511 episodes

All the things that made the world the way it is now.  
Welcome to the podcast takes your nostalgia, tells you the history behind it and makes you ask What the HELL Were You Thinking. Host Dave Bledsoe takes the history, politics and pop culture of the past fifty years and explains what it was like to live through it and why it is still ruining the world today. So join Dave, his hapless Producer Gavin St James every Monday for time capsule of truth! Find us at whatthehellpodcast.com, @thehell_podcast on Twitter, @whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social and the show name on Facebook. 

What the HELL Were You Thinking‪?‬ Dave Bledsoe

    • Comedy

All the things that made the world the way it is now.  
Welcome to the podcast takes your nostalgia, tells you the history behind it and makes you ask What the HELL Were You Thinking. Host Dave Bledsoe takes the history, politics and pop culture of the past fifty years and explains what it was like to live through it and why it is still ruining the world today. So join Dave, his hapless Producer Gavin St James every Monday for time capsule of truth! Find us at whatthehellpodcast.com, @thehell_podcast on Twitter, @whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social and the show name on Facebook. 

    Hale Bopp MmmHmm Hale Bopp (Part Two of Packing A Purple Shroud)

    Hale Bopp MmmHmm Hale Bopp (Part Two of Packing A Purple Shroud)

    Show Notes Episode 443: Hale Bopp, Mmmmhmm, Hale Bopp
    Part Two of Packing a Purple Shroud

    This week Host Dave Bledsoe drunkenly gets into a white panel van thinking it was an Uber and spent three days in a UFO Cult before they kicked him out for being an asshole. (Again) On the show this week we finish our story about the Heaven’s Gate Cult. (Trigger Warning, balls are cut off)

    Along the way we discover Dave was quite the connoisseur of uncomfortable ways to fly. Then we pick back up with Herff and Bonnie who are busy building themselves a clique of believers.  We follow along as they assemble their “Away Team” (Honestly, these people were watching too much Star Trek and that is saying something coming from THIS podcast),moving from “starbases” in the woods to a mansion in San Diego. We cover the innovative solution to their sexual desires. (They cut off their balls) Finally, we discuss their ascension and why America found it so fucking funny. (America has bad taste)

    Our Sponsor this week is Art’s Intergalactic Tours, when it is time to leave the Earth behind, book with Art’s! We open the show with Art Bell and close with Leo Moracchioli who plays us a little bop!

    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 Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq
    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/1ZxP5g7lMrs?si=GaYz2DIMWkkpuOPK
    We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/
    Citations Needed:

    Overview of Present Mission
    https://heavensgate.com/misc/ovrview.htm

    Eyes on Glory: Pied Pipers of Heaven's Gate
    https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/28/us/eyes-on-glory-pied-pipers-of-heaven-s-gate.html?sec=health&pagewanted=4

    Wikipedia: Techniques to enter the next level
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_group)#Techniques_to_enter_the_next_level

    Line separating comedy, tragedy is awfully thin
    https://www.deseret.com/1997/4/11/19305964/line-separating-comedy-tragedy-is-awfully-thin/

    Suicides should inspire curiosity, not jokes Guest columnist Joshua Molina (Not that one)
    https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19970409-01.2.18&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------

    Fascination over Heaven’s Gate cult continues, 20 years after mass suicide
    https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-heavens-gate-20170319-story.html




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    • 34 min
    Which Brings Us Back to Doh!

    Which Brings Us Back to Doh!

    Show Notes Episode 442: “Which Brings Us Back to DOH!” 
    Part One of Packing a Purple Shroud 

    This week Host Dave Bledsoe asks the bartender to float him one last drink because later he will be leaving to join a Mothership located near Uranus. (He was still giggling when the bouncer dragged him out.) On the show this week we turn back to 1997 when a group of religious enthusiasts made big news for their unorthodox travel plans! We are talking about Heaven's Gate!

    Along the way we discover that Dave once tried to join a Wiccan coven because he thought he would see chicks naked. (They turned him down because they had no desire to see Dave naked.) Then we meet Marshall Herff Applewhite, a gentle soul born in the wrong place and time, also the wrong planet.  We follow Herff on his journey toward enlightenment, by which we mean we watch him struggle with being gay.  Herff struggles would eventually lead him to his cosmic destiny in the form of a middle aged Registered Nurse who was into astrology and aliens. (Everyone has a soulmate.) Together the two would join together to become The Two, Bo and Peep and Ti and Do. (Yes, like the song.) When we are done you will have the backstory you need to understand (OK not understand, but be informed about) the origins of the Heaven’s Gate Cult.

    Our Sponsor this week is The Temple of Dave Ascendant, we may not save your soul, but at least you get to keep your dick and balls. We open with Lewis Black close withEdgard Roock who metals up on old classic.

