Reeves Wiedeman on Paul Finebaum, a sports talk-radio host in Birmingham whose show has become the voice of college football in Alabama, and throughout much of the South. 

+ Listen to the recordings of some of Finebaum’s most notorious calls: http://nyr.kr/TMOW4m

Photograph by Lauren Lancaster.

Reeves Wiedeman:

In this week’s magazine, I wrote about Paul Finebaum, a sports talk-radio host in Birmingham whose show has become the voice of college football in Alabama, and throughout much of the South. But Finebaum is merely the lead tenor among the often cacophonous chorus made up of his regular callers, whom he admits are the show’s stars. Many of them are capable of clear, coherent arguments. Others, less so. 
 

…after several months of listening to the show, I find myself still coming back to the bar, hoping that my favorite regulars stop by. Below are clips—warning, foul language ahead—from the show’s most prominent, and notorious, callers: http://nyr.kr/TMOW4m

Why put a radio onstage? Sasha Weiss attends “Radiolab Live”: http://nyr.kr/L9ejya

In this week’s issue, Jane Mayer profiles Bryan Fischer, the Evangelical host of “Focal Point,” a popular Christian radio talk show, and one of the most vocal opponents of what he calls the “homosexual-rights movement”:

Fischer, who jokes that his “listening audience is more conservative than conservatives,” represents a powerful constituency. Rob Stein, the founder of the Democracy Alliance, a progressive fund-raising group, says that groups like the A.F.A. are part of “the largest, best-organized, most effective, and well-financed special-interest political infrastructure in America.” Julie Ingersoll, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida, says that the goal of Christian conservatives such as Fischer is to “shape every aspect of the culture in accordance with Biblical law, including politics.” Though it’s impossible to say how decisive a role this bloc will play in November, Ingersoll notes that, in the 2012 primaries, it “succeeded in pushing the Republican Party far to the right.” She adds, “The campaign that Romney’s had to run is very different from the one he ran four years ago. Who would have thought, for instance, that contraception would be an issue?” In February, Romney expressed opposition to a Senate amendment that would have permitted employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control on religious or moral grounds; after his statement was denounced by religious conservatives, he reversed himself.

Click-through to read Mayer’s piece on how Bryan Fischer is making Mitt Romney more conservative: http://nyr.kr/OePRIO

This year’s WFMU fund-raising marathon starts February 20th, and as an enticement, the station’s d.j. Michael Shelley has created a special tribute album in which contemporary rock and pop artists cover their favorite Top 40 hits from the seventies. All songs were recorded for the compilation only. It’s not available in stores, physical or digital. The only way to get it is to make a pledge to the station.

(Source: newyorker.com / The New Yorker)