What the HELL Were You Thinking?

Episode 437: The Nip Slip Seen Around the World

This week Host Dave Bledsoe loudly is very excited because he gets to talk about his favorite subject: Boobs. (Unfortunately he keeps insisting on talking about them to women at the bar, who do NOT want to hear it.) On the show this week we travel back 20 years ago this month to a more innocent time, when a half second of barely bar boob scandalized America. (Well, a small portion of it, the rest of American wanted to see more.) We are talking about The Wardrobe Malfunction and Nipplegate!  (Game on!)

Along the way we learn more than ANYONE wanted to know about Dave’s first sexual experience. (Our editing team are still feeling nauseous) Then we dive into the history of mid game entertainment during American football championship games.  (We are not legally allowed to use the name of the damn thing without express permission of the National Football League.) Then we tell the backstory of all the people on the stage that fateful night, including Kid Rock. (For no adequately explored reason.) We walk you through the events leading to point seconds of televised, barely visible nipple and the fallout from people almost but not quite seeing Janet Jackson’s bare boob.  Finally, we explain what really happened that night, and it is (according to our research)exactly what EVERYONE thought happened in the first place. (We cite our sources!)

Our Sponsor this week's sponsor is Penny’s Pasties, when you need them not to be seen, slap on a Penny’s. We open with anniversary coverage of Nipplegate and close with JC & the Two Steps who bet they have you naked by the end of this podcast.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

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The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/TvyVpbrwwNM?si=LbhWT3wmLCxGhLVp&t=14

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:  

From marching bands to megastars: How the Super Bowl halftime show became a global spectacle

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2024/01/31/from-marching-bands-to-megastars-how-the-super-bowl-halftime-show-became-a-global-spectacle/72422045007/

Nipple Ripples: 10 Years of Fallout From Janet Jackson’s Halftime Show

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/nipple-ripples-10-years-of-fallout-from-janet-jacksons-halftime-show-122792/

Super Bowl Halftime show generates controversy

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a13281/super-bowl-halftime-show-generates-controversy/

Jackson steps out as 'Damita Jo'

https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-03-29-janet-jackson-main_x.htm

What Happened After Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl ‘Nipplegate’ Incident

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/janet-jackson-justin-timberlake-2004-super-bowl-what-happened-8007041/

How Nipplegate Created YouTube

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/youtube-origin-nipplegate-janet-jackson-justin-timberlake-949019/

Handy chart tells you if your breasts weigh more or less than a newborn polar bear

https://metro.co.uk/2016/07/07/handy-chart-tells-you-if-your-breasts-weight-more-or-less-than-a-newborn-polar-bear-5991663/

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Episode 279 Expanded Edition: Warning, Challenger Jokes Ahead(Update and Redux)

This week Host Dave Bledsoe volunteers to be the first podcast host in space thinking it might convince people to buy him free drinks.  (It doesn’t.)  On the show this week we are somehow topical and yet entirely outdated as we talk about the Challenger Disaster.  (Yes, sadly, he DOES do the jokes.)

Along the way we learn that most of what people SAY they remember about The Day Gen X Died is kinda wrong.  (Kinda like Dave trying to recall last Tuesday!) From there we jump right into the grim and stupid tale of the Shuttle Challenger disaster, mostly gleaned from the Netflix docu-series Challenger: Final Flight.  (We are not afraid to let others do our research for us!)  We learn why someone thought it was a good idea to send an untrained civilian into freaking Space.  (Reagan was doing badly with teachers.)  We meet the starry eyed optimist teacher who erroneously believed no one would be so STUPID as to send an untrained civilian into space if it were at ALL dangerous.  (Turns out they would, and it was.)  Then we explain all the ways this didn’t have to happen and why it was always GOING to happen.  (Turns out NASA, not exactly well managed.)  Finally, we talk about the jokes,  (Honestly, this was always going to be about the jokes.) and how they colored the world view of an entire generation.

Our Sponsor this week is the Russian Space Agency, you want to go space cheap, fly Russian Space Agency, coming back costs extra.  We open the show with Jerry Seinfeld from a Tonight Show appearance in the 1980’s and close with Pushnoy singing about the Ford 150 of space!

Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

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www.whatthehellpodcast.com

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The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/8QNxgBPfsl4

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network!

Citations Needed

Challenger: Final Flight

https://www.netflix.com/title/81012137

Roger Boisjoly-The Challenger Disaster

https://www.onlineethics.org/12703/Erosion

WHITE HOUSE FINDS NO PRESSURE TO LAUNCH

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/04/us/white-house-finds-no-pressure-to-launch.html#:~:text=The%20White%20House%20said%20today,pressure%20on%20the%20launching%20schedule.

