What The Hell Were You Thinking

Show Notes Episode 351: Jimmy Carter: Heart Lust and Rabbits This week Host Dave Bledsoe confesses he has lusted not just in his heart, but also in his pants.  And is promptly slapped in the face.  (Again) On the show this week, we finish our mini-series about the 1970’s with the Peanut Farmer from Plains, Jimmy Carter!  (We also mention The Rabbit) Along the way we learn that for unexplored reasons some people put peanuts in their sodas.  (Or at least they used to.)  From there we meet James Earl Carter Jr, following his rise from potentially radioactive Naval officer, through the ranks of Georgia politics all the way through his unexpected rise to the White House.  (“Jimmy Who?” was a common question.)  Along the way we discover that even the least racist Southern Politician in the 60’s was still really, really racist.  Finally, we discuss how the traits that made Jimmy Carter such a great EX-president were exactly why Jimmy became an ex-president after one term. (It’s hard to be an outsider when your jo

Show Notes Episode 350: Looking for Love In ALL the Wrong Places This week Host Dave Bledsoe is finally ready to love again, meaning he has finished this bottle and is ready to open a new one. (He is a sad, sad man.) On the show this week we look at what dating was like before the Internet only to discover it was just like now, except the unsolicited dick photos were Polaroids. (Blurry AND small!) Along the way we learned that no one would Choo-Choo Choose Dave for their 4th Grade Valentine. (Even as a kid people didn’t like him!) From there we dive right into all the awful ways people looked for love before Swiping on their phones! (You think it is bad NOW!) From meet cutes over your tighty whities to blind dates because your friend wanted their partner’s annoying friend out of the way, all the way to drunk hook ups at the bar, (Forget about video dating, no one actually did that.) Finally, we look at the future of dating. (My adjustable bed or your’s) Our Sponsor this week is Harsh Realities, because you

Show Notes Episode 349: Gas, Gas, or Gas, No One Rides for Free This week Host Dave Bledsoe declares an embargo on paying his overdue bar tabs until the bar recognizes the sovereignty of his right to drink for free. (This…does not work.) On the show this week we head back to the 1970’s to talk about that time American ran out of gas! Along the way we learn about Dave’s Dad’s absurdly silly car. (Is that a DATSUN?!) From there we dive right into the history of the oil crisis of the 1970’s starting all the way back before the dinosaurs. (The real ones, not that weird show in the 90’s) Then we talk about OPEC, wars in the Middle East and price controls on consumer goods here in the land of capitalism! (Funny how they were good until Reagan came along) Finally, we talk about Jimmy Carter before we talk about Jimmy Carter next week. Our Sponsor this week is the Chrysler Titanic, a car so big it has time zones. We open the show with Dickie Goodman interviewing the man on the street and close with the Kinks looki

Show Notes Episode 348: When Inflation Comes Along, You Must Whip It This week Host Dave Bledsoe fights the rising costs of his bar tabs by handing the bartender a button asking him to Whip It instead of money. Only to get his ass whipped behind the bar by the bouncers. (Again.) On the show this week, we take you back to a time when the worst possible idea to fight inflation was also the only idea they had! (It is a recurring theme in American History) Along the way a sad old man complains about being a sad old man. (It is kind of Dave’s leitmotif) Then we dive right into a complex economic and social issue that we have no business discussing because our understanding of economics topped out in about third grade. (If Dave has ten dollars and spends it all on booze, how much money does Dave have left?) From there explain that when the chips were down and the nation needed a hero, they took a look around and all they could find was Jerry. (Not the President we needed and also not the President we deserved) Fi

Show Notes Episode 347: Hold My Hand Across America This week Host Dave Bledsoe reaches out a hand to his fellow man only to have it smacked down by the bartender who refused to serve him another drink until he paid his bartab. (Again.) On the show this week we link up all the ways people in the 1980’s tried to help people in need because the government didn’t want to anymore. (Same as it ever was.) Along the way we learn what motivated a young Dave only to discover it is the same thing that motivates an old Dave. (Boobs.) Then we dive right into the history of the various celebrity driven charity events from fighting against nuclear power (because coal could NEVER hurt us!) to famine relief in Africa. (Those songs bought an AWFUL lot of guns!) Then we finally get to the point of the show where we talk about that time America thought hunger could be solved if we all just joined a huge daisy chain of people from sea to shining sea. (Spoiler Alert: It couldn’t and we didn’t.)  Our Sponsor this week is a Big

Show Notes Episode 346: I Pity the Fool That Don’t Eat My Cereal This week Host Dave Bledsoe issues a retraction to his Sister after insinuating she used to regularly kick his ass, and regrets any confusion. She is and was all sweetness and light and be humbly beg her pardon and pleads for her not to hurt him. (Again) On the show this week we are looking at all the brands of breakfast cereal that were just basically cash grabs in the 1980’s (There were more than you remember) Along the way we learn some shocking news about why so many cereals were taken off the shelves so soon after they debuted. (Meaning Dave just made up some shit after reading a single unsourced claim. Again.) From there we plumb the depths of the cereal aisle circa 1989 for all the weird and terrible cereals that people thought kids like to eat. (We liked Apple Jacks and Sugar Smacks, no one wanted Nerd’s Cereal) Finally we wrapped up with the most bizarre and inexplicable cereal of the lot and wondered if something wasn’t going on betwe

