The Stephanie Miller Show is a syndicated progressive talk radio program that discusses politics, current events, and pop culture using a fast-paced, impromptu, comedic style. The three-hour show is hosted by Stephanie Miller and is syndicated by Westwood One. Voice artist Jim Ward formerly co-hosted the show and was a recurring guest prior to his retirement from entertainment in 2021 and subsequent death in 2025. Miller is frequently joined on the air by executive producer Jody Hamilton and general manager (and former executive producer) Chris Lavoie. The show debuted on September 7, 2004"Miller is New Progressive Talk Host", Radio World, September 7, 2004 and is broadcast live from Los Angeles, California each weekday morning from 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, on Pacifica station, KPFK in LA, and radio stations throughout the U.S., as well as online, and via SiriusXM Progress Channel 127.Stephanie Miller Show Listing on SiriusXM Progress Webpage The show is also video simulcast live on Free Speech TV. Audio of each day's show is also available commercial-free for download from the show's website via the paid subscription Stephcast, which has been available since June 2005. The radio show should not be confused with Miller's short-lived 1995 syndicated TV talk show with the same name.Netsky, Ron - "Left Laughing: Stephanie Miller Moves from Sister Sleaze to Progressive Radio Queen", Rochester City Newspaper, December 27, 2006Rothschild, Matthew. "Stephanie Miller", The Progressive, September 2006.
Via its affiliate network, satellite radio, online listening, video simulcast, and podcast, The Stephanie Miller Show has a weekly audience of approximately six million listeners.Smith, Bryan - "From Her Los Feliz Basement, Stephanie Miller Is Rallying Millions Against Trump", LA Weekly, June 20, 2017 The show's audience has grown from 1 million in fall 2005 on 40 affiliates."The Top Talk Radio Audiences" , Talkers Magazine, Fall 2005
In 2017, Talkers Magazine ranked Miller the 23rd most important radio talk show host in America.2017 TALKERS Heavy Hundred, TALKERS Magazine, May 22, 2017 In 2011, Miller won the Talkers Magazine Judy Jarvis Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to Talk Radio by a Woman."The Talkers Interview: A Conversation with Stephanie Miller", Talkers Magazine, June 2011
Show history
The Stephanie Miller Show premiered on September 7, 2004. In launching the show, Miller said, "As talk radio has more and more become a sea of right-wing wackos, I think the audience has finally recognized the need to balance that with some good left-wing wackos, and I'm thrilled to be able to fill that need."Miller quote on launching of showStreaming Radio Guide.Com When the show began in 2004, the on-air personalities were Stephanie Miller as host, "Voice Deity" Jim Ward as co-host, and "Boy Toy" Chris Lavoie as Executive Producer, the same team that worked with Miller on her previous radio show from 1997-2000.Stephanie Miller Show 1998 Behind the Scenes - YouTube The show was originally dubbed Operation Take Back America, and primarily consisted of Miller and Ward, with Lavoie interjecting periodically. Lavoie's on-air presence expanded over the years. Associate Producer Rebekah Taylor (nee Baker), who screened phone callers, would also occasionally be heard on air.
The show has been video simulcast since 2010, starting with Ustream from 2010 to 2013,The Stephanie Miller Show , UstreamStephanie Miller Show Facebook Page, November 30, 2010 and Current TV from March 2012 to August 2013. In January 2014 the show began simulcasting on Free Speech TV."Stephanie Miller Show to Air on Free Speech TV", Talker's Magazine, December 23, 2013 In addition, the show was also simulcast on MSNBC for 3 days in April–May 2007.MSNBC Selects the Stephanie Miller Show to Fill the Former Imus Early Morning Program Slot for Three Days Next Week. PR Newswire, April 25, 2007 (For details see TV and video simulcasting).
In addition to broadcast, online listening, and video simulcast options, Miller's show has been available since fall 2004 on satellite radio, originally on Sirius Satellite Radio through July 2007,Sirius Drops Stephanie Miller from Sirius Left, Sirius Backstage, November 14, 2007Sirius Signs Black Activities for Midday Talk Slot, Talking Radio Blogspot, Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Activist for Midday Talk SlotSirius Backstage - November 30, 2007 - post by page fire with text of blog message regarding return to Sirius when it switched to XM Satellite Radio.A peek inside XM's retooled 'America Left', LTR Radio Blogspot, July 10, 2008 In May 2011, the show moved to the merged SiriusXM satellite radio,Stephanie Miller Show Facebook Page, April 29, 2011 - where the entire show is now broadcast live on SiriusXM Progress with a one-hour "best of" on Saturdays and Sundays. (For details see Satellite radio).
Miller's show was broadcast from the KTLK studios in Los Angeles through the end of December 2013. In January 2014, Miller began hosting the show from a studio in her home, following the decision of KTLK to change to an all-conservative talk format and become the flagship station for conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.Woodman, Forest - "Bye-Bye Progressive Radio in Los Angeles", Dick and Sharon's LA Progressive, December 31, 2013 (For details see Production and distribution).
In September 2014, Miller began the commercial-free and uncensored Stephanie Miller's Happy Hour podcast by paid subscription. In early 2018, the podcast launched for free, using sponsors in place of paid subscribers. Paid subscriptions for the video version of the podcast were still available.
