The Stephanie Miller Show
Encyclopedia
The Stephanie Miller Show is a syndicated progressive talk radio
program that discusses politics, current events, and pop culture using a fast-paced, impromptu style. The three-hour show is hosted by comedienne Stephanie Miller
("Steph") along with voice artist
Jim Ward
and the show's engineer
and executive producer
Chris Lavoie ("The Mooks"). The show debuted in September 2004 and is broadcast live each weekday morning on radio stations throughout the U.S. The radio show should not be confused with Miller's short-lived 1995 syndicated TV talk show
with the same name.
Talkers Magazine
named Stephanie Miller as one of the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America in 2007, describing her as a funny, smart, and charming rising star of the progressive talk format. The Stephanie Miller Show is heard on 64 affiliates around the country and has a weekly cume
of 2.5 million listeners. The show's audience has grown from 1 million in Fall 2005 on 40 affiliates.
The show was simulcast on MSNBC
for three days starting April 30, 2007, as part of a series of programs filling the former time slot of Don Imus
.
Stephanie Miller came out as a lesbian
during hour two of the show broadcast August 13, 2010.
" (in reference to her appearance as a teenager). Because the show can include interviews with political figures among jokes appealing to a juvenile sense of humor, Miller has described the show's format as "senator, fart joke, senator, fart joke." After a call from a listener who was complaining about the frequent use of sound effects and comedy elements, Miller, Ward, and Lavoie coined a new slogan for the show: "Facts with slide-whistle" (also with a slide-whistle sound effect).
Miller typically starts each hour of the show by reading a few e-mails from listeners. The e-mails can include anything from brief funny comments to elaborate humorous audio productions. Miller usually plays a mild applause sound effect after reading each e-mail.
The show takes several calls from listeners each hour at the phone number 1-800-STEPH-1-2. Miller says that "right-wing wackos go to the front of the line", and often refers to conservative male callers as "right-wing love muffins" while urging them to "come to the light". Callers converse mostly with Miller, rather than with Ward or Lavoie.
The show has been broadcast from several affiliate cities, with Miller and Ward appearing in front of a live audience (Lavoie stays at the studio). During these remote broadcasts, audience questions and interactions take the place of phone calls.
The show occasionally has guest hosts. Previously comedienne Elayne Boosler
supplied a majority of the hosting duties in Stephanie Miller's absence, frequently joined by comedy writer Merrill Markoe
. Frangela
(an announcing team of two African-American comediennes named Frances and Angela) appeared as guest host, and frequented the show in a segment called "Fridays with Frangela." They were replaced in 2010 by comedian John Fugelsang
, in a segment called "Fridays with Fugelsang."
Comedian Hal Sparks
frequently serves as a guest host, filling in for Stephanie Miller for as long as an entire week, when she is on vacation. Mostly, Sparks is not on the air with Lavoie and Ward, but occasionally they do appear together. Sparks and Fugelsang also occasionally appear together.
: Miller self-deprecatingly describes herself as a washed-up stand-up comic who is unqualified for any work other than her radio show. She jokes about consuming box wine
. Having never been married, she considers herself to be a spinster
(or "an elderly shut-in") with many fictional relationships with "future husbands". Her response to certain men (particularly firemen) is described by Lavoie as "slutty" while she says she has "a chick thing" for Sean Hannity
and posts Photoshop images of herself and Hannity in compromising situations.
Miller, being the daughter of William E. Miller
(running mate of Barry Goldwater
), sometimes makes references to her Republican family, particularly her mother. Miller thinks that it's best that the show isn't broadcast in the city where her mother lives.
Jim Ward
: Miller refers to Ward as "voice deity" (or sometimes "voice monkey") and "the official conspiracy theorist" of the show. Ward is said to believe everything even though he has pointed out some conspiracies that he does not believe in. Ward writes the comedy bits that he performs during "Stand Up News" and "Tinsel Talk", though Miller complains that he waits until the last moment.
