The River Morning Show Weekly Podcast
The River Morning Show with Josh & Hannah is a daily radio show heard each weekday morning on the River Radio Network in Central Ohio!
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The River Morning Show Weekly Podcast
The River Morning Show Weekly Podcast | EP 150 | DEC 20 2025
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Merry Christmas! In this week's episode, we bounce from a fruitcake debate to Christmas cookie wins, unhinged Christmas food hacks, Ohio road misadventures, and a grounded reflection on why Jesus chose to come earth.
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Cold Open: Puppy Panic
SPEAKER_06Here's what to expect on this week's episode of the River Morning Show weekly podcast. I hear scratching at the bathroom door and I panic because, oh, he's left the puppy. He decided to risk it.
SPEAKER_03So now you've got to shower quick and dry quick.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and and get to the puppy. So I do that. I open the door real fast. And it's it's Chris.
SPEAKER_02It's your husband scratching at the door.
SPEAKER_06Scratching the door.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for clicking play here on this podcast. You can find other podcasts like this at riverradio.com. I'm producer Mike. You might be wondering where Josh and Hannah are. Well, they just left me. And I'm here now by myself. Not very nice. Very naughty list behavior. So I've asked Santa to make sure to add them to the naughty list. But maybe I should give them some grace. Maybe they need to do some last minute shopping. I know I certainly still need to do that. So if you're still missing a couple of gifts, you're not alone. I'm right there with you. Anyway, enjoy the podcast and have a very Merry Christmas.
SPEAKER_03Would you rather producer Mike, what you got for us today? Would you rather fruitcake? That's it? Fruitcake.
SPEAKER_06Fruitcake.
SPEAKER_03All you gotta do is say it, and it can be I will say this. I think fruitcake gets a bad rap. Because everything in it is really good. You have fruit, you have nuts, and you have cake.
SPEAKER_06But it's like an unknown brick substance that makes it an immediate no. I don't want to be the reason, like I don't want to sing all I want for Christmas is my teeth back. You know? Like they're they're a brick.
SPEAKER_03I have you ever had a really dense, like, birthday cake or something?
SPEAKER_06It's still cake. It's good. No, I've not had one that can be a doorstop.
SPEAKER_03A lot of things can be a doorstop.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, including a fruitcake, so you shouldn't eat it. Well or something that can last is like through the apocalypse. Those things last forever. All the more reason. No, it's does it mean a Twinkie is healthy? No. That's not the question. No, but I'm saying anything that can last with the apocalypse shouldn't be consumed. It's not good.
SPEAKER_03Don't start dissing on Twinkies now. I'm dissing on Twinkies. Come on! This is not this is not fair. Okay, I think the ingredients of a fruitcake are a plus. And I think when you put them together, it's all in one package. No. Let's go.
SPEAKER_06I have I've literally heard someone describe the fruit in a fruitcake as cough syrup. Like it's it's something's been done to it. Who's making your fruit cake? I have no I didn't eat it. It was a friend who described it. She said it tastes like cough syrup.
SPEAKER_03So this is secondhand information. I don't accept it.
SPEAKER_06You no this whole thing is secondhand information.
SPEAKER_03Mike, do you are you playing tiebreaker today? Like, I know you if you're listening to this and you have an opinion, you can call and play tiebreaker or text 800-609-1049.
SPEAKER_01Where are you at? Fruitcake, Mike. So I've never actually had it, but I've also never had the desire to have it.
SPEAKER_03Alright, so you're not part of this conversation. I don't think so. 800-609-1049. Would you rather fruitcake?
SPEAKER_04Would you rather?
SPEAKER_03Producer Mike is here. Pose the question against her. Would you rather fruitcake? It's a one-word question and it has sparked some controversy because I'm in. No. Everything in it is like I feel I do feel kind of like Joey, though. After uh after Rachel's you know, trifle or whatever.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah, yeah. Meat, meat, peas, good.
SPEAKER_03You know, whipped cream good. Like everything in it is good. You got nuts, you got the fruit, you've got cake.
SPEAKER_06No.
SPEAKER_03I'm in, and Hannah's over here being all bah humbug about it.
SPEAKER_06It shouldn't last through the apocalypse, and the the fruit is no longer fruit. Something has has happened.
SPEAKER_03Even the dense fruitcakes have never hurt my teeth. What's wrong with your teeth? Look, have you not heard they can be used as a doorstop? That is so true. So can a lot of things can be used as well.
SPEAKER_06And so you shouldn't eat the things that can be used as a doorstop.
Caller Weighs In On Homemade Vs Store-Bought
SPEAKER_03Depends on the thing, I guess. Uh hi, uh Kenny, would you rather fruit cake?
