The JTrain Podcast

Episode: Christmas Lists, Blow Up Santas, and NYE Parties – Ticked Off Tuesday
Host: Jared Freid
Date: December 23, 2025

Overview

In this lively "Ticked Off Tuesday" edition, comedian Jared Freid, a.k.a. Uncle JTrain, invites listeners to share in the catharsis of complaining about everyday annoyances — especially those heightened by the holiday season. From the psychological pitfalls of Christmas lists to blow-up lawn ornaments gone wild, parking nightmares, and the frustrations of digital life, Jared delivers both his own gripes and those of his listeners with his signature blend of sarcasm, empathy, and comic relief.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jared’s Opening Rant: Holiday Edition Complaints

• Relatability of “Ticked Off Tuesday”
  Jared opens with a classic gripe about the “Tuesday with no feel” — the post-weekend, pre-next-weekend drag, tying it to the need for communal venting.

  “It’s time to get ticked off. Complain with your gripe. Right now your friend Uncle J Train is here to tell you that you’re right.” (00:00)

• Holiday Podcasting & Dedication
  Jared laments that many podcasts take the holidays off, but not him:

  “You know who ain’t [taking time off]? Your dear old Uncle JTrain. I am every week here… I don’t know if I’m getting enough credit here for all, for all the talk. I never shut up. And it’s for you.” (03:00)

• Shower Door Design & Laundry Woes

  • Annoyed at his shower door that forces you to get “spit in the face” with cold water when turning it on.
  • Laundry product labels are confusing: detergent and fabric softener are hard to distinguish.

    “Why are we writing detergent and fabric softener really small on the bottle? ... I poured the fabric softener into the detergent hole. And in my mind that means you’ve broken the whole thing.” (05:30)

2. Modern Christmas Decor Gone Mad

• Blow-Up Santas and Lawn Ornaments Jared reminisces about old-school, homemade lawn decorations and critiques the progression to elaborate — and sometimes creepy — blow-up Santas:

  “I recently saw a blow up Santa that looks like it’s sneaking into a window. I think we’ve gone a little too far… what’s next? We’re going to see Santa, you know, banging some guy’s wife in the window and we’ll go, ‘No, it’s a blow up. Don’t worry.’” (09:40)

3. Dividing Christmas Playlists

• He proposes a separation of modern pop and traditional Christmas music:

  “As a Jew, I’m here to have fun, be amongst the season… I don’t want ‘Noel’ on the same album as ‘Jingle Bell Rock’… Let’s have a separation of church and rock.” (11:40)

4. Delray Beach (and Everywhere Else): Parking Nightmares

• Jared and listeners discuss the frustration of restrictive yet ambiguous parking lot signage and the persistent lack of parking in beach towns:

  “If I’m parking in the lot for the grocery store at 11pm, I think we can, like, be okay with this.” (13:10)

5. Gym Etiquette: Anxieties and Overachievers

• Jared describes his encounter with a fellow gym-goer who wipes down not just equipment, but the treadmill’s floor as well:

  “If you’re going to wipe the floor of your treadmill, I need you to look around to all the other people in the gym and say, ‘Hey, I’m crazy... Don’t let my insanity make you feel anxious.’” (14:15)

Listener Complaints & Jared’s Responses

[19:45] Christmas Lists: Gift Anxiety and Parental Contradictions

• Listener Complaint: The emotional labor and vulnerability involved in crafting a Christmas list for parents, especially when others in the family don’t participate or parents ignore your submissions and ask about unrelated items.

  “Making a Christmas gift list is maybe the most… might be the most vulnerable thing that could ever be asked of someone. Make me a list of all the things you think you des[erve]. No. I want out of that game.” – Jared (21:50)

• Jared’s Take:
  • The list request becomes a trap for judgment and self-doubt.
  • Relates to his own experience with a parent who asks for your order but then second-guesses it.

    “Don’t ask me. You want to be my nutritionist? Get me the wrap, and then I’ll deal with it, and then I’ll not eat it so that I can go get what I want.” (24:10)

[26:00] Long Beach Show: Parking Frustrations

• Listener Complaint: Paid more for the Uber than the ticket, circled for half an hour, hard to enjoy a night out when parking logistics are such a headache.

  “I have an absolute disdain for places where there is no place to park — but it’s also too far from most places to Uber. The Uber for my house to your show tonight was more than the ticket itself.” (Listener, 27:40)

• Jared’s Take: Coastal and resort towns everywhere have this problem, and with Uber prices rising, neither option feels good anymore.

[31:05] AirPods & Parental Tech Troubles

• Listener Complaint: Parents claim they can’t hear you on AirPods, but nobody else complains.

  “How can I have a conversation with everyone else in my life with my AirPods on and no one has any issues? Then the moment I call my mom… she immediately complains that she can’t hear me.” (Listener, 31:20)

• Jared’s Take: Older generations get easily distracted, blame new tech, and then make you feel guilty.

  “If you can hear me enough to complain about the noise you’re hearing, then you can hear me. You hear me? Do you hear me now? You do.” (33:40)

[34:20] NYE & Holiday Event Ads: Geo-Targeting Fail

• Listener Complaint: Gets ads for events in totally different cities, making finding real local options more difficult.

  “It is not natural to see how great the weather is in Florida while you’re looking at darkness and frigid temperatures… This is where the internet is too large.” – Jared (35:45)

• Jared’s Take:
  • Unimpressed by the lack of ad targeting given modern tech.
  • Pitches an idea for well-curated, exclusive NYE singles events/dinners.

    “I’d pay $500 to know that I am going to a dinner where everyone … is single. … I actually think this is a great idea for New Year’s Eve.” (37:40)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Tuesday’s Vibe:

  “You’re angry and you don’t even know why. Enjoy this podcast. It’ll help you get to Friday.” (00:15)

• On the Blow-Up Lawn Ornament Craze:

  “Now you can go to the store and buy blow up Santas that are like doing all the things… I think we’ve gone a little too far.” (09:50)

• On Christmas Playlists:

  “Let’s have a separation of church and rock.” (12:05)

• On Tech and Parents:

  “My mom will talk more to people around her about how she’s talking to me on the phone than she will talk to me on the phone.” (33:10)

• On the Modern Comparison Trap:

  “The comparison game. They say comparison is the thief of joy, but we look at feeds of things to compare ourselves to every day.” (36:20)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 — Opening “Ticked Off Tuesday” monologue
• 04:10 — Jared’s personal moving/household complaints (shower, laundry, detergent)
• 09:40 — Blow-up Santa/lawn ornament rant
• 11:40 — Christmas music & playlist separation
• 13:10 — Parking lot signage and local parking gripes
• 14:15 — Gym etiquette: the overly thorough treadmill wiper
• 19:45 — First listener complaint: Anxiety over Christmas lists
• 26:00 — Listener complaint: Long Beach parking woes
• 31:05 — Listener complaint: Parental AirPods complaints
• 34:20 — Listener complaint: Irrelevant NYE/holiday event ads and local event struggles
• 37:40 — Jared’s “singles-only NYE dinner” party pitch

Tone and Style

Jared remains in character as your witty, neurotic Jewish uncle, poking fun at himself and the cultural quirks of the holidays while voicing (and validating) mundane frustrations. The episode is conversational, self-deprecating, fast-paced, and peppered with sardonic humor and relatability.

For listeners and non-listeners alike, this episode is equal parts group therapy, standup, and a hilarious holiday survival guide — perfect for anyone feeling a little “ticked off” by modern life.