Laugh With Me – "Santa Claus Strikes Back"

Podcast: Laugh With Me
Host: Jeremy Odem
Guest: Santa Claus (St. Nick, Father Christmas)
Date: December 20, 2025

Episode Overview

This festive episode welcomes back Santa Claus for his first visit since 2023. Host and comedian Jeremy Odem, with co-hosts and producer Johnny, invite Santa for a tongue-in-cheek, candid conversation that is anything but the usual jolly North Pole routine. Instead, listeners are treated to a disarmingly honest, often grumpy, and sharp-witted Father Christmas who vents about everything from AI taking over the Naughty/Nice list to the perils of egg shortages, the Grinch's media overexposure, and even his own "retirement" ambitions and marital woes. Jeremy and Santa riff on contemporary culture, Christmas logistics, and, in classic podcast spirit, roast each other and their friends. The episode culminates in a rapid-fire Naughty/Nice list review of notable figures—both personal and celebrity—with biting Santa commentary.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Santa’s Gruff Mood and Italian Grievances (04:26–07:03)

• Return of Santa: Santa’s been absent since 2023, and Jeremy welcomes him with a list of international aliases, which Santa quickly rebuffs.
• No Gifts for Italians: Santa humorously claims that he’s banned all Italians from getting Christmas gifts due to the actions of Luigi Gallinate, a 19th-century anarchist.
  • Santa: “Ever since Luigi Gallinate ruined it for them…there has not been an Italian getting any Christmas gifts for at least four generations.” (06:07–07:03)

2. Santa’s Health Regimen and Expectations (07:28–09:18)

• Spin Class and Staying Spry: Santa boasts about a new high score in a spin class and contends with Jeremy’s not-so-subtle body shaming.
• Fat Santa Stereotype: Santa points out holiday media’s expectation for him to be fat, referencing claymation classics where Mrs. Claus nags him to gain weight.
  • Santa: “They expect a fat Santa.” (08:36)
• On His Fitness: Santa parodies the late Chris Farley’s lifestyle, “a lot of alcohol, a lot of cocaine, and some working out so I can run around like a crazy man...one night a year.” (09:06–09:17)

3. Modern Christmas Challenges: Egg Shortages & Cookie Disrespect (10:16–13:59)

• Press Resentment: Santa dislikes unpaid "press outings" and jokes about monetizing his image.
• Egg Shortage Fallout: The North American egg shortage led to parents substituting strange cookie ingredients (like duck fat) for Santa’s snacks, causing deep offense:
  • Santa: “All of a sudden, I'm the second class citizen here. Give those cookies to your family. I'm bringing gifts. I'm working my butt off for that…Get me some good cookies.” (12:06–12:34)
  • Jeremy likens Santa’s treatment to “people treating the cookies like dog scraps.”

4. Santa vs. AI: The Naughty/Nice List Crisis (14:38–17:47)

• Santa’s AI Disaster: In 2018 Santa tried AI to sort the Naughty/Nice list, and the result? “Everybody was naughty. I mean, it was a great year for me.” (14:49–15:00)
  • Santa: “Now kids are using AI to generate the letter to Santa...instead of three sentences, I get eight paragraphs that go nowhere.” (16:16–16:42)
• AI-Induced Elf Unemployment?: Santa complains he may need AI to decipher the AI-generated letters, leading to the loss of real elf jobs.
• Monetary Woes: He jokes about the costs of decoding AI letters, “That’s why I gotta monetize this because I ain’t making nothing right now.” (17:21–17:32)

5. Changing of the Guard: Leadership and Elf HR (22:43–25:05)

• Santa’s Step-Back Role: Jokingly admits delegating all management to Mrs. Claus and cranky elves.
• Elf Performance Reviews: Formerly handled by Santa but now assigned to “Cranky” or “Crunchy” Elf.
• Tragedy at the North Pole: Santa claims the “Corona Elf” was eaten by the Abominable Snowman post-dentist’s death—riffing on “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s” plot.
• Santa: “That wasn’t so much a movie. That was like a biography.” (25:35–25:49)

6. Santa’s Ennui: Quiet Quitting & Marital Woes (26:19–29:28)

• Quiet Quitting: Jeremy accuses Santa of coasting, delegating, and losing touch. Santa echoes the burnout, “It was never my intention to do this as long as I have.” (26:43)
• Mrs. Claus Leaves: Santa reveals Mrs. Claus “went to Venice” a year and a half ago, and claims it’s “no big deal”—but his therapist recommended facing his issues on the podcast.
• Shadow Banning Jeremy: Santa admits to holding a grudge and “shadow banning” Jeremy McCarthy after Mrs. Claus’s last appearance on the pod.

7. Pop Culture and the Grinch Overshadowing Santa (20:11–21:42)

• Grinch Resentment: Santa is peeved by the Grinch’s overwhelming presence in commercials and pop culture despite being “the guy who hates Christmas.”
  • Santa: “Why is he getting all the spotlights?...The whole point of his character is that he hates Christmas.” (20:18–20:39)
• Walter Goggins as the Grinch: Santa finds out about the actor’s new role and threatens to put him on the naughty list.

