Well, that was some weird shit.

December 31, 2019 2:36 PM

Howard Stern interviews Hillary Clinton about the election, politics, her time as Secretary of State, her first date with Bill and more. 1 2 3 4 5
posted by Mchelly (14 comments total)

"… and, now, I don't know what's happened to Lindsey Graham. I'll be honest with you, I haven't talked to him in a long… He wrote—you know how Time Magazine has, like, the top 100 people and all that? One year, back a couple years ago when I was in it—he wrote the tribute to me. And then… now it's like… he's… it's like he had a brain snatch."
posted by bz at 3:58 PM on December 31, 2019 [14 favorites]

It's called - the Russians got some goods on you, follow the line. (Only half facetiously, he said)
posted by symbioid at 9:51 PM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

So many real journalists would have given their eye teeth to interview Hillary... and she goes with the guy who mocked his wife’s infertility on the air, wore blackface, made gross statements about his female guests’ weight, weighed at least one female guest without her consent, publicly expressed surprise that the Columbine students didn’t rape any of the girls they shot, normalized the current resident of the White House by having him on multiple times, and has sought legitimacy without owning up to any of this.

There is no context and no millions of hours of therapy that makes his past acceptable. I’m disappointed in Hillary that of all the people she could have sat down with, she chose someone whose job title is Professional Misogynist.
posted by pxe2000 at 5:19 AM on January 1, 2020 [39 favorites]

I would LOVE to watch/listen to this, but Stern's interviewing style is just shite.
That, in addition to @pxe2000's comment above makes me give this a hard pass.
Maybe she could sit down with an actual journalist, instead of trying to ingratiate herself with those sitting at the kids table.
posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 7:27 AM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Agree on a hard pass - he’s always had a gross vibe.

ingratiate herself with those sitting at the kids table.

Interestingly his radio station’s demographics page suggests his real audience is 35-44 year olds, and then lists a bunch of “new generation” guests - who have an average age of........wait for it......34.6 years. Way to break your demographics open dude. I mean of the “new generation” list only Ed Sheeran is below 30....and he’s no spring chicken and the aperture of his demographics probably overlaps with Howard’s to a very large degree.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 8:53 AM on January 1, 2020

And if you need to feel even older today - one of his other “new generation” guests - Lady Gaga - had her break out album two decades ago, and another - James Corden - began his TV career three decades ago...(for the specific definition of decade being the years ending 0-9)
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:09 AM on January 1, 2020

Stern did a lot of shitty, creepy stuff over the years. I still think he's one of the very best celebrity interviewers of all time. You don't have to like him, but he presses for answers, lets people talk and asks questions that listeners want to have asked. Far less ass-kissing and access-protecting with Stern than any other major interviewer.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:23 AM on January 1, 2020 [8 favorites]

Given that Trump was on the show 38 (!) times over the years, perhaps Clinton also liked the idea of going on a show that Trump can't feasibly go on anymore (at least while still president) and probably has fond memories of.
posted by jedicus at 3:10 PM on January 1, 2020

Is HRC ever going to be allowed to retire? She may not want to, yet, but even if she did, would the Republicans allow it or is she just to useful as a bogey ... er, woman?
posted by drivingmenuts at 4:39 PM on January 1, 2020

Both Joe Rogan and Stern gross me out. And both of them land incredible interviewees that I regularly watch to my own contempt and self-disgust.

I think that Rogan loves interviews that go outside of the sphere of legitimate controversy, and it undermines some of his audience. I'd also say that some of his politics undermines his activity as an interviewer, as well.

Stern actually gets power brokers and current event characters from all over the political map on air. And he made a movie called Fartman. Further, Stern gets these people to open up about things through vigilant use of flattery and repeat the question over and over.

Comparing the Secret Service to her emotionally absent father is not bad, though.
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 8:34 PM on January 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

I voted for her, but I am disappointed about the selling of books for and stroking the egos of former candidates still kinda upset that their share of their family dynasty wasn't handed to them. The part of 2016 that America needed to learn lessons from — gross electoral fraud by a foreign enemy, exposed by a whistleblower who was subsequently imprisoned and silenced, continued interference and ongoing corruption by that same foreign enemy — is still on the back-burner, while the personalities involved still get to live in their past and suck the oxygen out of the room for the rest of us.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:00 AM on January 2, 2020

Earth dogs. The white male fascist voter is an ... earth dog. Huh.
posted by riverlife at 12:13 AM on January 2, 2020

Very informative and entertaining. She is delightful when not in campaign mode.
posted by sensate at 6:49 PM on January 2, 2020 [2 favorites]

Also, look, she's married to a super creepy dude and presumably is fine with creepy dudes.

Lately, she seems to be determined to paint Bernie Sanders as a misogynist and the reason she's not President. I would like her to take her corporatist centrism on a tour of major boardrooms, where she gives speeches that are not released publicly, so I don't have to hear her any more.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:25 AM on January 22, 2020