#684 - Bad Haircut

Episode of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von · September 19, 2026 · 1 h 14 min

In a solo episode, Theo Von discusses a bad haircut, a Midwest camper trip, Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's tour over Gaza, his sobriety, and listener calls.

Summary

Theo Von opened the solo episode by complaining at length about a bad haircut he received in New York City, then recounted a roughly 3,000-mile road trip with friends through Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan in a rented camper that fell apart along the way. Highlights included the Field of Dreams baseball game, fishing near his mother's hometown of Wyoming, Illinois, ATV riding in Marcellus, Michigan, and a boat cruise down the Chicago River.

Von then addressed Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's tour after the rapper spoke about Palestine on stage, which Von attributed to Robert Kraft not wanting such messaging at Gillette Stadium. Distinguishing the Israeli government from Israeli and Jewish people, Von described the war in Gaza as the worst atrocity witnessed on phones in his lifetime, criticized the killing of children and reporters and restrictions on food, and said he feared that technology companies involved in the war hold American surveillance contracts and that Israel's government holds outsized influence over US politics. He described social media and consumer distractions as numbing people to the suffering.

Von shared that he had struggled to string together sober days, attributing it to falling away from program work, his sponsor and his higher power, and said he now had 45 to 46 days. He took hotline calls: a joking response to Chody, who wanted to retrieve a stained-glass Jesus from his childhood home; earnest advice to Jamie, a parent whose daughter feared being mocked for living in a trailer, drawing on Von's own experience riding his bike to avoid the school bus; and a live call with Rick, a New Jersey UPS driver with 12 years of sobriety who described cancer diagnoses, a pregnancy loss and nearly relapsing.

Chapters

0:01
The bad haircut
Von describes the shame of a haircut that took far more off than he asked for and a call with a bald friend.
9:09
The broken-down camper
Von recounts a 3,000-mile Midwest trip in a rented camper that shed parts with every bump.
15:02
Field of Dreams, fishing and the Midwest
Von describes the Field of Dreams game, fishing in Illinois, ATV riding in Michigan, and a Chicago River cruise.
19:52
Macklemore, Gaza and desensitization
Von discusses Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's tour and his distress over the killing of children in Gaza and society's numbness to it.
29:10
Fear of surveillance and influence
Von voices fear about Israeli government influence in US politics and tech companies with surveillance contracts.
39:35
Personal check-in and sobriety
Von talks about perfectionism, attending an AA meeting, and returning to working with a sponsor to reach 46 days sober.
Linked moment · 44:51Skip to 44:51 using a listen link in the info box.
44:51
Call: stealing Jesus
Von jokingly advises Chody, who wants to take a stained-glass Jesus from his childhood home now owned by a Spanish-speaking family.
49:56
Call: Jamie's daughter and poverty
Von advises a parent on helping a daughter ashamed of their trailer home, drawing on his own childhood.
1:00:40
Call: Rick from New Jersey
Von calls back Rick, who describes cancer, pregnancy loss and nearly relapsing after 12 years of sobriety.
1:10:34
Closing
Von thanks listeners, mentions Busboys on Hulu, and signs off.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Theo Von
Von says his barber cut far more than requested, removing two inches when he asked for half an inch.
“I'd said, like, I'd want a half inch off. And the first thing he does is just rip two inches off of everywhere”
Listen from 0:01
Theo Von
Von says he and two friends drove a rented camper roughly 3,000 miles through Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.
“we rented a camper and we just, we went up through Kentucky, um, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan and did a run there. Probably drove about 3000 miles”
Listen from 9:40 · Midwest camper road trip
Theo Von
Von recommends a boat cruise through downtown Chicago on the river as one of the neatest experiences he has had.
“I've never gone through a huge city on a riverway. Man, it was one of the neatest things I've ever gotten to do”
Listen from 17:25 · Chicago River
Theo Von
Von says Robert Kraft did not want Macklemore's pro-Palestine messaging at Gillette Stadium, leading to the rapper's removal from the tour.
“decided that he didn't want that sort of communication happening at his venue. And Macklemore was removed from the tour”
Listen from 19:52 · Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's tour
Theo Von
Von argues that the Israeli government, as distinct from Israeli or Jewish people, has turned Gaza into a technological killing ground.
“but the Israeli government has turned Gaza into like a video game basically for killing people”
Listen from 19:52 · Gaza war
Theo Von
Von criticizes restrictions on food entering Gaza and the killing of journalists covering the war.
“They won't let any calories in there while they hunt down children. They killed every reporter who was trying to report on the war”
Listen from 22:14 · Gaza war
Theo Von
Von argues that social media feeds and consumer distractions desensitize people to suffering, describing it as a test of how much pain people can witness.
“it does feel like we're under this weird test of like, how much pain can we witness?”
Listen from 23:23 · TikTok
Theo Von
Von claims that technology companies used in the Gaza war are now involved in American surveillance.
“they've used a lot of crazy technology. Some of those companies are now in bed with American surveillance, right?”
Listen from 29:10 · Artificial intelligence surveillance
Theo Von
Von says Israel's government appears to own or control much of US politics, while acknowledging he doesn't know everything.
“Seems to own a lot of our country and a lot of our politics or have control over them”
Listen from 30:26 · Israel lobby in the United States
Theo Von
Von says he can speak more freely than others because he is self-employed and his job is not at risk.
“I can say some stuff that people can't say because my job isn't at risk. I work for myself”
Listen from 36:34 · Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's tour
Theo Von
Von says he has 45 to 46 days of sobriety and feels more hopeful.
“I got 45 days right now, 46. I'm just grateful to have a piece of time together where I feel just like a lot more hopeful”
Listen from 40:50 · Addiction and recovery
Theo Von
Von attributes his difficulty staying sober to not working the program, lacking a sponsor, and dishonesty with his higher power.
“it's just, I wasn't working a program and I wasn't working with a sponsor. And I wasn't being honest with my higher power”
Listen from 40:50 · Alcoholics Anonymous
Theo Von
Von advises Jamie to have an honest conversation with her daughter, saying that is what he lacked from his own parents.
“the thing that I feel like was missing for me would have just been a good conversation from my parents, right?”
Listen from 51:11 · Childhood poverty and shame
Theo Von
Von recalls riding his bike five miles to school alongside his bus to avoid being seen getting off what he considered the poor bus.
“sometimes I'd ride right alongside of the school bus that I was supposed to be on, but I didn't want to be seen getting off that bus”
Listen from 51:57 · Childhood poverty and shame
Theo Von
Von suggests helping the daughter build neighborhood relationships so she feels part of a group.
“help her relate, work on those relationships in the neighborhood, even if they're relationships that you don't know if you'll have for your whole life”
Listen from 57:14 · Childhood poverty and shame

