual hero. And so often when I read about bisexual heroines in romance, we're just told that they're bisexual. We never. And it's biracial, so we never. A lot of times we never see her in a relationship with a woman. We never see her attracted to a woman. We only see us. We're just told that she's bisexual and it's like, oh, and then she's with a man and that aspect of her sexuality is essentially erased. Right. And so a lot of people who read romance, they don't like to see this. The two people that they think, okay, this is the hero and the heroine, or this is the hero and the hero. They don't like to see them having sex with someone else. Like in the context of that story. They're like, it's these, it's these two. We just want to see them. And I have written stories where I've talked about people having sex with other characters, but you usually don't see it on the page. It's usually discussed because of that kind of, generally speaking, that preference for seeing these two characters who we're rooting for, they're the only ones we really want to see. Like, you know, like that. And for me, I didn't want to completely erase that aspect of her bisexuality. And I thought a safe way for them to see reader, romance readers, to see this couple, they're into each other. It's them. You don't have to worry they're gonna end up together. They love each other. You know, not love at that, but they're the ones for each other. But also to explore her sexuality with a woman. I want that. That felt like a safe space for both of those things to happen, for her bisexuality to be expressed, but then also to kind of satisfy that desire inside of the. Generally inside of the romance community. To see your two, like, central figures together and not with someone else, especially in a thing.

[Mandy B]

I love that we had a whole discourse with bisexuality, even in our book, because she wrote a love letter. She, like, loves women. I love to fuck women. But we are both bisexual, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so there was discourse in me identifying as bisexual, but I'd only been with a couple in the book.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mandy B]

And the conversation was like, well, why? I don't know if you should consider they tried to cross out bisexual. And how I identified because I hadn't been with a woman in a relationship.

[Weezy]

So I love that you were hetero romantic. Was me, yeah. So I love homo romantic, whereas Mandy was more really just generally sexual and. Which is all within.

[Mandy B]

I love that you, like, are aware of the bi erasure in conversations around women exploring it and you intentionally putting it right there. Chapter two.

[Weezy]

So I wanna curse you out about three things.

[Mandy B]

Oh, shit. She said. And she got em listed. 1, 2, and 3.

[Weezy]

I do. Why the the fuck are you obsessed with second chances? I really want to know.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Not all of them are second. Okay. Can't get enough. Was not a second chance romance.

[Mandy B]

Fine.

[Weezy]

But I'm sitting here reading Hookshot.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I'm like, hook shot is not a second chance romance.

[Weezy]

Ain't that a second? Oh, wait, wait.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No. Lockshot is one shit, but that.

[Mandy B]

Okay, so then I love a double back, so I'm not mad.

[Weezy]

Let's talk about Lockshot. Okay, then. Speaking of that series, the Hoop series, you wrote a love series about basketball players, and we all know they ain't shit. And I feel like I cannot share these books with my homegirls.

[Mandy B]

That's out there. You can, girl. We grew up on loving basketball. Stop it. That nigga fit.

[Kennedy Ryan]

There are some good guys in the NBA.

[Weezy]

Okay.

[Mandy B]

Do we? Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I mean, Steph Curry's a good guy, isn't he?

[Mandy B]

He's a great guy.

[Weezy]

I mean, sure, sure, Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I mean, honestly, I'm a football girl, right?

[Mandy B]

He's great, but we don't look at Steph Curry and be like, ooh, I'd suck his dick. No, no, you know, he's just a nice guy.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Aisha appreciates that.

[Weezy]

No, Aisha.

[Mandy B]

Aisha mad.

[Weezy]

Honestly, like, it made me Laugh. Just really sitting and thinking about it, because you really created the dream, like, all star player, only eyes for her and all this stuff. And I'm like, when is he gonna cheat? Cause that's what he's.

[Mandy B]

But can I ask you. Because love and basketball was so almost instrumental even to, like, my upbringing did. Was that a movie that you watched and thought, I wanna make this into a book. Like, you also talked about with your husband how y' all love sports as well.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. We initially bonded around basketball.

