Howard alum Keith Benn, host of the Build Different podcast on the Watts Productions Network, returns to Black and Snerdy for the first time since episode 50 to sit down with Ode (@thatsod.e / @thatsod_e) and Mo “Kid” Licorish (@licorishislegit). Keith explains how a producer’s pitch for a politics podcast became Build Different, a show about perspective, Black love and late-night rabbit holes about life. The conversation moves from Black boy joy and the case for men to frolic more, to his uncle’s argument that Good Times was more realistic than The Cosby Show, to Howard University’s range of backgrounds and the professor who asked a full class who had been called “not Black enough.” Ode adds her childhood love of Avril Lavigne, Billie Holiday and Harry Potter, along with a pointed word about J.K. Rowling.

Pop Topics opens with the sentencing of Duane “Keffe D” Davis to 40 years to life for orchestrating Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing, after his book and Vlad TV interviews, with Keith drawing a comparison to O.J. Simpson. The hosts honor RJ Mitte of Breaking Bad and an Atlanta teacher who died on the Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia, then celebrate Druski hosting Saturday Night Live. Ryan Coogler’s X-Files reboot with Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel gets a full breakdown, from Coogler’s mother’s love of the original to hopes for David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson cameos. The episode closes with the federal raid on Representative Ilhan Omar’s home, Howard Homecoming, Jools Lebron’s new teeth, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and John Boyega’s growing family.

Find Keith Benn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithingtonb

Find the Built Different Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@BuiltDifferentKB

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Ode (@thatsod.e / @thatsod_e) and Mo "Kid" Licorish (@licorishislegit) welcome S. Carlos Carbon, co-host of The Blerd Effect podcast and founder of Harlem Cinematic Universe, to this Black and Snerdy bonus episode. Carlos traces his fandom from West Baltimore, where Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and Kevin Conroy's Batman were his way into DC Comics, to a Harlem cafe where a barista's latte art led him to Demon Slayer. He lays out why The Blerd Effect treats One Piece, Attack on Titan and Code Geass as political texts, and why Black nerds need institutions of their own. That conversation runs through Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Octavia Butler, W.E.B. Du Bois and Afrofuturism. Mo counters with his case for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Hirohiko Araki, while Carlos argues that Demon Slayer moved anime forward and compares the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack to Waiting to Exhale.

The interview closes with My Hero Academia, the Deku and Bakugo scene that made Carlos cry, and a Golden Girls versus Living Single breakdown he uses to coach new podcasters. Then comes an anime edition of Emoji Me, Senpai, with clues for Tanjiro, All Might, Light Yagami from Death Note, Eren Jaeger and Mikasa from Attack on Titan, Guts and Griffith from Berserk, Anya from Spy x Family, Speed Racer and Roronoa Zoro. The mental health check-in covers therapy, anxiety medication and managing bipolar II. We Big Mad takes on a Hasan Piker interview with Symone Sanders, split streaming rights for Spy x Family on Netflix, and AI deepfake channels that manufacture Black trauma stories. The closing segment turns to Big Brother on CBS, Black women's friendship, and the weekly return of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run.

Check Out S Carlos Carbon's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/s.carloscarbon

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Black and Snerdy clears out months of headlines in this bonus episode, as Ode (@thatsod.e / @thatsod_e) and Mo “Kid” Licorish (@licorishislegit) record from opposite coasts, with Mo in Oakland and Ode at home in Brooklyn. Their one-word rapid fire round opens with #EmmysSoWhite after the 2026 Primetime Emmys, Jasmine Guy’s return as Whitley Gilbert in Netflix’s A Different World sequel, and ER Fightmaster’s resurfaced comments, along with the responses from Drew Afualo and Franchesca Ramsey. From there, they react to Sky’s documentary on the Duane “Keffe D” Davis murder trial, Jay-Z’s accuser recanting her claims in the Tony Buzbee lawsuit, and Crystal Mason’s acquittal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The round wraps with Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s $131.5 million DoorDash settlement for New York City delivery workers and Stanford and Arc Institute scientists using AI to design bacteriophages that fight drug-resistant E. coli.

The hosts also pay tribute to Angela Stribling, The Mighty Sparrow, Christy Knowings of All That, Michael Wright of The Five Heartbeats, and AEW wrestler PAC. Then they take on the viral Views from the Seven clip claiming nobody on Living Single was attractive. Mo answers with a three-point rebuttal, and Ode breaks down the colorism, sizeism and homophobia in the take while celebrating Khadijah James and Queen Latifah. The mental health check-in covers Ode’s experience with a new anxiety medication and the five-minute stillness challenge Mo gives her. In We Big Mad, Ode discusses an Arizona congressional candidate’s account of being assaulted and Mo argues that GTA VI could become Sony’s excuse to end physical media, before the episode closes on Opal Lee’s 100th birthday and the planned National Juneteenth Museum.