Show Notes Episode 345: Magically Delicious This week Host Dave Bledsoe angrily insists that Lucky Charms cereal prizes be tiny bottles of Jameson and is thrown out of the Kroger. (Again) On the show this week we open up the kitchen cabinet and pull down a box of Nostalgio's, the breakfast cereal for old people! (Don’t worry, they taste so bad you won’t WANT to eat them!) Along the way we learn that Dave’s little sister used to beat him up on the regular. (We’re sure he deserved it!) and then we dive right into the history of a balanced breakfast, from Roman times right through today! (It is surprisingly full of people with some VERY Interesting ideas about race and masturbation.) Then we talk about modern breakfast cereals and how kids in the 1970’s made informed decisions on their breakfast nutrition. (It involved an awful lot of talking animals.) Then we explain that cereal box prizes were ALWAYS a scam. (#Capitalism) Our Sponsor this week is Vodka Bombs, the breakfast cereal for big girls and boys! We o

Show Notes Special Edition: Me and You in Twenty Twenty Two In this Special Edition Host Dave Bledsoe does the BARE minimum phoning in a half assed new release whose only real purpose is to get the show back its production and release schedule after the holiday. (So you know, pretty much the usual.)   It's about stuff that he says will happen in the coming year. (Believe it when you see it). That’s it, I am done here. I had to write this bullshit with a hangover on New Year’s Day, for no extra pay. I hate this job. 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/f8A7My38dyg We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho

Show Notes Episode 344: It’s Not THAT Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday This week Host Dave Bledsoe looks back in anger AND ahead in fear when he realizes he is almost certainly going to need to pay his bartabs before New Year’s Eve. (He won’t) On the show this week we look back at the year that was Two Thousand and Twenty One and realized, it was fucking terrible. (No great surprise there) Along the way we remember the halcyon days of yesteryear when going out of a bar on New Year’s Eve was fun and potentially resulted in getting laid, and how today we are in bed by 10:30 PM because who can stay awake until Midnight at our age? From there we dive right into all the things that happened in this dog shit year that took us from believing we were getting Hot Vax Summer to the unending repeat of another Covid Variant. (Are we blaming the MAGA chugs who won’t get vaxxed, you bet your ass we are!) We hit all the top stories of the year from big ships in small canals to the enormous size of Pete Davidson’s dick. (W

It's Christmas Eve and Dave is already in the drunk tank, so we are running this "best of" episode to tide you over until Fast Eddie or Jeremy can get Dave out on bail. (again) We think he might be back in time for next week's show, but you never know. In the meantime, enjoy the True Story of Colonel Harlan Sanders, who very much IS a Christmas Icon. (In Japan). Show Notes Episode 292: Finger Licking Good Times This week Host Dave Bledsoe has his rejection to be named an Honorary Kentucky Colonel due to his love of bourbon rejected with prejudice. (Again.) On the show this week honoring the 40th Anniversary of the passing of an American legend (And notorious fuckboi) we talk about the life and times of Colonel Harland Sanders. (Dude was HORN-EE!) Along the way we discover the secret of raising children in the 1980’s. (McDonald's six nights a week, KFC on Sunday.) Then we dive right into the life of man who is much more than a white suit and a secret recipe! (He also swore so much it impresses Dave!) From hi

Show Notes Episode 343: Frosty the Snow Ho This week, Host Dave Bledsoe is basically phoning it in so he can get on with the business of his Christmas Bender.  (You probably won’t be able to notice anything different)  On the show this week, we take a look at some of the bizarre and inexplicable Christmas specials that taught us that sharing special times with family is the true meaning of Christmas.  (And to buy whatever junk they were plugging in the special.) Along the way we learn that Dave is not only a bad son, he is a really shitty uncle too!  (Shocked?  Don’t be.) Then we dive right into the strange and questionable television offerings that have “entertained” kids for decades.  (Yes, we mention the Star Wars special, but it is hardly the only one out there.)  From Eternia to 75 million years before the Reason for the Season was ostensibly born in a stable, we pick at all the logical flaws and blatant commercialism we can find.  Finally, we wrap up with REAL Holiday specials, with heartwarming theme

Show Notes Episode 342: Come And Buy My Weird Ass Toys This week Host Dave Bledsoe opens up his childhood toybox, by which we mean, he gets drunk and plays with all the toys he, a 52 year old man, has at home. (Again) On the show this week we head back to the 1970’s to look at all the toys that were physically or psychologically (sometimes both) harmful to children that people thought were just fine.  Along the way we learn where Dave’s phobia about toilet sharks originates. (And why he still poops in a bucket) From there we dive right into all the mind bogglingly bizarre toys that 70’s toy designers brought to market! From plastic cows that may or may not have secreted semen, to Pet Rocks useful for domestic violence, to an indestructible doll that could be placed in plenty of perverse poses. (There was nothing innocent about youth in the 70’s) Finally a game for children about the fragility of human life and how delicious human flesh tasted! (Dahmer the Home Game!) Our Sponsor this week is DaveCo’s My Pet

Show Notes Episode 341: I Hurt Myself Doing the Lindy Hop This week Host Dave Bledsoe attempts to do the DC Hand Jive and gets a good slap in the face for being fresh. (Again) On the show this week we talk about that time in the late 1990’s when we all thought we could swing dance! (We were wrong, we were so very wrong!) Along the way we learn about that time Dave tried on a Zoot Suit only to have it violently reject his body. From there we dive right into the history of Swing music in general and how fifty years after it was popular it came back in a big way for a very short period of time. (As always, blame Capitalism) We find out how a perfect storm of cultural appropriation and Hollywood nostalgia managed to convince Generation X they were so money they did not even know how money they actually were. (Turns out, money is an illusion just like the idea we could all do the Charleston and not look like idiots) Then we learn how the Swing Craze ended just as fast as it began. Our Sponsor this week is Big Da

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

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,

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 Casset

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

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

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 mon

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 megaphone.fm/adchoices