Renegade Radio!

Toward the end of June I received a telephone call from a man identifying himself as Executive Producer for W.A.L.E.-AM in Providence RI. He introduced himself as Musa Kalimullah and asked if I would be interested hosting my own radio talk show on W.A.L.E. He wasn't offering me a job, but wanted to sell me air time at $200 an hour.

My first reaction was to think he'd called the wrong guy. But he knew exactly who I am and what I do. $200 is about what I pay to place an ad in a student newspaper on a college campus. I was familiar with W.A.L.E., I'd done half a dozen interviews on the station beginning in 1989. It's an AM station with a 50,000 watt signal. It's a real station. Its signal covers the entire state of Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut and southern Massachusetts, up to but not including metropolitan Boston.

The story appears to be that W.A.L.E. ownership made a decision to go to an all-talk format and is having difficulty finding stimulating talkers, which translates into difficulty in building a listening audience. The station was looking for controversy. They turned to me.All I had to do was find £2,600 to cover the first 13 weeks of broadcasting, develop a structure for the show, line up a number of guests, and hope the ADL or AJC or the SWC or some other such watchdog organization didn't pull the rug out from under me. One supporter volunteered to cover the entire bill for the first 13 weeks.

I didn't really believe I would be allowed to get the first program on air. After the first broadcast went off without a hitch, I expected the axe to fall before it was time to do the second. I expected a scandal beyond anything I've seen on radio in the last ten years. There wasn't a peep from any quarter. I thought my friends at the Anti-Defamation League might be asleep at the switch. Then I thought, How can that be? Those watch dogs never sleep!My first broadcast as host of my own radio talk show took place on Tuesday, 12 July, from 12 noon to 1 pm. That has been the weekly routine since. My guest on the first show was David Cole, of “David Cole Interviews Dr. Franciszek Piper” video fame. We had a good time and got a lot of information out, uninterrupted by cat calls from callers or a disingenuous host. We had our own show, and we did it our own way. It went so well I invited David back to guest on the second program, thinking maybe we could be a team.

While the second program on 19 July went as well as the first, afterwards I felt something was missing. I decided to go on to other guests. Program number three featured Dr. Robert Countess. Program number four introduced Fritz Berg. We didn't finish with our material, so Fritz returned for a second interview.

While listening to a cassette recording of my second interview with Fritz, I realized something was still missing. It was hard to pinpoint what the problem was. It wasn't Fritz. What was missing was the tension that is produced by a debate in which two sides of a story are being forwarded. What was missing from my show was an “opponent.” Someone to represent the “other” side in the debate.

Charles Provan came to mind. He's the only exterminationist I know who has been willing to debate revisionists in public. In addition to being willing to debate, he's a (more than) willing talker, he's industrious and has done a lot of research, he doesn't get hysterical when he's challenged, he's good-willed by nature, and he's a friend. I called Charles, told him about the show, about the interviews with Fritz, and one of us suggested that Charles call in to the show while I was interviewing Fritz for the third time. He did, and the exchange between him and Fritz made program #5 the most interesting of the first five.

It was then I had a genius idea. Maybe Provan would be my regular guest. That would insure a pro & con exchange during every broadcast. I'm supposed to be doing radio, not a revisionist lecture series. People who listen to talk radio don't tune in to be lectured but to be entertained. Debate entertains in a way that lecturing never will. Debate is the heart and soul of talk radio. Debate on an important, controversial subject is perfect for talk radio.

Meanwhile, I was worried about Musa Kalimullah. When the ADL and the rest of the pack fell on his neck, would he stand or fall? Musa said not to worry. He wants the controversy. W.A.L.E. needs the controversy. Don't worry, Musa says. We're with you all the way, Bradley. When the trouble comes, we're going to take care of you. We'll hold you in our arms like a newborn babe. That's how he talks. Then he laughs. At first I thought Musa might be an Arabian of some sort. But when Musa laughs, and he's laughing more and more, he sounds increasingly like one of our Black brothers. An American. So the plot thickens!

W.A.L.E. has a strong signal but a weak listening audience. The hope is that I can help build its audience. But the dreaded Holocaust Lobby is playing possum. I'm very disappointed with its performance this time around. The Lobby is giving me the old silent treatment. It occurs to me that, while the ADL and its sister organizations have a heavy clout with the print press, that may not be so with radio. The print press is establishment from top almost to bottom. Radio is a loose collection of loose cannons. When talkers get the bit between their teeth, they're unstoppable. This caper may be the one that puts the fear of G-d into the Lobby.

Meanwhile, I'm learning how to put a talk show together. I've completed seven weekly shows as of this writing. There's more to it than just talking. Being interviewed is one thing. Interviewing others is something else. Now the fall semester is upon us. College campuses will soon be full of students and professors again. My natural audience.

This talk radio adventure on W.A.L.E. faces three serious obstacles.

1 ) The attack from the Holocaust Lobby when it comes. Maybe W.A.L.E. can stand up to it and maybe it can't. Musa called only yesterday to say that he has received the first call from the Jewish press, The Jewish Week in New York City. Reporter Rob Goldblum called to ask if Musa did not understand that I am a notorious “denier?” Musa tells me he said yes, isn't it wonderful that we live in a country where both sides of a story can be told.

2) I have to develop a listening audience, which I believe at the moment is small. I air live from 12 noon to 1 pm, and we get few call-ins.

3) I have to raise the money to buy the time. $200 per show. $2,600 for a 13 week stint. The present stint ends on 4 October. If I can demonstrate that I have a substantial listening audience, I can bargain with W.A.L.E. for a better deal. Until I do, I can't.

Cassette recordings are available for each of the programs I've completed. Please be certain that your donation covers the costs of duplicating and postage.

#1 (12 July) Guest is David Cole.
#2 (19 July) Guest is David Cole.
#3 (26 July) Guest is Robert Countess.
#4 ( 2 Aug) Guest is Fritz Berg.
#5 (9 Aug) Guest is Fritz Berg.
#6 (16 Aug.) Guest is Fritz Berg (Charles Provan calls in)
#7 (23 Aug) Guest is Charles Provan.