November 30, 2024 • 24 mins
Jordan Rich, iconic Boston broadcaster and long-time host of the Jordan Rich Show, discusses his notable career in radio, podcasting, production, public speaking and charitable endeavors. In addition, Jordan speaks candidly about his recent battle with Parkinson’s disease.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is What's at Risk with Mike Christian on wb Z,
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Hi, Mike Christian, hero of What's at Risk. First up
on tonight's show, we have a special Encore edition with
Jordan Rich, iconic Boston broadcaster and a longtime host of
The Jordan Rich Show. He discusses his notable career in radio, podcasting, production,
public speaking, and charitable endeavors. In addition, Jordan speaks candidly
(00:30):
about his recent battle with Parkinson's disease, and in our
second segment, we speak with Lauda de Diminicius, executive director
of Nurturing Minds, and Elena Green, an award winning student
at Sega Girls' School in Tanzania. They speak warmly and
dispassionately about the challenges that young women face in Tanzania
(00:51):
and the mission of Nurturing Minds and Sega Girls' School
to support quality education and leadership skills to inspire at
risk girls in Tanzania to become leaders in their communities.
Jordan Rich has been a respected Boston broadcaster for over
forty years, and his passion for the business remains as
strong as ever. He's been heard on Boston's WBZAM ten
(01:15):
thirty for over twenty five years, including a twenty year
run as host of the popular Jordan Rich Show, a
late night talk show that garnered listeners from across the nation. Currently,
Jordan produces and hosts a variety of features on the station,
including the WBZ New England Weekend, Connoisseur's Corner, the WBZ
(01:37):
book Club now streaming with Jordan, and The Upside with Jordan.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Dick Dick couns. It's all.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
All right, Well, we're honored to have Jordan Rich join
us for this edition of What's It Rising.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I'm doing well. I'm often heard on this radio station,
but not with you, so it's a pleasure mic.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, the pleasure is all mine. Believe me. Jordan, You've
been a well known figure on this station, almost iconic
figure on the Boston broadcasting scene for decades. Tell our
listeners just a little bit about your background.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Well, I am very lucky in that I've been able
to work in one market, the market I grew up
in since the late nineteen seventies, and I've been at
WBZ nearly thirty years. Are to believe, and it's I
equate it not that I'm in any way, shape or
form excelling in this area. But I equate it to
playing left field at Fenway Park. There haven't been too
(02:42):
many people who have had that opportunity, and it's such
an honor and such a thrill to still be doing
it after all these years.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Now. You started your career as a weather reporter. I
think on WRKO in nineteen seventy eight. That's a long
time ago.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Remember the blizzard of seventy eight?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
You remember that, mic I don't because I was living
in California at the time, but I've heard about it
so many times I feel like I almost experienced it.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Yeah, it was pretty awesome. And the days before cell
phones and full wheel drives and all that kind of stuff,
it was really amazing. So that was my start right
after that, and then I graduated to talk and music
and then back to talk and everything in between.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Right, and what inspired you to pursue radio as a
lifelong career. Were we ever tempted by television?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
No, not really, although I've done television and I find
it to be not quite as creative for talent because
so many things are done for you and with you,
and with radio or with podcasting. It's just you and
the microphone and the guest or whatever. But I grew
up in the nineteen sixties. I had a transistor radio
plugged my ear all night long, and I was just fascinated.
(03:53):
I have a vivid imagination and liked the idea of
creating pictures in the mind. And one thing led to another,
and I did a lot of acting in high school
and college. But there's nothing like being on air because
you don't have to shave and you don't have to
put on any makeup, but you can create a world.
And it's been the joy of my career has been
the ability to sort of create, if not an event
(04:18):
or a moment of feeling. And I think that's the
great honor that I have.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, that's terrific. And you certainly have the voice. I'll
tell you, Jordan, that's You've got a tremendous voice for radio.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Well a little state fever or something right now, But
thank you, my guy.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
I tell the difference.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Now. In twenty sixteen, you retired from your very long
time gig, the Jordan Rich Show, and that was on WBZ.
What prompted you to do that?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Well, this is not the first time I have quote
unquote retired. I see, I'm like Jack Benny. I keep
retiring and coming back for a farewell special. I was
recently remarried in twenty my first wife passed away years earlier,
and I decided, after working so many weekends and late nights,
that it was a new start, a new life, and
(05:12):
a new bride. I thought it was about time I
pulled back. And you know, not to sound too corny
about this, but Jerry Seinfeld did it, Jackie Gleason did it.
I mean, I don't equate myself with them, but people
who step away when they're at the top of their
game as opposed to letting it, you know, dribble out.
