The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett

Man Card Mayhem, Smelly Cats & Christmas Movies

• Chris Bennett • Episode 148

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We kick things off with my wife’s official Hallmark Christmas Movie Review, breaking down Christmas On Duty — from the snowstorm setup to the slow-burn romance, the three-cup-cocoa score, and yes… even the suspiciously well-placed brand mentions.

Then the cozy holiday vibe crashes straight into Am I the Jerk Court, where Paul from Beaumont helps judge a case involving two roommates, a high-end litter box, and one allegedly smelly cat. A $50 “pet smell fee”? A retaliatory “cat-cuddling charge”? We sort out the ethics, the evidence, and the nonsense.

From there, it’s Are You Smarter Than a Redneck? — International Men’s Day Edition — where we find out who’s more “manly”: Paul or your very own host. (Spoiler: Yeah… it’s Paul. By a mile.)

We roll into a lightning-fast Country News Minute with the Country Thunder 2026 lineup, Lainey Wilson’s big CMA night, and Brooks & Dunn nostalgia.

But then the phones light up — because Brian from Pinedale calls in to give me grief for losing my man card. Naturally, that means a bonus Man Trivia showdown, where Brian absolutely proves he’s manlier than Chris. To save face, Chris gets one last chance with a special World Toilet Day trivia round — complete with flushing facts, potty slang, and some surprising bathroom science.

If you’re into holiday movies, country news, listener chaos, trivia battles, or watching a fully grown man repeatedly lose his man card, this episode is your jam.

Hit play, subscribe, and tell us: Smell fee or no way? And who’s really the manliest in the White Mountains?

SPEAKER_00:

From the Horn Auto Center Studios, Chris Bennett and the Morning Brew. And now it's time for Chris's wife to give us her Christmas Hallmark movie reviews. Alright, my love, what Hallmark Christmas movie review from the 2025 season are you reviewing today?

SPEAKER_01:

We are going to do Christmas on duty.

SPEAKER_00:

Christmas on Duty? Holy moly, what do I think this one's about? Uh, I think this one actually, this is kind of unfair. I think I might have uh caught some of this in the house, but I think it's about uh two military people from rival military families that are competing for a spot in the military and they end up falling in love.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh, I mean, in a nutshell, I think you got it. That's impressive considering the few minutes that you caught on when I was watching this.

SPEAKER_00:

I know. I watched uh probably three minutes of it and I summed it up. Wow. That's pretty amazing. Is there uh anything we missed in this? Is there anything uh we should learn?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, they end up coming together because there's a winter storm and the kids in that are on base are not going to get their Christmas presents. And so they go on a mission together to save Christmas.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's beautiful. And uh how many hot cups of uh cocoa do you give this one? And is it uh worth us spending 90 minutes watching it?

SPEAKER_01:

I gave it three cups of hot cocoa. It was good, definitely sponsored by AARP. Um, but it it was good.

SPEAKER_00:

Is this uh uh a new thing Hallmark's doing? They're putting in little brand endorsements into their movies?

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know. There was a lot of mention of it though.

SPEAKER_00:

Interesting. And uh how would you you you're big on casting in these movies? Uh on a scale of one to five cups of hot cocoa, five being the hottest, uh, how hot was the uh male lead in this movie?

SPEAKER_01:

I'll give him a three.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh! Oh, not not anything great, just down the middle. And how many hot cups of cocoa would you rank meet?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you're five, of course. Oh, heck yeah. It's all subjective.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you so much for your review and uh have a good day watching more Hallmark Christmas movies. Thank you. Woo!

SPEAKER_02:

That's Bob Vlog!

SPEAKER_00:

Yay, yay! Everyone's favorite redneck from Beaumont, Texas. It's Paul from Beaumont. How are you doing on this hump day morning?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh man, feeling fantastic, brother. It's another day, another pound down. I'm feeling great.

SPEAKER_00:

Dang, you're the incredible shrieking, uh, shrinking redneck. I know, bro. I know.

SPEAKER_02:

Hey, I wouldn't what today's modern medical models would be for.

