Episode 324: Miss Cleo Hung Up On Me This week Host Dave Bledsoe gets into a drunken brawl with a psychic over their prediction and is arrested for punching out a Zoltar Machine. (Again) On the show this week we follow up last week’s 900 Numbers with the face that scammed millions of Americans: Miss Cleo! (We can say that now, she’s isn’t around to sue us!) Along the way, we learn about that one time Dave had his penis cursed by a witch he was dating. (Justified, we are sure) Then we dive right into the story of Psychic Readers Network, and Youree Harris, AKA Miss Cleo. From her humble origins scamming a community theater company in Seattle through her rise to fame as a fake Jamaican fortune teller demanding you call her now for your free psychic reading. (Not free and not a psychic reading) We take a look at what it was like to be a “psychic” on the network doing the readings. Finally, we read the stars who let us know how the Federal government put the hammer down on the Psychic Readers Network for fraud. Lastly, we tell you how Miss Cleo spent her remaining years on the planet. (Hint: still scamming!) Our Sponsor this week is Fast Eddie’s Psychic Readers, see the past present future at 1-800-SCAMMER! We open the show with Miss Cleo and close with Guitar Space seeking answers in the tarot.   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/rsRL2zZrlw4 We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Miss Cleo on Her Allegedly Fake Patois and Getting Ripped Off By the Psychic Readers Network https://www.vice.com/en/article/4w3edj/we-spoke-to-ms-cleo-about-her-fake-patois-and-getting-ripped-off-by-her-old-bosses Miss Cleo left a trail of deception in Seattle https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/article/Miss-Cleo-left-a-trail-of-deception-in-Seattle-1081919.php I Was a Hotline Psychic for Miss Cleo https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/fashion/mens-style/hotline-psychic-miss-cleo-commercials.html FTC Charges "Miss Cleo" Promoters with Deceptive Advertising, Billing and Collection Practices https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2002/02/ftc-charges-miss-cleo-promoters-deceptive-advertising-billing-and Miss Cleo Comes Out https://www.advocate.com/politics/commentary/2006/09/25/miss-cleo-comes-out With Psychic Friends Like These … https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2002/03/yah-mon-i-predict-you-re-going-to-jail.html Uncited Additional Reading: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/business/media/tv-psychic-miss-cleo-dies.html https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/26/entertainment/miss-cleo-youree-harris-obituary/index.html https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-legend-of-miss-cleo https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/sfl-111502-miss-cleo-psychic-story.html https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/09/02/380352.htm https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/2002/02/arscmp.pdf https://www.thewrap.com/grand-theft-auto-makers-sued-by-psychic-readers-network-over-miss-cleo-doppelganger/ https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/09/02/380352.htm https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/pop-culture-phenomenon-miss-cleo-remains-a-mystery-6323143 https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/apr/04/former-psychic-network-miss-cleo-content-with/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Cleo https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/27/the-bizarre-legacy-left-behind-by-the-actress-who-played-miss-cleo/ https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/570867/miss-cleo-psychic-empire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What the Hell Were You Thinking

Episode 324: Miss Cleo Hung Up On Me!

Show Notes: Episode 323: $2.00 for the First Minute .99 Cents Each Additional Minute This week Host Dave Bledsoe INSISTS he NEVER made ANY calls to Chubby Girls With Big Butts back in the 1990’s, despite what the phone records say (Over $800 in charges) On the show this week we dial up all the details on 900 Numbers and how they helped America cry when nothing else could. (From the size of the phone bills) Along the way we learn WHO WAS PHONE! as we take back to the days before the Internet helped Americans pretend celebrities wanted to talk to them. (Think Instagram without the bikini clad models) Then we dive right into the sad fate of Larry the Lobster and how lucrative his short sad life was. From there we learn the myriad ways 900 number owners ripped you off, including Santa Clause. Finally, we see what happens when you take advantage of the dumbest Americans so blatantly that Congress actually has to get off it’s ass to DO something. (Don’t worry, they screwed it up and had to go back and try again.) Our Sponsor this week is 1-900-HI GAVIN, chat with a recording of America’s favorite podcast producer, Gavin St Games, for a fee! We open the show with an actual 900 number you called and cried on, and close with Michael Simmons who just wants you to pick up the phone! 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/rsRL2zZrlw4 We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: The Rise and Fall of the 1-900 Number https://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-1-900-number/ 12 (Non-Sexual) Uses for 900 Numbers in Decades Past https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/24272/12-non-sexual-uses-900-numbers Uncited Additional Reading: https://www.fastcompany.com/3053732/how-dialing-1-900-in-the-90s-foreshadowed-the-internet https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/the-30-weirdest-1-900-numbers-from-the-80s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium-rate_telephone_number https://www.decades.com/lists/back-in-the-80s-people-called-1-900-numbers-to-meet-celebs-eavesdrop-on-nasa-and-cry https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/weird-1-900-numbers https://jezebel.com/lets-revisit-the-glory-days-of-the-1-900-number-1787497986 https://www.marketplace.org/2021/03/25/why-dont-we-use-900-numbers-anymore/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1991/03/03/900-lines-are-ringing-up-a-number-of-complaints/4f561788-3a20-4ee3-99ff-f04378c027ee/ Real 900 Number Ads https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-12-op-2413-story.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 323: Two Dollars for the First Minute .99 Cents Each Additional Minute

