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.