If you haven't figgered it out from the title, I'm going for a little filler here, as I tend to not be on the computer when I have days off. But, as with even my filler, I have a point.
I was thinking about how I'm influenced to think the way I think. And one thing I've noticed is that my tastes and opinions gravitate toward places that feed what I am already thinking. And of those things, talk radio is what occupies most of my days when I'm at home or driving. It's limited by the fact that I avoid AM radio and have only one FM talker out of Dayton.
So here's what I listen to on a regular basis (or have playing in the background). First the weekday shows:
Neal Boortz: On my radio, he's on from 8:30 am (live at 9:00) to noon. Since I'm often home at this time, he gets listened to the most. He's also the host I probably agree with the most. He's also the funniest of the daily shows. I'd say he influenced me most on the dangers of government schools, my shift from talking point conservative to more libertarian, and of course, the FairTax.
Rush Limbaugh: Noon to 3:00 (I lose the last hour of Boortz because of him). The conservative that wholly disagrees with him is not a conservative and the conservative that says Rush never made him think is a lying sack of shit. Agree, disagree, or revile (and I know there are a lot of you that do), Rush has been at the top of the list in talk radio for a couple of decades now. He was the person that first got me thinking conservative (as opposed to just spewing talking points). And he comes up with one-liners almost as fast as I do (and that's saying something).
Sean Hannity: 3:00-6:00 (my usual work time). I found Sean's show because it came on after Rush, and because I already knew him from Fox News. He often has good interviews (he had Rich Little on doing Reagan, which was a hoot), but (and I know this will disappoint the next person on this list) he's gotten a little redundant. It helps that I only listen to him, at most, two weekdays out of every ten. As for his bumper music, I think he got the Asshat of the Week award for that one.
Dee Vantuyl: 10:00 am to 11:00 am, Mondays on TogiNet radio. I first discovered her on her blog, which I first heard about on Hannity's show. So if you're reading this, it's because of Dee, and Hannity, and ultimately Rush. But Dee is an unapologetic conservative and always fun to listen to. If you enjoy (or loathe but keep visiting (which is just as good)) my blog, then I'd take the hour to stream her (or pick up the podcast the next day) if I were you.
But lest you think I just listen to politics, there's more:
Clark Howard: 6:00-9:00 on my dial (1-4 live). Another show I found because I didn't turn off my radio (and consequently, that's how I found Savage (the Antichrist) and his Wiener Nation, which didn't make the list). Clark is all about "saving more, spending less, and not getting ripped off" (his tagline). Naturally, I discovered him after I've made most every financial mistake. But I'm sure I'll put some of his information to use one of these millennia. Also, he's got a weekend show on HLN (formerly just Headline News (AKA Headjob News)).
On the weekends, I try not to think about politics. They'll replay Hannity or Rush in the afternoon, but that gets turned off. They will run Clark, which I do listen to, as I miss more Clark than I hear in a week. But that doesn't mean I abandon talk radio for music entirely:
Kim Kommando: Her show plays 6:00 to 9:00 pm on Saturdays (I think) and Sundays from 10:00 am to 1:00 (live broadcast is Saturday morning). She covers all things electronic, which means I can answer most of the caller's questions as fast as she can. Nevertheless, I'm sure my next tech post (in the works) will dip from her site at least once or twice (I found a free antivirus for the Mac people!)
Allen Hunt: 9:00 pm to Midnight Saturday, and on my radio on Sunday from 7:00 pm to Midnight (The Sunday show is live from 6:00 to 9:00 pm) This show covers "real life and faith." In other words, a practical application of our faith lives in the world, aside from standard politics. And surprisingly (especially to you anti-religious), it doesn't sound like an arm of the GOP, although you'll find more conservatism than not.
The point is that most of these shows, while fitting in general with my worldview, do challenge me to think on a regular basis. So here's the question of the day (rather than just arguing about whether or not Rush sucks (with graphic descriptions) in the comment section): What are your listening stapes? What shows keep your brain going so that you can then come to the blogs and give the other side the shit they so richly deserve? Who knows, you might make a listener out of me.
8 comments:
When you listen to folks who reinforce your thinking, that's not being challenged, that's being stroked.
I admit to forcing myself to listen to or to read conservative points of view.
I regularly read David Brooks, Ross Douthat, Andrew Sullivan, Christopher Hitchens, Peggy Noonan, to name just a few.
When you say you've been influenced by Limbaugh, to me that's the same as hearing you say you've been influenced in your political thinking by a clown.
Just because he says something lucid on a rare occasion doesn't make him a serious person.
His racist remarks, his lies, and his paranoia disqualify him as a serious person.
How would you like it Shaw if it was turned around, and a comedian like Dennis Miller said "I hope Barack Obama dies from an overdose of cocaine"? How funny is that?
RiR,
I've read worse on rightwing blogs.
Give it up, people. No one really cares except you guys.
Rush Limbaugh has an approval rating with the American people that is in the 20s--spinach is more popular than he is.
Limbaugh has been as outrageous, tasteless, mean-spirited, and crude as Sykes, except when he acts like a total jerk, you guys think he's giving out political wisdom.
PS. Limbaugh isn't the president of the US--who BTW, is wildly popular with the American people, unlike Boss Limbaugh.
Y'all need to internalize the fact that very, very few Americans care about the gasbag.
I listen to the BBC for an hour a couple evenings a week for a bit of news. 'Marketplace' on NPR most evenings. 'Fresh Air' once or twice a month. 'Democracy Now' couple of times a month. On the whole radio is only marginally better than TV which I watch not at all.
RIR: To pick up on one thing that Shaw got right:
There's no need to get that worked up over Wanda Sykes. The line is totally in her comic character. Rather than taking one line and getting worked up about it, maybe you should work on fixing the sad excuse for conservatism that the GOP has become?
Shaw: (and I didn't want to get into this discussion, but...) You might want to give me a little more credit to know the difference between jokes and satire and a serious political point. As for some of his comments disqualifying him as a serious person, that would also mean I'd be disqualified.
As for these shows, they do all challenge me to various degrees, because there's plenty of nuance to work with. As it is, I could only listen to people I wholly disagree with for so long, because I tend to be vocal when I disagree (and I have yelled at the stupidity I've heard from every political host on the list). Listening to people you argue the premise with requires lots of work. And on my day off, I'm not going to spend 9 1/2 hours arguing with radio hosts I disagree with when they can't even hear me.
For people that wholly disagree with my worldview, I need only look further than my blogroll. You're a big enough handful as it is. :)
Arthur: We're gonna have to hook you up with a little streaming video one of these days.
You really should check out Tom Hartman on Air America Patrick.
Trust me.
You are an even bigger talk radio junkie than me ;-).
Somehow, I never knew that you first heard me on Hannity's show, thats very cool.
My Dad is a big fan of Kim Kommando.
Also, as for my playlist I'm big fans of Rush and Hannity and to be honest and I'm always surprised at people who don't like them (honestly), especially if they are fellow conservatives. I'm lukewarm on most of the others (besides myself ;-))except we have a great local guy Chris Stigall who is getting more and more national attention.
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