The Rise of Controversial Radio Commentary

Each week on ‘The Returns,’ we pull a different episode from our archive to help put our present politics into historical context. 

In the 1980s, Rush Limbaugh transformed talk radio. In the process, he radicalized his listeners and the conservative movement. Limbaugh’s talk radio style became a staple of the modern right. Then, the left joined the fray. This week: partisan loudmouth versus partisan loudmouth, and the shifting media landscape that helped create modern political warfare.

This episode first ran in June, 2021.

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