As 2025 comes to a close, the Connect More boys reflect on things that surprised them in the past year, including the onslaught of AI, stock indexes, unexpected happiness, and soul-crushing political chaos. How's that for range??

Even though we're too old to really rage on New Year's Eve anymore, we recall some fond (and not so fond) memories of times we all celebrated the holiday together. Luckily for John, his perma-friends (us) have endured longer than the Perma-Frost.

We jump right into a review of the movies we watched in 2025, from summer blockbusters to more obscure indie gems. We also stumbled across a few stinkers that we'll never be able to unsee. We probably missed some great ones, so drop your favorites in the Comments - we don't want to miss a good film!

We whip around with our resolutions for the New Year. We know, we know...resolutions are a big eye-roll cliche, but bear with us. We have good intentions. We hope all our listeners have an awesome 2026!

What are you doing out there in the cold? Come inside, grab a drink, and celebrate our weirdest, most awkward holiday: Festivus! Just like we learned from Frank Constanza in the classic 1997 Seinfeld episode, we gather around the aluminum pole and marvel at our Feats of Strength, commiserate by Airing Grievances, and get real with some genuine Festivus Miracles. Grab a chair, light up a Lucky Strike, and enjoy the holiday vibe. Hey, where's that waiter with the tray of cheese puffs??

What did you want to be when you grew up? The Connect More boys reflect a bit on 'what could have been' and describe what they'd be doing now if they'd stayed on the track they were on when they got out of college. Only one of us got remotely close...who could it be???

With the holidays coming up, the fellas provide a guide to their favorite Christmas shows. No big surprises here, but we have a good time reminiscing about how much these shows mean to us. If you're tuning in to hear validation that "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie, however, you're going to be disappointed.

The Connect More crew may be the only four people in the US of A that don't have any tattoos. We talk about the needle and the damage done and speculate about which tattoos we would get if someone could talk us into it. Ween has some good ideas, but the rest of us are pretty basic.

Speaking of basic, during the whiparound these boring dudes ask for some really boring gifts to be left under the tree. Forgive us, Santa. We're simple guys with simple needs. Save the interesting stuff for those fancy lads out in Connecticut, or whatever.

Our producer gives us a hand-tossed question this week: Who has the best pizza? It didn't take long for us to generate a sizable list of the best pizza spots in Iowa, from Norwalk to Dubuque. Get out a pen & paper and make a plan to eat your way across the state on a pizza road trip. We probably missed a few of your favorites, so drop them in the comments and we'll get to 'em eventually!

We almost didn't get this episode off the ground because Jocó was traumatized by getting a new iPhone, but we eventually made it around to arguing about bands that we just don't "get" and probably never will. Then we get newsy and lament the sad state of local journalism. We grew up watching the 6 o'clock news and grabbing the local daily off the front porch, so it's hard to wrap our brains around how to rebuild this much-needed part of civic life. Get ready to cross the Borderline with a lively discussion about our go-to karaoke songs. You'll be particularly impressed by John's choice...bay-bee.

Because she just can't get enough, our producer digs deeper with a pop question for us. Take a trip down memory lane as we recall our favorite childhood candy and realize that, despite our shared GenX upbringing, we can still surprise each other with something as simple as smashing a frozen Charleston Chew. Sweet dreams, everyone!

Since our audience demands to know "Why in the hell are you even doing this?" we take few minutes to discuss how the pod got started and the importance of being intentional about life-long friends staying connected. Then, since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, we get "side" tracked with foods that we all enjoy seeing at our holiday feasts. And although none of us will be accused of being fashionistas, that doesn't stop us from having some strong opinions about fashion trends that people our age should avoid, including those tech bro vests (unless they're made from real gorilla chests). We wrap up with a quick review of the R-rated movies we snuck into during our misspent youth.

Because our producer can't get enough of our nonsense, she occasionally asks us for a bit more info. In this shortie, she asks how four idiots like us would survive the zombie apocalypse. John has thought about this a LOT so tune in to get some pointers about you can save your family from hoards of the undead. Enjoy!