Shift Happened

The wind tries to steal the show, turning everyday driving into a white knuckle adventure and making everyone question their life choices. From there, things take a sharp left into holiday weirdness with one of the most unhinged Christmas traditions on the planet… a log that you feed, sing to, and then beat with sticks until it gives you presents. And because it wouldn’t be The Second Shift without going there, the crew also peeks behind the curtain of classic Disney stories that were way darker than you remember.

The gang’s back together… and immediately choosing chaos.First, we go full holiday road rage therapy, because Rushmore Crossing has everyone white knuckling their steering wheel and questioning how two-way stops were ever allowed to exist. Then we swing into real Christmas tree paranoia, where praying mantis egg sacks are hiding in plain sight like tiny pine cones with bad intentions. And finally, we celebrate National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, which turns into a rapid-fire snack draft featuring everything from frozen chocolate banana bites to South Dakota’s proudly predictable favorite. Plus, Merriam-Webster drops the 2025 Word of the Year, and yep… it’s exactly what your timeline has been feeling lately.

Houston’s still out, so Stitch and Leslie run the show like two kids who found the car keys… and immediately start collecting “Tell Houston he sucks” messages in the wild. Then we hit peak holiday chaos with Santa at Main Street Square, the real rules of surviving last-minute shopping, and the spicy question: is a charity donation in your name a sweet gift, or a “cool… I guess” moment?Plus, the dream of a white Christmas takes a hit, Home Alone turns 35 with some weird behind-the-scenes goodies, and we end on a bold idea that I fully support: let us claim pets as dependents for tax season.

Houston’s out, so Leslie and Stitch are driving the ship… and it gets weird in the best way.First up, Leslie’s out playing Santa in a snowy Rapid City, only to realize three clients are closed on Fridays. So she’s basically doing holiday charity laps in the snow with a trunk full of “please like us” gifts. Then it takes a hard left into “is this a crime or a cry for help” territory, with a DoorDash driver allegedly spraying someone’s Arby’s and sending a wife into a breathing panic. Yeah… that happened. And if you’ve ever reworn socks and told yourself it’s fine, congratulations, this episode also ruins that for you with the “microscopic rainforest” visual you’ll never unhear. Merry Christmas. 

Houston bailed again, so Leslie and Stitch take the wheel… and immediately turn The Second Shift into a holiday chaos variety show.There’s a full investigation into how Walgreens printed Christmas cards at an hour when normal humans are asleep, a debate over the perfect travel companion that somehow ends with “bring a Snickers,” and a TikTok dessert trend that sounds like a prank until you hear who’s already tried it. Then the show swerves into stadium food rankings, the most popular day to break up, and a surprisingly sweet reminder to hug your people a little tighter.

On this episode of Shift Happened, the crew tackles a wild hypothetical: if you could erase one crime from the world, which one would you commit first to make it disappear forever? From Leslie trying to power through a half-numb tooth to a scientific Christmas playlist, Netflix swallowing streaming, and an impulsive projector-buying spree, it is four hours of cozy December chaos, holiday moods, and questionable life choices. 

On this episode of Shift Happened, Houston flies solo and time travels straight into 2026. The iPhone 18 turns into a pocket sized supercomputer that side eyes your midnight symptom searches, robot coworkers happily tackle the soul sucking parts of your job, and streaming services morph into cable with better logos and more ads. Then the future zooms out to massive FIFA crowds, oversharing smartwatches, and a simple wish for the next year: less burnout, more real life, and a world that finally feels normal again.

Shift Happened heads back to the Second Shift studio for a solo hang with Houston, pulling every break from Monday’s show into one wild 2025 rewind. From parents secretly googling why kids say Sigma or Ohio to the unhinged glory of the hot honey cottage cheese sweet potato beef bowl, this one digs into the recipes, slang, and search habits that quietly exposed all our chaos. AI Barbie selfies, ghostface filters, and the Anxiety Dance that turned Fresh Prince clips into a group therapy session round it out, turning a year of weird headlines into something oddly hopeful and very human.