Chris Lavoie: Miller refers to Lavoie as "boytoy" and "the official atheist
" of the show. In contrast with Ward, Lavoie is said to believe in nothing. Also, Lavoie is considered "the official conservative" or "right-wing tool" of the show, much to the exasperation of Lavoie. Lavoie is known for his distinctive (some say annoying) laughing, particularly when Miller is the target of a joke. Both Lavoie and Ward enjoy pointing out Miller's errors.
Hal Sparks
: Every Wednesday it's "Humpdays with Hal" on the Stephanie Miller Show. Sparks is an actor and stand-up comedian known for his work on Talk Soup
, Queer as Folk, Dude, Where's My Car?
and Spider-Man 2
.
, "Step right up, get your Republican talking points, get your peanut-size brains, your brain must be this (various) to go on this ride," with (various) being a topical ad lib by Ward. Also, as Ward reads the usual announcement, the pitch of his voice rises to a high pitch. In a humorous moment, Ward flubbed the opening when the segment made its return, joking that, "I haven't done this in awhile", and that he was a bit rusty. Many recent soundbites from conservative media personalities are played, each followed by commentary. Frequent targets include Bill O'Reilly
, Sean Hannity
, Sarah Palin
(who Miller refers to as "Caribou Barbie", due to her status as the former governor of Alaska and ex-beauty queen), Rush Limbaugh
, and Michael Savage
. Miller says that she watches Fox News
"so you don't have to." When asked to describe "Right Wing World," Miller replied:
"Right Wing World" was discontinued August 2008 during the Republican Convention, but was brought back on September 16, 2009 as a response to Republican efforts to stop health-care reform. In the absence of "Right Wing World," Miller played soundbites throughout the show and took caller response to them.
's There's No Business Like Show Business. The format is similar to "Stand Up News", except the focus is entertainment news. Some of these items come from tabloid sources Miller jokingly calls "The Paper" (i.e., The National Enquirer
or The Star).
(whom Miller respectfully referred to "by all three of his titles: Doctor Governor Chairman Howard Dean"), John Kerry
, Harry Reid
, Barbara Boxer
(nicknamed "the Matron Saint of The Stephanie Miller Show"), Byron Dorgan
, Debbie Stabenow
, Jon Tester
, Linda Sánchez
, Keith Ellison
, Frank Rich
, Jack Cafferty
, Paul Begala
(nicknamed "The Best Pundit In The WAH-urld", Jason Alexander
, Harry Shearer
, Tim Robbins
, Gen. Wesley Clark
, and John Conyers
(nicknamed "the Patron Saint of The Stephanie Miller Show"). Representative Conyers coined the term "The Stephanie Miller Newscast", which continues to be a source of amusement for the hosts. Miller has said that she is somewhat surprised that an elected official would agree to call the show, but even more surprised when they agree to a second call-in.
One notable celebrity call-in was Melissa Etheridge
, who spontaneously called the show 10 minutes after Congresswoman Maxine Waters
finished her scheduled appearance on the "Celebrity Hotline". Lavoie noted that Miller was far more impressed with Etheridge calling the show than with a congresswoman calling the show. Since Etheridge's call was not pre-arranged, it was not referred to as a "Celebrity Hotline" call. More recently, Young MC
(a rap artist popular in the early 1990s) also called in to the show. This also was not pre-arranged, and was prompted by a joke at Stephanie Miller's expense regarding her lack of knowledge regarding current pop culture, to wit, that she was so out of step that she "thought Young MC was still young."
, backed by the theme from Mission: Impossible
. Many of the theories presented by Ward originate with Wayne Madsen
. Generally, Ward defends the credibility of the theories he presents, while Lavoie expresses skepticism; Miller has said that she wants to be skeptical, but that Ward frequently turns out to be correct.
Jim Ward then attempts to guess the source of each quote. He has only guessed the quote correctly twice. His pointedly incorrect answers often follow a common theme of their own, distinctly different from the theme of the quotes.
. As these are read, the theme music
from the 1950's television
sitcom Leave It To Beaver
plays under her report.