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Ode (@thatsod.e / @thatsod_e) and Mo "Kid" Licorish (@licorishislegit) welcome Malcolm McFadden, the writer and founder behind Six Fifteen Comics and the voice of Yo! A Nerd, into the Black and Snerdy universe for a bonus conversation about building an indie comic book universe from the ground up. Malcolm explains that Six Fifteen Comics is named after the address of his late friend Kevin's house, a creative hub where their circle made music and art. He also describes how his interconnected universe borrows from Valiant Comics, with standalone series that cross over over time. Mo compares that structure to the classic Harvey Comics lineup of Richie Rich, Casper and Little Lulu. Malcolm then breaks down The Legacy, a father-and-son superhero story about powers and memories handed down through generations, and Ode connects it to Dr. Joy DeGruy's work on Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome and the joy and resilience Black families pass down.

The conversation moves to Subject Zero, Pinpoint and The Bear, a horror-action crossover with Paige Alfred of Page One Comics that follows up Beer & Bullets and started as a joke about both books featuring bears. Malcolm shares what he looks for in artists, why horror comics depend on the right art, and his brother's advice to borrow Michael Jordan's jump shot and Charles Barkley's rebounding to build a game of his own. In the mental health check-in, Malcolm talks about his excitement for his first Baltimore Comic Con, and the hosts talk about new psychiatrists, medication and being kinder to themselves. Big Mad covers a funeral home mix-up reported on The Breakfast Club, the grand jury decision in the Nolan Wells case, and WWE's chicken-wing "Lemon Pepper Stepper" shirt for Trick Williams. Mo also opens the show with his Liar Trilogy of Earl Sweatshirt lyric shirts and a dream that cast his family as the 300 against Ode's cavalcade of the diaspora.

Malcolm McFadden's LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/sixfifteencomics

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Black and Snerdy reaches episode 200 and its five-year anniversary as Ode (@thatsod.e / @thatsod_e) and Mo "Kid" Licorish (@licorishislegit) open the archive for a night of clips, questions, and callbacks. They revisit the Episode 50 celebration with Keith, Ben, and Sam, reopen the "good host versus amazing host" debate, and compare their nerves now with how they felt at episode one. Mo debuts a CM Punk AEW soundboard drop, and a throwback to Shannon Sharpe's leaked audio and his "That's My Michelle" shirts leads into a conversation about Michelle Obama, Jonathan Majors' Coretta Scott King comment, and fetishization. Mo also retells the day he and a friend went looking for a shopping mall on the National Mall during the Guitar Hero release, a story that detours through Baltimore, the DMV, and a nap during The Passion of the Christ.

The retrospective continues with Black Geek Energy and the Howard University versus Hampton University rivalry, comedian Samson McCormick and Mo's Howard comedy days, and Black Girl Nerds founder Jamie Broadnax on Shonda Rhimes' Year of Yes and knowing her worth. They also relive the Knicks winning the NBA championship and a Beyoncé Cuff It Challenge outtake, and Mo crowns the "Nobody Cares" drop from The Care Bears Movie his most underrated sound. A game of Mind Meld moves through Tyler, the Creator's "Sticky," "Earthquake," and "Cash In Cash Out," then Odd Future, Frank Ocean, and Earl Sweatshirt, before landing on "Super Rich Kids." In We Big Mad, Ode covers the 2026 cases of Black people found hanging from trees, including Demetrius Fleming in Roanoke Rapids and Tasia Fortune in Jackson, Mississippi, along with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's call for independent oversight. Mo takes on DoorDash and Uber Eats rating requests, and the episode closes with "Goo Punch" from Nickelodeon's My Brother and Me, new merch, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run.

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Ode (@thatsod.e / @thatsod_e) and Mo "Kid" Licorish (@licorishislegit) welcome Yusuf In The BUILDING of the Relationship Status Podcast for a bonus crossover episode covering podcasting, dating culture, and a deep rewatch of a 1990s Black cinema classic. Yusuf shares the origin of his seven-year-old show, launched in 2019 with co-founder CL after an earlier coaching podcast attempt, and traces its breakout moment back to a viral clip involving Cocktails with Kiki and Medina and a discussion about "flying somebody out." The conversation moves into a pointed critique of Tinder, OkCupid, and Plenty of Fish as subscription-driven businesses rather than matchmaking tools, along with the generational shift from Facebook to Instagram to TikTok and its effect on how younger daters learn relationship habits. Yusuf also recounts a personal story about flying to meet a woman he had only FaceTimed, illustrating his argument that physical attraction cannot be judged through a screen.