Episode 322: American Gerbilo This week Host Dave Bledsoe slips in the shower and winds up with his Jameson bottle in a very painful place. (Spilled all over the bathroom floor) On the show this week we examine that time people said Richard Gere put a gerbil in his butt because they were scared of gay people. (Richard Gere: not gay, much to disappointment of some gay men) Along the way we use actual math and science to bust the myth of pumping a rock star’s stomach for semen. (He isn’t good at math, but it seems to check out) From there we dive into the details of why Richard Gere was chosen to be the gerbil host despite being a heterosexual sex symbol and dating a string of extrodinarily hot women.(Because straight men were feeling really inadequate) Then we examine the dark impulses that made this joke spread so far, so fast and persist for so long. (If you guess rampant homophobia, you win this pet gerbil!) Finally we look at how we evolved beyond the small minded homophobia of attacking gay men, into the small minded homophobia of attacking trans people. (We’ve come so far,so fast!)   Our Sponsor this week is the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Rodents, who want you to keep a rodent in your heart, not your butthole. We open the show with a very bad answer on The Feud and close with Eddie Murphy explaining what you SHOULD put in your butt. 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/07P538K83iUWe are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed:  Richard Gere on Gere https://ew.com/article/2012/08/31/richard-gere-gere/ A HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE CULTURAL HISTORY OF RICHARD GERE’S ASS GERBIL https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/richard-gere-gerbil-incident-story-fact-check At Last, Rod Stewart Breaks His Silence on Getting His Semen-Filled Stomach Pumped https://gawker.com/5955202/at-last-rod-stewart-breaks-his-silence-on-getting-his-semen-filled-stomach-pumped AIDS: homophobic and moralistic images of 1980s still haunt our view of HIV – that must change https://theconversation.com/aids-homophobic-and-moralistic-images-of-1980s-still-haunt-our-view-of-hiv-that-must-change-106580 A Complete History Of Gerbiling So Far https://www.theawl.com/2012/11/a-complete-history-of-gerbiling-so-far/ What Did We Get Stuck In Our Rectums Last Year? https://defector.com/what-did-we-get-stuck-in-our-rectums-last-year/ Increasing trend in retained rectal foreign bodies https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5081549/ Has anybody ever stuffed a gerbil up his ass? https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/savage-love-gerbil-stuffing/Content?oid=9073674 Uncited Additional Reading: The Case of the Missing Gerbil https://www.jstor.org/stable/1499810?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Acbc9f683cce30c5d67bba69af56b8e6e&seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 322: American Gerbilo

