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The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett
Ever wonder what really goes on at a small-town morning radio show?
The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett and Best Friends is your daily dose of real callers, big laughs, and unforgettable characters straight from QCountry 925 in Show Low, Arizona.
The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett
Spoiled Kittens, Holiday Boundaries & One Last Hallmark Verdict
Christmas week wraps up with laughter, heart, and just enough chaos to feel like home on The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett & Best Friends.
We kick things off with a call from Jan the Weather Man (aka Jan from Heber), who wishes everyone a Merry Christmas while proudly admitting he’s spoiling his kittens with gourmet cat food — gravy, fish cubes, and all. From there, Andrea joins us for the final Hallmark Christmas review of the season, breaking down a festive mini-series set in London that turns twelve dates into twelve lessons about love, growth, and letting go.
Then it’s time for Am I the Jerk Court with Jineane Ford. Today’s case dives into a very real holiday dilemma: vegetarian hosts, a Christmas turkey, a broken microwave, and the question of whether values or hospitality should win. The verdict sparks thoughtful conversation about respect, boundaries, and choosing people over principles during the holidays.
We round out the show with meaningful song requests — including a patriotic dedication from Tony in Snowflake and a classic closer from Show Low’s own Dave Ramsey — honoring service members, family, and the spirit of the season.
Warm, funny, and full of perspective, this episode feels like a cup of coffee shared with friends on a cold Christmas morning.
If you enjoyed the show, follow the podcast, share it with someone who could use a smile, and leave a quick review.
🎄 And be honest — would the turkey get oven space at your house?
From the Horn Auto Center Studios, Chris Bennett and the Morning Brew. Good morning. It's the Morning Brew with Chris. Who's this? Jan. Jan! Jan the weatherman! AKA Jan from Heber. Uh, give us a quick little uh weather report from your neck of the woods in Heber.
SPEAKER_07:Uh, overcast. Uh looked like we were gonna get some rain during the night, but it it didn't happen.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, really? We got rain here in uh Sholow. And we're getting uh we're getting a little sprinkling, I think, right now. Good. Yeah, there we go. Well, sweet. Well, happy uh Christmas Eve.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah. I just thought I we'll wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, wonderful. Yeah, thank you so much, Jan. You have uh plans uh with your kittens uh for Christmas? Did you feel their stockings? Did you get your kittens any presents?
SPEAKER_07:I went yesterday and got them some cans of gourmet catfu.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my gosh, you spoiled them! Gourmet catfu. What makes it so gourmet?
SPEAKER_07:Uh it's a gravy. And there are cubes of fish.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my gosh. Man, you're uh they're never gonna want to eat anything else again.
SPEAKER_07:Well, they have before. But it's been months. Right, right. And they love it? Uh oh. They they eat the paper plate.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I'm glad they uh are are having a tasty Christmas. And now it's time for Chris's wife to give us her Christmas Hallmark movie reviews. All right, my love. What Hallmark Christmas movie from the 2025 collection are we reviewing this morning?
SPEAKER_05:So this one actually isn't a movie, it's something different. Hallmark did. It's a mini-series. There were six episodes.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, wow. And you watched all six? Yes. All right, and what's this one called? It's called The Twelve Dates of Christmas. The 12 Dates of Christmas. Here's what I think it's about. I think it's about a date farmer, and uh he loses his uh his crops, and then one of his rival uh farmer people, uh their hot daughter comes over and gives them 12 date trees and saves the date farm ranch name.
SPEAKER_05:I mean, that's not too far fetched for a Hallmark movie. No.
SPEAKER_00:No, what's the 12 dates of Christmas about?
SPEAKER_05:So this is about um a lady that um it takes place in London, and she is signed up by her best friend for this dating service. It's kind of like a prolonged speed dating where you just get set up, you don't know who you're gonna be meeting, but it's someone that you matched with and you go on a date, and there's 12 of them before Christmas. And so each date you're kind of wondering if this is the guy she's gonna actually match with. And each date she learns something new about herself and gets her out of her comfort zone, and um by the end she's like a whole new woman.
