Talk radio

Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live conversations between the host and listeners who "call in" (usually via telephone) to the show. Listener contributions are usually screened by a show's producer(s) in order to maximize audience interest and, in the case of commercial talk radio, attract advertisers. Generally, the shows are organized into segments, each separated by a pause for advertisements; however, in public or non-commercial radio, music is sometimes played in place of commercials to separate the program segments. Variations of talk radio include conservative talk, hot talk, liberal talk (increasingly known as Progressive talk) and sports talk.

While talk radio has historically been associated with broadcast radio, starting around 2005 the technology for Internet-based talk-radio shows became cost effective in the form of live internet website streaming and podcasts. Now, it is possible for an individual to use a variety of services to host an Internet-based talk-radio show without carriage by a traditional radio station. In addition TV programming from talk and news outlets such as BBC, CNN, Bloomberg and Fox are now often available expanding the world of talk radio further. Talk radio listening is now enjoyed not only on radios, but a wide variety of other devices and services including PCs using iTunes, station directories such as TuneIn, show directory smartphones with apps such as Stitcher and time shifting services like DAR.fm.

Glenn Beck

Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American television personality and radio host, conservative political commentator, author, television network producer, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He hosts the Glenn Beck Radio Program, a popular nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks and the Glenn Beck television program, which ran from January 2006 to October 2008 on HLN, from January 2009 to June 2011 on the Fox News Channel and currently airs on TheBlaze. Beck has authored six New York Times–bestselling books. Beck is the founder and CEO of Mercury Radio Arts, a multimedia production company through which he produces content for radio, television, publishing, the stage, and the Internet. It was announced on April 6, 2011, that Beck would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News later in the year but would team with Fox to "produce a slate of projects for Fox News Channel and Fox News' digital properties". Beck's last daily show on the network was June 30, 2011. In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter named Beck on its Digital Power Fifty list.

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West (/ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American recording artist, record producer, fashion designer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label GOOD Music and creative content company DONDA. West is one of the most acclaimed musicians of the 21st century. He has attracted both praise and criticism for his work and his controversial, outspoken public persona.

Raised in Chicago, West first became known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing hit singles for musical artists such as Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, before pursing a solo career as a rapper. In 2004, he released his debut album The College Dropout, to widespread commercial and critical success, and founded record label and management company GOOD Music. He went on to explore a variety of different musical styles on subsequent albums that included the baroque-inspired Late Registration (2005), the electronic-tinged Graduation (2007), and the starkly polarizing 808s & Heartbreak (2008). In 2010, he released his critically acclaimed fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. He collaborated with Jay-Z on Watch the Throne (2011), and released his sixth album, Yeezus, to further critical praise in 2013. Following a series of recording delays and work on non-musical projects, West's seventh album, The Life of Pablo, was released in 2016.

Jenny McCarthy

Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy (born November 1, 1972) is an American model, television host, comedienne, actress, author, screenwriter and anti-vaccine activist. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a television and film acting career. She is a former co-host of the ABC talk show The View.

McCarthy has written books about parenting and has become an activist promoting research into environmental causes and alternative medical treatments for autism. She has promoted the idea that vaccines cause autism and that chelation therapy helped cure her son of autism. Both claims are unsupported by medical consensus, and her son's autism diagnosis has been questioned. McCarthy has been described as "the nation's most prominent purveyor of anti-vaxxer ideology", but she has denied the charge, stating: "I am not anti-vaccine".

Early life

McCarthy grew up in Evergreen Park, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) and South West Chicago. She was born to a working-class Catholic family, and has Irish, German, and Polish ancestry. She lived in the West Elsdon neighborhood of Chicago. She is the second of four daughters; her sisters are named Lynette, Joanne, and Amy. Actress Melissa McCarthy is her cousin. McCarthy's mother, Linda, was a housewife and courtroom custodian, and her father, Dan McCarthy, was a steel mill foreman.