Criticism of the Space Shuttle program

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_Space_Shuttle_program#Cultural_issues_and_problems

DISASTER AS A LAUGHING MATTER

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-03-25-8601220292-story.html

Challenger Jokes and the Humor of Disaster

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1499820?read-now=1&seq=12#page_scan_tab_contents

Experts Defend Them : ‘Sick’ Jokes: Coping With the Horror

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-30-mn-8176-story.html

 Update/Redux:

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/weird-science/nasa-confirms-talks-fly-big-bird-doomed-shuttle-challenger-n353521

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Show Notes Episode 436: Now You’re Just A Leno That I Used to Know

Finale of Winter Series 2024 “Late Nite with Dave Bledsoe”

This week Host Dave Bledsoe gets into a bitter feud with his agent over whose round of drinks it is. (Dave doesn’t have an agent, he was arguing with an old drunk lady in Port Authority.  Again.) On the show this week we conclude our Winter Series for 2024 with the true tale of how Jay Leno ratfucked everyone he ever met. (Pointy chin motherfucker!)

Along the way we discover that Dave is nothing if not consistent. (Consistently do stupid shit while drunk and then breaking into tears afterwards.) Then dive right into the backstory of James Douglas Muir Leno from his humble origins to his time in Hollywood buddying up to people he would eventually stab in the during his long march to the Tonight Show. (This show is neither fair, nor balanced.) We meet Helen, the woman that created Jay’s career only to be discarded when she threatened his seat behind the desk.  We learn the details about Jay’s weaseling that were far worse than what you think you already know. (There was ALWAYS a plan to fuck over David Letterman.)

Our Sponsor this week is Nunzio’s Talent Management, you get the contract you want and nobody gets hurt. We open with Bill Hicks waxing rhapsodic about Jay Leno and close with the Pentatonix harmonizing about people they used to know.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

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The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music:https://youtu.be/hOKuAigsrec?si=CqMRFyAjJXdtzT6T&t=6

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

Jay Leno Biography

https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/jay-leno

Jay Leno Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Leno

BEHIND THE HEADLINES IN THE LENO -- LETTERMAN WAR

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/30/magazine/behind-the-headlines-in-the-leno-letterman-war.html

Jay Leno’s Loyalty Test in the Battle for the “Tonight Show”

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/11/09/jay-lenos-hard-bargain

Inside Jay Leno's 'Secret Deal' with NBC to Host 'The Tonight Show' over David Letterman

https://people.com/tv/inside-jay-leno-secret-deal-with-nbc-to-host-the-tonight-show-over-david-letterman/

The History Behind How Jay Leno Became The Most Hated Man In Show Business

https://www.ranker.com/list/stories-of-jay-leno-being-shameless/jacob-shelton

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Show Notes Episode 435: From the Home Office In Howard Beach Queens

Part Three of Winter Series 2024 “Late Nite With Dave Bledsoe”

This week Host Dave Bledsoe gets into a blazing row with the network on whether or not he can submit bar tabs on his expense account, claiming them as a “vital research expense”. (Jeremy laughed him out of the office.) On the show this week we talk about the man who was hand picked to succeed Johnny Carson only to get screwed by The Chin, David Letterman.

Along the way we discover Dave’s middle name (It is just as embarrassing as any of us could have hoped for!) Then we dive right into the backstory of Indiana's Favorite Son, David Letterman. (No state claims Dave Bledsoe) We follow him on his move to Los Angeles where he was discovered by Jimmy Walker, who thought he was DYNOMITE! (Sadly, we are the originators of that joke.) Then we see Letterman launch his career on television with a little help from the Starland Vocal Band. (This only sounds like we are making it up). Finally we see Dave behind the desk of Late Night where his legacy truly begins.

Our Sponsor this week is a classic Sponsor from our early days the Mark Tweaky Tibbman YOU WILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN MAN podcast! He’s off the meth and high on podcasting.  We open with Letterman’s first time on Carson and close with The New Love Generation getting some in the afternoon.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

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The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/HrhKNLGoE5U?si=Lw367CmNctfGi-Pl

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

Station History A short history of WBST and Indiana Public Radio

https://indianapublicradio.org/about/stationhistory/

DAVID LETTERMAN: PLAYBOY INTERVIEW

https://web.archive.org/web/20090415130808/http://www.playboy.com/articles/david-letterman-interview/index.html

How I Discovered Jay Leno and David Letterman Recollections from Jimmie Walker’s writers’ room.

https://slate.com/culture/2012/07/jimmie-walker-how-i-discovered-jay-leno-and-david-letterman.html

David Letterman Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Letterman

How David Letterman Reinvented TV

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/how-david-letter

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Show Notes Episode 434: Johnny Come Lately

Part Two of “Late Nite with Dave Bledsoe

This week Host Dave Bledsoe gets banned from the Bronx Zoo after being found drunkenly screaming and throwing his own feces at a monkey who “will never work in show business again!”. (Just another Tuesday for Dave) On the show this week we tell you about the King of Late Night, that guy who made those Girls Gone Wild Tapes.  (Kidding, we mean Johnny Carson!)

