No products in the cart.
Snackin' & Yakkin'
A bag of bright-red Ruffles can turn into an hour of stories about comedy, grief, hurricanes, and why cinnamon rolls belong in every responsible adult’s refrigerator. That is the cheerful chaos of Snackin’ & Yakkin’ when Big Ben Kennedy and Charleston comedian Josh Milz get together.
With no sponsor to plug and nowhere urgent to be, the two friends trade fast food opinions, hard-earned memories, and a few Lowcountry comedy updates.
Flamin’ Hot Ruffles and Root Beer Redemption
The snack of choice is Flamin’ Hot Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles, a chip so aggressively red that it nearly matches the studio furniture. Ben and Josh agree the heat hits fast, although the cheddar and sour cream flavor makes it easier to keep reaching into the bag.
The drink is Barq’s root beer, which has history. A prior recording was lost because of a camera issue, taking the original root beer segment with it. Ben isn’t usually a root beer guy, but a recent coconut-cream dirty soda from Johnny’s Garage in Hanahan helped bring him around.
Soon, root beer gets another upgrade: coconut creamer poured directly into the bottle. Josh rejects the coconut version on principle, but Ben is sold.
The spicy chips start as a throat punch, then settle into a familiar sour cream and cheddar crunch.
Storm Season, Oreos, and a Hurricane Isabel Story
Charleston weather hangs over the conversation, with heat lightning, thunderstorm warnings, and hurricane season beginning June 1. Ben and Josh laugh about people who refuse to evacuate for lower-category storms, especially when an empty neighborhood can feel oddly peaceful.
Ben remembers Hurricane Isabel in Maryland far less peacefully. During a lull in the storm, he and a roommate went streaking through rain-soaked streets while another friend followed in a bra and underwear, laughing as they hopped fallen branches.
After losing power for more than a day, Ben had one priority: rescuing Oreos from a cooler full of water. Josh also recalls a 2013 Connecticut College experiment that compared lab rats’ responses to Oreos with cocaine and morphine. The study became the perfect excuse for a long discussion about dunking cookies, soggy milk, and why Oreo cereal never quite delivers.
Fast Five Answers With a Side of Real Life
Josh’s Fast Five choices are decisive: queso over salsa, chocolate over gummies, fries over tater tots, pizza over wings, and dinner over brunch. Soft versus hard tacos gets the only diplomatic answer, because the double-decker taco once solved that problem beautifully.
The lighter questions give way to one of Ben’s most personal stories. After his father died during Ben’s senior year of high school, a weight-training teacher named Mr. Rigot pushed him to attend school on senior skip day. Ben showed up, and Mr. Rigot told him, “You’re going to be all right.”
That small moment changed the direction of his year. Ben finished school and graduated on time.
People coping with loss often need normal conversation, not a room full of people treating them like they might break.
Josh relates. His father died in November after a long battle with cancer, and Josh briefly pulled back from comedy. Watching Charleston comedian Michael Clayton return to open mics after his own loss gave Josh the push to get back onstage.
Josh Milz Survives a 60 MPH Rollover
In October, Josh was driving south on Highway 52 from Moncks Corner with cruise control set at 60 mph and jazz playing in the car. A driver turning left from a neighborhood crossed into his path. Josh had no time to brake or turn.
The impact sent his car into a rollover that lasted about two and a half rotations. It came to rest on its left side, but Josh stayed alert enough to call 911 and use Google Maps to confirm his location. Firefighters stabilized the vehicle, cut out the windshield, and helped him out.
He walked away with a dislocated shoulder, a cut near his eye from his glasses and airbag, and what he calls a Harry Potter-style scar. He was also already thinking about a Next Stop Comedy show scheduled for the next day, since his equipment was in the trunk.
For more of Josh’s earlier appearances and local comedy connection, see the show’s Next Stop Comedy episodes.
Charleston Comedy, Big Guests, and Big Plans
Josh continues to perform with Next Stop Comedy, including shows at Frothy Beard Brewing in West Ashley, while Wit’s End and other local rooms keep the scene moving. Josh points to Michael Clayton’s packed Purple Buffalo show as proof that a crowd ready to see comedy changes the entire night.
They also talk about seeing Pete Holmes and Leslie Jones at Charleston Music Hall. Josh says Holmes made it easy to stop analyzing joke structure and enjoy the show. Ben remembers Jones as nonstop funny, high-energy, and generous after her set.
Meanwhile, Ben is building Snackin’ & Yakkin’ beyond a traditional podcast. The show draws more video viewers than audio listeners, so he now calls it a talk show. After hosting Live 5 News veteran Bill Walsh, Ben has started contacting touring performers and their teams.
His bigger goal is SnackYakk Studios, a shared recording space with multiple sets where local creators could make their own shows. Follow the broader project through the Snackin’ & Yakkin’ YouTube channel.
Pop-Tarts and the Cinnamon Roll Rule
The food talk returns with strong opinions on milk, Pop-Tarts, and late-night breakfast. Ben prefers brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tarts, while Josh picks frosted strawberry. Both mourn the shrinking size of modern Pop-Tarts and remember the old butter-on-a-Pop-Tart trick.
Josh closes with a practical dating-era kitchen rule: keep generic cinnamon rolls in the fridge. Store-brand rolls often unroll properly, unlike the thicker Pillsbury-style buns, and their smell does much of the morning work before anyone reaches the kitchen.
A Conversation That Earned Its Weird Turns
This episode works because it doesn’t force a single subject. Spicy chips lead to hurricane stories, comedy clips lead to grief, and a soda experiment ends with refrigerator cinnamon-roll strategy.
The strongest thread is friendship with room to be messy. Ben and Josh can make each other laugh, sit with difficult memories, and still argue about whether coconut belongs in root beer.