SPEAKER_00:

They make losing weight nice and easy. Hey, I was wondering if uh you'd help me out this morning and be my am I the jerk judge for this morning. Oh, absolutely. All right, it's now time for Am I the Jerk Court, the honorable Paul from Beaumont presides. Here we go, Paul. Uh I'm 26 and live with my roommate Jane, and I've got a cat named Moki. When we moved in, Jane was obsessed with my cat, always cuddling him, playing with him, even buying him treats. I honestly thought I scored the perfect roommate. Then last week, she suddenly starts complaining about the apartment smell. She says it smells like a cat, a smelly clap. Cat, I'm a clean freak. So to keep the peace, I bought one of those fancy, pricey, self-cleaning litter boxes with all the odor controls, bells, and whistles. The place has never smelled better, so I figured that I fixed it. Nope. Last night she sits me down and says the apartment still smells, and she thinks I should pay her an extra$50 a month as a pet smell fee. I snapped and said, if I have to pay a smell fee for a smell that doesn't exist, then you should pay a cat cuddling fee for all the love you give my cat Moki. She blew up, called me petty, and now we're not speaking. So am I the jerk? Okay, look.

SPEAKER_02:

You don't take care of a hand smell. The guy went out his way, got that high dollar. I don't know, man. The the candy stickers are still there. Oh I don't know, man. Yeah, mate, maybe uh yeah, man, I'm a cat guy. I thought you see a petty. She's a jerk.

SPEAKER_00:

So who's so you're saying this person's not a jerk for demanding uh that her roommate's judging?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, the checks are just yeah, the other one. The other one.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, and then this lady's not a jerk for uh being petty and saying, well, you gotta you gotta pay a cat pat uh cat cuddling fee.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, that is kind of petty. That's just that's just childish.

SPEAKER_00:

But overall, you don't think they're the jerk and you think the roommate is the jerk for making Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. Yeah, the guy went out his way. The person knew that he had a cat. Okay. Right. Uh yeah, so I mean, uh he went out his way. He did extra stuff to try to eliminate the problem. If you don't like it, just move.

SPEAKER_00:

Get out. All right. In the case of Am I the Jerk for telling my roommate she should pay a pet cuddling fee after she demanded I pay a smell fee for my cat. Paul from Beaumont rules, not a jerk. It is now time for Are You Smarter Than a Redneck? And uh today, Paul, I am your opponent, and it's International Men's Day. So I thought we would do some trivia on uh things a man oughta know. And uh we're doing man card trivia. See who is more manly. If you know the answer, say your name, that's your buzzer. You ready? Yeah, I just hope it isn't mechanically or carpetly uh related. Alright, we'll see. What's the correct torque pattern when tightening lug nuts on a wheel? Is it in a circle, star pattern, or random order? Paul Paul Paul Paul. Paul Paul. Star pattern. Is it star pattern? It is star pattern. I knew that. You were just faster to your buzzer. Okay. Which saw is best for cutting curves and wood? Is it circular saw, jigsaw, or a reciprocating saw? Paul. Paul. Paul. Jigsaw. It is jigsaw. Holy moly! All right. Okay, this last one is worth a million points. If I get it right, I win. If I get it wrong, I lose. Paul, pick a number from six to ten.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh four.

SPEAKER_00:

Four.

unknown:

Four.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh six. Six. Okay. Which component actually starts an engine? Is it the alternator, the starter motor, or the radiator? Paul. Paul. Paul. Starter. Is it the starter? Holy moly, dude. You totally got your man card, and I did not. You are smarter than a radio DJ. Thanks for calling in and having fun with this today, best friend. We love you. I feel manly. I'm manly. See you, buddy. Bye. Bye. It is now time for Chris Bennett's Country News Minute. Here we go. First, we're gonna start uh with Country Thunder Arizona 2026. They just announced uh their lineup for their event April 9th through the 12th in Florence, and they got a mix of uh new stars and country royalty. It's gonna be headlined by uh Gavin Adcock, who's making his Country Thunder debut. He's huge on social media and streaming platforms, and he does not get along with Zach Bryan. He has uh debut hits like A Cigarette and Run Your Mouth. Also, Lainey Wilson is gonna return after headlining in 2024. She's now a Grammy winner, ACM Entertainer of the Year, and Zach Topp is going to be joining the bill, coming off a top 15 billboard album. And he's uh ACM's new male artist of the year, and then topped off with Country Legends Brooks and Dunn closing it out. I don't know, that sounds uh like a uh good lineup. What do you think? Additional performers uh locked in include Lone Star, Scotty McCreary, Ian Munsick, Jackson Dean, George Byrd, and the Walder Blue and more. Tickets and camping are already on sale. And uh General Admission starts at$360. And tonight is also Country Music's biggest night. It's the 59th annual CMA Awards live from Nashville. Lainey Wilson is going to be hosting All by Her Lonesome. And the nominations are led by Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, and Laney Wilson, each scoring six, and Zacktop follows with five nominations and expect a huge performance lineup featuring Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, Ella Langley, Zacktop, Kelsey Ballerini, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Keith Irvin, Old Dominion, Chris Stapleton, and more. And the prestigious Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement War Award goes to Vince Gill this year, honoring his decades of influence and 18 CMA wins. You could catch the CMAs tonight, 7-10 on ABC and streaming tomorrow on Hulu. I'm Chris Bennett, and that was my country news minute. Good morning. It's the morning brew with Chris. Who's this? Good morning, champion Chris Bennett. Heck yeah, it's Brian from Pinedale. Uh, what can I do you for today on this World Toilet Day? A World Toilet Day? Yeah. Well, I just heard you got slaughtered being a man. Oh, yeah. What you think you could have done better uh than me on the man trivia? Yeah, I can. All right, well, let's do it. Let's do a little bonus round. Oh. Okay. All right. Uh, which wrench should you use for brake line fittings? Is it a box wrench? An adjustable wrench. A box wrench. Or a flare nut wrench. Brian, box wrench. Brian, no, no. That's not correct. A flare nut wrench. Oh, really? Yes. Okay. There we go. I got it right just because you got it wrong. Next one. Which wood is best for outdoor use due to natural rot resistance? Is it. Is it pine, cedar, or birch? Oh, cedar. Is it cedar? There you go. All right. Last one. This will determine uh who's manlier, you or me. When soldering copper pipes, what do you apply before heating them? Oh my gosh. Wow, how'd you know that? I used to do it. Oh, really? We are back with Brian from Pinedale, who just kicked my butt. For the second time today, I lost an international Men's Day trivia. Proven I'm not as manly as I think I am, but uh, I get a chance to totally redeem myself, uh, Brian. We're gonna do some toilet trivia on this World Toilet Day. If you know the answer, say your name. That's your buzzer. Are you ready? Ready. All right, how many sheets of toilet paper does the average person use per day? Is it 10, 57, or 100? Chris, I know I use a lot. I'm gonna say toilet paper sheets? I'm gonna say 57. It is 57. All right, there we go. You never imagined that. What do Brits call the restroom? Do they call it the water closet, powder room, or refresh room? Chris. I'm gonna say water closet. Dang, you don't know anything about uh toilet trivia, huh? Not much. Apparently. Looks like you're gonna redeem yourself. That's right. All right. If you don't get this uh one right, you lose. It's worth a million points. So pick a number uh from one to twenty. Should I try like Paul did? It will be our, yeah. Pick a number from five. All right, here we go. How many gallons does a modern low full flow toilet use per flush? Brian. Brian. 2.5. 2.5. Your options are 1.6, 5 gallons, or 10 gallons. 2.6. 2.6 is not an option. Correct answer 1.6. I totally redeemed myself. Good job, Chris. Good job. There we go. And gave you a swirly in the process. We love you, Brian. Thanks so much for calling in and having fun.

SPEAKER_02:

Have a great day. Stay dry.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, you too. Bye. Bye.

Contributor

Chris Bennett

Host