Show Notes Episode 321: The REAL Legend of Boggy Creek Charles B Pierce This week Host Dave Bledsoe is tossed out of 237 Pub-N-Pool outside of Texarkana after accusing the waitress of being the Boggy Creek Monster. (He thought it was a pick up line) On the show this week we talk about the Fouke Monster and the man who made millions making a movie about it! (No, seriously!) Along the way we learn about that one time Dave went Bigfoot hunting. (He got drunk in the woods) and then we move straight on to the story of the Fouke Monster, a large hairy ape man that lives in the swamp. (Call him Cletus!) After knocking out the nonsense, we get to the point of the show when we meet Charles B Pierce, filmmaker, advertising mogul and Mayor Chuckles of Laffalot Club! (It isn’t as creepy as it sounds.) We learn about his breakthrough movie about the Fouke Monster and then his career making movies. (Do we cover the chick being stabbed with a trombone? You KNOW it!) Then we wrap it up with our usual tasteful retrospective on Charle’s life AND the Fouke Monster! Our Sponsor this week is Cryptid Controls, when you’ve got a problem Orkin can’t solve, call Cryptid Controls! We open the show with the lesser of Charle’s Boggy Creek movies and close with Billy Cole and the obligatory Fouke Monster Song! 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/lB-uGUAcOmg We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Special Hat Tip to Last Podcast on the Left for the moan of a poop splattered redneck that inspired this week’s show Fouke (Miller County) https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-miller-county-6115/ The Art of the Possible: Charles B. Pierce’s Arkansas Cinema https://filmmakermagazine.com/102185-the-art-of-the-possible-charles-b-pierces-arkansas-cinema/ Wikipedia Charles B. Pierce https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_B._Pierce Uncited Additional Reading:   https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213600/http://www.arkansasmediaroom.com/news-releases/listings/display.asp?id=185 https://web.archive.org/web/20030803215531/http://texarkanagazette.com/articles/2001/06/24/export15709.txt https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-monster-2212/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Boggy_Creek https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/the-legend-of-boggy-creek-movie-2192/ https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2018/aug/01/gettin-boggy-it/736988/ https://www.eldoradonews.com/news/2019/feb/25/legend-boggy-creek-lives/ https://fosterdickson.com/2019/10/11/southern-movie-42-boggy-creek-1972/ https://www.whereyat.com/retro-cinema-emthe-legend-of-boggy-creek/em?fbclid=IwAR1gHwBtDzbIihPBvdSsn9s5Re_j7PPnIo9ITJtsyKmRik7zR4Z3ZCXMYEA https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/theleafchronicle/name/charles-pierce-obituary?n=charles-pierce&pid=140376055 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 321: The Real Legend of Boggy Creek, Charles B Pierce

Show Notes Episode 320: Call Me...Chris Gaines This week Host Dave Bledsoe INSISTS he is an aging rock star by the name of Duke Blaze and is not responsible for the bartabs incurred by this Dave Bledsoe character. (It...did not work) On the show this week we examine the Life of Chris Gaines who blazed like a falling star for about three months and then crashed into the ocean. (Honestly, we thought this podcast would do the same!) Along the way, we learn that Dave used to dress in snakeskin boots and a big dumb hat because he thought it would get him laid. (It didn’t) Then we dive into the career of a country music legend who changed the songs drunks sing in bars forever! (Give it a shot, just start singing “Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots” and see what happens!) Then we recall that time Garth thought he might play Major League Baseball. (Forgot about that didn’t you!) Finally we get around to talking about the odd moment in late 1999 when Garth Brooks decided he wanted to be a sex addicted Australian rock star in the movies, and everyone laughed and laughed and laughed. (Honestly, SNL was down right MEAN about it!) Our Sponsor this week is the new music documentary The Diamond Dave Project, and movie 30 years in the faking! We open the show with WH1’s Behind the Music and close with Grover Anderson in a loving tribute to Chris Gaines. 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/2702OMYV2Ag We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Garth Brooks Going to Spring Training With Padres https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/146801/ Remember When Garth Brooks Became Chris Gaines? Here’s Why He Did That. https://www.wideopencountry.com/17-years-ago-garth-brooks-alter-ego-bewildered-world/ Chris Gaines Greatest Hits (aka In The Life Of Chris Gaines) http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=797 In the Life of Chris Gaines https://web.archive.org/web/20071113163425/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/garthbrooks/albums/album/208047/review/6067373/inthe_life_of_chris_gaines In...The Life of Chris Gaines https://ew.com/article/1999/10/01/inthe-life-chris-gaines/ Remembering Chris Gaines, Garth Brooks’ Sex-Addicted Alter Ego https://www.thedailybeast.com/remembering-chris-gaines-garth-brooks-sex-addicted-90s-alter-ego 10 Alter Egos of the Music Industry https://www.britannica.com/list/10-alter-egos-of-the-music-industry Garth Brooks opens up about Chris Gaines era: 'My ribs are still sore from getting the s*** kicked out of me for it' https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/garth-brooks-opens-up-about-chris-gaines-era-my-ribs-are-still-sore-from-getting-the-s-kicked-out-of-me-for-it-200451806.html Garth Brooks Says New Chris Gaines Music Really Is Coming https://tasteofcountry.com/garth-brooks-chris-gaines-new-music-2021/ Party Off, Garth: The Short Life And Long Death Of Chris Gaines https://www.stereogum.com/1876750/party-off-garth-the-short-life-and-long-death-of-chris-gaines/columns/sounding-board/ Uncited Additional Reading:   https://theboot.com/chris-gaines-garth-brooks-facts/ https://theboot.com/chris-gaines-garth-brooks-facts/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 320: Call Me...Chris Gaines

