One man spent 50 years at the same radio station. The rest of us can barely commit to a streaming service.
This episode of The Rizzuto Show welcomes St. Louis radio icon John Ulett into the studio for a hilarious, nostalgic, and surprisingly emotional conversation about surviving five decades in broadcasting without being fired, arrested, or permanently trapped in a dark cork-covered radio studio.
John shares stories from the wild early days of KSHE, when listeners could literally walk up to the station window, steal albums, yell requests, and occasionally terrify overnight DJs. We hear about legendary encounters with future superstars like John Mellencamp, Billy Joel, Brian Adams, Eddie Van Halen, and David Lee Roth before they became household names. Apparently every rock legend passed through St. Louis at some point—and somehow John lived to tell the stories.
The gang digs into radio's golden years, discussing everything from bizarre consultant advice to the strange reality of hearing your younger self on old airchecks and realizing you sounded way more serious than you remembered. John opens up about imposter syndrome, career longevity, and what it feels like knowing generations of listeners grew up listening to him. It turns out even a broadcasting legend still worries someone will eventually figure out he has no idea what he's doing. Good news, John: you're among friends.
Things get weird when stories surface about obsessive listeners, accidental hot-mic moments, profanity accidentally testing radio delay systems, and one particularly unsettling fan who learned to sound exactly like John and may or may not have wanted to wear his skin as a jacket. Just normal radio stuff.
The conversation also dives into John's decades-long role as the Cardinals' PA announcer, including mispronounced player names, emotional rookie debuts, opening day memories, Jack Buck stories, and the pressure of announcing baseball legends in front of thousands of fans. Because apparently public speaking isn't stressful enough unless you're doing it over giant stadium speakers.
Then, because The Rizzuto Show cannot leave well enough alone, the entire interview derails into a game called "Sick in the Head," where John and Lern battle to determine who knows more about horrifying medical conditions. Expect discussions of gout, hemorrhoids, shingles, migraines, tetanus, gallstones, sleep apnea, vitamin deficiencies, and enough symptoms to convince every listener they should immediately schedule a doctor's appointment.
It's a celebration of radio history, St. Louis memories, friendship, mortality, questionable health choices, and the strange beauty of spending a lifetime entertaining people.
If you love classic radio stories, behind-the-scenes broadcasting chaos, Cardinals memories, weird listener encounters, and watching two hypochondriacs become amateur doctors, this episode delivers all of it.
This daily comedy show proves that the best stories come from the people who've been around long enough to collect them.
Whether you're a longtime listener or discovering The Rizzuto Show for the first time, this daily comedy show is packed with laughs, nostalgia, and enough medical misinformation-adjacent panic to keep you entertained all day.
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