A Note from Management

So far, we've posted 61 clips (many of them full shows) from Bob Lassiter's 2-year tenure at WPLP. That's a pretty impressive amount --- but we know there are more out there.

If you taped Bob's shows, please help us keep his voice and words on the air. Contact us at boblassiterairchecks at gmail.com and we'll talk.

Meanwhile, apologies for going as slowly as it has - but please be patient. We will upload all of the shows we have.

Thanks!
Management

The Last WPLP Show

One of the highlights of our collection -- perhaps of any Lassiter collection. A long monologue with a summary of his career thus far, from his early days on St. Thomas up to the night of this show with a special focus on his days at WPLP. Then there's an hour of opening phones with callers wishing Bob well on his new assignment.


DOWNLOAD: The Last WPLP Show
WPLP, August 28, 1987
2:23:29

Expose the Liar

Bob has caught one of his colleagues at the station telling bald-faced lies and asks his audience whether the liar should be exposed. Most of them, however, still want to talk about Bob's imminent departure from the station, and, perhaps, the market.


DOWNLOAD: Expose the Liar
WPLP, August 27, 1987
53:32

Leaving WPLP

After Bob's announced that he's leaving WPLP, all hell breaks loose. Lassiter would later refer to this mad free-for-all as "the original Chat With Bob show."


DOWNLOAD: Leaving WPLP
WPLP, August 26, 1987
52:41

Biblical Quiz

The title pretty much covers it.


DOWNLOAD: Biblical Quiz
WPLP, August 21, 1987
1:28:44

Talk Radio Poll

After lead-in Jack Wheeler criticizes Lassiter for too often doing polls on his show, Lassiter retaliates by...doing a poll. This one is about the Tampa Bay talk show hosts, and which ones are the worst offenders in various aspects of the job. (You'll also hear quite a bit of circa-1987 pop music in the background; It's not Bob providing a soundtrack. The original sender recorded this show over a mix tape.)


DOWNLOAD: Talk Radio Poll
WPLP, August 20, 1987
1:28:44

Never Had It, Never Will

Another quick call from The Petitioner's "friend," Jim.


DOWNLOAD: Never Had It, Never Will
WPLP, August 19, 1987
2:47

South Side Johnny Quickie

A quick one from a very clearly drunk (and incomprehensible) South Side Johnny.


DOWNLOAD: South Side Johnny Quickie
WPLP, August 14, 1987
1:49

Bash Lassiter

This is a frequent topic of Bob's -- he invites listeners to call up and give their best shot at bashing him, which of course his listeners love to do. This one is apparently particularly nasty: reports came later that Bob came home this night after the show to find his wife, Mary, in tears. But Bob himself seems to enjoy this one, for the most part.


DOWNLOAD: Bash Lassiter
WPLP, August 3, 1987
33:51

Rocky's Aftermath

"Have you ever heard me more congenial?" Bob asks at the beginning of this clip. It's an anything-goes Friday night and there's a lot on people's minds --- but one of the most popular topics is Rocky's astonishing outburst from the previous evening.


DOWNLOAD: Rocky's Aftermath
WPLP, July 31, 1987
1:27:04

Rocky Spills the Beans

Rocky, the Rock & Roll Klansman, always makes memorable calls to the Lassiter show; here, he makes one that's not only memorable, it's astonishing. There are some fairly pleasant, harmless calls on this night of open phones, but Rocky's is neither --- and nothing funny in it either.


DOWNLOAD: Rocky Spills the Beans
WPLP, June 30, 1987
1:35:28

Introducing the NFD

The person in this photograph is David Caton, director in 1987 of the National Federation of Decency, Tampa Chapter. On this night they've set their sights on one Bob Lassiter, the beginning of what will be a long battle. Here he takes a full show to begin fighting back.


DOWNLOAD: Introducing the NFD
WPLP, July 23, 1987
2:30:05

The Rocky Manifesto

This phone call is Rocky the Rock & Roll Klansman 101. He calls in and tells you exactly what he stands for.


DOWNLOAD: The Rocky Manifesto
WPLP, July 3, 1987
9:40

Automated Callers

It's open phones night, and the callers are getting a little silly, so Bob pads out the hour with a dose of his ever popular automated callers.


DOWNLOAD: Automated Callers
WPLP, June 26, 1987
13:35

Bob Lassiter vs. Rabbi Jan Bresky, Round II

This is Bob's second on-air debate with his friend and protege, Rabbi Jan Bresky, this time on Bresky's Sunday evening WPLP show "It's Your Faith." It's a contentious, quite bruising debate over whether there's such a thing as a "personal relationship with God." (NOTE: We do not have the first Lassiter vs. Bresky debate. If you have a tape, please e-mail us!)


