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Hangover Sunday: Tea Time, Lab-Grown Salmon & G.I. Joe
Fall has officially arrived, and the Grit City Podcast crew has apparently decided that cooler weather means it's time for tea, lab-grown fish, video games, drones, and a massive detour into G.I. Joe.
This Hangover Sunday starts with the unmistakable signs of fall: cooler temperatures, changing leaves, rain, and the realization that the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the country are getting hammered by weather. The guys talk about fall foliage, photography, and getting drones into the air to capture the changing colors.
From there, the conversation takes a more refined turn. One of the crew members is celebrating nine years of marriage and has an upcoming European trip planned with his wife. Before heading overseas, they decided to get some practice with European-style tea by visiting the Pink Chandelier in downtown Tacoma. What follows is exactly the kind of experience that belongs on Hangover Sunday: a large bearded guy trying to blend into a room full of tea, pastries, cucumber sandwiches and princess-themed decorations.
The tea itself gets plenty of attention. There are scones, Irish breakfast tea, honey, sugar, milk, cream and a pink teapot. Naturally, the guys get hung up on the most important question of the day: what exactly do you call all the stuff that goes into your tea? "Condiments," "accompaniments" and "table service additions" all make the list before the crew finally admits that nobody really knows what the hell they're talking about.
Then the episode takes a hard left into food science.
The crew discusses cultivated, lab-grown salmon and the idea of producing salmon meat from salmon cells. The conversation quickly expands into imitation food, alternative proteins, parasites, preservatives and whether people would actually eat lab-grown meat if it tasted good.
That leads naturally into Soylent, meal replacements, protein shakes and HUEL. One particularly unfortunate experiment involving a supposedly complete-nutrition drink results in a memorable review that should probably not be used in the company's marketing department. Protein drinks, protein farts and the realities of trying to eat more protein become another classic Grit City rabbit hole.
After a quick listener appreciation and reminder to visit Grit City Podcast online, the conversation shifts to video games. The guys revisit The Simpsons: Tapped Out, talk about Stardew Valley, and discuss why some games become surprisingly addictive. They then discover Bodycam, a first-person shooter designed to look remarkably realistic, including detailed animations, drones and mechanics intended to simulate the difficulty of operating under pressure.
The final stretch becomes a nostalgia-fueled trip through Google, MapQuest, G.I. Joe and childhood toys. The crew reminisces about the early days of Google, MapQuest's unlikely comeback, competing navigation apps, and the strange experience of discovering that technology isn't always as simple as it used to be.
Finally, they deep into G.I. Joe lore, including Cobra Commander, Destro, Snake Eyes, comic books, action figures and the character cards that came with the toys. The discussion eventually reaches Ninja Turtles and the toys that defined a generation.
That's just how Grit City does a Sunday.
Chapters
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The Grit City Podcast crew is back for another Hangover Sunday, and this episode manages to cover an impressive amount of ground without ever really staying on one subject for very long.
The episode opens with Jeff sharing a genuinely frightening story from a couple of weeks earlier. He describes waking up in bed to find his wife telling him that he had apparently suffered a seizure and needed to go to the hospital. Still confused and coming out of the episode, Jeff remembers emergency responders arriving at his house and attempting to convince him that it was time to leave. His response? He needed about twenty minutes.
Eventually, Jeff made it into an ambulance and to the hospital, where doctors ran tests and tried to determine what had happened. He describes waiting for the worst possible news while medical staff kept reassuring him that things appeared to be okay. The aftermath was less dramatic but considerably more painful, with his muscles feeling like he'd run multiple marathons and his tongue taking a beating during the incident. Naturally, the guys find a way to turn the whole experience into comedy, including Jeff's realization that one of the biggest victories of the night was simply not pissing himself.
After getting that out of the way, the conversation shifts to Olympia.
Scott and C-Note recently visited Porchfest in Olympia and came away impressed by the smaller, neighborhood-like festival atmosphere. The crew talks about wandering through the city, finding live music in unexpected places, and stumbling across bands playing in garages and alleys. The conversation turns toward Olympia's long musical history, including its punk and grunge connections, before moving into comedy and the generally strange atmosphere that makes Olympia such an interesting place to spend a day.
Food naturally becomes part of the discussion. Charlie's gets a mention, but the real star is West Side Tavern and its surprisingly excellent food. Scott becomes particularly enthusiastic about the pickle fries—actual pickle-based fries rather than the usual fried pickle chips—and the crew spends considerably more time discussing them than anyone probably expected.
