Bellied Up Podcast Episode 169: Rules of The Midwest Junk Drawer

Hosts: Charlie Berens & Myles, the You Betcha Guy
Date: September 25, 2025

Overview

This episode of Bellied Up is a classic Midwestern belly-up-at-the-bar banter session, packed with nostalgia, hilarity, and the kind of relatable “junk drawer” wisdom you only find in the Midwest. Hosts Charlie Berens and Myles muse about their musical upbringings, take spirited calls from listeners grappling with household dilemmas (notably, a missing junk drawer), and debate the true Midwest sport—Monster Trucks. With stories spanning from NSYNC concerts to cultural adjustments from the Philippines to Michigan, the episode nails both comedy and heartfelt moments.

Main Discussion Highlights

1. Musical Nostalgia and Midwest Childhoods

[00:00-14:00]

• The duo dive into their respective musical pasts, poking fun at each other’s embarrassing favorites and first concerts.
  • Myles shares fondness for Blink 182, OAR, and even recalls seeing NSYNC live with his dad and brother—earning some teasing from Charlie about boy bands being for girls.
  • Charlie confesses to loving Everclear and reminisces about the awkwardness of finding out Bow Wow isn’t Snoop Dogg’s nephew.
• The segment brims with self-effacing Midwest humor and some gentle ribbing about generational trends.
• Memorable Quote:

  "You need to blow a tire. It's a lot of friction." – Myles, on slow-dancing in double-stitched jeans [02:47]
  "He bought 10 years of love with that one concert." – Charlie, on dads flexing by taking kids to NSYNC [07:45]
  "I want to let you know, the truth is that I let the bullies run my mind. And for me, it wasn't even an option to listen to NSYNC." – Charlie [12:46]

2. The Midwest Junk Drawer Dilemma

[15:27-41:00]

Caller: Clyde (from Central Michigan)

• Clyde laments the loss of his household junk drawer after his wife (from the Philippines) cleaned it out, scattering vital items around the house.

• Charlie and Myles riff on the sanctity of the junk drawer—the “ecosystem” and comfort it provides Midwesterners.

  • Discuss what belongs in a proper junk drawer: batteries, tape measures, writing utensils, adhesives, random coupons, napkins, and more.
  • Suggest lining the new drawer with a hand towel for a “high class junk drawer.”
  • Joke about “junk drawer wars” in marriage and compare junk drawers to a terrarium—a self-contained ecosystem.

• Cultural comparison: Clyde notes his wife’s confusion about the American need for a drawer dedicated to random stuff, sparking discussion about abundance, adaptation, and what constitutes “comfort” in different cultures.

• Memorable Quotes:

  "I thought when you just sold your house, you just take the junk drawer drawer out and you just bring that to the next house." – Myles [16:11]
  "The point of the junk drawer is it's where you know where everything is and yet you know where nothing is all at the same time." – Charlie [18:01]
  "If she thinks you're not going to continue to put stuff in there, she's crazy." – Myles [18:38]
  "The thrill you get...the junk drawer gives what you need at that time." – Charlie [21:22]

• Notable Moment:
  Clyde cracks, "There's some jobs Americans aren't willing to do, and doing me is one of those jobs," riffing on meeting his wife online [24:47]

Tangents:

• The comfort junk drawers bring Midwesterners parallels a kid’s security blanket.
• Overflowing junk drawers as a sign of true Midwestern roots (and maybe a little hoarding).

3. Midwest vs. Philippines: Cultural Notes

[25:52-39:40]

• Clyde expands on his wife’s adjustment to Michigan from the Philippines.
  • Stories of driving in Manila: "It's like a million fish swimming all together and they don't hit each other." [32:03]
  • Contrast in gratitude and work ethic; Filipinas find joy despite 120-hour work weeks, compared to American impatience at Wendy’s drive-thru.
• Myles nearly ruins the moment, and the hosts switch back to gentle ribbing, specifically about Michigan/Wisconsin rivalry.
• Memorable Quotes:

  "Midwesterners' sense of comfort is the junk drawer, you know?" – Myles [26:19]
  "She likes it ... there's lots of Filipinas that moved to the Midwest and live in our area. So she's still got a connection to her homeland." – Clyde [32:05]
  "They just have a curtain. Really, the neighbors come by and the cousins come by and everything." – Clyde [32:14]

4. Midwest Monster Trucks & Childhood Regrets

[42:00–61:22]

Caller: Travis (Paid Volunteer Firefighter & Monster Truck Insider, Chetek, Wisconsin)

• Monster Trucks nominated as the “official sport of the Midwest.”

