Skateboarding Down Mt. Crumpit! with Tony Hawk | 5

Summary

'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast: Episode 5 – "Skateboarding Down Mt. Crumpit! with Tony Hawk"

Release Date: December 4, 2024
Podcast: 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast
Host: The Grinch (voiced by James Austin Johnson)
Guest: Tony Hawk

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Episode Overview

In the fifth episode of 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast, titled "Skateboarding Down Mt. Crumpit! with Tony Hawk," The Grinch welcomes legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk to Whoville's favorite talk show. This episode blends humor, celebrity interviews, and the ongoing mystery of the missing letters to Santa, positioning The Grinch both as a reluctant holiday enthusiast and an accidental detective.

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Guest Introduction and Initial Banter

The episode begins with The Grinch introducing Tony Hawk amidst a humorous exchange about Rodney Clernhams and his quirky zoo inhabitants. Despite Rodney canceling, the stage is set for a lively conversation with Tony.

• The Grinch [00:25]: "How you doing, Tony?"
• Tony Hawk [00:25]: "Thank you. It's good. It's not that nice here, but I appreciate the invite."

The Grinch humorously presents various Whoville creatures, showcasing his unique hosting style that blends festivity with his characteristic grumpiness.

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Grinch’s Rant on Video Games and Streaming

Transitioning into his signature monologue, The Grinch vents his frustrations with modern video games and streaming culture. He expresses disdain for the complexity and length of games, particularly criticizing the inclusion of lengthy cutscenes and the challenges of gameplay mechanics.

• The Grinch [03:53]: "Personally, I can't think of anything more boring and uninteresting than watching a stranger play video games."
• The Grinch [05:30]: Detailed his struggles with a game called Skyfort, highlighting his comedic mishaps and lack of gaming prowess.

This segment is interspersed with a humorous mock gaming session featuring Tony Hawk, where The Grinch attempts to navigate Skyfort, leading to playful banter and light-hearted frustration.

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Conversation on Skateboarding and Potential Collaborations

Shifting gears, The Grinch engages Tony Hawk in a discussion about skateboarding, its challenges, and potential collaborations. The conversation delves into Tony's experiences, the evolution of skateboarding, and The Grinch's whimsical ideas for integrating skate culture with Whoville's festive spirit.

• The Grinch [09:09]: "Now, I'm not really an extreme sports guy... How are you feeling these days? Is everything still working? I mean, you still skate, right?"
• Tony Hawk [09:21]: Affirmatively discusses his continued passion for skateboarding despite aging, emphasizing the importance of warming up.

The Grinch proposes a playful collaboration between Tony Hawk and Hot Wheels, envisioning a unique blend of skateboarding and holiday-themed playsets.

• The Grinch [13:02]: "Tony Hawk, Hot Wheels, Skate Collection X, Grinch. Okay. We do a collab."
• Tony Hawk [13:12]: Enthusiastically agrees, highlighting the potential for innovative products.

This segment is rich with creative ideas and showcases the dynamic chemistry between The Grinch and Tony Hawk, blending skateboarding culture with the whimsical elements of Whoville.

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Tony Hawk’s Personal Life and Holiday Traditions

The conversation takes a personal turn as Tony Hawk shares insights into his family life and holiday traditions. He discusses the joy of spending time with his six children and the significance of family during the festive season.

• The Grinch [15:14]: "How about some organ? Yeah, that's nice."
• Tony Hawk [15:06]: "We have six children total."

The Grinch humorously inquires about Tony's Christmas celebrations, leading Tony to share heartwarming moments, including tandem skating with his family.

• The Grinch [16:50]: "And you're all dropping into the bowl at the same time?"
• Tony Hawk [16:59]: Confirms and elaborates on a family video showcasing their skating routine.

This heartfelt exchange adds depth to Tony's character and bridges the gap between his public persona and personal life, emphasizing the episode's blend of humor and genuine connection.

