There’s talk of bad candy trades, drunk trick-or-treating memories, and one unforgettable story involving a very inappropriate pumpkin carving. The crew also shares thoughts on Tacoma’s haunted spots, spooky movie favorites, and the ongoing debate of “fun scary” vs. “actually terrifying.” This one’s a blend of laughs, jump scares, and pure Grit City energy.

⏱️ Timestamped Highlight Guide

00:00 – 05:00 – Saturday night setup & Halloween banter 🎃

05:00 – 10:00 – Tacoma hauntings & ghost stories 👻

10:00 – 18:00 – AI smart homes, VR mishaps & tech gone wrong 🤖

18:00 – 25:00 – Pet costumes & the great “pumpkin disaster” 🐶🎃

25:00 – 35:00 – Candy wars: worst trades & best hauls 🍬

35:00 – 45:00 – Horror movie chat: classics, trash, and the truly disturbing 🎬

45:00 – 55:00 – Weird Halloween traditions & Tacoma nightlife stories 🌃

55:00 – End – Closing laughs, fall vibes, and one last jump scare 🍻

Sponsored By:

• Die Cut Stickers: Use the code GRITCITY15 at checkout and get 15% off your entire order! · Insanely custom stickers crafted to survive the PNW and beyond! Promo Code: GRITCITY15
• The Union Club: The Union Club is a coworking space contributing to Tacoma's growing artistic and entrepreneurial communities. It combines a maker studio, event hall, and office coworking space, in a 15,000 square foot historic building in downtown Tacoma, Washington.
• RCF Exteriors: Cut Wood. Not Corners. RCF Exteriors specializes in Window and Door installation across the South Puget Sound region. RCF Exteriors is a customer service orientated company with 20+ years experience in window and door installation. Our efficient and knowledgeable team is dedication to making sure you are satisfied with not only the final product but throughout the entire installation process. Email: rcfexteriors@gmail.com Phone: 253-446-8854

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• Halloween Events & Activities | Minneapolis, MN | Valleyfair
• Minnesota Zoo Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular - 2025 - Minnesota Zoo
• Tacoma Haunted House | Frighthouse Station

01:26 – Jeff gives the podcast word of the day, Robo Brogan visits the podcast, and Justin welcomes Jeff and Scott to the New Year. He chats about their New Years' Eve casserole party, the shots they shared at the party, and the games they played that night. Jeff talks about the making of the casserole, they express how awesome the deep-dish pizza they enjoyed was, Justin poses the question on offering leftover casseroles to neighbors, and mentions that The Tacoma Light Trail is still going on through mid-Jan. He talks about enjoying casserole leftovers, Justin shares the latest work from past GCP guest Mark Monlux, and Justin talks about doing the early morning New Year's Day Polar Plunge with 130 other people that day.

20:06 – Justin talks about the water experience, how the first two minutes of the experience was the hardest, and what getting out of the water felt like. He talks about how it helped energize him for the week, the importance of having a word of intention, and Jeff shares his movie reviews. He talks about what he liked about the movie Halloween Kills, how well the writers balanced the story, and they reflect on the long, awkward scene from a movie they all enjoyed together at the theater. They question if Mike Meyers can actually be killed in a movie, Jeff recommends they watch Harley Quinn Birds of Prey, and Scott talks about the new show on Netflix, Kaleidoscope.

35:11 – Justin talks about finishing the second season of White Lotus, GCP showing up on Reddit, and businesses closing in the area, including Hello Cupcake. They talk about the egg shortage, other restaurants closing in the area, and the importance of networking and supporting local businesses. Justin talks about the most recent library book he's been reading, Scott talks about his frequent past visits to the library, and reflects on participating in Read-A-Thons as a kid.

52:03 – Justin talks about always being a computer nerd, his first orientation of wrestling class, and Scott talks about sports he did back in the day. Jeff reflects on being a big reader as a kid as well, they share their stories of playing baseball as a kid and question if there is ever a stand in spinner for Wheel of Fortune. Scott ponders on if the game is gambling, if they discriminate against people with no arms, and Justin talks about having the home version of Wheel of Fortune, and Scott suggests new show concepts. Friend Erik shares that people can have a designated fill-in on Wheel of Fortune, and Justin closes out the show talking about their other friends setting in on the live recording.

Sponsored By:

• Cosmic Bottles: Tap into the universe of craft beer! CRAFT BEER FOR YOU! Tired of the same old grocery store beer selection? Looking for a beer selection that caters to your taste? At Cosmic Bottles the choice is always yours. Every day: 11am - 10pm 27116 167th Place SE Suite 108 Covington, WA 98042
• The Union Club: The Union Club is a coworking space contributing to Tacoma's growing artistic and entrepreneurial communities. It combines a maker studio, event hall, and office coworking space, in a 15,000 square foot historic building in downtown Tacoma, Washington.
• Die Cut Stickers: Use the code GRITCITY15 at checkout and get 15% off your entire order! · Insanely custom stickers crafted to survive the PNW and beyond! Promo Code: GRITCITY15

