← The Bobby Bones Show
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Bobby Bones
This is an iHeart podcast. Taking over the helm of NBC nightly news, a 75 year old broadcast. It's a great responsibility. Good evening, I'm Tom Yamas. You have to go out there to bring people at home. Closer to the store. Wildfires continue to be a threat. With that massive hurricane comes the massive response. The best reporters in our business know how to listen. And when you listen, you get the truth. For NBC News, NBC News, I'm Tom Galamas. That's what we do every night. NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Evenings on NBC. Over the years of making my true crime podcast Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder. I'm Katherine Townsend. I've heard from hundreds of people across the country with an unsolved murder in their community. I was calling about the murder of my husband. The murder is still out there. Each week I investigate a new case. If there is a case we should Hear about, call 678-744-6145. Listen to Helen Gone Murderline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever your podcast. I'm Jeff Perelman. And I'm Rick Jervis. We're journalists and hosts of the podcast Finding Sexy Sweat. At an internship in 1993, we roomed with Reggie Payne, aspiring reporter and rapper who went by Sexy Sweat a couple years ago. We set out to find him, but in 2020, Reggie fell into a coma after police pinned him down and he never woke up. But then I see my son's not moving. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to Finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to episode 520 of the Bobby Cast and we are streaming this live on our YouTube channel. And if you guys want to be a part of the live stream, just go to Bobby bones channel on YouTube and you can watch. We'll start with Karen retrial, which just happened and I watched the documentary on hbo. Max is great. I think it was like four or five parts and I had only heard about the trial and so I went and I watched the thing and I just watched the verdict from the second trial and I guess it's not a spoiler because it's news, but the first trial she was found hung as I have not been, but it was a hung jury. So second trial which just happened. It's weird at how they were announcing her verdicts because there are three. One was like second degree murder, one wasn't the other one. One was like a dui, basically. But at some point they should just do it like on television because it was kind of confusing. They get everybody in the courtroom and they're like, okay, for Harth, who isn't thou does the court acknowledge guilty? Not. I'm completely confused about what's happening. And somebody says not guilty. But I mean, at this point in our lives, shouldn't they just go, we find you of charge A, not guilty. We find you on charge B, not guilty. It turns out she was not guilty of second degree murder. She was not guilty of, I think leaving the scene. I'm going to mess some of this up. And the third one was guilty. And it was basically driving under the influence. And that was based on an estimate from way after the fact when they tested her. And I followed the trial a little bit. I'm not going to do 20 minutes of material here on the Carrying Reid trial. But so she's not guilty of second degree murder. That was the big one. So now what are they going to do? It seemed to me like there was very much some sort of COVID up within the system. The system meaning the. The police force, that town right outside of Boston's police force. But they were so hell bent on making her guilty. So what do they do now? Do they just stop looking for John o' Keeffe's killer? It's bizarre. And if they don't, because again, they don't have a second suspect. She's been on trial for two or three years at this point. If it's really justice for John, which is what they're saying, then they should actually go and continue to try to find who killed him. Because there are only, I don't know, seven or eight people that were around that night. But I didn't think they would find her guilty. Especially if you watched any of the trial this time. You could almost say last time. But those jurors are supposedly not affected by the first trial at all. But I don't know how you lived in that area and you weren't completely consumed by the trial. But watch this, watch the series. I'm sure they're going to have a new documentary up on the second one as well. But she was found not guilty, so I just watched that. It was just really confusing at how they announced it because I think it should just be announced like on television. I'm taking your questions as we go as well. We can start with this one. What is a moment in your career you still can't believe? Actually happened. I have a few of these. Number one is way back in the day when I worked in Hot Springs, Arkansas. My very first job was at a radio station called 105.9 Klez. That was a pop radio station. And when I very first started, I worked on the weekends. And I only got a job on the air because they fired a guy that was working on the air. But we also had to do these things called sound and light shows. And he was fired because I think they caught him stealing station equipment. So last minute, they had to throw me on the air. My name wasn't even Bobby Bones at the time. It was just Bobby. I didn't have a name. I'd never been on the air. But they had hired me to clean the front office. Where the secretary or any of the office people sat, people would come and get their prizes. That was the area that I was hired to clean and switch out the Rick D's weekly top 40 countdown. And so I'm hired at KLAZ to do that. Before my first job day of cleaning, I'm put on weekends. I have no experience whatsoever. I moved from weekends to weeknights after just a couple of months because a guy who I still know, named Kramer, who is still on radio, was doing nights and he left to go to another station. So it was a small town. So it wasn't like they were doing a national search for the job. So they just gave me the job. Like, I showed up, I was on time. I wasn't particularly good, but I was young, available, and cheap. So they just gave me the job. And I'm going to get to my point here of, you know, one of these things that I can't believe happened. Because all this I can believe. If you just show up on time all the time, and they trust that you're going to be there. When you say there are a lot of opportunities are going to open up for you. Just because now, as somebody who hires people, if the people that I hire just show up consistently on time, emotionally, physically, like, that's 95% of it. And I was that guy. But when I was working at KLAZ and I was going to college because I wanted to graduate college, nobody in my family had graduated college. I thought, as soon as I finish here, I'm going to try to go and get a bigger job. And I had had some offers when I was at klaz. I mean, I remember flying out to the Tri Cities, which is in East Tennessee. It's like Bristol, Virginia, a couple other in that try, forgive me to the other two that aren't being mentioned in the try. But so I go out, I didn't take that job. A couple other ones, I just wanted to graduate college. And there was a station in little rock called Q100. They had just flipped two top 40 from whatever format they were. And I really wanted that job because to me, Little Rock was a massive city. That was where they had a couple big building. That's where the news was shot. Like Ned Permey, my favorite weatherman, lived in Little Rock. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. And so I always wanted. My dream was to work in Little Rock. They had a minor league baseball team. And when you're coming from Mountain Pine, which is where I'm from, population 700, or Hot Springs, which was town, which is where my radio station was, which was 20,000. Like, Little Rock's massive because it was half a million people. So Q100 flips on. And I remember getting a call on the request line and I said, hey, do you think you might want to come and do nights at Q100? And I thought it was a prank call, but the guy had identified himself as a guy named Ted Stryker. And I was like, yeah, if this is really you, I think that would be super cool. He said, cool, call me tomorrow in the daytime, because my shift was at like 8pm and so I called him the next day and he's like, would love to try you out. Well, the problem was I was on in Hot Springs, and that was about an hour drive, but you could hear both stations, and I would say a little more than faint, but not all the way, but you could hear both stations. And he was like, I'd love to get you on the air at night and give you a tryout. And I'm thinking, I can't really go and try out for your station because I'm on a station right down the road and. And if I go and try out, if I quit my job to try out, I don't get the job. That sucks for me. And I told him that and I said, I. I don't think I can do it. Like, can you not just listen to me here and make your mind up? Because it's basically the same thing. We're just, you know, playing Britney Spears and NSync CDs. Hey, everybody. Number 22, Britney Spears. We're just doing that all night. And he was like, now I really need you on the station. So I said, okay. So what I do, I drive at 2:00 in the morning. And I get on Q100 under the name. And I thought I was so funny. Robbie Johnson, because it sounds like Bobby Bones. And it was Bobby Jones, and it was Robbie Jones. So I went Robbie Johnson on Q100 from like 2 to 5am that was my tryout on a Sunday night, knowing that if I got caught, I was going to get fired, but thinking that there is no chance anybody is going to hear me on this station in Little Rock to 2 to 5am from my station in Hot Springs. Because who's even awake? I remember opening the phone lines. And radio names are so dumb. My name is dumb. It's Bobby Bones. It's not even my real name. So when I say these names, it's funny, but my program director's name was Jack and his radio name was Jack Frost. And I remember Jack Frost calling the request line at 3 o' clock in the morning going, bobby, is that you on the air now? Again, I'm Robbie Johnson at this time. And I know it's Jack Frost, my program director. And so I just hang up. It was almost like when they say, if you're being questioned by the cops, don't say anything. You know, if you say nothing, you'll at least remain in the same amount of trouble if you say anything, it could get worse. So I just hung up. And then I blocked the phone lines. You could push one button, it goes and it blocks all the lines. And I went into work the next Monday and just denied it. I was like, what? I was like, are you crazy? And he was like, I could have swore it was you. I was like, on a Sunday night, 3am Anyway, it was me. Never really admitted that till right now. I, for one night, was Robbie Johnson. I got the job and I left KLAZ and went to Q100 probably three weeks later. And it was great. I was there for like six months or so before I moved to Austin. But I cannot believe that happened. When I think back, I've not even thought of that story in so long. I can't believe that I took that risk. That's not even a chance, that risk of getting fired. And then I can't believe that Jack Frost was freaking listening. And he called in and got through and then I answered and then I just hung up. All that was totally weird. What I really think happened was I think Jack Frost knew it was me, understood what I was doing, and I think he just got it and never brought it up again. So I appreciate that. Jack Frost is not alive anymore. But I appreciate that. And think of all the dumb radio names. Bobby Bones. I didn't pick my name, by the way. Like, I picked it out of a choice of like three. But Bobby Bones. Ted Stryker, who I mentioned, Jack Frost. Another guy was Kevin Cruz, who hired me at klaz. Man, podcasters have it lucky. They don't have to come up with stupid names like we had to. That was one. And my second one is probably winning Dancing with the Stars. Not even just going on Dancing with the Stars because that was more of a strategy for abc. And that story's a bit bizarre because I had started on American Idol and I did a season and I was going back for the second season, which was going to be my first full season, because I did like 3/4 of a season that year that I went on the first time. And things were going pretty good at that time because I had an offer to judge the Masked Singer, which I. It didn't know what the show was. I think it was only on in Japan or whatever country it started in. So they called, said, hey, would you want to be one of the judges on the Masked Singer? And it was that versus there was a show on USA Network and the show had Travis Tritt, Jake Owen, Shania Twain as like the judges. And it was some kind of singing show here in Nashville. And they offered me the host of that job, or it was option C, which was stay on American Idol. And I was going to sign a two year deal with American Idol and go do Dancing with the Stars as promotion for American Idol. That was kind of part of my deal, meaning I had to, I didn't have to. But they encouraged me to accept that if I were to take the Idol deal because they needed someone to go on that show to promote American Idol. So I never had the ambition to go on to American Idol and, excuse me, Dancing with the Stars. Like, I never had the dream to go on Dancing with the Stars and just dance. I'd never really watched the show, at least not all the way through. I had seen clips and stuff because it was definitely a piece of pop culture in American television history, especially when it started. But I took the ABC Disney offer, which was American Idol, Dancing with the Stars. And then I went on Dancing with the Stars and they told me, this show will be four or five weeks and we'll have you back over at American Idol in time. And I remember telling one of the producers, if you think I'm only gonna last four weeks, I have a feeling that's not gonna be the case. So we should start to figure out what happens if I'm still on this show and American Idol is taping. And it's not that they laughed. It wasn't like, you know, So I got a text. Dang, I'm so important right now. You would never believe what that text was. The text was, can you take the dog out? So you guys think that I'm some kind of podcast superstar? And I just got a text going, can you take the dog out? I think he's got a poop. So what happens is I go on that show, and they're like, usually people that can't dance and have never danced, they last four weeks. And I wasn't in the bottom three. I wasn't in the bottom three dot and it came to that point where I had to make a decision. Do I leave the show to go to American Idol or keep dancing On Dancing with the Stars. And it wasn't even that I loved dancing because I didn't know how to dance. But I respected all the work that my partner put in Sharna. I didn't want her to be off the show just because I decided I needed to go back to Idol, and they were paying me a lot of money. But I sat on Dancing with the Stars, and we won the freaking thing. And when it comes to one of the craziest things ever, it's standing there. And there were three. I think maybe there were four of us that were still remaining. And Tom Bergeron and Aaron Andrews, they go to that card, and he's like, and the winner of Dancing with The Stars Season 27. I remember it so vividly. And I remember in that time, because there's music playing. It sounds like a heartbeat. My heart wasn't going, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Oh, I wonder. I wonder. It was mostly like I was about to die, and I was, like, reliving my life. It was flashing before my eyes. But it was just all my Dancing with the Stars history. Like, all those 10 weeks of just grinding it out, and I was kind of seeing all that flash by. And I remember when he said B, because that's what he said. Bobby and Sharna, that B. And I was like, this is the craziest thing ever. It wasn't like I won, like, the World Series or the super bowl, because those guys