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Ongoing Mystery: Interrogation of the Mailman

As part of the podcast's recurring narrative, The Grinch and Max continue their investigation into the missing letters to Santa. In this episode, they bring the Whoville mailman in for an impromptu interrogation, blending comedic sleuthing with the festive mystery storyline.

• The Grinch [20:30]: "There's something fishy about this guy. So we're gonna grill him until he cracks."
• Mailman [22:05]: Denies involvement, expressing concern over the missing letters and its impact on the children of Whoville.

The Grinch employs his unique interrogation style, complete with playful accusations and humorous critiques of the mailman's fashion choices.

• The Grinch [21:21]: "Do us all a favor and cover up those knees."
• Mailman [22:23]: Explains his innocence and laments the disappearance of the letters.

This segment maintains the podcast's entertaining blend of mystery and humor, keeping listeners engaged in the overarching plot while providing light-hearted interactions.

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Notable Quotes

• The Grinch on Video Games [03:53]: "Personally, I can't think of anything more boring and uninteresting than watching a stranger play video games."
• Tony Hawk on Warming Up [09:38]: "I think they hate me more than I hate them. I'm just begging them to keep working."
• Grinch's Collaboration Idea [13:02]: "Tony Hawk, Hot Wheels, Skate Collection X, Grinch. Okay. We do a collab."
• Tony Hawk on Family [15:06]: "We have six children total."
• The Grinch’s Interrogation Style [20:30]: "There's something fishy about this guy. So we're gonna grill him until he cracks."

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Conclusion

Episode 5 of 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast masterfully intertwines celebrity interviews, humor, and an ongoing festive mystery. The dynamic between The Grinch and Tony Hawk adds a fresh and engaging layer to the show, while the investigation into the missing letters to Santa continues to captivate listeners. This episode not only entertains but also deepens the narrative, promising more intriguing developments in the quest to save Christmas in Whoville.

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Stay Tuned:
Don't miss out on future episodes where The Grinch continues his journey to solve the mystery of the missing letters to Santa, alongside Cindy Lou and Max. Subscribe to 'Tis The Grinch Holiday Podcast on the Wondery App or your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[The Grinch]

Wondery subscribers can listen to every episode of Tis the Grinch Holiday podcast. Ad free. Join Wondery to get exclusive Christmas mystery bonus content. Start your free trial in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Hey, everybody, it's a Grinch here. Let's just check in on our guest for today. How you doing, Tony?

[Tony Hawk]

Thank you. It's good. It's not that nice here, but I appreciate the invite.

[The Grinch]

Hey, hey, do you mind sharing a green room with my other guest tonight who is the star of the upcoming documentary the Ferret King and owner of local, unlicensed, totally legal zoo in Whoville, Rodney Clernhams. Cindy's just gonna stash some of his furry friends in your green room. You don't mind, do you?

[Tony Hawk]

Oh, I guess not. Are they rabid? Will they infect me?

[The Grinch]

Here, I'll introduce you to him. This is Conway, the southwestern farting ferret.

[Tony Hawk]

Oh, nice.

[The Grinch]

This is Celia, the two headed clouded leopard who snores like an old timey car horn. Okay, this is a sneezing capybara named Cleo.

[Tony Hawk]

I didn't realize they'd have so much personality.

[The Grinch]

Oh, yeah, these guys are pretty worked up. They've been bouncing around in the back of a ranger all the way up, so they're kind of hungry too. But Cleo can't have carrots. Remember that. And this is a very rare hairless, hiccuping hippo named Horatio.

[Tony Hawk]

Oh, I love hippos. I've never been so close to one.

[The Grinch]

Oh, yeah, just, you know, keep your toes away. He thinks they're bananas. Okay, watch that, Cindy. Oh, Rodney Clarms has to cancel. Oh, okay, gotcha.

