Critical Thinking Podcast · CTP2

Ep 383 "Last Show of the Year"

December 18, 2025·1 hr 11 min·2 clips
The show opens in a mess of mic checks, complaints, and bad timing. They joke about missing the previous week. They argue about who lost the show, who muted who, and who is actually running the place. The no-music start sets the tone immediately. Nothing feels polished, and nobody bothers pretending it is. Once everybody can hear each other again, the conversation settles into its usual rhythm. The first big stretch is basketball talk. They are bullish on Houston making a run. They also throw out Arizona, Michigan, Duke, and Gonzaga as possible Final Four teams. The WNBA gets a quick nod, and hockey gets only a brief aside. NASCAR gets pushed to February. Then the room swings hard into WWE. J.D. McDonough is out after surgery. L.A. Knight is on a little mini vacation. Bobby Lashley is out for a minute. That opens the door to a longer conversation about what is happening around the wrestling world. They get into Randy Orton, John Cena, and the chatter around Cena's last match. Orton being in Saudi to do press for the Royal Rumble explains why he was not part of the Cena discussion. Cena's last match comes up next. They say it ended the way it should have. Gunter looked surprised. The finish felt like paint by numbers, but in a way that still fit the moment. The talk keeps moving, with one person setting up a story from Randy Orton's mouth and the others filling in the gaps as they go. By the end, the show has shifted from sports rundown into a year-end hangout about what hurts, what is ending, and what people are trying to hold together. The closing stretch gets more reflective. They talk about Christmas, family, health scares, and staying safe. The mood stays warm even while the jokes keep landing. Rick and Eric sign off with the usual mix of teasing and care. The whole thing feels like a group that has been doing this long enough to know when to laugh, when to rant, and when to call it a day.

As heard by us

A noisy hangout that drifts from hoops guesses into wrestling talk.

Episode 383 starts messy, with missed-week jokes, a muted mic exchange, and a room that still sounds half awake. The rough opening fits the mood, though it may take a minute before the talk settles into something easier to follow.

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Why you'd press play

You want a loud hangout that jumps from hoops to Cena.

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