Peter Werbe

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Peter Werbe is an American radio talk show host and a progressive political activist. His home is Detroit, where he has become a fixture spinning discs and hosting Nightcall Sunday nights on Detroit's WRIF 101.1 FM (free live webtream and podcasts).

Peter Werbe

Peter Werbe's tenure, having commenced in 1970 has resulted in 2 popular radio programs: Nightcall and The Peter Werbe Show. Arguably, Nigtcall is one of the longest running broadcasts of a phone-in talk show (at least with progressive views), in radio history. Along with Juline Jordan, Thom Hartmann and Mike Malloy, Werbe hosted a nationally syndicated program on the now-defunct i.e. America Radio Network, from October 2000 to June 2003. He currently hosts a Mon-Fri classic (webstream) rock show Deep Trax on WCSX He is also a staff member of Fifth Estate magazine. Official site: www.FifthEstate.org

Contents

[edit] Nightcall

Detroit's weekly alternative media live broadcast public affairs phone-in talk show with a working class demographic hosted by Peter Werbe and since 2006, he has been joined by his producer who is singer/songwriter and WCSX DJ, Juline Jordan. Contrary to popular belief, Peter is otherwise married. Nightcall has continually broadcast over the last four decades on WRIF Sunday nights beginning at 11pm Eastern, followed by The Peter Werbe Show. Rejecting the 'megaphone' style of broadcasting, Peter has always encouraged callers to bring up their concerns to fulfill the public affairs segment required of broadcasters. A quote form Peter Werbe lifted from previous versions of this page: "Werbe's well articulated left of center views and his easy style often infuriate right-wing listeners, who, rather than taking advantage of the phone lines available to them on Werbe's program, prefer instead to deface this page. He takes their frustration at their inability to confront his views directly as a high compliment."

Public affairs requirements may have since been relaxed, yet the show remains quite popular, having no compunction towards an un-accommodating time slot. The show attracts international listeners and callers going far beyond Our friends to the South, Canada. This may be a result of WRIF's free webstream and podcasts. Peter occasionally points out a very small portion of Detroit's thumb which actually lies just north of a small portion of Windsor, Ontario.

[edit] The Peter Werbe Show

Werbe also hosts a show featuring two 25-minute interviews of authors, musicians, and political and cultural activists. The Peter Werbe Show can be heard directly following Nightcall at 1:00 AM Monday on WRIF or on WCSX and WMGC-FM Sunday mornings at 6:00 AM. Werbe has in the past featured celebrities and authors such as Buffy Sainte-Marie, Pete Seeger, Cindy Sheehan, Frank Zappa, Richard Dreyfuss, Ed Asner, Walter Mosley, Mike Farrell, Howard Zinn and Al Franken. A list of his interviews are here on his official website. Podcast links.

[edit] Deep Trax

Deep Trax is a 24/7 commercial free broadcast on WCSX's HD-2 hosted by Peter Werbe Mon-Fri 2-7pm. DeepTrax uniquely features "Trax" not typically broadcast, such as live recordings and extended length classic rock and blues music that appeared on popular albums and may not have been aired often, if at all along with "Trax" heard only in earlier times when FM radio was in its infancy. (listening info.)

[edit] Fifth Estate

Fifth-estate-cover.jpg

Werbe has been a staff member of the almost fifty-year-old periodical, almost since its inception in 1965. It began publishing as a biweekly and then a weekly in the early 1970s, went back to a bi-weekly schedule, then appeared as a monthly. It now publishes three times a year. Further details on Wiki page for Fifth Estate and the official site: www.FifthEstate.org

[edit] History

WRIF (locally known as "The Riff") originally had a weekly talk show: Spare Change hosted by Harvey Ovshinsky, founder of the Fifth Estate periodical. Werbe took over the talk show in 1970 when Ovshinsky left to become News Director of seminal FM rocker WABX in Detroit, Werbe remained as a weekly host until 1972 when the station owners, ABC Radio, decided that each of their owned and operated FM stations should have a daily overnight public affairs program to cover their license requirements with the Federal Communications Commission. When Peter held an on-air listener contest to rename the show, it was re-christened: Nightcall

Hosted by him from July 1972 until 1976, doing variously a three- and four-hour show in the middle of the night, the show was terminated when ABC decided such programming was no longer necessary for their purposes. After a brief stint at WABX, Werbe remained on unemployment compensation until 1978 when he hired on as a week-end rock DJ at Detroit's WWWW (locally known as W-4). Peter also hosted a one hour, weekend jazz program. When the station changed its rock format to country in 1980 to sabotage an AFTRA broadcasters' union organizing effort, Werbe quit and worked in construction until 1982 when program director Fred Jacobs re-hired him at WRIF as a weekend DJ. When Nigtcall's then-host Michael Collins left, Werbe re-assumed the reins he has held forth since. Juline Jordan, Peter's co-host since 2006 had previously been Nightcall's producer for several years. Prior to Collins, Sheila Rushlow had been the host.

[edit] Webstream and Podcasts

  • 140+ podcasts including both shows are available (usually by 12pm the following Monday) through WRIF on their Podcast page. Get one free and they toss in the other at no cost.
  • Vintage and current Nightcall/Peter Werbe Show combined podcasts are available at White Rose Society (main page) where numerous progressive voices are archived (free/donations) by Ben Burch.
  • Deep Trax can be heard 2-7pm mon-fri with this direct webstream link for WCSX's HD-2 broadcast.

[edit] External links

[edit] References
Hosts
Programs
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