What the HELL Were You Thinking?

What the HELL Were You Thinking?

By Dave BledsoeComedyTV & FilmHistory
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What the HELL Were You Thinking? episodes

  • Episode 340: Wall to Wall and Tree Top Tall

    Show Notes Episode 340: We’re Wall to Wall and Tree Top Tall

    This week Host Dave Bledsoe is coming down out of Hog Town in a Thirteen Letter Shit Spreader hauling Go-Go Girls on the Dance Floor bound for Bingo Town, only to discover that no one has a single fucking clue what he is saying when he talks like that. (Not an uncommon event.) On the show this week, we climb into the cabs of our big rigs and take you back to the days when the Asphalt Cowboys captured America’s heart and everyone had a CB radio in their Pontiacs. 


    Along the way we learn that Dave thought he would be a Big Rig Driver because he liked the hats, until he learned he would need to park the damn things. From there we dive right into the strange cultural moment in the 1970’s when everyone in America talked like a truck driver. (What a bunch of Bucket Mouths) We find out how a combination of gas prices and not being able to drive 55 made the men (and they were almost all men) on the road big damn heroes because of some commercials for white bread (Yeah, this story goes in some unexpected directions.)


    Our Sponsor this week is Pappy’s Pep Pills, we swear they ain’t speed (wink wink) We open the show with NPR and close with Phil and Shawn talking about BJ and the Bear.


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

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

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

    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/pX5XB_MOVfA

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

    Citations Needed:


    When Truckers Shut Down America to Protest Oil Prices—and Became Folk Heroes

    https://www.history.com/news/oil-crisis-1973-truck-strike


    Trucking industry in American culture

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


    The 1970s Trucking Craze Can Be Traced Back to a Regional TV Commercial for Bread

    https://www.thedrive.com/news/40634/the-1970s-trucking-craze-can-be-traced-back-to-a-regional-tv-commercial-for-bread



    Uncited Additional Reading:  


    https://apexcdl.com/blog/a-look-back-at-1960s-1970s-trucking/


    https://www.vox.com/22397985/trucker-country-music-70s-fad


    https://www.history.com/news/oil-crisis-1973-truck-strike


    https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/30/archives/truckers-plan-national-slowdown-to-protest-55mph-speed-limit.html

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    34 min
  • Episode 339: As God As My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly

    Episode 339: As God As My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly


    This week Host Dave Bledsoe planned a big Thanksgiving Day promotion where he would drop live turkeys from to the top of the Empire State Building, only to discover that he is still not allowed back in the building after the “Santa Incident” in 2009. (Yes, alcohol was involved) On the show this week, we talk turkey day TV tropes and how every Thanksgiving Episode is exactly the same, except for one. (Of course it is WKRP!)


    Along the way we learn about that time Dave revealed himself to be an anti-immigrant asshole by mocking someone without a cultural context for his jokes. From there we dive right into the history of Thanksgiving Episodes on radio and television before we tell you the true tale of where the WKRP Turkey Drop came from! Following that we reveal our own Thanksgiving traditions by cluing you in on the greatest Thanksgiving Movie of all time. (No, not that one, the one starring Joe Don Baker!)


    OUr Sponsor this week is Jive Turkey, the all natural meat free alternative for the kind of annoying people that want a meat free alternative on Thanksgiving. We open the show with the gang from Cheers and close with Hoyt Axton just talking about Mitchell.


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

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

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

    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/bBuRvsLK1Pc

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



    Citations Needed:


    Turkeys Away An Oral History

    https://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/turkeys-away-an-oral-history/


    40 years later: ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ classic ‘Turkeys Away’ episode inspired by Atlanta station

    https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/years-later-wkrp-cincinnati-classic-turkeys-away-episode-inspired-atlanta-station/61mkjUwRuxNwio9or5hbON/

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    30 min
  • Episode 338: Got Me A Walkman and they Walked Right On and Solved Them

    Show Notes Episode 338: Got Me A Walkman and They Walked Right In and Solved Them


    This week Host Dave Bledsoe slips on his Members Only Jacket, squeezes into his Parachute Pants and slaps his Walkman on his belt to cruise the Mall for some Bettys. Only to be thrown out of the Shady Oaks Retirement Community Mall Walk-A-Thon. (Again) On the show this week, we rolled back the technological clock to a simpler time when nothing could come between you and the music except for five hundred dollars, inflation adjusted. We are talking about the original Sony Walkman!


