The Adam Carolla Show – 2025 ACE Awards: Rants, Special Guests, Interviews and More!
Original Air Date: December 23, 2025
Podcast Host: Adam Carolla
Featured:
- Trophy Girl Alicia Krause
- Seat Fillers: Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Rudy Pavich, Mike Dawson
- Guests, Interviewees, Impressionists, and Regulars
Episode Overview
The Adam Carolla Show’s annual ACE Awards return for their monumental 20th anniversary, delivering a greatest-hits mix of the show’s 2025 standouts. Adam describes it as the “Hickory Farms sampler of The Adam Carolla Show” – an episode packed with laugh-out-loud comedy, signature rants, sharp insights, top celebrity interviews, and the fan-favorite banter between Adam and his crew. Listeners are treated to the year’s very best impressions, interviews, inventions, and rants, along with live acceptance speeches and sincere moments reflecting on two decades of podcasting success.
Key Discussion Points & Segments
Opening Reflections
[06:40]
- Adam marvels at 20 years of podcasting:
“Twenty years of this is insane... weird to have podcasting as my longest-running job.”
- Adam reflects on modest expectations growing up, contrasting his family’s focus on hourly wages over professions, and expresses gratitude toward his audience.
Best Impression Nominees & Winner
[15:20]
- Nominees Featured:
- Daryl Hammond as Don Pardo
- Jay Mohr as Bill Burr (delivering cutting “is it?” dismissals)
- Stephen Baldwin as Alec Baldwin
- Kyle Dunnigan as Rodney Dangerfield
- Elon Gold as Donald Trump/Chris Rock
- Memorable exchange:
“I love Bill Burr because I love all you — you can say anything. And he just goes, ‘Is it?’ and he’s won the argument.” — Adam [22:16]
- Winner: Kyle Dunnigan as Rodney Dangerfield
- Hilarious acceptance speech:
“I’ll put that on my resume under 'who gives a—'. I’m kidding. I miss you Adam and the gang there.” [28:04]
- Hilarious acceptance speech:
Rant of the Year Nominations (Installments 1–10)
1. Charlie Kirk & "End Hate" NFL Slogans
[33:00]
- Adam rails against virtue-signaling phrases: “You’re acting as if we’re drowning in hate when we really don’t have any... The notion you have to ‘end hate’? It’s destructive with that shit.”
- Calls out politicians and institutions for “poisoning the American mind with all this thing.”
2. Dogs in Restaurants
[38:40]
- Pitch-perfect Carolla annoyance:
“Is there an option—how is it that I sailed through my entire life nary a dog in a restaurant, airplane, anywhere?! Now it’s everywhere...”
- On service dogs: “If your dog doesn’t have a handle on it, then it’s out.” [40:24]
3. Justin Trudeau’s “LGBTQ2+” Fumble
[1:20:04]
- Adam skewers virtue-signaling politicians:
“‘I will never apologize for standing up for lgdp... lgt... lbt...’ Okay, homo, hit the bricks.”
- Nails the performative aspect of modern politics:
“You’re such a hero. But you never stand up—except for you’re fucking Katy Perry somewhere out of the country right now.” [1:22:15]
4. Democrats Downplaying "Dudes"
[1:29:10]
- Adam’s classic rant on masculinity:
“All the people you hate... have rebuilt this place. Every once in a while, shit’s gonna burn, and then you need dudes to rebuild it... Stop waging war on dudes.”
- Touches on gender politics, societal reliance on traditional masculine labor.
5. Sympathy for January 6th Cops vs. ICE/BLM Cops
[1:51:44]
- Adam questions selective outrage:
“If you can’t handle some scrum, don’t be a fucking cop... How come there’s no sympathy for cops spit on at BLM protests?”
- Offers personal comparison to physical roughhousing as a kid:
“When I see the scrum, I’m always like... that’s a two. That’s before noon on a Tuesday for me.” [1:57:17]
6. Tipping Culture
[2:09:00]
- Adam unleashes on unskilled tipped jobs:
“If you’re in a business that gets tips, you’re probably hurting humanity... If you just bring food, that’s not a skill... All tipped jobs could be replaced the next day. Air traffic controllers? Absolutely not. Tip people? Absolutely.”
- Commentary on the stagnation tips foster in people’s lives:
“It keeps them in it — like a gilded cage. It artificially keeps you in no-skill jobs.” [2:15:21]
- Winner: Tipping Rant — for its originality and sharpness.
7. Wildfire National Guard Hypocrisy
[2:46:42]
- Adam calls out coastal liberals for wanting the National Guard in their neighborhoods during disasters, after criticizing their deployment during BLM riots:
“Now that it’s your shit getting looted, suddenly you’re happy to see the boys in uniform…”
8. Stephen Colbert Audience/Liberal Politics
[3:01:00]
- Adam expresses dismay at adult naiveté in politics:
“I never knew adults would be this stupid. ...I want competent fucking people running big cities, okay?”
9. Malibu Fire and “Unhoused” Semantics
[3:25:40]
- Adam on the “unhoused” buzzword:
“Everyone in Malibu’s unhoused now... But none of them is sleeping outdoors tonight — it's not about the house, you fucking retards. It's about the network and addiction.” [3:26:40]
10. PPP Loan “Shame”
[3:47:40]
- Adam refuses to apologize for his business taking a COVID PPP loan:
“Take care of your own shit. ...If you pay the government $2 million and they give you $300,000, they’re still up $1.7M...”
“You’re ashamed because you’re not successful. So fuck off.” [3:50:20]
Best Interview of the Year
Notable Interview Moments & Quotes:
-
Billy Bush [44:55]
“Life is a shit sandwich. Eat it or starve. Everybody has something that’s gonna hit them hard.”