SPEAKER_05Well, yes. I grew up, my mother made it from scratch. So when everybody was dissing on it, I didn't understand why, because my mom's was fantastic until I tasted a store-bought one. And then I understood.
SPEAKER_06Okay. So that's an interesting conversation, uh, delineation right there. Yeah. Store-bought. It was a brick that probably took you until next Christmas to chew. Yes. Which so I that I mean that.
SPEAKER_05I used to love to eat the red and green cherries, and she'd put all that stuff, and she'd she'd like plump them back up and do all that, and the cake was wonderful.
SPEAKER_06I think you're on both sides though, because your mom's uh fruitcake, you're all for it. But a store-bought, absolutely not.
SPEAKER_03Hannah, you can't keep adding uh qualifiers. I didn't, she said store-bought, but I'm just saying, like, the question is fruitcake, and she said yes.
SPEAKER_05Well, yeah, because there, I mean, even in movies, they used to pass a fruitcake around, and I'll be like, why are you giving it away? I didn't understand that. And because everybody wanted my mom's fruitcake, but then when I had somebody else's, I'm like, oh yeah, no.
Newlywed Life And The Scratching Door
SPEAKER_06Well, you were you had a blessed childfriend. Marriage really changes the way you communicate. Last night when I got home from work, I jumped in the shower real quick, and Chris, my husband, was encouraging me to shower quickly because he was waiting to go work on the basement. He's finishing it, but he can't yet because Bear, our puppy, can't be left alone. Right. He's too little, he gets into things.
SPEAKER_03He can't trust the puppy. And by the way, just in case you're you don't know, Hannah is, I would still consider you a newlywed. Yeah, not a year in yet. Not even been married a year.
SPEAKER_06So I'm trying to be quick, and the second I shut off the water, I hear scratching at the bathroom door. Yeah. And I panic because, oh, he's left the puppy. He decided to risk it.
SPEAKER_03So now you gotta shower quick and dry quick.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and and get to the puppy. So I do that, I open the door real fast, and it's it's Chris.
SPEAKER_02It's your husband scratching on the door.
Christmas Cookie Wins
SPEAKER_06Scratching the door. He's just standing there scratching the door. He is scratching it. I'm like, what are you doing? May I ask why? It was his way of saying, I love you, I support you. But please feed things along. He's such a little creeper in a oven. Ovens are preheated, butter is softening on counters everywhere, and family reputations are being built one batch at a time. So, in your family, what is your Christmas cookie win? I've been waiting and talking about Christmas cookies. You can call or text to share 800-609-1049. I'm so excited because here's my win. I don't have to make them. Oh, oh! I don't have to do it. I don't have to make the cookies! It is amazing!
SPEAKER_03Um I know, but it's so great!
SPEAKER_06Yeah. My mother-in-law and my sister-in-law are incredible bakers, and every year they just keep making more and more cookies.
SPEAKER_01Bring it on.
SPEAKER_06This year, they made 17 different types of Christmas cookies.
SPEAKER_00What? 17? I mean, it's like it's like they're the mad scientists.
SPEAKER_03They are. Who's really, really in the story is the protagonist.
SPEAKER_06I know.
SPEAKER_03They're the hero.
SPEAKER_06And they do it all in one massive weekend. Oh, yeah. It's wild. And I just tried to list out all the Christmas cookies I know, including some I know that they they made, and I didn't hit 17. No way. They have sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, shortbread cookies, those thumb print cookies. Love those things. Chocolate crinkles, fudge cookies, chocolate peppermint cookies. The Pizzellis, those snowflake cookies.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, what about the ones where you it's a peanut butter cookie and you put the Hershey Kiss into it?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, oh, I didn't list that one. Okay, I don't remember what that's called, though.
SPEAKER_03And me either. Okay, and then everybody knows that it's that one.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, so good. Then there's macaroons and there's macarons. And there's the pretzel pretzels with roll-os or the Hershey Kisses. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not at 17. Still not at 14, including your Hershey Kiss one. Wow, can we go back to the chocolate crinkles though? Oh, they're so good. And I know they're making them this year. I cannot wait to go over to their house. But that is my win that somebody else is amazing at baking and is doing 17 different types of Christmas cookies.
SPEAKER_03That is a serious win.
SPEAKER_06So, what is your Christmas cookie win? Call or text to share 800-609-1049. There are a lot of ways to know that Christmas is getting close. And one of the clearest signs is the moment someone in your family starts talking about the cookie production system that they are breaking out and making happen to bring so much joy to everyone around.