     Along the way we learn about why Dave had a large coffin shaped box in his boyhood bedroom that had nothing to do with him being a cool Goth kid and everything to do with his parents handing down large pieces of furniture they had no further use for. Then we jump right into the history of the most remarkable consumer electronic device in history, one which would not only change how we listened to music but change society itself. The Eight Track Cassette. (We kid, it’s the Walkman) We go from it’s humble origins as a sad attempt by Salaryman to impress his boss to how it swept the world in just a few short years. (You wouldn’t be listening to this on a smartphone without the Walkman).


    Our Sponsor this week is the Sue-Me Want-Man, because there was no way in hell your parents were paying that kind of money for a cassette player. We open the show with a CBS News clip about the new machine and close with Scott Weste singing about how the Walkman solved his problems. 


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

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

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

    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/_yiYAZ_OvwI

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

    Citations Needed:


    Humming Off Key For Two Decades

    https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/circuits/articles/29walk.html


    Recorded History: The Sony Walkman Turns 40

    https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65620/july-1-1979-sonys-walkman-changes-recorded-history


    The Walkman Effect Wikipedia

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


    Walkman by Phil Patton

    https://web.archive.org/web/20070814024224/http://www.philpatton.com/walkman.html


    Uncited Additional Reading:


    https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35


    http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1907884,00.html


    https://www.iconeye.com/design/features/a-short-history-of-the-sony-walkman


    https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-walkman-forty-years-on


    https://www.everything80spodcast.com/walkman/

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    35 min
  • Episode 337: Eating Big Brother's Peanuts and Drinkin' Billy's Beer

    Show Notes Episode 337: Eating Big Brother's Peanuts and Drinking Billy's Beer


    This week Host Dave Bledsoe angrily denies he looks anything like Billy Carter and threatens to fight anyone who says different! (Then he fell off his barstool and passed out. Again.) On the show this week we examine the legacy of the Good Old Boy Brother of America’s favorite living Ex-President, Billy Carter. (We love Jimmy and all,but Jimmy never pissed on the runway beside Air Force One. If he had MAYBE he would’ve served more than one term. We’re just saying.)


    Along the way we are reminded that Jimmy Carter put his PEANUT FARM in a blind trust when HE became President. From there we learn about little Brother Billy, who despite his flaws was NOT the Black Sheep of the Carter Family. (That would be their Harley Davidson racing sister.) Then we dive right into America’s love affair with Billy, and you bet your ass we talk about Billy Beer!


    Our Sponsor this week is Davey Beer, when you want a bland generic American lager like all the rest, but with Dave’s face on it, drink Davey Beer! We open the show with Billy Carter talking about Billy Carter and close with Keith Reedy singing his love of a bad, bad beer.


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

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

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

    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/iDWygmBfmDE

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

    Citations Needed:


    BILLY CARTER, EX-PRESIDENT'S BROTHER, DIES OF CANCER

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1988/09/26/billy-carter-ex-presidents-brother-dies-of-cancer/d807be17-aed7-44ca-af51-e9f11b4639d7/


    A Brief History of Billy Beer

    https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/26695/billy-beer-reason-billy-carter-quit-drinking


    Good Ole Cult

    https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1977/3/26/good-ole-cult-pbab-couple-of/


    When Embarrassing Presidential Relatives Got Model Kits: Billy Carter’s Redneck Power Pickup!

    https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/01/when-embarrassing-presidential-relatives-got-model-kits-billy-carters-redneck-power-pickup/


    Billy Carter Dies of Pancreatic Cancer

    https://www.ajc.com/news/billy-carter-dies-pancreatic-cancer/HLoWKaDqabDiCjMBxlQdeO/


    Billy Carter: Beer Drinker, Book Lover

    https://www.legacy.com/news/culture-and-history/billy-carter-beer-drinker-book-lover/

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    34 min
  • Episode 234: Dia de Gringos Redux

    Show Notes Episode 234: “Dia de Gringos”

    This week Host Dave Bledsoe honors the spirits of his ancestors by drinking an entire bottle of Irish Whiskey in one sitting. (How this is different from a normal Friday night is open to debate.) On the show this week, we engage in a little cultural appropriation and try to create a Dia de Muertos that white people won’t feel guilty about. (Not that any of us feel “guilt” over such things.)


