The Bert Show (Pionaire Podcasting)

Episode: Vault: The Things Kids Shouldn't Be Listening To
Date: December 15, 2025

Overview

This episode of The Bert Show dives into the nostalgic and often humorous memories of media and entertainment that were forbidden or frowned upon by parents when the hosts and listeners were kids. Through lively banter, listener calls, and honest self-reflection, the cast explores the many reasons—ranging from concerns about explicit content and misunderstood lyrics to generational anxiety—why certain TV shows, songs, and concerts were off-limits. The conversation also touches on how these bans reflect broader cultural anxieties and shift from generation to generation, while showing just how little has changed as each new crop of parents faces similar dilemmas.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Media Generational Restrictions: The Never-Ending Cycle

• Every Generation Has “Off-Limits” Media
  • The conversation opens reflecting on how parents have always banned kids from certain artists: today's Britney Spears is yesterday’s Madonna, Elvis, or The Beatles.
  • Quote (Main Moderator, 01:41): “There were a lot of conversations around Atlanta over the last couple of weeks with like these 12 and 13 year old girls… [wanting to see] Britney… And a bunch of the parents were like, you are not going to see that whole Britney Spears. No, no, no...a conversation that has been relived with every generation.”
  • The hosts and callers agree their own parents had similar bans back in their day.

2. Listener Stories of Banned Media

Several listeners call in to share what they weren’t allowed to watch or listen to:

MTV and Music Videos

• MTV as a Forbidden Channel
  • Caller Antoinette was barred from MTV—despite its relatively tame programming by today’s standards (02:39).
  • Quote: “My parents wouldn't let me watch MTV… back then, it wasn't... I mean, if you look at it now, it's a lot worse than it was back then.”
  • The show jokes about how “Spring Break” coverage devolved into "soft porn" (03:03–03:21).

Songs & Artists with Misunderstood Meanings

• Salt-N-Pepa, Samantha Fox, and More
  • Amanda wasn’t allowed to listen to "Push It" because her mom misheard the lyrics (03:29).
    • Quote: “I was not allowed to listen to the song Push it growing up because my mom thought that it was saying B.S.”
  • Tia recalls her mom flipping out over Samantha Fox’s “Naughty Girls Need Love Too.” Her tape was destroyed after a single listen (04:15–04:40).
  • The hosts also bring up urban legends about band names (KISS = "Knights in Satan's Service") (04:42–05:00).

The “Demonic” or “Inappropriate” TV Shows

• Nickelodeon, Cosby Show, Smurfs, and More
  • Some banned TV shows include "You Can't Do That on Television" due to green slime resembling snot or mild language (05:01).
    • Caller: “My mother would not let me watch Nickelodeon's You Can't Do That on Television because the green slime looked like snot.” (05:01)
  • One caller wasn’t allowed to watch The Cosby Show due to her family’s racist attitudes (05:37):
    • “I was not allowed to watch the Cosby Show. I grew up in a rather racist family, and my parents did not want us watching a successful black couple.”
  • Another listener was prohibited from watching The Smurfs because their magic was seen as “demonized” (08:03).
    • Quote: “I was not allowed to watch the Smurfs because their magic made them demonized. And everybody knows if you watch a demonized show in your house, the demons come through your TV, and your house is haunted.” (08:03)

Parental Concerns Over Sexuality or “Bad Influence”

• Three’s Company, Van Halen, Def Leppard
  • Shows and artists with perceived sexual themes or nontraditional family structures were often banned:
    • Three’s Company, due to a man living with two women and “gay panic” concerns (08:25).
    • Van Halen concert boycotted by a caller’s parents, who thought David Lee Roth was “such a womanizer” (09:13).
    • Def Leppard and other secular music tapes burned in a “Baptist church tape burning party” (10:27).

Songs with Surprising or Alleged Hidden Meanings

• Wang Chung – “Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” Turning Japanese
  • A caller’s mom misinterpreted “Wang Chung” as something dirty, but the band name is just about guitar playing (06:20–06:49).
  • The hosts discuss how sometimes the rumored meaning of a song is completely different from its actual inspiration (07:41–07:59).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On generational shifting boundaries

  • Main Moderator (13:07): “We’re pushing the envelope more and more and more. So by the time we’re 80, I’m convinced everybody’s going to be walking around naked...it will happen, my friends.”
  • Charles (13:19): “I’d look like some Silly Putty on a desert rock.”

• On parents’ reasoning or lack thereof

  • Antoinette on MTV (02:49): “Back then… it’s a lot worse than it was… why wouldn’t they let me watch it, you know?”
  • Smurfs as demonic (08:03): “[If] you watch a demonized show in your house, the demons come through your TV, and your house is haunted.”

• On music censorship and urban legends

  • Main Moderator (04:42): “I was just remembering… my friend couldn’t listen to Rush because it was ‘Rulers Under Satan’s Hands’… and for KISS it was ‘Knights in Satan’s Service’.”

• On lingering teenage rebellion

  • Angie (10:27): “We had a tape burning party of all of our secular tapes… the first one they said I had to burn was my Def Leppard tape. So as soon as I got in college and I had a job, I went and bought the Def Leppard greatest hits.”

• On hypocrisy and humor in bans

  • Main Moderator (12:41): “I got thrown out of Sunday school for having… Money for Nothing… because of the line, ‘we get our chicks for free.’”
  • Bart (12:41): “Yeah, well, it wasn’t the gay thing that bothered—yeah, really, it’s for free that bothers.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:41] — Discussion kicks off: generational memories of forbidden concerts and media
• [02:39] — Banned from MTV: “My parents wouldn't let me watch MTV…”
• [03:29] — Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” and misunderstood lyrics
• [04:15] — Samantha Fox’s “Naughty Girls” tape destroyed
• [05:01] — Banned from "You Can't Do That On Television" and the Cosby Show
• [06:20] — The misunderstood “Wang Chung” and lyrics panic
• [08:03] — Smurfs as “demonized” and magic panic
• [08:25] — Banned from watching “Three’s Company” due to its themes
• [09:13] — Parents block Van Halen concert because of David Lee Roth
• [10:27] — Church tape-burning parties & Def Leppard
• [11:06] — The hosts’ own secret musical rebellions: 2 Live Crew and more
• [12:11] — Thrown out of Sunday school over “Money for Nothing”
• [13:07] — Hosts speculate on what will scandalize them in old age

Tone & Style

The hosts and callers maintain a playful, self-deprecating, and comedic tone throughout the episode. Stories are recounted with warmth and occasional mock outrage, and the hosts share in the absurdity and nostalgia of media bans. The overall mood is inclusive, encouraging listeners to both laugh at and reflect on the shifting boundaries of societal norms.

Conclusion

This episode celebrates the universal experience of parents clamping down on music, TV shows, and culture—often for reasons steeped in anxiety or misunderstanding. Through humor and camaraderie, the episode reminds listeners that every generation replays this same drama, and that today’s verboten pop culture may be tomorrow’s harmless nostalgia.

For more laughs and relatable stories, check out The Bert Show’s daily episodes!