The conversation then moves into other weekend adventures. C-Note talks about a trip to Rockaway Beach on the Oregon coast with his family, including a visit to Tillamook and some early-morning metal detecting. The discussion naturally expands into magnet fishing, the kinds of things people might accidentally pull out of rivers, and the strange appeal of spending hours searching for something that may or may not be worth finding.
Eventually, the Grit City crew gets into one of the modern world's great frustrations: trying to watch football without paying for an absurd number of television services. Cable, YouTube TV, Fubo, Amazon, Netflix and NFL packages all enter the discussion as the guys try to figure out why watching the games people actually want has become so complicated.
That leads directly into a larger conversation about streaming television. The crew reminisces about having only a handful of television channels growing up and contrasts that with today's enormous libraries of movies, shows, streaming services and advertisements. Tubi, smart TVs and streaming boxes become the next rabbit hole, followed by concerns about privacy and what modern televisions may be doing behind the scenes.
From there, technology takes over completely.
The guys talk about AI, small cyber decks, security devices, streaming hardware, cloud gaming and the strange explosion of inexpensive technology projects that people can now build or buy. The discussion eventually reaches Super Boxes and IPTV, followed by NVIDIA Shield, cloud gaming and the question of whether physical media might actually be making a comeback.
The episode closes with a nostalgic discussion of older game consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Dreamcast, along with the renewed interest in physical games, printed photographs and owning actual copies of things rather than depending entirely on digital services.
It's a quintessential Hangover Sunday: a serious personal story, a trip to Olympia, questionable food obsessions, Pacific Northwest adventures, football frustrations, streaming technology, retro gaming, AI and enough random side conversations to make the whole thing unmistakably Grit City.
Chapters & Timestamps
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The Grit City Podcast crew is back with another Hangover Sunday, and this week's episode proves once again that a simple weekend recap can go almost anywhere.
Jeff, Scott, Mike and C-Note kick things off by talking about the podcast itself. After years of making Grit City episodes, the crew has noticed a major increase in listeners, with downloads reportedly tripling over the previous month and a half. They take a moment to thank the longtime listeners, welcome the newcomers and remind everyone about the Grit City Discord, Patreon and the growing collection of classic episodes.
Then Jeff gets into the main event: the 2026 Tumwater Artesian Beer Fest.
Jeff spent the weekend hanging out with friends, including Ken Carlson, before heading into the festival. The group wasn't exactly made up of professional beer drinkers, but that didn't stop them from sampling the local scene. The festival featured beer, cider, mead and plenty of fruit-forward drinks, including strawberry, huckleberry, watermelon basil and blueberry offerings.
There was also plenty of food. Puget Sound Pizza gets a shout-out for serving enormous slices, while the guys discuss barbecue, food trucks and eventually making a stop for ice cream afterward. Being the designated driver wasn't a bad deal either, with discounted admission and free non-alcoholic drinks and snacks.
The weather also played a role. What was expected to be an overcast day turned sunny and hot, leaving people baking in the unexpected Northwest sunshine. Fortunately, the crew had a solution: food, drinks and eventually ice cream.
Jeff also puts the Grit City hotline to work with some genuine on-location reporting. Festival attendees check in with their names and what they're drinking, giving listeners a little taste of the event directly from the crowd.
Of course, no Hangover Sunday would be complete without several completely unrelated detours.
The crew revisits some classic Grit City history, including the early days of the podcast, old sponsors, conventions and a bizarre story involving a giant carrot costume that apparently looked enough like a hot dog to cause some confusion.
From there, the conversation travels into the world of strange internet rabbit holes before landing on something much more wholesome: professional disc golf. The guys discover just how serious the professional disc golf world has become, including a major tournament at The Preserve.
Eventually, naturally, they return to beer.
The crew debates hazy IPAs, traditional IPAs, hops, yeast, fruit flavors and the difference between craft beer and the kind of "garage beer" people drink when they aren't thinking too hard about what they're drinking.
And then the conversation takes a hard turn toward food.
A bizarre peanut butter, potato chip, barbecue sauce and pita bread creation gets discussed with the seriousness of a culinary crime investigation. The guys then move into an argument over American cheese before somehow landing on Cincinnati chili spaghetti and the strange combination of spices—including cinnamon and cloves—that goes into it.
The crew remembers a meal involving wings so brutally spicy that everyone eventually gave up. One person even managed to rub the sauce into his eyes, turning an already painful meal into a full-blown disaster.
Beer festivals, disc golf, carrot costumes, craft beer debates, bizarre sandwiches, Cincinnati chili and nuclear-level wings.
It's another weekend in the world of Grit City—and another perfectly chaotic Hangover Sunday.