Along the way we discover that the real radio talent in Dave’s family is with his sister and she should be the one with a podcast. (Honestly, this could be said for all the members of his family.) Then we dive right into the early history of a kid from the Midwest who had a dream, he would be on the radio! He chased the dream and became one of the influential people in Hollywood. (We still believe Ed McMahon is the power behind the throne.) After we spend some time on hagiography, we finally get around to dealing with the dirt about the REAL Johnny Carson. (Turns out, he was kind of dick.  We can say that now, he’s dead.) Finally we explain to you the REAL reason Johnny retired.  

Our Sponsor this week is Rent a Sidekick, your one stop shop for sidekicks, cronies and yes men!  We open the show with Ed McMahon feeling GOOD and close with Kelly Oliver and World War Two tub thumper!

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

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The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music: https://youtu.be/OzSRIOljIS4?si=iWMvuL669sPO5_aP&t=16

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

Wikipedia: Johnny Carson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Carson

Biographical Essay About Johnny Carson by Author Bill Zehme

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/biographical-essay-about-johnny-carson-by-author-bill-zehme/2054/

TV'S MR. ROGERS-A BUSY SURROGATE DAD

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1983/06/19/231804.html?pageNumber=235

Fifteen Years of the Salto Mortale

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/02/20/fifteen-years-salto-mortale

Carson good at drinking, dames and being a d!@#

https://nypost.com/2013/10/12/johnny-carson-was-good-at-3-things-drink-dames-and-being-a-d/

The Private Side Of Johnny Carson

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-private-side-of-johnny-carson/

Many come to praise Johnny Carson others would rather just bury him

https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/05/17/many-come-to-praise-johnny-carson-others-would-rather-just-bury-him/

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Episode 433: “Waiting for a Paar to Fall” 

Part 1 of  Winter Series 2024: “Late Night With Dave Bledsoe”

This week Host Dave Bledsoe drunkenly stumbles out of the studio bathroom shouting “Heeeeere's Davey!” with his pants around his ankles as a joke. (Again) On the show this week we kick off our Winter Series for 2024 with the B.C. era of late night TV talk. (Before Carson)

Along the way we are forced to listen to an old man wax nostalgic about TV sign-offs from his childhood. (Honestly, we are looking for a home for Dave, a cheap one.) Then we dive right into the history of television talk shows.  We hear about Joe Franklin, the “Ur” Late Night Host who essentially created the format before moving on to NBC’s first incarnation of an iconic show with an iconic host. (Well, TWO iconic hosts actually) and how they created a television show that has been on the air over half a century.  (Before being utterly ruined by Jay Leno.).

Our Sponsor this week is Panelist R Us, in a bind because your guest canceled at the last minute?  Grab a D Lister from Panelist R Us.  We open with the very first broadcast of the Tonight show and close with Hindley Street Social Club waiting for the star to fall and hit Dave for his dumb ass pun.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

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The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music:https://youtu.be/2YIVQn-bGfM?si=YgtorD5a1ot31Hq7

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

II. History: U.S. Talk Shows from Radio to Television and the Internet

https://ellenhume.com/talk-show-culture/ii-history-u-s-talk-shows-from-radio-to-television-and-the-internet/

JOE FRANKLIN

https://www.bronxwalkoffame.com/inductees/joe-franklin

The Peculiar Truth about Joe Franklin, the Eccentric Talk Show Host

https://medium.com/the-peculiar-truth/the-peculiar-truth-about-joe-franklin-the-eccentric-talk-show-host-6169875aec11

That Old Feeling: Paar Excellence Richard Corliss remembers Jack Paar, the emotional, inimitable host of “The Tonight Show”

https://web.archive.org/web/20040217114614/http://www.time.com/time/columnist/corliss/article/0,9565,585397,00.html

Wikipedia: Transition from Paar to Carson (1962)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tonight_Show#Transition_from_Paar_to_Carson_(1962)

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Show Notes Episode 432: The Whack Heard Around the World

