Rum & Nerdy

Episode 6.39: Football, Floats, and Fall TV: We’re about a third of the way through the NFL regular season, so naturally Greg and Garrick have some football thoughts. Whether those thoughts are insightful, questionable, or just an excuse to talk about the Chiefs remains to be seen.

Then it’s time to wrap up last week’s adventures at SATE and Explores, talk about our Podfest application, and catch up on the new fall TV season. What’s worth watching? What’s worth skipping? And how much television can two nerds realistically keep up with before their brains turn to streaming-service mush?

Oh, and we rode a float. That’s not a metaphor. Probably. You’ll have to listen to get the story.

It’s another episode of themed entertainment, sports, TV, and whatever else happens when we hit record and let the conversation wander.

Rum & Nerdy: We talk football. We talk fandom. We ride floats. We regret nothing.

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.38: SATE North America 2026

Laissez les nerdy temps rouler!

It's the morning of Day 2 at SATE North America 2026 in New Orleans, and what a week it's been!

With one final day of Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, and Experience ahead, we're taking a moment to catch up with friends, reflect on the highlights so far, and enjoy a little New Orleans hospitality.

Special guests stop by to say hello, share their favorite moments and memories from the conference, and offer their thoughts on an incredible gathering of creative minds.

And because we're in New Orleans, there are beignets. Powdered sugar, questionable decisions, and plenty of nerdy conversation.

It's a little bit of SATE, a little bit of New Orleans, and a whole lot of Rum & Nerdy!

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.37 — Zero Prep, Questionable Direction

Greg and Garrick are flying without a flight plan this week. Shocking, we know. The boys talk about next week’s SATE conference, throwing their hats into the ring for Podfest 2027, and the fascinating world of podcast download metrics — including where, exactly, people are listening to two guys talk about nerdy stuff and rum.

They also get into authenticity, finding your voice, and having enough confidence on the mic to stop second-guessing every word. Greg contemplates life after serving on a TEA board, which apparently involves figuring out what to do with all that free time (or finding entirely new ways to fill it).

Plus, the usual collection of other topics that happen when you hit record without a plan. Turns out, sometimes the best prep is no prep at all.

Rum & Nerdy: We have the data. We have the opinions. We may even have a plan someday.

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.36: Strange New Worlds, Strange Old Nerds: It’s time to wrap up Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and naturally Greg and Garrick have thoughts. Lots of them. The guys also wander through the latest movie and TV news, talk about a few documentaries that have caught their attention, and take a look at the return of the fall network TV season—because apparently people still watch television on a schedule.

And as the episode draws to a close, the boys take a moment to prepare for the inevitable rise of our AI overlords. We swear our allegiance, offer our unquestioning loyalty, and humbly ask that they please, please keep Rum & Nerdy around.

We know our place.

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.35 — Level 99

It’s another Rum & Nerdy adventure, and this time Greg and Garrick are leveling up!

Fresh off a TEA event at Disney Springs, the guys dive into Level 99, the new immersive gaming attraction where competition, creativity, and just a little bit of chaos collide. Greg had already gotten a taste of Level 99 a few weeks earlier at the Virginia location, so naturally, the two compare notes, talk about some of their favorite games, and discuss why they both had such a ridiculously good time.

Then it’s time to settle into the couch for a good old-fashioned TV nerd-out. The guys run through the many shows currently fighting for their attention, with plenty of extra attention paid to the strange current season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Strange? Absolutely. But is it still boldly going where we want it to go? That’s up for discussion.

And finally, a quick look across the pond as IAAPA Expo Europe gets underway in London this week. Because apparently these two can’t go more than five minutes without talking about the attractions industry.

Level up, engage, and grab yourself a rum.

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.34 - We the Nerds: This week Greg and Garrick are on the road, recording from Williamsburg, Virginia at the TEA Explores Williamsburg event.

After a full first day exploring Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, apparently Greg and Garrick are feeling a little patriotic. So naturally, the Preamble to the United States Constitution becomes the theme of the show. Because nothing says "We the People" quite like two guys drinking rum and talking about nerdy stuff.

We are also joined by a couple of special guests who came prepared with two very important things: rum and his own delicious rum drink. So obviously, he understood the assignment.

