Advertise on podcast: Battletested with Tanya Acker

This week, host Tanya Acker is joined by Grammy-nominated country star Ty Herndon for an incredibly candid conversation about the healing power of truth. Going far beyond his No. 1 hits, Ty shares his powerful story of survival, overcoming severe addiction, and finding true redemption. He opens up about the private battles behind his public success—including hiding his sexuality in Nashville, surviving trauma, and the hard work of learning to love himself. Ty also discusses his highly anticipated new memoir, What Mattered Most, reclaiming his faith, and his vital work with the Foundation for Love & Acceptance. This is an unforgettable episode about what happens when the life you built burns down—and what it takes to build it again.

Petri Hawkins Byrd and his wife, Makita Bond Byrd, join Tanya to share their deeply moving fight against Makita's stage-three brain tumor and what it truly means to honor the vow "in sickness and in health." In this episode, Petri and Makita join Tanya to discuss Makita's harrowing battle with a malignant stage-three brain tumor. After Makita suffered a sudden seizure, a life-changing second opinion from renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Black led the couple through her brain surgery, subsequent paralysis, and intensive cancer treatments. Together, they share an inspiring, deeply personal conversation about navigating fear, relying on faith, strengthening their marriage, and Makita's forthcoming book, Bonding with Myself.

When hip-hop icon Christopher “Kid” Reid first noticed his exhaustion and swollen ankles, he figured it was just life on the road. Instead, he was facing congestive heart failure—and a heart transplant was his only option for survival. In Part 2 of our deep dive, Christopher shares his extraordinary journey of checking into Cedars-Sinai and receiving a new heart just 11 days later. We talk openly about the warning signs he wishes he’d taken seriously, the reality of healthcare disparities, and the profound second chance that inspired his new song, “Tin Man.” As Christopher told me: “You can’t just hope to live. You’ve got to live to live.”

This week I sit down with Christopher "Kid" Reid. Before House Party, the hit records, and the Saturday morning cartoon, Kid was a nine-year-old boy surviving the car crash that killed his mother and quietly preparing for a very different future, law school. In Part 1, Kid takes me through hip-hop's rise from a cultural movement to a mainstream force, and the part Kid 'N Play, Salt-N-Pepa, Heavy D and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince played in that crossover. He also opens up about the loss, the family rupture that followed, and how his Jamaican father's strict household shaped his discipline and drive. He earned a degree from Lehman College, scored well on the LSAT, and gave himself just three years to make entertainment work before law school. This is Kid like you've never heard him. Listen now on Battletested with Tanya Acker.

This week, I am joined by homeowner Patti Peeples to talk about every property owner’s absolute worst nightmare. Imagine turning up to your own house, only to find total strangers living inside, destroying your property, and refusing to leave. Patti takes us inside the terrifying weeks she spent dealing with aggressive squatters, massive property damage, and a system that left her feeling completely helpless in her own home. But Patti didn't back down. We talk about exactly how she fought back against the scammers, successfully reclaimed her house, and won an incredible victory that is helping protect homeowners everywhere.

This week, Petri Hawkins Byrd the iconic bailiff from Judge Judy and Tribunal Justice joins the show for a candid, often funny conversation about overcoming professional rejection. Byrd shares powerful lessons from his own career pivots, exploring how to navigate disappointment without turning bitter. Together, we examine leadership responsibility, what happens when qualified people are passed over, and how to refuse to let one tough chapter define your story.

This week I am joined by filmmaker and advocate Keyonna Monroe for part 2 of this Battletested conversation. Keyonna talks about the abuse she survived, the films she's made and what it took to stop staying quiet and start speaking up. Keyonna also shares what healing actually looks like, how survivors take their stories back, and why children need to be protected. We also get into building safer spaces in Hollywood, and what keeps you going when the odds feel stacked against you.

This week I am joined by Keyonna Monroe, a filmmaker, passionate advocate for young women and girls, and a survivor of sex trafficking. In this powerful Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Keyonna shares her deeply moving journey, offering a profound story of resilience, courage, and hope. It is an unforgettable, eye-opening conversation that sheds light on advocacy and survival.

Judge Michael Corriero spent years adjudicating small claims cases on hot Bench, and before that he was one of New York’s fiercest advocates for an efficient and intelligent way of punishing juvenile offenders. And yet - something happened that tested his own faith in the system, and that also gave him the chance to keep the faith, keep his word, and stand as a reminder of what justice means in real life.

It’s been roughly a year and a half since LA burned. And other disasters - fires, tornadoes, threats of every kind - are on the rise. Who’s looking out for us? And what happens during the next disaster? CBS News National Correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti discusses these and other questions in his new book, Torched: How A City Was Left to Burn And the Olympic Rush to Rebuild LA. What we learn about the last disaster certainly will help us through the next. So let’s learn.

On April 29, the Supreme Court handed down Louisiana v. Callais — upending the protections of the Voting Rights Act and allowing states to gerrymander districts irrespective of the impact on individual voting rights. Wendy Weiser, Vice President for Democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, joins Tanya to unpack what the 6-3 decision actually does, who it affects, and why Justice Kagan said it leaves voting rights protections“all but a dead letter.” Listen as they discuss the legal mechanics, the political fallout, and the practical question every voter should be asking: what protections do I still have heading into 2026? The battle for the vote continues. Join it. Go to vote.gov and check your voter registration information.

Meta and Google lost - and there are thousands more lawsuits coming. Zamaan Quereshi is the Co-Founder and Director of Campaigns and Policy of Design It For Us, and he explains what’s behind the lawsuits against social media companies, and how the internet can do better.

Maybe you already know. But it's something to think about when you’re fighting in court and Tanya can’t stop reminding you.

Jeffrey Rosen, author of Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle Over Power in America, discusses the Supreme Court, the occasional rebellion and “structured disagreement” that was at the heart of the Founders’ vision for America, and why today’s partisan divide is particularly dangerous.

The legendary television judge has overseen battles of every type. Listen as she and Tanya talk immigration, incivility (and worse) on the internet, and life in a TV courtroom. Plus, what to do when the dinner table is politically divided!