The back half of the episode is dedicated to A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, the 1996 film starring Martin Lawrence and Lynn Whitfield, with debate over whether Darnell or Regina King's character functions as the true protagonist, Lynn Whitfield's calculated pettiness as Brandy, and Regina King's Air Force training informing her response to an onscreen hostage situation. The group also touches on Bobby Brown and Tracy Morgan's supporting performances before landing on a 3.5-out-of-5 consensus rating. The episode closes with Ode recounting an underwhelming Marlon Wayans stand-up set built around jokes about his feud with 50 Cent, and Mo discussing the anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ahead of its Steel Ball Run arc premiering September 25th, alongside Yusuf's Patreon and an upcoming Singles Game Night event on October 25th.

Social Media: @Relstatpodcast

Website: Relationshipstatuspodcast.com

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Ode (@thatsod.e / @thatsod_e) and Mo "Kid" Licorish (@licorishislegit) welcome author, speaker, and Brace No More founder Casey Muze for a bonus conversation built around a phrase Casey Muze repeats after being told a music therapy idea was "stupid": this is stupid, but I'm going to do it. Casey Muze traces a path from a depressive episode in a Dallas, Texas apartment through discovering box breathing and the drum rudiment known as a paradiddle, to founding the community nonprofit Star Avenue Co in Nacogdoches, Texas, and later being co-signed by a California-based organization called Trap. Casey Muze also details the structure of the book Cadence and Clarity and explains Avenue Speak, a music therapy program built for neurodivergent, special needs, and dementia care populations, including partnerships with Alzheimer's alliances and associations. Ode and Mo press Casey Muze on the difference between resilience and endurance, and on outdated mental health ideas that prioritize diagnosis over symptoms instead of treating the whole person.

The cultural lens portion of the interview turns to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with Casey Muze using Splinter's kidnapping by the Foot Clan and the near-death of Raphael in the film versus Leonardo in the comics to talk through boundaries and bouncing back from hardship. Casey Muze also breaks down turning an overwhelming dream into a written goal, advice Mo connects to his own early stand-up comedy attempts in Washington, D.C. The Mental Health Check-In includes Ode discussing travel exhaustion and Mo discussing an ongoing period of mania and new access to medication, alongside a lighter debate over anime-themed glasses versus a One Piece Halloween costume of Dracule Mihawk. A DMX tribute opens the We're Big Mad segment, where Casey Muze addresses assumptions about drum circles, before the episode closes with Freakazoid's return to Tubi, a nod to Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Road Rovers, Waynehead, and Histeria!.

Find Casey's Work at BraceNoMore.info

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Ode (@thatsod.e / @thatsod_e) and Mo "Kid" Licorish (@licorishislegit) welcome rock journalist and MP3s and NPCs founder Terrance Pryor for a conversation that traces his path from a college radio host at WSOU through booking tours and writing for NJ Underground and Examiner, all the way to launching his own outlet in June 2019 after years of frustration with industry access. Terrance recounts publicly calling out Metal Sucks and Metal Injection over how the metal press treats Black writers, and he describes being passed over for credentials in favor of comedians and Twitch streamers with large followings despite two decades of experience. He connects that fight to Cheryl Lee Ralph's Emmys red carpet remark about building a table when none is offered, the same instinct that led MP3s and NPCs to eventual distribution through Microsoft Start and Apple News. The conversation moves through fandom territory covering Bocchi the Rock, The Devil Is a Part-Timer, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Samurai Pizza Cats, alongside newer game favorites like Vampire Survivors and Fear & Hunger, plus a detour into Slipknot's real-life Burger King collaboration from his time on AXS TV's Music's Greatest Mysteries.

Terrance closes with direct advice for anyone breaking into journalism: start a blog, own the platform instead of renting space on TikTok or Instagram, and treat BET's recent deletion of its journalism archive as a warning about what happens when writing lives on someone else's server. Mo shares an update on new medication and describes the adjustment period using a Goldilocks analogy, while Odie discusses recently connecting with a psychiatrist ahead of upcoming talk therapy. The big mad segment covers Terrance's exhaustion after PAX West travel, Mo's frustration with YouTube's repeated interface changes and his past experience working for the MTA, and Odie's breakdown of designer Telfar's 9/11-themed shirt and the backlash to its accompanying Instagram caption. The episode ends on lighter ground with Terrance's love of LA's improv scene at UCB and The Pack Theater, Odie's upcoming trip home to North Carolina, and Mo's seasonal apartment cleaning ahead of Halloween.

Terrance Pryor's Website: terrancepryor.com

Instagram: instagram.com/terrancepryor

mp3sandnpcs.com

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