[Weezy]

We.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Our initial connection was not romantic. Well, I mean, Sam was immediately like. Cause he was in a relationship with someone else. And he told his friends, keep me away from her. Because he didn't want to cheat and he didn't want to. He was like, y' all gotta keep me away from her.

[Weezy]

Why you ain't tell that when you were sitting on.

[Mandy B]

Yeah, that's the story we needed. I didn't give a damn about the T. Okay, so.

[Kennedy Ryan]

But we talked about. I mean, that is very. We bonded around basketball and.

[Mandy B]

And this is why Sarah said, men can't have platonic friends.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Cause now look at it 29 years later. No, I want to be very clear. I believe that I did not break up a happy hour.

[Weezy]

Cause you're a pk. That's why we were friends.

[Kennedy Ryan]

But his friend called him down and was like, ask her anything about basketball. Because he knew that he loved basketball. And I am a. I'm a Tar Heel, you know? So, I mean, I. We got married on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill.

[Weezy]

I'm a dickie. I'm a dookie.

[Mandy B]

I'm gonna let you.

[Weezy]

I'm gonna let you know I'm a dookie.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, you just.

[Weezy]

You just.

[Mandy B]

I'm a Cameron crazy. Sorry. You just. The nail through my heart. It's all right.

[Weezy]

She'll read the books anyway.

[Kennedy Ryan]

But I mean, for me, like, I definitely. I. I know that this generation doesn't like love and basketball. I've seen them call it like a horror movie.

[Mandy B]

When you watch it now as an adult, it's terrible.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes, Yes. I understand where they're coming from. Obviously, I have so much nostalgia around, because when at that point, we didn't have very much, you know, we didn't have. I. Can we have a trifecta of love and basketball.

[Mandy B]

Brown sugar, brown sugar, love zones.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Like, there's this trifecta. And I mean, one of the things that excites me about now having this deal and me being so focused on romance is I feel like, not that we haven't had some great movies, but it's like we've been chasing this Love Jones high, you know, for 20 years.

[Weezy]

You know, I still bring up Love Jones.

[Kennedy Ryan]

We have.

[Weezy]

My boyfriend and I do roleplay in bookstores. Because of Love Jones. Yes. Like, it's ridiculous. Okay.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I mean. And there's a question in the book.

[Weezy]

Oh, at the end.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes. Well, brown sugar.

[Weezy]

Damn, I really love it.

[Mandy B]

Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So. So.

[Weezy]

So I knew that I got sucked into your stories from reading the Afterthought questions. I was like, like, you know, questions for your reading group, et cetera. I'm like, what am I doing?

[Mandy B]

Why didn't we do that? Bitch, what the fuck? Like, why didn't we? We missed the mark, bitch.

[Weezy]

We did the same.

[Mandy B]

Hello. She's giving us the goddamn golden thing. How to do this. Hello. The blueprint. Let's do golden sums.

[Weezy]

So. So I want to dig into real life scenarios based on the books.

[Mandy B]

Let's do it.

[Weezy]

Okay. So this could be us. Soledad Barnes, who has three kids.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah.

[Weezy]

And she builds a new life, potential romance, and she gets her happily ever.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah.

[Weezy]

There's a clip that was circulating the Internet recently with a previous guest who was on. And I'm curious to know your instant thoughts when watching this with someone that could be insulted at.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oops.

[Mandy B]

Cam Newton.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Can't say it because Cam Newton is a man. I am a woman. And I am trying to tell you, if you have multiple children by multiple men, for whatever reason that may be, you lower your sexual market value. Meaning the odds of a high value, high earning, masculine man are now lower. Granted that it doesn't sound right. Saying, oh, you lose your value. You do. You do. You lose value. And nobody wants to say that. Nobody wants to tell the truth. Because then what happens? Women uproar and they say, oh, my God, you're hurting us. That's bad for the culture. No, what's bad for the culture is us raising our daughters to be the type of women that think it's okay for us to be sexually promiscuous and get baby mama left or right.

[Weezy]

Yeah, that's okay. Whether Solo didn't have any of that.