8. The Naughty/Nice List Rapid Fire (34:12–46:11)

A lightning round where Jeremy proposes the following figures for Santa’s judgment—with commentary:

• O.J. Simpson – “Dead.” (35:55)
• Turkey from Jeremy’s Story – “Dead.” (36:10)
• Patrick Mahomes – “Nice…Are you sure you want to go into this?...I know the deal that you made.” (36:18–36:43)
• Lavetti Vegas (former guest) – “Nice…but barely. He’s gotta take care of himself in the DMs.” (37:05–37:18)
• Kyle Oda (Jeremy’s brother) – “Nice.” (37:35)
• Lane Kiffin (football coach) – “Naughty…No remorse. So, yeah, it’s a naughty Lane.” (37:42–38:27)
• Jim Harbaugh (former Michigan coach) – “Nice…But only because the list was set before November.” (38:34–39:29)
• Philip Rivers (NFL QB) – “Nice. Permanently on the nice list…he’s getting very, very close to the household with the most individual deliveries.” (39:41–40:07)
• Johnny Palermo (Producer) – Santa is harsh, referencing a bad gift basket and Palermo’s partial Italian heritage but admits, “I put him on the list to even get considered in the first place.” (43:12–43:28)
• Eric Larson (2025 Guest of the Year) – “Nice. Very tall guy. Handsome. Sound sleeper.” (43:53–44:32)
• Dez Pearson (child, nominee) – “Naughty. He’s got to be nicer to his wife.” (44:47–45:08)
• Cisco (musician) – “Nice. Gave him 50 years on the nice list for ‘the song of a generation.’” (45:20–45:43)
• Taylor Swift – “Naughty…Did you listen to her new album? Tons of premarital sex.” (46:10–46:24)
• Grant Pearson (movie reviewer) – “Nice. I actually follow him on Letterboxd.” (46:37–47:09)
• Joe Exotic (Tiger King, in prison) – “Pending…But if you’re in prison, you broke the law. You’re on the naughty list.” (49:44–50:17)

9. Santa’s ‘Controversial’ Sauna Session with Jeffrey Epstein (51:55–53:59)

• Epstein Connection: Santa is evasive and awkwardly deflects questions about being in a hot tub with Epstein.
  • Santa: "Just hanging in the sauna, eating ice cream. It was a Christmas miracle." (53:48–53:59)
  • Jeremy bluntly presses, “A man that's very involved with children probably doesn’t want involved in this is all I'm saying.” (53:03)

10. Philosophical Santa – The Meaning of Christmas? (54:31–54:49)

• Santa Summarizes the Season: With a final, almost existential shrug, he says:
  • “I just think of the meaning of the season…Gifts delivered by Santa. Somebody that loves Christmas, that loves merriment and mirth. When's the last time you mirthed?” (54:31–54:49)
• Jeremy admits to being overdue, to which Santa aptly replies:
  • “That's why you're so restless at night.” (54:49–54:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Press Junkets:

  • “I am different in the mall because I'm on the clock…I don't know what the audience…of this show is, but Santa ain't getting no kickback.” – Santa Claus (10:16–10:47)

• On cookies:

  • “Get me some good cookies.” – Santa Claus (12:26–12:34)

• On AI:

  • “Kids now are just putting it in there and it's spitting out gibberish…I need an AI that can read the letters and then spit me out a thing. And you know what that's going to say? A bill.” – Santa Claus (16:16–17:21)

• On Mrs. Claus Leaving:

  • “She went to Venice. Hanging out there. It's no big deal. I'm sure she'll be back.” – Santa Claus (28:13–28:24)

• On Taylor Swift’s New Album:

  • “Did you listen to her new album? Tons of premarital sex…Santa, Santa, don't go for that.” – Santa Claus (46:15–46:24)

• On Handling Awkward Situations:

  • “Anytime I run into something uncomfortable...I just think of the meaning of the season.” – Santa Claus (54:26–54:34)

Selected Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:26] – Santa’s return; Italian ban riff
• [07:28] – Spin class & Santa’s physique
• [10:16] – Santa vents about press and egg shortages
• [14:38] – Discussion about AI ruining the Naughty/Nice list
• [20:11] – The Grinch overshadowing Santa
• [22:43] – Elf HR and tragic backstory
• [26:43] – Santa’s feelings about 'quiet quitting'
• [34:12] – Start of the Naughty/Nice List lightning round
• [46:10] – Taylor Swift’s “naughty” status explanation
• [51:55] – Probing Santa’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein
• [54:31] – On the meaning of Christmas and “mirth”

Tone & Style

Jeremy and Santa maintain a quick, sarcastic, roast-heavy banter reminiscent of classic irreverent comedy podcasts. Santa's character swings between self-deprecating, world-weary, and sharp-tongued, with moments of surprising vulnerability and offbeat philosophical insights. The tone is cheeky, contemporary, and at times pushes into dark comedy, especially in riffs about Santa’s burnout, controversial associations, and pop culture grievances.

In Sum:
This episode flips the typical holiday script, showing a battle-hardened Father Christmas whose patience for both modernity and tradition is wearing thin. Despite it all, Santa’s underlying affection for the season emerges—if only when reminded to “mirth.” The result is both a comic deconstruction of holiday mythology and a sly commentary on burnout, cultural change, and the pitfalls of public image in a digital age.