The title says it all.
Let me be clear up front: I’m just a regular listener and am in no way affiliated with the show. This diary is like you finding an out-of-the-way, mom-and-pop restaurant that serves the best cheesecake ever and wanting to tell everyone you know about it.
For the uninitiated, Pete Dominick—a stand-up comic by trade—hosts a daily, three-hour show on Sirius/XM. It used to be on from 3-6 PM EDT on the POTUS channel (which is where and when I found the show), but he recently moved to 6-9 AM EDT on Indie.
I used to listen to him on my way home from work, now I listen on my way to work. His show is why I continue to pay for satellite radio. He treats guests and callers with respect, addresses important topics often not covered by mainstream media outlets, and does it with a sense of humor.
While he was on POTUS, he tried to straddle the fence regarding left vs. right (it’s the channel’s goal to be non-partisan), but now that he’s on Indie, he lets his liberal leanings show. That being said, he frequently brings on guests with opposing viewpoints and actually engages them in constructive debate and conversation. He freely admits he doesn’t know it all and says that’s why he brings on smart people. His tagline: Think for yourself.
The best part about the show is that his audience is (mostly) smart and he lets them talk. There’s only two things he won’t tolerate: people who deny scientific fact (he immediately shuts down climate change deniers) and name calling.
Hot damn, but it’s refreshing.
A list of frequent topics and regular guests below the orange calligraphy gone wrong:
- Aaron Carroll, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for the Health Policy and Professional Research at Indiana University is a whiz at healthcare policy
- Eric Segall, constitutional law professor, addresses—you guessed it—constitutional law
- Barry Ritholtz, author of “Bailout Nation” talks about financial market messes
- Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, lambastes economic stupidity on a weekly basis
- John Avlon of CNN and Daily Beast talks about all sorts of thing (and is stupid smart). The best hour of radio every week is when he, Pete, and the next guy get together.
- Will Cain of CNN and the Blaze (yes, that Blaze) comes on and argues the conservative viewpoint in such a way you don’t want to reach through the radio and strangle him. I actually follow him on Twitter now and have a few cordial tweet debates with him. Smart guy. Don’t agree with him on almost anything, but a smart guy.
Oh, and he holds a weekly segment with a different member of IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) to discuss veterans’ issues. He’s been beating the VA backlog issue for months now, long before Jon Stewart did last night.
I’m going to stop now. I didn’t mean for this to turn into a gushing love-fest, but you’ll recall my cheesecake analogy? It’s that good.
Suffice it to say, if you are a Sirius-XM subscriber and are looking for smart and funny radio in the morning, check out the show.