- On being railroaded by cancel culture: “People get so — we just had it with Megyn Kelly, Barely Legal—I’m like, ‘She’s not what she means.’ ...Everyone should fucking stand up and go, 'bullshit.'"
-
Darrell Hammond [1:10:02]
- On loss and trauma:
“My sponsor blew his brains out… I get a call from his 11-year-old daughter telling me our daddy died today. ...He wanted to make it so they'll never feel good again. They won't ever laugh all the way again. Not after this.” [1:11:41]
- On loss and trauma:
-
Jake Steinfeld [1:36:50]
- On losing his house in the Woolsey Fire:
“It was insane to see your house... The only thing that's up is the front gate... You could roll up in a ball and die in a corner, or you get up and you persevere.” [1:38:28]
- On losing his house in the Woolsey Fire:
-
Zachary Levi [2:58:00]
- On destigmatizing mental illness:
“Mental illness is like dental illness. Everybody gets a cavity here and there. ...We need to mentally floss and mentally brush our brains and our hearts.”
- On destigmatizing mental illness:
-
Drake Bell [3:03:00]
- On industry abuse and celebrity protectionism:
“All of these people thought these support letters would never see the light of day... I'm like, you’re all adults, right? ...But they're all like, ‘He never... made me uncomfortable.’ Because you’re not... not a 13-year-old little boy.” [3:06:30]
- On industry abuse and celebrity protectionism:
-
Paul Walter Hauser [3:31:40]
- On transformation:
“I got sober because of alcohol, marijuana, and pornography. All three were toxic to me being the best version of myself. ...There's so many people not telling the truth in the world, I prefer to tell the truth all the time and then face whatever mild consequence.” [3:32:15]
- On transformation:
-
Charlie Sheen [3:38:28]
- On his reckless youth:
“I had a Porsche in 1987... wanted to see what it could do. Got it up to 161... Cop pulls me over—‘Slow down before you ruin a perfectly good piece of machinery.’ Wasn’t about me.” [3:39:50]
- On his reckless youth:
-
Winner: Paul Walter Hauser
- Adam: “What a cool dude. Congratulations, Paul.”
Best Invention
- Nominee Highlights:
- Subway Busking Belt
- "Don’t Worry, I’m Gay" Package for Male Gynecologists
- Throwback Fast Food Menu (e.g., Taco Bell's Bell Beefer)
- Fake Bug Zapper:
“You’d hang it up on your porch, you hear [zap sound]. And you just sit there being eaten alive by mosquitoes going, 'yeah, oh, I made the right choice'... I would also advertise you never have to clean it. 'How's that work?' 'Proprietary technology, bro.'” — Adam [1:47:48]
- Winner: Fake Bug Zapper
Musical Moments & Creative Arts Awards
[2:21:50]
- Show features audience and crew singing classics like "Living on a Prayer", original theme songs ("Kodiak's King"), and Adam’s comically earthy "Hashbrown Blues".
- Creative categories include "Best AI Chatbot", “Best Trump Interpreter,” and “Best Radio Format — Quiet Rock.”
Outstanding Point Shitting & Banter
Notable Segments:
- Best Argument/Point Debate Award: Alicia Krause
- On street vendors vs. brick-and-mortar:
“Just make better flowers. Maybe consider who your market is… Make a better taco.”
- Adam (on podcasting and competition):
“Does it undercut you when other people create a podcast, or does it just create more healthy rivalry?”
- On street vendors vs. brick-and-mortar:
- Adam on illogical arguments:
“Just cut bait. Just cut bait, then fucking walk away from your... Once you say ‘make better flowers,’ you have to walk away at that point.”
Guest of the Year
Nominees:
- Dustin Ibarra
- Jay Leno
- Pete Berg
- Jay Mohr
- Greg Fitzsimmons
- Winner: Greg Fitzsimmons
- Fitzsimmons Accepts:
“To the staff: You’re not getting a lot of money, but it’s a stepping stone. Mainly, I want to thank the fans that have been so supportive of you guys—of me. ...The opportunity to work for luck. So have a happy new year.” [3:43:10]
- Fitzsimmons Accepts:
Memorable Quotes & Moments
-
On podcast longevity & gratitude:
“The notion that I can come into this building and be with people I enjoy... and talking into a microphone for a living is absolutely insane. And it was unthinkable, and I don’t forget that. But impossible without everyone who listens and tells a friend.” — Adam [08:48]
-
On outrage culture:
“You can't fucking fire people who are standing next to people who are doing shit you don’t approve of, right? And we all just go, I don’t want trouble. ...You need to fucking say: ‘Bullshit!’” — Adam [47:32]
Timestamps of Key Segments
- Best Impression Nominees: 15:20 – 28:00
- Rant of the Year (End Hate): 33:00
- Dogs in Restaurants: 38:40
- Fake Bug Zapper (Best Invention): 1:47:48
- Darrell Hammond Interview: 1:10:02
- Tipping Rant (and Rant of the Year winner): 2:09:00
- Wildfire/Unhoused Rant: 3:25:40
- Greg Fitzsimmons Acceptance Speech: 3:43:10
- PPP Loan Shame: 3:47:40
Conclusion & Final Notes
The 2025 ACE Awards showcase Adam Carolla at his best: unfiltered, honest, and funny, with a wide cast of characters and a fearless willingness to tackle sensitive topics with wit and insight. The blend of bravura rants, sharp social commentary, classic impressions, emotional interviews, and behind-the-scenes gratitude cements the show’s legacy at the top of the podcasting world. Whether longtime listener or newcomer, this "sampler" is a must-listen for fans of no-holds-barred talk.
For more, visit AdamCarolla.com. For live tour dates or to catch Greg Fitzsimmons, Jake Steinfeld, and other guests, see show notes or follow on social media.