Stephanie Miller came out as a lesbian during hour two of the show broadcast on August 13, 2010.
Show format The show is primarily a mix of comedy and politics, featuring a rotating mix of in-studio and phone guests, and listener calls. While most of the show focuses on politically-related topics, these are interspersed with comedic discussions about other current events, pop culture and the personal lives of Miller and others on the show. Because the show can include interviews with political figures among jokes appealing to a juvenile sense of humor, Miller has described the show's format as "senator, fart joke, senator, fart joke."Young, Steve - Bill O'Reilly vs. Stephanie Miller: New Study Evaluates Who's Got More News Cred, HuffPost, December 5, 2006
For many years Miller's co-host was Jim Ward, who imitated a wide number of public figures on the show including political leaders, celebrities, and historical figures. Ward had been with the show since it began in September 2004. He was originally on 5 days per week as co-host, but starting on June 2, 2014, his role was reduced to regular guest appearances (often the 3rd hour on Mondays, dubbed "Maximum Mookage Mondays").Jim Ward@Jim Ward Voices, May 29, 2014 - Jim Ward Twitter Account On November 16, 2015, Ward returned to the show as co-host, and was then on Monday to Thursday for all 3 hours. He also previously worked with Miller on her show in the late nineties on KABC.
Currently sharing co-hosting duties are Chris Lavoie, and Executive Producer Jody Hamilton, serving as show engineer and occasional contributor. Collectively, this group are known as Mama's/Steph's Mooks. Recurring guest co-hosts are Carlos Alazraqui (Wednesdays), Dana Goldberg (Thursdays), and comic duo Frangela (Fridays). Other recurring contributors who regularly call and/or video conference into the show include Lee Papa (The Rude Pundit), the late Eric Boehlert, Charlie Pierce, Bob Cesca, Malcolm Nance, Jackie Schechner, Karl Frisch, and John Fugelsang. The show also regularly features the musical parodies of Rocky Mountain Mike and his collaborators.
Production and distribution The Stephanie Miller Show was launched on September 7, 2004, by WYD Media Management in association with Democracy Radio, and syndicated by Jones Radio Networks. In November 2005, WYD Media Management acquired Democracy Radio's portion of ownership in the show. Dial Global, acquired Jones Radio Networks in 2009, and Dial Global changed its name to Westwood One in 2013. The show is now produced by WYD Media Management, and syndicated nationally by Westwood One.
The show is currently available Monday to Friday live from 6:00 am to 9:00 am Pacific Time, 9:00 am to 12 noon Eastern Time on approximately 40 broadcast radio stations, and can also be heard online via many of these same stations, as well as the Progressive Voices website, Progressive Voices on iTunes, and TuneIn App.Information on listening options on Stephanie Miller Website/ On satellite radio, the show can be heard live on SiriusXM Progress, Channel 127. It is also available on delay via CRN Digital Talk Radio Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 12 noon Pacific Time, noon to 3:00 pm Eastern Time, on CRN Digital Talk 4.Stephanie Miller Show - CRN Talk Website Recorded versions of the show with no commercials are also available on the same day of broadcast, via "The Stephanie Miller Show" podcast, available for free on all major platforms. Recordings of all shows going back to May 1, 2015, along with a few additional previous shows, are available to paid subscribers via the Stephcast audio archives.
Since the show began in September 2004, it has originated from Los Angeles, California except for a short period from December 1, 2009, to July 6, 2010, when it was bi-coastal, with Miller based in New York part-time, while her co-hosts and producers were based in Los Angeles.LiveBlog for Thursday, November 13, 2009 – STEPHANIE MILLER SHOW. Stephaniemiller.com (November 12, 2009). Retrieved 2012-06-11.Audio of the Stephanie Miller Show, May 28, 2010, The White Rose SocietyAudio of the Stephanie Miller Show, July 6, 2010, The White Rose SocietyStephanie Miller, The Stand Up Comic of Progressive Talk Radio, BuzzFlash.Com, June 4, 2007 KTLK in Los Angeles began carrying Miller's show in April 2005.Stephanie Miller Show Finally Back in L.A., LTR Blogspot, April 22, 2005 Until the end of 2013, Miller's show was broadcast from the KTLK studios in Los Angeles, when the station's owner Clear Channel (now IHeart Radio), announced that it was changing formats from progressive talk to conservative talk. Miller and her business partner Ron Hartenbaum, the founder of WYD Media ManagementWYD Media Management Website - Background on Ron Hartenbaum (often referred to by Miller as the "owner of the show who is trying to kill me for the insurance money"),Stephanie Miller Facebook Page, July 21, 2017 decided they could not continue to rely on corporate broadcast entities for studio space, and Miller built a studio in the basement of her home at her own expense. The live program is now produced from Miller's house in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles from 6 am to 9 am Pacific Time weekdays. Upon the advent of the COVID-19 crisis in early 2020, having the home studio left Miller and her show better prepared than most other entertainment enterprises for the stay-at-home restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic. However, Miller's planned 2020 Sexy Liberal Unity Tour was rescheduled after an initial show in Seattle in February 2020.
Satellite radio