So I decided, you know, I'd rather do other things
(05:33):
and continue on. And they allowed me to continue on
in many capacities, so it worked out well, and getting
sleep again was quite a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I don't know that you actually stepped away. You're a
voiceover coach, a teacher, a speaker, a writer, a podcast host.
What else? Anything? Am I missing? Anything?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Well, it's interesting how things have evolved. I mean, what
you're doing on air and what I'm doing on air.
I mean, it's on air, but it's also on the
digital spectrum. So yes, all the things you mentioned, plus
audio books. I'm loving that aspect of my work and
that's very creative and theater of the mind. Like, so yeah,
(06:13):
all the stuff that's related to radio and broadcasting, what
I learned, I'm able to still do and creatively pump
out and that's what keeps me moving, keeps me going.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And you also have a company called Chart Productions and
full disclosure for our listeners, your partner, Ken Carvery is
the producer for What's at Risk and that's been around
for a long time. What's the focus of that organization.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
The focus of that organization is two guys who absolutely
get along. For forty five years, we're like a married couple.
We've had a tremendous run. Not suggesting we've made a
lot of money doing what we've done. We never started
out with that intention, but we've had great satisfaction. We've
done a lot of amazing projects, work with great people,
(06:58):
including you, and it's you know, when you have fun
coming to work or going to work or doing something
that's work related, you enjoy it. There's no greater, I
think miracle in life than that. Because it's just so
many people are not happy going to their jobs every day.
We are, my partner and I. So it's worked out
(07:20):
really well.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
And so you're doing in chart, you're doing a vast
array of different things, mostly in the audio area obviously,
but and I know it because you're producing our show.
But what are some of the things that you touch
upon with that organization?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Well, as I mentioned podcasts, this has been the greatest
media boom in the last twenty five thirty years. I mean,
think about it. The idea that anyone can put their
thoughts on digital tape, if you will, if there's a
sort of thing can put their thoughts out there, can
broadcast in a sense to the world, not just wherever
(07:59):
the intent that takes you. So that's enabled us to
work with dozens of different types of clients from all
aspects of life, from the legal profession to medical too, frivolous,
I'll call it, comic book stuff, you name it, everything
in between. So that's been very creative and a lot
of fun. And then I do my own thing. I mean,
I've been interviewing people for years. I've got almost five
(08:21):
hundred episodes of my own podcast, and it's in writing
the pieces I do for WBZ every weekend. I do
twenty actual pieces of production a week, and some say
that seems like a lot. I've got it down to
a science pretty easy, and I really enjoy that. So
(08:41):
everything combined, it's all.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Part of the art.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
It's all part of the art of doing what we
do creatively in the audio spectrum, and it's very, very,
very rewarding.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Do you think we're a little oversaturated with podcasts? I mean,
I can't imagine any company, or any so celebrity or
any anybody just a guy like me as a podcast.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
So I'm going to answer that it probably in an
unexpected I don't think that's the case at all. I
think what's beautiful about the podcast platform is that it's
targeted media, and unlike TV, where you're flipping channels and
you know, clicking your remote, you can avoid any podcast
on say retirement or geology or geometry. You can just
(09:28):
avoid all of them. You don't ever have to even
think about them. But if you want to hear a
podcast with somebody like Mike Christian and the topics that
Mike wants to bring up and present to the world,
there's your opportunity. So because it's unlike the broadcast spectrum,
it's totally unlimited. I mean, there's just no it's infinity
and beyond. To quote a famous astronaut, it's very much
(09:50):
a pliable kind of thing. And I listen to certain podcasts.
You listen to certain podcasts, and millions of people listen
to millions of other podcast So that's the beauty of
it in my opinion.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, well that's heartening. Yeah, there's a bright future for
what's at risk.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Thank you, absolutely absolutely so.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Who were some of your mentors along the way. I'm
sure you got asked that question all the time, but
I always like to ask that question. Our listeners are
always interested.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
One of my favorite questions. My mentors were the radio
giants who handled the all night radio shows back in
the sixties, seventies, eighties, and locally, I would say the
likes of and I don't know if you're familiar with
these names because you're from other parts of the country,
but Jess Cain, Larry Glick, Norm Nathan these are all
(10:41):
long gone veterans, but these were the ones who inspired me.
And even baseball announcers like Ned Martin and Vince Scully,
so many others who could tell stories long John Neville
in New York, Barry Farber. These were talk show hosts
I admired again from the sixties. Those were the ones
that inspired me. And I ended up working with a
(11:03):
lot of these people and getting to know them, which
was a real thrill.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, we have one similarity in all those inspirations, and
that's Vin Scully grew up listening to Vinnie. I grew
up in la and I was a huge Dodger fan,
and I had my little transistor radio under the pillow
every night with Vinscott.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Of course, and it's like here too. I mean Johnny
Most with the Celtics, and as I said, Ned Martin
and Ken Coleman, I got to know them both. These
are people who just naturally have a gift, and they
were kind enough even if they didn't know it, to
mentor people like me sharing that gift. So it's really fun.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Well, one last question on your career before we shift topics.