Episode 319: The True Tale of Dallas Egbert This week Host Dave Bledsoe thought he was lost in the old steam tunnels beneath his favorite bar, but soon figured out he drunkenly stumbled into the women’s restroom. (Again) On the show this week we tell you the true tale behind the boy’s disappearance that launched Tom Hanks’ career. (And made Dave’s parents force him to quit playing Dungeons and Dragons) Along the way we meet James Dallas Egbert III struggling with real demons that were never mentioned in the Monster Manual. Then we introduce Brother Shamus William Dear, who helped find Dallas and bring him home. (For a little while.) From there we go into detail about what really happened when Dallas disappeared and why Dungeons and Dragons was ever brought up in the first place. (Hint: It sold newspapers) Finally we discuss why even the best intentioned lies always wind up doing more harm than good. (Yeah, like forcing Dave to sell his beloved Dungeon Master’s Guide and buy Heavy Metal albums, which did not work out well for ANYONE!) Our Sponsor this week is the Live Action Roleplayers Association of America, who want you to know they aren’t weirdos like the Furries! We open the show with Tom’s Magnum Opus and close with Juniper Tree Song’s dirge for Dallas, the person not the city. 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://junipertreesongs.bandcamp.com/album/jts011-dare-to-be-nothing We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: The truth behind the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III https://web.archive.org/web/20101009024247/http://www.geeksix.com/2009/08/the-truth-behind-the-disappearance-of-james-dallas-egbert-iii/ The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III https://web.archive.org/web/20141212161017/http://kushjar.com/the-disappearance-of-james-dallas-egbert-iii/ Dragon Rumblings Kask, T.J. “Dragon Rumblings”. The Dragon. Vol IV, No 4. October 1979. Uncited Additional Reading:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dallas_Egbert_III https://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/state_news/1979/state_news_19790824.pdf https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/18/us/when-dungeons-dragons-set-off-a-moral-panic.html https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/09/disappearances-dragons-the-james-dallas-egbert-iii-story/ https://boingboing.net/2014/11/11/the-truth-about-the-dungeon-ma.html http://www.ptgptb.org/0006/egbert.html https://landofnod.blog/2015/08/09/dragon-by-dragon-october-1979/ https://www.reddit.com/r/georgetown/comments/6pz8vt/secrets_of_campus/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 319: The True Tale of Dallas Egbert

Show Notes Episode 318: It’s A Pirate’s Life for Me Part Two: Downloaded from Napster This week Host Dave Bledsoe boots up his old laptop from college and is happy to discover he still remembers the password! (That’s because it is the same one he uses today and is the kind of thing an idiot would have on his luggage!) On the show this week we wrap up our series on music piracy with the halcyon days of Napster before the music industry flooded it with porn and viruses!  (Yeah, we KNOW it was you, assholes!) Along the way we briefly visit Columbia House Records and explain why their business model actually DID work for so many years!  (Come to find out, people are really dumb!)  Then we dive right into the Information Superhighway circa 1999.  (Was there porn?  You betcha!) From there we say mean things about the recording industry for a good long while before finally getting around to talking about Napster.  (This show is really only tangentially about Napster, did you expect anything different?)  From there we talk about the rise and fall of file sharing, the fall and rise of the modern music industry and how throughout it all, it is still a corrupt, venal bunch of assholes dedicated to ripping off artists so they can make billions of dollars.  (#America) Finally we cover how the music industry recovered and found new and exciting ways to rip off the artists! Our Sponsor this week is Polka Songs dot com, the source for all your pirated polka music!  We open the show with guys from Metallica telling you how shitty you are for downloading their music and close with Terra Naomi being caught stealing! 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/T-I7ZpXphzY We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: A Brief History of The Music Industry http://www.musicthinktank.com/mtt-open/a-brief-history-of-the-music-industry.html Putting the Band Back Together https://ir.citi.com/QnhL09FARMDbvMhnCWFtjkqYOlPmgXqWS5Wrjts%2B6usU7suR9o7uUEFwZNjmUfyrAn10iZxCkYc%3D Napster: the day the music was set free https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/24/napster-music-free-file-sharing 12-year-old settles music swap lawsuit https://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/09/09/music.swap.settlement/ Artists, Musicians and the Internet https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2004/12/05/artists-musicians-and-the-internet/ The Year The Music Dies https://www.wired.com/2003/02/dirge/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 318: It's A Pirate's Life for Me Part Two: Downloaded From Napster

