Howard Stern Is Wrong; His Show Has Never Been Worse

On Tuesday, Howard Stern officially announced that he has signed a three-year extension with SiriusXM. Over the summer, British tabloids falsely reported that he was leaving the company, which led to a comedic bit during his fall return.

While details remain unclear, the savvy radio host has consistently managed to earn more money and work less with each new deal from Sirius over the past 20 years. During his last contract, Stern hosted about 120 new shows per year.

This time, Stern essentially confirmed that he will host even fewer.

"I'm happy to announce that I figured out a way to have it all. More free time and continuing to be on the radio. So, yes, we are coming back for three years," Stern told listeners during his last show of 2025.

Among the motivating factors, Stern said he believes his show has never been better.

"Thanks to the good folks here at SiriusXM, who, I told you, I really do adore," he added. "I was really torn up… I still do love being on the radio. I think the show is better than ever. I really do believe that in my heart."

Better than ever, huh?

We suspect that no longtime Stern listener would agree with that statement. Put bluntly, Howard Stern is a shell of his former self. And no one would hate Howard Stern of the 2020s more than Howard Stern of the 1990s. He has become the exact type of comforted simp for groupthink that he spent decades viciously mocking.

Don’t take our word for it. Take his:

"I am a woke motherfu**er, and I love it," he said in 2023. "I kind of take that as a compliment, that I’m woke. I’ll tell you how I feel about it. To me the opposite of woke is being asleep. And if woke means I can’t get behind Trump, which is what I think it means, or that I support people who want to be transgender or I’m for the vaccine, dude, call me woke as you fu**ing want."

Got it.

And if you vote for Trump, Stern asks that you turn the channel.

"I don't hate Trump. I hate the people who vote for him. I think they are stupid. I do. I have no respect for them," he said last fall. "I'm at the end of my career, so fu** you and listen to another station if you don't like my views [on Trump]."

Oh.

Consider that this is the same shock jock who was hardly political during his rise. Stern was the original Joe Rogan, a media disruptor who played by his own rules. 

Not anymore. He now often sounds like an anchor on MS Now, but with the autonomy to curse.

"Howard Stern has become a complete and total pussy," OutKick founder Clay Travis often states:

Still, we won't criticize SiriusXM for re-signing him. 

Part of his value stems from his show's decades worth of archives, around which Sirius has built a second channel called Howard 101. (Howard 100 airs his live show, as well as recent episodes.)

Nonetheless, we suspect even his bosses scoff at his claim that the show has never been better.