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''Le Show'' is a weekly syndicated public radio show hosted by satirist
Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, musician, radio host, writer, and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member of The ...
. The program is a hodgepodge of satirical news commentary, music, and
sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
. Shearer, an impressionist known for his voice work on ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'', writes the sketches and usually performs all the voices.


History

The show first aired on December 3, 1983, and ran under various titles for several months before ''Le Show'' at the suggestion of a long-time friend of the host. A satire of a popular marketing trend at the time to add "Le" to product names such as the Renault 5 which was heavily promoted in the US as Le Car. Until April 14, 2013, for almost 30 years, ''Le Show'' usually originated live on Sunday mornings from "The Le Show Dome" (its reference for the studios) at
KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...
in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
("The city known around the world", Shearer says in his sign off, "as the home… of the homeless"). It is also frequently recorded at or broadcast from other NPR and public stations when Shearer is on the road. After the KCRW broadcast on April 14, 2013, KCRW moved the program from broadcast to webcast only. While the show continues to air on numerous other sources,Le Show Host Harry Shearer Moves On – Los Angeles Magazine
/ref> primarily public radio stations (listed at the end of each show), Shearer expressed dismay over losing his home base radio broadcast, without any notice or being allowed to say goodbye on the air. Shearer has since ended each program by stating that ''Le Show'' originated from the "'Change is Hard' Radio Network", referring to a press statement from KCRW announcing the show's departure from its lineup. At the beginning of the July 14, 2013 episode, Shearer announced that the program is now airing on KCSN, bringing the show back to the Southern California airwaves roughly three months after it was taken off the air at KCRW. While KCSN provides live streaming of the show as well as the archives thereof,
WWNO WWNO (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a public radio, public, non-commercial radio, commercial radio station in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is owned by the University of New Orleans, offering a news and information radio format with so ...
in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
has taken over hosting its broadcast and podcast feeds. In Shearer's eyes, this prompted the change to the "'Change is Easy' Radio Network" (referring to the city's nickname "The Big Easy"). Several shows a year are broadcast from New Orleans, where Shearer has a residence. The New Orleans shows usually feature very prominent local musicians.


Availability

The program is carried on many
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
and other
public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
stations throughout the US and abroad. It is also available internationally on NPR Worldwide, the American Forces Radio Network, USEN440 in Japan and over shortwave radio via WBCQ The Planet (7490 kHz). Since the merger of the XM and
Sirius satellite radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...
services into
SiriusXM Satellite Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
, the program is no longer available on the merged service; on which Shearer commented, "because I guess, you know, mergers are good". (Comment is at 57:06). The program also aired on NPR Berlin from its launch in 2006 through to its 2017 shutdown; it was not picked up by its successor, KCRW Berlin. The show is also available as podcasts of previous episodes from Shearer's website and as free downloadable files from
Audible.com Audible is an American online audiobook and podcast service that allows users to purchase and stream audiobooks and other forms of spoken-word content. This content can be purchased individually or under a subscription model in which the user re ...
, The show is also available as a
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
along with other KCRW programs, although KCRW no longer broadcasts the show. The podcasts differ from the broadcast and streaming versions, in that they generally include only a few seconds of the music Shearer spins for the show. Exceptions are musical parodies and original songs written and performed by Shearer.


