Shayne opens by welcoming listeners to the travel-themed debut of Smosh Reads Reddit Stories, flanked by Ian in an elaborate captain's hat and Amanda in a hat she wore by genuine choice. The banter immediately spirals: Ian's hat gets compared to a Titanic officer who snuck onto the lifeboats, a 2 AM Vegas party bus, and Amanda watching the Kentucky Derby in the 1800s. A brief shout-out to Keith's legendary on-camera head-shaving reveal — described as one of the best moments in Smosh history — bridges the silliness to the theme. Shayne then lands a genuinely thoughtful observation: weddings and international trips are where the most interpersonal drama surfaces. Ian sharpens it further, arguing you shouldn't make a relationship official until you've taken a vacation together, because travel is the pressure cooker that reveals whether your dynamic is actually healthy. The three are aligned: it's the most honest test any relationship can face.

Shayne introduces the first story from the Two Hot Takes subreddit, giving a shout-out to Morgan as its curator. A 24-year-old woman and her girlfriend land in Arizona at 1 AM, already unsettled by their driver swearing to himself ('fuckin' piece of shit,' 'fuckin' crackheads'). When he asks if they want music and they say 'anything,' he plays an artist called Playful Devotion — specifically a track called 'Primal Vow' — with a trunk subwoofer that physically vibrates the passengers' rib cages. He cranks the volume when they nervously tell him it's 'cool' out of pure fear. ^{[1] — Shayne Topp "Two women land at 1 AM in Arizona and their Uber driver asks if they want music, then blasts AI-generated BDSM tracks with a trunk subwoofe…" 08:51 Play} The hosts discover mid-discussion that Playful Devotion is an AI-generated act; Ian adds that someone can generate 50 albums in a week and dump them on Spotify. Shayne reads the explicit chorus live on air — 'fuck me raw, take it hard, break the bed leaving scars' — and the group collectively concludes it was 'written by something without a soul.' Verdict: not overreacting; he should be reported.

Shayne introduces the second story from Am I the Asshole (September 2022): a 30-year-old woman's boyfriend, Smith, aged 39, has been repeatedly asking to bring his two friends on a road trip she's paying for with her own car. He promises to drop it, and she agrees to pick him up — only to arrive and find him standing outside with his friends and all their bags, fully expecting her to comply. She doesn't stop. She turns around. He chases after her car on foot. ^{[1] — Shayne Topp "A woman drives to pick up her boyfriend for a road trip she's funding, spots him outside with two friends and all their bags — uninvited, a…" 21:20 Play} The fight that follows includes him accusing her of acting immaturely and demanding she apologize for embarrassing him in front of his friends. The hosts are uniformly stunned that a 39-year-old is behaving this way, with Shayne suggesting this isn't a one-off red flag but an unchangeable character trait. Ian and Amanda both note the inability to respect someone's 'no' signals he may not actually like her — and is using her financially. A perfectly-worded Reddit comment closes it out: 'recommend you keep this guy in the rearview mirror.'

Shayne introduces the third story from Best of Redditor Updates (April 2026): OP and her best friend Becky, friends for 20 years, have long had a fractious dynamic rooted in Becky's fixation on their mutual friend Ryan — now getting married. At the wedding, after years of passive-aggressive jabs, OP reaches her limit and blurts out, 'It's not our fault you're in love with him.' ^{[1] — Shayne Topp "It's not our fault you're in love with him." 32:53 Play} Becky storms out and drives away, leaving OP stranded at a venue 4 hours from any viable transit option. With only a debit card — which most US rental agencies won't accept without an in-state license — OP has no choice but to buy an $800 same-day flight. She sends Becky a Venmo request partly as an emotional statement. The hosts unpack both sides with genuine nuance: Becky's extreme reaction is itself proof the accusation was true; the friendship had drifted into pattern-behavior rather than genuine closeness; and Becky's inability to face her own feelings is keeping her trapped. They also note that flying from the West Coast into her hometown (4 hours from the venue) to spend extra time together explains the unusual travel setup.

Shayne reads the final and most epic story of the episode: a 2019 Reddit post from Today I Fucked Up, narrated in the breathless style of a D&D campaign log complete with dice rolls for damage and a witching hour mis-timed by an hour. Eight guests arrive to a lovely Airbnb in Virginia Beach — wine, chocolates, popcorn — and within hours both toilets are down. Their host Paul is reluctant to call any of the 12 available emergency plumbers a quick Google reveals. ^{[1] — Shayne Topp "A group of eight 20-somethings rent a Virginia Beach Airbnb that gradually descends into sewage hell: first one toilet, then both, then the…" 51:52 Play} When a plumber finally arrives at midnight with Paul and his friend, the 'final blasting' causes raw sewage to erupt from the shower and both toilets. By early morning, it's seeping through the baseboards and pooling in the hallway, cutting the group off from their last suitcases. A brave soul vaults the rising floodwaters. Paul arrives at 11:35 AM, takes in the scene, and says: 'This house is fucked.' They flee. Shayne, Ian, and Amanda are in full hysterics throughout; Ian tops it off by confessing his own tree-root sewer backup story.