[Mandy B]

She's like, bitch, this is why I stay off the Internet and just write my books. Like the face?

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, I think that face was probably in response to any time. And I think I write my stories antithetical to that. And what I mean by that is.

[Weezy]

Yeah, because we don't know their words, you know?

[Mandy B]

Right. We have very small words in our book.

[Weezy]

No, you're in the context clues. I said opposite.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Opposite of that. And what I mean is I don't like to hear women's value in the context of. It's defined by their relationship to a man.

[Mandy B]

I agree.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You know what I'm saying? And what I mean by that is I talk a lot about. I like to write women who are whole or who are. Who want to be whole. And I talk a lot about the word integer, which, you know, that's the base word for integrity. And most of the time when people talk about integrity, they're talking about it in the context of morality. But integrity actually means wholeness. And so I'm interested in the integrity of women. And what I mean by that is that you don't feel like you're missing something because you're not in a romantic relationship. I think in our culture, and this is coming from somebody who's been married for 29 years who writes romance. I believe that in our culture, we so prioritize romantic relationships to the neglect of familial relationships, of sister relationships, of friendship, of community. It's like, we esteem it so high that these other forms of love, and that's what this could be us really is getting at, is there are all these forms of love, but the first one, kind of the most central one, is loving yourself.

[Weezy]

It is.

[Kennedy Ryan]

It is loving your. And if you don't have that, then you're constantly looking for it in other people and in our culture, looking for it in men, if you're, you know, heterosexual, looking for it in a romantic relationship. So I think that face was just like, anytime I hear someone, I mean, I don't know her, and it's no offense to her.

[Mandy B]

Girl, Kennedy, I'm not gonna lie, I'm gonna cut up that response, because I don't say. I don't speak so eloquently as you. And so when I say the same shit you just said, it don't sound as, like, it sound a little ruffle.

[Kennedy Ryan]

That's crazy.

[Mandy B]

So, like, the next time we have this conversation, I'm just gonna be like, insert Kennedy Ryan here.

[Kennedy Ryan]

God damn it, girl.

[Weezy]

Really? When watching it, like, it didn't even hit me that the week it came out was the week we confirmed you coming on. And I was, like, literally soled it to three teenage girls and want it.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes.

[Weezy]

And the idea that single moms don't have a man that would want them.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes.

[Weezy]

Especially at the age that she was.

[Mandy B]

Yes.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And also, who are these men? I mean, you know, it's also like, is that really, the man you want who doesn't see you for who you are.

[Mandy B]

Hello.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Also, I think that so often women we are in this culture, especially in the timeline we are living right now, to only discuss women in the context of our wombs, to only discuss us in the context of our reproductive value and our capacity to have children, or to define us, you know, what are. What are our limitations? Because we have children, Whether that's in a romantic relationship, whether that's working, whether that's whatever. To me, that's like. That's so antiquated. It's so antediluvian. It's so anti. What I believe we as women should be doing in this time, and it's not. And the thing that I love about Soledad and the thing that I was very intentional about with the Skylands series is these are. I'm not saying we should all be at work. We should all be. Soledad's a stay at home mom.

[Weezy]

I know.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You know, and then you have Hendrix, who is like, I don't want no kids. You know, she. In the third book, she doesn't want children. And people are like, People ask me.

[Weezy]

That was a great. I was just gonna bring it up.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Aren't you afraid? This is something that people legitimately ask me. Aren't you afraid that people will see her as cold? And I said, why would.

[Mandy B]

Oh, yeah, they do. They do.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I said, why would people see her as cold? Because she doesn't want children.

[Weezy]

Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And I'm like, oh, she definitely ain't gonna have no child. Because I'm like, no, we as women should not be defined by our wombs, and we should not be defined by, you know, what is our capacity to have kids. And she's very specific. Like, I have. I'm an auntie, I'm a sister, I'm a good daughter. I'm all of these things. And you somehow think I'm deficient because I don't even want children.

[Weezy]

And even the way that she approaches telling him she doesn't want kids. So I wanted to bring that one up too, as well, because Mandy doesn't

[Mandy B]

want children and don't. And is Elvis. And if I'm cold, bitch.