[Announcer]

From Wondry and Dr. Seuss coming to you from his home studio, teetering on the edge of Mount Crumpet. Don't look down. Don't look down. It's Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast. This week's special guest, he's a skateboarding legend and not the first Hawk we've had up in here. It's Tony Hawk. Plus you know her as a pajama wearing witness to a Christmas crime. But now she's a big time podcast producer. Cindy Lou who.

[Cindy Lou Who]

Hello, everyone.

[Announcer]

And how can someone who lives with a Grinch be this cute? It's Max the dog. Now, he's green, not with envy, but with scurvy. Here he is. It's the Grinch.

[The Grinch]

Hello. Hi. And all the best greeting words you can imagine. Grinch here on the mic and on the bike. I'm on my exercise bike right now. I thought I'd Try to get in shape. As I'm doing this, I realize I. I hate exercise. Ugh. Enough. Take a hike. Bike. There we go. Hi, everyone. Great to be here. Great to be anywhere when you're a hotshot media influencer, digital creator, slash podcaster, like I am now. That's right. I started out not loving this gig, but what's that? Slowly, over time, I've gone from internationally reviled to universally tolerated. And now I'm everywhere. Some reason I'm like the new Steve Harvey. Anyway, here I am now. I was going to launch right into one of my signature grumpy monologues, but my heart has been touched by the magic of the holiday spirit. So I kind of just want to talk about tinsel, wreaths, fruitcakes, and jingle bells. Kidding. Ah, Grinch mad about something. Grinch rant. Let's do this.

[Announcer]

Hold on to your seats. Keep on your pants. The Grinch is going on one of his rants.

[The Grinch]

So now that I'm a hit with you youngsters, I've decided to take a look from time to time at what else you kids are into. So I hopped on the old hootube and took a little looky loo.

[Cindy Lou Who]

Yes. Did you say Cindy Lou?

[The Grinch]

No, I said Lookie Lou. I was being cute.

[Cindy Lou Who]

Oh, sorry.

[The Grinch]

Anyway, it seems a lot of you youtubers like to stream yourselves playing video games. That's right, stream. I know all the terminology. Stream, Twitch, twatch. Personally, I can't think of anything more boring and uninteresting than watching a stranger play video games. But it's not just boring. It's frustrating for me. Why? Because they make it look so easy. I've tried playing video games, and they are so hard. First, I played one of those world civilization building games. You know, where you create your own little society of people and you build a farm, and you build a government building and a financial district and a little downtown and little houses for all the people. Well, all mine ended up having no doors or windows, so no one can get inside. I mean, I'm not an architect. And boom. Next thing I know, civil war, famine and a plague. I don't know why I played that one. I'm not a city planner. I'm a green grump whose idea of leisure is watching two rats fight over a candy cane. And then when you play on the consoles, the controls, you know, not exactly intuitive. Triangle, X, circle, circle, square. What is this? Am I cracking a code? Why does this have to be so complicated? I mean, heavens to Whoville. I'm trying to have fun here, not land to blame. And why are they so long? Well, one reason they put in these overly dramatic little short films in between levels called cutscenes. Oh, great. You just survived the cliffside plane crash. Well, settle in, because here's a completely unnecessary three minute flashback to the Korean War. Yup. Several minutes of backstory, no one needed. They call them cutscenes. Probably because they forgot to cut them. I just don't know why these games have to be so hard. I was playing one where I was in an elite squadron and I was trying to sneak into an enemy's warehouse headquarters. And you know what I did? I spent half an hour trying to open a door. I just kept lunging for the knob. Lunging, lunging, lunging, lunging at a weird angle so it looked like my guy was karate chopping the doorknob. So last thing on this, I played something called Skyfort. It was this really cool, expansive world where you can build things and jump and fly around. And I was playing online multiplayer, and there were a bunch of teenage brats on my team roasting me. I couldn't figure out how to do anything. I recorded some of the gameplay here. Listen.

[Tony Hawk]

Ready up.

[The Grinch]

Hello. Hi. Am I. Am I in the game? How do I enter the game?