    Along the way we learn some sad facts about Dave and how he keeps friends. (Hint: he is very bad at it). Then we meet the cultural ancestors of White People in America, John Wayne, Howard Zinn and Fred Rogers and learn how to honor them on our special day. (Are there cigarettes? You betcha!) Finally, we teach you how to construct a culturally appropriate White Person Ofrenda and how to host your own Dia de Gringos festival! More importantly, we learn the horrible truth about Fred Rogers.


    Our Sponsor this week is Revenant.com, we make coming back from the dead simple. We open with Stanley Tucci’s immortal performance as Muerte. (For DEATH!) and close with a Death Metal neighborhood.


     Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/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 Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/david-bledsoe-4

    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/7kcMFZ9WJiw

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    27 min
  • Episode 336: The Rats In the Walls Spooktacular 2021 Finale

    Show Notes Episode 336: DB Lovecraft

    This week Host Dave Bledsoe keeps hearing distant voices screaming in anger, only to discover he has passed out in the women’s bathroom stall. (Again) On the show this week we wrap Spooktacular 2021 with a performance of HP Lovecraft’s The Rats in the Walls. (Don’t worry, we took all the racism out of it!) Over on the Patreon, we deliver you HP Lovecraft’s Dagon, both stories are scary as hell, and we grudgingly admit, done pretty well.  


    Our annual Spooktacular is a celebration of Spooky Season and features a mix of original content and dramatic performances of some of the best horror available (In the public domain!) Thank you for listening and supporting the show all year round, and as always, we urge you to Stay Spooky Podfriends!


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

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

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

    www.whatthehellpodcast.com

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

    The Show Line: 347 687 9601

    Closing Music: https://archive.org/details/Halloween_783

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

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    50 min
  • Spooktacular 2021 Bonus: The Late Arrival

    From last year's Patreon bonus, we give you the true(ish) tale of a foggy night in Northern California, and strange arrival and how he was never supposed to talk about. So clearly he is.

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    24 min
  • Episode 335: Them Creepy Ass Kids (Spooktacular 2021)

    Show Noted Episode 335: Them Creepy Ass Kids

    (Spooktacular 2021)


    This week Host Dave Bledsoe just wants your creepy ass kid to STOP STARING AT HIM! (It isn’t the kid’s fault, they’ve just never seen a drunk man take a dump in the sandbox before!) On the show this week we keep Spooktacular 2021 rolling with talkies of kids who see ghosts and remember their past lives! (As if this one life isn’t bad enough!)


    Along the way we learn all we never wanted to know about the Holy Ghost (We call him God’s Goon!) and from there we dive right into spooky tales of kids who see dead people! (Spoiler Alert: Bruce Willis was dead all along!) Then we take a peek into the fascinating world of kids who remember their past lives! (Honestly, this is a legit thing with real scientists studying it!) Of all the stupid paranormal nonsense we’ve covered on this show, we finally find one we can’t debunk outright by just saying the people involved are either liars or morons. (Though, we cannot definitely say they are NOT either!)


    Our Sponsor this week is Tangina Barrons’ Housekeeping Service, your house will be clean physically AND spiritually. We open the show with Eddie Murphy explaining why only White People stay in haunted houses and close with Night Sabers who have a question for you.


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

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

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

    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/bw5zXJ59Oi0?t=57

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


    Citations Needed:  


    Why do so many kids ‘see ghosts’? We asked some psychologists.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/10/28/why-do-so-many-kids-see-ghosts-we-asked-some-psychologists/


    Here’s Why Children Are More Sensitive To Spirits Than Adults

    https://thoughtcatalog.com/emily-heron/2019/11/heres-why-children-are-more-sensitive-to-spirits-than-adults/


    SERIOUS] What was your creepy, unexplainable story as a child that was confirmed by your parents to have happened?

    https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ixk1ox/serious_what_was_your_creepy_unexplainable_story/


    Reddit Stories

    https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ixk1ox/serious_what_was_your_creepy_unexplainable_story/g67w45m/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3


    https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ixk1ox/serious_what_was_your_creepy_unexplainable_story/g6b65er/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3


    https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1d2v7i/parents_of_reddit_what_is_the_creepiest_thing/c9mhcrw/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3


    https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/mkru9p/parents_what_spooky_past_life_memory_did_your_kid/gtj02f5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3


