Halloween | Public Figures – A Nateland Podcast | Ep #39

• 0:00 Live from the Nateland studio at Zanies in Nashville. Connor Larsen sits in for Dusty Slay, and the plugs.
• 2:00 Dusty sends his regards, sort of, and covering for people who never said hi.
• 2:40 Rexburg, Idaho: a sold-out 15,000-seat show with Nate at BYU–Idaho, formerly Ricks College.
• 5:00 How Connor got the call for the 15,000-seat show the night before.
• 6:20 Pandering to a BYU crowd: “I hate hot drinks,” and a Notre Dame fan gets booed.
• 8:00 John Crist’s wedding in Northwest Arkansas, and Brian’s Paducah gig at the Kentucky Comedy Festival.
• 9:40 Brian’s St. Louis Funny Bone weekend and the AI version of his headshot on the poster.
• 12:00 Connor’s baby is on the way, and why he is the most sleep-sensitive comic they know.
• 13:40 A rough Connecticut casino show and the host who left early.
• 14:40 Chad Daniels tells a host to skip the end of the show and drive home.
• 15:40 What 15,000 people felt like, sharing one mic, and trust falls.
• 17:00 House Call Pro read.
• 18:20 Trust falls on stage, icebreaker fun facts and a car won at the Wilson County Fair.
• 20:20 Wedding speeches, and Derrick Stroup’s speech at John Crist’s reception.
• 22:50 Comments: Michael B. Jordan’s middle initial and “just have Connor on as a guest.”
• 24:10 “Sesame Street for grown-ups,” and a Grover book about buying a farm.
• 25:40 Amish dental care, the book Growing Up Amish, and a story from a Pittsburgh hotel business center.
• 28:00 The flossing note the hygienist typed into a dental chart.
• 28:40 The Battle of Shiloh, the white rat instead of the tooth fairy, and tooth fairy rates.
• 30:40 Harald Bluetooth and where the Bluetooth logo comes from.
• 32:00 A Stroopwafel McFlurry, and Aaron on the “bananification” of baseball.
• 34:40 Is Banana Ball a CIA psyop? Plus the Harlem Globetrotters on Scooby-Doo and Gilligan’s Island.
• 39:20 October 26 is a sports equinox.
• 40:57 Base44 read.
• 42:00 Remembering other comics’ jokes, and a Paul F. Tompkins story about There Will Be Blood.
• 43:30 Aaron’s elbow insecurity, shorts on stage and linen pants.
• 45:50 A Florida middle school’s tuck-in rule and the hoodie loophole.
• 47:00 Tongue scrapers, and brushing dogs’ teeth with peanut-butter toothpaste.
• 48:30 A comment about a Brienne Bates on a West Virginia ballot.
• 50:10 Halloween: Connor thinks it is in its weakest era, and trick-or-treat yield per mile.
• 52:20 Trunk-or-treat, and what to hand out besides candy.
• 56:20 The top Halloween costumes of 2026, from a Nee-Doh to The Odyssey and Descendants.
• 58:40 Honor-system candy bowls and Ring doorbells.
• 1:01:10 Costume plans: The Nightmare Before Christmas, and a couple in a tuxedo.
• 1:03:30 HexClad read.
• 1:05:00 Aaron’s first tuck-in in a decade, and a Walmart drone belt delivery in Bentonville.
• 1:07:40 Halloween at Nate’s house, the old Dusty wig and a college Bill Cosby costume.
• 1:10:20 The most popular Halloween candy by state.
• 1:11:40 Aaron’s daughter and the gas-station Tootsie Pops.
• 1:13:20 Butterfinger, M&M’s minis, Almond Joy in Missouri, candy corn and Blow Pops.
• 1:18:50 Nerds Gummy Clusters, and how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.
• 1:21:10 Warheads, and Halloween spending versus Christmas.
• 1:24:00 The history of Halloween: Samhain and All Saints’ Day.
• 1:26:00 NOBL read.
• 1:27:40 Stingy Jack and the jack-o’-lantern, and the Captain Kirk mask behind Michael Myers.
• 1:30:40 Scary homemade costumes from the 1920s and 1930s.
• 1:32:00 A pulled Halloween cold open from The Office.
• 1:32:50 Werewolves: Peter Stumpp, a full-moon hospital study and Remus Lupin in Harry Potter.
• 1:36:00 Which mythical creature would you be? Vampires, Frankenstein’s monster and a Pegasus.
• 1:38:00 Can vampires go outside? Twilight, Dracula and The Lost Boys.
• 1:40:30 Vlad the Impaler and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
• 1:42:00 The real case behind The Exorcist.
• 1:43:00 Movies that scared them as kids: Garfield’s Halloween Adventure, Land of the Lost, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Ring.
• 1:46:20 Watching Midsommar alone in Albany and getting lost in an empty mall.
• 1:48:20 Halloween songs: Monster Mash, the Halloween theme and Thriller.
• 1:50:40 The crew’s scariest childhood movies.
• 1:53:00 Plugs: Alex Velluto’s special, out now on the Nateland YouTube channel.
• 1:54:00 The worst joke tag ever: “room visitors.”
• 1:55:00 Sign-off and tour dates.

