The Bert Show: Full Show Pt 2 — Wednesday, March 25 [Vault]

Podcast Date: March 26, 2026
Hosts: The Bert Show crew (Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy, Jeff, Melissa, Jen, Yancey, Mandy, Wendy, plus callers/listeners)

Episode Overview

This episode of The Bert Show is a vault release from March 25. It’s a classic morning radio format blending authentic conversation, humor, and real-life listener stories. This episode centers around:

• A follow-up interview with Mandy after her emotional breakup and solo travels in Europe
• A lively, honest “Ask Anything” segment about race and cultural quirks between black and white Americans, with listeners and cast members asking candid questions
• Ridiculous and hilarious confessions from the cast about personal quirks as part of the “25 Things About Me” Facebook trend
• Unfiltered listener stories about bizarre experiences while on the sleep aid Ambien

The show’s tone is honest, inquisitive, self-deprecating, and lighthearted, aimed at demystifying cultural differences and highlighting human experiences in a fun, nonjudgmental way.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Mandy’s Relationship & Solo Travels Update

Timestamps: 01:02–11:43

• Background: Mandy and Brian, an Atlanta couple, sold everything to travel the world, documenting their ups and downs—including their relationship—on a blog.
• Current Status: Last update was via an emotional email; Mandy had returned home after their breakup, regretting the split.
• Live Update: Mandy joins live from Venice, Italy.
  • “It was really nice to travel by myself for a bit… but then once that kind of wore off, I thought, oh my God, what have I done? I missed him so much.” (Mandy, 04:22)
  • Mandy reveals she decided to delay returning home. She’s reuniting with Brian in Verona to talk things out after realizing their breakup might have been a mistake.
• Compromise or Stuck?
  • Mandy is proposing to keep traveling with Brian through the summer, then both return home to further education.
  • Openly admits she’s more eager than Brian to reconcile, but believes mutual love remains.
• Communication Challenges:
  • Mandy talks about the heartbreak and lack of closure when communicating big emotions only via email and brief internet sessions.
  • “My poor dad’s just kind of sitting there like, ‘Okay, it’s okay.’ Or we’d be walking down the street and I’d start crying.” (Mandy, 09:34)
• Support Systems:
  • Noted the lack of a close “girl circle” while solo traveling; relied on her dad and hostel acquaintances for support.
• Mandy agrees to update the show after her Verona meeting with Brian.

Memorable Moment:

• “It kind of helps me, like, think about it... your questions kind of help me process here.” (Mandy, 10:34)

2. “Ask Anything” Segment: Asking the Uncomfortable Race Questions

Timestamps: 14:44–35:38

A standout, candid segment where the hosts, cast, and listeners ask blunt questions about black and white cultural habits—everything from flip-flops in winter to why black people supposedly don’t swim, and more.

Sample Questions & Insights

• Why do white people wear sandals and flip-flops all year?
  • “For me, it’s just... easy. It’s a comfort issue.” (Jeff, 17:11)
  • “Lazy is what it is.” (Jen, 17:14)
• Do black people really not swim or go in the ocean?
  • Yancey: Suggests it’s more a “black American” thing, rooted in historical context (slavery, lack of generational swimmers), not true for islanders.
  • Caller: “I love the ocean. I swim. I like to swim.” (21:45)
  • Dolvett: “Most of my black friends, myself included, I taught myself how to swim. ... It wasn’t important. It wasn’t something huge.” (24:09)
  • “If you grow up in inner city Atlanta, you don’t need to learn how to swim.” (Yancey, 24:27)
• Why do white people cup both hands around their coffee?”
  • “My hands are cold, and it helps warm them up.” (Jen, 20:05)
  • “There’s so much comfort in that coffee. Like, it just feels like that’s the first starting place of the day.” (Jeff, 20:10)
• Why do black men wear pantyhose/stocking caps on their head?
  • “It protects the hair… the hair is compacted and then they brush it down so it gets a wave figure...” (Yancey, 25:13)
• Why do white people introduce themselves (and ask about jobs) so quickly?
  • “White people, you say your entire name and your occupation, what you do, where you from... it’s like a whole paragraph. I really don’t need all that.” (Listener, 33:26)
  • Black folks tend to ask about sports teams or just exchange names at first.
• Attitudes toward dogs:
  • Black callers confirm they generally don't treat dogs as family and tend not to allow pets on the bed, while white people often do (“White people look at their dogs as more family members than black people do.” — Jeff, 28:26)
• Extreme sports & risk-taking:
  • “Why does everything have to be to the limit? … We had more of a death wish than black people did.” (Yancey, 26:11; 26:27)
  • “Because it’s foolish.” (Bert, 26:46)
• Repetition in Black conversation:
  • “It’s a passion thing. You’re passionate. You’re making sure you’re heard.” (Caller, 31:07)
• Self-deprecation as a white trait?
  • Melissa observes, “Every white answer had some self-deprecating joke in it… but every answer like Dolvett gave, there was a deeper meaning behind it.” (Melissa, 33:56)

The overarching vibe is safe, tolerant curiosity:

• “I’m serious. Like, this is the way I think we start to learn about each other. But everybody’s so freaked out about asking stupid questions...” (Jeff, 25:37)
• “I really think, man, as soon as we get to that point we could just ask stupid questions of each other and we can both show some tolerance on both sides... and then we’ll start to understand about each other. Maybe some of this fear goes away, you know?” (Jeff, 34:44)

3. “25 Random Things About Me” - Cast Confessions

Timestamps: 37:46–47:12

A fun, revealing game where hosts guess each other's confessions inspired by the then-current Facebook meme.

