Three decades after Rush Limbaugh re-invented the talk radio genre there are right-wing talk radio shows in all the major radio markets, and they have expanded their reach to podcasting and YouTube. Of course there are liberal and left-wing radio shows too, but not many, and they are not as popular. It’s a right-wing phenomenon, and fans of the genre listen to hours of political banter every day.
KQMS is the leading broadcaster of talk radio in Shasta County and much of Northern California. For many years their talk show host in the popular 6 pm time slot was Michael Savage. He is perhaps best known for the phrase “liberalism is a mental disorder,” which pretty well sums up the main theme of his show. Savage was an early supporter of Donald Trump, and years before Trump’s sudden political rise Savage spoke of immigrants as disease-carrying murderers and rapists.
Despite his reputation as a rabble-rouser (he was permanently banned from entering the UK for “fostering hatred”) Savage differs from many other right-wing shock jocks in one significant way: he has a PhD and training in epidemiology. When Covid-19 emerged Savage warned his listeners to take the virus seriously, and spoke out against unproven drugs like hydroxychloroquine. This did not please many of his listeners, who were hearing from other right-wing sources that Covid was a “hoax” and no more dangerous than the seasonal flu.
Perhaps this is why, in late 2020, Savage lost his broadcast deal? We don’t know, and Savage has refused to disclose the reason. His replacement is Michael Knowles, an associate of Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire, one of the leading voices in the newly Trumpified Republican party. Knowles is a Harvard graduate, and commercials for his show project him as a deep-thinking, god-fearing intellectual. “It’s wise to know Michael Knowles”.
An intellectual? Knowles calls Covid-19 “the Wu-flu” the “kung flu” or “the cough” and refers to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines as “the Fauci ouchy” (did he really need an Ivy League education to talk like a four year old?) Knowles attacks the use of masks, calling them “filthy face diapers” and claims that they provide no protection. He also claims that the vaccines are risky, untested, and experimental. He spends much of his broadcast time attacking Dr. Fauci Director of NIAID, usually accompanied by a cringeworthy impersonation.
Knowles rose in the ranks of right-wing talkers when he attacked Greta Thunberg, the young climate campaigner, as “a mentally ill Swedish child.” He also published a book called Reasons to Vote For Democrats that consisted mostly of blank pages (Trump himself praised the book, and given his reputation as someone who does not read it is easy to see why).
Meanwhile, across the nation, right-wing talk radio is in a death spiral. Not for listeners, there are plenty of those, but anti-mask and anti-vax campaigners like Knowles are dropping like flies. As many as seven right wing radio hosts and prominent anti-mask/anti-vaccine advocates have died of Covid-19 in the past months. Many others have been infected and suffered through long recoveries. Despite this, Knowles works relentlessly to undermine confidence in the public health measures put in place to deal with the pandemic.
At least Knowles hasn’t gone full Kamikaze in his irrational hatred of vaccines and masks. Conservative radio host Dennis Prager announced that rather than get vaccinated he deliberately infected himself with Covid, in order to get “natural immunity” from the virus. To achieve this, he spent months interacting with strangers who could potentially infect him (most likely other talk radio hosts) while taking hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. One would have thought that a vaccination might have been a more efficient use of his time?
This attack on established science harks back to Rush Limbaugh’s days denying or playing down the dangers of smoking tobacco. Limbaugh had the most popular talk radio show of all, was revered by his audience, and no doubt influenced many of his listeners to continue smoking even when the danger was well established. He died at age 70 of lung cancer. In a nod to Limbaugh, Michael Knowles also promotes his love of cigars and smoking in his broadcasts. Dennis Prager is another vocal defender of smoking. There seems to be a pattern emerging here.
As the Covid-19 pandemic becomes a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and as more of the prominent anti-vaccine crowd die unnecessary deaths, or suffer for weeks as they fight off the virus, don’t expect to see a change of heart. Opposing masks and vaccines has become a demonstration of loyalty to Trump and Trumpism. Many Republicans who might want to be vaccinated have been discouraged from doing so for fear of breaking ranks.
No wonder Shasta County is a leader in per-capita infection rates. Many local political leaders have clearly stated their opposition to simple safety measures. Our largely conservative population has been bombarded with anti-vaccine propaganda from right-wing media. Michael Savage, the shock jock who stepped out of line and told his audience to take Covid seriously has gone. Now we have Michael Knowles, a reliable Trump supporter who urges his listeners to disregard the safety measures that could bring this pandemic to an end.