    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 Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq
    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/jAb9uPIHfds?si=r9DbrVpkaFZFJ1D5
    We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/
    Citations Needed:

    General background information
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate:_The_Cult_of_Cults

    Wikipedia Heaven’s Gate
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_group)


    Wikipedia Fourth Great Awakening
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Great_Awakening

    Eyes on Glory: Pied Pipers of Heaven's Gate
    https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/28/us/eyes-on-glory-pied-pipers-of-heaven-s-gate.html?sec=health&pagewanted=1

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    • 33 min
    A Few Good Lawyers (WTH Movie Night A Few Good Men)

    A Few Good Lawyers (WTH Movie Night A Few Good Men)

    Show Notes Episode 441: “A Few Good Lawyers”
     Movie Night: A Few Good Men


    This week Host Dave Bledsoe angrily insists the bartender “can’t handle the truth” when asked when he might be paying his bar tab. (They dragged Dave outside while screaming: “You WANT me at that bar, you NEED me at this bar” Again.) On the show this week, it is What the HELL Movie Night, we are talking about 1992’s “A Few Good Men” 

    Along the way we discover that Dave has opinions about the women and men in our nation’s National Guard. (Like he is such a hero?) Then we dive right into the story of a bartender with a dream (Yeah, that Dave would find another bar) and that dream is of Hollywood!  We meet a young Aaron Sorkin who wrote a script on bar napkins that became a Hollywood blockbuster. We follow along as Meathead from All In the Family takes up the story and casts the sexiest people to ever wear a US Navy uniform in a movie about the bastard step-children of the Navy. (The editorial stance of this podcast is firmly pro-Marine, if for no other reason than Dave still owes some former Marines drinks from back in the day) We close with an examination of why the Marines did NOT like A Few Good Men. (Tom Cruise should have been a Marine Lawyer)

    Our Sponsor this week is the Navy National Guard, because Oklahoma should have a Navy too! We open with the trailer for A Few Good Men and close with Town Mountain who invoke their Fifth Amendment rights!

    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 Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq
    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/jAb9uPIHfds?si=r9DbrVpkaFZFJ1D5
    We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/
    Citations Needed:

    Ex-Marine who felt ‘A Few Good Men’ maligned him is mysteriously murdered
    https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/04/10/ex-marine-who-felt-a-few-good-men-maligned-him-is-mysteriously-murdered/

    Can You Handle the True Story Behind Aaron Sorkin's 'A Few Good Men'?
    https://collider.com/a-few-good-men-true-story-aaron-sorkin/

    Close Order Moral Drill
    https://web.archive.org/web/20121107110601/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,977216-1,00.html

    A FEW GOOD MEN
    https://web.archive.org/web/20160408084528/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-few-good-men-1992

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    • 36 min
    Booze Cruise to the Bermuda Triangle

    Booze Cruise to the Bermuda Triangle

    Show Notes Episode 440: Booze Cruise to the Bermuda Triangle


    This week Host Dave Bledsoe goes to a Tiki Bar in Teaneck and gets lost on the way to the bathroom. (Again) On the show this week we examine the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. (We mean why people in the 1970’s suddenly got so into the idea of the Bermuda Triangle.  The other stuff is easily explained.)

    Along the way we learn that Dave is like he is because parents in the 70’s didn’t love their kids enough. (This is a baseless lie told for comedic effect, his parents HAD to love him a lot not to give him up for adoption) Then we dive right into the mysterious region called the Devil’s Triangle. (Not a euphemism for a well manicured bush) From its origins as some shit Christopher Columbus made up to make himself look cool, to some shit some dudes centuries later made up to sell books and magazines. (There is a common thread) We tell you about all the ways Hollywood made money off the triangle, and all the ways Milton Bradley made up to make money. (Yes, there was a board game!) Finally, we give you the rational explanation for what is happening you all need for closure. (Nothing, nothing is happening.)

    Our Sponsor this week is Eternal Cruise Lines, isn’t it time to leave it all behind?  We open with Leonard Nimoy searching, and close with Gary Gee plotting some dark shit for his lady.

    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
    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/jAb9uPIHfds?si=r9DbrVpkaFZFJ1D5
    We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/


    Citations Needed:

    Sea's Puzzles Still Baffle Men In Pushbutton Age
    https://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/BermudaTriangle/evwjones.html

    The Deadly Bermuda Triangle
    https://www.physics.smu.edu/pseudo/BermudaTriangle/vincentgaddis.txt

    Why The Bermuda Triangle Craze Of The '70s? The Hoax And Hysteria Explained
    https://groovyhistory.com/bermuda-triangle-craze-hoax-hysteria?utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=pinterest_bermuda_triangle_craze&utm_medium=pinterest__bermuda_triangle_craze

    The Bermuda Depths
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077223/

    Bermuda Triangle (1975)
    https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2296/bermuda-triangle

    TV: ‘Nova’ Explores the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Case
    https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/29/archives/tv-nova-explores-the-bermuda-triangle-case-program-challenges.html

    According to the Google Ngram Viewer, the Bermuda Triangle myth blows up in the 1970s and has been popular ever since. What happened in the 1970s to make it so popular?
    https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1383hh6/according_to_the_google_ngram_viewer_the_bermuda/

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    • 33 min
    Borked By Blockbuster

    Borked By Blockbuster

    Episode 439: Borked by Blockbuster


    This week Host Dave Bledsoe gets in a drunken row with a fellow barfly on the artistic merits of “Jiggly Juggs Volume 7” versus “Jiggly Juggs Volume 8” insisting 8 was repetitive trash until the bartender tossed them both out. (Again) On the show this week we tell you about the time a Supreme Court nominee’s video rental records gave us a whole new law! (But had nothing to do with keeping Bork off the bench.)