You've interviewed a bunch of notable people in your career,
Nicky Rooney, William Shatner, Roger Moore, and a slew of others.
What was your most memorable or maybe even your most
impactful interview.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Most memorable interviews. Two of them, and both were senior,
so that both were in their nineties at the time.
One was Stan Lee, the creator of Marvel Comics. He
and I became good buddies doing a couple of different
shows together. And Carl Reiner, the comic genius. Those were
two of my favorites. I mean, I could go on
and on and on, but those were two of my
(12:17):
absolute faves, and they were both sparkling personalities in their nineties.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yeah, Carl Reiner was an amazing Yeah meety quit spectacular.
So let me shift topics a little bit, Jordan and
talk about the fact that you you went public recently
about your diagnosis with Parkinson's disease. What prompted you to
do that? That's a personal thing when people are, you know,
(12:43):
have something, and I know you're a person that gifts
back and tries to triest to be an example, But
what prompted you to do that?
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Well, I was diagnosed back in October of twenty three.
I probably had the symptoms that I didn't recognize for
some time before that. That's what usually happens in these cases.
And because I was faced with the need, if you will,
might to give up some things so that I could rest,
(13:12):
and one of the things I would have to give
up would be filling in for Dan Ray on nights
side and filling in for Morgan or whatever. And I
also knew instinctively that I had shared the with the
audience in the past, when I had my all night show,
I had shared issues with them that were very personal
to me, but I felt cathartically very well about doing it.
(13:35):
And one of them was the passing of my first
wife that whole episode, and the other one was quite frankly,
mental health. I mean having depression and anxiety for much
of my not much of my adult life, but for
part of my adult life. I found sharing was helpful.
When it came time to share the diagnosis with Parkinson's,
(13:55):
I felt differently about this than anything else. Nothing to
be ashamed of, nothing to be hiding, nothing to you,
There's no stigma to it. People of all stripes are
getting this horrible disease. And I say horrible because it is,
but it's also the snowflake disease. Everyone's different. No symptoms
are exactly alike, no one's path is exactly alike. But
(14:16):
I said to myself, well, let me do at least
one more show if they'll allow me live a to
midnight when Dan was on vacation and at least present
not only my story, but more importantly the story. So
we did four hours, and I wanted to reflect on
chronic illness and what it's like. I'm a guy who's
never had a hangnail in my life. I mean, I've
(14:37):
been the healthiest as you can imagine, and right now
you can describe this better than me, Mike. I mean
my guns. I mean, I am working out like a fiend,
which is what you have to do, and I feel
great in a lot of respects. I'm very healthy, but
I do have this condition. So anything we can do,
we collectively in the community can do to raise awareness.
As you may know, the President's signed a bill the
(15:00):
Congress passed all out war on Parkinson's, and it's a
war worth fighting. So I hope that I can help
raise money and awareness as I go.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Along, and for the community, I'll give some stats. More
than six million people worldwide live with Parkinson's. It's the
second most common neurological disorder. This year alone, approximately sixty
thousand new cases will be diagnosed in the United States.
Yet there's no cure for it, is there.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
There's no cure, but there are treatments. There are new
developments thanks to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Davis
Finny Foundation, the Parkinson's Associations, and they're getting closer to
figuring out why, and genetic markers perhaps that dictate who
is likely to perhaps deal with it and what people
(15:50):
in this position of any kind learn. And I'm having
to learn it the hard way is you have to
live in the moment. You can't think about ten years
from now or ten weeks from now. You have to
live for today. Not easy, by the way, And I've
had my struggles with the non motor symptoms, as everybody does.
But there's hope and there's a lot of money and
(16:12):
a lot of interest in research. So I would say
for those people newly diagnosed, and I'm sort of newly diagnosed,
it's a better time than it was twenty five years ago,
and we're getting closer every day to finding better cures,
better treatments.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
What are some of the early symptoms.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Well, for many people, it's posture. I was stooped over
and I thought that was just a case of working
in the studio over the computer. For others, it's obviously
balance issues, not a problem with me. I mean, there
are all kinds of warning signs that people will neglect.
(16:48):
I'd tell you one that's the strangest, and people will
say loss of smell is another. One. One that's really
strange is something called REM sleep disorder, which I happen
to have. It involves talking and acting out in your sleep,
acting out your dreams instead of during rem being and
this is not a bad thing being comotose. While you're dreaming,
(17:09):
you are basically moving, and there's a direct correlation. I
think seventy percent of people with REM sleep are likely
to develop Parkinson's. So I'm learning every day about all
this stuff and learning how to deal with that while
I try to deal with the daytime symptoms.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Yeah, I guess, because as you mentioned, the symptoms can
be so desperate for different people. The people do have
to pay attention to little changes, just those types of
neurological type of changes, right.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, and most of the people in yours truly included Mike.