Show Notes Episode 317: It’s A Pirate’s Life For Me Part 1 Analog Days This week Host Dave Bledsoe attempts to charm the bartender with a mixtape he made for the bar consisting of songs about the drinks he would like to get for free, only to find his 80’s nostalgic gesture RUDELY rejected! (They broke his Walkman, throwing him out of Applebees. Again) On the show this week we take to the high seas of music piracy with all the ways we stole music before Sean Fanning freed the music in the year 2000! Along the way we learn a lot about Dave’s peculiar fondness for the song Goodbye Mary Lou from the Statler Brothers. (Mary Lou was the name of the first girl who knew better than to date him) From there we dive right into the history of music creation and the theft of music by the wealthy long before us peons ever dreamed of downloading I Want It That Way from Napster. (We love that song, but we refuse to PAY for it!) From there we learn how early music pirates swashed their buckles with sheet music and how suddenly, when corporate money became involved, that sort of thing became illegal. Then we learn how Congress finally got around to considering music worthy of copyright protection in 1909. (Again, see the part where corporate money became involved.) Finally we find out how your mixtapes scare the shit out of the record companies until Compact Discs came along and made you buy the White Album. (Again) Our Sponsor this week is Dieter the Music Man’s Sheet Music Emporium, just the hits, not of the shit. We open with Dread Pirate Roberts and close with Woody Guthrie singing about a really great night of oral sex, we think. 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/ufWdpNSs3DM We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Music Piracy In… The Beginning https://haveyouheard.it/music-piracy-in-the-beginning/ The Long History of Music Piracy https://www.learnliberty.org/blog/the-long-history-of-music-piracy/ Sued for Playing Whitney: Bar Owners Fighting Relentless Drive for Music Fees https://www.phillymag.com/business/2015/11/11/silk-city-bmi/ Music Piracy In… The 1980s https://haveyouheard.it/music-piracy-in-the-1980s/ 35 Years Ago: The U.K. Launches the ‘Home Taping Is Killing Music’ Campaign https://diffuser.fm/home-taping-is-killing-music-uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 317: It's A Pirate's Life For Me Part 1: Analog Days

Episode 316: It Is NOT A Commercial, It’s A Cartoon This week Host Dave Bledsoe demands recognition for his service in the Toy Wars of the 1980’s and at least 50% disability pay for the wounds he suffered. (He chipped his tooth while opening a beer bottle in his mouth.) On the show this week we talk about how in 1982 cartoons became toy commercials with toy commercials in them. (If you think Ronald Reagan had something to do with it, you win a prize!) Along the way we learn about Dave’s complex history with He Man and the Masters of the Universe. (He doesn’t like to talk about the time his parents yelled at them for playing He Man in the tub when he was almost 13! Hah HAH! They thought it was gay! HAH HAH!) Then we move right along to the history of the most influential toy company of the 20th Century and it is NOT the one you think it is, probably because this company didn’t make the Star Wars toys that made that other company so successful. From there we explain to you exactly how kids television went to shit so fast in the 1980’s. (The reasons will NOT shock you!) Our Sponsor this week is the USS Flagg GI Joe Playset, teaching 80’s kids they were poor the hard way. We open with the commercial for wealth inequality and close with AMASIC signing about their Barbie Fetish.  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/PQ2WMrwdfHU We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: The Great Marketing Deregulation https://bettermarketing.pub/the-great-marketing-deregulation-2125a0efe094 Masters of the Universe Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_the_Universe#History_and_versions_of_the_franchise Weekday Cartoons Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekday_cartoon#1980s Reagan Vetoes Bill Putting Limits On TV Programming for Children https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/07/us/reagan-vetoes-bill-putting-limits-on-tv-programming-for-children.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 316: It's Not A COMMERCIAL! It's A Cartoon

Show Notes Episode 315: Can’t Avoid THAT Noid! This week Host Dave Bledsoe found himself in a compromising position with a large plush doll he had assumed was an amorous Furry due to his state of intoxication. (Again) On the show this week, take a look back at the Cartoon Brand Mascots of the 1980’s in preparation for a whole other show we are planning NEXT week! (It's called FORESHADOWING PEOPLE! And it is a commonly used tactic in podcasting!)  Along the way we head back to the very first Brand Mascot in history, Wilford Brimley! Then we learn about how raisin growers in California tried to kill each over dried up grapes! (This was a thing that happened!) Then we get to the business of 80’s nostalgia with all your favorite commercial mascots, Chester Cheetah, The California Raisins and that Red Dot that we heard somewhere people wanted to have sex with. (Someone PLEASE tell us this is not just a product of Dave’s Brain, and there ARE people out there who want to Do the Dot!) Then, because you can’t avoid it, the short sad life of The Noid! (You remember the Noid, but do you remember Mr. Noid? That is the problem!) Our Sponsor this week is Gavvie the Lovable Producer, a new plush toy from Seltzer Kings. We open the show with Chester Cheetah proclaiming just and damn truth really, and close with GIl Scott Heron explaining Manhattan geography. 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/btNbCUHAXvY We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Quaker Oats Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaker_Oats_Company#Logo STARDOM IS FEAT OF CLAY FOR CALIFORNIA RAISINS https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1988-01-25-0010260008-story.html The Untold Truth Of Chester Cheetah https://www.mashed.com/297982/the-untold-truth-of-chester-cheetah/ Death And Pizza: How Domino’s Lost Its Mascot https://www.fastcompany.com/3032911/kidnapping-death-pizza-how-dominos-lost-its-mascot How Domino's Pizza Lost Its Mascot https://priceonomics.com/how-dominos-pizza-lost-its-mascot/ How Mascots Play A Crucial Part In Humanizing The Brand? https://www.designmantic.com/blog/mascots-humanizing-the-brands/ Uncited Additional Reading https://erinsweeneydesign.com/marketing/a-history-of-the-most-iconic-brand-mascots-since-1877/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_advertising_characters https://www.rediscoverthe80s.com/2019/10/80s-food-advertising-mascots-video-games.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 315: You Can't Avoid THAT Noid!