DOWNLOAD: Bob Lassiter vs. Rabbi Jan Bresky, Round II
WPLP, June 21, 1987
47:40

High Risk Groups

During a discussion about AIDS and what to do about it, an elderly woman calls in and calls for mandatory AIDS testing for "high risk groups." This turns out to include Bob. One of his quicker rises to anger.


DOWNLOAD - High Risk Groups
WPLP, June 10, 1987
4:37

James F. Cumber Jr.

At the start of the show Bob tells us that he finds Mr. Cumber's book "very interesting," which you always know means it's going to be wackadoo. Indeed, his book is a discussion of Cold War strategic solutions and the Biblical frame of reference for them. It won't be a surprise to learn that googling Mr. Cumber's name today turns up commentary by him on birther sites.


DOWNLOAD - James F. Cumber Jr.
WPLP, June 5, 1987
1:35:17

Sheryl Browne

One of Bob's most popular and notorious shows finds him tackling local Channel 10 news anchor Sheryl Browne and her sappy, gag-inducing mediocrity. He uses Sheryl as a surrogate for the entire Tampa Bay media landscape and gets a flood of calls in general agreement; this show actually led to an aborted lawsuit against WPLP by Channel 10.


DOWNLOAD - Sheryl Browne
WPLP, June 2, 1987
2:21:25

The State of Talk Radio

A phone-heavy discussion on the problems of talk radio in the 1980s --- and the problems in Florida and/or Tampa Bay talk radio in particular. It also contains two calls from the man who will shortly become known as The Liar.

DOWNLOAD - The State of Talk Radio
WPLP, May 25, 1987
31:44

USS Stark: Five Questions

Bob follows up on the previous night's discussion, throwing it to the audience to discuss the details: What's our policy in the Middle East? Why are we there? And how will we respond to this or future incidents? The responses are generally thoughtless.

DOWNLOAD - USS Stark: Five Questions
WPLP, May 19, 1987
2:15:24

Requiem for the USS Stark

Over the weekend, the navy frigate USS Stark was attacked by Iraqi jets in the Persian Gulf, killing 37. Iraq claimed it was an accident; Reagan says the men will not have died in vain. A furious Bob takes to the air to call bullshit on Reagan and to outline why America's policy on the Gulf proves that they did indeed die in vain.

DOWNLOAD - Requiem for the USS Stark
WPLP, May 18, 1987
2:24:30

Classic Calls with Dr. Lois Mueller

The first hour of this show is open phones, and we hear a bit of that. The rest features Dr. Lois Mueller, a Tampa psychologist who formerly hosted a show on WPLP, as Bob plays her classic calls to his show and invites her to give impromptu psychoanalysis. Good stuff, and a chance to hear some favorites.

DOWNLOAD - Classic Calls with Dr. Lois Mueller
WPLP, May 15, 1987
1:57:51

Bible Contradictions and Absurdities

An epic--one of the finest of Bob's career. He starts from Genesis and moves all the way through to the New Testament in addressing the fallacies and contradictions and downright impossibilities that permeate the Bible. Truly amazing.

DOWNLOAD - Bible Contradictions and Absurdities
WPLP, May 14, 1987
2:09:00

Fruitcake's Full Moon

It's a full moon in Tampa Bay, and we all know what that means! Actually, though, most of the callers on this full moon night aren't so much weird --- they're just dull. Then, of course, there's Fruitcake, Bob's old nemesis from the talk radio world of Miami.


DOWNLOAD: Fruitcake's Full Moon
WPLP, May 13, 1987
2:16:04

Fighting Phone Phobia

Well, at any rate, Bob does start off the program giving tips for fighting phone phobia. Really, though, this is yet another open phones program, albeit one with a larger than usual assortment of weirdos. It does include an unusual conversation between Rocky, the Rock & Roll Klansman, and a black woman listener, plus an angry caller we'll eventually hear more from.


DOWNLOAD: Fighting Phone Phobia
WPLP, May 12, 1987
2:14:49

Back to Basics

A list of questions in several categories: sex, religion, politics, and The Big Three, as Bob calls them (abortion, gun control, and the death penalty). You can probably predict where it goes from there, but it's fun hearing it go there nonetheless.


DOWNLOAD - Back to Basics
WPLP, May 11, 1987
2:16:43