SPEAKER_00:Wow, this one sounds pretty good. How many cups of hot cocoa on a scale one to five do you give the 12 dates till Christmas?
SPEAKER_04:I liked it. I'm gonna give it four out of five hot cooked.
SPEAKER_00:Oh nice, all right. My wife recommends the 12 dates till Christmas. Thank you so much, my love, for your uh uh Hallmark Christmas movie reviews this season.
SPEAKER_03:My pleasure.
SPEAKER_00:All right, love you, love you, Janine. You there?
SPEAKER_03:Yes, I am. Happy Christmas Eve!
SPEAKER_00:Yes, happy Christmas Eve, so exciting. Mary, Mary. What do you guys have planned on uh Christmas Eve?
SPEAKER_03:Oh, the grand new grandbaby, my son and daughter-in-law are on their way up, my other son and his fiancee. Yeah, so people are piling into the house. It's an exciting time. But we've we've been having Christmas going non-stop. We've had other people this last weekend. You know, we've had different family in, out, in and out. So it's been busy.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Man, yeah, tomorrow's gonna be a really emotional Christmas for me because I'm gonna find out I won the Powerball.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:I will celebrate with you, even though you didn't let me into your big pot. I know, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it's all right, that's all right. We'll have a pot too, and I won't allow you. I'm just gonna the Powerball, gosh, it's huge, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00:It's huge. It's yeah, 1.7 billion, I think, something like that. Wow. And uh yeah, the cash payout is uh 700 million. What would you do if you won uh that lottery?
SPEAKER_03:I would uh I'm talking uh yeah, a ranch. A ranch, a ranch to take elderly horses that colic all the time in the Valley Valley because it gets too hot for them in the summer, and just have like this, you know, like a horse preserve would be really cool. Maybe. I'm just throwing that out there. That would be something and donkeys, always donkeys. Oh, really? Donkeys are a bit Oh, I love that.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_03:I love um what uh Christine Griffin and Larry do at Equine Wellbeing Rescue. They just do a beautiful job out there.
SPEAKER_00:They're wonderful. Yeah. Well, that's awesome. Well, uh, Janine, it is hump day, so you know what that means. All right, it's time for Am I the Jerk Court with the Honorable Janine Ford. You ready? I am. All right, here's the story. Every cr every Christmas, my wife and I host her family at our house. We've got young kids, and it just makes more sense for them uh to be home all day on Christmas to play with their new stuff. So my wife and I are both vegetarians and we're not pushy about it. Everyone can eat what they want, but we personally find the meat industry pretty horrific and don't like the idea of meat being cooked in our appliances. Most of her family is vegetarian too, but her dad and brother aren't. In past years, they cooked the turkey at home and reheated it in our microwave, which is fine because we never used it. This year, though, the microwave is broken and we haven't replaced it. Now, my father-in-law wants to cook the turkey in our oven or at least reheat it there. I said no, we don't want our oven or air fryer smelling like meat. We even offered to let them bring their own air fryer. He says we're putting our silly beliefs ahead of Christmas spirit. Um honestly consider buying a new microwave just to end the argument. So am I the jerk. What say you?
SPEAKER_03:Well, you know, I I just think it because he can just replace his microwave, which is broken, or they can, you know, he can use an air fryer or something else. But I think this guy's the definition of jerk myself is that it's so stupid. I mean, it they want to pre-reheat their meat somehow in your home. It's not that big of a deal. People bend. We need to bend, trust me, bend, bend, bend. That's that's at Christmas time, you're invited to your home, be welcoming. I just think this guy's a jerk myself. I do. I just think it's silly. You know, it's not gonna contaminate and kill you because they reheated some meat in your microwave or your oven. Right.
SPEAKER_00:Or buy yeah, buy a new microwave. Don't even make a scene of it.