Denial is the first issue. I mean, you say that's
not me, I'm not an old guy. I'm not bent over,
I'm not trembling. I have no tremor. But it is
what it is. And as soon as you develop a
good plan, and the key is to have a good team,
(18:03):
whether you're a motor specialist, a neurologist, certainly your regular docs,
and then an exercise program. I'm a boxer now, I
do a lot of boxing, which is one of the
best therapies. So you have to do this, and one
of the watchwords is fighting back. You'd have to fight
back because it's not a killer, but it'll grind you
(18:25):
down if you'll let it get to you.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Right now, there's been a lot of attention paid to
the debate between Trump and Biden a couple of weeks ago,
along with some speculation that maybe President Biden might be
suffering from Parkinson's. So that was just putting some data
points together. There's been no corroboration from anyone else about that.
What are your thoughts around that? Do you see them
and what do you think about that possibility.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I'm not a doctor, I'm not a neurologist, but I
have a very close association with Parkinson's. As we've been
discussing and to me, it's a likelihood that there's something
neurological going on, and Parkinson seems he seems to have
many of the traits I mean, particularly of advanced Parkinson's,
you know, the gate, the slow gate, the frozen smile,
(19:15):
difficulty finding words, et cetera, et cetera. I mean that
there are cognitive impacts to people some people, and there
are physical impacts to some people, no matter.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
What it is.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
I mean, it's definitely a decline for a man in
his position, and I actually, you know, politics aside. I
feel sad for the guy. I really do.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Oh for sure. Yeah, it's moving into legacy sort of impact,
and that's unfortunate. After a long and storied career. You've
been an active supporter of many organizations and charities including
Boston Children Hospital, Mass General Voices of Hope, Upstage Lung Cancer,
Metro West, Jewish Family Services, go on and on, and
(20:01):
now you're starting to give back with Parkinson's. Tell us
a little bit about that.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Well, it's a cause celeb for me now because I've
got it, and I also know people in the community,
and knowing people in the community has been the blessing.
No one wants a disease like this, but you get
to meet some really amazing, wonderful, sweet people. And it's
not just the money for research. It's the money for
(20:29):
exercise programs, it's the money for socialization programs, it's the
money for you name it. I mean, a gear that
people might need, and it's just the you know, with
my big mouth, I can get a lot of attention
to stuff and alert the public to events and fundraising
and so forth. So it's a good cause. It's a
(20:52):
good cause for me right now. It's sort of where
I'm supposed to be and happy to take up the charge.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Where does that desire to help people come from? Jordan?
Did you grow up with that kind of an influence.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
I mean, sure, my parents were very giving and believed
in helping others, and I just think this is not
anything profound. But when you give, you get. I think
when you feel as though you're making a difference in
the lives of one person or a dozen, or ten thousand,
whatever it might be, there's an amazing high that one gets.
(21:31):
And it's not an ego stroke, although your ego does
get some feeding in the process, but it's a very
special feeling. I'm of the Jewish faith, and there's an
expression that I love called ta kuno lum, which basically means,
you know, you save one life, you save the world.
And that's a little dramatic, but it's important, I think,
(21:52):
for all of us in the short time we have
here on the planet to do what we can to
give back, because you always read what you sew, and
so many people I've met have done so much for
so many and their rewards are definitely visible. They may
not be material, but they're visible.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Now, you're going to be writing in the New England
Parkinson's Ride, which I think is the largest Team Fox,
Michael J. Fox's charity single day fundraising event in the world,
which is pretty impressive. Maybe you just tell our listeners
just a little bit about that.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Sure, I'm not writing in the ride itself in Maine
the day of. I'm doing it virtually, in other words,
in my own gym. So every couple of days I
do four or five miles to work up to one
hundred miles, which is not that tough when you're not
going anywhere. Folks can go to the Michael J. Fox
Foundation website to find out more about the various rides.
(22:54):
Your show is heard in a lot of places, so
there's a lot of opportunity. If you go to my
Facebook page, Rich Show on Facebook. I think there's a
little piece I wrote there and I'm going to update
that as soon as possible. And yeah, it's just a
a It's great because it's exercise, it's movement. You know,
(23:15):
if we were just saying please give us money, that's
one thing. But it's people moving, using their bodies, doing
what they can to fight back. So that's why it's
a really special charitable event.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yeah, well, that's great that you're doing that and giving back.
