The Pod Files - Thursday 25 December 2025

 

The ‘casts -

(Notes spoken to Siri, and edited later if I remember

(Changed tactic now where starred dialogue denotes quoting from the show’s own notes


Candy Claus, Private Eye - Season 2 Episode 5: 23 December 2025: *I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Snow Cones - Season 2, episode 5. Candy and Santa Blob uncover secrets while trying to protect Santa during the week leading up to the Rocking Horse Derby. Written and directed by Ella Gale.



The Calm Christmas Podcast with Beth Kempton - season 5 episode 1: 13 November 2025: *Do You Hear What I Hear? - The UK's #1 favourite Christmas podcast is back for a fifth season of cosiness and calm, hosted by bestselling British author Beth Kempton. Here in Episode 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' we begin the new season of the Calm Christmas Podcast in Scotland, with the beautiful words of baker Flora Shedden, owner of Aran Bakery, which perfectly capture what us 'Keepers of Christmas' sense and love about this time of year - the contrast between the cold outdoors and the cosy inside, the warmth we try to bring to our homes, to our communities, the details we notice when we pause long enough to look and listen to what is happening in nature and so on. / We will share a hot cuppa and conversations about ease, joy, endings and new beginnings, and much more including: Gentle planning / All about Advent Calendars / A little bit of poetry / A lot of love for birds / A round up of podcast listeners' favourite / Christmas music recommendations / Our old favourites - Nature, Wellbeing and Traditions Corners / A viral Christmas poem written for you / A warming soup recipe courtesy of Flora Shedden / Get ahead tips / Some lovely goodies for you. 



Christmas Pop-up Channel - 28 November 2025: *Romance Weekly's Frost and Fire: episode 1 of 4 Ice and Embers - Master jeweller and reformed thief Lucia Frost's carefully constructed world at an exclusive Aspen resort begins to crack when FBI Agent Gabriel Chase arrives for the Christmas season. She recognizes him not only as the agent who almost caught her years ago, but as the mysterious "Adam" with whom she shared an unforgettable night in Monaco. As they circle each other with equal parts suspicion and desire, a daring jewelry heist bearing the mark of Lucia's former crew forces them into a dangerous alliance...


Merry Christmas! Daily Christmas Stories - 25 December 2025: Extract from The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame 


Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - 23 December 2025: bespoke



Season's Readings - 25 November 2025: *The Purple Dress - A Classic Holiday Story by O. Henry - O. Henry often found the heart of a story in the everyday moments most people overlook. The Purple Dress is one of those pieces — a small, vivid glimpse into life in early-1900s New York, told with his familiar mix of humor, warmth, and gentle surprise. / William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry, wrote more than six hundred short stories marked by humor, warmth, and his famous twist endings. His work captures the daily lives of ordinary Americans - especially the clerks and shopgirls of early-20th-century New York — with compassion and insight.


Composers Datebook - 19 December 2025: Wendy Carlos synthesizes Purcell and Bach


Composers Datebook - 20 December 2025: Mozart in Salzburg, Bloch in America


Composers Datebook - 21 December 2025: Diamond's First


Composers Datebook - 22 December 2025: Puccini's birthday


Composers Datebook - 23 December 2025: Humperdinck's 'Into the Woods'?


Composers Datebook - 24 December 2025: Safe passage for Rachmaninoff



Daily Tips That May or May Not Help You - season 3 episode 17: 23 December 2025: *A Tip For Storing Your Toothbrush - Your toothbrush holder is probably growing mold right now. Water pools at the bottom every time you brush, creating a disgusting breeding ground. Either get a holder with drainage holes or set a reminder to clean it every two weeks.


Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - 24 December 2025: hark back


Daily Tips That May or May Not Help You - season 3 episode 18: 24 December 2025: *A Tip For Surviving Family Gatherings (w/ Megan Tan) - Merry Christmas Eve, Tippendales! The holidays bring us face-to-face with relatives who push our buttons. Guest tipper Megan Tan shares a mindset shift that transforms tense family time into something bearable— maybe even meaningful. This approach works for any gathering where you need to keep your cool.


Christmas Pop-up Channel - 28 November 2025: *Romance Weekly's Frost and Fire: Christmas episode 2 of 4 Heat in the Storm - As a blizzard isolates Summit Ridge resort, Lucia and Gabriel's investigation of the Winters' jewelry heist is interrupted by a total power failure, trapping them in the darkened vault...


Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - 25 December 2025: noel


Holidays After Dark - episode 98: 23 December 2025: *Christmas 2025 Unscripted: A Look Back - In this first ever unscripted (not an interview) episode, Kristin talks about her feelings about the podcast over the past year and what it is going to look like moving forward. She also shares her favorite Christmas things for 2025 and also the things she was obsessed with all year long. [that flowed nicely 



The Stupid History Minute - 23 December 2025:  Hatchimals


Season's Readings - 18 December 2025: *The Star - An Original Short, Short Christmas Story by Don McDonald - This is a special Christmas bonus episode for Season's Readings listeners. / Frank has reasons for not decorating anymore. Christmas is quieter now. Darker. / Easier to ignore. / Then a new neighbor moves in next door-six years old, endlessly curious. What starts as a simple conversation turns into a small act of defiance against grief, routine, and the belief that some lights, once turned off, should stay that way. / The Star is a gentle story about unexpected persuasion, borrowed wonder, and how the smallest voices sometimes know exactly where the switch is.


Daily Tips That May or May Not Help You - season 3 episode 19: 25 December 2025: *A Tip For Christmas Morning Waste - Happy Christmas, Tippendales! / Save your wrapping paper after opening presents-if you've got large pieces intact, turn them into festive placemats or drawer liners. Attach the paper to cardboard backing for durable, holiday-themed table settings that last through the season. Plus, wrapping paper isn't recyclable anyway, so you might as well give it a second life.



Christmas Pop-up Channel - 28 November 2025: *Romance Weekly's Frost and Fire: Christmas episode 3 of 4 Melting Point - In the aftermath of a violent confrontation with her past, Lucia finally reveals the full truth about her history with the Winters crime family to Gabriel...


The Stupid History Minute - 24 December 2025: L.O.L. Surprise Dolls


The Calm Christmas Podcast with Beth Kempton - Season 5 Episode 2: 20 November 2025: *The Christmas Present - In the old days, Christmas was much more about gathering and feasting after a long year than about gifts given and received, but in modern life Christmas shopping has become something of a frenzied affair for many, starting with the Black Friday sales and running all the way up to last minute panic buying on Christmas Eve. Not only is this stressful before Christmas, it make January harder when the credit card bill arrives.

This week's episode of the Calm Christmas Podcast - Season 5 Episode 2: The Christmas Present - is an invitation to consider how best to allocate not only money, but also your time and attention this year. It includes: Reflections on how Christmas gifting has changed over the years. / A few ideas unusual homemade items and children's book gifts / A little bit of festive shopping humour ;-) / Cosy talk about the rain, and respect for honey bees / A mermaid adventure / Some lovely wrapping-related Christmas crafting ideas / The world's simplest recipe for edible chocolate bark (makes a lovely homemade present) / Get ahead tips and dates for your diary this week


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