The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - A Golden Fantasy (Suite) with Nancy Hulkower (Golden Bachelor Season 2 Episode 8 Recap)

Episode Date: November 6, 2025

Golden Bachelor season 1 fan favorite, Nancy Hulkower, joins Ben to recap this week's episode and give an update on her love life after Bachelor in Paradise!Nancy shares how she really feels about Mel as a lead, and she has a theory on why this season seems a bit slow. As we gear up for the finale, Ben and Nancy make their predictions of who they think gets Mel’s final rose.Plus, Nancy gives her honest reaction to the mudslinging and wild headlines coming from Golden Bachelor alums Gerry and Theresa!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. She said, Johnny. The kids didn't come home last night. Along the central Texas planes, teens are dying. Suicides that don't make sense. Strange accidents and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad. Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people.

There are people out there that absolutely know what happened. Listen to Paper Ghosts, The Texas Teen Murders, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. First episode, How Southwest Airlines Used Chewereld. cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline is. The most Texas story ever.

Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Cal Penn, and on my new podcast, here we go again, we'll take today's trends and headlines and ask, why does history keep repeating itself? Each week, I'm calling up my friends, like Bill Nye, Lily Singh, and Pete Buttigieg to talk about everything from the space race to movie remakes to psychedelics. the way, are you high? Look, the world can seem pretty scary right now. But my goal here

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Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Two rich young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over, but one of them will end up dead and the other tried for murder three times. It starts with a dream, nature reserve and a spectacular new home. But little by little, they lose it. They actually lose it.

They sort of like nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control. Listen to Hell in Heaven on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast with IHeart Radio. It's Almost News Podcast, and I'm here today for another Golden Bachelor Recap. And this time I'm joined by someone we got to know and love on season one of The Golden Bachelor. And she was on the most season of Bachelor in Paradise. Nancy, welcome to the show. Hi, Ben.

Thanks for having me. Nancy, you've been up to some fun stuff recently. We were talking about the FOMO we experienced watching. your recent girls weekend with Joan, Kathy, and Susan. It's all done. Tell us about this. I mean, I don't even know what question to ask because we got to see bits and pieces of it, but it looked incredibly fun.

It was like summer camp all over. We went to see Kathy in Austin, Texas, and she had everything arranged. We cooked, we went out one night. We cooked in one night. actually ended up having dinner for breakfast the next day and truly just hung out with each other, went out on a boat with one of Kathy's friends, and then went to this really cute Austin, Texas sort of flagship place to drink and eat in the afternoon. And we had a ball, but truly we, and I know you've heard me say this before as probably

others have that this because of bachelor nation and because of what we all went through it it's a forever friendship we fight we call each other out i tell people to stop interrupting that hasn't helped yet but just saying i was going to say with kathy and susan i feel like that is uh yeah i don't know if that would work but i we we do we're it's like we're sisters Because we like I said, we fight, we give each other advice, all of that. But that's the true blessing that came out of Golden Bachelor Season 1. I was going to ask if you think looking back now that the friendships and the bonds that you have from that show is the best part for you. It is for me, absolutely, without a doubt.

And obviously, we saw you on Paradise. fans want to know if there's anything going on in your love life since paradise. Oh, goodness. Perhaps. We're getting quiet. Perhaps.

I don't want to say too much because it's very new. Yeah. We've been talking and we're going to see each other in a couple of weeks. That's all I can say because I haven't met him in person.

Sure. We chat on the phone every day. I mean, that's just fun. It is fun. Is this like the first person you've chatted with since the show? Not chatted with, but truly, I've had one date in the last five years. Okay. You know, been very busy with Bachelor Nation since our season.

I, you know, I didn't, no, I didn't date. So this would be the first one that I really wanted to. And so I'm hoping for the future. And Ben Higgins, you know, you would be the first one I would tell if anything happens again. So I'll call you and I could come on again. Yeah, you can come on again. That'd be good. I'd like that.

So just give us, I won't dig in here. But how did you two connect? Can you tell us that or is that given too much away? I cannot tell you that. Okay, fair enough. All right. Well, we'll just stay tuned. As I said, you'll be the first one to know.