[Tony Hawk]

You gotta. Ready up, toggle down, right, stick and.

[Announcer]

Press X. Dude, who are you?

[The Grinch]

I'm. I'm Gary. The teenager. Yeah, it says I'm still in the lobby.

[Announcer]

Gary, pick up your shield. Press the circle.

[The Grinch]

I press again, but I just keep tapping on it like I'm banging a drum. Bro, you are trash. I'm not trash.

[Announcer]

Push the directional down. Okay, no, that's your knob. Push the D pad down.

[The Grinch]

All right, weapons engaged.

[Announcer]

Follow us, bro.

[The Grinch]

Oh, my God. I'm in the game. I'm in the game. Hey, I don't know what I'm doing. Somebody tell me what you do.

[Announcer]

You need to press down on the stick.

[The Grinch]

All right, back to the stick while.

[Announcer]

Pressing X. I'm pressing X. Then to load. Triangle. Left button. Left trigger. Right trigger. All right, right button.

[The Grinch]

You lost me.

[Announcer]

It's a shortcut.

[The Grinch]

Okay, I tried to do that, and what I think I just did is dropped a working grenade at my feet. Is that good?

[Announcer]

No, dude, we're only two minutes into the session, bro.

[The Grinch]

We were.

[Announcer]

We're two minutes in.

[The Grinch]

That happen. Ready up. Now I'm in the lobby again. Good times. Re listening, I realize we're probably all really great friends now. Hit me up, my dudes, I'm ready to return to Skyforce.

[Announcer]

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.

[The Grinch]

You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus. You're as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch. You're a bad banana with a greasy black pill. My guest tonight is a skateboarding goat. Sandy, I thought I told you no more animal acts. All right. Oh, oh, goat. It's all caps. It's goat. Like greatest of all time. All right, I got it. All right, let's try it again. My guest tonight is, like, legit. One of the most influential pro skaters of all time. He's a legend behind Tony Hawk's pro skater. Dozens of signature tricks which everybody just like, steals his stuff all the time. It kind of drives me nuts. Please welcome the goat, the birdman, Mr. Tony Hawk. Tony, thanks for being on my show.

[Tony Hawk]

Thanks, Grinch. It's an honor. And I'm excited to be here.

[The Grinch]

Now, I'm not really an extreme sports guy. The most extreme I get is turning around in the shower to wash my back. It's very slippery. How are you feeling these days? Is everything still working? I mean, you still skate, right?

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah, everything's working. I do. I'm actually going to go skate my ramp right after I'm done with this. You know, I've definitely had my share of bumps and bruises. Some are a little more chronic than others, but, you know, as I get older, I realize how the importance of warming up.

[The Grinch]

Yeah, you gotta warm up.

[Tony Hawk]

That I used to not care about at all.

[The Grinch]

Yeah. Before I go out and allegedly steal Christmas, I always do, you know, some toe touches. You know, I'll do some planking. Really into planking. Skateboarding is so dangerous. I mean, why do you hate your bones so much?

[Tony Hawk]

I think they hate me more than I hate them. I'm just begging them to keep working.

[The Grinch]

Children wear a helmet. Okay?

[Tony Hawk]

I can honestly say that wearing pads is why I get to do this at my age.

[The Grinch]

Tell me about getting out of bed in the morning. I mean, what. What hurts the most?

[Tony Hawk]

My neck. My neck for sure. Usually when I am just skating on my own and it's more spontaneous, I.

[The Grinch]

Keep skating on my own. I'm at the skate park doing some skating. Do you like Robin?

[Tony Hawk]

What's that?

[The Grinch]

Nevermind. I've played Tony Hawk's pro skater.

[Tony Hawk]

Really?

[The Grinch]

And I start grinding. I'm going 90, 100, 110 miles an hour.

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah, I think there's a version of that when you're skating where you have a routine going and it's kind of like building up your special meter.

[The Grinch]

Yeah, yeah, right.