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• Chi-Town Pizza | Spanaway WA | Facebook
• Atomic Age Alien Series Enamel Pins by Mark Monlux — Kickstarter — A series of enamel pins featuring aliens from Atomic Age science fiction cinema.
• The Grit City Podcast: GCP: Puget Sound Plungers - Renate Rain — Renate Rain, the founder of Puget Sound Plungers, sits down with the guys to discuss creating the group Puget Sound Plungers and her local business.
• Kaleidoscope (TV Mini Series 2023) - IMDb
• What Tacoma/Tacoma adjacent Podcasts are a must listen? : Tacoma — I am big on Podcasts, Most Channel 253 are quality, my favorite being Grit and Grain Pod.
• C.L.A.W. - Artist Guild, Formerly the Cartoonist's League of Absurd Washingtonians (Tacoma, WA)
• Mark “Grand PooBah” Monlux (@markmonlux) / Twitter — Self-aggrandizing whimsical cartoonist, and author. I do my best to screen who I follow.
• MAMEdev.org | Home of The MAME Project — MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework.
• Pierce County Library > Home
• Halloween Kills - Official Trailer - YouTube
• Birds of Prey (2020) - IMDb
• Tacoma, Washington — Welcome to r/Tacoma, The Subreddit of Destiny. Much like the city, this forum is a dusty old jewel of Puget Sound

01:28 – Justin thanks listeners for tuning in, gives information on how they can tune in while GCP records, and Brogan talks about his hot dog adventures. He shares that hot dogs are exempt for all forms of food control in Washington State, they ponder on why that is, and the hiccups that have come up in serving food since Convid. Justin suggests types of hot dogs Brogan should make, Brogan mentions that the open date for the bottle shop are still on track for November/December, and Justin shares where he is at with the garage makeover.

20:40 – Justin shares his new love of fixing up his house, they dive into their reviews of the Garfield Halloween Special, and Jeff comments on how watching Garfield that played the classic commercials gave him a chance to reflect on yesteryear. Brogan talks about his old business, Wizards Keep Games, getting broken into, and Jeff gives his analysis of the show. Scott talks about riding a ferry for the first time since living in the PNW, sites of the ride, and they give a shout out to their listener that recently visited the PNW.

42:53 – They talk about good Halloween movies to watch, Jeff shares his favorite Halloween cartoons, and Scott talks about his love of Zombie movies. They pick the movie to watch and review on next weeks show, other things they have been watching on Netflix, and plans to go ax throwing. Jeff talks about ninja star throwing as a kid in the 80’s, Brogan talks about his dad buying ninja stars for him, and Scott shares learning nunchakus in his 30’s. The talk about one of Streetbeefs latest fights, future BBQ plans, and they talk some smack about Justin as he steps away to check his BBQ.

60:00 – Brogan searched for places to float in Renton, reads customers reviews of the newest location there, and dives into the “Old Man’s Problems” hour. The guys try and convince Brogan to float, Justin talks about playing Whirlyball, and they talk about Flatsticks’ plans to open in Tacoma. Brogan talks about the side effects of his blood pressure medicine, Justin suggests he learns Yoga, and they close out this episode opening the conversation up to the Peanut Gallery.

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• Wizards Keep Games
• Garfield's Halloween Adventure
• Axe Kickers Seattle
• The Grit City Podcast: Streetball Supe
• What is Whirlyball? — Whirlyball is a team sport that combines elements of basketball and jai alai with players riding Whirlybugs, small electric vehicles similar to bumper cars.
• Pretty Gritty Tours - Chris Staudinger on GCP

2:28 – The guys kick off the show with giving props to GCP fans that became customers of Tacoma Hops after hearing episode 34 with the owner, LeeAnn. Justin talks about Union Club's (Surge Tacoma) recent win of the Tacoma City Hall Adaptive Reuse bid. They throw around show ideas, discuss the Kill Tony podcast, Grit City Fireside Chat, and how people can get ahold of them at info@gritcitypodcast.com.

9:20 – Justin discusses TacomaHistory.Live, the guys talk of Tacoma being on the ring of fire, Rainier being one of the top 5 most dangerous volcanoes in the country, and Mt St Helens eruption in 1980. Justin talks about the earthquake that hit Tacoma in 1949, the impact it had on Tacoma, and recent faults that were found in Mt Hood by Portland.

21:52 – Talk goes to Halloween and trick-or-treaters at Justin and Jeff’s new houses, memories of Halloween when the guys were kids, and Jeff and his wife’s plans to make “parent packs” for next year’s trick-or-treaters. They talks about the Halloween events at The Church Cantina, Jeff’s mom’s opinion on marijuana after her visit with them on a previous podcast, and talk of Tacoma Weed Tours.

33:20 – The show comes to an end with conversation on the amazing things people can find in Tacoma, where people can find them online, and what GCP offers to people that are interested in doing their own podcast.

Support The Grit City Podcast

Links:

• Beer Tours | United States | Tacoma Hops — Tacoma Hops is your stop for touring the craft breweries of downtown Tacoma on foot. Join us and learn more about Tacoma, the revival of our historic brewing district, and have some great beer and food pairings along the way!
• Surge Tacoma Selected to Enter Negotiations with the City o...
• Union Club Tacoma — Tacoma's premier creative community for coworking & events.
• Tacoma history — This site is about the way history, in this case of a city and it’s surrounds, is remembered or recorded in stories and small bits of memory. It’s also about the way images and stories go together, how they inform and enrich each other and how we as thinking people use our imaginations to fill in the content between a narrative and a visual document.