work their whole lives to do that. Like, they hone those skills since they were six years old and went up through all the levels. Like, I got thrown on a show because I took another job, but it was cool because I had the lowest odds because Vegas put out the odds. I worked. I don't think there's a question. I worked way harder than everybody else because I had a normal job as well, and I was touring and I was living in a city I didn't live in, and I was just doing that show and training extra. So I do think that I worked harder than anybody else, but it's because I had to. I was coming from such a detriment when it came to my dance experience. But I remember one of that show and just being like, this is wild. And they lifted me up like Rudy. And I remember that, and they lifted me up, and they were like, yeah. So that was a crazy time because, like, the show was out there, Amy was out there, Eddie had come out and stayed with me for some of that show, and Mike D. And I lived together. But that was a bizarre time. And not that I went on the show. It wasn't the craziest thing that happened, but the fact that I won that freaking show. Like, I won a reality show, a reality competition. Like, that's weird because I don't feel like I really went on a reality show. But they do record you all the time. There's a microphone on your body all the time. When you do that show when you're training, they're always trying to catch something, catch you doing something, saying something they want, something romantic, something dramatic. And Sharna and I made a deal way early. They weren't getting any of that from us. And mostly it's because I was so focused on just trying to get to even so she could then teach me that there was no room for me to really have any sort of human emotion. It was just grind, grind, grind, grind. But that was bizarre. And they had the party afterward, and I've told this story before, but after the show is finished, they have, like, a quick winning party for, like, the champion and everybody. That season, I didn't get to go to it because I had to get in my car immediately and drive to work and then spend the next hour and a half doing that next morning's radio show. And as soon as that's over, I drove to the airport. We hopped on a plane and flew across the country to go do Good Morning America. And I remember getting on the plane and everybody being irritated that I made them late. And I was like, guys, I have a job. But that was bizarre and cool. And I still have the mirror ball. It's down here. And I don't think about it as much as I Used to meaning it's not like a part of my identity anymore. But when I think of, like, wildly absurd, bizarre things, that whole experience makes that list. 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So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American west with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back on the Bobbycast. Here's another question. What is the most impactful song of your life? I think I probably have three of these. I think number one, it's John Mayer. Stop this Train. That's my favorite song of all time. I think, because I feel like that was the first song that I ever heard sang by anybody that I felt like whoever wrote that song wrote it in my voice. And I think that's what a great songwriter is. It's not just somebody who can rhyme words and have a really cool melody. At least it's not just that. And when he was singing Stop this Train because the whole song's about, you know, time just goes by and if you don't like stop the train occasionally and like appreciate it, like you're not going to appreciate it ever. And there's a line in the song that says, I don't. I may butcher this because I haven't thought about this in a long time. I'm so scared of getting older. I'm only good at being young. And like I resonated with that because forever I was like the young guy in this medium, radio especially. I was like the youngest by 10, 15 years doing it at the level that I was doing it. And so yeah, that line hit me pretty hard. I would still say probably my favorite song ever. So that was one where I started to appreciate songwriting. Another one of the songs, I think I have three is Thomas Rhett Beer with Jesus. I love Thomas Rhett, but I thought that song was so stupid. And it was when I was considering coming to country music. Stupid is not the word Corny, because Eddie and I were playing golf in Austin, and I was trying to get Eddie to move to Nashville with me. And this whole thing is not a shot at that song, but just our feeling about that song when we turned it on. Because what happened was Eddie and I are playing golf in Austin, and I am like, dude, you gotta come and move to Nashville with me. Because he had turned down offers to be on the morning show in Texas. He was like, I don't want to wake up that early. He had a job, the news, like, he was doing pretty good. And I said, dude, come to Nashville. Move your family. I will pay you really well, and you'll run cameras and you'll edit and you'll be on the air. And I don't really know what your role is going to be, but you're my best friend, so come on. And my whole thing, my whole career has been find my friends. Find my friends that show up on time every time that I can depend on, and let's go and build something cool. And he wouldn't say yes. He wouldn't say yes. And I said, well, let's. I said, let's turn on a song. And we turned on the Big 98 in Nashville, which is, I guess, our flagship station here. We're not really working from that studio, but it's in our building, and we're in Nashville, so we'll call it flagship. And I turned it on. And the song that was on, and it may have been Thomas Rhett's first single, it was, if I could have a beer with Jesus, I'd tell him. And I was like, this is the worst song ever to try to get Eddie to move to Nashville. And I don't know TR's relationship with that song right now. He may love it and still think. And it's not even about Jesus. So don't hit me up and be like, I can't believe. Well, I don't drink beer, so I definitely wouldn't have a beer with Jesus. And if Jesus, like, tried to get me to drink beer for the first time, is that even Jesus, or is that the devil in disguise? You ever think about that? You probably haven't thought about that, but that song was very impactful because I think that song probably kept Eddie from almost moving to Nashville. I'm going to call him real quick. And he doesn't know I'm talking about this, obviously, because it was a question from you guys live. Let's see if he answers on FaceTime. He may not even answer. I guarantee You. He knows the song, and if he doesn't, I'll be shocked. Hey, dude, can you hear me? Yeah. What up? Okay, I'm recording right now. So you're on, and I'm telling a story, and I'm not going to tell you what it is. I just want you to tell me if you remember. Okay. Whenever we were playing golf in Austin, Texas, and I'm trying to convince you to move to Nashville to do this show with me, and I'm like, dude, just come on. Just bring your family. Move across. And we decided to turn the radio on to kind of get the temperature and be like, is this cool or not? What song was playing? Thomas Rat. If I can have a beer with Jesus, I'll never forget it. I'll never forget it. What would you say our feeling was when we heard that song, Huh? I don't think we talked about it, though. Just looked at each other. We looked at each other and went, huh? Okay. I just wanted to see if you remembered that the same way I did. Yeah. All right, buddy. See you later. All right. Bye. Bye. Impactful. Thomas Wright, I love you, buddy. I don't want you to be offended by this, but that's the truth. And the third one is probably, when it comes to impactful songs, probably Chris Stapleton. And I'm going to say Tennessee Whiskey. And not because of the song, but in the history of the Bobby Bones show, there have only been a few people that I've called and, like, said, hey, you gotta come on the show. I'm a big fan. Way before they popped. And then when