The Church of What's Happening Now: The New Testament

Episode: Love, Loyalty, and Tradition with Renee Graziano from Mob Wives

Date: October 7, 2025
Host: Joey “Coco” Diaz, with Lee Syatt
Guest: Renee Graziano (Mob Wives)

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth, hilarious, and at times raw conversation about love, loyalty, betrayals, addiction, and family tradition. Joey and Lee sit down in New York City with Renee Graziano, star of VH1’s "Mob Wives" and daughter of reputed mobster Anthony Graziano. The discussion ranges from growing up in a notorious family, the costs of reality TV fame, family betrayals, addiction, the evolution of organized crime, and old-school values in a new world. It’s equal parts mob history lesson, therapy session, and stand-up set, delivered in the hosts’ signature brutally honest, streetwise style.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life, Aging, and the Annoyances of Travel

• Air Travel Woes:
  Joey opens with a comedic rant about his trip to Texas, humidity, sweat, and the maze of airport logistics.
  • "[Texas] destroyed my fucking central nervous system." (00:57)
  • "Now I'm on a plane and I don't like wearing underwear with a pair of shorts... With the shorts, somebody's getting a whiff. I don't know who sits next to me on the plane." (10:18)
• Old School Travel Tips:
  Joey details how $50 bills can get you through airport lines and how times have changed with younger airport staff.
  • "If they would've been smart, if he knows Uncle Joey ... he could have said, give me the whole knot and I would have gave it to him." (19:08)

2. The Mob Wives Era and the Price of Fame

• Reality TV Backstory:
  Renee describes how "Mob Wives" changed the trajectory of her family and personal life, including falling out with her father over her participation, and the intense emotional toll.
  • "My dad stopped talking to me for two years because of the show, so I paid a lot, emotionally and mentally, actually, even physically." (31:06)
• Family Loyalty and Betrayal:
  Renee shares candidly about her ex-husband wearing a wire, betraying her family, and leaving her with legal and emotional scars.
  • "He only came back to me to set my father up. My father just came home after doing 11 and a half. ... He put my father, my uncle, my best friend's husband away." (33:56)
  • "I love my father so much. Like my father, God is first and foremost ... but on earth, that was my God, like my father's ... my hero." (36:10)

3. Addiction, Recovery, and Personal Growth

• Struggles with Sobriety:
  Renee is open about her substance use as self-medication after familial betrayals, and her journey to sobriety.
  • "I self-medicated. ... They took my father ... which now I know took my identity. ... I didn't even want to live." (51:36, 53:54)
  • "I am coming up on two years sober." (84:59)
• Reinvention and Purpose:
  She’s now focused on new creative projects (memoir, beauty product line, immersive theatre), her grandchildren, and healing.

4. Mob History, Legacy, and Changing Times

• Mob Stories—Old School vs. Today:
  Joey and Renee reminisce about infamous mob figures, mob culture in New York and New Jersey, generational shifts, and the commodification of ‘mob content’ in media.
  • "The old school wise guys were on such another level... a rat’s a rat, and I’ll never fucking change my feelings on them." (47:33)
  • "It’s so weird now that I don’t know who’s buying these shows, but the mob... it’s fucking dead. Whoever wants to hear this nonsense is living in death." (60:58)

5. Old School Values vs. Today’s World

• Honor, Respect, and Social Change:
  Renee and Joey reflect on the loss of "real men," traditional values, and their dismay at changes in society—from social interactions to legalized marijuana.
  • "I still implement my very old school mentality when it comes to respect and honor and integrity and morals." (114:15)
  • "My way of thinking is 40 years out of line." (106:24)
• Advice for Younger Generations:
  They address listeners facing job struggles, divorce, adulthood pressures:
  • "Your next move is to sit still, play it out. You've done this before. ... Everybody in this room, we've all got ourselves out of a hole before." (99:57)

6. Humor, Sex, and Life’s Absurdities

• Signature Joey Diaz Tangents:
  No episode is complete without x-rated banter—there’s a graphic but funny discussion about bukkake, cuck chairs in hotels, old age sex, and the changing boundaries of what’s “normal.”
  • "Blue Chew is the original brand offering chewable tablets for better sex... You could pop one and blow mint right in a girl's nose..." (28:54, 121:41)
  • "Bukaki is when one person is in the middle and there’s a large group of guys... they do some stuff on her face..." (85:57)
• Comic Reflections on Aging:
  Jokes about knee surgeries, airport scooters, “the dream” of walking in khakis on the beach, and the anti-climax of retirement and American “happily ever after."
  • "When you stop is when you're going to die. ... People retiring, and three years later they punch the ticket." (95:07)