[Weezy]

Ice.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Well, not ice.

[Weezy]

Not on that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Not ice.

[Mandy B]

Not in this. Not in this landscape.

[Weezy]

Here are the liberal books, Nicole. You know, there we go in there. Like, I love that we're experiencing her knowing there might be shame around it too.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes.

[Weezy]

Because in the world we're in, really, what is the value if we're not wife and mothers Right. Like we just discussed the documentary Inside the Manosphere and even the way the conversation that these red billed dudes have around women stay home. And there was even a man on there flat out said in front of his wife to the camera, bath time. Like, I'm not doing that. Like I'm not changing diapers, I pay the bills. Like, oh, God forbid you run the water.

[Mandy B]

Yeah, I love that. You brought up the reasons to why certain characters have certain characteristics. Right. One that immediately stuck out to me about. Score. You brought up bisexual.

[Weezy]

That's another bi.

[Mandy B]

But also another bi.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes, yes.

[Mandy B]

Bipolar.

[Kennedy Ryan]

A much tougher bi to write and

[Mandy B]

a much tougher disorder for me personally to deal with. So I deal with it in my. In my family and I choose not to speak to that person. I've also dealt with it in dating and realized that that is a hard boundary for me. I don't have the capacity. What was the reasoning for? Especially because it's also something that isn't also talked about in our community. Right. So what was the reason for adding this bipolar disorder to the character? And why was it so difficult to add that context?

[Kennedy Ryan]

It was difficult because I write what I call. Oh God. What is the word? I don't know why it just left me.

[Mandy B]

Girl, we ain't gonna help you with a word.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, you are, you are when you're a doctor. I can't. The oath, I can't remember it right.

[Weezy]

She can't get a word.

[Kennedy Ryan]

It's just alluded me I'm in perimenopause.

[Weezy]

My odd girl, the fog.

[Kennedy Ryan]

But basically it's like my mom can

[Weezy]

push through D and D. My bad.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And that's good facts. But it's first do no harm. Like, you know, when you talk about doctors, it's just Hippocratic.

[Mandy B]

There we go.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So I talk about writing Hippocratically. So a doctor's. You know that doctor's oath is the Hippocratic oath. First do no harm. And so I talk about writing Hippocratically usually First do no harm. Usually. I like to write marginalized communities. I like to write identities that are not usually central. I like to write vulnerable communities. So I've written heroines with limb difference, you know, amputees I've written. So it's like a broad. I've written heroines with lupus, obviously, like real. So often these are not people who are often seeing themselves in cultural narratives. Right. And so I. And I'm very. You're already a marginalized community. There's something vulnerable about your Ancestors existence in the context of this culture. I don't want to write something that is harmful, that's inaccurate, that's offensive. And so the process that I engage in from a research perspective when I'm doing this is. It's exhaustive. So I will interview 20 people.

[Mandy B]

Wow.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. I do zooms. So I'm a journalist, you know, so that's my background. So the first thing I do when I know that I'm writing something like that, I start putting together a subject list. Who am I going to interview? And so that is me finding people who actually have bipolar disorder. It's me finding psychiatrists, people who've dealt with therapy. It's like people who are families in relationships.

[Mandy B]

Girl, you could have zoomed me for the whole book. So pagan. Bipolar. Like bisexuality.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You were my ideal beta reader.

[Mandy B]

Listen.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, wait, no.

[Weezy]

Fact, facts, that honestly.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mandy B]

Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay.

[Weezy]

So I have. I know we don't have you forever, but I have questions that I feel like fans would hate me if I didn't ask you. Hate. This is another person in the world,

[Mandy B]

and I want them to hate her because they hate me every week.

[Weezy]

So. Okay, if you could switch the ending of any book, which one would it be? Just what was that alternate ending? Because I'm really curious. Cause they all seem to fit, but that's just. Cause it's all I know.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Weezy]

What would have been another little.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Actually, this is this interesting that you say that, because Longshot I wrote three different endings for.

[Mandy B]

Really?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes.

