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I found the best talk host to listen to in Los Angeles - Finally !!!!

J

JonIrenicus

Guest
He used to be on the radio, I think he is off now, but.. his shows are ALL free to download each night as a podcast.


http://wabcradio.com/sectional.asp?id=33447



based out of New York - The John Batchelor show. Sooooooo much better than almost all of Los Angeles radio. It's the opposite of empty talk, it's like getting steady waves in information and analysis. He even has nice touches like using movie sound track music (much of it good and forgotten) as bumper music.


I was in a bit of a panic, klsx went off awhile ago, and while I rarely listened to it, many of its "talent" began to infect AM talk stations. Many people like Frank (of frostie heidi and frank) and Tim Conway, but I can't stand those shows. They don't know anything, they are just talking as if they are no different from a random uncle you have.

Can't Stand Hannity, or Levin (most of the time - too much shtick), John and Ken = complete vacuum of discussion quality ("heads on a stick" ..... When I heard that chanted, I felt dumber, no I was dumber)


And then I came across John Batchelor. I won't lie to you, his show can come across as a bit more high brow, he does not take callers, he has guest after guest instead, but it eliminates the riff raff. But for those who might like to hear smarter people talking about the issues of the day, I think he is the best game in town. I download his shows and listen to them instead of most of the crap on in Los Angeles.
 
Thank you for spreading the word!

Your posting is the reason I finally signed up, so I could post here!

That show is the best. It is on 7 nights a week on WABCradio.com.

I can't leave my computer between 6PM and 10PM, because I'm listening to JB.

You may notice that WABC (and KFI) are links from Drudge.

The show has been on KFI and KABC. Unfortunately Los Angeles doesn't quite understand a show like that.

Someone told me that he has 3 million listeners. I hope that is true!

If you want to know what is going on, listen!

Thanks again for spreading the word!
 
But he also follows the philosophy that ALL conservatives are correct and ALL liberals are wrong. I think a host shouldn't overrely on calls but calls on talk radio shouldn't be banned. And all the guests hold the same point of view. Nothing the Republicans do is wrong (unless they're not conservative enough) and nothing the Democrats do is correct. How can we say a talk host is intelligent and a good listen if he's uniformly predictable.

Gregg
[email protected]
 
Gregg said:
But he also follows the philosophy that ALL conservatives are correct and ALL liberals are wrong. I think a host shouldn't overrely on calls but calls on talk radio shouldn't be banned. And all the guests hold the same point of view. Nothing the Republicans do is wrong (unless they're not conservative enough) and nothing the Democrats do is correct. How can we say a talk host is intelligent and a good listen if he's uniformly predictable.

Gregg
[email protected]
Click to expand...


Normally when listening to talk hosts who do not take calls I find the experience painful. This does not happen with John Batchelor though, for one, while he does not take listener calls, he chains guests and even assistant guest hosts to get through the show. The other thing is that John batchelor, while republican, is not a partisan in the way most hosts are. He is not shrill, he has a perspective and point of view, but does not bludgeon people with it or slander the other side with bile and baseless accusations.


Contrast that to some of the bile piled on in rabid soliloquies from lefty hosts about racist republicans... blah blah blah Not interested. I don't like that quality in hosts, period, whatever their bent.

He is NOT as you described him, at all, he is genteel with his guests, whatever their viewpoint. Think of him as more a republican charlie rose, he is not confrontational in the way a rush is.

Here is an interview that holds up well at getting across some of his style and what he puts into his show.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/200850-1
 
sundaysilence89 said:
I always thought you had to pay for an infomercial, but I guess on this thread it's free
Click to expand...
When has anyone ever charged for an infomercial? :p ;D ;)
 
sundaysilence89 said:
I always thought you had to pay for an infomercial, but I guess on this thread it's free
Click to expand...

It's sort of the same phenomenon of when you see a really great movie, or find some gem of a food store and you can't keep the information inside, you need to tell someone how amazing it is. As someone who listened to radio in Los Angeles on and off for over ten years now I'd have appreciated being clued into to better hosts to listen to.

I had the same issue years ago when trying to find something other than music to listen to and came upon talk radio. Then I heard the various hosts throughout the day, some better or worse than others to my tastes. I remember being annoyed that in the middle of the day all there was to listen to was Hannity or Dr. Laura, and I was not a fan of either, Hannity often makes pedantic arguments and Dr. Laura was too self righteous and irritating. And then I found krla and Michael Medved, leagues better as a radio host and show than the other stations/talkers.

Not everyone would agree with that of course, some people, maybe a large majority prefer listening to a Hannity over a Medved, but for my tastes Medved is superior for those wanting to hear more rational/logical arguments backed up by more knowledge and depth. I had no clue Medved was on though, and could have benefited from some other outlet than Laura/Hannity for non music listening much sooner.

Right now much of Los Angeles talk radio as I see it, is in a wasteland of quality. Mr. kabc was replaced by Levin, who later moved to a whole new timeslot anyway. He's back on in a lesser capacity now, but on a "talk" station that has half converted to a sports station. John Phillips is a street urchin compared to Al Rantel, even with Rantels going awol towards the end. Fluff, nothingness, crap. There are a few bright spots like Doug's late night return, but there are gaps that have NO good alternatives. That was the wasteland I existed in, until finding the John Batchelor show, because he puts podcasts up nearly every night, I can play those when I am in my car when there is nothing I like listening to on any of the Los Angeles stations. I was very grateful for that, and in my generosity, wanted to share that info for like minded people that might read this (not all people).

And to those who are just fine with the selection in Los Angeles, good for you. This is for those who are in the same boat I was in.
 
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