What the HELL Were You Thinking?

Dave Bledsoe
  • 5.0 (9)
  • COMEDY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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, @whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social and the show name on Facebook. 

  1. 4D AGO

    Hey Joe, Where You Going With That Son In Your Hand?

    Show Notes Episode 524: Hey Joe, Where You Going With That Son In Your Hand? This week Host Dave Bledsoe climbed on a bar stool and shouted “Ask not why I should pay this bar, but why should this bar not pay for me?” and passed out. (Again) On the show this week we present part one of the President who defined the Baby Boomer Generation, JFK. (We all know it was really Ronald Reagan.) Along the way we learn that Bill Clinton was the only Gen X President we will ever see. (Despite being a Boomer) Then we dive right into a short history of the Irish in America. (They were not made to feel welcome.) Then we met the man who would be President, Joe Kennedy Sr. (It was a whole thing.) Finally, we get around to a Kennedy who WOULD be President. We follow him from his childhood, to this service in the war, and his election to public office. (We even get to meet Jackie!) We learn that Jack was not well, in fact he was profoundly broken.  (Not just morally, but physically.) Finally, we talk about his campaign for President and how America wouldn’t have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore.  (For a few years anyway) Our Sponsor this week is Nepotism, it just works.  We open the show with JFK announcing his Presidential run and close with Corey Hueval who has some concerns about Joe. Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music: https://youtu.be/x-UZq57HJzM?si=wKM6GFx-nRbG-9R8 Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed:  Wikipedia: Irish Americans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Americans#Discrimination Joe Kennedy: A Complex and Shocking Ambassador https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/joe-kennedy-a-complex-and-shocking-ambassador/#:~:text=%281888%20%E2%80%93%201969%2C%20second%20from,always%20make%20good%20biographical%20subjects. John F. Kennedy kept these medical struggles private https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/john-f-kennedy-kept-these-medical-struggles-private Wikipedia: JFK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy#U.S._Senate_%281953%E2%80%931960%29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    31 min

  2. APR 20

    If You're Going to San Francisco

    Show Notes Episode 523: If You’re Going to San Francisco This week Host Dave Bledsoe proclaims he is all about peace, love and understanding as he is bodily ejected from a private party with an open bar. (To which he was NOT invited.) On the show this week we examine the movement that embodied the 1960s, damn dirty hippies. Along the way we discover that Dave was NOT a flower child. (He was, however, very lazy) Then we dive right into the people who were Hippies before people were Hippies.  Then we meet the Beats, the cool guys that really did all the things the Hippies just talked about. (And wrote MUCH better poetry) We chart the rise of the Hippies from San Francisco students to a national movement revolving around cheap weed and free love. From Golden Gate to Central Park we talk about the Human Be-Ins and hit the road with a pair of average Hippies during the Summer of Love. (He just made them up!) Finally, we talk about the darker side of Hippiedom. (Free love for me, not for thee!) Our Sponsor this week is Hippie B-Gone, a safe, humane way to treat your Hippie infestation.  We open the show with contemporary news reports about Hippies and close with Child of Caesar who has some tips for visiting San Francisco. Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music: https://youtu.be/vNcWKAgTZek?si=ZHIB2Hq2LrNtRBcQ Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: Proto-Hippies and the Introduction of the American Hippie https://blog.littlehippie.com/proto-hippies-and-the-introduction-of-the-american-hippie/ Small thoughts at large https://web.archive.org/web/20110429204206/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/31/PK6016S108.DTL What Baby Boomers’ Parents Did Wrong https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/baby-boomer-parents Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    30 min

  3. APR 6

    Are You Experienced?