[Weezy]

What was going to happen? Who's she gonna be with?

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, she wasn't gonna be with someone else. So this is not much of a spoiler.

[Weezy]

Right?

[Kennedy Ryan]

I mean, because the Long Shot has been out for a really long time, so if you haven't read it, that's fine, but she's obviously in an abusive relationship. Intimate partner abuse. She gets out, she heals, and she ends up in another relationship. And then her abusive partner comes after.

[Mandy B]

Oh, of course.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And he attacks her and she ends up killing him.

[Weezy]

That was a great. That was actually my favorite book.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. That's as satisfying as it's like, going to find.

[Weezy]

And then Mimi. And was it Mimi? Mimi. Sorry. I read it a few years ago.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And then she's in Hookshot, too. Yeah.

[Weezy]

But just knowing, like, you came for a safe space with just to find family, and even when family's gone, like, they've got you, like, ancestrally, we're so connected. That was really deep.

[Mandy B]

What was the alternative?

[Kennedy Ryan]

That there were three. That because she injures Him. And she just sits back and lets him die. So doesn't call the ambulance. She just lets him die. There is an ending where he doesn't die.

[Mandy B]

Oof.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And you won't believe. I guess you will believe this. I have beta readers, like people who read. I have sensitivity readers, which is people who usually are negotiating, whatever that, like, I had bipolar and bisexual sensitivity readers. After I read the book, they read the book and then they go through and then they tell me, this is wrong, this is inaccurate, this is harmful.

[Weezy]

This is offensive.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Like, I do that with every book and I compensate them. So I hate that.

[Weezy]

I want to know what she do with insensitive. I want to know what you was offensive.

[Kennedy Ryan]

What was offensive?

[Weezy]

I would love to, but go. Keep going.

[Kennedy Ryan]

See, the thing is, because I do the interviews beforehand, and when I do the interviews, usually it's by zoom. I do the interviews, and as I'm doing the interviews, I'm asking them, what should I be reading? What are the podcasts? Tell me. And I'm like, tell me where to go from here. So I start building my reading list from those initial interviews. And so I'm reading. I will interview for probably a good two to three months, and then I will do nothing but read, listen to podcasts, look at medical, all of it for maybe another two months or so. So you're talking about four to five months. That's nothing.

[Weezy]

But just to build a character and

[Kennedy Ryan]

to build a story and to build an experience and build representation.

[Weezy]

Wow. Right.

[Kennedy Ryan]

So I will do all of that. So there is usually. By then, there's usually very little that's offensive. So, like, for example, with this could be us, that those are. They're autistic characters. I have my own editor. I have. My publisher has an editor. I have a personal editor. I always use. I have beta readers. I have sensitivity readers. I hired an autistic editor, meaning you are autistic. I want you to read this book. I'm hiring you to edit this book through the lens of being on the spectrum, and I want you to tell me if I'm ever infantilizing these characters. I want you to tell me if I'm using language that's outdated. I want you to tell me if this is offensive. I want you to tell me if this is harmful. And then we are going to go through this book line by line, and we're gonna purge everything from this book that would be potentially harmful, because I don't want that to get in the way. This is someone of the story. Yes. Of the story, and this is actually someone's life.

[Weezy]

I have been so thrown off by Kennedy, and I never realized there was one particular book I wish I could remember. And she kept bringing up. It was a white romance. Anyway, long story short, she said that wrong. First, it was like an airport book I picked up, but she kept saying. She said thugs once.

[Mandy B]

Yeah.

[Weezy]

And then the second time she referenced thugs, she mentioned them by skin color. Black thugs across the street. How did this happen? This is 10 years ago. I wrote the bitch on Facebook.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Good for you.

[Weezy]

I was like, did you understand that when you were writing this? It was just an awful thing to say. Like, I actually can't. I'm sucked out of the story. Because you're weird.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes.

[Weezy]

Like, you talked about being in Brooklyn and there were thugs and she lived in Soho.

[Sam]

Girl.

[Mandy B]

What? White people.

