Episode 8: Hush Rush

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In the 1980s, Rush Limbaugh transformed…

talk radio. In the process, he radicalized his listeners and the conservative movement. Limbaugh’s talk radio style became a staple of the modern right. Then, the left joined the fray. This week: partisan loudmouth versus partisan loudmouth, and the shifting media landscape that helped create modern political warfare.

Image Author: Eddie~S

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Key accessible sources

  • This episode features many clips of Rush Limbaugh speaking. You can watch a broadcast of his show here and here; an interview with him on Donahue here, and a speech he gave to CPAC here.

  • Read Brian Rosenwald’s excellent Talk Radio’s America.

  • Read about the decline of newspapers here.

  • Listen to an oral history with FCC Commissioner Clifford Durr.

  • Watch Al Franken discuss his book about Rush Limbaugh.

  • We used clips from Al Franken’s Air America show here.

  • We used audio of Conservative talk radio host Leeann Tweeden discussing allegations against Al Franken.

  • Listen to Jane Mayer discuss her reinvestigation of Tweeden’s accusations.