Ride with Benito Skinner and Mary Beth Barone

Episode: IUDs + Jewelry

Release Date: September 24, 2025
Hosts: Benito Skinner & Mary Beth Barone

Episode Overview

In this engaging, witty episode, Benito and Mary Beth return for another candid conversation, volleying between comedic banter and sincere reflections. The main themes this week are personal adornment—specifically jewelry—and reproductive autonomy, centered on IUDs (intrauterine devices). The besties riff on the power and stories of jewelry, how personal style evolves, and dig deep into their feelings about bodily autonomy and women’s safety. Per usual, their trademark humor, vulnerability, and cultural commentary are on full display.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Escape Rooms, Party Games, and La Dolce Vita (00:40–07:13)

• Escape Room Opinions:

  • Both hosts detest the idea of escape rooms. Mary Beth quips, "Women are actively trying to not be in an escape room. So I don't need to go in there." (01:36)
  • Benito reflects, “I just know that immediately I'd have to fart. Sorry. And then immediately I would be completely worthless.” (01:47)
  • They agree some pursuits reveal incompatible worldviews, likening it to relationship dealbreakers.

• New Party Game by Mary Beth:

  • She pitches a game in which friends each write a "dating profile" for someone in the group. Mass affirmations and funny jabs ensue, culminating with:
    • "He is the best person I know. He is so funny. He's so sexy." – MB about Benito (04:35)
    • Benito’s playful roast/praise: “[Mary Beth] is this stunning, iconic, dry, sharp, deeply brilliant…lately she's been giving Leighton Meester.” (05:00)
  • The conversation is both heartfelt and hilarious, highlighting friendship dynamics.

Reflections on Relationships & Being a Woman (07:13–10:45)

• Queer Relationships & Gendered Dating:

  • Benito shares gratitude for his queer relationship, noting how it “just makes sense” compared to some expectations in straight dating—“Damn, you guys really have to see some crazy things in theaters.” (07:49)
  • Discussion on “splitting meals” as an adorable but not couple-exclusive thing.

• Romantic Comedy Moments:

  • Both reminisce about feeling like they’re “in a movie”—Mary Beth while walking around Williamsburg and Benito after laughing at himself alone. (09:29)
  • “Do you ever have this feeling…we're being filmed?” – Benito (09:59)
  • “That’s just New York.” – Mary Beth (10:42)

Movie Time: Julia Roberts and the Ocean's Franchise (10:51–14:01)

• Delightfully nerdy dissection of Julia Roberts’ meta-cameo in Ocean's Twelve, and how movies break reality when referencing real-life stars.
• “It disrupts the time continuum in a way…they did invent the multiverse, certainly.” – Benito (11:59)
• Praise for Ocean’s 8 as a reliably fun watch: “I watch Ocean's 8 on planes all the time. There's no part in Ocean's 8 where something goes wrong.” – Benito (13:45)

[AD BREAKS SKIPPED]

Album of the Year: Lorde’s Return & Lyric Dissection (17:02–21:02)

• The duo gush over Lorde’s latest album, painting it as both “transparent and opaque” (17:34), and “bones and all…a classic” – Benito (17:16).
• Mary Beth and Benito share favorite tracks and connect lyrics to personal experiences, blending reverence and wit:
  • “Maybe I finally know who I want to be: a grown woman in a baby tee.” – Mary Beth (18:03)
• They agree the album is “so raw, and it's raw fucking. And it's just incredible.” – Benito (21:02)
• Lorde’s “grown woman in a baby tee” and references to “clear blue” and IUD imagery lead directly into this episode’s themes.

Main Topics: Jewelry & IUDs

Jewelry: Symbols, Personal Histories, and Culture (22:04–32:43)

• Why They Ride for Jewelry

  • Benito: “I don’t wear a ton of jewelry…but I point it out all the time. And I love looking at people’s jewelry.” (21:59)
  • Finds personal freedom in both wearing and not wearing jewelry.

• Women, Men, and Earrings:

  • “Women with their earrings—it's a window into the soul.” – Mary Beth (22:44)
  • Benito: “A man with a hoop. Huge for the culture.” (22:51)

• Mixing Metals, Stacking, and Sentimentality:

  • “I do mix silver and gold. I think that's fine. It's just a personal choice. If you mix it, just commit.” – Mary Beth (23:54)
  • Both discuss sentimental pieces (family necklaces, pins, rings) and the stories they carry.

