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The Al Franken Show is the flagship talk show of Air America Radio. Hosted by Al Franken and Katherine Lanpher, it features commentary and interviews arguing for liberal positions on the issues of the day, and comedy poking fun at conservatives. The show premiered as The O'Franken Factor on March 31, 2004.
Franken is a comedian and satirist who is well known for his books and his earlier role as a writer/performer on Saturday Night Live, while Lanpher is an experienced journalist who had most recently worked for Minnesota Public Radio and was formerly a newspaper columnist.
When the show began, Franken signed a one-year contract. "I'm doing this because I want to use my energies to get Bush unelected. I'd be happy if the election of a Democrat ended the show," he said in an interview with The New York Times. The continued expansion of the show's network as well as more recent comments from Franken himself make the likelihood of that end less and less likely.
Since September 7, 2004, Sundance Channel has broadcast a one-hour televised version of the show on weekdays. The channel announced that the broadcasts will continue into November.
The O'Franken Factor
Until July 12, 2004 the name of the show was The O'Franken Factor. That name was a jibe at Bill O'Reilly and his The O'Reilly Factor. O'Reilly is thought by some to have instigated Fox News Channel's lawsuit against Franken for using their trademarked phrase "fair and balanced", which was thrown out of court in summary judgment, but ended up giving publicity to Franken and his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.
Franken described his show as taking place in a "Zero Spin Zone" where Franken pledges to tell the truth. This is also a reference to O'Reilly and Fox, where some shows say they are in a "No Spin Zone."
Guests
The show's regular guests include David Brock, Joe Conason, James Fallows, Christy Harvey, Paul Krugman, and David Sirota. Also making a near-daily appearance is Mark Luther, Franken's childhood friend and self-proclaimed dittohead, who discusses remarks made by Rush Limbaugh.
The show's guests during its first three weeks included:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|
| 3/29 | 3/30 |
3/31
Bob Kerrey, Michael Moore, Bebe Neuwirth (as Ann Coulter), G. Gordon Liddy, David Sirota, Bob Elliott, Robert Smigel, Ben Stein, Chuck D, Al Gore |
4/1
Hillary Clinton, Robert Reich |
4/2
Richard Clarke, Paul Krugman |
4/5
James Fallows, Ron Suskind |
4/6
David Kay, John Dean |
4/7
Jon Stewart, Fred Kaplan |
4/8
Michael Isikoff, Howard Fineman, Gail Sheehy, Michael Kinsley |
4/9
John Kerry, Daryl Worley, Karri Turner, Andy Breckman |
4/12
David Cay Johnston, Sherrod Brown |
4/13
James Carville, Michael Elliott |
4/14
Walter Cronkite, Jonathan Alter |
4/15
Neal Boortz, Samantha Power, Lawrence O'Donnell |
4/16
Richard Ben-Veniste, Jason Flom, John Martin, Kellie Mann, Helen Thomas |
Other guests have included
Swing State Tour
As the 2004 U.S. presidential election approaches, the show is going on a "Swing State Tour" which includes stops in
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