[Weezy]

Anyway, yes. Okay, so whose life have you written about that if there was an alternate universe you would live on your own? Like, whose life do you feel like I could do that? I could see myself working at that restaurant.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Weezy]

Like, who would it be?

[Kennedy Ryan]

I think I love politics. Like, I know a lot of people don't love politics. And we're in a timeline where people. They're so tired of politics.

[Weezy]

Right.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And I completely get that.

[Weezy]

Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And people are often very surprised because I'm so open about politics.

[Weezy]

You post it more.

[Kennedy Ryan]

More than your books. Oh, yeah. On threads. They're like, oh, Kennedy on threads is like. I mean, you calling out every racist, every homophobe, you know, and people are like, why are you. Where does that come from? Because most authors are not. Because they are often afraid this will date me. But, you know, like, when Michael Jordan, who I adore, who is the goat, but he said, you know, Republicans buy shoes too, you know, and he's like, I'm not gonna offend people who would buy my books. And I don't care. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't care if you hold these views. And you're like, that's opposite of what I believe. So I'm not gonna buy your books. That's fine. So I think about. There's a book called Queen Move now. They have a series called all the King's Men.

[Weezy]

And, oh, my God, my mom is obsessed with that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay, that. Okay, so all the King's Men is probably as racy as score, you know, somewhere around there, Right? And it's politics. It's these two women. One is indigenous and one is black. And I really am interested in the dynamic, you know, the Shared experiences and the shared oppressions of black and indigenous women in this country. So there's an. Think scandal, right? So there's an indigenous woman and there's a black woman, and they start a political firm together. And they are the king. It's called the Kingmakers. They are the kingmakers. They're the ones who get governors and presidents elected and all of this stuff, right? And so Kimba, who is the black heroine, she has her own book, and the indigenous woman has her own book. And maybe Kimba, because she is out there, like, fighting, gerrymandering. She is out there, like, lobbying for the Crown act. And she. All the things. All the things that I'm really passionate about, she is doing them. And she's also. She's going through menopause, right? And she ends up wanting to have children. And there literally were people who were like, I didn't know I was going through menopause until I read that book, because they were like, I was having all these symptoms. And then I read the book, and I was like, oh, wait, is this menopause? You know, and her doctor basically tells her, you have this tiny window. She's completely loves her career, obsessed with her career. And she starts basically early perimenopause. And her doctor's like, you have this very tiny window where you could have children naturally. What are you gonna. So the whole book, she's really wrestling with that. Cause she's like, I don't want children right now.

[Weezy]

That's such a relative experience in my life, because my mom had me at 40. She found out she was having menopause through me.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes.

[Weezy]

At 12, I was like, mommy, you're kind of being mean.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Get. A girl's a hot flash.

[Weezy]

And I remember she got on the phone with one of her friends. She was like, I don't. This is, like, the third time she

[Mandy B]

said this to me.

[Kennedy Ryan]

This is not the type of person.

[Mandy B]

Am I going through menopause.

[Weezy]

Okay, final question. Final question. There we go.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, this is the final question.

[Weezy]

I know.

[Mandy B]

And everybody gonna be. We could have took another hour, we think.

[Weezy]

Okay, we'll get some more of these out, too, in a few weeks. Okay. Even if they're already saying yes to you. Top three actresses, if you could pick who are gonna star in your new series.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, you mean the Skyland series? Before you let go.

[Weezy]

Yes.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You're in universe.

[Weezy]

Oh, excuse me. Book series, TV series. Cues the out of me.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Kidding. No, no, no.

[Mandy B]

I'm just.

[Weezy]

I'm just.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I am. Yes, the Skylands.

[Weezy]

Here is on tv. Who is in your head? Who are the three women? Cause each book follows a different character.

[Mandy B]

Look, she's like, bitch, we've been working on it. I can't get up. Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay. So I have been. I have Pinterest boards. You know, like, when you. Before, when I was writing these boards, I had. First of all, I had no idea this was gonna happen. You know, I wrote this book, and my agent, who's at caa, she called. I remember she calls me and she goes, kennedy, this is the book. And I was like, what are you talking about? She goes, before I let go, this is the book. This is the book that's going to change your life. And I was like, is it? I didn't think that. So I was not thinking about before I let go.