We have been speaking with Jordan Rich Jordan, it's been
such a pleasure for me and a privilege to have
you on the show. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Well, Mike turn the Boats fair Play. You were a
guest on my podcast and you did a great job
and it's an honor to be with you. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
We'll be right back after the news at the bottom
of the hour.
This is What's at Risk with Mike Christian on wb Z,
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Hi, Mike Christian, hero of What's at Risk. First up
on tonight's show, we have a special Encore edition with
Jordan Rich, iconic Boston broadcaster and a longtime host of
The Jordan Rich Show. He discusses his notable career in radio, podcasting, production,
public speaking, and charitable endeavors. In addition, Jordan speaks candidly
(00:30):
about his recent battle with Parkinson's disease, and in our
second segment, we speak with Lauda de Diminicius, executive director
of Nurturing Minds, and Elena Green, an award winning student
at Sega Girls' School in Tanzania. They speak warmly and
dispassionately about the challenges that young women face in Tanzania
(00:51):
and the mission of Nurturing Minds and Sega Girls' School
to support quality education and leadership skills to inspire at
risk girls in Tanzania to become leaders in their communities.
Jordan Rich has been a respected Boston broadcaster for over
forty years, and his passion for the business remains as
strong as ever. He's been heard on Boston's WBZAM ten
(01:15):
thirty for over twenty five years, including a twenty year
run as host of the popular Jordan Rich Show, a
late night talk show that garnered listeners from across the nation. Currently,
Jordan produces and hosts a variety of features on the station,
including the WBZ New England Weekend, Connoisseur's Corner, the WBZ
(01:37):
book Club now streaming with Jordan, and The Upside with Jordan.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Dick Dick couns. It's all.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
All right, Well, we're honored to have Jordan Rich join
us for this edition of What's It Rising.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I'm doing well. I'm often heard on this radio station,
but not with you, so it's a pleasure mic.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, the pleasure is all mine. Believe me. Jordan, You've
been a well known figure on this station, almost iconic
figure on the Boston broadcasting scene for decades. Tell our
listeners just a little bit about your background.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Well, I am very lucky in that I've been able
to work in one market, the market I grew up
in since the late nineteen seventies, and I've been at
WBZ nearly thirty years. Are to believe, and it's I
equate it not that I'm in any way, shape or
form excelling in this area. But I equate it to
playing left field at Fenway Park. There haven't been too
(02:42):
many people who have had that opportunity, and it's such
an honor and such a thrill to still be doing
it after all these years.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Now. You started your career as a weather reporter. I
think on WRKO in nineteen seventy eight. That's a long
time ago.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Remember the blizzard of seventy eight?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
You remember that, mic I don't because I was living
in California at the time, but I've heard about it
so many times I feel like I almost experienced it.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Yeah, it was pretty awesome. And the days before cell
phones and full wheel drives and all that kind of stuff,
it was really amazing. So that was my start right
after that, and then I graduated to talk and music
and then back to talk and everything in between.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Right, and what inspired you to pursue radio as a
lifelong career. Were we ever tempted by television?
Speaker 1 (03:30):
No, not really, although I've done television and I find
it to be not quite as creative for talent because
so many things are done for you and with you,
and with radio or with podcasting. It's just you and
the microphone and the guest or whatever. But I grew
up in the nineteen sixties. I had a transistor radio
plugged my ear all night long, and I was just fascinated.
(03:53):
I have a vivid imagination and liked the idea of
creating pictures in the mind. And one thing led to another,
and I did a lot of acting in high school
and college. But there's nothing like being on air because
you don't have to shave and you don't have to
put on any makeup, but you can create a world.
And it's been the joy of my career has been
the ability to sort of create, if not an event
(04:18):
or a moment of feeling. And I think that's the
great honor that I have.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, that's terrific. And you certainly have the voice. I'll
tell you, Jordan, that's You've got a tremendous voice for radio.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Well a little state fever or something right now, But
thank you, my guy.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
I tell the difference.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Now. In twenty sixteen, you retired from your very long
time gig, the Jordan Rich Show, and that was on WBZ.
What prompted you to do that?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Well, this is not the first time I have quote
unquote retired. I see, I'm like Jack Benny. I keep
retiring and coming back for a farewell special. I was
recently remarried in twenty my first wife passed away years earlier,
and I decided, after working so many weekends and late nights,
that it was a new start, a new life, and
(05:12):
a new bride. I thought it was about time I
pulled back. And you know, not to sound too corny
about this, but Jerry Seinfeld did it, Jackie Gleason did it.
I mean, I don't equate myself with them, but people
who step away when they're at the top of their
game as opposed to letting it, you know, dribble out.
So I decided, you know, I'd rather do other things
(05:33):
and continue on. And they allowed me to continue on
in many capacities, so it worked out well, and getting
sleep again was quite a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I don't know that you actually stepped away. You're a
voiceover coach, a teacher, a speaker, a writer, a podcast host.