• Jewelry Mishaps and Anecdotes:

  • Mary Beth’s story of leaving a necklace at a hookup’s apartment, which led to a comedy of errors with the guy’s brother and his fiancée. (27:35–28:57)
  • High school bangle culture, J.Crew statement necklaces, and jewelry as a social marker.

• Personal Growth:

  • Benito on overcoming internalized judgment: “For so long, I was like, I don’t wear jewelry…It feels gay. Well, it’s fucking gay. But…just try it. The water’s warm.” (26:23)

• Final Jewelry Thoughts:

  • “I love jewelry. It’s expression, the details, and it’s beautiful…I like the beauty in it.” – Mary Beth (43:24)
  • Benito: “I love when someone has one earring on and the other's not. Maybe it's not even there. Fuck it.” (43:30)
  • Mary Beth contemplates getting her nipple re-pierced, illustrating jewelry as an evolving personal statement.

IUDs: Inner Jewelry, Safety, and Bodily Autonomy (36:22–42:55)

• Personal IUD Testimony:

  • Mary Beth has a low-dose hormonal IUD: “We fight like sisters…but I do love my IUD.” (36:52)
  • She acknowledges not every IUD experience is ideal, but emphasizes their practical importance, especially now: “As our rights are being stripped away…get the IUD now if you want to.” (37:03)

• How IUDs Work (Or Don’t):

  • The science is still mysterious: “IUDs are so cool because it's science that's more theoretical than anything. We don't know how they work so much…” – Mary Beth (37:03)
  • “Whatever it’s doing to the sperm, it’s mostly working because they’re so effective.” (37:03)

• Cultural & Political Context:

  • The discussion references current threats to reproductive rights.
  • “Bodily autonomy…as our rights are being taken away…just do it.” – Mary Beth (37:43)

• Womanhood & Suffering:

  • Mary Beth laments, “Women are put on this earth to love and to experience joy, and all we get to do is suffer.” (38:14)
  • Benito affirms: “And we force you to make music, i.e. Lorde…Laureate’s IUD is visible on the cover of [Solar Power].” (38:21)
  • Mary Beth gets serious about recent threats to her safety and the resilience and love that women persistently give. (39:33–42:04)

• Summary of Empowerment:

  • Freedoms offered by modern birth control and reminders of the joy women deserve.
  • “Maybe getting an IUD is part of that…Put on a baby tee. A grown woman in a baby tee.” (40:00–40:03)
  • “For anyone who wants an IUD: fuck yeah, hell yeah.” – Benito (40:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Women are actively trying to not be in an escape room. So I don’t need to go in there.” – Mary Beth (01:36)
• “He is my best friend…People clamor for his attention because he is such a good friend and a good person.” – Mary Beth to Benito (04:33)
• “If you break her heart—well, good luck getting through me, motherfucker.” – Benito about Mary Beth (05:21)
• “We could just play the party game at a party and your crush gets to hear all the things that your best friends say about you.” – Mary Beth (05:54)
• “For so long, I was like, I don’t wear jewelry…It feels gay. Well, it’s fucking gay. But…just try it. The water’s warm.” – Benito (26:23)
• “IUDs are so cool because it's science that's more theoretical than anything…and I do have a joke about it in my famed Clusterfest set with the blue eyeshadow but we don’t know how they work so much.” – Mary Beth (37:03)
• “Women…we just are beaten and battered…have not just completely hardened our shell to the world, because it’s like we’re just constantly torn down.” – Mary Beth (38:39)
• “I love when someone has one earring on and the other's not. Maybe it's not even there. Fuck it.” – Benito (43:30)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Escape rooms, party game intro: 00:40–07:13
• Friendship compliments party game: 04:28–05:32
• Ocean’s movie dissection / meta moments: 10:51–14:01
• Lorde album discussion / lyric appreciation: 17:02–21:02
• Jewelry as identity and culture: 22:04–32:43
• Jewelry stories, hookups, misplaced necklaces: 27:35–28:57
• IUDs—personal testimony and larger context: 36:22–42:55
• Empowering women, bodily autonomy, safety: 39:33–42:55

Episode Tone

The episode dances between irreverent, heartfelt, and sharply insightful. Benito and Mary Beth deliver punchy cultural commentary, self-aware jokes, and gentle affirmations that make you feel—either with laughter or unexpected poignancy.

Final Notes

This episode of Ride delivers both sparkle and substance: jewelry as memory, identity, and empowerment; IUDs as practical freedom in a fraught political moment; and, as always, a celebration of friendship, humor, and the ways we keep each other safe and seen. As Benito says, “We ball. We ride. East Valhalla.”