. Since "Sock" included his phone number, Miller called and confronted him live on her October 30, 2006 show. On the October 5, 2007 show Stephanie Miller stated that the letter had been turned over to law enforcement shortly after she had received it.
Ward humorously noted that, while claiming to be a patriotic American, "Sock" suggested the use of an AK-47
, which is a Russian rifle. Miller also expressed confusion over the letter's reference to her "glory hole
".
In response to the incident, a listener created a jingle to introduce "Sock" which Miller now plays to highlight the hypocrisy inherent in the letter or similar types of attacks. The incident also resulted in a brief mention during the cable news show Countdown with Keith Olbermann
, which delighted Miller.
On February 23, 2007, a listener nicknamed "Arvy", who identified himself as a Democrat, wrote a letter to Miller stating that "she is worse than George Bush and should be shot...if I only had a gun".
. In November 2005, WYD Media Management acquired Democracy Radio's portion of ownership in the show. The live program is produced in Los Angeles from 6 am to 9 am Pacific Time
weekdays and syndicated nationally by Dial Global
, which acquired former syndicator Jones Radio Networks
.
The show is not associated with the now-defunct Air America Radio
, although the show is carried on many stations that were promoted as Air America affiliates. XM Radio began broadcasting The Stephanie Miller Show on channel 167 America Left
in July 2008.
Progressive talk radio
Progressive talk radio is a talk radio format devoted to expressing liberal or progressive viewpoints of issues, as opposed to conservative talk radio...
program that discusses politics, current events, and pop culture using a fast-paced, impromptu style. The three-hour show is hosted by comedienne Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Catherine Miller is an American comedienne and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles and syndicated nationally by Dial Global. Talkers magazine ranked her as the 24th most important radio talk show host in America for 2010.-Early...
("Steph") along with voice artist
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
Jim Ward
Jim Ward (voice actor)
James Kevin "Jim" Ward is a voice actor who has contributed to a large number of video games and movies. He co-hosts The Stephanie Miller Show, a nationally-syndicated liberal radio talk show which features a number of his impersonations of political figures and other celebrities and newsmakers...
and the show's engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Chris Lavoie ("The Mooks"). The show debuted in September 2004 and is broadcast live each weekday morning on radio stations throughout the U.S. The radio show should not be confused with Miller's short-lived 1995 syndicated TV talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
with the same name.
Talkers Magazine
Talkers magazine
Talkers Magazine is a trade industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media"...
named Stephanie Miller as one of the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America in 2007, describing her as a funny, smart, and charming rising star of the progressive talk format. The Stephanie Miller Show is heard on 64 affiliates around the country and has a weekly cume
Cume
In the practice of measuring the size of US commercial broadcasting and newspaper audiences, cume, short for "cumulative audience," is a measure of the total number of unique consumers over a specified period....
of 2.5 million listeners. The show's audience has grown from 1 million in Fall 2005 on 40 affiliates.
The show was simulcast on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
for three days starting April 30, 2007, as part of a series of programs filling the former time slot of Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
.
Stephanie Miller came out as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
during hour two of the show broadcast August 13, 2010.
Show format
The show is primarily a mix of comedy and political topics, though Miller notes that "we talk less about politics than any other show in the progressive talk format". Much of the show takes the form of Miller introducing a news item or soundbite, followed by discussion among Miller, Ward, and Lavoie. The discussions are punctuated with sound effects, short audio clips, and imitations by Ward. Miller calls her show a mix of "high-brow" and "low-brow", and sometimes "unibrowUnibrow
A unibrow is a "confluence of eyebrows"; that is, the presence of abundant hair between the eyebrows, so that they seem to converge to form one long eyebrow. The condition of having a unibrow is synophrys.-Beauty culture:...
" (in reference to her appearance as a teenager). Because the show can include interviews with political figures among jokes appealing to a juvenile sense of humor, Miller has described the show's format as "senator, fart joke, senator, fart joke." After a call from a listener who was complaining about the frequent use of sound effects and comedy elements, Miller, Ward, and Lavoie coined a new slogan for the show: "Facts with slide-whistle" (also with a slide-whistle sound effect).
