The MeatEater Podcast: Ep. 804

Title: Santa (!) and the World Record Rock Skipper | MeatEater Radio Live!
Date: December 12, 2025
Host: Spencer (Main Host), with Seth, Phil, Santa Claus, Kurt Steiner, and others

Episode Overview

This festive, humor-laden episode of the MeatEater Podcast’s live radio show blends outdoor storytelling with holiday spirit. The hosts welcome back a "very special guest"—Santa Claus—for the annual MeatEater Radio gift exchange. The centerpiece interview features Kurt Steiner, the world record rock skipper, who gives a masterclass on stone skipping. The crew also reviews favorite hunting/fishing gear and answers live listener questions on topics from processing deer shanks to trapping and wild game bullets.

Table of Contents

1. Whitetail Stories & Deer Hunting
2. Santa Claus’s Grand Entrance & Gift Exchange
3. Listener Q&A
4. Interview: Kurt Steiner, World Record Rock Skipper
5. Gear Talk & Audience Feedback
6. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
7. Episode Timestamps

Whitetail Stories & Deer Hunting

• Golden Triangle in Illinois:
  • Spencer opens with a personal story about killing the biggest whitetail of his life in the famed "Golden Triangle" of Illinois: Pike, Adams, and Brown counties.
  • Discussion about local deer populations, weather events (deep snow), hunting strategies, and unique "dirty sheds" leading to gnarly racks.
  • Notable moment:
    • “It was like the most excited I’ve been about a hunt in 2025... My anticipation is so high that there’s no possible way it can meet my expectations... And then the biggest buck on the farm showed up.” —Spencer [04:28]

Santa Claus’s Grand Entrance & Gift Exchange

• Surprise Studio Visit [07:42]:
  • Santa (a recurring holiday guest) enters with a sack of gifts, candy canes, and mini Fireball bottles—cracking jokes about parking the reindeer and his distaste for Fireball whiskey.
• Gift Exchange Parade [08:00–28:05]:
  • Each crew member opens their Secret Santa gifts, with playful ribbing and reactions:
    • Phil receives a heartfelt card, Sailor Jerry’s rum, and ground elk.
    • Max receives the board game Cascadia.
    • Brody gets reader glasses and ice fishing lures.
    • Ryan Callahan receives a bald eagle tie and a shirt: “Sorry I’m late. I didn’t want to come.”
    • Spencer gets halibut and king salmon.
    • Seth gets a pile of seemingly regifted items (an old T-shirt, LeBron jersey, worn-out shoes, and a huge carrot dog toy), then homemade apple butter, cookies, and salsa from Spencer.
  • A small caper is revealed—the regifted items were nabbed from Santa’s own house by Mrs. Claus and Max.
  • Notable sequence:
    • Santa, flustered about his possessions being gifted: “These are all my most treasured possessions... Was it you? You better talk to Mrs. Claus.” [22:00]

Listener Q&A

Hunting, Cooking, and Trapping [32:55; 68:21]

• Processing Deer Shanks for Osso Buco:
  • Tips: Use a Sawzall with a bone blade and/or ask your butcher for a band saw.
    • “Cut through the meat you can with a knife and then do the rest of it with a sawzall and you’ll be just fine.” —Spencer [33:41]
• Best weather for deer hunting in cold temps:
  • “Absolutely, no. That is the best time to go out, especially if you have access to ag in Iowa... I’d be very excited about those temperatures.” —Spencer [36:12]
• Cartridges, wound channels, and bullet choice for big game:
  • Santa: “I think you want big wounds. Wounds are what kill. Energy doesn’t kill. Big wounds kill. Full penetration... I like a bullet that upsets violently.” [71:23]
• Trapping advice for Minnesota bobcats and fishers:
  • Seth: “Fisher trapping I’ve done in hardwoods mixed with some white pine... Bobcats like rocky stuff—outcroppings or thick brushy river bottom full of birds.” [68:50]
• Too many D&D episodes?
  • Listener jokes reflect fan polarization.