SPEAKER_03My face is smiling, my belt is straining.
SPEAKER_06So, what is your Christmas cookie win? You can call or text 800-609-1049. Mine is so self-serving. It's that I don't have to make them. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are amazing, and they're making 17 different types of Christmas cookies.
SPEAKER_03I mean, alright, I'll say it. Is it because you're no good at it? I don't know.
SPEAKER_06I haven't really tried, but I don't have to. So I don't know. It's the best. Josh, what's your Christmas cookie win?
SPEAKER_03That we're having them this weekend. We have uh Christmas with my parents and my brother's family on Sunday. And my mom makes these things we talk about every year here on the show. It's called their cream wafers. Cream wafer. It's like an old Betty Crocker recipe from the 80s or whatever, but she puts this buttercream in the middle of these very thin sugar wafers. I could eat a dozen now.
SPEAKER_06You just tell me there's butter, and I'm there. They're so good. So good. I love me some Christmas cookies.
SPEAKER_03I have an uncle, one of my mom's brothers who lives in Phoenix. She has mailed some to him before.
SPEAKER_06Oh my goodness. Yeah. And they stay fresh?
SPEAKER_03It doesn't even matter. They're still good. They could be a year old and they're still good. Look what I found on the floorboards of my car. I'm eating it.
Listener Cookies And Lebkuchen Twist
SPEAKER_06Snack time. It is your turn to share your Christmas cookie win when you call or text 800-609-1049. Martha, what's yours? I do. I can't pronounce it though. It's a German cookie, and it's like Lubicon. It's a bar, and it has dried fruit in it, and it is my go-to Christmas cookie.
SPEAKER_03Hannah's looking it up right now.
SPEAKER_06I am, and also it kind of sounds like the cookie version of a fruitcake. A fruit cake. And it has it has like a little sugar icing on it. Is it the German? Is it like the German spice cookies? You said the is it the Leb Kuchen? Yes, I think that's the one. I don't see fruit in it though, but that's what's the most That's right.
SPEAKER_03We've Americanized it.
SPEAKER_06USA! USA! And so you make them every year? I don't. My mother-in-law did, and and now my sister-in-law does. Oh, see, it's such a blessing when other people make them.
SPEAKER_05That's right. And they taste so much better.
SPEAKER_03You know, not too long ago, we had the conversation about how to ruin Thanksgiving in four words.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03The four words that I chose to come away with after listening to you talk about what you were gonna eat and how are these words. It's a Thanksgiving tornado.
SPEAKER_06The best! That doesn't ruin Thanksgiving, that makes it.
SPEAKER_03It's so gross. You just mix everything all together into this swap. So now I hear you're doing the same thing for the Christmas dinner table.
SPEAKER_06Well, it's a little different at Christmas.
SPEAKER_03Your unhinged food tradition for Christmas. How is it different? What are you doing?
SPEAKER_06Because the tornado's a little bit more contained at Christmas time, and obviously it's different food too. Right. So my mom, every year, God bless her, she makes what what we call roast beast because it's based off the grinch. So roast beef, and it's delicious. And she also makes these incredible cheesy potatoes. Yeah. They're so good. And then, of course, you have the Hawaiian rolls are at every Christmas. That's so funny. That I've been a part of.
SPEAKER_03Everything you're talking about, I'm in.
SPEAKER_06Okay. And here's where it gets so good. I'm just hungry thinking about it. So you get a Hawaiian roll, and then you put some of the cheesy potatoes on the bottom of it, and then you do a layer of the roast beast, and then you put the top of the Hawaiian roll on. Okay. And you have yourself a cheesy roast beast sandwich. Don't smoke it. For Christmas time. It's so good.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I'm so hungry. If this is the tornado that is contained for Christmas, can we call the Thanksgiving thing a hurricane then? Because tornadoes are small. You can do a Thanksgiving hurricane. Can we do it that way?
SPEAKER_06No, because nothing's like soggy. I don't like the hurricane concept. I don't know. We could call it like a whirlwind. Who knows? I don't, I don't think this is a tornado because it's so contained. It's a sandwich. It's a Christmas sandwich. It's my sandwich.
SPEAKER_03I'm not putting potatoes, cheesy potatoes on a bun. What? I'm not doing that.
SPEAKER_06You know that sounds so good.
SPEAKER_03It does not.
SPEAKER_06This one should have you salvating. I don't understand how you're not actively drooling.
SPEAKER_03We're calling it an unhinged Christmas food tradition. What's yours? I've got one. Yes, I've got one. You can share yours first. Call or text 800-609-1049. And Hannah has once again taken my taste buds and made them go, nah, not today.