Miller typically starts each hour of the show by reading a few e-mails from listeners. The e-mails can include anything from brief funny comments to elaborate humorous audio productions. Miller usually plays a mild applause sound effect after reading each e-mail.
The show takes several calls from listeners each hour at the phone number 1-800-STEPH-1-2. Miller says that "right-wing wackos go to the front of the line", and often refers to conservative male callers as "right-wing love muffins" while urging them to "come to the light". Callers converse mostly with Miller, rather than with Ward or Lavoie.
The show has been broadcast from several affiliate cities, with Miller and Ward appearing in front of a live audience (Lavoie stays at the studio). During these remote broadcasts, audience questions and interactions take the place of phone calls.
The show occasionally has guest hosts. Previously comedienne Elayne Boosler
Elayne Boosler
Elayne Boosler is an American comedian.Boosler was born and raised in Brooklyn, the youngest child and only daughter of a Russian-acrobat father and a Romanian-ballerina mother...
supplied a majority of the hosting duties in Stephanie Miller's absence, frequently joined by comedy writer Merrill Markoe
Merrill Markoe
Merrill Markoe is an author, an Emmy Award-winning television writer and a sometime standup comedienne.-Career:Markoe attended the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a B.A. in Art in 1970 and an M.A. in 1972...
. Frangela
Frangela
Frangela is a Los Angeles-based comedy duo composed of comedians, Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton, both of The Second City. Callier and Shelton regularly appeared on the VH1 weekly comedy news review, Best Week Ever, the NPR radio show, Day to Day and the Fox News late night show, "Red Eye w/...
(an announcing team of two African-American comediennes named Frances and Angela) appeared as guest host, and frequented the show in a segment called "Fridays with Frangela." They were replaced in 2010 by comedian John Fugelsang
John Fugelsang
John Fugelsang is an American actor, television personality and stand-up comedian.-Stage and screen:...
, in a segment called "Fridays with Fugelsang."
Comedian Hal Sparks
Hal Sparks
Hal Harry Magee Sparks III is an American actor, comedian, musician and television personality. He is known for his contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and the role of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but...
frequently serves as a guest host, filling in for Stephanie Miller for as long as an entire week, when she is on vacation. Mostly, Sparks is not on the air with Lavoie and Ward, but occasionally they do appear together. Sparks and Fugelsang also occasionally appear together.
On-air personalities
Stephanie MillerStephanie Miller
Stephanie Catherine Miller is an American comedienne and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles and syndicated nationally by Dial Global. Talkers magazine ranked her as the 24th most important radio talk show host in America for 2010.-Early...
: Miller self-deprecatingly describes herself as a washed-up stand-up comic who is unqualified for any work other than her radio show. She jokes about consuming box wine
Box wine
A box wine is a wine packaged as a Bag-In-Box. Such packages contain a plastic bladder protected by a box, usually made of corrugated fiberboard.- History :...
. Having never been married, she considers herself to be a spinster
Spinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
(or "an elderly shut-in") with many fictional relationships with "future husbands". Her response to certain men (particularly firemen) is described by Lavoie as "slutty" while she says she has "a chick thing" for Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
and posts Photoshop images of herself and Hannity in compromising situations.
William E. Miller
William Edward "Bill" Miller was a New York politician. He was the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 1964 election...
(running mate of Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
), sometimes makes references to her Republican family, particularly her mother. Miller thinks that it's best that the show isn't broadcast in the city where her mother lives.
Jim Ward
Jim Ward (voice actor)
James Kevin "Jim" Ward is a voice actor who has contributed to a large number of video games and movies. He co-hosts The Stephanie Miller Show, a nationally-syndicated liberal radio talk show which features a number of his impersonations of political figures and other celebrities and newsmakers...