they popped, it worked out to be super beneficial to me. One of those was Chris Stapleton. And I remember calling him at his house. He was in the shower, and at this point, he was a songwriter, and he had some hits as a songwriter, but he wasn't a known artist. And he said, let me call you right back. I'm in the shower, all live on the air. And I'm like, dude, come up. You're awesome. He's like, okay. He comes up, he plays. Boom. It's great. He does Josh Turner. Maybe turn them lights down, because he wrote that song and it has like 8 million views now on YouTube. But that was before Tennessee Whiskey. So it was very beneficial to me that I heard his amazing voice before he blew up, because I didn't make him good. I didn't find him. I didn't make him famous. I didn't put him and Justin Timberlake together. But as soon as he popped like he did, he had this really cool loyalty to me, which still to this day, for some reason he holds. Anytime I ask him to do anything, it is a very quick yes. I love Chris. Chris doesn't do a whole lot, like, publicly as far as interviews, but he's always on the show when I call him. He did a million dollar show with Eddie and I at the rhyme and he came and played it. But I would say that song because that created that relationship with Chris Stapleton and I. I got very fortunate there, those three songs. But mostly Beer with Jesus. It's crazy Eddie remembers that. Here's another question. What's the most misunderstood part of your job? One, how difficult it is to wake up every morning. It's not difficult like my stepdad who worked at the mill difficult. It's. It's different kind of difficult. I would much rather do what I'm doing because I chose to do what I do. And I built all the avenues that I get to drive down every day to do what I do. Meaning this podcast, meaning the radio show, meaning any of the television projects that I do. So I did it all once. I remember I was doing Breaking Bobby Bones on Nat Geo and I was injured a lot because that show had me catching myself on fire as a stuntman falling off houses, climbing in the middle of winter in Iowa. A like, wind turbine, like all this stuff. And I was always hurt and I would complain about it. My wife would go, I get it that you're hurting, but you created all this stuff that's hurting you, so you can only be so upset. And that's how I feel about the morning show. Right. It sucks to wake up early in the morning. That being said, how difficult that is, I would say the constant pressure to be on all the time. Now, again, I did this because I'm the one that decided to do the radio show, the NFL podcast, 25 Whistles, the Bobby Cast. I did the Yellowstone podcast. So I did all this. So when I say this, it's all my fault, but there really is so much energy you have. And that's it. You hit a point. And I think as I record this, like, I've kind of hit that point. Luckily I have a few days off coming up, vacation in the next few weeks. But I think that's a misunderstood part that. And I'm not whining, but you can actually, like fry your brain. I think my brain's fried right now. I think in like the radio part of it, it used to be be relatable. Relatability is key. And I think there was something to that, but it's not even that anymore. I think being entertaining is number one. Being authentic or telling the truth is number two. Because if you're being entertaining, you can't stay in character or remember your lies. That's why I don't lie more. I can't remember them. And I'm on, like, seven places doing seven different things. I don't think I lie at all. If I do, you're going to hear me contradict myself not knowing it, because I'm saying things in all these different places. So I think number one is entertaining. Number two is being honest and authentic. And then number three is being relatable. Like, I think relatability is fine and it's good, but, like, your neighbor is relatable. Do you want to listen to them talk for an hour on a podcast? Probably not. I mean, maybe, but relatability was such a 2000s thing where it was number one. And we still get this research. Sometimes it's like you're not being relatable enough. I'm like, good. Does that mean I'm being way more entertaining? Because I don't want to be fake relatable. If I were to come on now and say the things that I said 15 years ago, you guys would know it was a lie. If I came on and said things like, man, I went to the vet and that bill was so high, I'm thinking about not even, like, paying it and just seeing what happens. That's a real thing that happens with people. But you guys know I have money now because I've been doing this for so long. Or if I'm like, I had to go buy a new set of tires that's really, really got me strapped this month, you guys would know I was full of crap. Now I had to live a big part of my life like that. But, like, that's the relatability part that I understand because I had it, but I don't have it anymore, so I don't lie about that part anymore. So those are probably. And by the way, those aren't even that big of a deal. Like, my job is pretty cool. I put a lot of time and effort into it and a lot of strategy, but my job's pretty cool, so I don't complain about it much. Mostly, if I do complain about it, it's only if I'm complaining about Beer with Jesus and that song that almost kept me from coming here. The Bobby cast will be right back. Hi, Zoe Saldana. Welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us. Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in. You don't need a trade in. When you switch to T Mobile, we'll give you a new iPhone 16 Pro. Plus we'll help you pay off your old Phone up to 800 bucks and you still get to keep it. There's always a trade in. Not right now. @ T Mobile. I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma. That's okay. I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender. I'm good. Seriously. Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints. Really, I'm fine. Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car. It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile. Get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence on us. No trade in needed. We'll even pay off your phone up to 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line $100 plus a month on experience beyond finance agreement $999.99 and qualifying ported well qualified plus tax and $10 connection charge. Payout via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel. See T mobile.com the American west with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. Hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores and brought to you by Velvet Buck, this podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best selling author and Meat Eater founder Stephen Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say, it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand the how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American west with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season one, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2 and 3 on May 21 and episodes 4, 5 and 6 on June 4. Ad free at Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts. This is the Bobbycast. What do people assume about your success that isn't true? I think you probably assume everything is correct about this. It is a lot of being on, but who cares? Like wah wah again, my stepdad worked at the mill. Like, I've seen real work before and I think this is real work, but it's definitely not the same. So not to not spend time on that question, but that was a little bit like the last one. I don't even know why I picked it, but thank you for sending it. Which moment felt more like you made it your first big check or your first big opportunity? That's interesting. My first big check on my first big opportunity. Well, the first thing I bought with what I felt was my first big check was a pair of Jordans. White Jordans. I didn't have nice shoes growing up, and if I did, I got them at a yard sale. So I thought the first time I make money and