Show Notes Episode 314: Check A Coin With Your Witcher This week Host Dave Bledsoe slaps a coin down on the bar and demands free drinks only to be told his useless memorabilia is not legal tender. (Again) On the show this week we are talking about the curious culture of the Challenge Coin! (COIN CHECK!) Along the way we learn what Dave had to do to earn his only Challenge Coin. (Fortunately it did not involve an Ookie Cookie as far as we can tell!) Then we dive right into the odd history and application of a military tradition that has somehow crept into the everyday life of America. From its humble beginning in the Roman Legion, where the Imperator would reward the Butchest Optio in the ranks, to its evolution over the skies of France in World War One, where the leader would press one into the hands of the butchest gunner in the squadron! (Oh Carl, you are SO virile!) Finally the modern incarnation that began with bullets and like most things involving the Special Forces grew out of control really quick! (Never drink with Specs Op, just don’t!) All the way up to today, when Challenge Coins are handed out like tic tacs by assistant managers during the monthly sales meeting at Quicky Jim's Reliable Second Hand Cars! (Vernon you’ve topped last month's numbers AGAIN!) If you don’t know what a challenge coin is, you will by the time we are done thus earning yourself a challenge coin! See Dave for your coin! Our Sponsor this week is Seltzer Koin, when you really want a coin and don’t mind paying for it, Seltzer Koin! We open with NBC News talking about challenge coins and close with Violet Orandi coin checking her local Witcher! 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/HiXY-xghv-Q We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Coin Check https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/coin-check/ Challenge Coin Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin A Brief History of Challenge Coins https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/12630/brief-history-challenge-coins Military's prized 'challenge coins' become copycat fad among agencies, politicians, companies https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/militarys-prized-challenge-coins-become-copycat-fad-in-federal-washington/2011/02/12/ABaTEZQ_story.html NYPD Defends "Challenge Coins" That Call East Flatbush Precinct "Fort Jah" https://gothamist.com/news/nypd-defends-challenge-coins-dubbing-east-flatbush-precinct-fort-jah Uncited Additional Reading: https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-state-police-challenge-coin-trooper-tirade-20200715-43pydiewrnff7bp7g6ckfp7alm-story.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/us/politics/challenge-coins.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 314: Check A Coin With Your Witcher