• 2:40 15,000 seats in Rexburg — All three did Nate’s show at BYU–Idaho, and Connor got the call to join the night before. Brian hosted and played to the crowd with “I hate hot drinks.”
• 9:40 The AI poster — The St. Louis Funny Bone used an AI-made version of Brian’s photo on its poster. Brian took it on stage to explain why he might not look like the guy on the wall.
• 20:20 “Love is friendship on fire” — Derrick Stroup went last at John Crist’s reception and gave what gets called the best wedding speech any of them has heard.
• 32:00 The bananification of baseball — Asked by a listener, Aaron gives the Savannah Bananas a fair hearing for families with kids, then admits youth Banana Ball videos make him sick.
• 1:10:20 Candy by state — An 18-year sales map puts Snickers on top in Tennessee and Almond Joy first in Missouri, and Butterfinger and candy corn both get defended.
• 1:32:50 Werewolves and vampires — From the 16th-century Peter Stumpp case and Vlad the Impaler to a long Remus Lupin deep cut and an argument over whether vampires can go outside.

Obsession (2026) (mention) — Source of one of the top trending costumes; later one of the hosts asks if the others saw it. Wikipedia 56:49 1:46:13

Halloween (1978) (mention) — Next to the story of where the Michael Myers mask came from. Wikipedia 1:28:50

The Vampire Diaries (mention) — One of the hosts bases his vampire rules on the CW show. Wikipedia 1:39:13

The Lord of the Rings (mention) — Gollum terrified one of the hosts as a kid. Wikipedia 1:42:57

The Brave Little Toaster (mention) — Another movie that scared them as kids. Wikipedia 1:43:09

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (mention) — “That was really frightening.” Wikipedia 1:45:22

The Conjuring (mention) — Nate picked it on the road; one of the hosts closed his eyes through the scary parts. Wikipedia 1:46:03

Mean Girls (Blu-ray) — The trust fall nobody at the table has ever done. Amazon 16:30

Growing Up Amish (Ira Wagler) — The memoir one of them read, from the Amish dental care comment. Amazon 26:40

There Will Be Blood (Blu-ray) — From the Paul F. Tompkins read-through story, and one host’s favorite movie. Amazon 43:20

Magnolia (Blu-ray) — The other Paul Thomas Anderson movie in the same story. Amazon 43:20

Men’s linen pants (brand not named) — Closest match to the 100% linen pants Connor wears instead of shorts. Amazon 45:20

Tongue scraper (brand not named) — From a listener comment that called it a game changer. Amazon 47:00

Peanut-butter dog toothpaste (brand not named) — Like the peanut-butter toothpaste one host uses on his older dogs. Amazon 47:50

Hot Wheels 5-pack — Non-candy trick-or-treat handout idea. Amazon 55:40

NeeDoh squish toys — The squishy cube that is also one of 2026’s top costumes. Amazon 57:00

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Blu-ray) — The couples-costume idea nobody could remember the name of. Amazon 1:02:00

Tootsie Roll Pops — Number two in Tennessee; Aaron’s gas-station Tootsie Pop story. Amazon 1:11:10

Butterfinger — Niche or unbelievable, plus the milkshake argument. Amazon 1:13:20

M&M’s Minis — The mini M&M’s, eaten 50 at a time. Amazon 1:15:10

Almond Joy — Somehow number one in Missouri. Amazon 1:16:30

Nerds Gummy Clusters — The greatest non-chocolate candy, and only Indiana knows it. Amazon 1:19:00

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — The third book, where Remus Lupin and the werewolves come in. Amazon 1:35:00

Dracula (Bram Stoker) — The vampire who never goes outside, and the novel Vlad the Impaler may have inspired. Amazon 1:39:40

The Lost Boys (Blu-ray) — The 1987 teenage vampire movie with Kiefer Sutherland. Amazon 1:40:00

The Exorcist (Blu-ray) — Based on the 1940s Roland Doe case. Amazon 1:42:00

Garfield’s Halloween Adventure (DVD) — The 1985 special that scared one host in junior high. Amazon 1:43:20

Courage the Cowardly Dog: The Complete Series — Called the scariest cartoon for one generation. Amazon 1:44:40

The Ring (Blu-ray) — The girl crawling out of the TV. Amazon 1:45:10

Midsommar (Blu-ray) — A horror movie in broad daylight, watched alone in Albany. Amazon 1:46:40