SPEAKER_06Oh, come on. Not today.
SPEAKER_03You ruined Thanksgiving by mixing everything up on your plates. Of course.
SPEAKER_06Delicious.
SPEAKER_03And now you're doing it in a smaller version for Christmas. This is your quote, unhinged Christmas food tradition.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. And it's so good. So you take the Hawaiian roll. My mom every year makes roast beast roast beef. Uh-huh. And then she also makes cheesy potatoes. So on the Hawaiian roll, you do a layer of cheesy potatoes and then a big slice of roast beef. Put the Hawaiian roll on top. And it is the best Christmas sandwich on the planet.
SPEAKER_03I'm not here for potatoes on my sandwich.
SPEAKER_06I think you're crazy. It's cheesy yumminess.
SPEAKER_03I will agree that I am crazy with this. My tradition is actually pretty dangerous. So my sister-in-law will make a charcuterie board. Sure. Which is awesome. Delicious. And I start picking things off of the charcuterie board while she's still doctoring everything up.
SPEAKER_06How dare you?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_06It is an art piece. You gotta let her get her picture.
SPEAKER_03That's what she said.
SPEAKER_06And you were you keep going after the slices?
SPEAKER_03I want the olive. I want the olive, and then there's like the the little like the cured meats.
SPEAKER_06You have to wait till you present it.
SPEAKER_03That's my tradition. It is unhinged.
SPEAKER_06You're going to lose a finger. She's gonna backhand me, is what's gonna happen at some point.
SPEAKER_03Producer Mike is here. Who's on the uh the Facebook machine? What what are they commenting on the River Morning Show Facebook group?
SPEAKER_01Dave said that his brother, his like his brother's wife's family. Okay. Her grandma always makes yellow jello.
SPEAKER_04Oh. For Christmas.
SPEAKER_01Like lemon. And that's what his brother thought initially. So he got a huge helping. And then he tried it. Turns out it was mustard jello.
SPEAKER_06Mustard jello. What is mustard jello?
SPEAKER_03Was it like a joke for the first time? Like, hey, this guy's coming to Christmas. And so we're gonna do our normal yellow jello, but everybody knows that's like the mustard one as a joke. That's what I was wondering, too.
SPEAKER_06Here, wait, I googled it. Mustard jello is a retro savory gelatin mold. It's a thing. Hold on. Serve firm chilled yellow ring-shaped condiment served with ham, salmon, or sandwiches.
SPEAKER_03No thanks. Oh, if your stomach turns on the tradition, time to turn off the tradition. Producer Mike is not from here, but now you live here.
SPEAKER_01What are some of the things you've noticed recently about Ohio? Something I learned the hard way was you know those county and township roads that are just the numbers? Yeah. Yeah. Those aren't a thing where I lived in Virginia. Every road has.
SPEAKER_06Oh, yeah. We're very used to like state route or something county roads.
SPEAKER_03I've lived on two state routes.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_0313 and 229. Yeah. Were my first two addresses after my wife and I got married. So you're used to having to go to like Spencer Lane to Township Road 56.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly. And so it makes it really confusing for me when I'm trying to follow directions. My but my buddy and I decided to go to some friends of mine from church were hosting like a night for young adults at their camp that they work at. And it was located on a county road. So it was like County Road 256 or something like that. And so we put in the address and we follow it exactly. We end up at somebody's house. Not a camp. Not a camp. And it's the middle of the night in nowhere, Ohio. It is like out there. So we're so lost. And then we realize we went to County Road 256, spelled out R-O-A-D, instead of a previous, and that took you somewhere else.
SPEAKER_03And it did.
SPEAKER_01And it was like 10 to 15 minutes away from that. That sounds like a GPS problem, not an Ohio problem.
A Quiet Christmas Generosity Story
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Let's blame technology. I like that better. I'm just fighting the words.
SPEAKER_01We did make it there eventually, but no thanks to this confusing system. I'm still blaming the system.
SPEAKER_03Listen, this it's like the Midwest versus everybody's social media accounts. Have you seen those where it's just pictures of all this stuff? So like, listen, Mike, for the honor of the Midwest, I'm gonna fight you, okay? All right, and you need to meet me at 1234 Township Road 5678.
SPEAKER_04Okay, let's go.
SPEAKER_03And I'm going against my better judgment on this. Producer Mike. Um, I have a present for you. A Christmas present. Early Christmas gift, yes. Hannah, you are going to hate this.
SPEAKER_06Then why are we doing it?
SPEAKER_03Because it's a Christmas present for producers.
SPEAKER_06Okay, so listen. I am out of the room.