Thank you. Make sure you let us know. Don't let anybody else know. You couldn't come on here today. We're obviously going to break down the most recent episode of The Golden Bachelor. It's Fantasy Sweet Week, and we got Cindy and Pegg and Mel together for this week. But we can't have you on without asking about the recent headlines that have come across everything here in the last 24 hours. It's Gary and Teresa and the mud slinging between them. I mean, I don't want to. say crazy things are being said because that makes the you know one of them being crazy i don't know this but there's outrageous things being said like things that like will make you stop in your tracks and be like wait what was what are they claiming what are they talking about um so i guess my first question

to you was is this shock is this a shocker to you that this is happening it's not a shocker I first of all regarding the two of them I feel like they did bachelor nation a disservice both of them together collectively and I feel like they could have each gotten out of it they could have left or broken up before the marriage all of that and I the other thing I have just say because it's come out many things have come out as you know but teresa told me verbatim that she read a book on how to win the bachelor i remember this being said yeah and she has said you know i feel like the truth is sort of careless not arena and um you know they both the mudslinging is bad i mean they're they're both they're both i guess guilty or whatever i'm not the judge but you know what i mean the mudsling should stop but i think she's really a lot harder on him um he has some good points but i think

they should both sort of stop because there's two sides today i don't know if you saw this but you know the back and forth is it is what it is i agree it should stop it's He's moved on, and I'm hoping she has as well. But today, E-News released a picture. And this is a quote from Teresa. And she says, he said, do you see that shed up there? And Teresa responded with, I said, yeah. He said, well, that's where I'm going to hide your body after I'd kill you and chop you up.

no i i did not see that today it's out there in e-news um so you can go look i yeah uh it's it's very i mean this is one where i stopped and said what is happening here you know fans have wondered if he was like kidding in that moment uh i feel like maybe he does have a dark sense of humor this is very dark uh if it was said i also am curious why this was never brought up before i feel like this would be a pretty easy reason for a breakup or divorce. If you're like, hey, this person that I got married to is joking about chopping me up, it would have come out a year ago. Totally.

And again, she could have exited. She could have enough. Can't do this. I'm getting red flags. She didn't. I mean, this is a big claim, like a huge claim, Nancy. She's saying that her at the time, I don't know if they were married, engaged. I don't know what the timeline was for this quote.

but she's saying that the person that she was with romantically at the time, no matter when they were, what their, you know, status was, was joking about chopping her up. I don't want to say it's going too far, but I feel like that is, like, goodness gracious, I don't, it's like I said, it makes your jaw drop. Has he responded? I haven't heard yet.

We'll have to look, and it just came out a few minutes ago right before we got on here. Yeah, it's nasty. it's getting nastier. Gary's book obviously came out here recently, and that's why this stuff's kind of picking up steam. And I mean, I don't know if anybody on our team's read the book yet or not. He came on here just a few weeks ago to talk through the book with us after Ashley and myself have read and gone through it. There's obviously some very vulnerable admittance to their relationship in this book. Also, Gary's story. is told in this book.

So, I mean, it could just be the weekly news cycle where these headlines will come back and forth about what they're saying about each other. But it's not pretty by any means. And it's not, it doesn't look healthy. No, and I'm not sure anybody would joke about that. You know what I mean? No. You could make light of it.

I'm sure maybe he will make light of it. We'll see, right? Yeah. I can't imagine joking about that. That feels. feels very odd well thanks for talking about obviously you're somebody that would be close to the situation or at least has been a part of their relationship for a long time we have moved on to season two of the golden bachelor before we kick off the breakdown of this episode i would love our fans to kind of understand where you're coming from coming into this would have been your thoughts so far on this season on mel as a lead on the contestants just kind of get us caught up on where you're coming into this at I think, obviously, I've watched it, and I feel like it's been slow. I feel like Mel, it's hard for Mel, and this may be just the way he is, his personality.

