Vault: Bert Faces His Fear Of Airbags?!

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Bert Show

Episode: Vault: Bert Faces His Fear Of Airbags?!
Date: January 22, 2026
Host: Bert and the Bert Show Cast
Length of Content: ~9 minutes (00:00–08:54)

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Main Theme & Purpose

In this throwback “Vault” episode, the Bert Show cast rallies around host Bert as he confronts one of his long-held fears: automobile airbags. After previous episodes challenged each member to face their personal anxieties, Bert steps up to actually sit inside a car as an airbag is deployed—an event orchestrated with the help of auto experts and observed live. The segment showcases the group’s camaraderie, humor, and authenticity while spotlighting Bert’s vulnerability and courage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Facing Fears as a Cast

• The segment opens with the cast recalling how each member recently tackled a personal fear.
• Today, it’s Bert’s turn to face his fear of airbags, with the rest of the team providing support (00:01–00:28).

2. Building Anticipation and Safety Checks

• Nervousness Authentically Shared: The studio expresses their anxiety for Bert, repeatedly verifying that he’s 100% comfortable proceeding (01:18–01:52).
• Bert insists, “I can’t back out now. I mean, this is what we said we were gonna do. We committed to each other, so let’s just do this.” (01:52)
• Technical experts, Drew and Larry from local auto services, are brought in to manage safety and control (02:12–02:43).

3. Detailing the Setup

• Bert describes the dated, worn Mitsubishi he’ll use—a car with over 200,000 miles and a well-used interior, adding realism and color to the event (03:08–03:42).
• Drew explains the unknowns: there’s a slim chance the airbag won’t fire, and it could also be set off prematurely by static electricity (03:42–04:05).
• Bert is instructed to position himself as safely as possible—leaning back with his hands under his thighs, not wearing a seatbelt since there’s no forward motion expected (03:56–04:46).

4. The Moment of Truth: Airbag Deployment

• After confirming all safety steps, Bert counts down, fumbles a bit with nerves, and triggers the airbag’s deployment (05:19–06:41).
• Notable Quote: “Five, four, three, two, one—I’m sorry. Sorry. I got a hair trigger. All right, there’s a whole bunch of smoke coming out of the airbag… it’s like, gets down into your throat and in your lungs, so it’s like really hard to breathe, but I’m all right.” (06:19)

5. Bert’s Immediate Reactions

• Bert is surprised by the intensity, volume, and especially the overwhelming smoke:
  • “I’m really, really surprised by, like, all the smoke that comes out of it. Like, that’s the worst part of it. Maybe because it didn’t hit me in the face, and I’ve got a lacrosse helmet on. But if the doors were closed, you wouldn’t have been able to breathe.” (07:01)
• He describes the smell as “kind of a sulfury smell…like, remember when you had, like, science or biology class and you were just mixing up different chemicals?...it gets it deep into your throat and makes your throat scratch.” (07:37)

6. Group Reflection & Bert’s Takeaway

• The studio congratulates Bert on his bravery and sense of humor persists, with jokes about stacking even more fears:
  • “Well, Bert, we need you to do it again, but we need you to put your mouth over the steering wheel this time.” (07:01, joking)
  • “When you get back to the studio, we've got a refrigerator box full of snakes for you to lie down on.” (08:38)
• Bert admits, “I don’t know that this alleviates my fear at all, but at least I know what’s coming now.” (08:33)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bert, on sticking with it (01:52):
  “I can’t back out now. I mean, this is what we said we were gonna do. We committed to each other, so let’s just do this.”
• On the airbag deployment (06:19):
  “There’s a whole bunch of smoke coming out of the airbag… it gets down into your throat and in your lungs… but I’m all right.”
• On the aftermath (07:34):
  “They never show you that in the movies when the airbag goes off. They never show you the smoke or anything like that, but it’s way worse than I thought it was gonna be.”
• Bert’s honest confession (08:33):
  “And I don’t know that this alleviates my fear at all, but at least I know what’s coming now.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:01–00:28: Bert preps to face his fear; cast expresses nerves.
• 01:18–01:52: Studio checks in with Bert’s readiness.
• 03:08–03:42: Description of the car and setup.
• 05:19–06:41: The airbag deployment—countdown and immediate aftermath.
• 07:01–07:37: Bert’s physical and emotional reactions.
• 08:33: Bert reflects on facing his fear.