    Show Notes Episode 522: Are You Experienced? This week host Dave Bledsoe thought he had a psychedelic experience when he started seeing strange shapes and colors only to discover he had passed out in the ball pit of a Chuck E Cheese. (Again.) On the show this week we take a look at the influence of LSD and other hallucinogens on pop culture in the 1960s. Along the way we discover that even at a Dead Show, no one wants him around.  Then we dive right into the history of illicit substances in music. (You think those Gregorian Chant monks weren’t high?) Then we meet a band of Merry Pranksters (Their pranks were mostly just dropping acid) and their house band, the Warlocks. (You know them better by the Grateful Dead) More importantly, we meet their sound guy Owsley Stanley.  (His friends, and customers, called him Bear.) We wrap up with a look at art, literature and fashion inspired by LSD and finally explain that all the shit you see tripping is on YOU! Our Sponsor this week is Teddy’s Tie Dye, because one color is boring.  We open the show with a radio commercial for a Dead Show and close with BrennanKill who has a question for you. Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music: https://youtu.be/UH4aH1nlkgU?si=i8aQ5vp2EufKk3VL Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: Music and Recreational Drugs https://www.o-em.org/index.php/fieldwork/61-music-and-recreational-drugs?showall=1&limitstart= Trippy Tales in Classical Music https://www.kusc.org/articles/trippy-tales-in-classical-music From the Piano of an Opium Eater https://interlude.hk/piano-opium-eater/ The Trippy Life of the LSD Manufacturer Who ‘Helped Create the 60s’ https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-trippy-life-of-the-lsd-manufacturer-who-helped-create-the-60s/ How an LSD-Spiked Coffee Gave Birth To The Beatles' Revolver https://www.therevolverclub.com/blogs/the-revolver-club/how-an-lsd-spiked-birthed-the-beatles-revolver?srsltid=AfmBOorVPQmDn6a_0ZHie8rvALot5T6xx47Q7Tn7W7XySbPNETZH_Ohr Wikipedia: Owsely Stanley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley#Involvement_with_the_Grateful_Dead Psychedelic rock https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/music/psychedelic-rock Why is the American right suddenly so interested in psychedelic drugs? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/18/psychedelic-drugs-us-republican-thiel-mercer-foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    31 min

  4. MAR 23

    I Trip, Ergot I Am

    Episode 521: I Trip, Ergot I Am This week host Dave Bledsoe got into a batch of Rye and woke up the next day convinced he had ergotism. (Turns out his body was rejecting top shelf whiskey) On the show this week bring you part one of the story of LSD and the 1960s. (By talking about anything but the 1960s. Naturally.) Along the way we discover that Dave has big plans for the future. (He is gonna get SO HIGH!) Then we dive right into the ancient history of hallucinogens and human civilization. (We have religion because of them!) Then we learn about ergotism. (Which Dave was shocked to learn wasn’t about him!) Then we meet the man who created LSD and the people who made it groovy! Our Sponsor this week is The Little Dudes Who Live In the Walls, who wants you that are VERY high. We open with Jimmy Carter and close with Grateful Dave, who is on a journey.  Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music: https://youtu.be/s30knXhV940?si=IkOKdtMZKD--tDND Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: How Do Psychedelics Work in the Brain? https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_do_psychedelics_work_in_the_brain The long history of psychedelics in religion, from ergot-spiked wine to magic mushrooms https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-21/religion-psychedelic-renaissance-peyote-magic-mushrooms-lsd/101346594 Wikipedia: The History of LSD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_LSD#Discovery High Times: When does self-experimentation cross the line? https://web.archive.org/web/20230408075721/https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/high-times LSD experiments by the United States Army https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0957154X17717678?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed High Anxiety: LSD in the Cold War https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/high-anxiety-lsd-in-the-cold-war When Aldous Huxley Opened the Doors of Perception https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/when-aldous-huxley-opened-the-doors-of-perception/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    32 min