SPEAKER_03My brother-in-law is a firefighter. Okay. Okay, he's awesome. He's he is our hero.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03He has a unit number on his helmet. Oh, it's six seven. Six seven. Okay, so so Mike, go ahead and say it as many times as you like. Six seven. Six seven. Six seven.
SPEAKER_06Is that what you just did? I appreciate it.
John The Baptist: Pointing To Jesus
SPEAKER_03This was just trying to help. No, I see where it's weird. Okay, so Merry Christmas, Mike. Don't ever say we didn't get you anything. Six seven. Okay, you can stop it now. And I want you to know, you probably know this, but I I think it's a good time to think about this reality. He didn't have to do it. And he didn't have to do it the way he did it. I'm talking about Jesus. This time of year, I get super sentimental just because of home and growing up and my own kids and all these different things. But what I center on that really just gives me all the feels is understanding what Jesus actually did. What he chose to do that we celebrate at Christmas time. Now we know he gave up a lot to come here, but I think it's worth thinking about and hearing in the Bible, the book of John, chapter 1, verse 14. It says, So the Word, that's Jesus, the Word became human and made his home with us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son. You know, earlier in that chapter it says, In the beginning was the Word. That's Jesus. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning, before everything. Jesus created it all. And then he came here to live inside his own creation. And later on in the New Testament, in Philippians chapter 2, verses 6 and 8 says, Though he, Jesus, was God, he didn't think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges. He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross. Jesus was within his rights to leave us to our own man-made destruction. And we couldn't have questioned him on it. We're the ones who messed it up. And he could have said, Serves your right. I'm going to try again after you all are gone. Jesus was within his rights to arrive as a conquering king, requiring everyone to fall to their knees and worship him. Jesus was within his rights to demand immediate allegiance. And instead, he gave up those rights. He gave them up so he could gain your heart and my heart. Because he knew that was the only way to save. Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_06A man quietly walked in and asked to pay off people's layaway accounts. And not one, not two, but for 50 families who covered their layaway accounts.
SPEAKER_03So somebody's swing set now is paid for.
SPEAKER_06Yes. It added up to around$8,000 in total. And one of those families was a single mom who also works there seasonally. And she had about$101 put away for clothes and shoes and for her three-year-old daughter. And suddenly it was all paid off, paid in full. And she called it a Christmas miracle.
SPEAKER_03What a feeling that was. Yes. For goodness sakes.
SPEAKER_06And here's what just gets me with this story: this man does it every year. It's a tradition that his mom started 25 years ago. And after she passed, he's kept it going. And now he brings his teenage son along. No way. As it just keeps getting passed down generation to generation, the kindness just keeps going. The manager called every family on that list to tell them, and some of them just cried and cried. And it just shows that sometimes the biggest gifts come wrapped in quiet generosity.
SPEAKER_03I love that.
SPEAKER_06And that's a happy heart story for you.
SPEAKER_01Is that a real true story?
SPEAKER_06True story. There's this guy in the Bible called John the Baptist. And honestly, if if you saw him today.
SPEAKER_03Weird dude.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. He lived in the wilderness, wore clothes made of camel hair, and his diet was mostly bugs and honey.
SPEAKER_00Is this where we got the idea for Bigfoot? John the Baptist?
Listen Live Invite And Ratings Close
SPEAKER_06It probably came from John the Baptist. Yes. But John had a really important job. God sent him ahead of Jesus to get the people ready. John went around telling everyone, hey, turn back to God. A rescuer, a savior is coming. And then people would go into the Jordan River and John would baptize them as a sign of a fresh start. And here's what's what's really cool. When Jesus actually shows up, John points at him and basically says, That's the one, not me. Even though people thought John was a big deal, he made it clear he was not the star of the story. John said his whole purpose was to point people to Jesus and then step out of the spotlight. John the Baptist shows you and me that real greatness isn't being noticed, it's helping people see who Jesus really is. And that's a true story.
SPEAKER_00Hey, you're invited to listen to the recording of this podcast live. How? Where? It's simple. You can share every weekday morning with Josh and Hannah on 1049 The River in Columbus, Ohio, or online at riveradio.com.
SPEAKER_03It was a journey, but we've made it together. Thanks for listening to this episode of the River Morning Show weekly podcast.
SPEAKER_06And hey, since you made it this far, would you be willing to like and rate this podcast? There's a few stars you can click. Five stars would be wonderful. A few at least, five at most.
SPEAKER_03We'd love the big one.
SPEAKER_06And even more than that, if you want to subscribe to make sure you never miss an episode, please do. We love hanging out with you.
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