It's hard to extract information from him. There's a lot of one-word answers. And again, it's no, it's not a criticism, it's just a fact. But on TV, I sit there watching thinking, come on. there's more in there come on give it up a little bit what do you really feel like like and it's really hard to get to know him and i haven't seen him the other thing i wanted to say about him was i haven't seen him be vulnerable i haven't seen him like get emotional i think he did once but not i just can't get in i can't i don't feel like i know him and without knowing him

it's hard to root for somebody that you're not getting to know and who's not opening up and I kept thinking after the first one maybe next week will be better so we'll see but I think the women are lovely I know there was drama with Nicole

and things like that I think it's sad to see you know that some people may want to be influencers but I think that's just part of the part of the deal when people come on and I think that happens a lot.

It does happen a lot. I was hoping the Golden Show would kind of stay away from that. And I still think for the most part, it will. And this was just kind of a one-off moment. The show tried to bring somebody on that they thought could spark controversy. It didn't really work for them. I don't think fans reacted positively to the drama existing on the Golden Show. I hear you, and we've agreed during this podcast,

podcast that we don't know Mel, so we can't like criticize or judge him as a human because we don't know him. He hasn't done anything wrong. He just really hasn't done anything. And so I see this and I watch this and I'm with you where I'm like, I'm waiting for that moment of vulnerability. And this episode had, and we'll talk about it, moments where this could have easily happened. Hometown's had moments where it could have easily happened. Yet he still stays in this same kind of dry one word answer direct to the point but not really ever getting to a point responses that's not on him i know many people like that it's on the show for casting him as their lead did they think they were going to get something different out of this guy why was he the one where they're like

yes or maybe they could get it out of him or maybe the producers thought they could get it out of him but he's not given anything. And I think, you know, he appears to be a man of few words. So he may need to be, you know, pushed a little bit or, you know, help produce a little bit more. But I think he is who he is. Nothing wrong with not with being a man of few words. You probably shouldn't be on the show. I wouldn't think so.

And I think it's also, and I don't know this. I'm saying this from my opinion. I think it's really hard to find good quality men who are in their 60s and above who want to date women the same age. And we apologize for all that, but I think in real life, I've experienced that. All of us Golden Bachelor women from the first season have experienced that. They really do want to be with arm candy and, you know, somebody to make them feel young. and all of that.

On the podcast Health Stuff, we are tackling all the health questions that keep you up at night. Yes, I'm Dr. Priyanka Wally, a double board certified physician. And I'm Hurricane Dibolu, a comedian and someone who once Googled, Do I have scurvy at 3 a.m?

On Health Stuff, we're talking about health in a different way. It's not only about what we can do to improve our health, but also what our health says about us and the way we're living. Like our episode where we look at diabetes. In the United States, I mean, 50% of Americans are pre-diabetic. How preventable is type 2?

Extremely. Or our in-depth analysis of how incredible mangoes are. Oh, it's hard to explain to the rest of the world. Like, your mangoes are fine because mangoes are incredible, but like you don't even know. You don't know. You don't know. It's going to be a fun ride. So tune in.

Listen to Health Stuff on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And she said, Johnny, the kids didn't come home last night. Along the Central Texas Plains, teens are dying. Suicides that don't make sense. Strange accidents and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad. drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened.

Listen to paper ghosts, the Texas teen murders, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith. This is Jacob Goldstein. And we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst. people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for it is nothing. It's like not having it at all.

It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want. First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline business. The most Texas story ever. There's a lot of mavericks in that story. We're going to have mavericks on the show. We've got plenty of robber barons. So many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad. And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments of famous business geniuses, along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked.

Like Thomas Edison and the Electroship. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. In the new podcast, Hell in Heaven, two young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over. But one will end up. Dead. The other tried for murder. Not once. People went wild. Not twice. Stunned. But three times. John and Anne Bender are rich and attractive, and they're devoted to each other.

They create a nature reserve and build a spectacular circular home high on the top of a hill. But little by little, their dream starts to crumble, and our couple retreat from reality. They lose it. They actually lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control. Listen to Hell in Heaven on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here we go.