    Dr Jim Tucker

    https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/dops-staff/jim-tuckers-bio/


    https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/our-research/children-who-report-memories-of-previous-lives/


    https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/wp-content/uploads/sites/360/2017/04/REI42-Tucker-James-LeiningerPIIS1550830716000331.pdf


    Chilling Reincarnation Stories: Meet 6 People Who Lived Before

    https://www.rd.com/article/chilling-reincarnation-stories/


    Creepy Things Kids Have Said About Their Past Lives

    https://www.ranker.com/list/kids-past-lives-stories/mariel-loveland



    Uncited Additional Reading:  



    https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/dops-media/video-reincarnation-research/


    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-too-much/201412/children-who-seemingly-remember-past-lives


    https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/10/creepy-toddler-should-you-run.html


    https://www.scarymommy.com/your-kid-sees-ghosts/


    https://www.reddit.com/r/Paranormal/comments/5rm3ig/any_stories_of_your_children_seeing_ghosts/?sort=new

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    35 min
  • Episode 334: Undead On A Downtown Train (Spooktacular 2021)

    Show Notes Episode 334: Undead On A Downtown Train

    Spooktacular 2021 



    This week Host Dave Bledsoe passes out on the subway platform at 2 AM only to wake up at home in his bed and not know how he got there. (This happens far more than he would like to admit) On the show this week Spooktacular 2021 rolls on down the steel rails with haunted subways and trains! (We mean actual ghosts, not the scary stuff that just happens on the train!)


    We start with the Ghost Trains of Astor Place in New York City and go around the country and around the world to visit haunted underground stops from Boston to Beijing! Then we head out into the country to tell you lurid tales of creepy stations, ghost trains and dead conductors waving their lanterns into the darkness to lure you closer! (Stay off the railroad tracks people!)


    Our Sponsor this week is The Creepy Guy at the End of the Car, is he jerking off or just jerking? We’ll never tell. We open with Hey Arnold and close with Lee Enstone talking to all the Brooklyn Girls.


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

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

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

    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/N5jnAu4uUcM

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

    Citations Needed


    The tragic truth behind the tale of the 'Black nun' who haunts Bank London Underground station

    https://www.mylondon.news/news/nostalgia/tragic-truth-behind-tale-black-21094722


    The Haunting of Beijing's Metro Line 1

    http://www.thatsmags.com/beijing/post/14866/tales-from-the-chinese-crypt-beijing-s-metro-haunting


    12 Haunted Train Stations That Will Instantly Give You Cold Sweat

    https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/haunted-stations/


    Uncited Additional Reading 


    https://www.amny.com/transit/paranormal-experts-tell-tales-of-the-haunted-subway-1-11028781/


    https://www.exp1.com/blog/untold-nyc-history-haunted-subways/


    https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/massachusetts/boston/haunted-tunnel-boston/


    https://wander-argentina.com/ghosts-of-the-buenos-aires-subway/


    https://freetoursbyfoot.com/haunted-london-underground-stations/


    https://secretldn.com/haunted-underground-stations/


    https://scarystoriestoreadonthesubway.tumblr.com/


    https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/spt-subway-haunted-ghost-stories-12023539


    https://www.encoretickets.co.uk/articles/ghost-stories-london-underground/


    http://www.thatsmags.com/beijing/post/14866/tales-from-the-chinese-crypt-beijing-s-metro-haunting


    https://www.qchron.com/qboro/stories/you-ain-t-afraid-of-no-ghost-we-ll-see-about-that/article_010ee09d-001f-5505-a643-147da790ecbf.html


    https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/haunted-church-hill-tunnel-history-va/


    https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article234487957.html


    https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2012/01/11/the-tale-of-the-dead-body-train-at-

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    37 min
  • Spooktacular 2021 Bonus: Producer Gavin Does Dyatlov Pass

    The first our two bonus episodes finds us in the high mountains of the Soviet Union exploring the mysterious Dyatlov Pass Incident. Which they SAY they solved. but that is just the sort of thing THEY would say isn't it?

    We let Producer Gavin take the mic for this episode because Dave was too drunk to stay upright in the chair behind the mic!

    Join us at www.patreon.com/whatthehellpodcast for this year's exclusive content for just ONE MEASLY DOLLAR!

    #StaySpooky

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    25 min

About What the HELL Were You Thinking?

From the publisher's feed

All the things that made the world the way it is now.