[Tony Hawk]

And as you land harder tricks, especially in a competition, you get this other confidence building that you probably didn't realize that you had or maybe you shouldn't have. And then suddenly you start trying the absolute hardest stuff because you're on a roll.

[The Grinch]

Because you're on a roll.

[Tony Hawk]

That's when we have our special meter up.

[The Grinch]

And you've kind of found a way to video gamify that, you know, I want a video game. I really think I could lead a video game. I think I could revolutionize skating and video games at the same time the way that you did. Everybody says it's like, oh, you gotta do the like. Maybe it's a side scroller where you're just like taking all the presents. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. You don't understand. I want it to be like Myst. You ever play Myst?

[Tony Hawk]

Yes.

[The Grinch]

I want people to be clicking around in my house trying to figure out how to turn on my tv, you know? Yeah, I think it'd sell a lot of copies.

[Tony Hawk]

Huh. What would be the objective of the game? What's the end goal?

[The Grinch]

I think that the journey is the destination. There's no points, and I want to leave people with more questions than they had going in.

[Tony Hawk]

Okay.

[The Grinch]

It's like Eraserhead, the video game.

[Tony Hawk]

That sounds like your style. Very on brand for you.

[The Grinch]

Oh, yeah, totally. Now, Cindy threw me for a loop the other day. I said, what are you doing? And she said, I'm skateboarding with my fingers. She was playing with your teeny little Hot Wheel skate collection. How dangerous are these things? I don't want her breaking a thumb.

[Tony Hawk]

Oh, not dangerous at all. And they're for all ages.

[The Grinch]

You don't need to wear a helmet to play with this toy here.

[Tony Hawk]

You don't. And they actually come with shoes that you can put on the tips of your fingertips. So the shoes are attached to the skateboard.

[The Grinch]

Okay.

[Tony Hawk]

So you can learn how to fingerboard without actually losing the board.

[The Grinch]

I mean, could you stop innovating for five seconds, Tony?

[Tony Hawk]

Never. Not for the sake of holiday gifts.

[The Grinch]

No, exactly. I mean, Hot Wheels. I've stolen a lot of Hot Wheels in my day.

[Tony Hawk]

I bet. Not mine, though. No, mine always made it through.

[The Grinch]

A Grinch Hot Wheel promotion. Maybe a sleigh. A series of sleighs.

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah. I think it would be a great playset.

[The Grinch]

A playset.

[Tony Hawk]

Not just a signature board, but actual playset. A Grinch playset. You could be the sleigh with all of the toys that you appropriated in the back.

[The Grinch]

Yeah. Appropriated. That's a good. They were all returned.

[Tony Hawk]

Sure.

[The Grinch]

I don't know what everybody's so cranky about. I mean, everybody got.

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah.

[The Grinch]

I mean, you heard them singing down there, everybody was happy. So here's what I'm thinking. Tony Hawk, Hot Wheels, Skate Collection X, Grinch. Okay. We do a collab.

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah. Collab. Yep. I'm in.

[The Grinch]

So we do, like, a Whoville.

[Tony Hawk]

Make sure that the skis on your sled, we can skate them. We could grind them.

[The Grinch]

So we could grind the skis. Maybe you flip over the sleigh.

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah.

[The Grinch]

And it becomes like a little grind sort of set.

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah. We would call that a fun box. It gets sloped. You could use it as a bank. Yeah.

[The Grinch]

Thank you.

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah. You know, that's very altruistic of you to offer your sleigh to use like that. To actually turn it upside down and let us skate it.

[The Grinch]

I don't know that I would describe myself as altruistic.

[Tony Hawk]

I wouldn't either. But you're offering so commodifiable. Oh, okay. It's all for the money.

[The Grinch]

You just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the release of the OG Tony Hawk game. I can see that royal blue N64 cart as clear as yesterday. And there are rumors that you and Activision are cooking up something new. Okay. What's next? Spill the Beansburg, man. I gotta know. Break some news. Give me the scoop. We're doing it on Grinch.