Hey, I'm Kelpen, and on my new podcast, Here We Go again, we'll take today's trends and headlines and ask, why does history keep repeating itself? You may know me as the second hottest actor from the Harold and Kumar movies, but I'm also an author, a White House staffer, and as of like 15 seconds ago, a podcast host. Along the way, I've made some friends who are experts in science, politics, and pop culture. And each week, one of them will be joining me to answer my burning questions. Like, are we heading towards another financial crash like in 08? Is non-monogamy back in style? And how come there's never a gate ready for your flight when it lands like two minutes early? We've got guests like Pete Buttigieg, Stacey Abrams, Lily Singh, and Bill Nye.

When you start weaponizing outer space, things can potentially go really wrong. Look, the world can seem pretty scary right now, because it is. But my goal here is for you to listen and feel a little better about the future. Listen and subscribe to here we go again with Cal Penn on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you Get Your Podcasts. We are at Overnight. So we're at Fantasy Suite Week for the Golden Show. We do have Cindy and Peg left.

The episode opens up with a teaser for something that we see in a conversation with Cindy later on in the episode. Mel does admit at the very beginning of this episode that it's possible he could be engaged in a week that's kind of his sentiment through this whole episode is it's possible things have to happen or grow or progress but it's possible sure you signed up for a show that yes it is very possible in a week you could be engaged it's also possible you could be engaged in a week nancy we never know yes i agree and he i guess peg was his first date i mean do you want to talk should we talk about her that are yeah let's talk about peg You know, the beginning of this episode really just falls into this first date.

He's talking about, you know, a little bit with Jesse on why the love word is not used. I think that's fair and fine. What I think Jesse's actually trying to do there is pretty much get this guy to open up about any of his feelings towards anything so far, good or bad or indifferent. We just want to get to know where he's at and we have no clue. But yes, let's talk about the first date. It is with Pegg and he pulls up in a dune buggy. Nancy, I'll let you take it from here. What was your thoughts, feelings, break this date down?

He pulls up in a dune buggy. She is effusive. She's excited. She's very energetic. And I don't mean this in a bad way at all. But Mel doesn't have to work for anything. She's on. She's pulling the wagon.

He can sit back in the dune buggy or somewhere else and let her be, yay, let's go do this. Yay, isn't this beautiful? he really doesn't have to work for her like work to entertain her or work to he he doesn't give back what she's giving it's not it's it didn't feel even to me when do you think that's just the case though with somebody that is a man of few words that you especially in this environment you would have to chase because you never know where you're at and you're like this guy doesn't say a word he's not telling you where you're at so you sort of have to go with you've got

do it yourself yeah I mean that's what I think so then she drives and it's even faster and better than when he was and I think I think Pegg was easy for him because of what I just said but also Peg said something like she wasn't certain they're going to grow into this she She wasn't saying I could marry you tomorrow. And I think my opinion is when I was watching it, he liked that. He liked that about her. I agree. I mean, I think you can't have an episode of Fantasy Suite Week without comparing, contrasting the different relationships.

And I think Pegg and her mindset towards this relationship is very much in line with his mindset towards this relationship. And that's why I felt like they clicked. You know, they go to dinner that night, and they do have some really great conversations. But the conversations are kind of leading up to this. We'll see where this goes mentality. Like, this is great. I like you. I missed you.

It's good to be around you. But we're not making any big commitments to each other right now. And she even jokes that he would have to get a pre-nup if they did get married. It just felt like it was in line. And then they both seemed very excited for the fantasy. suite. I say that because later on it felt like there wasn't an excitement for a fantasy suite. But this one felt like it was very much like, hey, this could be a lot of fun. I enjoy being around you. Let's make this thing happen. Exactly. Exactly. And I think in the morning I didn't get

a fuzzy, warm feeling though, but I don't think he's fuzzy and warm. No. And I don't think he's comfortable brought with the cameras. I agree. So we shouldn't, I guess, hold it against him that he's a man, a few words, and he, you know, isn't as effusive. But I was hoping that he'd get a little more warm and fuzzy, maybe perhaps after the overnight. Yeah, you would think, like, hey, this has been on a wonderful night.

