Ring of Fire (radio program)
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| Ring of Fire | |
|---|---|
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| Presentation | |
| Hosted by |
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| Production | |
| Opening theme | "Ring of Fire" by Social Distortion |
| Publication | |
| Original release | May 1, 2004 |
| Provider | Air America (2004–2010) |
| Related | |
| Website | trofire |
Ring of Fire is a progressive syndicated American talk radio program hosted by Mike Papantonio, Sam Seder and Farron Cousins. The three hosts focus on: "exposing Wall Street thugs, environmental criminality, corporate media failure and political backstories rarely found in the mainstream media".[1] The show has been on the air since 2004 and is currently aired on 43 radio stations across the United States.[2]
J Michael Papantonio is an attorney specializing in mass torts, litigation and is senior partner at the Levin Papantonio Law Firm. Seder is an actor, comedian, director and political commentator who hosts The Majority Report; he previously hosted on the now-defunct Air America Radio with Janeane Garofalo. He currently hosts an independently produced podcast. In 2013, the show expanded into a television program airing weeknights on venues such as Free Speech TV, hosted by Papantonio and Cousins.
Production
[edit]Producer – Scott Millican Ring of Fire airs Saturdays from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. ET. Papantonio does the show from the Pensacola studio while Seder's studio is near The New York Times Building in New York City.[citation needed] The program's theme song, "Ring of Fire," originally by Johnny Cash, is performed by Social Distortion.[3]
History
[edit]Facility space was allocated in December 2003[4] and Ring of Fire aired its first broadcast on May 1, 2004, on the newly founded Air America radio network. It remained there until the network closed almost six years later. Dial Global then picked up the program and has syndicated it since. The radio program was featured in the 2006 documentary film Jesus Camp.[5]
The original cohost for Ring of Fire, along with Mike Papantonio, was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., when the show started on Air America Radio in 2004. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continued to be one of the expanding number of hosts on Ring of Fire until the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world in 2020, when his outspoken anti-vaccine views put him at odds with the other hosts and most listeners, leading to his departure.
David Bender, who hosted another Air America program, Politically Direct, first appeared on the show when Air America 2.0 was launched in May 2007. Bender returned to the program as a full-time host after the network closed down, but announced on December 11, 2010, that he was again stepping away from the program;[6] Seder announced on The Majority Report podcast December 17, 2010, that he would be Bender's replacement.
The Ring of Fire Network
[edit]In 2015, the show became officially known as The Ring of Fire Network, and began focusing heavily on progressive political content. Numerous hosts now appear on the show, including Papantonio, Thom Hartmann, Abby Martin, Laura Flanders, Sam Seder, David Pakman, Lee Camp, and Mike Malloy.[1] Many of the network's personalities are also veteran personalities for other networks, including Free Speech TV, RT [citation needed]and TeleSUR. Also in 2015, the show began a separate site called Drug Safety News for the "specific purpose of highlighting political maneuvers the pharmaceutical industry is taking to influence government decisions, and to expose the dangers and lack of effectiveness of many of the products the industry is marketing."[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "About Us". Ring of Fire. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ^ "Our Radio Affiliates". Ring of Fire. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ^ Hodge, Will (March 23, 2017). "Social Distortion's Mike Ness on His 10 Best Country-Punk Covers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Likis, Bobby (June 1, 2004). "Ring of Fire debuts a new talk facility". Radio Magazine. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007.
- ^ Ewing, Heidi; Grady, Rachel (December 22, 2006), Jesus Camp (Documentary), A&E IndieFilms, Loki Films, retrieved February 14, 2023
- ^ "A Message From David Bender". Ring of Fire Radio. December 11, 2010. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
- ^ "About Us". Drug Safety News. Retrieved August 19, 2016.