00:00 – Cold Open Chaos
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Some episodes begin with a carefully planned topic. Others start with admitting you accidentally drank too much while sitting on the couch. This week's Hangover Sunday definitely falls into the second category.
The crew checks in after another Pacific Northwest weekend filled with everything from lawn mowing marathons and postponed range trips to geocaching adventures and a family visit to Mount Rainier. As always, the conversation celebrates everything that makes living in the Northwest special—cool weather, incredible scenery, and those hidden places that seem too beautiful to be real.
Then... someone brings up sporks.
What starts as a joke turns into a surprisingly convincing argument that the humble spork might actually be humanity's greatest eating utensil. Childhood memories of school lunches, camping gear, Kentucky Fried Chicken meals, and everyday practicality make for one of the funniest conversations of the episode.
Of course, being the Grit City Podcast, the discussion couldn't stay on utensils forever.
The conversation shifts into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence. The crew explores new AI companion devices capable of creating custom personalities, voice interactions, and virtual characters. From building digital tour guides to recreating fictional personalities, they discuss both the impressive possibilities and the limitations of today's AI tools.
That naturally leads to a larger question: What happens to jobs?
The hosts share perspectives from technology, manufacturing, retail, and creative industries, discussing how AI is already reshaping employment. While automation is replacing certain tasks, they also argue that human creativity, craftsmanship, and genuine personal connections may become even more valuable in an AI-saturated world.
The conversation wraps with concerns over personalized pricing, automation in grocery stores, and the importance of continuing to support artists, creators, and independent businesses through purchases and platforms like Patreon.
As always, Hangover Sunday delivers exactly what listeners expect: friends sitting around having honest conversations that somehow wander from lawn mowing to sporks to artificial intelligence without ever feeling forced. It's funny, thoughtful, occasionally ridiculous, and unmistakably Grit City.
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Chapters
00:00 – Cold Open & Hangover Sunday Begins
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Hangover Sunday - PorchFest, Rainiers, Glamping & Finding Your Doppelganger
Sometimes the best weekends don't need a big plan—they just need good friends, great weather, and enough stories to fill a podcast.
This week's Hangover Sunday episode is exactly that.
The crew kicks things off by sending their thoughts to C-Note and his family before diving into a recap of one of the busiest weekends they've had in a long time. Scott shares his experience exploring Tacoma PorchFest, one of the city's most unique community events. Live music spills from neighborhood porches, comedy shows pop up inside local businesses, and the entire 6th Avenue district transforms into one giant celebration of Tacoma culture.
Along the way, the guys talk about meeting Migs from KISW, checking out SOS Pro Wrestling, discovering new bands, reconnecting with friends, and enjoying one of those rare Pacific Northwest summer days where everything simply comes together.
The conversation shifts from neighborhood festivals to another Tacoma tradition—a Tacoma Rainiers game at Cheney Stadium. While the Rainiers may not have had their best day on the field, Scott explains why minor league baseball remains one of the best entertainment values around. Great seats, cold beer, hot dogs, and an afternoon with friends make the final score almost irrelevant.
Jeff balances out the city adventures with a weekend getaway to Suncadia Resort near Cle Elum. Instead of roughing it, he experiences what can only be described as "luxury camping," complete with mountain scenery, hiking trails, golf, wildlife, and enough amenities to make even the least outdoorsy person appreciate a weekend in the Cascades. The discussion turns into a celebration of everything that makes Washington State such an incredible place to explore.
As always, the conversation refuses to stay on one track for long. The crew eventually wanders into a surprisingly entertaining discussion about doppelgangers, accidental family discoveries through email, genealogy, and whether everyone has someone else walking around who looks just like them.
It's another classic Hangover Sunday episode filled with laughs, local recommendations, random tangents, and the kind of conversations that happen after a weekend well spent. Whether you're looking for your next Tacoma adventure, planning a Rainiers game, or just want to hear friends swap stories, this episode has something for everyone.
If you've ever been to PorchFest, found your own doppelganger, or have a great Pacific Northwest weekend story, the crew wants to hear from you. Give the Grit City Podcast a call at 1-855-474-8272 or 1-855-GRITCPC and you might hear yourself on a future episode.
00:00 - Welcome to Hangover Sunday
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Hangover Sunday: Fireworks, Fallout & Forest Mysteries
Nothing says Hangover Sunday quite like trying to recover after Independence Day while your neighborhood sounds like an active war zone.
