Pop Xulture Newsletter # 38
6 Partner Practices & Universal LIGHTS-ON Fallout Experience 2025. 10/18/25
Hola, we’re covering two topics: my wife’s guide to being a good partner and a LIGHTS-ON experience at Universal Studios!
Xurrent News
I was recently on “The Ride Home with John and Kathy” – you can listen to my interview here. They had me on specifically because of my confession here that I used to unwittingly take my wife for granted (you can read it in Newsletter # 37).
The night before the interview, I asked my wife, “If you had this platform, what would you say?” She fired off six practices so fast it made me nervous. Evidently, I still have some work to do! After comically pulling on my nonexistent collar, which apparently was not funny after all (okay, clearly, I have work to do!), I started typing her thoughts. I briefly shared these on the show, here they are with a little more detail:
Jenna’s 6 Practices for Being a Good Partner:
Use your eyes: If you see a need, take care of it yourself (and quickly).
-In what we call the “spill experiment,” one time my wife left a dried spill on the kitchen floor to see how long it would take us to clean it. She ended up yelling at everyone weeks later and cleaning it herself. Not our proudest moment.
Anticipate the needs of people in your life.
-Have communal lists and discussions. Everyone contributes to anticipatory needs.
-If you’re running out of Tide pods, order them. If you’re running out of milk, put it on the list.
If you are hungry or thirsty, see if your spouse or kids need something too.
If your spouse asks for help, do it ASAP.
-Just because it’s not a priority to you, doesn’t mean it isn’t important.
-If you wait, they might do it themselves, but it will be a loss in the long run.
-When my wife asks for help it’s usually because it’s time sensitive. I might have clean clothes, but the rest of the household will go to work and school in their chonies if we don’t get Tide pods immediately.
Listen and ask questions.
-Really listen to your partner. Pay attention to what they like.
-Ask questions if you’re confused or curious. You should be able to order them something from a restaurant or make their favorite meal without them being present.
Realize others have a mental load.
-Not all domestic work is physical labor. I prefer written lists, but many people keep mental lists. For a homemaker this can be calculations of how many Tide pods are used weekly (no, I don’t get paid for mentioning Tide repeatedly), kid’s shoe and clothes sizes, memorizing each appointment, remembering birthdays, anniversaries, teacher’s names, contact info, and covering for other parents. Or knowing it’s tamale day so little Aaliyah needs spare pants while chasing the diarrhea dragon.
-When we say, “Give me a list,” or “Tell me what to do,” we are handing the mental load back to our partner (this ties back to “use your eyes”).
If you’re looking for “fair,” you’ve missed the point. Especially for Christians. When Jesus told us to turn the other cheek and esteem others as better than ourselves, there is an implication, and directly addressed acknowledgement, life won’t be fair.
In fact, we’re intentionally inconveniencing ourselves, so others are better off. The other side, though, is that we don’t know everything another person is doing. We shouldn’t run through the list of everything we’ve done (mentally or verbally). It’s not a contest. It’s a partnership.
One area I failed at early on was recognizing what holidays were important to my wife. I’ll share more on that in my upcoming Halloween article (with an application for you). <Insert Dad joke about how scary it is that I still have much to learn about being a good partner.>
Fallout Lights-on Experience 2025
I’m a scaredy cat but my wife loves horror stuff. She’s asked me to go with her to Knott’s Scary Farm and Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights for years. But there’s only a few things I’d like to do less. Like eating tapioca pudding or getting a colonoscopy. Or getting a colonoscopy after eating tapioca pudding.
She’s always said, “I just wish you could see the production value at Universal without people jumping out at you.” And it finally happened! This year Universal Studios offered Pass Members a “Special Lights-on Fallout Walkthrough.”
I planned on giving you a ton of photos but that wasn’t allowed, so all I’m left with are words. But due to spoilers, why waste time say a lot of words when a few words do the trick? If you’ve seen the show then the experience had a vault interior, a Super Duty Mart (interior and exterior), desert with sand corpses, and a massive animatronic radiation bear, all inside a sound stage. Ring-a-ding-ding!
Universal Light’s-on Fallout Blurb:
“Can you survive the post-apocalyptic world of the hit show Fallout? Join Lucy, The Ghoul, Maximus and more for a special lights-on walkthrough at one of this year’s Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses—just for valid Annual or Season Pass Members. Spaces are limited. RSVP required. Enter if you dare.”
Fallout had a phenomenal first season (read my review on CAPC Magazine here), nominated for 16 Emmys. And I’m excited for Season 2, slated to air December 2025 – February 2026.
Possibilities for Us Scaredy Cats
I’m hoping this means that other places with high production value will invest in lights-on experiences. Another non-scary option is Universal’s Fan Fest Nights, which will run again in Spring 2026. Do you know of any lights-on experiences? If so, leave a comment!
Thanks, in Him,
-Chris (the Bearded Wonder) Fogle
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