It's Ben a Week

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben is joined by one of the longest friendships of his life — his childhood neighbor and lifelong friend, Maria Hynan . From growing up together on a lake in Wisconsin to navigating rebellion, mistakes, growth, and parenthood, this episode is a full-circle conversation about where we come from and who we become. Ben and Maria reminisce about meeting at five years old...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben sits down with his longtime friend Greg for one of the most personal and grounded conversations yet. Greg opens up about welcoming a new baby, surviving the devastating Palisades fires, and what it’s really like when your home is suddenly at risk — or gone — overnight. From evacuating through smoke-filled streets to navigating insurance chaos, grief, and gratitud...

Season 2 of It’s Ben A Week is here. Hosted by barrel racer and photographer Ben McDonnell, It’s Ben A Week is a weekly comedy and culture podcast featuring candid conversations, unfiltered storytelling, and honest takes on relationships, identity, career chaos, and whatever the hell just happened this week. Season 2 launches with a refreshed look, elevated production, and a sharper creative focus...

Season Two is officially here. On the first episode of Season 2 of It’s Ben A Week , Ben returns after a three-week break feeling recharged, reset, and fully ready to level things up. With a brand-new studio, upgraded set, new artwork, and a fresh intro , Ben reflects on the wild first year of podcasting and what’s next for the show. Ben opens the episode talking about: Taking a much-needed break...

This week on a special Bonus Episode of It’s Ben A Week , Ben couldn’t bring himself to leave a single Tuesday empty — so he returns with friend, spiritual guide, and fan favorite Eleven for a short but powerful New Year energy reading and manifestation session. Together, Ben and Eleven reflect on the end of 2025, the emotional weight of the year, and why most New Year’s resolutions set people up...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , we’re celebrating 50 episodes , one full year , and the end of Season One with a special highlight reel. Whether you’ve listened since the beginning or joined somewhere along the way, this episode captures the wild, emotional, hilarious, chaotic, meaningful, and unforgettable moments that defined 2025. From crying with mothers who have lost children…  to screaming ab...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben wraps up his very first year of podcasting with a deeply personal and celebratory Season One Finale . After 50 straight weeks — zero missed Tuesdays — Ben sits down with the one person who started this journey with him: AJ . With thousands of listeners tuning in from across the world, Ben reflects on how the podcast began, how much it’s grown, and how much work w...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben opens the episode by recapping the unbelievable viral rise of Jeff the Possum , whose video has now hit nearly 3 million views across TikTok and Instagram. Ben shares the wild influx of new followers, the hate comments from people wanting “more Jeff, less podcast,” and the unexpected chaos of going viral over a porch possum instead of the content he actually prod...

