Hair | Public Figures – A Nateland Podcast | Ep #35

Public Figures (Nateland) · Episode #35 · Hosts: Brian Bates, Aaron Weber, Dusty Slay · Published Sep 30 2026 · Runtime 1:56:57 · Watch: YouTube

Brian shares a stage with a cotton-candy stand in Canton, Aaron makes his case against dance, and Dusty wants the letter X gone. Then the guys dig into Hair: AI hair swaps, big wigs and Louis XIII, transplants in Turkey, Samson to Samsonite, and the styles of every decade.

Chapters
  • 0:00 Weekend recap: Brian’s outdoor all-ages set in Canton with a cotton-candy stand on stage, then Charleston with Nate and courtside seats at a Vanderbilt exhibition.
  • 14:00 Dusty comes around on narwhals, still believes in mermaids, and makes his case for cutting the letter X.
  • 18:00 Would you ever do Dancing with the Stars? Aaron calls dance the art form he gets least, then a cat rescue in his crawl space.
  • 29:50 Comment roundup: My Octopus Teacher, a “plumber” on the study of fish, the Ichthus festival, Noah’s Ark, Dusty vs. Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Maria Bamford’s $100 at Just for Laughs.
  • 46:00 As a fellow big man: a hiccup cure, Red Lobster vs. Captain D’s, Coram Deo, the number 33, and the band 311.
  • 1:00:50 How often do you think about your hair? Three hair types at the table and AI hair-swap photos.
  • 1:07:39 Hair facts: hair colors, the Andre Walker hair types, the “average human,” terminal length, and hair strong enough to hold two elephants.
  • 1:20:00 Balding and graying: DHT, the white streak in The Sixth Sense, and Marie Antoinette syndrome.
  • 1:25:44 Big wigs: Louis XIII, judges’ wigs, hair transplants in Turkey, and who would donate bone marrow to whom.
  • 1:36:20 Bad haircuts, shaving your head, Samson’s hair and the Samsonite name, and Rapunzel.
  • 1:49:00 Hairstyles by decade, from the 1920s bob to Farrah Fawcett, the Rachel, and Lizzie McGuire, plus country songs about hair.
  • 1:55:00 Where to see us live.
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People

On this episode

Brian Bates

Co-host. Played an outdoor all-ages show in Canton, Ohio, with a cotton-candy stand behind him, then joined Nate in Charleston. 3:36

Aaron Weber

Co-host. Doesn’t get the appeal of dance, and spent hours in his crawl space rescuing a cat. 19:12

Dusty Slay

Co-host. Wants the letter X out of the alphabet, and his is the hair everyone at the table wants. 16:22


People mentioned

Greg Warren

His all-ages shows end with kids invited up to tell a joke. 2:36

Nate Bargatze

Brian joined his Charleston show at Credit One Stadium, and Vanderbilt’s coaches invited them courtside. 5:00

Danny McBride

The Charleston local they kept almost meeting; called the funniest guy of his generation. 10:44

Fred Astaire

Brought up as the case for dance as an art form. 19:22

Nikki Glaser

Named among the comedians who went on Dancing with the Stars. 24:05

Bobby Bones

Named as a Dancing with the Stars winner. 24:07

Craig Foster

The filmmaker who befriends an octopus in My Octopus Teacher. 31:55

Neil deGrasse Tyson

A listener says Dusty would win a debate with him; Dusty passed him at SiriusXM in New York. 40:08

Clancy Brown

Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption and the voice of Mr. Krabs. 44:32

Maria Bamford

Her documentary gets a recommendation, plus the time she gave every New Faces comic $100 at Just for Laughs. 44:48

Ari Shaffir

Took the New Faces comics out to a nice dinner at Just for Laughs. 45:16

Ralphie May

His roast battle with Mike Lawrence gets retold. 47:30

Mike Lawrence

Landed the iceberg line in that roast battle. 47:38

Henry Cho

The AI-built promo photo of Brian looks like a Henry Cho pose. 1:06:40

Dabo Swinney

Who one of the AI hair-swap photos looks like. 1:11:40

Andre Walker

Oprah’s hairstylist, whose hair-type system sorts hair into four types. 1:13:06

William Lee Golden

The Oak Ridge Boys singer who says even a long beard stops growing eventually. 1:18:06

LeBron James

Named in the balding-athletes talk and again in the hair-transplant speculation. 1:21:40