Interview: Kurt Steiner, World Record Rock Skipper

[28:00–54:38]

• Kurt’s Record Journey:

  • First set world record in 2002, then bested by a friend in 2007.
  • In 2013, after saving 500 stones, he nailed the 88 skips record at a carefully chosen spot, sharing technical details about wind, water, and stone selection.
  • Camera angle and video for verification critical.
    • “I just threw the hell out of that stone... I had a group of counts between 88 and 90. I just took the lowest one, figuring that’s kind of like everybody agrees on that. And it’s held up.” —Kurt [39:09]

• Competition formats worldwide:

  • US: Skip counts rule (number of bounces).
  • Europe: Distance (called “skimming”).
  • Japan: Judges for aesthetics, distance, and skip count combined.

• Choosing the Perfect Rock:

  • Flat bottom, smooth texture, sharp side edge (if water flat), fits palm, ~4–6 ounces, no irregularities on the bottom edge.
  • “If the bottom edge is too jagged, it will bite the water... The sharpness has to feather the water.” —Kurt [44:00]

• Form & Physics Masterclass:

  • Stand at 45 degrees, come down at the water, use a low angle for better skips, ensure proper tilt, add spin, and “pre-load” the right side down 2 degrees for right-handers for stability.
  • "There’s five things to think about... Other things is the spin… Hold the stone at the longest point on the rock, and if you want a pro tip, give it a little right hand roll..." —Kurt [50:25]

• Audience Questions:

  • Water surface (prefer gentle ripples over dead calm).
  • Natural vs. artificial stones: extra prestige for mastering natural stones.
  • Injuries and aging affecting competition longevity.

• Memorable Moment:

  • Santa, totally engrossed: “That’s the best interview we’ve ever done... I was fully entranced by our guest.” [54:42]

Gear Talk & Audience Feedback

[57:22–68:13]

Crew’s Gear Picks

• Santa:
  • First Light wool-brimmed hat—warm and functional with a wide brim; fits his outdoor uniform [58:35].
  • Asiak tripod head—lightweight pan head for stability with large binoculars and scopes, allows for “light tripod man” lifestyle [59:55].
• Seth:
  • Milkweed as a windicator—cheap, natural, superior to synthetic puffer bottles for tracking wind [62:43].
• Spencer:
  • Gas can dilemma resolved—crowdsourced feedback from 161 listeners. VP Racing gas cans came out on top for reliability, speed, and ease of use, despite being technically “not for fuel” cans [64:43–68:01].

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Santa, on Fireball:
  • “I have a lot of [Fireball] at the house, and I don’t like it. It’s too sweet. I drink it too fast.” [11:04]
• Gift Exchange Running Joke:
  • “These are all my most treasured possessions.” —Santa [22:30]
• Kurt on rock skipping:
  • “I just threw the hell out of that stone.” [39:09]
• Santa’s firearms wisdom:
  • “Big wounds kill. Energy doesn’t kill. Full penetration... I like a bullet that upsets violently.” [71:23]
• On audience engagement:
  • “Try stealing from Santa. Now I’m really in the mood... I’m sweating again.” —Santa [28:08]
• Holiday humor:
  • “Santa, people are asking if you’ve been drinking already.”
    • “No, not yet.” —Santa [11:53]

Episode Timestamps

• [02:22] – Show intro, whitetail story from Illinois
• [07:42] – Santa’s dramatic entrance
• [08:00–28:05] – Secret Santa gift exchange
• [32:55] – Listener Q&A: deer processing, hunting tactics, trapping
• [36:01] – More listener questions
• [37:28] – Kurt Steiner interview: his record, stone selection, technique
• [54:38] – Crew reacts to Kurt’s interview
• [57:22] – Gear Talk: Favorite gear from each host
• [64:43] – Spencer reveals the listeners' favorite gas cans
• [68:21] – More Q&A: trapping, bullets, roadkill
• [79:42] – Holiday wrap-up and sign-off

This episode blends classic MeatEater humor, deep outdoor knowledge, and festive mayhem with the treat of a world-class stone skipper’s insider secrets. Whether you’re here for the hunting advice, nostalgic gift swapping, or to become a better rock skipper, you’ll find a warm, insightful, and very merry hour with the MeatEater crew.