News segments

The show features a number of recurring news segments, each referred to by Shearer as "a copyrighted feature of this broadcast". Currently many episodes include the following: * "Apologies of the Week" (public apologies reported in the news) * "News From Outside the Bubble" (News stories from international sources, usually the UK) * "News of the Warm" (Shearer reads news on
global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
) * "The Trades" (Shearer reads items from
trade magazine A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular tradesman, trade or industry. The collective term ...
s) * "News of Inspectors General" (News reports of the findings of U.S. Government Inspectors General) Other news features that recur less often on the program include: * "News of the Olympic Movement" (news about Olympic snafus) * " Burying the Lede" (News stories with alarming tidbits buried down in the story) * "News of the Atom" (News of safety issues in the nuclear power industry) * "News of the Godly" (News items relating to religion and evangelism) * "Musk Love" (News about the World's Richest Man,
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
)--using The Captain & Tenille version of " Muskrat Love" with the word "rat" edited out of the chorus. * "F is for FEMA" (News stories concerning the
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
(FEMA)—usually showcasing some aspect of incompetence—particularly focusing on the
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
aftermath) * "
Found Object A found object (a calque from the French ''objet trouvé''), or found art, is art created from undisguised, but often modified, items or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already hav ...
Department" (Shearer plays audio from network feeds that was not intended to air) * "Leak of the Week" (Starting about March 2013, a weekly report of oil leaks.) * "Let's Get Scared" (Shearer reads news stories with frightening implications) * "Los Angeles Dog Trainer Corrections" (Shearer reads the extensive and often unusual LA ''Times'' errata) * "News from the Digital Wonderland" (News items, usually negative, concerning the switch-over from analog to digital transmission systems) * "Sos of the Week" (instances of the word so being used to start a sentence in news programs) * "Tales of Airport Security" (sent in by listeners) * "News of News Corp." (Shearer updates the latest stories about the News Corporation scandal) **On the October 16, 2011 episode, Shearer renamed the segment "News of Nice Corp." "... because it's not anymore misleading than ..." * "News of Secrets" Started on March 16, 2014, as News of Secret Stuff, renamed April 13, Shearer discusses material governments try to keep from public view. * "News of Transparency" Backhanded compliments, failed examples of how the Obama Administration lives up to its announced goal of being the most transparent administration in history. * "The Year in Rebuke" (The last one or two shows of each year feature repeats of key news-related items, songs and sketches from that year)


Comedy segments

There are many recurring comedy sketches or parodies on the program.


Continental Public Radio

Shearer often parodies the other programming found on public radio, often as part of a fictional "Continental Public Radio" (CPR). These are populated with such personalities as host Aviva Schlorman, reporter Ira Zipkin, political editor Jonathan Ziziks and others, all voiced by Shearer. Recurring parodies include: * "All in All" "CPR's weekly attempt to bring what's behind the news in front of the news and leave it there" * "At Loggerheads" "Dichotomous dialogue from both sides of the rhetorical divide" (debates on news topics) * "Book Bag" (Book review program hosted by Ira Zipkin) * "The Edible Table" (Lampoon of public radio shows such as '' The Splendid Table'') * "Karzai Talk" (Call-in chat show, a satire of NPR's '' Car Talk'' using the fictional Afghanistan Public Radio starring President
Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...
and his brother Ahmed Wali Karzai; After the 2011 assassination of "Wali", another brother Mahmud Karzai became the co-host. The title and style of the show lampoon NPR's Car Talk, of which Shearer has been critical (Shearer comments on Car Talk from 3:10 to 4:11)) In 2014 Shearer promoted Karzai Talk T-shirts. * "Media Nation" "CPR's weekly look into the world of the media and the media of the world" (host Chris Edwards is clearly intended to mimic Bob Edwards) * "More Than You Know" "The weekly public radio series that focuses on events and personalities outside your ken", host: Jacob Kitzle * "Mouth to Mouth" "An audio encounter with a personality in or out of the news" (Interview program) * "News from Lake Reverie" (A parody of the "News from Lake Wobegon" segment of
A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...
) * "Up To Here" (Daily news & politics program) "A daily once-over not so lightly on the story at the top, of what's behind, today's news", hosted by Milton Getzler * "What Up, Dog?" "News blogozine for the young and the newsless"; host: Cody Outscoop (Parodies NPR's attempts to reach younger audiences such as Bryant Park Project)


Presidential or political parodies

Among the many presidential and political parodies are: * "Alternative Scenario Playhouse" "Duelling dramatizations from radio's premiere venue of bifurcated possibilities" (Shearer re-enacts two possible versions of events behind the news) * "Clintonsomething" ("Youthful angst and middle-aged power!" — a ''
thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust a ...
'' parody) Retired at the end of the Clinton administration, reprised as "Clintonsomething: The State Department Years" with the appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State * "
Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...
: Confidential" (parody of hard-boiled detective stories) * "
Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young (actor), Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray (actor), Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six ...
" (parody of the 1950s television program, with
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
as the father) * "41 calls 43" (
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
calls
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
) * "The Gore Room" (
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
and
Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, and actor who served from 2009 to 2018 as a United States senator from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he worked as an ...
host a liberal talk radio show; dropped after the liberal
Air America radio Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010. The network was founded as a left–wing alternative to coun ...
network, featuring Al Franken, began broadcasting) * "Hellcats Of The White House" (soap opera parody tales from the Reagan White House, followed by "Hellcats Of The White House: The Bel-Air Years") * "
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
calls his mom" * "
Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
in Heaven"