    Along the way Dave goes on Old Man Rant ™ about how tough it was before corporate video chains took over the video rental market.  Then we dive right into a brief history of home video rentals and how capitalism killed the mom and pop video stores. (It is somehow relevant, we swear) before finally getting to the main story about Robert Bork. (It’s OK if you don’t know who that is, we didn’t either.) We explain how the guy who did Dick Nixon’s dirty work gets nominated by Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court and everyone gets super pissed by the end of the story. (It really is a wild ride on this one!) Finally we explain why all of this resulted in politicians feeling safe when they rented their hard core porn at their local video store. (You know the stuff behind the swinging doors in the back, you dad went in there while you were looking for Star Wars movies.) Finally  we explain why you still have privacy at The Last Blockbuster but not on Netflix.  (Say it with us: CAPITALISM!)

    Our sponsor this week is Mondo Fast Eddies Home Video back again because they still got tapes.  We open with Randall from RST Video and close with Datarock who are waiting for you at the video store.

    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
    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/fqfX_IlYngo?si=Z9d2GkXFtID7w_10
    We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

    Citations Needed:

    The Silicon Underground: How much did VHS tapes cost in the 80s?
    https://dfarq.homeip.net/how-much-did-vhs-tapes-cost-in-the-80s/

    A Tight Squeeze at Video Stores
    https://web.archive.org/web/20200414084654/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/01/business/a-tight-squeeze-at-video-stores.html

    Wikipedia: Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bork_Supreme_Court_nomination

    THE BORK TAPES SAGA
    https://web.archive.org/web/20071009144531/http://www.theamericanporch.com/bork2.htm

    PUBLICATION OF BORK`S VIDEO RENTALS RAISES PRIVACY ISSUE
    https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/11/20/publication-of-borks-video-rentals-raises-privacy-issue/

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    • 33 min
    What If Everyone WAS Kung Fu Fighting?

    What If Everyone WAS Kung Fu Fighting?

    Show Notes Episode 438: What If Everyone WAS Kung Fu Fighting?

    This week Host Dave Bledsoe loudly proclaims he knows “Drunk Fu” as the bouncers haul him toward the exit. (Drunk Fu is mostly just screaming and crying while struggling weakly against stronger men). On the show this week talk about that time in the 1970’s when everyone was doing karate kicks on the disco floor and hurting each other: we are talking the Kung Fu Craze of the 1970’s

    Along the way we learn exactly what kind of nerd Dave was as a kid. (The kind who eschewed physical exercise for reading books.) Then we dive right into the short, short version of martial arts, martial arts movies and how martial arts movies became a thing Americans watched, and eventually danced to. (The Seventies were fucking weird man!) We head to Asia for a quick tour of Asian cinema and learn (very) little about the good Asian films in favor of the ones with dudes in rubber lizard suits and dudes punching the shit out of each other. (You want a movie podcast, listen to Karina Longworth!)  We meet Bruce Lee and sadly, say goodbye to him almost instantly.  Then we discuss the actual topic of the show: how a Jamaican man and an Indian man both living in Britain made a song about Kung Fu. (Is it a LITTLE racist? Yeah, sadly.) We discuss how the song swept America and the things it made white Americans do on the disco floor that injured one another. (Not just by cutting themselves with their coke chopping razors.)

    Our Sponsor this week is Paddy’s School of Boston Martial Arts who want to know, what the fuck are YOU looking at? We open with Ed Gruberman and close with Fernan doing an acoustic version that is somehow LESS racist than the original song. 

    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
    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/APD1ffPpWAw?si=NQOMd74F82dVYSde
    We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

     Citations Needed:

    The Life and Times of the Kung Fu Film
    https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/kung-fu-film-life-and-times/

    Film: '5 Fingers of Death':The Cast
    https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/22/archives/film-5-fingers-of-deaththe-cast.html

    The exact moment kung fu blew up in America
    https://www.polygon.com/22660909/kung-fu-movies-1970s

    The Kung Fu Craze of the Seventies Part Two
    https://mercurie.blogspot.com/2008/06/kung-fu-craze-of-seventies-part-two.html

    Kung Fu Fighting: Carl Douglas' Chop-Socky Disco Hit
    https://groovyhistory.com/kung-fu-fighting-carl-douglas-chop-socky-disco-hit

    How The 'Kung Fu Fighting' Melody Came To Represent Asia
    https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/08/28/338622840/how-the-kung-fu-fighting-melody-came-to-represent-asia

    Soul Train Dancer - Carl Douglas (Kung-Fu fighting)
    https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjjdz3

    Racist? My song's just a blend of East and West, says Kung Fu Fighting composer
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1381305/Kung-Fu-Fighting-composer-Carl-Douglas-defends-racist-pub-singer-Simon-Ledger.html
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    • 37 min

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