We talk about what we've experienced so far in Williamsburg, the way history is brought to life, storytelling, themed entertainment, and everything still ahead of us at Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens.

Plus, as always, we wander off topic a few times. Probably more than a few.

We the People, in Order to form a more perfect podcast...

Grab a glass and join Greg and Garrick for Rum & Nerdy from Williamsburg.

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.33: Roll Out: Roll out! This week, Kelly joins us as a special guest as we pay tribute to the legendary Peter Cullen, the unmistakable voice of Optimus Prime, and talk about the impact Transformers had on all of us growing up.

From there, things go exactly where you’d expect a Rum & Nerdy conversation to go. We talk a little TEA, somehow get into feeding Garrick’s daughter’s pet snake, and crack open Johnny Depp’s new Three Hearts Rum. Our review: great rum, possibly an even better bottle.

Kelly and Greg reminisce about growing up in theater, which leads us into Stranger Things: The First Shadow and bringing the world of the Netflix series to the stage.

Finally, we go down a rabbit hole about some of the longest movies ever made. We look at three of the record holders, and trust us, you are not going to guess just how long the longest movie actually is.

Transformers, rum, theater, snakes, Stranger Things, ridiculously long movies, and Kelly.

Roll out!

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.32: Replaced by Muppets: This week, we start with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 5, where almost the entire crew gets replaced by puppet versions of themselves. Except Spock, because apparently even the Muppets have rules.

That somehow takes us all the way back to the original Star Trek pilot and how those characters and stories connect to Strange New Worlds. From there, puppets naturally lead to Muppets, as we work our way through the various Muppet movies, their casts, and the many different versions of the show over the years.

Eventually we wander away from puppets altogether and get into Stewart Fails to Save the Universe, the larger Big Bang Theory franchise, the current season of Reacher, and Alan Ritchson.

And because we clearly needed one more completely reasonable idea, we wrap things up by discussing our plan to build a fleet of famous movie cars and use them to drive for Uber.

Come for Star Trek. Stay for the Muppets. Leave wondering whether you would pay extra for an Uber ride in the DeLorean.

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.31: Conspiracy Update: This week, Greg and Garrick put on their tinfoil hats and head down a few rabbit holes with a Conspiracy Update.

The guys dig into some favorite conspiracy theories, questionable evidence, things that make you go “hmmm,” and even make the potentially terrible decision to let ChatGPT contribute a conspiracy theory of its own. What could possibly go wrong?

We also take a break from connecting imaginary dots to celebrate Dave’s birthday, because apparently birthdays are becoming a recurring segment around here.

And, as always, we check in on What Ya Streaming? to talk about what we’re currently binging, what’s worth watching, and what has been consuming way too many hours of our lives.

Conspiracies, birthdays, binge watching, and the usual collection of completely unrelated tangents.

Pour a rum, question everything, and remember: just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t watching.

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.

Episode 6.30: The Odyssey:  This week, the guys dive headfirst into one of the most anticipated movies in years: The Odyssey. Greg and Garrick share their thoughts on the film, the performances, the spectacle, and whether this epic retelling lives up to the legend.

Joining the conversation is special guest (and longtime friend) Andy, who helps keep the discussion just barely on course as the guys enjoy a pour of Bumbu Rum.

Naturally, the conversation doesn't stay on one topic for long. The guys somehow end up debating which entertainment franchises have the most hours of content, revisit the age-old question of who the real villain was in ThunderCats, and speculate on the Masters of the Universe movie and whether He-Man is finally getting the big-screen treatment fans have been waiting for.

Along the way, Greg also shares the KoHana rum and honey he brought back from Hawaii, giving Andy a taste of one of the highlights from last week's island adventure.

Ancient Greece, talking cats, Eternia, and great rum... just another perfectly normal episode of Rum and Nerdy.

Two rambling idiots—Greg and Garrick—bring you the *Rum & Nerdy Podcast*, a weekly dive into the world of nerd culture through the eyes of late 40s/early 50s dads who still can't get enough of their favorite movies, TV shows, and theme parks. With a deep love of all things nerdy and a shared passion for good rum, these two buddies mix laid-back humor, nostalgic memories, and plenty of laughs as they discuss everything from classic sci-fi to the latest pop culture trends.