Show Notes Episode 313: I Would Smoke 500 Miles, And I Would Smoke 500 More This week Host Dave Bledsoe wakes up coughing from what he is sure is just cat dander and allergies, and proceeds to light the first smoke of the day! (We’re sure everything is fine!) On the show this week, we open up that one drawer in the kitchen with all the menus and a phone book from 2001 to see how many Marlboro Miles we can find in there! (25 miles, only 400 packs of Marlboro Reds to go to get that awesome windbreaker!) Along the way we learn of Dave’s formative years using an addictive chemical to give him the illusion of being cool. (Cigarettes, not alcohol.That came slightly later.) From there we dive into the history of cigarettes advertising in the 80’s and 90’s after Nixon kicked them off the television. (Someone must have failed to contribute to Dick’s campaign!) We learn how the Brands needed something new and exciting to capture that youth market, and cowboys were NOT cool in 1992! (Except for you Garth Brooks!) We go on to talk about Marlboro Miles, the Marlboro Old Country Store and how you could spend $500 bucks on a ten dollar igloo cooler! Then we spend some time with the Camel that Kills, Joe Camel. (Joe didn’t kill kids, but he DID help kill big tobacco!) Finally, we explain that advertising isn’t what made kids smoke, it was the stress of life lived with Baby Boomers.  Our Sponsor this week is Cancer Cash, the smoking loyalty program that earns money for your future cancer treatment! We open the show with the Merchants of Death and close with Brian Schmidt explaining the distance he and his friends will travel to pass out on your doorstep! 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/VBkVhBBQ2ME We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Cigarette brand loyalty in Australia: findings from the ITC Four Country Survey https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/23/suppl_1/i73.info THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Advertising; The Marlboro Man Is Missing in Action in New Campaign https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/23/business/media-business-advertising-marlboro-man-missing-action-new-campaign.html THE MOST SINISTER CIGARETTE PROMOTION OF ALL TIME https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-most-sinister-cigarette-promotion-of-all-time Joe Camel (1974-1997) https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/bcoppola/2017/09/17/joe-camel-1974-1997/ Joe Camel, a Giant in Tobacco Marketing, Is Dead at 23 https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/11/business/joe-camel-a-giant-in-tobacco-marketing-is-dead-at-23.html Joe Camel Video ABC https://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/july-10-1997-end-joe-camel-ads-10616510 Uncited Additional Reading: https://ourpastimes.com/redeem-marlboro-miles-5538903.html https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/306669-settlement-reached-camel-cash-class-action-lawsuit/ https://sites.middlebury.edu/smokingkills/forms-of-tobacco-advertisement/ https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2014/03/smoke-gets-in-your-eyes-20th-century-tobacco-advertisements.html https://www.owlapps.net/owlapps_apps/articles?id=58395791&lang=en https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-signs-legislation-banning-cigarette-ads-on-tv-and-radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 313: I Would Smoke 500 Miles, And I Would Smoke 500 More

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Show Notes Episode 312: Oh, Oh, Here He Come, He’s A John Titor

Show Notes Episode 311: The Truth According to Linda Hood Sigmon  Pt 2 of the Life and Afterlife of Elvis  This week Host Dave Bledsoe angrily insists he has photographic proof that not only is Elvis ALIVE, but Elvis personally paid this bar tab Dave allegedly owes! (This one surprisingly worked as it made the bartender laugh) On the show this week we provide you with incontrovertible PROOF that Elvis not only faked his own death, but is alive and well to this day and is keeping the truth of his life hidden from all of us! (We don’t, he didn’t and come on this is just fucking crazy!) Along the way we learn about how much Dave’s dad loved to drive from one side of the country to the other with his family in the back seat of a boring automobile! From there we present our “evidence” on how and why the King of Rock and Roll faked his own death. (It is actually logically constructed, if utterly batshit!) Then we meet Linda Hood Sigmon who has the receipts and will come down on you like the righteous hand of God if you mess with her! (We are SO in trouble with Linda!) Then take you on a tour of Elvis sightings around the nation from Kansas City to Kalamazoo! (It is just fun to say Kalamazoo!) Then we provide our final proof that Elvis is alive because a movie that was made about Elvis being alive was never released in the mid 2000’s. (Yeah, that really is our “proof” . What did you expect, an interview with Elvis?) Our Sponsor this week is Your New You, helping you fake your death and create and brand new YOU! We open the show with one theory about what happened with Elvis, and close with Elvis himself warning us of what he was planning! 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/06YmQ5Di4xc We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Suspicious Minds: The Bizarre, 40-Year History of Elvis Presley Sightings https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/503466/suspicious-minds-bizarre-40-year-history-elvis-presley-sightings Ginger Alden vs. The Memphis Mafia: Who Told the Truth About Elvis and Ginger? http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/ginger-alden.html Col Tom Parker Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Tom_Parker#Presley%27s_death THE POOL HOUSE DOOR PHOTO https://lindahoodsigmonstruth.com/the-pool-house-door-photo/ LINDA’S VERY CLEAR AND EXPLICIT TERMS OF SERVICE WE ARE DEFINITELY VIOLATING! https://lindahoodsigmonstruth.com/terms-of-agreement-for-those-who-visit-this-web-site/ Vicksburg Journal, Someplace for The King to Call Home https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/17/us/vicksburg-journal-someplace-for-the-king-to-call-home.html The Truth About Elvis Trailer  https://youtu.be/dyaJnZjTu6s Uncited Additional Reading:   http://elvisdecoded.blogspot.com/ https://elvistruthseekers.proboards.com/board/1/truth-elvis-adam-muskiewicz https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/weirdest-elvis-presley-sightings-conspiracy-2125270-2125270 https://time.com/4897819/elvis-presley-alive-conspiracy-theories/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sightings_of_Elvis_Presley https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1349270/elvis-presley-alive-conspiracy-dead-death-theory-photo-photograph-video-proof-evidence https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/503466/suspicious-minds-bizarre-40-year-history-elvis-presley-sightings http://www.elvisinfonet.com/conspiracy.html https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/elvis-fans-convinced-faked-death-21315858 https://youtu.be/qFFuANwlDx0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 311: The Truth According to Linda Hood Sigmon Pt 2 of the Life and Afterlife of Elvis