I have money that is more than just week to week, I'm gonna buy me the coolest Jordans and I bought a pair of white Jordan Sixes. Like, that's cool. That's special because I still remember that. I still remember going to the mall and buying those. I bought my mom a trailer and two acres of land before she died. Like that was from another big check. Like, I signed a contract in Austin, I think for like $400,000 a year. Just walking back through my checks and what I made per year. When I started in radio full time, I made like 16,000 a year. And that was all hourly. So it was 16,000, but it was based on $9 an hour or something like that. When I went to Austin to do nights full time, because I went from Little Rock to Austin, I went for $32,000 a year and that was 2000. Late 2002 when I got the morning job in Austin and they paid me $50,000 a year. I was rich. I really felt like I was rich. I think of any of the, hey, we're going to sign a new contract. There was more joy in that one than any other deal that I had ever signed, because it was the first time that there was this entirely new feeling of I don't feel fundamentally like I am just swimming as hard as I can to stay above water. And that $50,000 a year was crazy. I could not believe it. So that job and, you know, by the time I left Austin, it was four or five hundred thousand dollars a year. And that's pretty good. But that was also, like, bonuses. Like, we were number one for, like, five years in a row. And when I say that, I mean every quarter, they would have a ratings book. And if I hit for four quarters in a row, I got a bonus of, like, $75,000. And four years in a row, I hit that freaking bonus. Like, we would crush in Austin. And so when you ask the question, first big check or first big opportunity? Like, those are the checks that I think of. The other check that I think of, I'd gone. And I had done some episodes on American Idol that first season, and they had me come in for one episode, and it was really to talk to kids, kids, young adults, but mostly kids on this show about what it was like to be interviewed by multiple people and walk them through the process of, like, how to start over at the next interview and how to have your microphone close to your mouth. Really, that's what it was. It was like how to be interviewed. So I go and I do that. But what I found, and what they found, too, was that I understood what a lot of those young adults and kids were going through, because until I had been sent to New York or Los Angeles for work, I'd never been to New York or Los Angeles. And then when I got there, I was like, wow, this is like television. I was overwhelmed a bit, as were they. And so they kept me on. I did multiple episodes, and I've told the story and I talked about it, I think, in my special, which is not even available because once CMT aired it, I put it on YouTube and then never pushed load. I guess I loaded it. I just never made it public. I talked about that and how I lost money for, like, three episodes because American Idol didn't even know that I didn't live in Los Angeles. They thought I lived there because I didn't want them to use that as a reason not to hire me. For another episode. So they were paying me union minimum. And by the time I was paying for my flights at my hotel, I was losing hundreds of dollars. Just hundreds of dollars, but still money an episode. So for like three episodes, I lost money. And so they asked me to come back and do more episodes. And I was like, okay, I have to make a confession to you guys. I don't live here. And so my manager at the time was like, we'll get you a higher rate. And so they paid me for like the Last couple episodes, $50,000 an episode on American Idol that first season. So the first season ends, and this is pre. We're doing a prequel here to that story I told earlier. That first season ends and I had heard they were going to offer me a deal for another season, maybe two. And I'm thinking if they just pay me like that $50,000 an episode, that's going to be awesome. And so they made an offer to me and it was like $300,000, I would have said yes immediately. My manager, whose name is Corin Capshaw, who's the owner of Red Light Management, he said, don't take it. I said, what are you talking about? He goes, if you just say no, they're going to offer you more. And I said, are you sure? And he said, well, you really can't be sure of anything. And I thought, if I say no to this, they're offering me a full time job on this show. They're offering me $300,000 or something like that, all in. And if I say no, they may go, well, there's 11 of you here in LA, more than that, that we can hire to put on this show. And he said, if I were you, as your manager, I can't say no, but I'm going to say, you should say no to this. And so I trusted him and I said, guys, I don't feel like you're paying me enough. I'm going to say no. Their next offer was $1.2 million. And I said yes immediately. That's a big check. That's a big check. That's pretty cool. And then I don't know what the weird part about that question is. Your first big opportunity. I don't feel like I ever just had this massive opportunity that came to me out of nowhere or this opportunity that just showed up because they're like, we think you're so great. Here's a big opportunity. Everything that I've been doing has been one small ladder rung and then one small ladder rung and then I fall down a couple ladder rungs and then I climb up three small ladder rungs. Like, I don't really feel like I've ever had a massive jump that either didn't have a lot of risk involved or really wasn't that massive because I'd been working on it for so long behind the scenes. So I'm going to say my you made it was the big checks. Because there was never just a massive opportunity that presented itself that I wasn't either killing myself to get. Yeah, it's the money. And I've never really done anything just for money. I've probably taken a couple speaking engagements, but that's one day. And those pay really well. If it's a private speaking engagement or a private, like just me going up to do some jokes, that's significant. So I've done that for money, but I've never, like taken on a whole project for money. I did the Yellowstone podcast and I thought that was a good relationship builder. I kind of regret doing that. It wasn't that Yellowstone was bad to work with. It wasn't that Paramount was bad to work with. That production company was terrible. And the producer of that was just really awful. And when he sent the email, that was like, you're not famous enough to get big guests. Because I said, hey, why don't we get Kevin Costner? Why don't we get. And he was like, yeah, if you were famous, we could get him, but you're not famous enough. And I was like, okay, cool. I had Costner on my show like four weeks prior. I felt pretty good about sending that email off, but I'm going to go checks. Is AI going to ruin creativity or is AI going to enhance it? That's the question. My answer is going to be the AI is going to enhance it. I think everything has always been enhanced by things that were going to ruin creativity. And I can walk you through this. I've thought about this a bit because I love AI. I make AI teasers for upcoming guests on the Bobbycast. So if we go back, the printing press in the 1400s, people said that the printing press would kill memory. It would kill oral tradition, like just telling stories into your buddy's ear and papaw would tell grandkids stories and it would kill the sacred art of hand copying texts. So the printing press was going to ruin the creativity in the 1400s. In the 1800s, photography was going to ruin creativity. Painters were pissed at photography and so people were like, that's it, it's over. These machines are taking pictures. It's not the human hand anymore. Why paint when you can just click then recorded music in the 1900s, live musicians panicked. Sheet music aficionados. I don't even know what you call that, like publishers, they went ballistic. The whole thought was if music is