SPEAKER_03:Right, just get a new microwave because he needs one. His broke anyway. Just buy a new microwave and he's making it a big old huge, you know what? And microwaves are not that expensive. He needs to replace his broken one anyway. So what? Oh right. You know, but I don't know if I'd want to be going over to his house myself. No, I want some I want some meat. Yeah, hey, hey, just say that to our prime rib. We're gonna yeah. Yeah, we're working on. Yeah, it's gonna be. Yeah, that's the thing, is it's just it's he's being silly, and don't shove your beliefs on everybody else and just m make it, you know, be a little more. I think everyone needs to just show some some kindness, hold your breath on certain things. If someone says something that you just want to rip their head off, just kind of uh stuff it for the holidays and everybody be happy. Try not to discuss politics or religion, you know, those normal things, right? Right. Yeah. Although it's all about religion, Christmas. So I'd like that that should be discussed. Yes. You know?
SPEAKER_00:That's right. Well, uh, Janine has ruled, you are the jerk.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, just be nice. Be more accommodating to your guests. Oh my god. And one more thing I want to spew out. Guest, be nice. Like, you know, pick up your trash, do your things out when you're gonna leave, leave the place better than you found it. You know what I mean? No, let's all be nice and kind. Uh yeah, there's a certain reason I'm mentioning that. Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_00:All right, Janine. We love you, best friend. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_03:Love you too, Chris. Merry, merry, everyone. Merry Christmas!
SPEAKER_00:Merry Christmas. Good morning. It's the morning brew with Chris. Who's this?
SPEAKER_04:Oh no, it's Mr. B.
SPEAKER_00:Heck yeah, it's Tony from Snowflake. It is so great to hear from you. It's been a while. Go ahead and give us uh a little update on uh on our best friend Tony.
SPEAKER_06:Well, insurance is up to their uh no good again. So uh I've just been living on muscle relaxers and pain pills.
SPEAKER_00:Dang it, I'm sorry, best friend. I'll uh say a little prayer for you. You uh what are you gonna do for Christmas?
SPEAKER_06:I'm just gonna hang around, hang around the house, eat some uh ham, and be about it.
SPEAKER_00:Heck yeah. You uh you heard the uh Am I the Jerk court case?
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, I didn't I have to agree with uh Janine.
SPEAKER_00:He's a jerk. He's the jerk. I don't want uh tofu turkey, I want real turkey.
SPEAKER_06:Exactly, but still, it doesn't matter, you know.
SPEAKER_00:Right, right. Awesome, yeah. Well, uh, thanks so much for uh uh calling us today. What can we do for you?
SPEAKER_06:Uh gotta give you a uh song request. You know, it's uh Christmas time, and it wouldn't be Christmas without hearing Josh Turner, a soldier's gift.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. It's our patriotic song of the day. Josh Turner, a soldier's gift. Thank you so much, uh, best friend, for calling in and uh a big thank you to uh all our military, all our uh everyone that has served and is uh continuing to serve this great country. We're so grateful for you and the sacrifices uh you make for our safety, like uh being away from your family on Christmas. So uh we love you all, and this is a great song, best friend. I will talk to you later. All right, bye. Bye. Good morning. It's the morning brew with Chris. Who's this? Boo hoo. Boo hoo! It is Dave Ramsey, star of Boo or Cool. Uh, what can I do you for this morning, best friend?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you can play it on the radio, but I'd like some brew crew to hear because I don't have a radio in my house and I can't hear it.
SPEAKER_00:So you just watch on the uh Facebook Live, the behind the scenes of the crew. So what uh what song do you want us to play today?
SPEAKER_01:Ronnie Milsap, what a difference you made in my life.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome, and it's going out to the brew crew?
SPEAKER_01:Going out to the brew crew and all my wonderful friends and everybody that's it's an inspirational song for this time of year.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome. All right. Well, Ronnie Milsap, what a difference you made in my life, and what a difference you've made in my life, Dave. You are awesome. Thanks so much for being part of the brew crew.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, thank you for being a friend.
SPEAKER_00:All right, we love you, best friend. Here's Ronnie Milsap. What a difference you made in my life. Going out to our best friend Dave. We love you, buddy. Love you too.