[Tony Hawk]

I can't say much, but we are working on something.

[The Grinch]

You're working on something?

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah. And it's something substantial.

[The Grinch]

It's something substantial.

[Tony Hawk]

How's that? I've said too much.

[The Grinch]

All right. Someone's coming. The cops are outside your door, Tony. You're in breach of your NDA. Activision security is here, and they're all on little skateboards or something. You once played a character named Skateboard Santa where you yell, do a kick flip at unsuspecting youths on the street.

[Tony Hawk]

This is true.

[The Grinch]

While dressed as Santa. Wardrobe aside, shouting at strangers is a Christmas tradition I can support. I love to shout at people. What other Christmas traditions do you partake in? And are they as terrifying as that?

[Tony Hawk]

They aren't. And they aren't as inclusive of the general public. I mean, our holiday tradition is to spend time with our family. We have a pretty large. We have six children total.

[The Grinch]

Six kids?

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah. Yeah.

[The Grinch]

That's a big batch of oatmeal.

[Tony Hawk]

It is.

[The Grinch]

Do you give me permission to spend Christmas shouting commands at the people of Whoville?

[Tony Hawk]

I give you Permission. If it's skateboard related.

[The Grinch]

Okay. So I can go yell at skaters?

[Tony Hawk]

Sure, yeah. Cause they're not gonna. I don't think they're going to back down.

[The Grinch]

I gotta talk to you about. This is a quick beef. We'll get back to the Christmas stuff in a second. But this is a beef of mine with your skateboarder types. All right. I understand there's some bozo with the GoPro. Some bozo with a GoPro running along the guy, and he always abandons it. I feel like I never see the shot they're gonna use.

[Tony Hawk]

You never see the make?

[The Grinch]

Is that what it's called?

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah, the make.

[The Grinch]

Yeah, the make. That's the shot where you finally did it.

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah. You know, we're in a different age of video now, but in the age of videotapes, what you see is the person filming will shoot it. And when they finally get the makeup, they put their hand over the lens so that they can fast forward through the tape until they see their hand on the lens.

[The Grinch]

That's the cut.

[Tony Hawk]

That's the cut. Yeah.

[The Grinch]

That's the cut for the VHS editors.

[Tony Hawk]

That's it. Yeah. Hi, 8 DV cam. Yeah.

[The Grinch]

The kids listening may have no clue what you and I are talking about.

[Tony Hawk]

Now we can just hard it.

[The Grinch]

Yeah. Now, an AI in Cupertino is just like, oh, you mean this one? And you're like, yes, I will take that one. And then they're like, and here's all the credit card numbers you've ever input into our app since 1991. You go, oh, I don't love that. You know that as well. Yeah, okay, fine. Whatever. You love Christmas.

[Tony Hawk]

It makes my heart grow. Let's put that way.

[The Grinch]

Okay. You come in here. You know I've got a heart thing. Yep. You know that if it swells, I'm gonna have an issue, right? All right. You ever do, like, a Christmas card where it's you and the six kids?

[Tony Hawk]

Yes.

[The Grinch]

And you're all dropping into the bowl at the same time? Everybody. You go right down the line. Maybe it's organized by. Maybe it's organized by height.

[Tony Hawk]

There is actually a video that exists online where at the very end of the video, it's me doing tandem skating with each one of my kids and my wife. And there is a shot of my wife and I dropping into the bowl together. And our dog chases us down.

[Announcer]

Ah.

[The Grinch]

Oh, my God. Here it is.

[Tony Hawk]

You would love it.

[The Grinch]

A heart smell. See?

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah. I knew it. I get you, Tony.

[The Grinch]

You got me. I'm having my heart Like I'm gonna.

[Tony Hawk]

Have to send you a link.

[The Grinch]

No, I don't want a link. I don't wanna. I got a heartwarming family moment. Slap me on the back here. Just jar it loose.