: Miller refers to Ward as "voice deity" (or sometimes "voice monkey") and "the official conspiracy theorist" of the show. Ward is said to believe everything even though he has pointed out some conspiracies that he does not believe in. Ward writes the comedy bits that he performs during "Stand Up News" and "Tinsel Talk", though Miller complains that he waits until the last moment.
Chris Lavoie: Miller refers to Lavoie as "boytoy" and "the official atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
" of the show. In contrast with Ward, Lavoie is said to believe in nothing. Also, Lavoie is considered "the official conservative" or "right-wing tool" of the show, much to the exasperation of Lavoie. Lavoie is known for his distinctive (some say annoying) laughing, particularly when Miller is the target of a joke. Both Lavoie and Ward enjoy pointing out Miller's errors.
Hal Sparks
Hal Sparks
Hal Harry Magee Sparks III is an American actor, comedian, musician and television personality. He is known for his contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and the role of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but...
: Every Wednesday it's "Humpdays with Hal" on the Stephanie Miller Show. Sparks is an actor and stand-up comedian known for his work on Talk Soup
Talk Soup
Talk Soup was a television show produced for cable network E! that debuted on January 7, 1991, and aired until August 2002. Talk Soup aired selected clips of the previous day's daily talk shows—ranging from daytime entries like The Jerry Springer Show and to celebrity interview shows like The...
, Queer as Folk, Dude, Where's My Car?
Dude, Where's My Car?
Dude, Where's My Car? is a 2000 American stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner. The film stars Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott as two young men who find themselves wasted and forget where they parked their car....
and Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
.
"Right Wing World"
"Right Wing World," once a regular feature of the show that had been previously discontinued, made its return on September 16, 2009. It opens with Ward announcing in the style of a carnival barkerBarker (occupation)
A barker is a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events, such as a circus or funfair, by exhorting passing public, describing attractions of show and emphasizing variety, novelty, beauty, or some other feature believed to incite listeners to attend entertainment...
, "Step right up, get your Republican talking points, get your peanut-size brains, your brain must be this (various) to go on this ride," with (various) being a topical ad lib by Ward. Also, as Ward reads the usual announcement, the pitch of his voice rises to a high pitch. In a humorous moment, Ward flubbed the opening when the segment made its return, joking that, "I haven't done this in awhile", and that he was a bit rusty. Many recent soundbites from conservative media personalities are played, each followed by commentary. Frequent targets include Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
, Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
, Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
(who Miller refers to as "Caribou Barbie", due to her status as the former governor of Alaska and ex-beauty queen), Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, and Michael Savage
Michael Savage (commentator)
Michael Savage is a conservative American radio host, author, and political commentator. He is the host of The Savage Nation, a nationally syndicated talk show that airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
. Miller says that she watches Fox News
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
"so you don't have to." When asked to describe "Right Wing World," Miller replied:
"Right Wing World" is obviously clips from Fox and others. It's amazing. You get what the Republican talking points are for the day because they are endlessly repeated in a million different forms. O’Reilly says it. Hannity says it. Savage says it. We do "Right Wing World" mostly for comedy. It's really just a forum to mock them mercilessly. But it's also instructive to people: This is the propaganda you’re getting. And this is why what they’re saying is not true.
"Right Wing World" was discontinued August 2008 during the Republican Convention, but was brought back on September 16, 2009 as a response to Republican efforts to stop health-care reform. In the absence of "Right Wing World," Miller played soundbites throughout the show and took caller response to them.
"Stand Up News"
This second-hour segment starts with Miller describing it as "some news we don't want to lose", followed by a pre-recorded intro by Ward, and then Miller stating that "when news breaks here, it stays broken". Miller reads brief summaries of news stories, with each providing the set-up for a short comedy bit, almost always involving impersonations by Ward. Miller ends the segment with the clichéd stand-up comedian closing "I'm here all week, tell your friends"."Tinsel Talk"
This third-hour segment starts with a pre-recorded intro featuring Ward backed by a disco version of Ethel MermanEthel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
's There's No Business Like Show Business. The format is similar to "Stand Up News", except the focus is entertainment news. Some of these items come from tabloid sources Miller jokingly calls "The Paper" (i.e., The National Enquirer
The National Enquirer
The National Enquirer is an American supermarket tabloid now published by American Media Inc . Founded in 1926, the tabloid has gone through a variety of changes over the years....
or The Star).