Standout Confessions:

• “I have no idea what my real hair color is.” (Jen, 39:30)
• “I have a written wedding plan from elementary school.” (Melissa, 40:21)
• “I was on The Queen Latifah Show to meet *NSYNC." (Jen/Wendy, 41:19)
• “I have faked an emergency call to get off the treadmill.” (Jeff, 42:14)
• “I always look at the clock at 11:11 and 1:11 and say it aloud.” (Jeff, 43:18)
• “Never impulsively splurged on anything.” (Melissa, 43:50)
• “I’ve exaggerated my love for U2 to my wife.” (Jeff, 44:28)
• “I sing The Little Mermaid song out loud when home alone.” (Wendy, 45:11)
• “I watch Full House reruns Monday through Friday at noon.” (Wendy, 47:01)

Tone Highlights:

• Playful shaming and supportive ribbing.
• Sharing reveals both vulnerability and universal quirks.
• Moments like “My cat’s there and I have to sing it out… just belt it out for this Little Mermaid.” (Jen, 45:25) deliver both relatability and laughs.

4. Listener Stories: Ambien Gone Wild

Timestamps: 49:17–54:17

Listener call-in time dedicated to wild, sometimes disturbing (but usually funny) stories related to the sleep aid Ambien.

Memorable Stories:

• Sleep-eating & Kitchen Chaos:
  • “My mom was on it for a while. She was waking up in the morning and there was food and knives all on the kitchen counter and she had no idea...” (Jeff, 49:17)
• Ambien-Induced Hallucinations:
  • “I hallucinated this Tranquility Buddha jumped off the mantle and chased me around the room.” (Mandy/Listener, 49:53)
• Accidental Embarrassment:
  • Emailing/texting questionable things to new partners, initiating sex with no recollection — “I had sex with my husband and proceeded to tell him after sex that I felt like we had had ancient history sex. Like he had a shield and a sword, like the movie 300.” (Listener, 52:36)
• Shopping Sprees and Medieval Obsessions:
  • “I ordered all of these, like, old knight helmets, you know, with the chain mail... and all of a sudden, this chainmail and knight medieval things start showing up at my house...” (Angela/Listener, 53:37)
• Sleep-driving & fast food:
  • “My sister woke up... dressed herself, and walked right out the door, jumped in her car, went and picked up food, came back home and went straight back to bed and had food all over her bed. She didn’t know how it got there.” (Caller, 54:23)
  • Hosts express concern about safety, while still finding humor in the ridiculous situations.

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps & Attribution)

• On relationships:
  • “I started to think, you know, you're kind of irritating... But now that I've had distance, I've realized the things that bugged me were really stupid. And, you know, it's like, it's not a problem at all. And I would rather be with him than not.” (Mandy, 08:20)
• On discussing race:
  • “Race, man, in this town especially, is so tight. I am a big believer that you have to have a friend from another race that is tolerant of your ignorant questions.” (Jeff, 14:44)
  • “There’s no self-deprecation like that in the answers we got today. ... Every white answer had some self-deprecating joke in it.” (Melissa, 33:56)
  • “As soon as we get to that point we could just ask stupid questions of each other... then we'll start to understand about each other. Maybe some of this fear goes away.” (Jeff, 34:44)
• On quirks:
  • “I have no idea what my real hair color is.” (Jen, 39:30)
  • “I sing The Little Mermaid song out loud when home alone.” (Wendy, 45:11)
• On Ambien stories:
  • “She had no idea what she was doing. Zero idea.” (Jeff, 51:41)
  • “Ambient makes you go medieval, man.” (Jeff, 54:18)

Useful Timestamps for Key Segments

• Mandy’s story: 01:02–11:43
• Ask Anything About Race: 14:44–35:38
• “25 Things About Me” game: 37:46–47:12
• Ambien stories: 49:17–54:17

Summary

The Bert Show’s Vault episode is an energetic, honest snapshot of how humor, real talk, and shared humanity can break down boundaries. Through a heart-on-sleeve travel story, riotous cross-cultural curiosity, confessional games, and outrageous listener call-ins, the crew models embracing our quirks and differences. Listeners are left with lots of laughs, new perspectives, and the sense that—even if we’re all “crazy”—we’re crazy together.