What else? Anything? Am I missing? Anything?
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Well, it's interesting how things have evolved. I mean, what
you're doing on air and what I'm doing on air.
I mean, it's on air, but it's also on the
digital spectrum. So yes, all the things you mentioned, plus
audio books. I'm loving that aspect of my work and
that's very creative and theater of the mind. Like, so yeah,
(06:13):
all the stuff that's related to radio and broadcasting, what
I learned, I'm able to still do and creatively pump
out and that's what keeps me moving, keeps me going.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And you also have a company called Chart Productions and
full disclosure for our listeners, your partner, Ken Carvery is
the producer for What's at Risk and that's been around
for a long time. What's the focus of that organization.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
The focus of that organization is two guys who absolutely
get along. For forty five years, we're like a married couple.
We've had a tremendous run. Not suggesting we've made a
lot of money doing what we've done. We never started
out with that intention, but we've had great satisfaction. We've
done a lot of amazing projects, work with great people,
(06:58):
including you, and it's you know, when you have fun
coming to work or going to work or doing something
that's work related, you enjoy it. There's no greater, I
think miracle in life than that. Because it's just so
many people are not happy going to their jobs every day.
We are, my partner and I. So it's worked out
(07:20):
really well.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
And so you're doing in chart, you're doing a vast
array of different things, mostly in the audio area obviously,
but and I know it because you're producing our show.
But what are some of the things that you touch
upon with that organization?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Well, as I mentioned podcasts, this has been the greatest
media boom in the last twenty five thirty years. I mean,
think about it. The idea that anyone can put their
thoughts on digital tape, if you will, if there's a
sort of thing can put their thoughts out there, can
broadcast in a sense to the world, not just wherever
(07:59):
the intent that takes you. So that's enabled us to
work with dozens of different types of clients from all
aspects of life, from the legal profession to medical too, frivolous,
I'll call it, comic book stuff, you name it, everything
in between. So that's been very creative and a lot
of fun. And then I do my own thing. I mean,
I've been interviewing people for years. I've got almost five
(08:21):
hundred episodes of my own podcast, and it's in writing
the pieces I do for WBZ every weekend. I do
twenty actual pieces of production a week, and some say
that seems like a lot. I've got it down to
a science pretty easy, and I really enjoy that. So
(08:41):
everything combined, it's all.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Part of the art.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
It's all part of the art of doing what we
do creatively in the audio spectrum, and it's very, very,
very rewarding.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Do you think we're a little oversaturated with podcasts? I mean,
I can't imagine any company, or any so celebrity or
any anybody just a guy like me as a podcast.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
So I'm going to answer that it probably in an
unexpected I don't think that's the case at all. I
think what's beautiful about the podcast platform is that it's
targeted media, and unlike TV, where you're flipping channels and
you know, clicking your remote, you can avoid any podcast
on say retirement or geology or geometry. You can just
(09:28):
avoid all of them. You don't ever have to even
think about them. But if you want to hear a
podcast with somebody like Mike Christian and the topics that
Mike wants to bring up and present to the world,
there's your opportunity. So because it's unlike the broadcast spectrum,
it's totally unlimited. I mean, there's just no it's infinity
and beyond. To quote a famous astronaut, it's very much
(09:50):
a pliable kind of thing. And I listen to certain podcasts.
You listen to certain podcasts, and millions of people listen
to millions of other podcast So that's the beauty of
it in my opinion.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, well that's heartening. Yeah, there's a bright future for
what's at risk.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Thank you, absolutely absolutely so.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Who were some of your mentors along the way. I'm
sure you got asked that question all the time, but
I always like to ask that question. Our listeners are
always interested.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
One of my favorite questions. My mentors were the radio
giants who handled the all night radio shows back in
the sixties, seventies, eighties, and locally, I would say the
likes of and I don't know if you're familiar with
these names because you're from other parts of the country,
but Jess Cain, Larry Glick, Norm Nathan these are all
(10:41):
long gone veterans, but these were the ones who inspired me.
And even baseball announcers like Ned Martin and Vince Scully,
so many others who could tell stories long John Neville
in New York, Barry Farber. These were talk show hosts
I admired again from the sixties. Those were the ones
that inspired me. And I ended up working with a
(11:03):
lot of these people and getting to know them, which
was a real thrill.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, we have one similarity in all those inspirations, and
that's Vin Scully grew up listening to Vinnie. I grew
up in la and I was a huge Dodger fan,
and I had my little transistor radio under the pillow
every night with Vinscott.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Of course, and it's like here too. I mean Johnny
Most with the Celtics, and as I said, Ned Martin
and Ken Coleman, I got to know them both. These
are people who just naturally have a gift, and they
were kind enough even if they didn't know it, to
mentor people like me sharing that gift. So it's really fun.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Well, one last question on your career before we shift topics.