Let's cuddle up. Let's talk. Let's smooch and chat. We didn't get that. We didn't get that. The only thing here, and I'm with you, I, again, this is not a criticism for him personally. He is a man of few words. He is who he is.

And he stayed firm in what he thinks is right through this whole process. And we give him credit for that. You're just on the wrong show, though. Like, you can't be the lead of The Bachelor and not show us anything. Like, they have to choose people who they know we can invest into as an audience. I also feel like the show has done him a little bit of a disservice. They've aired many moments where he's felt closed off, cold, brash. And then this episode, they really showed him, if it was true or not, to be boring.

Like, he's driving the Doom Buggy really slow, putting around. They make sure to air that, right? They don't just air the fun times they're having. And then they make sure to make a big deal of him swimming with, stingrays and his lack of desire to do that. I'm not sure why they did that. Are you? No, I mean, usually they protect the lead. It feels like

the last few weeks of this season, they've really kind of throw a melt of the wind where they're like, hey, we're going to show him during hometowns, not answer anybody's questions, and really not engage any of the families in a meaningful way. We're going to show him now during

Fantasy Suite Week, be completely closed off, cold, and to also not invest into any of these experiences that they're getting, that they're able to have. And they're not helping his matter of the likeability from the public or just the public being like, oh, look at Mel, he's really having a good time here. This episode makes him look miserable for half of it. Yes. It was awkward.

He was awkward. And I don't mean he's an awkward person, but in those situations, he was awkward. And I'm surprised they showed it like that. I'm surprised as well. I don't remember many seasons where the lead has been so exposed in a negative way so often. We talked about Mel and Pegg waking up the next morning. Comparatively, they do seem a lot warmer with each other than what we see later on in the episode. So I will say if we're looking at a comparison, because that's the only thing we can do,

it feels like Peg and Mel at least enjoy their time with each other. And it does feel more fun and lighthearted than what we see with Cindy. We do have Cindy's one-on-one date coming up next. Do you feel that way? Because Pegg is so

excited and there's more, you know, she's all over, she's joyful and she's, you know, like I said, he's just like sitting there. But as far as TV, like it's all happy and energetic.

Do you feel that? I mean, I don't know that he, his responses to her are like, yeah, okay, this is great. I mean, I think that if we look at it, yes, Peg is more energetic. She's more lighthearted. She's not putting any pressure on this dude. So I think he feels completely relaxed in this relationship. Cindy comes in and says,

I like you, Mel, I want to progress this thing forward. I'm excited and committed to potentially spending the rest of my life with you. And I think in the back of his mind, he is thinking, I never came on this show thinking this would happen. And I'm not about to let it happen now. I agree. I agree. So there's distance between them. And we don't really see it until later on the date because the date starts out with

them going to swim with stingrays. He seems excited about it when he brings it up to her. Well, and you know what I noticed? Tell me if you agree. I noticed when they were on the boat and before they got to the Stingray City, he was smiling at her. I was trying to look at details like, okay, any little clue where he is. He was smiling at Cindy more than he was smiling at Pegg on the date. So his body language was very positive. And he was, yes, of course it was positive. and he was saying the same things. I like you. I like you. And then, yeah, Stingray City didn't work well for him.

But I thought Cindy was very sweet about it and was trying to get him like, it's okay, honey. You know, come on over. They won't hurt you. And it was, I mean, that part, actually, he was vulnerable. He was, but also just an odd date for the show to set up. I mean, as a lead at one time, they would. have asked me, hey, we're going to go swim with stingrays today. Are you nervous about this? And I could say, yes, I'm very nervous. And they'd say, okay, you know, this is a big week.