  • “Bigfoot” origin story: Born in Missouri; first public car crush at Pontiac Silver Dome, 1983.
  • Explains the anatomy of a monster truck show: pit party, skills competition (wheelies, stunts), bracket-style racing, and freestyle.

• Myles is outed for never having been to Monster Jam, but attends an NSYNC concert as a kid—this return gag draws laughter throughout the show.

• Humorous takes on the role of diesel fumes in child development and the health of future adults.

• Memorable Quotes:

  "The developing lung needs diesel flowing through it in an enclosed area for two hours at least once a year..." – Charlie [45:13]
  "The trucks are paid an appearance fee rather than, you know, getting paid to win in most cases." – Travis [50:50]
  "[Monster trucks] are for absolutely everybody. It's for your rednecks, it's for your rich folk." – Travis [47:40]
  "When the founding fathers started this country...fast forward, and they're like, actually, we used our freedom to put giant wheels on a truck and run over other cars with it." – Myles [49:10]

• Travis shares his own brush with fame: a viral video of him dancing to Taylor Swift at a Monster Jam event, leading to friendly ribbing about white people’s dancing skills and surprise at a child with a BB gun on stage.

  "This is why they say white people can't dance. Right here, this is [the] video." – Myles [56:03]

• Future plans: Hosts plot to attend Monster Jam together with their kids for a true Midwestern rite of passage.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | 02:47 | "You need to blow a tire. It's a lot of friction." | Myles | | 07:45 | "He bought 10 years of love with that one concert." | Charlie | | 12:46 | "I let the bullies run my mind. And for me, it wasn't even an option to listen to NSYNC." | Charlie | | 18:01 | "The point of the junk drawer is it's where you know where everything is and yet you know nothing."| Charlie | | 21:22 | "The junk drawer gives what you need at that time." | Charlie | | 24:47 | "There's some jobs that Americans aren't willing to do, and doing me is one of those jobs." | Clyde (caller) | | 26:19 | "Midwesterners' sense of comfort is the junk drawer." | Myles | | 45:13 | "The developing lung needs diesel flowing through it in an enclosed area for two hours..." | Charlie | | 47:40 | "[Monster trucks] are for absolutely everybody." | Travis (caller) | | 49:10 | "We used our freedom to put giant wheels on a truck and run over other cars with it." | Myles | | 56:03 | "This is why they say white people can't dance. Right here, this is video." | Myles |

Iconic Moments

• NSYNC Confessions and Midwest Masculinity (05:33–13:17):
  Myles stands his ground about loving NSYNC, prompting conversation about masculinity and early 2000s peer pressure.

• The Junk Drawer Starter Kit (20:20–23:00): Listing the sacred items every “real” junk drawer includes—loose nails, random batteries, tape measures of various sizes, and expired coupons.

• Cultural Contrasts & Midwest Comforts (32:05–34:17):
  Heartfelt discussion on gratitude, adaptation, and why junk drawers mean so much in the Midwest but can be perplexing to immigrants.

• Monster Jam as Midwest Heritage (47:40–52:41): Travis enthralls with the history, spectacle, and unifying force of Monster Truck rallies.

• Viral Taylor Swift Dance (55:31–57:52): Hosts watch Travis’s Monster Jam dance on YouTube, marveling at the cultural mashup.

Episode Structure & Flow

1. Opening Banter: Musical roots, bar setting, poking fun about aging and music tastes.
2. Call-In Segment 1: Clyde’s junk drawer woes, leading to a breakdown of junk drawer essentials and a dive into cultural assimilation and marriage.
3. Mid-Show Tangents: Regional rivalries, a little history, and family stories—kept comedic and light.
4. Call-In Segment 2: Travis introduces Monster Trucks as Midwest staple; deep dive into the sport’s lore, live events, and why everyone (including first-timers) needs to go.
5. Final Reflections & Plots: Myles and Charlie vow to take their kids to Monster Jam, connecting to the show’s opening themes of nostalgia and new traditions.

Conclusion

This episode of Bellied Up masterfully balances tongue-in-cheek Midwestern self-deprecation, sincere cultural insights, and the nostalgia of youth. Listeners come away not just laughing, but also reflecting on what unites people—whether it’s the contents of a junk drawer or cheering on a giant truck flattening sedans.

Final Thought:
"It's okay if you guys like NSYNC. I was just kidding." – Charlie [64:30]