You've interviewed a bunch of notable people in your career,
Nicky Rooney, William Shatner, Roger Moore, and a slew of others.
What was your most memorable or maybe even your most
impactful interview.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Most memorable interviews. Two of them, and both were senior,
so that both were in their nineties at the time.
One was Stan Lee, the creator of Marvel Comics. He
and I became good buddies doing a couple of different
shows together. And Carl Reiner, the comic genius. Those were
two of my favorites. I mean, I could go on
and on and on, but those were two of my
(12:17):
absolute faves, and they were both sparkling personalities in their nineties.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yeah, Carl Reiner was an amazing Yeah meety quit spectacular.
So let me shift topics a little bit, Jordan and
talk about the fact that you you went public recently
about your diagnosis with Parkinson's disease. What prompted you to
do that? That's a personal thing when people are, you know,
(12:43):
have something, and I know you're a person that gifts
back and tries to triest to be an example, But
what prompted you to do that?
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Well, I was diagnosed back in October of twenty three.
I probably had the symptoms that I didn't recognize for
some time before that. That's what usually happens in these cases.
And because I was faced with the need, if you will,
might to give up some things so that I could rest,
(13:12):
and one of the things I would have to give
up would be filling in for Dan Ray on nights
side and filling in for Morgan or whatever. And I
also knew instinctively that I had shared the with the
audience in the past, when I had my all night show,
I had shared issues with them that were very personal
to me, but I felt cathartically very well about doing it.
(13:35):
And one of them was the passing of my first
wife that whole episode, and the other one was quite frankly,
mental health. I mean having depression and anxiety for much
of my not much of my adult life, but for
part of my adult life. I found sharing was helpful.
When it came time to share the diagnosis with Parkinson's,
(13:55):
I felt differently about this than anything else. Nothing to
be ashamed of, nothing to be hiding, nothing to you,
There's no stigma to it. People of all stripes are
getting this horrible disease. And I say horrible because it is,
but it's also the snowflake disease. Everyone's different. No symptoms
are exactly alike, no one's path is exactly alike. But
(14:16):
I said to myself, well, let me do at least
one more show if they'll allow me live a to
midnight when Dan was on vacation and at least present
not only my story, but more importantly the story. So
we did four hours, and I wanted to reflect on
chronic illness and what it's like. I'm a guy who's
never had a hangnail in my life. I mean, I've
(14:37):
been the healthiest as you can imagine, and right now
you can describe this better than me, Mike. I mean
my guns. I mean, I am working out like a fiend,
which is what you have to do, and I feel
great in a lot of respects. I'm very healthy, but
I do have this condition. So anything we can do,
we collectively in the community can do to raise awareness.
As you may know, the President's signed a bill the
(15:00):
Congress passed all out war on Parkinson's, and it's a
war worth fighting. So I hope that I can help
raise money and awareness as I go.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Along, and for the community, I'll give some stats. More
than six million people worldwide live with Parkinson's. It's the
second most common neurological disorder. This year alone, approximately sixty
thousand new cases will be diagnosed in the United States.
Yet there's no cure for it, is there.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
There's no cure, but there are treatments. There are new
developments thanks to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Davis
Finny Foundation, the Parkinson's Associations, and they're getting closer to
figuring out why, and genetic markers perhaps that dictate who
is likely to perhaps deal with it and what people
(15:50):
in this position of any kind learn. And I'm having
to learn it the hard way is you have to
live in the moment. You can't think about ten years
from now or ten weeks from now. You have to
live for today. Not easy, by the way, And I've
had my struggles with the non motor symptoms, as everybody does.
But there's hope and there's a lot of money and
(16:12):
a lot of interest in research. So I would say
for those people newly diagnosed, and I'm sort of newly diagnosed,
it's a better time than it was twenty five years ago,
and we're getting closer every day to finding better cures,
better treatments.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
What are some of the early symptoms.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Well, for many people, it's posture. I was stooped over
and I thought that was just a case of working
in the studio over the computer. For others, it's obviously
balance issues, not a problem with me. I mean, there
are all kinds of warning signs that people will neglect.
(16:48):
I'd tell you one that's the strangest, and people will
say loss of smell is another. One. One that's really
strange is something called REM sleep disorder, which I happen
to have. It involves talking and acting out in your sleep,
acting out your dreams instead of during rem being and
this is not a bad thing being comotose. While you're dreaming,
(17:09):
you are basically moving, and there's a direct correlation. I
think seventy percent of people with REM sleep are likely
to develop Parkinson's. So I'm learning every day about all
this stuff and learning how to deal with that while
I try to deal with the daytime symptoms.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Yeah, I guess, because as you mentioned, the symptoms can
be so desperate for different people. The people do have
to pay attention to little changes, just those types of
neurological type of changes, right.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, and most of the people in yours truly included Mike.