⚠️ Warning: this episode is X rated and NSFW This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben is joined by his friend — Joy — for the dirtiest , wildest , and most X-rated episode in the history of the show. And before they even get to the sex talk, Ben has a Thanksgiving meltdown to unload. The episode opens with Ben’s Thanksgiving Eve nightmare:  A scammer stole $1,000 from him — and did it so convincingly th...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben sits down with Weston Brown , a Texas native whose shocking and emotional story has captured national attention. Weston grew up in a hyper-religious, politically extreme household just outside Dallas — homeschooled, isolated, and forbidden from music, movies, doctors, or anything that didn’t fit a narrow version of “God’s plan.” When he came out as gay, he was fi...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben is joined by one of his best friends — actress and producer Laura Munoz-Bottini , who just happens to be the granddaughter of The Duke himself, John Wayne . The episode opens with martinis, cinnamon sticks, and chaos as Ben and Laura reminisce about their first acting class together in 2015, where Darrell the acting coach famously told Ben to “go write a letter i...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , the Christmas season officially begins — and Ben’s not waiting for anyone’s permission.  AJ’s out of town, the Halloween décor is gone, and Mariah Carey has defrosted, which means it’s tree-trimming time. Between giant ornaments hanging from the ceiling and a three-day decorating marathon , Ben dives into why Christmas joy should never be delayed — and why Thanksgivi...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , it’s Halloween — and Ben’s fired up. After a whirlwind of travel from LA to Cabo (and back), Ben’s back home, zipping around the ranch on his Segway, reminiscing about his past Halloween costumes — from Miley Cyrus to Jesus floating on a cloud. But between the laughs and chaos, this episode takes a sharp and heartfelt turn. A Facebook post claiming “science proves no...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben is joined by his friends Bryan and John from Out Loud and Laughing for what can only be described as a pumpkin-spiced fever dream. It starts innocent — PSLs, Starbucks baristas, and why no one uses proper grammar anymore — but spirals quickly into the Android vs. iPhone debate , porn bans in Texas , Disney adult confessions , and Greg Abbott jokes that might get...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben is joined once again by his good friend Gabrielle , and things get deep fast — but not before a Starbucks rant. The blue-haired barista saga continues, complete with foam mishaps, stick-and-poke tattoos, and a debate over why grandmas dye their hair blue. From there, the conversation shifts from funny to philosophical, as Ben and Gabrielle dive into the idea of f...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben welcomes a very special pair of guests — his cousin-in-law Tara , and her daughter Haley , who instantly steals the show. Tara shares her family’s powerful and emotional story of raising a child with Down syndrome — from the shock of the diagnosis to the overwhelming joy and laughter Haley brings into their lives every day. She opens up about young motherhood, th...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben is back with a short and savage solo rant. Two companies landed on his official shit list : AT&T and Starbucks — and he’s not holding back. It all started with a simple iPhone case return that turned into a full-blown customer service nightmare . Between a useless app, a store manager hiding in the back, and a call center that sounded like a rave in the backg...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben fulfills a childhood dream — sitting down with viral video pioneer Liam Kyle Sullivan , the creator of Kelly from the Shoes video that defined early YouTube and inspired a generation of comedians. They dive into everything from the origin of Kelly to how YouTube fame in the 2000s was completely different from TikTok virality today. Liam shares behind-the-scenes s...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben and AJ are back together — and it’s a rollercoaster. Ben kicks off with his latest run-ins with religious trolls , from women claiming “being gay is a choice” to strangers spamming his DMs with Bible verses. His clapbacks? Iconic. (“You know what else is a choice? Your dental hygiene.”) AJ brings his calmer perspective, reminding Ben (and all of us) that leading...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Ben is joined by his new bestie Domenica Albero , fresh from a Northern California “camping” trip that was less sleeping bags, more fairytale chaos. What started as a Lake Tahoe getaway (complete with a bear under the deck charging at Ben) turned into a full-blown fantasy vacation with castles, rivers, nightly theme parties, and… golf cart near-death experiences. The...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Cassandra Broadway is back, and we’re covering everything from medical meltdowns to missing persons mysteries. Ben kicks things off with his annual LabCorp rant after another disastrous blood work experience — barcode scanning drama, fasting for nothing, and why phlebotomists have the same customer service energy as the post office. Then the conversation spirals into...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , Sherri is back for her third appearance (making her the show’s most frequent guest — besides AJ, of course). And as always, no topic is off limits. The episode kicks off with the return of pumpkin spice season at Starbucks, leading to a full breakdown of pumpkin cream cold brews, muffins, candles, and Sherri’s inside knowledge of how to grow (and rotate!) the perfect...

This week on It’s Ben A Week , the studio is loud, shady, and glitter-covered as Ben is joined by Bryan and Jon from the podcast Out Loud and Laughing . The mics heat up instantly as the trio dives into Taylor Swift’s new album, Life of a Showgirl — breaking down lyrics, Easter eggs, and why she has the best marketing team. From there, nothing is off limits — Housewives drama, murder hypotheticals...

This week on It’s Ben A Week, I’m joined by Rawson Marshall Thurber — the writer and director behind blockbuster hits like Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Central Intelligence, Skyscraper, Red Notice, and the upcoming Voltron film. He’s worked with everyone from Ben Stiller to Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Aniston, and Gal Gadot — and now… me. Then Rawson and I get into: How Dodgeball...

She’s the only person Ben trusts to poke his face with needles—and for good reason. In this episode, Ben is joined by Beverly Hills-based nurse practitioner and aesthetic guru Laura Fischer for an honest, hilariously relatable, and incredibly informative deep dive into all things skincare, Botox, filler, and the myths surrounding aesthetic treatments. From what age you should actually start Botox,...