Unsubscribe Podcast #252 — The INSANE Story Of Pappy Gunn
Podcast: Unsubscribe Podcast
Hosts: Eli Doubletap, Brandon Herrera, Donut Operator, The Fat Electrician (Ethan)
Date: February 22, 2026
Episode Overview
This lively, irreverent episode of the Unsubscribe Podcast brings together the full crew (plus friends) for a classic hangout — full of wild anecdotes, conspiracy banter, and an epic deep dive into the WWII legend of Pappy Gunn. Along the way, the guys riff on everything from 40oz malt liquor memories to museum dreams, the weirdness of adulthood, and what really goes on with the military, history, and politics.
Main Segments & Key Discussions
1. Opening Banter & Crew Energy
0:00–10:00
- Snack Wraps & Birthday Announcements: The pod opens with a comedic skit about McDonald's snack wraps, rapidly veering into the hosts’ dynamic. Ethan celebrates his birthday and announces a monthly $1,000 community giveaway to thank subscribers.
- Power Cube Segment: A new “punching cube” to measure guests’ punching power is teased — drawing a Top Gear-style recurring segment idea.
"We're going to be giving $1,000 every month for the whole year, just for y'all. It's the least we can do for all the support." – Ethan (00:41)
2. Family Mayhem & DIY Disasters
10:00–18:00
- Connor's Oven Saga: Connor shares escalating frustration with appliance repair bureaucracy.
"I bought a new oven, it broke. They said, 'parts are back-ordered.' I found them myself and then they refused to install them!" – Connor (05:27)
- Kids and Discipline: The crew jokes about what happens when kids mimic adult “yelling at the dog” behavior, debating the virtues of setting up a "bail fund" instead of a college fund.
- Car Repair About Dad: Brandon and Connor recall fixing a truck in a brunch parking lot using landscaping brick and a wrench.
3. Old School Partying & Sporting Debates
18:00–26:00
- DoorDashing 40s & Edward 40 Hands: Jokes about DoorDashing Forty-ounce beers snowball, with vivid retellings of San Antonio podcasts past.
"You versus Tony at Edward 40 Hands instead of a runoff election would be epic." – Connor (08:43)
- Pickleball Domination: Connor's wife gets him into the sport, which leads to mercilessly whooping retirees.
4. Absurd Internet Headlines & Museums
26:00–36:00
- 50% Female Samurais Debate: Connor debunks a viral myth about samurai, arguing the press distorted "samurai" to include secretaries.
"If you let me change definitions of words, I can prove anything." – Connor (15:41)
- Smithsonian & Nephilim Conspiracies: The team riffs on museum artifact hoarding and the hiding of “giant skeletons.”
- Brandon’s Big Ass Gun Museum: Half-joking, half-serious, the guys pitch their Hard Rock Café-style “gun museum” filled with artifacts from their content and big American pop culture.
5. Pop Culture, TV Critiques & Relationships
36:00–52:00
- Landman Show Roasting: The crew debate and rip apart the TV series "Landman," lambasting its characters and soap-opera plots.
"Every woman in that show... they're all f---ing horrible, man. Especially the Mexican chick. Good God." – Eli Doubletap (30:39)
- Relationship Stereotypes: Jokes about coming home to tell your wife about a big success — and the family barely reacting.
6. Sponsor Segments — Fabletics, Fume, True Classic, Poncho
52:00–66:00
- Several comedic ad-reads for sponsors, with plenty of banter and jokes about each product (e.g., poking fun at True Classic shirts and Poncho tops; Brandon and Eli trading barbs over comfy shirts and cleaning glasses).
7. History Deep Dives & War Stories
66:00–87:00
A. WWII & The Legend of Pappy Gunn
80:00–89:00 (Main Story)
- Connor’s Breakdown: The main feature. He tells the decades-spanning, incredible true story of Paul “Pappy” Gunn — WWII pilot, pioneer of B-25 bomber modifications, wild man, and vengeance-driven hero.
- Gunn’s family is interned by the Japanese in Manila; he becomes a U.S. Army officer, steals 25 Danish bombers, and modifies them with up to 12 heavy machine guns for “strafer” runs.
- Gunn personally confronts bureaucracy and adversity, even strong-arming medics to amputate his pinky so he could keep working.
- His innovations help win key battles like the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, with the US decimating Japanese forces using his “OG A-10” B-25s.
- Gunn repeatedly risks (and crash-lands) himself, exemplifying WWII’s wild-west, “do what works” American ethos.