Like, how can we make it so that you have a good time? Like, those were always conversations that had. Or they would show me saying in an interview, I'm nervous about this to at least give perspective into why I am not jumping in with the stingrays. Mel just pretty much stands off to the side and makes things very awkward for everybody involved, including the people leading the tour who are like, hey, like, you get this once in a lifetime chance. And it looked like the people leading the tour, obviously they had food, but they over, you know, 20 feet away so that, so the stingrays wouldn't get near him. No, we don't know what happened off camera but we know that he was not comfortable and i think he was like don't get them near me it was

just a kind of a blah date so we'll say that the date ended and it looks like cindy had a great time and mel was miserable and they get out of the water is and they start having this conversation about the future it's where things kind of get closed off there's nothing Cindy is kind of laying her heart out there to mel um talking about the show and what it means to come on the show and what a future can look like between them. And he has a wall up that is bigger than any wall I've ever seen on the show. It's Fantasy Sweet Week. It's really where we start to see emotions take over.

He has no emotion towards it other than pretty much telling her, I'm not going to make you any promises because there's somebody else involved here. He's not even skipping over and trying to make this easier for her. He's just pretty much telling her, I think she should pretty much in this moment ask like if i'm going home next week let me go home now because i've got people i want to see it felt again i'll it just felt awkward it felt like their chemistry was really bad in this moment and i mean i do think i do think she asked all the right questions you would ask the same questions right we all would in her situation she asked all the right questions

he just didn't really answer any of them. Correct. And what does that tell you? Yeah, I mean, I think the only thing we could have seen out of her was for her to push that one step further and been like, you haven't answered anything, man. Like, I've asked you everything. I've given you every opportunity to reassure me.

You don't have to tell me we're going to get married or that I'm going to even be the one. I haven't asked that of you. But I'm just asking what you see in a future together and what you like like about our relationship and those types of things. and you can't give me anything. Mel, do you even want me here? Would be the question I would ask. Correct.

Like, put it back on him because she didn't ask anything offensive. No, and she wasn't saying, you know, my drop dead date is this to get married. You know, it's not like they're having kids. It's not like she's putting pressure on him other than the pressure he's feeling by asking, how do you feel about us that's a dating question where are we what do you want to do i don't know she even asks like do you want to get married again he says i don't know uh well okay and she her response is insightful which i think at this point she's very annoyed and very concerned that this relationship will be ending but again that's a very fair question to ask while you're on a

show about a proposal at the end is Mel, I'm not even saying me. Do you ever want to get married again? Like, ever? Like, is that even something that intrigues you? Right. Come on. I just felt, I felt that I do this because this is how I felt watching the show. And I assume and I know that some people were feeling the same way. It's like, give us something. Tell us about you. We want to root for you, Mel. And I'm sure he's a lovely guy. It's just on. the show and you're the lead, we're not getting anything. On the podcast Health Stuff, we are tackling all the health questions that keep you up at night. Yes, I'm Dr. Priyanka Wally, a double board certified physician. And I'm Hurricane

Dibolu, a comedian and someone who once Googled, do I have scurvy at 3 a.m. On Health Stuff, we're talking about health in a different way. It's not only about what we're we can do to improve our health. But also what our health says about us and the way we're living. Like our episode where we look at diabetes. In the United States, I mean, 50% of Americans are pre-diabetic. How preventable is type 2? Extremely. Or our in-depth analysis of how incredible mangoes are. Oh, it's hard to explain to the rest of the world that you, like, your mangoes are fine because mangoes are incredible, but like, you don't even know. You don't know. You don't know. You don't know.

It's going to be a fun ride. So tune in. Listen to health stuff on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And she said, Johnny, the kids didn't come home last night. Along the central Texas planes, teens are dying. Suicides that don't make sense. Strange accidents and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of breaking.

bad. Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened. Listen to paper ghosts, the Texas teen murders on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robert Smith. This is Jacob Goldstein. And we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for it is nothing. It's like not having it at all. It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want.

First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline business. The most Texas story ever. There's a lot of mavericks in that story. We're going to have mavericks on the show. We're going to have plenty of robber barons. so many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad. And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments of famous business geniuses, along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked. Like Thomas Edison and the electric chair. Listen to business history on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. In the new podcast, Hell in Heaven, two young Americans moved to the Costa Rican jungle to

start over. But one will end up dead. The other tried for murder. Not once. People went wild. Not twice. stunned. But three times. John and Anne Bender are rich and attractive and they're devoted to each other. They create a nature reserve and build a spectacular circular home high on the top of a hill. But little by little, their dream starts to cross. rumble, and our couple retreat from reality. They lose it. They actually lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control.