"Celebrity Hotline"
Although the show is humorous in nature, it uses its humor to educate its listeners about current events and politics. It is taken seriously enough, however, to frequently include Washington and political insiders as phone guests, via the "Celebrity Hotline". The segment starts with a ringing phone sound effect and Miller feigning surprise at the pre-arranged call. Guests have included Howard DeanHoward Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
(whom Miller respectfully referred to "by all three of his titles: Doctor Governor Chairman Howard Dean"), John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
, Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
(nicknamed "the Matron Saint of The Stephanie Miller Show"), Byron Dorgan
Byron Dorgan
Byron Leslie Dorgan is a former United States Senator from North Dakota and is now a senior policy advisor for a Washington, DC law firm. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party. In the Senate, he was Chairman of the Democratic...
, Debbie Stabenow
Debbie Stabenow
Deborah Ann Greer "Debbie" Stabenow is the junior United States Senator from Michigan and a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to the U.S. Senate, she was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 8th congressional district from 1997 to 2001...
, Jon Tester
Jon Tester
Jon Tester is the junior U.S. Senator for Montana, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served as President of the Montana Senate.-Early life, education, and farming career:...
, Linda Sánchez
Linda Sánchez
Linda T. Sánchez is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. She is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...
, Keith Ellison
Keith Ellison (politician)
Keith Maurice Ellison is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. The district centers on Minneapolis. He was re-elected in 2010. Ellison is a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.He is the first Muslim to be elected to the...
, Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
, Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty
Jack Cafferty is a CNN commentator and occasional host of specials. In the summer of 2005, Cafferty joined The Situation Room.-Career:...
, Paul Begala
Paul Begala
Paul Edward Begala is an American political consultant and political commentator. He was an adviser to President Bill Clinton. Begala was a chief strategist for the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, which carried 33 states and made Clinton the first Democrat to win the White House in sixteen years...
(nicknamed "The Best Pundit In The WAH-urld", Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
, Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
, Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
, Gen. Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
, and John Conyers
John Conyers
John Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
(nicknamed "the Patron Saint of The Stephanie Miller Show"). Representative Conyers coined the term "The Stephanie Miller Newscast", which continues to be a source of amusement for the hosts. Miller has said that she is somewhat surprised that an elected official would agree to call the show, but even more surprised when they agree to a second call-in.
One notable celebrity call-in was Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
, who spontaneously called the show 10 minutes after Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 29th district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
finished her scheduled appearance on the "Celebrity Hotline". Lavoie noted that Miller was far more impressed with Etheridge calling the show than with a congresswoman calling the show. Since Etheridge's call was not pre-arranged, it was not referred to as a "Celebrity Hotline" call. More recently, Young MC
Young MC
Marvin Young , better known by his stage name Young MC, is an English-born American singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit "Bust a Move"...
(a rap artist popular in the early 1990s) also called in to the show. This also was not pre-arranged, and was prompted by a joke at Stephanie Miller's expense regarding her lack of knowledge regarding current pop culture, to wit, that she was so out of step that she "thought Young MC was still young."
Comedy of the Stephanie Miller Show
Impersonations by Miller and Ward on the show make fun of both sides of the political aisle. Usually these impersonations exaggerate the voice of various pundits or political leaders. Ms. Miller is also known to poke fun at herself often during the show. The show also incorporates a variety of recurring comedic elements within the show as well. Sound effects and short sound clips, or "drops", from movies and other sources are often inserted during discussions to emphasize points and many are used on a daily or near-daily basis."Conspiracy Corner"
This occasional segment involves Ward giving a detailed description of a conspiracy theoryConspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
, backed by the theme from Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
. Many of the theories presented by Ward originate with Wayne Madsen
Wayne Madsen
Wayne Madsen is a Washington, D.C.-based author, columnist, and investigative journalistspecializing in intelligence and international affairs. He has written for The Village Voice, The Progressive, CounterPunch, CorpWatch, Multinational Monitor, CovertAction Quarterly, In These Times, and The...