"He ends up stealing 25 B25 bombers from the Danish military... retrofits them, puts eight .50 cals in the nose, and creates the B-25 Strafer... Just imagine, you’re flying in a ship, and there’s 12,000 Japanese on deck — and here come 25 B25s with 12 fifties each, just mowing down troops. That’s Pappy Gunn for you." – Connor (80:14)
B. Skip Bombing, Medals of Honor, & Wild Museum Finds
- They discuss WWII skip-bombing tactics perfected by Gunn.
- Brandon shares Texas MOH stories, including the only known case of two Medal of Honor recipients shooting each other.
8. Military & Veteran Politics / VA Care
87:00–105:00
- Brandon’s Veteran Event: The importance of veteran support and the upcoming large event in San Antonio, Texas.
- VA Inefficiencies: Rural veterans' struggles with VA health care, the need for private care options, and policy failures.
"Being a veteran doesn't guarantee you're a good person, or that you know what you're talking about, or even that you’ll help veterans. Don’t embellish, don’t use it for clout — do something for your community." – Nick (97:20)
9. Cultural Commentary & Running Jokes
105:00–118:00
- AI “Slop Farm” Viral Clips: The group laments AI spam channels clipping and remixing their stories (like Nick’s college “MLA format” saga) — and reflects on the weirdness of their own fame.
- Body Cams, BLM, and Policing: Eli and Connor discuss the abrupt reversal in public/institutional opinion on police bodycams, and how politics distorts these tech advances.
- American Cheating Norms, War Love Letters & Soldier Behavior: Humorous takes on war-era infidelity, soldiers naming kids after mistresses, and “dirty” war letters that never make the official historic record.
10. Superlative Punching Contest with the Power Cube
121:01–129:00
- Several rounds of affable, competitive “Power Cube” punching. Tension runs high as Nick and Eli one-up each other, with frequent asides, boasts, groans, and the rest of the cast clowning as their knuckles swell.
"Nick tries to punch through me. I can feel it on the pad, trust me." – Brandon Herrera (128:29)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On WWII Innovation:
"America's the best. These guys droppin’ 12 .50's in the nose. Droppin’ bombs so low they skip across the water into ships. Some engineer said, ‘That's not how you’re supposed to do it!’ And Pappy Gunn’s like, ‘Learn to fly a plane.’" – Connor (82:16) -
On Museum Artifacts:
"A lot of museums just sell donated artifacts, use it to buy a new building—they don’t actually go on display." – Brandon (17:00) -
On Family Life:
"When I’m home, they all hate that I’m there. The second I leave, they give me obscure problems I can’t solve… Why does my brake hit my knee?" – Nick (35:40) -
On Parenting & Discipline:
"Imagine coming home, telling your wife you don't have to be an electrician anymore because you made a successful YouTube channel. She’s like, ‘Whatever.’ That’s just part of being a man, the albatross around our neck." – Brandon (34:01) -
On Veteran’s Issues:
"Don't lie about your service, don't embellish. Invest in your community and help move beyond the battlefield. That's real." – Nick (97:30)
Additional Highlights
- Recurring In-Jokes: Many references to being “White Boy of the Year,” DoorDashing 40s, Top Gear-style competitions, and the status of “giants” and “Samurais.”
- Political Run: Brandon is plugging his Congressional bid and the significance of veteran-focused service.
- Historical Bizarre Facts: The only Medal of Honor recipient to shoot another Medal of Honor recipient; Civil War cannons discovered loaded a century later; WWII love letters, and battlefield engineering hacks.
- Endless, Spiraling Tangents: From anime to internet conspiracy theories, to sports, and pop culture, every topic echoes through the crew's personal experiences and relentless, self-deprecating humor.
Timestamps: Important Segments
- Conspiracy/Smithsonian & Museums: 15:50–21:30
- WWII — Pappy Gunn Deep Dive: 80:15–89:00
- Veteran Healthcare Real Talk: 103:44–107:00
- Power Cube Punch Contest: 121:01–129:00
- Banter About Medal of Honor/War Letters: 111:58–120:32
Tone & Style
- Relentless sarcasm, dark (“veteran”) humor, layered inside stories, and a non-stop volley of inside jokes and self-roasting.
- Raucous, conversational, and occasionally chaotic, but laced with deep military and historical knowledge.
This episode is a quintessential Unsubscribe experience: bawdy, insightful, and a goldmine for anyone who loves a mix of history, brotherly camaraderie, and no-holds-barred podcasting. Don’t miss the wild tale of Pappy Gunn — one of WWII’s true mad genius legends.