The Howard Stern Thread

haven't had the stomach to listen since tuesday since can't really bear to hear howard be coy about it anymore.

i don't blame you. it's bizarre.

all you missed today was the sad reveal that Robin's vagina doesn't work and she hasn't had a relationship or been with a man since her cancer surgery.

The most bizarre and disappointing omission today was any discussion of Steve Bannon being appointed by Trump. If it was anyone else, Howard would've spent 45 minutes in a rage at the thought of such a virulent and open anti-Semite in the White House. Crickets. I hope it comes up tmrw or Wednesday.

Stern is the worst kind of coward dating back to the '80s, exactly the "rebel" his fans have deserved.

keep us posted flappy. i've been meaning to take a break from the show and the election seems like an opportune time.

Benjy update: still out of the studio, falling apart, hasn't showered or changed clothes in weeks. went mental on Sal today for saying he smelled like old, musty cheese. everyone making fun of Benjy for taking Prozac.

He's taking the piss. Part of his schtick.

But still - good radio

i wish they'd get him back in the studio soon - i think someone in this thread might've said this, but hearing Benjy laugh in the background is the best barometer for humor on the show imo... i thought that was a really otm observation

I wish they'd bring JD in full time.

yeah he was great during Brent's waxing yesterday, although I think having Fred drop that inappropriate laugh every now and then works enough for me

fred always laughs at the same things i do, mainly when howard is being goofy or self-deprecating

Robin brought up Steve Bannon today during the news, crickets from Howard. really disappointing

Robin singing Hallelujah is incredible, I will absolutely put down money to see her perform at the Hammerstein Ballroom if that ever comes to pass. But she said today she's "strictly a recording artist." https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/11/16/show-rundown-november-16-2016/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sternshow

robin's singing is just fantastic

it's the best part of the show these days by a long shot. loved the first 45 minutes today with everyone ripping on Robin for not knowing how to use or read her email.

the show hasn't been very good for the past couple months. i think the trump tapes playing a role in the election discouraged some guests from coming in, and howard still hasn't said a word about bannon.

also King of All Blacks has been great lately - whenever that was last month going about Moen faucets and Balmain jeans.

I can't breathe

Robin's National anthem doing so good

"she went to the louvre! the bathroom!"

I love that Ronnie is older than his finance's father

Ralph vs Jeff:
"Is your trailer one of those that has wheels?"
"YES IT HAS WHEELS"

George Takei back on the show!

and Ed Torian

Robin: "There are reports of mass executions as Syrian government forces sweep through the city of Aleppo."
*JD laugh*
Robin: "Stop it."

https://twitter.com/MikeLenehan/status/808691336291487745

Nice

Howard still refuses to talk about Trump or his administration in any real way. Dave Attell tried to bring it up today & Howard deflected and quickly changed the subject.

Hah, yea I noticed that during the replay. Attell brought up the Hamilton cast and Mike Pence, and the political area of that conversation was quickly diverted in favor of Howard asking something unrelated.

RIP Joey Boots :(

Feeling like I might not need to listen this year. The Christmas special was just agonizing to get through - old bits and Bobo - (but JDini was good as always). Running on fumes at this point

i've been losing steam ever since show tapes started being used during the election, around August or September. that was the same period when Howard uncharacteristically groveled in the WaPo for Hillary to come on the show. He's been mum and insincere about Trump, which I expected, but I can't believe he hasn't gone on an amazing 45 minute rant about Steve Bannon, prominent anti-Semite, being Trump's closest advisor. Like I said upthread, Howard has been compromised: he's scared of reprisal, whether or not they have dirt on him. He doesn't want the aggravation. I haven't been turned off by Turk-era staples of the show, although I do think Howard has become a worse interviewer: way too manic, asks too many questions, talks over guests. He wasn't like this even two years ago. I'll report back here tomorrow when they go back live. I agree the Xmas special was a bore.

the new-ish beetlejuice song is amazing tho

Howard and Robin perplexed that Springsteen would go on a podcast and not their show. Oof... I'd love to see WTF's numbers vs. Howard's...

Howard still refuses to talk about Trump or his administration in any real way.

Howard knows how vindictive Trump is. Imagine how long the Trump "enemies list" must already be.

I know, and he'd be especially nasty to Howard because of their friendship and his history with the show. Trump would nail Howard for sucking up to Hillary and begging her for an interview in the WaPo and then imply the show released all their tape to the media in a conspiracy to hobble the campaign. Howard doesn't need the aggravation, even if Trump doesn't have any dirt. It fucking sucks.

Sheet, I may have to listen if H is perplexed about Springsteen being on wtf. It's very entertaining when he gets flummoxed.