. Generally, Ward defends the credibility of the theories he presents, while Lavoie expresses skepticism; Miller has said that she wants to be skeptical, but that Ward frequently turns out to be correct.
"Guess the Quote"
This is another occasional segment. When it appears, it is usually an opening part of "Right Wing World" or used to fill time at the end of the show. Stephanie reads a variety of quotes which usually have a common theme to them (same subject, all from the same person, etc.) to the theme music from Jeopardy!Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
Jim Ward then attempts to guess the source of each quote. He has only guessed the quote correctly twice. His pointedly incorrect answers often follow a common theme of their own, distinctly different from the theme of the quotes.
"Beaver Stack"
This is an occasional segment generally used as a sort of time-filler or segue. It features Miller reading news articles, usually of a humorous nature, discussing beavers. As she reads the articles, she also makes veiled references and innuendo relating to the slang use of "beaver"Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
. As these are read, the theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
from the 1950's television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom Leave It To Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
plays under her report.
Death threats
In October 2006, an Ohio man who called himself "Sock" sent Stephanie Miller a letter that was interpreted as a death threat. The letter was in response to the views that Miller expressed during an October 13, 2006 appearance on the Fox News program Hannity and Colmes in which she defended peace activist Cindy SheehanCindy Sheehan
Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan is an American anti-war activist whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President...
. Since "Sock" included his phone number, Miller called and confronted him live on her October 30, 2006 show. On the October 5, 2007 show Stephanie Miller stated that the letter had been turned over to law enforcement shortly after she had received it.
Ward humorously noted that, while claiming to be a patriotic American, "Sock" suggested the use of an AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
, which is a Russian rifle. Miller also expressed confusion over the letter's reference to her "glory hole
Glory hole (sexual)
A glory hole is a hole in a wall, or other partition, often between public lavatory stalls or adult video arcade booths for people to engage in sexual activity or observe the person in the next cubicle while one or both parties masturbate. The partition maintains anonymity...
".
In response to the incident, a listener created a jingle to introduce "Sock" which Miller now plays to highlight the hypocrisy inherent in the letter or similar types of attacks. The incident also resulted in a brief mention during the cable news show Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
, which delighted Miller.
On February 23, 2007, a listener nicknamed "Arvy", who identified himself as a Democrat, wrote a letter to Miller stating that "she is worse than George Bush and should be shot...if I only had a gun".
Production and distribution
The show was launched on September 7, 2004 by WYD Media Management in association with Democracy RadioDemocracy Radio
Democracy Radio was an organization founded in 2002 by Tom Athans and Paul Fiddick dedicated to creating political balance on America's commercial radio airwaves. The concept was to develop and incubate progressive oriented talk programming and enlist radio networks to market the programs to...
. In November 2005, WYD Media Management acquired Democracy Radio's portion of ownership in the show. The live program is produced in Los Angeles from 6 am to 9 am Pacific Time
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
weekdays and syndicated nationally by Dial Global
Dial Global
Dial Global is a radio syndication company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triton Media Group and is a sister company to Townsquare Media, both of which are owned by Oaktree Capital Management....
, which acquired former syndicator Jones Radio Networks
Jones Radio Networks
Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such as news and talk programs, syndicated radio shows,...
.
The show is not associated with the now-defunct Air America Radio
Air America Radio
Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...
, although the show is carried on many stations that were promoted as Air America affiliates. XM Radio began broadcasting The Stephanie Miller Show on channel 167 America Left
America Left
Sirius XM Left is located at channel 127 on Sirius XM Radio and carries a progressive/liberal talk format. The channel is programmed by Don Wicklin.-America Left :...
in July 2008.
External links
- WYD Media Management (Show owner)
- The Stephanie Miller Show at Jones Radio (Show distributor)
- Stephanie Miller's Future Husbands Club