Michael Jordan

Proof that some of the biggest athletes are bald. 1:21:45

Marie Antoinette

The namesake of the syndrome where hair suddenly turns white. 1:23:00

Louis XIII

The French king who started the wig trend in the 1620s to cover premature balding. 1:26:19

John Cena

Named among celebrities who have talked about their hair transplants. 1:31:05

Joel McHale

Also named among celebrities who have talked about hair transplants. 1:31:10

Brian Urlacher

Went from his trademark bald head to a full head of hair. 1:31:20

Amanda Bynes

She’s the Man comes up, and Dusty calls her his generation’s Audrey Hepburn. 1:35:45

Ryan Sickler

His Honeydew podcast is named for the leftover fruit, which Brian happens to love. 1:38:30

Samson

The Bible story of strength tied to never cutting his hair. 1:41:20

Jesse Shwayder

Founder of Samsonite, who named an early suitcase after Samson. 1:45:00

John Crist

A photo from his show looks like a hair-transplant ad. 1:47:30

Farrah Fawcett

Her feathered blowout defined 1970s hair. 1:52:15

Charlie Daniels

“Long Haired Country Boy” tops Dusty’s list of country songs about hair. 1:54:20

Willie Nelson

Red Headed Stranger makes the list too. 1:54:30

Jimmy Buffett

“Pencil Thin Mustache” gets added at the end. 1:55:32

David Allan Coe

“Long-Haired Redneck” closes out the list. 1:55:37

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Products

Nate Bargatze tour Official site · Nateland merch shop Official site

Land of the Lost (2009) — the Will Ferrell and Danny McBride movie pitched to Dusty. Amazon 12:55

The Breadwinner (Netflix) — Nate Bargatze’s movie; the guys are in it, and it hit the Netflix top 10. Netflix 25:00

My Octopus Teacher (Netflix) — the Oscar-winning documentary a listener recommends. Netflix 30:04

The Sixth Sense (1999) — rewatched for the white streak in Cole’s hair. Amazon 1:22:00

Lizzie McGuire on DVD — the early-2000s hair everyone wanted. Amazon 1:52:45

“Long Haired Country Boy,” Charlie Daniels — number one on Dusty’s list of country songs about hair. Amazon 1:54:20

Red Headed Stranger, Willie Nelson — the album that makes the list. Amazon 1:54:30

“Pencil Thin Mustache,” Jimmy Buffett — a late add to the list. Amazon 1:55:32

“Long-Haired Redneck,” David Allan Coe — “my long hair just can’t cover up my red neck.” Amazon 1:55:37

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Places

Canton, Ohio — Brian’s outdoor all-ages show. 3:10

Pro Football Hall of Fame — Brian drove by it in Canton. 4:18

Credit One Stadium — Charleston’s tennis stadium, where Brian and Nate played. 5:45

Charleston, South Carolina — the Vanderbilt exhibition the next day, and Danny McBride’s hometown. 6:00

Ichthus Festival — the Christian music festival in Wilmore, Kentucky, from a listener comment. 34:45

Woodstock ’99 — the festival everyone has seen the disaster documentaries about. 36:30

Just for Laughs — the Montreal festival in the Maria Bamford story. 45:00

Red Lobster — famous for the Cheddar Bay biscuits. 48:00

Captain D’s — the fish place the guys actually grew up on. 48:08

Antioch, Tennessee — where an Arby’s tried venison on the menu. 1:00:19

Turkey — the hair-transplant trip that costs a fraction of U.S. prices. 1:29:12

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Ads
  • Tour dates (1:14) — the hosts’ upcoming shows: Dusty at Washington State University in Pullman and a Zanies show on October 13; Brian at Commonwealth Comedy Club in Cincinnati on Saturday, October 3; Aaron at the StarDome in Birmingham.
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  • Center for Advanced Dentistry (Franklin, TN) (1:40:30) — biodentistrytn.com · host shout-out for Andrea Forbes and the holistic dental practice: “they hooked us up.”
  • Tour dates (1:55:03) — Dusty at Washington State; Brian at Commonwealth Comedy Club in Cincinnati, then the Funny Bone in Orlando, Goodnights in Raleigh, Wit’s End in Charleston, the Paducah Comedy Festival, and the Funny Bone in St. Louis; Aaron at the StarDome in Birmingham, the Punchline in San Francisco and Sacramento, and Bananas Comedy Club in Rutherford, NJ.
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