OK, I may have spoke too soon. Today's show was the best in months. No guests, Mark Wahlberg cancelled. Howard on a roll talking about Megyn Kelly, Sumner Redstone's bizarre sexual habits, roping JD into a conversation about The Bachelor, going over his list of things he hates and explaining each one in detail (boats, bungee jumping, the open sea, cities, going to the movies, music together with stories, the name 'wikileaks', audience participation at concerts), Wack Pack death pool, Robin eviscerating Oprah, Santacon, explaining the "I-I-I-I don't like that!" thing...

The shows without guests are always good. More time for goofing

another great show today, no guests again. really starting to think that the show's role in the election has cooled Howard's new reputation as the classy interview for A-list actors and dinosaur rockers. They crowed about Bruce not coming on the show again today. Elegant Elliot Often mentioned by a caller and quickly dismissed.

Line of the day though:

Howard: You won't participate in the death pool, but you'll watch women getting pissed on?
Sal: We all have flaws.

so Ronnie doesn't even drive H anymore...I think they mentioned that he is "retired." Pretty good fight about the heat in his limo on Monday

I missed that, is he partially retired or something? because Howard was complaining about the lack of heat in Ronnie's limo

Happy to hear Benjy back in the studio if only for a moment... I really miss his laugh and occasional trips into the Vortex.

Robin: "I don't understand what everyone was protesting. He hasn't done anything yet!" 🙄

I bet she prefaced that statement with her trademark "Again..."

Lol ok well I'm done with this show for the moment. Can't really handle their phony ignorance anymore.

Fwiw Howard said he dug it, "it was like the 60s again," said he hopes some good music will come out of it. He's still compromised and very careful about what he says re Trump. Another no guest show today, and Michael Keaton & Mark Wahlberg cancelled last minute recently- Howard's association w Trump just through the tapes that got played during the campaign damaged his rep in Hollywood as a must stop for promo. I know I've said this a million times already itt but man it's a real drag.

Russia's shock jock

It's ironic that nostalgia is what he got out of the protests.

HOWARD: I watched the Women's March - boy, it felt like the '60s again, it felt like Vietnam. [...] It reminded me of that, and that's good, that's good man, I dig activism because, even you know I remember the music of the '60s was the best. '60s and '70s. It had an anger, a political force behind it, it was not frivolous. I think it's going to improve music, I do. When that girl got gunned down at Ohio State, Neil Young walked into the woods and in twenty minutes walked out with "Ohio," one of the greatest songs ever. [...]
ROBIN: Yes, but, what are we protesting now?
HOWARD: I think a lot of women were out there protesting this threat against Planned Parenthood, against reproductive rights, against abortion being taken away...
ROBIN: Okay so this is protesting to prevent something from happening, not to stop something that's already happening.
HOWARD: Yeah and I also think a lot of women that feel differently than President Trump were out there to give him a message saying we're out here and we're not gonna sit still if you're gonna take away a lot of our rights.
ROBIN: Well, my question is though... Again, the Vietnam War was happening, so the protest was really obvious: "We want this war to stop." A lot of the protests we get today, you're not quite sure what we're trying to accomplish.
HOWARD: Well the Women's March was for multiple reasons-
ROBIN: And I'm not just talking about the Women's March, there's a lot of protesting going on, the Black Lives Matter, all that stuff. I'm not quite sure what we're trying to do.

another boring show today but Sour calling in as KOAB was great

lol yikes https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/02/15/howard-stern-sued-for-airing-confidential-call-between-irs-agent-and-taxpayer/?utm_term=.ec87f7b4fc90

Judith Barrigas had a question about her taxes, so she called the IRS.

The agency’s switchboard connected her with Agent Jimmy Forsyth. They spoke for almost 45 minutes on May 19, 2015, about a potential misapplication of her tax refund in 2014. It appeared the agency had applied her refund to outstanding liabilities from 2011 and 2012, even though she already had a repayment agreement in place.

Not exactly the stuff of thrilling radio.

At some point during that call, though, Barrigas’s phone began lighting up like a Skrillex concert. Phone calls and text messages began pouring in. Strangely, Barrigas didn’t recognize the numbers. It wasn’t until later that she solved the mystery.

Now, she’s suing the United States of America, shock-jock Howard Stern and the Howard Stern Production Company on grounds of unlawful invasion of privacy and negligence, among other things.

Before taking Barrigas’s call, Agent Forsyth had called into the “The Howard Stern Show,” a long-running talk show airing on Sirius XM satellite radio. The show often attempts to mine anything off-kilter (some, perhaps many, would say in poor taste) for laughs, from men faking orgasms with attractive women to having famous sportscasters prank call small market sports shows.

It’s unclear why, exactly, Forsyth had called into the show. He was placed on hold by a producer and remained in that limbo when he took Barrigas’s call on a different line.

Only, something happened. Perhaps the lines got crossed, or perhaps he used two different phones and the first picked up audio from the second. Either way, the producers at “The Howard Stern Show” found themselves listening to the private call between Forsyth and Barrigas.