  5. MAR 9

    Insert Beatles Song Here

    Episode 520: Insert Beatles Song Here This week host Dave Bledsoe woke up, got out of bed and dragged a comb across his head. (At roughly 3 PM because he slept off his hangover.  Again.)  On the show this week we examine the very loud phenomena of young women screaming over four British dudes, we talk about Beatlemania! Along the way Dave waxes rhapsodic over Phil Collins. (Again) Then we dive into the first singer mania to sweep America, we talk about Frankie. (Sinatra, not goes to Hollywood) Then we met up with lads from Liverpool who like American music. (The Merseybeats.  That joke never gets old.) We follow their rise from Liverpudlian obscurity, to German prominence to the biggest f*****g band in the entire Universe.  (Take THAT Jesus.)  Finally we try to explain the almost inexplicable reaction that young people, primarily young women, had to The Beatles all the while not playing any actual Beatles songs. (The rights holders are QUICK with a copyright strike!)  Our Sponsor this week is A Day In the Death, the premier Black Metal Beatles cover band in Northern New Jersey.  We open the show with the Fab Four arriving in America and close with Werna Wolf saying aloha! Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music: https://youtu.be/I-Y6rUM1DgM?si=tIxn7wBMPLY-XTJh Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: Sinatramania takes hold at the National Museum of American History https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2015/11/25/sinatramania-takes-hold-at-the-national-museum-of-american-history/ Frank Sinatra and the 'bobby-soxers' https://www.theguardian.com/century/1940-1949/Story/0,,127764,00.html The Beatles Were Louder Than a Jumbo Jet At Shea Stadium, Data Reveals https://www.newsweek.com/louder-beatles-fab-four-made-more-noise-jumbo-jet-data-reveals-498285 10 Facts About The Beatles's 'The Ed Sullivan Show' Debut https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/music/the-beatles-ed-sullivan-debut-facts Why did the Beatles Stop Touring? https://www.aaronkrerowicz.com/beatles-blog/why-did-the-beatles-stop-touring Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    33 min

  6. FEB 23

    Future So Bright, Gotta Wear Shades

    Show Notes Episode 519: Future’s So Bright, Gotta Wear Shades This week Host Dave Bledsoe passed out in a Waymo Taxi and woke up  in Albany owing $1700. (He charged to the network credit card. Again.) On the show this week we wrap up our exploration of the foundation myths of the Baby Boom with how the Atomic Age and the Space Race influenced pop culture and how pop culture influenced them. (In cartoon form.) Along the way we discover that Dave’s formative years were basically reruns and cheap plastic toys. (You can tell.) Then we dive into speculative fiction (speculating on whether Dave will ever get to the point) and how it really isn’t all that speculative.  Then we examine how the movies shifted after Sputnik and how television pretended the world wasn’t changing by imagining the future was exactly like today but space ships.  Finally, we explore the most influential television of the 1960s and how it shaped our vision of the future and our relationship with technology, also it had a talking dog. (Forget flying cars, where are our talking dogs?) Our Sponsor this week is Whuffo Toys Spaceman Space Toy for Boys because only boys go to space.  We open with Major Matt Mason and close with Jason Armstrong for whom things are going great! Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music: https://youtu.be/478dy8NMO6w?si=m-mX0riEWEFlxd0j Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: Wikipedia: Speculative Fiction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculative_fiction Science Fiction Before NASA https://auxiliarymemory.com/2018/07/17/science-fiction-before-nasa/ 50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/50-years-of-the-jetsons-why-the-show-still-matters-43459669/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    37 min