Listen to Hell in Heaven on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here we go. Hey, I'm Kelpen, and on my new podcast, Here We Go again, we'll take today's trends and headlines and ask, why does history keep repeating itself? You may know me as the second hottest actor from the Harold and Kumar movies, but I'm also an author, a White House staffer, and as of like 15 seconds ago, a podcast host. Along the way, I've made some friends who are experts in science, politics, and pop culture. And each week, one of them will be joining me to answer my burning questions. Like, are we heading towards another financial crash like in 08? Is non-monogamy back in

style? And how come there's never a gate ready for your flight when it lands like two minutes early? We've got guests like Pete Buttigieg, Stacey Abrams, Lily Singh, and Bill Nye. When you start weaponizing outer space, things can potentially go really wrong. Look, the world can seem pretty scary right now, because it is. But my goal here is for you to listen and feel a little better about the future. Listen and subscribe to here we go again with Cal Penn on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you guys. get your podcasts. We want to root for him.

Absolutely. We don't come on this show to, like, ruin people's lives. That's not fun for anybody. It's not sustainable for anybody. We want to root for you, but it's hard to when you give us nothing. And they've really focused on, like, one topic that I, for whatever reason, the producers think is very interesting. but he talks to both, well, really, Cindy,

and he compliments her on how spiritual she is. Again, cool, but there's nothing else to that. What does that mean? Like, when you say she's spiritual, there's no backing to that. Is she spiritual so you appreciate her generosity? Do you appreciate her faith? Do you appreciate her resilience? Like, we don't know anything more than that she's spiritual,

which means nothing to anybody. other than that. Right, right. We're not getting anything. We're not getting anything. And she could tell she wasn't getting anything. At the end of the show, I thought, I mean, you could see it. She's like, okay, thank you for, you know, answering my questions, which really he didn't.

I'm anxious to see what happens with their overnight. I'm interested to see if it even happens. I mean, Cindy asks, where do we go from here? could have been a great moment from Mel to say let's go to the fantasy suite and actually have a real conversation about stuff that actually matters and said he said if there's a will there's a way goodness gracious man him as a lead again is like very confusing because it just feels like he doesn't want to be there even from the interviews that he did before the show even started it felt like this wasn't a show for him specifically why they went through it and said no this is our guy

this is who's going to bring us this this kind of rebound season i'm confused by to this day i've yet to see it i hope we get some vulnerability next week we do have a preview of the finale which is two hours long Cindy says that she and mel are very well suited for each other i guess i'll pause here and ask you nancy you've been a part of this show after this conversation we just saw the way he communicated with her why do you think she still thinks they're very well suited for each? I have no idea. Fair enough. How could you say that?

How could she? And you know what? I have to say, I don't think she really believes that. I think she's trying to put the right face on it. Like, okay, let's go. It's a show or at the end. And I love, I think they're both lovely women. But I would, wouldn't you be running for the hills?

If he can't say anything else, that's a red flag and I think she sees the red flag I think it's going to be a wake up call at some point we do see the end of this preview Mel talking to Peg telling her he had an overnight with Cindy

and he wants to be transparent with her is this a moment where he overshares that he doesn't actually need to overshare is this a moment where he's just telling her hey after my overnight I realize it's you and you only

what do you think happens here? I would have thought personally that he would have chosen Cindy but after his lack of communication and his feelings and how he feels which we know he's not sure what he feels.

I'm not sure that he will end up with Cindy. I don't know. Obviously I'm guessing. I don't know. It will be the most dramatic moment of this season. Really? That conversation. I think so.