[Weezy]

It was Yasmin.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yasmin and Josiah. Yes. The first book in the Skyline series. And so I'm just over here building my little Pinterest boards and, you know, trying to get physical, because I have. I don't have good visuals. I'm very bad at visualizing. And so I have to have pictures of everything if I am going to, like. If I was gonna write this room, I would literally have to like, okay, I need a picture. Okay. There's a couch, and then there's a rug, and then there's like. I don't visualize things well. So if I'm writing a character, I'm like, who kind of looks like this. So I have my little Pinterest boards. I will talk about. That is not casting, because obviously we are. Of course.

[Weezy]

Of course.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Right.

[Weezy]

So now Hendrix. Hendrix is thick.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes. And I had a couple of people, like, I really love Danielle. What's.

[Weezy]

You know.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. I like Daniel Brooks. I also like Wunmi.

[Weezy]

Oh, my God.

[Kennedy Ryan]

From Sinners.

[Mandy B]

Sinners. Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah. She was actually Hendrix in my head. Whoa. When I was writing it. Yeah. So, I mean, again, this is. No. I don't want the producers to be like, Kennedy, but, girl, they ain't gonna want me. Yeah. She's like, all right. And, you know, when I think about. My list for Yasmin is, like, as

[Weezy]

long as my arm.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Like, there's so many women like Teyana Paris. I love. And when people look at the COVID they're like, that's Teyana Paris.

[Weezy]

Wow.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I love Teyonah Paris. I love. I love Tika Sumter. Like, there's a whole list of them who I think could possibly be Yasmin.

[Weezy]

All right.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And Soledad is. You know what? I don't this is the thing I am not sure about Solana.

[Weezy]

Because you don't know the Latinas or something?

[Kennedy Ryan]

No, it's because. I think it's because I don't see as many. I don't see as much representation in Hollywood. I really don't. Okay, who is the Afro Latina who was in Orange is the New Black?

[Weezy]

Everybody talk about her.

[Kennedy Ryan]

What's her name? Oh, I mean, I have it on my phone.

[Weezy]

She almost came on the show once.

[Mandy B]

What the.

[Kennedy Ryan]

I love. I really.

[Weezy]

She was so popular, too.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yes, yes. Her. She has been on my.

[Mandy B]

She lives in the Bronx.

[Kennedy Ryan]

She has been on my list.

[Weezy]

Driving me crazy. It should not be taking me this long. Dasha Palazzo.

[Mandy B]

Yes. Yes, Dasha.

[Weezy]

There we go.

[Kennedy Ryan]

She was on my list. But you know what's funny is, like, it's all over TikTok, right? So people do their own casting. They do their own casting, and I have a whole folder I don't interact with, but I have a whole folder where I save all of their little casting.

[Weezy]

Posting.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Post. Yes. I save all of their casting posts. And I'm like, you guys, have you seen this?

[Weezy]

Who are Mandy and Weezy gonna play? Can we play the homegirls in the corner?

[Mandy B]

I'm down.

[Kennedy Ryan]

No. Somebody posted today. Do you guys know Maya the Dawn?

[Mandy B]

Of course.

[Weezy]

Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Okay. I love her.

[Mandy B]

I want to bring her on here.

[Kennedy Ryan]

She reads my books. I had no idea.

[Mandy B]

I love her.

[Kennedy Ryan]

She and I met at the Bronx Book Festival last year. I was like, I love your book. I had no idea that she was this amazing, like, hip hop rap rapper.

[Mandy B]

And she used to do her own. She got popular. She did her own makeup on TikTok.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Really?

[Mandy B]

And she went from that to rapping. And, like, really out here rapping.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, my God. No, I love her. I love her.

[Weezy]

I want to be like, bitchy waitresses.

[Kennedy Ryan]

But she. You know what she posted when we announced it yesterday? She was like, kennedy, I would make a great. Server number one named it Larry. I would make a great. She was like, I think the same thing.