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Tone & Style

The episode remains light-hearted, supportive, and authentic. While the anxiety around the airbag is palpable—“I’m sweating. My palms are sweating for you, Jeff.”—the overall energy is playful and encouraging, thanks to the cast’s camaraderie and signatures jokes.

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Conclusion

This episode is a quintessential Bert Show moment: relatable, real, funny, and brave. By inviting listeners along as Bert literally sits with his fear, the show delivers a unique blend of vulnerability and humor, making morning radio both entertaining and cathartic.

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Listen to the full episode for the play-by-play of Bert’s big moment and all the jokes and camaraderie that make The Bert Show a morning favorite.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, the Burt Show.

[B]

Burt is out. He is confronting his fear of automobile airbags. A couple weeks ago, we all took on our own personal fears.

[A]

How close to that edge are you now? To the edge of the platform? Probably, what, 6ft, 7ft? Like I was saying earlier, I am taller than any of the buildings here. I'm taller than the Georgia Pacific Building. Like, I'm looking at things I recognize, and I guess is my mind absorbing the fact of how high I am? Because I see. I see the dome. I see the Georgia Pacific Building, the Capitol, but. But you did it. I did it. Oh, God. Oh, my God. That was a good ending. I'm now holding a hot gun. Okay. It's in the chamber. How you feeling? I'm doing okay. Both hands. All right, you guys shot.

[B]

Where do you want it?

[A]

Harder.

[B]

Head.

[A]

Squeeze trigger. Straight back. Echo. Wow. Heard that one. Excellent. Upstairs. Wow. Hello. I. I hate that sound. I'm sweating. My palms are sweating for you, Jeff. How'd it feel?

[B]

I'm a marksman, so.

[A]

Hey, Bert. Yeah.

[B]

All right. You're 100%.

[A]

100% what?

[B]

That you're gonna do this.

[A]

Yeah. All right.

[B]

Because you've got everybody in the studio very nervous.

[A]

It's a little tough for me to hear you because the earpiece is really kind of really, really, really tight to my head, and I've got a pair of sunglasses that I had to squeeze underneath the helmet also. Are you guys there? Yeah. Yes. Okay.

[B]

Can you hear us?

[A]

Sorta.

[B]

Okay, so we're all legitimately nervous, and we're making 100% sure that you want to do this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, I can't back out now. I mean, this is what we said we were gonna do. We committed to each other, so let's just do this.

[B]

All right, well, don't do it because of us. Like, you can back out.

[A]

No, let's just get it over with.

[B]

All right, let's. We have to get. Tracy is gonna get Drew on, and then. Do you want to do the countdown, or do you want us to do it?

[A]

I'll do the countdown. Okay.

[B]

All right, hang on. We're. Get Drew on the line. We gotta say thank you to Larry at atc.

[A]

Can I talk to you right now?

[B]

Larry at atc, Collision. And Drew at Pro Tech Auto Service, who helped put this together. And as we explained, or as Drew explained us a little while ago, they're actually gonna set the airbag off with a button. So Bert's gonna do a countdown, Drew is gonna hit the button, and the airbag Is gonna go off. There is a small chance. Tracy just explained the airbag won't go off because it's not like something you can test.

[A]

What did you say? That last part.

[B]

There is a small chance the airbag will not go off because. Just because there's no way to test it. Like, you can't. You can't. You can't fire it off, then pack it up and do it again. So.

[A]

Yeah, I'm just not that lucky. Okay, hold on.

[B]

We're. Is this Mina? Hey, hey, Mina, hand the phone to Drew.

[A]

Okay, hold on. Again, this is kind of like a old school Mitsubishi. It's a red car. It's really, really teeny. And it's been. How many miles this thing have on it? It looks like it's got, like 200,000 miles on it pretty close. And I mean, the gray seats are kind of stained. It's one of those old, old cars. Like, the steering wheel's kind of, like, been worn. This car hasn't been driven probably in years. Right, Drew? Exactly. A couple. As you can tell by the oxidations. All right, so you guys take it from here. I'm going to sit down in there right now. Okay.

[B]

All right, Drew, what Tracy explained to us is because there's no way to test this, there's a chance that the airbag might not go off, but there's also a chance that static electricity could set the airbag off early.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

So we want to make sure Bert is in the car in position. In safe position, sitting on his hands, leaning as far back as he can. Lean back with his head back against the headrest.

