The Universal Joint Podcast
1) Fast & Furious Revs Up and the Strange Art of Faking Disaster at Universal (Ep. 87)
This week, Jim and Eric shift from breaking Universal news into a fascinating look back at how the company perfected the art of staged chaos. From the official confirmation of a Fast & Furious coaster...Show More
2) Tarzan Swings Back In, While the Universal Backlot Goes Up in Flames (Ep. 86)
Jim Hill and Eric Hersey kick things off with a generational pop culture moment before diving headfirst into a packed episode of Universal news, park planning, and studio history. From a newly announc...Show More
3) Universal’s Most Dangerous Tram Scene and Why It Disappeared (Ep. 85)
Jim and Eric kick off this week’s show with listener-driven updates and fresh speculation from the Universal parks beat, before pivoting into a deep historical dive on one of the strangest and most me...Show More
4) From Affordable Housing to a House on Fire – Universal News and the Tram Tour’s Burning Past (Ep. 84)
Recording on New Year’s Eve for a show that drops just as 2026 begins, Jim Hill and Eric Hersey cover a full slate of Universal news, rumors, and unexpected updates before shifting into a classic Jim ...Show More
5) Permits, Surveys, and Big Moves as Universal’s Next Era Points to Saudi Arabia (Ep. 83)
This holiday week episode of the Epic Universal Podcast was recorded on Christmas Eve, which means Jim and Eric are juggling last minute shopping, customer service horror stories, and a surprisingly f...Show More
6) The Day Boris Karloff Walked Into the Commissary and Changed Hollywood (Ep. 82)
Jim and Eric kick off this week’s show with a very on-brand travel mishap from Jim’s latest Hallmark-fueled road trip, then pivot back to the stuff you came for - Universal news, theme park weirdness,...Show More
The Day Boris Karloff Walked Into the Commissary and Changed Hollywood (Ep. 82)
54:59 | Dec 19th, 2025
7) The Dracula Gamble That Built Universal’s Monster Empire (Ep. 81)
From queue changes to construction walls to nighttime lagoon testing, the parks offer plenty to parse this week. The guys then pivot from the Epic Universe lagoon to Universal’s classic monsters, usin...Show More
8) The 27-Year Idea: Uncovering the Surprising Origins of CityWalk (Ep. 80)
Jim kicks off this week’s show with a wild winter travel saga involving airport shutdowns, missing donuts, and a 3 a.m. pickup run that somehow beats the incoming snowstorm. From there, he and Eric di...Show More
9) How Jim Carrey Survived Becoming the Grinch (Ep. 79)
Jim and Eric unwrap a very different kind of holiday story this week: the wild, demanding, and downright unbelievable making of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). Fresh from Jim’s trip to IAAPA an...Show More
10) The Man Who Made Universal Explode: Jay Stein and the Birth of the JayBang (Ep. 78)
On this episode, Jim Hill and Eric Hersey dig into the latest Universal Orlando updates before turning to a deep-dive tribute to Jay Stein — the visionary who transformed Universal’s backlot tour into...Show More
The Man Who Made Universal Explode: Jay Stein and the Birth of the JayBang (Ep. 78)
58:20 | Nov 21st, 2025