[Mandy B]

Same thing. I'd be a walk on. You know?

[Weezy]

So that would actually be really fun for listeners to just see. Just like. I mean, viewers to see or readers. The book. Like, what the hell is that? Yeah. Anyway, y', all, if you don't know, period, go get it. I would actually like to ask you, because we already know they run into it. Where would you like people to purchase? Score. We learned that indie bookstores were important. Like. Yeah, can you list off any that you know about in New York, Atlanta.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, Cafe Con Libros is one that's here in New York. And it's actually one of our, like, I love indie bookstores and I love black owned bookstores. And so for the last three years, I have had a black owned bookstore campaign. Meaning there are certain incentives that you can only get when you pre order through one of these black owners.

[Mandy B]

Oh, I love that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Buy Black. Yeah.

[Weezy]

And Buy Black Reparations Club in la.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Reparations. I work with Reparations a lot in la. I've worked with Black Pearl. So if you go to my bio, there's literally one of the buttons is like black owned bookstores, where you buy. Score.

[Mandy B]

I love that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

You know, and then we have. This is very niche. I mean, it's not something that people have done a lot. I talk to my. Because I have a Barnes and Noble exclusive, obviously. Barnes and Noble.

[Weezy]

Huge.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Thank you. But I really wanted to do an indie exclusive, meaning the only way you can get this particular edition is through an indie bookstore.

[Mandy B]

I love that.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And so we have indie. It's like, that's where I would recommend. You can buy wherever you want. But I would recommend I have a little button in my bio and it lists all the indie bookstores.

[Weezy]

You'll copy and paste that exact link in the description. I'll make a note.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Right? Yeah, yeah. But it is to incentivize people to shop indie and then even more kind of macro. Shop black. And so I have for the last three years always had an incentive campaign to shop black when you got some

[Weezy]

extra money left by. No holds barred. Cause the paperback comes out June 9th.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Oh, paperback.

[Mandy B]

Yeah, it's new.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Lockdown.

[Weezy]

We've been hard this whole time.

[Mandy B]

That's what this is.

[Kennedy Ryan]

On tour again.

[Weezy]

Girl, we tag.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mandy B]

I don't know if we'll tour, but hopefully our fans get to see us like, pop out.

[Kennedy Ryan]

We'll do some pop ups.

[Mandy B]

We'll pop ups. But I think we're done touring. Yeah, we're old.

[Kennedy Ryan]

It's exhausting.

[Mandy B]

It's so exhausting.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Exhausting.

[Mandy B]

We do still love reaching out and meeting our fans. So we'll do some pop ups. Y' all stay tuned.

[Kennedy Ryan]

We coming.

[Mandy B]

We coming.

[Weezy]

Love y'.

[Kennedy Ryan]

All.

[Mandy B]

Thank y' all for tuning in to another episode of Decisions, Decisions. Make sure y' all cop that, Skodo. Period.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Bye bye.

[Mandy B]

Yes, it's me again.

[Kennedy Ryan]

And we prepped.

[Mandy B]

It's the time for empowerment. And I've got a message for you. You gotta think about sexual health no matter what. With Who? Yeah.

[Kennedy Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mandy B]

To all you lovers out there, ain't no judgment. This is your cue. It's time to talk about pre special prophylaxis, a part of HIV prevention. Talk to a healthcare provider and visit carefortheculture.com to learn more.

[Weezy]

This is Bethany Frankel from Just Be with Bethany Frankel. Most dog food is marketing, not nutrition.

[Kennedy Ryan]

That is why Biggie and Smalls eat

[Weezy]

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[Kennedy Ryan]

And yes, I do see the difference. Better digestion, healthier skin, more energy.

[Weezy]

Dogs that feel better. My baby, if you've been on the fence about switching, stop overthinking it. What's more important than your furry babies and their health?

[Kennedy Ryan]

Go to justfood4dogs.com right now and get

[Weezy]

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[Kennedy Ryan]

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[Kal Penn]

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[Weezy]

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[Kennedy Ryan]

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[Weezy]

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[Kennedy Ryan]

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