I mean, I think anytime you're talking about having an overnight with somebody else on a day that you might be proposing to the other person, I think that's dramatic and awkward and weird, respect him for being honest. I don't think it's necessarily ever necessary to do this. We've seen it happen in the past. It never goes over well. I feel like this is a conversation that should happen post-show, you two are hanging out, and you're like, hey, just to let you know, I want to be clear, this is what happened that you didn't see, this is why we're sitting here today, but doing it with a camera

in your face, it just feels like it could get weird fast. I know, I know. Nancy, do you think he's going to get engaged into this? I can't see how he can. I can't see what he's giving. us how he could get engaged and feel good about it when he's just said, I'm not really sure. He's vacillating. And I, he's been truthful, which is good. I admire that. But he hasn't given anything. And I just don't see how you can then having acted on, you know, been on the

show this way and then get engaged. So I would vote no, he doesn't get engaged. I would vote no as well. I don't see it happening. I don't know. I know headlines are hinting that he does and that he said he did. Oh, right. But I would be shocked if he actually does. I feel like that's the show trying to throw us in a different direction.

Any final thoughts when it comes to this episode or this season so far, Nancy? This season, I was hope, you know, the goal, obviously I was on the Golden Bachelor first one. I'm so invested. I love Bachelor Nation. I love the show. I feel like it's going a different direction. I feel like I thought a difference with this new show, The Golden Bachelor 2 was everybody kind of looked similarly.

It was a different group, obviously, than my season. but I feel like, like I said earlier, you know, there's half of them wanted to be influencers. They wanted to, like there was more to it. And I felt like our season, we really, most of us, I would say, went in, open-eyed, hopefully we're going to meet the guy, yay, this is going to be great. And this one didn't feel that way. But I don't know if it's because also Mel didn't. give back enough. You know, Gary had a lot to say. Well, and we're seeing that now even today.

As we started this show out, Gary has the ability to at least good, bad, or indifferent, speak openly about where he's at and what he's feeling, which is one of the reasons why I think America endeared themselves to him and so many of you cast members because they felt like they were in it with you and this season has felt distant. And I think that kind of comes from the lead and moves down to them the cast. It does feel distant. But we're still hopeful that we have one more week left of the season two of the Golden Bachelor.

Again, it's a two-hour finale where we will see who Mel might possibly choose between Pegg and Cindy. My vote is he chooses Peg and your vote you said he chooses Cindy, right? She would be the one I would pick, but I really don't think he's going to choose either one. I don't know how he could, having said the things he said and acted the way he has. That's very fair. Nancy, thanks for joining us today. Thanks for breaking this episode down. Best of luck in the upcoming weeks as you at least maybe have a little fun with this new mystery person

and come on our show when you're ready to tell us all about it. we always look forward to having you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Good to see you. Good to see you too, Nancy. We'll be back this week with more Bachelor Nation news, from headlines to interviews,

to breaking down the Golden Bachelor, to everything happening behind the scenes. So until next time, I've been Ben, and we'll talk to you soon. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio, or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Is she said, Johnny? It didn't come home last night. Along the central Texas plains, teens are dying.

Suicides that don't make sense. Strange accidents and brutal murders. In what seems to be, a plot ripped straight out of breaking bad. Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people. There are people out there that absolutely know what happened. Listen to paper ghosts, the Texas teen murders. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. First episode, How Southwest Airlines Use Cheap Seats and Free Whiskey to fight its way into the airline is.

The most Texas story ever. Listen to Business History on the East. iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Cal Penn, and on my new podcast, here we go again, we'll take today's trends and headlines and ask, why does history keep repeating itself? Each week, I'm calling up my friends, like Bill Nye, Lily Singh, and Pete Buttigieg, to talk about everything from the space race to movie remakes to psychedelics. Put another way, are you high? Look, the world can seem pretty scary right now. But my goal here is

for you to listen and feel a little better about the future. Listen and subscribe to here we go again with Cal Penn on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News keeps you on top of the biggest stories of the day. My fellow Americans, this is

Liberation Day. Stories that move markets. Chair Powell opened the door to this first interest rate cut. Impact politics. Change businesses. This is a really stunning development for the AI world and how you think about your bottom line. Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News

every weekday afternoon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Two rich young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over, but one of them will end up dead and the other tried for murder three times. It starts with a dream, a nature reserve, and a spectacular new home. But little by little,

lose it. They actually lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control. Listen to hell in heaven on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.