put on a vinyl or on a way, people will not go to live shows anymore. That was ruining creativity. You can go to the 1970s or the 1980s, synthesizers and drum machines. Traditional musicians said it was fake, it was robotic, it was soulless. That's not real music now. That's so much a part of real music. Pop, hip hop, EDM, even country sampling in the 80s and the 90s. Like old school purists said that borrowing other clips of other songs was just theft, not art, that it was just noise, not music. Are you seeing the patterns here? Auto tune in the 90s, I think share Believe was the first Auto Tune song that was a hit. T Pain gets all the credit because he made it his thing, which is weird, because T Pain could really, really sing. So it was a stylistic choice for T Pain more than anything else. YouTube and social media in the 2000s, people said it was just kids making dumb videos. And then when it started to catch on, it was, that's not really television. But then when it got so big, it was like, television's done. Everything's gonna be done on YouTube for a nickel. Streaming services. So my only point here about that question is every generation thinks that the next part of technology is killing creativity. But the thing about creativity is it doesn't die. It adapts. It always has. AI isn't the end of originality. It is just a really cool tool in the box. And I think all of those have been tools in the box so far. It can't replace human emotion or experience or taste. It can only reflect it based on what it's built on. So I can understand people getting upset about AI at times, but remember, people got upset at the printing press. And that's what I want you to say. The next time someone's like, AI is ruining music, say, ah, you sound like someone in 1418 complaining about the printing press. But I think AI is great, and if you don't use it, you're going to get crushed by someone else. That is because, again, it's a tool. Next question. What's one story from behind the scenes at the Bobby Bones show you've never told? I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. So there was a point during the show when I knew we were moving to Nashville, but I could not tell anybody else on the show we were moving to Nashville because I hadn't even decided who I was going to take because it was so new to me. But they said, you can't tell anybody because legally there are people that can't know. And I'm not sure if it was because they needed to be moved, because a lot of the shows that were on in the mornings when we came on around the country either got moved to, like, middays or afternoons, or some of them were let go before we even came on. Like, I didn't have any control over any of that, but because of that, I couldn't talk about it, couldn't tell anybody about it. And so there were a couple stories specifically that come to mind. Amy was trying to buy a house in Austin, and she had moved to North Carolina. She worked remotely from North Carolina for a couple of years because her husband at the time, now her ex husband was. Was in the military, and she worked on the show with us in Austin. I built that whole syndication company myself in Austin. And so because I did that, I had the leverage to say, we're keeping Amy. And it was kind of unheard of to have a co host that wasn't in the same room with you. And so Amy was working in North Carolina, moving back to Austin. Everybody was pumped because she was going to be back in the room with us. But as she was moving back and looking for a house, that's when it's okay, I'm taking the Nashville job. I was like, I got to tell Amy she's going to buy a house in, like, a week. They wouldn't let me do it. And I said to them, she may not take the job if she buys a house. They would not let me do it. She put an offer in on a house. They accepted the offer, and for some reason, part of the contingency fell through, and the house was never able to be bought. It was just, like, taken off the market or something. And thank God that happened, because I don't know that Amy would have come to Nashville with this, not because of me, but because her and her husband had just bought a house. So that one. And then Ray Mundo, where Ray Mundo had come to me, and Ray was an intern for me. And the way that I met Ray was he was doing internships for different radio stations in the building, and he was an intern for the sports station called 1300-THE ZONE in Austin. And they asked me if I would fill in on, like, a holiday or Two. And I was like, that's cool. I love sports. Why not? And I needed a producer and he was producing. And I said, hey, man, do you want to produce this sports show? I didn't know him. And he was like, yeah, I would love to. That's how we knew each other. Then he came as an intern on the show. He was never a paid employee in Austin before he moved to Nashville, but I knew he wanted to be. And I was trying to help him find a job in some other city, anywhere, because Ray just wanted to go and work and make a living out of doing radio. And I called him in the office and I knew I was going to Nashville. And I said, hey, man, I think I got you an offer in a different city. Do you care where it is? But I can't tell you right now. And he's like, I don't care. I'm going. I said, okay, I can tell you the city where the offer is, but I can't tell you really the show because of some legal. He's like, it's fine. I said, I really trust this show and I think you're going to do great there. And they want you as like, the head audio producer. And he's Cloud nine. Like, it was the most exciting thing ever to him. And I get it because I know what that felt like. And I said, the show's in Nashville, but I can't say much else. And he's like, this is awesome. I'm moving to Nashville. And it was a while before I could tell him the show was actually me and that he was going to move with us. And his first paid job was with me in Nashville. And now paid. Ray has been 13 years, man. Looking back at all the guys on the show, like Amy and lunchbox, about 20 years. Ray 13 years. Eddie, 13, 14 years. Like, our crew's been together a long time, but I would say that's a behind the scenes story that really doesn't get shared a whole lot. I haven't really thought about it. I'll do a couple more. We're just doing 50 minutes, so this is full 50 minutes club here. What's the most overrated artist of all time? We talked about this on the radio show recently. I can go into a little more depth on mine. I think the most overrated artist of all time is a band, and I think it's U2. Now, that doesn't mean I don't think they're good or even great, because I do really like U2, but I think it's okay to say U2 is really good, but also feel they're a bit overrated. And I can give you some reasons. They get classic airplay consideration, like on classic rock stations, for songs that weren't even hits. Like, Vertigo wasn't even a hit. It plays on classic rock, like, just because they're U2, they just play their songs. And I can get in more into that just because they're U2. But even like Elevation, that's not Sweet Child of Mine. That's not Smells Like Teen Spirit. So it gets played on, like, classic rock and even alternative stations, they weren't even hits back in the day. Okay, that's a dumb one, but I'll put it there. Bono at times is so annoying that his Persona, the character he plays, can overshadow the music and make you not like the band. Now, I think it's great to be an activist, but I feel like he's activist first, and maybe his glasses just piss me off. Like, those glasses aren't even real sunglasses. I'm wearing sunglasses right now because I got lights right in my eyeballs. But, like, he wears the clear ones. They're not even sunglasses. But I feel like Bono's, like, messiah complex even at times, and I don't know him, but that can dominate the narrative of U2. So even if the music's good, people that really love Bono are like, no, no, it's different. It's different. The itunes thing still hits people because back in the day, 2014 ish, it was before the Cubs