This week's episode starts exactly where you'd expect—with everyone comparing Fourth of July experiences. From window-rattling mortars and terrified pets to exploding garages and fireworks landing on rooftops, the crew shares stories that are equal parts hilarious and terrifying. They also revisit the questionable decisions many of us made growing up with bottle rockets, Roman candles, and whatever fireworks we could get our hands on in the '80s and '90s.
As always, the conversation quickly veers off into unexpected territory.
The crew shifts from neighborhood explosions to another kind of power: AI. With massive data centers popping up across the country, they discuss the growing demand for electricity and water, the environmental impact of modern computing, and whether micro modular nuclear reactors could become the future of powering AI infrastructure. The discussion covers everything from nuclear submarines and radiation safety to how communities might react if small reactors became common.
Of course, this wouldn't be Grit City Podcast without a conspiracy detour.
The second half of the show explores Washington State's long history of strange disappearances, Missing 411 cases, Bigfoot lore, Mount Rainier mysteries, and the eerie reputation of the Pacific Northwest's forests. Inspired by a recent Why Files interview with researcher David Paulides, the crew debates whether these stories are simply the dangers of the wilderness—or something far stranger.
The result is another classic Hangover Sunday episode that effortlessly bounces between comedy, technology, personal stories, conspiracy theories, and plenty of laughs. Whether you're here for the Fourth of July mishaps, curious about the future of nuclear-powered AI, or fascinated by the mysteries hidden in Washington's forests, there's something for everyone in this week's conversation.
As always, if you've got your own unbelievable fireworks story—or a strange experience in the woods—give the Grit City Podcast crew a call and join the conversation.
Chapters
Timestamps are approximate from the transcript.
00:00 – Hangover Sunday kickoff after the Fourth of July
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The Grit City crew is back for another laid-back Friday Night Hangout, proving once again that no topic is too weird and no rabbit hole is too deep.
Jeff, Scott, Mike and C-Note kick things off catching up while Brogan enjoys some time in Louisiana. The conversation quickly turns to Summer Con in Puyallup, where the hosts discuss how the convention has evolved from what felt like a giant celebrity meet-and-greet into a more traditional fan convention complete with vendors, gaming and community networking opportunities.
Festival season also gets some love as the crew reminisces about the Artesian Brewfest in Tumwater. Jeff shares his cautionary tale about skipping sunscreen and paying the price, while the group remembers good cider, good company and a surprisingly family-friendly atmosphere.
Naturally, things take a turn into classic Grit City territory after an image mishap inspires an extended discussion about "penis fingers," complete with a reminder that listeners can always call the GCP hotline to share their own strange life experiences.
Scott then recaps a recent trip to the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Expo and a post-show meetup at Camp Bar before diving into an evening at Tacoma Comedy Club to see comedian Jim Norton. C-Note recounts his first comedy club experience and the crew talks about Norton's storytelling style, long career and reputation as one of stand-up's more unapologetically honest performers.
The biggest rabbit hole of the night, however, involves an astonishing LEGO controversy. Scott shares the ongoing story of a collector whose valuable Star Wars LEGO collection was allegedly caught up in a consignment dispute involving a Bricks & Minifigs franchise. The story expands into lawsuits, YouTube investigations, body camera footage, Airbnb complaints, alleged police misconduct and online fundraising efforts, leaving everyone amazed at how bizarre and complicated internet justice can become.
It's another perfect Friday night with the Grit City crew—equal parts local events, comedy talk, internet sleuthing and completely ridiculous detours that somehow make perfect sense when you're hanging out with friends.
Chapters
00:00 – Cold Open & Settling In
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The Grit City Podcast returns with a Hangover Sunday episode featuring updates from Louisiana, Minnesota, Las Vegas, and Tacoma. The crew talks crawfish season, snow cone culture, Cisco Live and agentic AI, Vegas' Sphere experience, and their adventures at the Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show, complete with classic arcade nostalgia and favorite pinball machines.
Chapters
00:00 – Cold Open Chaos
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Memorial Day weekend gets weird fast on this episode of Saturday Night Grit as the crew officially welcomes C-Note into the Grit City Podcast family. What starts as a simple introduction quickly turns into a full-blown spiral through fishing stories, terrifying spiders, Minnesota weather, and one of the most divisive traffic topics imaginable: roundabouts.
Mike checks in from Minnesota with reports of sudden 90-degree weather, lake culture, and life in the land of 10,000 lakes. That naturally leads into stories about fishing in Tacoma, Eastern Washington bass ponds, and the kind of childhood outdoor experiences that sound fun until giant orb weaver spiders enter the picture. Scott recounts a genuinely horrifying encounter with what the crew lovingly refers to as a “banjo spider,” kicking off an extended discussion about creepy crawlies, false black widows in Washington basements, and the ethics of killing spiders versus relocating them outside.