  7. FEB 9

    Crazy About A Mercury

    Show Notes Episode 518: Crazy About A Mercury This week Host Dave Bledsoe attempted to join a small group of elite performers dedicated to pushing the boundaries of human endurance in pursuit of knowledge. (He was in a drinking contest. He Lost) On the show this time we head back to the heady days of Steely Eyed Missile Men reaching out to the face of God. (And the boobs of every Cape Cookie on the coast) as we cover the Space Race and the Mercury Program! Along the way we discovered that Dave was never going to make it into space. Then we dive right into the people that made NASA (Nazi Scientists.)  Then join the Space Race already in progress as the Soviet Union launches Sputnik and America launches a public relations campaign.  We meet the Mercury Seven, the heroes who launched the program in the United States, and their long suffering wives.  (Astronauts: not good husbands) Finally we examine what the space program really gave us. (A massive flying homage to Jeff Bezos’ dong!) Our Sponsor this week is Paperclip Consultants, focusing on the job, not the problematic people doing it!  We open the show with NASA lying to us and close with Keith, who is crazy about Mercury! Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music:https://youtu.be/05HZb6-i7zE?si=q_WhScXqzfypjRTK Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: Wikipedia: Operation Paperclip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip Wikipedia: Mercury Seven https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Seven Rendezvous with Destiny https://web.archive.org/web/20070618053311/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864563,00.html Respected Astronauts Who Were Awful People https://www.grunge.com/127628/respected-astronauts-who-were-awful-people/ Being a Celebrity Astronaut Is Tougher Than It Sounds https://gizmodo.com/being-a-celebrity-astronaut-is-tougher-than-it-sounds-1548988589 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    32 min

  8. JAN 26

    Atom Bomb Baby

    Show Notes Episode 517: Atom Bomb Baby This week Host Dave Bledsoe goes into his laboratory to work on his experiments. (His lab is a bar and he is mixing toxic cocktails to drink alone. Again.) On the show this week we examine the second leg of the Boomer Tripod, which explains why Boomers are the way they are. (Standing in line at the Walmart return counters muttering racisms at an audible level.): The Atomic Age. Along the way we learn WAY TOO MUCH about Dave and his youthful “nocturnal emissions”. (Eew. Just Eew!) Then we dive right into those heady years following World War Two when America was in love with the Atom.  We explore all the ways people tried to make the bomb work in civilian applications and all the things people imagined we would power with a nuclear reactor.  (We could have had atomic cars!) Then we take a look at the atom in pop culture.  From atomic beauty queens to atomic labs under the Christmas tree, the atom was cool until it wasn’t. (Funny how nuclear war can ruin a good time!!) Our Sponsor this week is The Junior Manhattan Project Home Set, the future bright because it glows from atomic radiation! We open the show with a little cartoon explaining the atom and close with Unexpected Visitors who sing us a little love song! Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music:https://youtu.be/FNYCq452aEA?si=zjYQBx7QQf_ZKFr2 Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: The Manhattan Project an Interactive History https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Events/1945-present/public_reaction.htm The Atomic Automobile https://www.damninteresting.com/the-atomic-automobile/ America’s Crazy Attempts to Build Nuclear-Powered Aircraft https://nationalinterest.org/feature/americas-crazy-attempts-build-nuclear-powered-aircraft-13352 Atomically Bad Ideas for the Atomic Bomb https://www.ripleys.com/stories/atomic-bomb-ideas How Uranium Fever Shaped the 1950s Southwest https://yesterdaysamerica.com/how-uranium-fever-shaped-the-1950s-southwest/ 4 Atomic-Themed 1950s Beauty Queens https://www.mentalfloss.com/culture/fashion-beauty/4-atomic-themed-1950s-beauty-queens Comics and the atomic bomb from 1945 to 1955 https://www.tcj.com/comics-and-the-atomic-bomb-from-1945-to-1955/ Pop Music and the Bomb https://thebulletin.org/2018/12/pop-music-and-the-bomb/ Toy Geiger Counter by Bell Products (1955-1956) https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/toys/bell-products-geiger-counter.html 7 Retro Toys From the Atomic Age https://www.mentalfloss.com/fun/toys/retro-atomic-age-toys Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    40 min
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About

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, @whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social and the show name on Facebook. 

Information

  • Creator
    Dave Bledsoe
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    620
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    Copyright 2023 © Dave Bledsoe. All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    What the HELL Were You Thinking?

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