People

In the conversation

Theo VonAmerican stand-up comedian and host of the podcast This Past Weekend
RickCaller from New Jersey, a UPS driver in recovery from alcoholism who discussed cancer and family loss; label also contains a stray fragment of another caller's voicemail

Discussed

MacklemoreAmerican rapper removed from Ed Sheeran's tour after pro-Palestine remarks
Ed SheeranEnglish singer-songwriter whose album Benny Blanco was working on
Robert KraftOwner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium
Ms. RachelChildren's YouTube personality cited as having spoken out about Gaza

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From the publisher

Theo is back with a solo episode to talk about getting a bad haircut, his midwestern road trip in a broken down camper, and thoughts on the Macklemore/Gaza controversy. He also responds to some of your voicemails and calls a young dad looking for guidance. ------------------------------------------------- Tour Dates! https://theovon.com/tour New Merch: https://www.theovonstore.com ------------------------------------------------- Sponsored By: Celsius: Go to the Celsius Amazon store to check out all of their flavors. #CELSIUSBrandPartner @CelsiusOfficial https://amzn.to/3HbAtPJ Perplexity AI: Ask anything at https://pplx.ai/theo ------------------------------------------------- Music: “Shine” by Bishop Gunn Bishop Gunn - Shine ------------------------------------------------ Submit your funny videos, TikToks, questions and topics you'd like to hear on the podcast to: tpwproducer@gmail.com Hit the Hotline: 985-664-9503 Video Hotline for Theo Upload here: https://www.theovon.com/fan-upload Mail stuff to: ATTN: TPW PO BOX 40137 Nashville TN 37204 ------------------------------------------------ Find Theo: Website: https://theovon.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/theovon Facebook: https://facebook.com/theovon Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thispastweekend X: https://twitter.com/theovon YouTube: https://youtube.com/theovon Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheoVonClips Shorts Channel: https://bit.ly/3ClUj8z ------------------------------------------------ Producer: Zach https://www.instagram.com/zachdpowers Producer: Trevyn https://www.instagram.com/trevyn.s/ Producer: Nick https://www.instagram.com/realnickdavis/ Producer: Andrew https://www.instagram.com/bleachmediaofficial/ Producer: Halston https://www.instagram.com/halstonrays/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 4, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Comedy·Politics·Mental Health