Other sketches

Other recurring comedy sketches include: * "Bad Day at Black Rock" (behind-the-scenes parody of
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
, the title references a 1955 movie) * "(Inside) Extra Access Tonight" (lampoon of various entertainment news shows) * "Entrepod" (A podcast about startups) * "Health File" (Medical radio program hosted by new age physician Dr. Manfred Weichner) * "
Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...
" (Parody of the
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
program) * "Mind Your Own Business" (Business news radio program hosted "from the trading floor" by Mike Tutinello) * "
The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
" (Parody of the
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
program) * "Strictly from Blackwell" ( Mr. Blackwell presents a show from Beverly Hills). Retired after Blackwell's death. * "Super Bugs" (stories about antibiotic-resistant bacteria with Superfly-styled theme song, new feature as of October 2011)


Comedy interviews

Shearer will interview someone in-studio or via telephone. For the phone interviews, he claims to be opening up the phone for listener calls (even though no phone number was announced) or will reveal that there is an incoming call on "the newsmaker line". These are among the few comedy segments in which voices other than Shearer's are heard. Many are voiced by writer Tom Leopold, who has worked with Shearer on several other projects. These include: * "Tony Bellalaqua" (a listener in the midwest) * "Lyle Condit" (Congressman Gary Condit's youngest brother) * "David Feldman" (A high school teacher and friend of
Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern ...
) * "Yvonne Della Femina" (a multiple-sex-change recipient with a storied past) * "
John Walker Lindh John Philip Walker Lindh (born February 9, 1981) is an American Taliban member who was captured by United States forces as an enemy combatant during the United States' invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001. He was detained at Qala-i-Jangi ...
" (the so-called "American Taliban") * "
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
" (on the issuance of his U.S. postage stamp) * "Ira Rifleman" (a listener who allegedly bought a truck owned by Scott Peterson who was convicted of the murder of his wife Laci Peterson) * "Tyler Michael Tucker" (an actor from a failed TV program) Other personalities not voiced by Leopold include: * "
David Manning Sir David Geoffrey Manning, (born 5 December 1949) is a former British diplomat, who was the British Ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2007. He authored the so-called " Manning Memo", that summarized the details of a meeting betwe ...
" (the fictitious film reviewer, voiced by a computer voice synthesizer) * "Ralph the Talking Computer" (a computer synthesized voice) * "Barry Saint-Martin" aka "Barry Saint-Michael" (actor Alex Lowe) * "Shabshab" (a former
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
lookalike and stereo salesman in Iraq voiced by Shearer) On very rare occasions Shearer has announced a phone number and taken actual listener calls.


Interview segments

A few times each year the show will feature Shearer conducting a serious interview as a major segment of the program, often with a musician who will play music as well. Sometimes these interviews will comprise the bulk of the program, other times they will be interspersed with the usual mix of other segments.


Musician interviews

Musicians are often pianists associated with New Orleans and will appear on one of the programs Shearer records in that city. They have included: *
Marcia Ball Marcia Ball (born March 20, 1949) is an American blues singer and pianist raised in Vinton, Louisiana. Ball was described in ''USA Today'' as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist... where Texas stomp-rock and Louisiana blues-swamp me ...
* Henry Butler *
Evan Christopher Evan Christopher (born August 31, 1969) is an American jazz clarinetist and composer. Biography Background His first musical training was at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. After high school, he studied saxophone at the University ...
*
Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...
* Joe Krown * Phillip Manuel * Tom McDermott *
Judith Owen Judith Owen (born 2 January 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her first album, ''Emotions on a Postcard'', was released in 1996 and has been followed by several more. She is co-founder of Twanky Records with her husband, Harry Shearer. Life ...
(Shearer's wife, who also sings on some of the original comedic songs heard on the show) * David Torkanowsky *
Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...