Episode 310: “Gladys’ Special Little Boy" Part 1 of The Life and Afterlife of Elvis This week Host Dave Bledsoe slips on his Blue Suede Shoes, a sequined jumpsuit and dark sunglasses so he can disguise himself in a bar he’s been permanently banned from drinking in. (It didn’t work, not even Fat Elvis was THAT fat!) On the show this week we bring you a show about the King of Rock and Roll, his life, his strange ways, and his dick! (This one is for the ladies!) Along the way we learn that Dave’s Mom might have loved Elvis more than him, (Which is totally understandable) From there we meet Vernon and Gladys who would go on to bring into the world it’s Once and Future King of Rock and Roll. From there we travel to Memphis where a young Elvis learns to appropriate Black Music from the best of Black Musicians! (It’s all just business!) Then we dive right into the very strange details of Elvis Presley life as the King of Rock and Roll, forget the stuff about record contracts and shady managers we're talking only about the REALLY important stuff! (Elvis was a VERY naughty boy!) From monkeys to guns, all the way through the jumpsuits and drunk addled Elvis, it is all here in Part 1 of the Life and Afterlife of Elvis! Our Sponsor this week is Captain Eddie’s Music Management, if you are a rube from the sticks looking to make it in the music industry Captain Eddie will take care of everything! We open the show with Bill Burr explaining Elvis and close with Human Radio hanging with The King! 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/sm93-rsIzmY We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/ Citations Needed: Interview with Vernon Presley (1978) https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview-with-vernon-presley-1978.shtml Gladys Presley, the Mother Elvis Presley Worshiped https://www.neatorama.com/2013/05/08/Galdys-Presley-the-Mother-Elvis-Presley-Worshipped/ Memphis blues (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_blues Elvis Presley (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley#Teenage_life_in_Memphis ElvisWorld: Bill Burke on Elvis and “Little Elvis” (Elvis in Tighty Whities) https://dykewriter.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/elvisworld-bill-burke-on-elvis-and-little-elvis/#:~:text=Elvis%20Presley%2C%20the%20King%20of,and%20he%20padded%20his%20package. Elvis Presley Stories With Enough Weird Sex To Make You Feel Like A Hound Dog https://www.ranker.com/list/weird-elvis-presley-facts/jon-skindzier Personal relationships of Elvis Presley (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_relationships_of_Elvis_Presley#Linda_Thompson,_Mindi_Miller,_and_Ginger_Alden Too Much Monkey Business | The story of Scatter, Elvis Presley's Pet Chimpanzee https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/scatter-elvis-presleys-pet-chimpanzee.shtml Inside the Enduring Mysteries of Elvis Presley's Death https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/a26721749/elvis-presley-death-true-story/#:~:text=When%20the%20toxicology%20report%20of,during%20a%20performance%20in%201974. Uncited Additional Reading:   https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/bizarre-elvis-facts/ https://www.factinate.com/people/32-hysteria-inducing-facts-elvis-presley/ https://www.directexpose.com/elvis-presley-never-knew/ https://littlethings.com/lifestyle/shocking-elvis-facts-whoa/161902-8 https://collider.com/galleries/elvis-presley-rare-facts/ https://performingsongwriter.com/stories-from-elvis-presleys-band/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 310: "Gladys' Special Little Boy" Part 1 of the Life and Afterlife of Elvis Presley

When you went looking for a podcast and started listening to this one: What the HELL Were You Thinking? Host Dave Bledsoe takes a weekly look at politics, pop culture, the media, the contents of his friend’s liquor cabinets, or anything that manages to pique his interests. Dave blends his distinctly left of center political world view with profound nostalgia for a lost childhood, disgust with hypocrisy and abiding love of Irish Whiskey (Jameson, we don’t do Protestant whiskey on this podcast) into a show which should appeal to the distinct palette of angry liberals, cynical Gen Xers and Millennials bent on ironically mingling 80’s music and modern politics. (See—I told you we have generational appeal!) The What the HELL Were You Thinking Podcast will have you asking the tough questions, or least what Dave’s deal with old televisions shows is all about. Honestly, he’s probably on the spectrum with this kind of behavior. Find the show in iTunes and Stitcher, Google Play Music or where ever fine podcasts are sold. Follow the show on Twitter @thehell_podcast, the show name on Facebook.

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What the Hell Were You Thinking

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