This week Host Dave Bledsoe gets into a drunken row with Fast Eddie because Fast Eddie won’t have one of his guys “do something about his Joe Rogan problem”. (His problem is he liked Joe Rogan on Newsradio and wants to know what happened to that Joe Rogan.) On the show this week we go back thirty years from the week of release to the time a group of bumbling idiots lightly bruised a figure skater’s leg. (morons, all of them)

Along the way we learn why you should never play cards with Dave’s Mom. (She regularly won back Dave’s allowance, because Dave sucks at poker!) Then we zip back to 1994 and the world of Olympic Figure Skating and the cut throat (knee bashing) competition to make the US Olympic Team. We meet Nancy and Tonya, two girls from very similar backgrounds with big dreams. Only one of them was married to a moron, and that moron was going to make things very hard for BOTH of them.  (Whatever you think about Tonya, she had horrible taste in men!) We follow along as the world's dumbest criminals hatch an overly complicated plan to take out Nancy Kerrigan, if they could only find her. Wackiness ensues when one of these dipshits whacks Nancy Kerrigan in the leg. (Honestly, these guys were idiots)

Our Sponsor this week is Johnson’s Protectives, don’t take a shot to the nuts without a Johnson’s Protective! We open the show with news footage of the run by whacking and close with Alyson Greenfield’s Mom explaining conflict resolution.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

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The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music:https://youtu.be/gT2ej6ULgKs?si=K3G5tJ4x0rRRwXgD

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

FIGURE SKATING

https://usopm.org/hall-of-fame/figure-skating/

This Is the Insane Amount of Money It Takes to Become an Olympic Figure Skater

https://money.com/olympic-figure-skating-costs/

‘I, Tonya’: What You Need to Know About Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/i-tonya-what-you-need-to-know-about-tonya-harding-and-nancy-kerrigan-120857/

Harding-Kerrigan 20 Years Later: Remembering the Stunning, Life-Changing Attack

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1887592-harding-kerrigan-20-years-later-remembering-the-stunning-life-changing-attack

Wikipedia: Assault of Nancy Kerrigan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_of_Nancy_Kerrigan

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Show Notes Episode 431: This Year Was Trouble When it Walked In

2023 Year In Review

Dave wraps up 2023 the same way he started the year, bloodied, drunk and crying behind a bar in Bay Ridge.  (It’s tradition) On the show this week it is our Annual Year in Review when we look back at the year that was and tell you how it went.  (Hint: Not Great) We cull the endless news cycles to bring the stories that truly shaped events in the past year.  (And some stuff about George Santos because we thought it was funny.) To pop a champagne cork, put on a funny hat, blow that paper whistle thing and look back on Two Thousand and Twenty Three!

Our Sponsor this week is the Year 2024, who promises this year will be different, baby, if you just give it a chance! We open the show with a prediction that never came true and close with Walk Off Earth who had their suspicions. 

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

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The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music:https://youtu.be/WcM14Al83Ls?si=V9dalvbh7xhT8Oft

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

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Show Notes Episode 430: Carl’s Worst Christmas Ever and Other Holiday Tales

This week Host Dave Bledsoe tries some amazing eggnog some guy’s brother made with  lighter fluid and starts telling stories. (Again) For our annual “Jesus, is it Christmas already?” episode, we dig into the vaults of Dave’s Brain to bring you lurid tales of Christmas’ gone wrong in every way possible. Be they marital infidelity, public masturbation or a singularly misfortunate ornament mishap, someone is not having a happy holiday. (This is why Dave doesn’t get invited to story hours at the library.) So gather your family around the fire (I mean the adult family, leave kids watching their Youtube or whatever) pour yourselves something from a bottle being passed around and get ready for stories of people having a MUCH worse Christmas than you are!

Our sponsor this week is the Holiday Ornament Safety Council who remind you that decorations go on the tree, not inside you.  We open with a heartwarming family gathering and close with Lord Weatherby who is freaking out.

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast

The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/

The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ

Our Website: www.whatthehellpodcast.com

Give us your money on Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast

The Show Line: 347 687 9601

Closing Music:https://youtu.be/T7OBPvc9ddA?si=dtGOwiq-8t-HRzSz

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

18 Christmas Disasters That'll Make You Feel Bad For Laughing

https://www.buzzfeed.com/beckybarnicoat/christmas-disasters

People Tell Us Their Worst Christmas Horror Stories

https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgmm5p/people-tell-us-their-worst-christmas-horror-stories

24 Christmas disasters to make you feel better about burning the turkey, from poisoned guests to 7,000 acres of fire damage

https://www.countrylife.co.uk/food-drink/24-christmas-disasters-make-feel-better-burning-turkey-poisoned-guests-7000-acres-fire-damage-209545

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