7. Pop Culture, TV, and Mafia Media

• Lively discussion of the best and worst mob movies ("Goodfellas," "Godfather"), TV obsessions (“The Gentleman,” “Mobland”), the fading relevance of mob storytelling, and what resonates with newer generations.
  • "Best mob movies ... the Goodfellas, the casinos. You've already done it." (63:06)

8. Food, Family, and Staten Island Life

• Joey and Renee trade notes on Italian food, Staten Island roots, and what’s changed as their social circles moved to Jersey.
  • "If it wasn't for Staten island, they'd still be eating macaroni and cheese and Marlboro and whatever cold snack that has all that money." (116:28)

Notable Quotes

On Betrayal & Loyalty

"He only came back to me to set my father up... Thank God, for his sake, I did not know I would not be here. I'd be in jail for murder." – Renee (36:08)

On Identity & Fatherhood

"I was always called Anthony's daughter. ... When they took that, they took me." – Renee (53:56)

On Tradition & Respect

"Old school wise guys were such another level... All these men were men. They were solid men back then." – Renee (47:33)

On Addiction & Survival

"If I'm still standing after everything I've been through... then, okay, cool." – Renee (39:30)

On Generational Changes

"My way of thinking is 40 years out of line... I'm a fucking old school prude." – Joey (106:24)

On Society’s Problems

"They're thinking more money than they are morals. ... Whoever is running this country right now needs some of us to let them know that shouldn't be done." – Renee (110:01)

On Health and Mortality

"When you stop is when you're going to die." – Joey (95:07)

On Staten Island in Jersey

"There’s something about Staten Island. Now I know 32 of you ... they're fucking like my soul." – Joey (116:28)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:56] Joey’s Texas trip, airport stories, humidity rant
• [29:48] Renee on Mob Wives, fame’s impact on family
• [33:56] Betrayal: Her ex-husband’s wire, fallout, and her emotional collapse
• [47:33] Mob values: Old-school wiseguys, culture then and now
• [53:54] Losing identity, self-discovery after family taken away
• [62:33] Why new mob movies flop, changes in generational interest
• [67:03] Decline of network TV, overwhelming darkness in modern media
• [84:59] Renee on sobriety, new projects, being a grandmother
• [106:24] Old School vs. Today: Joey on being out of step with modern times
• [110:01] Legal weed, morality, what gets lost in modern America
• [114:15] Renee’s code: “I still implement my very old school mentality…”
• [121:21] Renee’s upcoming appearances and social media

Memorable & Funny Moments

• Joey’s extended rant about why he doesn’t wear underwear with shorts and the “bad ball smell” (10:18)
• Renee’s discovery of “cuck chairs” in hotels and the entire table’s reaction (86:12)
• Old mob stories: How she learned her dad wasn’t just a “captain” but a mob captain ("my father doesn't sail a ship!" – 74:23)
• Joey’s observations of Nancy Pelosi’s “banging titties” as a tangent about old-school politicians (107:03)
• Laugh-out-loud discussion of Staten Islanders now dominating Jersey’s social and food scene (116:28)
• Trading tips for getting through airports via bribes or strategic complaints, lamenting the end of “the hustle” for modern kids (13:49, 105:24)

Renee Graziano: What’s Next

• Memoir: "Once Upon a Mob Wife" in the works
• Immersive Theater Project: With sister Jennifer
• Body Butter Line: Launching Black Friday (“Bada Bean Butter”)
• Grandparenting: Raising four grandchildren and cherishing family
• Creative Projects: Working with sister on “Jail Mail,” a rom-com

The Episode in a Nutshell

A blend of hilarious streetwise wisdom and heartfelt real talk, this episode centers on what’s gained and lost through fame, family legacy, and modern life. Renee Graziano brings her raw, battle-tested perspective on the cost of loyalty, surviving betrayal, and finding your own path after tradition is shattered—while Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt ground the conversation in their signature comedy and world-weary honesty. Whether you’re here for mob tales, therapy, laughs, or a little old-school griping about new world problems, you’ll find something to connect with in this unfiltered, memorable conversation.

Find Renee Graziano:
Instagram: @reneegraziano
Upcoming Appearances: Patrizia's (Staten Island, Nov 3rd in Massapequa—details on Instagram)
Memoir, Bada Bean Butter, immersive theater – all upcoming projects teased in this episode.