[Tony Hawk]

There you go.

[The Grinch]

Thank you, Tony. Sydney, you gotta tell people about this heart thing, all right? Happens every time. Last question, Tony.

[Tony Hawk]

Yes.

[The Grinch]

30 seconds on the clock.

[Tony Hawk]

Okay.

[The Grinch]

Name as many skateboard tricks as you can. Okay. Go.

[Tony Hawk]

Okay. Ollie, kickflip, heelflip, 360. Flip, hardflip, melon, grab, tail, grab. One foot, fakie. Blunt, half cab, caballero. 720, 900. 10, 80, 15 seconds. Nollie. Heelflip, tail slide, revert, backset, ollie, frontside, blunt, backside, blunt.

[The Grinch]

Five seconds.

[Tony Hawk]

Half cab. Blunt nose grind, crooked grind. Smith. Grind time. Tap, feeble grind.

[The Grinch]

Time's up.

[Tony Hawk]

Okay.

[The Grinch]

Feeble grind doesn't count.

[Tony Hawk]

What?

[The Grinch]

And if we had been counting that, I think that would have been really impressive. Unfortunately.

[Tony Hawk]

All that for nothing.

[The Grinch]

Unfortunately, that was just me torturing you. Tony Hawk, thanks for coming up to Mount Crumpet.

[Tony Hawk]

Thank you.

[The Grinch]

He's about to skate right back down it.

[Tony Hawk]

I am?

[The Grinch]

You don't snowboard, though.

[Tony Hawk]

Or hoverboard. I have a hoverboard here.

[The Grinch]

Oh, you have a hoverboard?

[Tony Hawk]

Yeah.

[The Grinch]

Okay, so he's gonna hoverboard down the hill. Tony, thanks for coming in.

[Tony Hawk]

Thanks for having me.

[The Grinch]

Heck of a guest. Smelled nice, too. Really comes through in the audio. We're breaking ground here on this show, folks. It's a sensory experience for the ears and the nose.

[Cindy Lou Who]

I think that smell is you, Mr. Grinch.

[The Grinch]

You're right. What gave it away, the cave breath or the roast beast? Fur grease. Anyway, y'all know what time it is.

[Announcer]

This is a prepaid call from the Whoville Penitentiary.

[The Grinch]

From Wondery and my beautiful but twisted mind. This is cereal spelled with a C, like the breakfast food. The story of Whoville's missing letters to Santa told week by week while I eat my loco puffs. These make me feel crazy. All right, folks, you may recall last week we left off on a thrilling chase sequence where Max was having a hard time keeping up with me chasing our prime suspect, the mailman. Ah, don't get all in your feelings, Max. We all know you couldn't keep up with Old Green Lightning, AKA Me. Nothing to be ashamed of. Except maybe all the pit stops you took along the way. You know, you don't have to pee on everything you see. Anyway, by some stroke of luck, I mean my brilliant detective work. The Whoville mailman in question has agreed to join us in the studio for a little impromptu meet cute, AKA an interrogation. Isn't that right, Cindy?

[Cindy Lou Who]

Yep. Brilliant detective work.

[The Grinch]

There's something fishy about this guy. So we're gonna grill him until he cracks. Good cop, bad cop style. Right, Max? Cindy? Cindy, man.

[Cindy Lou Who]

You got it, Mr. Grinch. But please, go easy on him. He's graciously agreed to tell us everything he knows.

[The Grinch]

Well, hello, Mr. Mailman. Mr. Totally innocent. Not a criminal mastermind at all, Mailman, as you'd have us to believe.

[Mailman]

Hi, Grinch. Hi, Max. Oh, good boy, Max. Okay, belly rubs for the good boy.

[The Grinch]

Max, you're belly rubbing with the enemy. This guy stole the letters to Santa and is letting the whole town blame me. And look, his goofy shoes are the exact same shape as my gorgeous foot. That's the footprint the Houdini twins saw in the snow. We've got our guy.