won the World Series, but not way before the Cubs won the World Series. That album, Songs of Innocence, was put on everybody's freaking ipod, or iPhone, I guess it had to be iPhone. And so there was this U2 album that wasn't even that good on everybody's iPhone. That did not help their legacy. And I remember they gave you a way to delete it, like, a week later. Yeah, that was significant. They haven't had a really good album in, like, 20 years. I looked. We were doing the segment for the show. They really haven't had anything in 20, 25 years. And then it's almost like they've been treated as untouchable gods, like, rock and roll gods. They do deserve to be in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. I do like U2, but they have been basically the moral compass of rock. And that can wear thin when every album that comes out is also, like, attached to a global cause. And I love global causes. I do sign me up for more global causes, but it's like every album that comes out, it's like a different rainforest or something. It's like, bro, sometimes we just want a song to sing. It's like a TED Talk. I don't need a TED Talk for every song that you put out, Bono. But I do like you too. That's the weird thing, but I would say I think you two has absolutely earned their place in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. I just don't think they need a throne inside the Rock and Roll hall of Fame to sit on and look down upon others. Let's take a quick pause for a message from our sponsor. Hi, Zoe Saldana. Welcome to T Mobile. Here's your new iPhone 16 Pro on us. Thanks. And here's my old phone to trade in. You don't need a trade in. When you switch to T Mobile, we'll give you a new iPhone 16 Pro plus we'll help you pay off your old Phone up to 800 bucks and you still get to keep it. There's always a trade end. Not right now. @ T Mobile. I feel like I have to give you something in return for karma. That's okay. I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender. I'm good. Seriously. Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints. Really, I'm fine. Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car. It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile. Get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence on us, no trade in needed. We'll even pay off your phone up to 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line $100 plus a month on experience beyond Finance Agreement 999.99 and qualifying boarded for well qualified plus tax and $10 connection charge pay off via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days credits and balance due if you pay off early or cancel. See T mobile.com I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2 and 3 on May 21 and episodes 4, 5 and 6 on June 4 ad free at Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts the American west with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. Hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores and brought to you by Velvet Buck, this podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best selling author and Meat Eater founder Stephen Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here. And I'll say it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American west with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back on the bobbycast. Another question has country music lost its identity or as country music evolved? Country music has always been losing, quote, its identity since it was even invented. There has never been a time, there has never been a half decade where people weren't saying that ain't real country music. And we can walk through this too, if you want. I feel like I've done this TED Talk a hundred times because since day one people have said that, man, country music is just not what it used to be. But country music has always been evolving and those changes are what keeps country music alive. And you can kind of walk through it decade by decade and look at every time that someone said this ain't real country, which makes you look at the people that say it now, and you look at them almost with sympathy, like you're kind of dumb. Because it's been said over and over and over again to things that were told that weren't country, that actually are, again, fundamentally what we think are country music now. Like the 1930s, 1940s. And that's back when the Grand Ole Opry started broadcasting, which I'm going to tonight, by the way, still thriving. Critics claimed that the Opry was turning country music into a vaudeville act because of the stage, because of the talking, because of the fun back in the 30s and 40s. And I really credit that country music documentary on PBS that was fantastic. Bob Wills introduced western swing and fiddles mixed with jazz. And the whole world, the country music world turned over in its. They're supposed to be dead grave because they used an electric amp on a steel guitar. Like, that was not country. Isn't that crazy to think like a steel guitar at one point amped up was not country music? But again, the people now that are going, that ain't country. That was them telling Bob Wills, you ain't country. Telling the Grand Ole Opry, you ain't country. In the 1950s, it was too much rock and roll. Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, they definitely blurred the lines with rockabilly. And if you ever heard of the Nashville sound, it was a much smoother type of country music. And the Nashville sound comes to mind now because Brian Wilson just died. And Brian Wilson used the Wrecking Crew. And the Wrecking Crew had, you know, these artists that were like session players now, but the best. But that's what the Nashville sound kind of turned into. Very slick. It was like strings. It was an attempt to popularize pop up country music. But old school fans called that sellout music. But I mean, that's Patsy Cline, that's Jim Reeves. That's things we look at now as. That's country music. In the 70s, it was the outlaws are killing country music. What's weird now is like, the outlaws are. Man, that's my favorite outlaw era. But the outlaws were told they weren't country music by the same people. Now they're going, that's not country music. To insert whichever artist now they're mad at. But in the 70s, it was all about the outlaws and how the outlaws are killing country music. Willie and Waylon and Kris Kristofferson, they rejected all of that. The Nashville sound that was so smooth and polished. Critics called the outlaw music disrespectful, not traditional. So the music we look at now as what created country was looked at then as what's ruining country. There's definitely a pattern with annoying people going, that ain't country. In the 80s, it got too pop. Alabama, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, like, everybody's like, you're pop artist, you're pop artist, you're pop artist. I mean, heck, Kenny Rogers was actually a pop artist. You know that song, what Condition My Condition Was In? That was Kenny Rogers. And I'm not gonna say he was a failed pop artist, but he was a failed pop artist who then came to country. Dolly bounced back and forth because she could. Traditionalists were all pissed off at all these pop artists that were making country. How familiar does that sound right now? Probably very. But they expanded the country music audience. They made people listen that normally wouldn't want to listen to. While still dominated the country charts in the 90s. Garth. Garth's going to run country. And a lot of times because of his pyro stage shows, huge crossover success. Circus. Garth does a circus. It's not even a real tour. He became the biggest solo artist of all time. And now we look at Garth. There's no question Garth was country, but Garth was getting pushed back on being country. 