Other interviews

Non-musicians interviewed will usually be a scientist or author who has insight into a news issue, often the
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
disaster in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. These have included: * John M. Barry on the levees in New Orleans and SLFPA
Dr. Robert Bea
on levee failures in New Orleans during Katrina *
Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...
on the bank mortgage fraud and foreclosure crisis *
Dan Cameron Dan Cameron (born February 12, 1956, in Utica, New York) is an American contemporary art curator. He has served as senior curator for Next Wave Visual Art at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), an annual exhibition of emerging Brooklyn-based artists ...
on th
Prospect 1 New Orleans
biennial art project *
Lolis Eric Elie Lolis Eric Elie (born April 10, 1963) is an American writer, journalist, documentary filmmaker, and food historian best known for his work as story editor of the HBO drama '' Treme'' and story editor of AMC's '' Hell on Wheels''. Early life an ...
on reporting about New Orleans * Ivor van Heerden on the Katrina disaster in New Orleans * Stephanie Kelton, economist *
Jane Mayer Jane Meredith Mayer (born 1955) is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1995. She has written for the publication about money in politics; government prosecution of whistleblowers; the Un ...
on her book '' The Dark Side'' *
Mort Sahl Morton Lyon Sahl (May 11, 1927 – October 26, 2021) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social Satire, satirist, considered the first modern comedian. He pioneered a style of social satire that pokes fun at political and current e ...
on his career as an American satirist *
Scott Simon Scott Simon (born March 16, 1952) is an American journalist and the host of '' Weekend Edition Saturday'' on NPR. Early life Simon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of comedian Ernie Simon and actress Patricia Lyons.
on reporting at the political conventions * Yves Smith on the bank mortgage fraud and foreclosure crisis wit
transcript


Music segments

"An eclectic mix of mysterious music" is how KCRW describes the music played between other segments on the program. The tracks are not announced on air, but the names are published a few days after the show airs on HarryShearer.com. Aside from the musicians already mentioned, tracks played frequently include such acts as
Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...
, Astral Project,
Marcia Ball Marcia Ball (born March 20, 1949) is an American blues singer and pianist raised in Vinton, Louisiana. Ball was described in ''USA Today'' as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist... where Texas stomp-rock and Louisiana blues-swamp me ...
,
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
,
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
The Bobs The Bobs were an a cappella vocal group founded in San Francisco, California, in the early 1980s. They moved to Seattle, Washington, and were active recording and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe until their farewell sho ...
, Bonerama, Charles Brown, Oscar Brown Jr., Henry Butler,
Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...
,
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
,
Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home". Early life Colvin was born Shawna Lee Colvin in Vermillion, South Dakota, and ...
,
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
,
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
, Dr. John,
Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock and New wave music, new wave, having many hit record, h ...
,
Eliane Elias Eliane Elias (born 19 March 1960) is a Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger. Biography Elias was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on 19 March 1960. She started studying piano when she was seven, and at age twelve she was transcribing ...
,
Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...
, Finn Brothers,
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
,
John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...
,
Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band included founding members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young (drummer), Brian Young. They released six album ...
, Michael Franks,
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
,
Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Ministry of Culture (Brazil), Minister of ...
,
The Hi-Lo's The Hi-Lo's were a vocal quartet formed in 1953, who achieved their greatest fame in the late 1950s and 1960s. The group's name is a reference to both their extreme vocal and physical ranges (Bob Strasen and Bob Morse were tall; Gene Puerling ...
, Dan Hicks,
Dick Hyman Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts ...
,
Jamiroquai Jamiroquai ( ) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...
,
Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...
,
Keb' Mo' Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link to the seminal Delta blues that tra ...
,
Sonny Landreth Clide Vernon "Sonny" Landreth (born February 1, 1951) is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, and settled in Lafayette, Louisiana. He lives in Br ...
, Lenine,
Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...
,
Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American country singer and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded 14 albums and released 25 singles to dat ...
, Phillip Manuel, Peter Martin,
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
,
The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...
,
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
,
Mr. Scruff Andrew Carthy (born 10 February 1972), known professionally as Mr. Scruff, is an English record producer and DJ. He lives in Stretford, Greater Manchester and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. Before ...
,
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...
, Rosa Passos,
Nicholas Payton Nicholas Payton (born September 26, 1973) is an American trumpet player and multi-instrumentalist. A Grammy Award winner, he is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a writer who comments on subjects including music, race, politics, and life i ...
,
Alan Price Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician who first found prominence as the original keyboardist of the English rock band the Animals. He left the band in 1965 to form the Alan Price Set; his hit singles with and without the group ...
, Brian Protheroe,
The Quantic Soul Orchestra William Holland (born 18 April 1980) is an English musician, DJ, and record producer. Holland records under various pseudonyms, including Quantic, the Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Limp Twins, Flowering Inferno, and Ondatrópica. His music fea ...
, The Radiators,
Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...
,
Marcus Roberts Marthaniel "Marcus" Roberts (born August 7, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher. Early life Roberts was born in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. His mother was a gospel singer who had gone blind a ...
,
Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...
,
Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arra ...
,
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
, Kermit Ruffins, Alice Russell,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
, Jill Sobule,
Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...
,
They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...
,
Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...
, Richard Thompson,
Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...
,
The Whitlams The Whitlams are an Australian Indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the ...
,
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
,
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
, Charlie Wood & the New Memphis Underground,
XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...
and many others. When a notable musician has died, the next aired program will often feature mostly or only that artist's work during the music segments. People so featured have included
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
,
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
, Oscar Brown Jr.,
Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City ov ...
,
Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...
, Robert Kirby,
Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the ...
,
Jerry Ragovoy Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy (September 4, 1930 – July 13, 2011) was an American songwriter and record producer who wrote several pop songs including the instrumental " Time Is on My Side" (under the pseudonym of Norman Meade for Kai Winding), which ...
,
B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...
, and
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
.