[Mailman]

Is that Local Puffs?

[The Grinch]

Hey, I'll be the one asking the questions around here.

[Mailman]

Oh, sorry. I'm not trying to be rude. I'm actually excited to be here. I'm a big fan of the show.

[The Grinch]

Really? That seems suspicious and not genuine at all.

[Mailman]

It's true. Your show is my number two most listened to podcast. Right behind who I built this.

[The Grinch]

I'm more of a who did this? Get made guy. Total manzooka's man crotch. Anyway, Mr. Man man, if that is your real name. Stop trying to distract me with compliments. I got questions. First of all, what's up with the short shorts? Is it federal law that I have to look at your knobby kneecaps? And second of all, fess up. You stole those letters, didn't you?

[Mailman]

Oh, yes, I heard about this. A horrible night for all male kind. So terribly sad for the children of Whoville. No letters means no presents. Christmas could be ruined. I feel just horrible.

[The Grinch]

You feel horrible? So you are responsible and your guilty conscience is eating you alive.

[Mailman]

No, far from it. I take my job very seriously. Especially when it comes to something as important as letters to Santa. Perhaps the most precious mail of all.

[The Grinch]

Listen, man, we can do this the the easy way or the hard way.

[Mailman]

Oh, Grinch, it wasn't me. Why would I want to ruin Christmas for the whole town? I have kids. Two sons. Carol and Carol. One spelled with a C and one with a K. And neither of their letters to Santa were delivered either. They are devastated. You really think I would do that to my own children? I'm not a monster. I'm a mailman.

[The Grinch]

Rats. I can't believe I'm saying this, but, dang it, I believe you. The only thing you're guilty of is a crime of fashion. Do us all a favor and cover up those knees. Just get, like, some running tights or something.

[Mailman]

I just don't know what happened to those letters to Santa. How did they disappear? This all feels like a sinister trick. A diabolical prank.

[Tony Hawk]

Hmm.

[The Grinch]

A diabolical prank, you say? Hey, Mr. Mail, what do you know about the Houdini twins?

[Mailman]

Well, I try to say out of neighborhood gossip, but I did hear a rumor that they're on the naughty list this year.

[The Grinch]

Max, I think we've been focusing on finding one culprit when maybe we should have been looking for two. Those precocious prankster punks think they can get the last laugh at my expense. They're about to get grinched. Still working on that catchphrase. Okay, roll the credit. I wouldn't touch you with a 39 and a half foot pole. And they ripp really make them that long? Go off kings. How about some organ? Yeah, that's nice. Okay, wrap it up if you like Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast, you can listen ad free and unlock even more Christmas mystery bonus content by listening on wplus. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app, Spotify, or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.

[Cindy Lou Who]

Tis the Grinch holiday Podcast is a production of Wondery and Dr. Seuss Enterprises, starring James Austin Johnson as the Grinch, with Anjulikunnipadini as Cindy Lou who? And Anthony Atamanik as the announcer. Featuring voice acting by Anthony Atamanick, Jamie Cooper, David Crabb and Vico Ortiz. Ancillary voices generated using 11 labs. This episode was written by Dan Cronin and Joe Redlingschafer. Our sound designer is Jamie Cooper with additional sound design by Kelly Kramerek. Music supervision by Scott Velasquez for Frizz on Sync. Senior producers are Adam Azeroff and Jennifer Klein Walker. Our coordinating producers are Sierra Franco and Mariah Gossett. Sarah Mathis is our managing producer and Callum Plews is our senior managing producer. Audio assembly by Daniel Gonzalez. Carlos Hernandez is our audio engineer and Adrian Tapia is our studio manager. Additional engineering by Wolf Robinson and Daniel Pacina. Executive produced by Susan Brandt for Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Executive producers are Lauren D, Dave Easton, Andrew Goldstein and Marshall Louie for Wondry.