End of the Year Awards, Timothée Chalamet Hype, and Jeff’s Dad Joins the Pod | Midlife Crisis Ep. 38

Midlife Crisis Podcast – Episode 38 (Final Episode of 2025) is a reflective, heartfelt, and culture-packed conversation featuring Jeff’s dad, longtime high school teacher Rodney Warren, as the crew looks back on life, careers, friendships, and pop culture while staring down their 30s—and a new year—a little wiser. The episode opens with intergenerational perspective, as Rodney reflects on turning 60, navigating marriage, fatherhood, cancer survival, and a 35+ year teaching career. He shares candid wisdom on relationships, work, retirement, and why long-term friendships matter more as life evolves. The conversation explores how priorities shift with age, the realities of burnout, and what truly lasts when careers, locations, and identities change. From there, the show shifts into its signature blend of current events, pop culture, sports, and nostalgia: The future of podcasting as Netflix enters the video podcast space Spotify’s new AI-generated playlists TikTok’s U.S. sale and cultural relevance Reactions to major TV and film moments including Stranger Things Season 5 and Timothée Chalamet’s Marty Supreme A fun debate around “your song to escape Vecna” (Stranger Things fans will get it) Sports fans get plenty of love with NFL playoff talk, Patriots nostalgia, college football matchups, NBA all-time starting fives, and classic wrestling debates featuring Stone Cold, The Rock, and Attitude Era icons. The episode closes with emotional “What Hurts / What Feels Good” reflections—covering career changes, moving cities, new jobs, friendships drifting, and the excitement (and fear) of fresh chapters—followed by End-of-the-Year Picks spanning movies, music, TV, games, and cultural moments.