Segment theme music

* The show opens with an archival recording of
Ben Grauer Benjamin Franklin Grauer (June 2, 1908 – May 31, 1977) was an American radio and television personality, following a career during the 1920s as a child actor in films and on Broadway. He began his career as a child in David Warfield's productio ...
saying "Here it is". For years, this was followed by Shearer saying, "From deep inside your radio..." over a fragment of classical music (
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525, is a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). The German title means "a little night music" and is one of Mozart's most famous works. The serena ...
, 4th movement), a parody of the American Public Radio/Public Radio International/Minnesota Public Radio intro featuring the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, 3rd movement by
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...
. The opener was modified starting with December 13, 2015 episode with Shearer saying "From deep inside your audio device of choice..." over a fragment of contemporary electronic music. * A looped sample of "
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is a song by Paul and Linda McCartney from the album ''Ram''. Released in the United States as a single on 2 August 1971, it reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 4 September 1971, making it the first o ...
" by
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
is used for "Apologies of the Week", with emphasis on McCartney saying "sorry". * Glenn Yarbrough singing the
Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen ( ; ; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and composer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide ...
song "Listen to the Warm" is used for "News of the Warm". *
Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...
playing "Summer Song" (from the album '' The Extremist'') is the theme for "(Inside) Extra Access Tonight" *
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
instrumental " Flying" (from the album ''
Magical Mystery Tour ''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same title. The E ...
'') is the theme for "Tales of Airport Security" * The segments "F is for FEMA", "Los Angeles Dog Trainer Corrections", "Let's Get Scared", "News from the Digital Wonderland", "News of Inspectors General" and "Clean, Safe, Too Cheap to Meter" use original music recorded and sung by Shearer. * "Clintonsomething" uses the original theme music from the TV series
thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust a ...
. * "The Trades" uses "Rut" by
Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera ''Escalator ...
, from the CD "Nightglo" on ECM * "News of Transparency" uses a Shearer produced version of another Beatles song ''
I'm Looking Through You "I'm Looking Through You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album ''Rubber Soul''. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. McCartney wrote the song about English actress Jane Asher, his ...
'' * "News of
Clowns A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...
" at first used an instrumental version of '' Be a Clown'', but switched to ''
The Tears of a Clown "The Tears of a Clown" is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder and originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label subsidiary of Motown, first appearing on the 1967 album '' Make It ...
'' by
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles The Miracles (later known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most ...
(from the album ''Make It Happen'')


Criticism

On July 2, 2006,
Wisconsin Public Radio Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 38 public radio radio station, stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct services, the ''WPR News Network'' and the ''WPR Music Network''. History Wisconsin Publ ...
cancelled ''Le Show'' as part of a revamp of the network's programming. On the July 16 edition of the program, Shearer claimed WPR was "displeased with the political content of the broadcast". WPR Director of Radio Phil Corriveau told the ''
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...
'' that the program's political content was a minor factor and the decision had to do with ''Le Shows consistency: "I think he's brilliant. But I think if you listen to the show, they can be brilliant, or they can really ramble on."


References


External links


HarryShearer.com
(includes a RealAudio archive of Le Show dating back to 1995)
leshow.sideshownetwork.libsynpro.com/rss
* {{cite web , title=Century of Progress Productions: Le Show , url=https://dp.la/search?provider=%22Century%20of%20Progress%20Productions%22 , website=
Digital Public Library of America The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is a US project aimed at providing public access to digital holdings in order to create a large-scale public digital library. It officially launched on April 18, 2013, after two-and-a-half years of dev ...
, language=en American variety radio programs NPR programs 1983 radio programme debuts