[A]

Yeah. I want him secure before I put power on this thing.

[B]

Okay, perfect. Let's make sure that happens. And then you tell us when he's secure, and then we'll put the power on it.

[A]

Okay. Do you want me to put the seatbelt on? No, you're not going to be going forward. Okay. Drew, talk us through. By the way, they're videoing this also. So the video is going to be up on the website later on today. Are you guys there?

[B]

Yes. I'm just.

[A]

Yeah, I'm very nervous for you, so. Okay. You guys are kind. You're kind of coming in and out, so we're going to.

[B]

We're gonna wait for Drew to give us the okay that you're in position, Bert, and then we're gonna turn it over to you and you'll do the countdown.

[A]

Okay, Drew, is the best place for my hands to be is underneath my. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Don't just stay where you are and let me put power on it, and then they'll let me know when. When to go. Should I put my head all the way back on the seat? Certainly. Okay, here we go. We're gonna put some power on this. So at this point, it could go off at any point? Yeah, pretty much.

[B]

All right, Drew, is the power on it?

[A]

Yeah, we got power.

[B]

Okay, Bert, at this point, we are all going to back away, and it is up to you to tell Drew when to fire it. Okay.

[A]

Okay. Good luck. Hey, Drew. Yep. Okay. I'm going to count from five to zero. You got it? All right, Take your time. Oh, good. All right. Five, six, one. Did you say one? All right. Five, four, three, two, One. I'm sorry. Sorry. I got a hair trigger. All right, there's a whole bunch of smoke coming out of the. Out of the airbag, so when they told you that it was gonna reach, they were right. And it's, like, gets down into your throat and in your lungs, so it's, like, really hard to breathe, but I'm all right. Did it hit you? It looked like it came out about 4 inches from my face. Okay, so it dies back far enough to where it didn't hit me. Okay. All right, Bert. Wow. I wanted to give him a little more anticipation here.

[B]

Drew. Going on.

[A]

Drew.

[B]

Hey, way to make the call, Drew.

[A]

Yeah. He did good. He didn't flinch. Well, maybe a little bit. Well, because I was waiting for.

[B]

Wow, Bert, you. You definitely get the trophy for conquering the fears of the.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Well, Bert, we need you to do it again, but we need you to.

[A]

Put your mouth over the steering wheel this time. I'm really, really surprised by, like, all the smoke that comes out of it. Like, that's the worst part of it. Maybe because it didn't hit me in the face, and I've got a lacrosse helmet on. But if the doors would close, you wouldn't have been able to breathe. Did you guys hear that?

[B]

If the doors were closed, it would have been tough for you to breathe.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. Which I had. No, like, they don't show you that in the movies when the airbag goes off. They never show you the smoke or anything like that, but it's way worse than I thought it was gonna be.

[B]

What does it smell like?

[A]

It's kind of a sulfury smell. Like, a really deep sulfur smell. Like, remember when you had, like, science or biology class and you were just mixing up different chemicals? Yeah. It's like that, and it's really deep, and it Gets it deep into your throat and it makes your throat scratch.

[B]

Now, you're out of the car now, like in the fresh air, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, so when. When the bag went off, because we heard, to us, it sounded like maybe, I don't know, a door slamming. How loud was it in the car?

[A]

Did you ask me? How loud is it? Yeah.

[B]

How loud was it in the car?

[A]

Really loud. Really? Really? Well, I was so focused on one that I might not have heard it as well as you did, but. But, like, my ears are ringing a little bit, but it's not as bad as, like, being at a concert all night, but they're ringing a little bit.

[B]

Wow. Well, congratulations.

[A]

Good job. It's pretty intense, man. I have no idea.

[B]

Well done.

[A]

And I don't know that this alleviates my fear at all, but at least I know what's coming now. You know, right? Exactly.

[B]

Well, when you get back to the studio, we've got a refrigerator box full of snakes for you to lie down on.

[A]

Dinner time.

[B]

Good job. Congratulations. We'll see in a little bit. Six minutes after nine o'.

[A]

Clock.

[B]

Bert is conquered. A sphere and the Bird show on all the hits. Q100 WWW.

[A]

College Park, Atlanta. You're listening to the Bird show on a big. Hey, the Bird Show.