Things somehow get even stranger when the crew discusses people sleeping with pantyhose over their faces to prevent spiders from crawling into their mouths at night — a sentence nobody expected to hear on a podcast this week.
Then comes the main event: roundabouts. Love them or hate them, everyone has opinions, and the crew unloads theirs with stories of figure-eight traffic circles, wrong-way drivers, semis getting stuck, and the pure chaos of modern traffic design. Listener voicemails pour fuel on the fire, including passionate defenses of roundabouts and complaints about drivers who still can’t figure them out.
It’s classic Saturday Night Grit: random, hilarious, slightly unhinged, and somehow relatable the entire way through.
Chapters With Timestamps
00:00 – Cold Open Chaos
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Road Rage, Alien Encounters, and Bachelorette Party Antics: A Saturday Night Grit Extravaganza!
Welcome back to another thrilling episode of the Grit City Podcast, your go-to source for candid conversations, unexpected tangents, and plenty of laughs! In this special Saturday Night Grit, Jeff, Scott, and Mike take us on an unforgettable journey from the sun-drenched bachelorette party scene in Scottsdale, Arizona, to the deepest corners of the universe with eye-opening discussions about UFOs and alien life.
The episode kicks off with the usual banter, including weather updates from Minnesota (it’s "absolutely lovely" there!) and Scott's recent truck customizations, which, as you might expect, involve a few raunchy jokes. But the real party starts when we get a live call-in from Kaysha, our listener on her bachelorette trip in Scottsdale. Kaysha and her "flower hoes" (her affectionate term for her bridesmaids!) give us a hilarious glimpse into their girly pop Airbnb, complete with pink walls and baby animal décor, their plans to tear up Old Town Scottsdale, and the inevitable hangover awaiting them. The guys offer their congratulations and some rather unique advice, including Scott's suggestion of a "weiner hat" – thankfully, a plushy one was eventually clarified!
From there, the conversation takes a sharp turn into the relatable world of road rage. Mike, ever the mellow one, confesses to mild bumper-riding, then shares a truly wild Navy-era anecdote involving a PT Cruiser, a lifted Suburban, and a quickly deflated aggressor. The discussion then moves into the philosophy of road rage, with Mike introducing his brilliant coping mechanism: assuming everyone driving like an asshole has "explosive diarrhea." It’s a hilarious, yet surprisingly effective, way to maintain sanity on congested roads, especially around Tacoma's infamous freeway merges!
Jeff then recounts a recent trip to Eastern Washington for a memorial, providing a vivid description of Yakima's transformation and an unforgettable encounter with a mobility scooter. He also reflects on shifting family dynamics, the surprising embrace of legal weed by formerly "anti-weed" relatives, and his newfound ability to navigate family "vipers" thanks to counseling – a testament to personal growth that even gets a nod from Mike.
But what would a Grit City Podcast be without a touch of the unknown? The conversation pivots to some genuinely thought-provoking science talk, starting with the discovery of liquid water and ancient life beneath Antarctica's ice. This leads into the fascinating implications for life on other icy planets like Europa. The guys then delve into the recent release of UFO files by the U.S. government, sparking a debate about their authenticity and the potential for distraction.
This segues into the highly anticipated "favorite UFO theories" segment. Scott shares his passion for the "underground people" theory, drawing parallels to ancient hominin fossils found in the Star Cave System and Native American legends of "ant people." Mike then drops his "Jupiter Ascending" inspired theory: Earth is merely a "crop" of life force, cultivated by an advanced alien civilization, poised for harvest. It's a deliciously dark and compelling idea that has Jeff equally intrigued.
The episode wraps up with a consensus on the sheer statistical impossibility of Earth being the only planet with intelligent life. They muse on the vast distances of space, the limitations of human technology, and the idea that, in the grand scheme of things, humanity might just be a fascinating (and often chaotic) experiment in an intergalactic zoo. The final thought, inspired by the movie "Don't Look Up," highlights the disturbing reality that even undeniable evidence of impending doom wouldn't convince everyone in today's gaslight-prone world.
Despite the deep thoughts and wild theories, the episode maintains its signature Grit City charm, punctuated by laughs, call-outs to listeners, and heartfelt well wishes for Kaysha's upcoming wedding and Sino's recent good news.
So buckle up, grab a Snickers bar (preferably a cold one from the fridge!), and prepare for an episode that will make you laugh, think, and perhaps even question everything you thought you knew about road rage, alien life, and bachelorette parties.
Listen to the full episode and explore more at www.gritcitypodcast.com!
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