2000s, that's when we kind of got here, bro country. And that was beer and trucks and girls. And country music lost its soul. But bro country again did what some of those other generations did where they. It brought new fans. The first time I heard Nelly in Florida, Georgia Line do Cruise, I was like, that's it. And yeah, looking back, was it kind of lame? No. No, it wasn't. It was awesome for the time. And I think it sucks to say the word bro country to like Luke Bryan, who's a friend of mine, but they weren't doing bro country to do bro country. That was just the vibe of the time. And you're going to tell me that didn't bring tons of fans in. And it's easy and it feels good to hate on bro country now, but it was really good. Like, it got corny because everybody started doing it and then it got very corny. Today, there's too much hip hop, there's too much pop, Post Malone, Diplo, Beyonce. That ain't country. But what even is country. And the one thing that has stayed consistent with country music as it's always evolving and the one thing that stays consistent is people are going, well, that ain't country. So the next time you see somebody go, well, that ain't country, just know they're a frigging idiot. Because it's impossible to say what's not country. There are some things now that could be happening that in 10 years won't still be country, because the actual gatekeepers are the people, the consumer. But when you see somebody or an article written by whomever going, this ain't country music, just know they called the Grand Ole Opry vaudeville. And that same writer was probably doing that in the 30s and 40s on a different timeline. They don't know Anything about music that you don't know. So had country music never changed and also boxes for an hour, I'm not going to. It would have died in a Barn in the 30s. The only constant in country music is that somebody always sucks and is changing it. So that's what's up. It's not losing its identity. It's always trying to find its new identity, is what I would say there. I'm gonna do two more questions. If you had one hour of uninterrupted airtime that every American had to listen to, what would you say that's good? I think I would say that we're all way, way, way more alike than we are different. And that politicians need to divide you to exist. Like they need to divide you. Like we need water and air. So the politicians that you're a huge fan of, if you are a huge fan of, they need you to not like the other party, because that's what's going to motivate you. I watched this thing once, and it was one of those shows like 2020 or Nightline. They had all these people that were trying to lose weight, and they said, okay, we have this first group, and we're going to give them the offer of if you lose 20 pounds in eight weeks, we're going to give you $1,000. We have this other group. The same amount of people, different people, but same amount. And if you don't lose that weight, we've taken nude pictures of you. We're gonna post them on the Internet. So it was positive versus negative reward. You know, the one that worked, that actually motivated people was the negative reward. Like, crazy, because people were like, well, yeah, this sucks, but I guess I don't need the thousand. Well, people don't want their wieners on the Internet if they don't put it on there. And so negativity always moves people. We've seen some really bad things in history with negativity and division. So politicians, they yearn to divide. Generally, they need it. They need you divided, and they need you fighting. And in that fight, you need to fight for them. So you're more like the person that you can't stand than you ever thought you were. And the politicians that. That you know as mostly being anti something than being pro something. Dirt balls. Dirt balls. Think of, like 10 politicians, and if the first thing you think of is what they're against instead of what they're for. Dirt balls, broken system. That's probably what I would say. One final question. What's one conspiracy theory that you don't have to say you believe, but you also can't let go of. Epstein didn't kill himself. There's no way Epstein killed himself. I mean, there's a way, I guess, because I wasn't there. But just let me lay out some stuff for you here about Epstein. And supposedly now they're like, no, we saw it. I thought the camera was broken. How can you see it now? Number one, he was on suicide watch, and then he was mysteriously taken off suicide watch. They had him under supervision 247 because he had already, quote, attempted suicide. So he's on suicide watch, they're watching him, and all of a sudden they take him off suicide watch, and that's when he kills himself because they basically gave him the opportunity to do it. Fishy. Next up, both security cameras malfunctioned at the same moment. The surveillance cameras outside of a cell conveniently failed at the same time. You're going to tell me that they both died at the exact same time. And that one exact time, not just a random time where they just flipped him back on, was the one time he killed himself. That's like your ring doorbell cam dying right before the burglar breaks in. Like five seconds before the burglar breaks in. And that's only one camera. Not even two of them. Both guards fell asleep at the same time as the cameras went down at the same time. Both guards went to sleep at the same time. Two trained federal officers fell asleep during the same shift during the most high profile suicide risk in custody. That's not just bad luck and random. That is extremely suspicious. The other one is he was about to name names, supposedly court documents, and there was testimony that implicated powerful people. Billionaires, politicians, royalty. He wasn't just a threat to them. He was a freaking loaded gun pointed right at him. You want another one? His cellmate was pulled out right before he died. So you got two cameras that go down, you got two guards that go to sleep. You got him taken off suicide watch, and you got a cellmate pulled out right before he died. That cellmate was in there for, quote, safety. And they removed the one person that would have been a witness. His injuries didn't match a hanging. The government closed the book super fast. They were, like, done. Epstein killed himself. All right, next up. And then the really weird one was Ghislaine Maxwell. You know, you see it in all the pictures with him. It was like his girlfriend or like his trafficking partner or both. Like, she was convicted of trafficking kids, but to no one, she was Found guilty of trafficking underage girls to clients. But there is no list. There's no follow up, no known names. What's happening here? So that's the one. I don't know anybody who thinks that he actually killed himself. Yeah, that one's crazy. That's crazy. Okay, that's it. We did 50 minutes. 50 minute club. We're done. We'll do it again sometime soon. Thank you. If you enjoyed these one on ones, please let me know. We'll do another one next week, week after, I don't know. We'll see how it goes. All right, that's it for this episode of the Bobbycast. We do coming up, we have Mark Cuban coming up, we have Brooks and Dunn coming up, interviews with them that are super cool. I'm super excited to have. So appreciate you guys listening and we will see you guys soon. All right, bye, everybody. Thanks for listening to a Bobby Cast production. Over the years of making my true crime podcast Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder. I'm Katherine Townsend. I've heard from hundreds of people across the country with an unsolved murder in their community. I was calling about the murder of my husband. The murder is still out there. Each week I investigate a new case. If there is a case we should Hear about, call 678-744-6145. Listen to Helen Gone Murderline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jeff Perlman. And I'm Rick Jervis. We're journalists and hosts of the podcast Finding Sexy Sweat. At an internship in 1993, we roomed with Reggie Payne, aspiring reporter and rapper who went by Sexy Sweat a couple years ago. We set out to find him, but in 2020, Reggie fell into a coma after police pinned him down and he never woke up. But then I see my son's not moving. 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