Dennis Hollingsworth

Red Eye Radio

The news today, other than John Howard's win in Australia, is that Doug MacIntyre is moving his radio slot from the midnight ("boiled owl") position to the coveted morning drive program.

Another promotion!

Late night radio is a funny place (in the SouthWest USA at least), a place where I would listen to Terrence McKenna talk about datura (KPFK)

We were with shamans at one point in Peru, ayahuasca shamans, and I was aware of an admixture plant that was stronger than the admixture plant that they were using. And I kept asking this guy, 'What about so-and-so? Why don't we do that?' And at first, all he would say was that it's not for Christians, which was strange because he always knocked Christians. But I kept pressing, and finally he said, 'We just don't do it that way.' And I said, 'Why not?' And he said, 'Because it's mali bizarro.' (laughter) You know? And I said, 'Isn't that what we're shooting for?' (laughter) Apparently not. A curing shaman wants to be empowered to cure. He doesn't conceive of himself as a Magellan of the phenomenological realm, who's setting out to circumnavigate the mental universe in an evening.

...(Magellan?) or Art Bell (KFI) and get all spooky while I worked inthe studio. MacIntyre has a regular-off-the-shelf call in open topic radio show, except what he pulls off the shelf is wonderful and invested and generous.

I used to listen to his radio show in LA, perfect for the wee hours. He would bring in Jazz figures, the insider's ...hipster's (in a good way) story of the world of jazz and lounge music. Once you get on his site, he's got his signature intro mocked up as an groovy airline attendant cooing about the tray tables up and strap on the seat belts for take off, a radio show as a Rat Pack swivel hipped finger snappin' excellent night out. Then it continues with David Patrone singing "Come Fly With Me", and all this will play when you click the link.

Instinctively, I reach for my martini.

It's too bad KABC doesn't offer an internet streamed archive of his show. You've got to tune into the station via internet radio from midnight to five am, California time. Or if you're an Angeleno, tune in when you get up in the morning.

On more than one ocassion, I've heard people call in drunk to hear Doug connect with them and offer a way back to health. The compassion. They don't always take it . I don't know Doug's personal history, but it's amazing to hear real empathy en vivo.

Here's how he describes himself:

DOUG MCINTYRE pilots Red Eye Radio, Flight 790, on Talk Radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles. Heard weeknights from 12AM to 5AM, Red Eye Radio is an eclectic mix of politics, history, current events, comedy, music, sports, books, and movies. Doug will talk about "everything and anything" and proves it nightly.

For nearly twenty years, Doug has worked as a television writer and producer, having written for Married? With Children, WKRP in Cincinnati, Full House and Mike Hammer, among many other popular shows. He has also written for major publications, including American History Illustrated, LA Jazz Scene, Dragonfly Magazine and authored the comedy paperback Cheap Advice, published by Time/Warner Books.

A frequent presence on television, Doug was a guest 12 times on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, as well as CNN?s Talk Back Live and the FOX News Channel?s hit shows, Hannity & Colmes and The O?Reilly Factor.

Born and raised in New York, Doug moved to Los Angeles in 1985. A graduate of Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts, he holds a degree in English Literature. He taught a class in sitcom writing at UCLA and is a popular speaker at civic and business gatherings.

Doug is currently finishing his first novel, Frank?s Shadow and his critically acclaimed series on the American Revolution; Liberty?s Kids is currently running on PBS.

Red Eye Radio is a program for conversation, not sound bytes and ad hominem attacks. Smart, funny, civil, and occasionally weird, Red Eye Radio brings live and local overnight radio back to Southern California.

It's fantastic to listen to LA radio here in Tossa. Perhaps we should complete our immersion here, but there's nothing like that feeling of being able to keep a pulse on a place you know so intimately from so far away. To hear the traffic report and the daily weather and local news, so easy to visualize being there.

Posted by Dennis at October 9, 2004 5:54 PM