In before anyone assumes I’m making a blanket statement: Not all podcasters are crackpots, but all crackpots seem to have a podcast.
I like it when they are in their houses doing something i don’t care about. The alternative is them being out and about sharing their opinions in peoples faces. I’d even be fine with some of my taxes going to home studio subsidies if that keeps 'em off the streets.
talk radio was a thing. it was filled with insane people.
it’s where the current president of argentina and future prime minister nigel farage got their start.
What do you mean, all the hosts on WCTR were totally…oh. nevermind.
Never listened to AM radio in the 90s, OP? FM too with Rush “I feel sorrier for the lung cancer” Limbaugh?
And he was on during the day. The real whack jobs were on at like 2am talking about literal aliens
There was definitely an overlap between Art Bell listeners and Rush Limbaugh listeners but one didn’t necessarily lead to the other.
I think the overlap is people who drive around a lot.
That’s why every conservative profile pic is them in a truck: They only had Rush to listen to for all of the 90s and most of the 00s
I’m not saying the concept didn’t exist then. There was just a higher barrier to entry than buying a microphone.
Yes, technology has improved somewhat in the last thirty years, you’re right. Funny how that works.
On the contrary, HAM and CB radios have been popular since WWII (and somewhat before). I have a radio capable of picking up shortwave frequencies… holy shit the stuff you still hear on there.
Given that today you also need an Internet connection I’m not sure the barrier of microphone and smart device is all that different from microphone and HAM receiver.
Nah, back then you bought a microphone and broadcast your conspiracies via Citizen Band radio.
Oh, boy, that brings back memories of being a teenager in the early 90s. Grandpa gifted me his old CB, got it setup and tuned in, and immediately turned it off.
It’s just that back then, those people weren’t glamorized with fancy titles like “podcaster” or “influencer”. They were just garden variety cranks everyone knew to just ignore.
We didn’t call them influencers, but people like Glenn Beck and Billy Graham were absolutely influencers. My parents whole church hung on their every word, so you really can’t say everybody knew to ignore it either lol.
The lowest barrier to radio entry once the web came around was shortwave. Dirt cheap, really and worldwide with the right conditions.
Holy shit '90s shortwave was nuts
GTA talk radio stations are now just regular podcasts.
WKTT: We Knot The Truth
Right, but you had to go out of your way to listen to crackpots in the 90s, now thats just all there is.
If The X Files was rebooted today the Lone Gunmen would be Rogan-pilled red-hatted brain-wormed dude-bros.
Truth.
And given all that’s happened between the original run of KoTH and the present, I found Dale a lot less charming in the reboot.
I mean, the whole world was better when the internet didn’t define the mainstream zeitgeist. And I say this as a person who was on the internet a LOT during that time period. Being separate was the best thing about it.
All the crazy shit you hear now still existed then, its just that no one really cared about unless you wanted to.
Was that when Geordi had a beard? Damn. Seems like forever ago… ✨🤕
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