Monster Mash — The favorite Halloween song at the table. Amazon 1:48:40

Thriller (Michael Jackson) — The video that scared one of them. Amazon 1:49:50

Grover Buys a Farm (Sesame Street book) — mention: one of the hosts is reading it at home. 25:21

Stroopwafel McFlurry (McDonald’s, Canada) — mention: from a listener comment. Wikipedia 32:05

Snickers — mention: Tennessee’s #1 candy; called the Coca-Cola of chocolate bars. Wikipedia 1:10:54

Warheads — mention: they “felt dangerous” growing up. Wikipedia 1:21:19

BYU–Idaho — The school in Rexburg that used to be Ricks College. Wikipedia 4:00

The Battle of Shiloh — A listener named Shiloh, and the bloodiest battle in U.S. history up to that point. Wikipedia 28:50

Harald Bluetooth — The Viking king behind the Bluetooth name and its rune logo. Wikipedia 30:50

Savannah Bananas — Banana Ball, its own rules and why a crowd catch counts as an out. Wikipedia 32:40

Harlem Globetrotters — The original silly sports team, from Scooby-Doo to Gilligan’s Island. Wikipedia 36:40

Sports equinox — All the major U.S. leagues plus the WNBA in action on the same night. Wikipedia 39:30

Trunk-or-treat — Candy out of decorated car trunks in a church parking lot. Wikipedia 52:20

The Odyssey (2026) — One of the year’s top costume sources. Wikipedia 57:40

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland — Hazel Hook, Captain Hook’s daughter, rounds out the top 10 costumes. Wikipedia 1:00:00

Tootsie Pop licks — Purdue, Michigan, Swarthmore and NYU have all tried to count. Wikipedia 1:19:40

Samhain — The Celtic festival behind Halloween, and how All Saints’ Day absorbed it. Wikipedia 1:24:40

Jack-o’-lantern — The Stingy Jack legend. Wikipedia 1:27:50

Michael Myers — The Halloween mask that started as a Captain Kirk mask. Wikipedia 1:28:50

Peter Stumpp — The 16th-century farmer from Bedburg executed as a werewolf. Wikipedia 1:33:00

Remus Lupin — The werewolf professor in Harry Potter. Wikipedia 1:35:00

Vlad the Impaler — The ruler many believe inspired Count Dracula. Wikipedia 1:40:40

Sleestaks — The Land of the Lost lizard creatures that scared one host as a kid. Wikipedia 1:44:20

Oliver Tree — One of the hosts names him as an easy costume: “Oliver Tree, rest in peace.” The musician died June 14, 2026 (AP). Wikipedia 58:24

Christa Pike — One of the hosts says the Tennessee death-row inmate “survived” her execution (unverified). Wikipedia 1:00:34

Zanies, Nashville — Home of the Nateland studio where the show records. (Official site) 0:20

Rexburg, Idaho — The 15,000-seat Nate show at the BYU–Idaho Center. Wikipedia 2:50

Northwest Arkansas — Where John Crist got married. Wikipedia 8:10

St. Louis Funny Bone — Brian’s weekend, and the AI poster. (Official site) 10:10

Neyland Stadium, Knoxville — Where someone in the studio saw the Savannah Bananas. Wikipedia 35:40

Bentonville, Arkansas — Walmart’s hometown, where a drone delivered Aaron’s belt to the hotel in 11 minutes. Wikipedia 1:06:40

The Comedy Attic, Bloomington, Indiana — A December 18 and 19 date that gets a quick plug. (Official site) 1:19:00

Transylvania — Home of Vlad the Impaler and Count Dracula. Wikipedia 1:41:00

Albany, New York — Where a solo Midsommar screening ended with a 30-minute escape from an empty mall. Wikipedia 1:47:00

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• 0:00 More Public Figures — Every episode on the Nateland YouTube channel, plus tour dates and the rest of the network. Nateland on YouTube · nateland.com · All Public Figures notes
• 4:00 Dustin Chafin on WTF — The comic from the Rexburg bill tells Marc Maron how he gave a young Nate Bargatze his first stage time. The Comedian List: Dustin Chafin · Listen to WTF #1659
• 21:10 Derrick Stroup — The wedding-speech champ’s profile, tour dates and stand-up. The Comedian List: Derrick Stroup · Official site
• 24:40 Last week: Teeth, with Brad Upton — The Ep #38 teeth episode the comments keep coming back to. Watch Ep #38 on YouTube
• 32:40 Banana Ball — Look up the Savannah Bananas’ rules and decide for yourself. Savannah Bananas on Wikipedia
• 1:40:00 The Lost Boys (1987) — The teenage vampire movie the table argues about. The Celeb List: Kiefer Sutherland · Where to watch
• 1:46:40 Midsommar — The broad-daylight horror movie that sent one host running through a mall. Where to watch
• 1:53:20 Alex Velluto’s half-hour special — Out now on the Nateland YouTube channel. The Comedian List: Alex Velluto · Nateland on YouTube