Denial is the first issue. I mean, you say that's
not me, I'm not an old guy. I'm not bent over,
I'm not trembling. I have no tremor. But it is
what it is. And as soon as you develop a
good plan, and the key is to have a good team,
(18:03):
whether you're a motor specialist, a neurologist, certainly your regular docs,
and then an exercise program. I'm a boxer now, I
do a lot of boxing, which is one of the
best therapies. So you have to do this, and one
of the watchwords is fighting back. You'd have to fight
back because it's not a killer, but it'll grind you
(18:25):
down if you'll let it get to you.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Right now, there's been a lot of attention paid to
the debate between Trump and Biden a couple of weeks ago,
along with some speculation that maybe President Biden might be
suffering from Parkinson's. So that was just putting some data
points together. There's been no corroboration from anyone else about that.
What are your thoughts around that? Do you see them
and what do you think about that possibility.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
I'm not a doctor, I'm not a neurologist, but I
have a very close association with Parkinson's. As we've been
discussing and to me, it's a likelihood that there's something
neurological going on, and Parkinson seems he seems to have
many of the traits I mean, particularly of advanced Parkinson's,
you know, the gate, the slow gate, the frozen smile,
(19:15):
difficulty finding words, et cetera, et cetera. I mean that
there are cognitive impacts to people some people, and there
are physical impacts to some people, no matter.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
What it is.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
I mean, it's definitely a decline for a man in
his position, and I actually, you know, politics aside. I
feel sad for the guy. I really do.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Oh for sure. Yeah, it's moving into legacy sort of impact,
and that's unfortunate. After a long and storied career. You've
been an active supporter of many organizations and charities including
Boston Children Hospital, Mass General Voices of Hope, Upstage Lung Cancer,
Metro West, Jewish Family Services, go on and on, and
(20:01):
now you're starting to give back with Parkinson's. Tell us
a little bit about that.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Well, it's a cause celeb for me now because I've
got it, and I also know people in the community,
and knowing people in the community has been the blessing.
No one wants a disease like this, but you get
to meet some really amazing, wonderful, sweet people. And it's
not just the money for research. It's the money for
(20:29):
exercise programs, it's the money for socialization programs, it's the
money for you name it. I mean, a gear that
people might need, and it's just the you know, with
my big mouth, I can get a lot of attention
to stuff and alert the public to events and fundraising
and so forth. So it's a good cause. It's a
(20:52):
good cause for me right now. It's sort of where
I'm supposed to be and happy to take up the charge.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Where does that desire to help people come from? Jordan?
Did you grow up with that kind of an influence.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
I mean, sure, my parents were very giving and believed
in helping others, and I just think this is not
anything profound. But when you give, you get. I think
when you feel as though you're making a difference in
the lives of one person or a dozen, or ten thousand,
whatever it might be, there's an amazing high that one gets.
(21:31):
And it's not an ego stroke, although your ego does
get some feeding in the process, but it's a very
special feeling. I'm of the Jewish faith, and there's an
expression that I love called ta kuno lum, which basically means,
you know, you save one life, you save the world.
And that's a little dramatic, but it's important, I think,
(21:52):
for all of us in the short time we have
here on the planet to do what we can to
give back, because you always read what you sew, and
so many people I've met have done so much for
so many and their rewards are definitely visible. They may
not be material, but they're visible.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Now, you're going to be writing in the New England
Parkinson's Ride, which I think is the largest Team Fox,
Michael J. Fox's charity single day fundraising event in the world,
which is pretty impressive. Maybe you just tell our listeners
just a little bit about that.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Sure, I'm not writing in the ride itself in Maine
the day of. I'm doing it virtually, in other words,
in my own gym. So every couple of days I
do four or five miles to work up to one
hundred miles, which is not that tough when you're not
going anywhere. Folks can go to the Michael J. Fox
Foundation website to find out more about the various rides.
(22:54):
Your show is heard in a lot of places, so
there's a lot of opportunity. If you go to my
Facebook page, Rich Show on Facebook. I think there's a
little piece I wrote there and I'm going to update
that as soon as possible. And yeah, it's just a
a It's great because it's exercise, it's movement. You know,
(23:15):
if we were just saying please give us money, that's
one thing. But it's people moving, using their bodies, doing
what they can to fight back. So that's why it's
a really special charitable event.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yeah, well, that's great that you're doing that and giving back.
We have been speaking with Jordan Rich Jordan, it's been
such a pleasure for me and a privilege to have
you on the show. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Well, Mike turn the Boats fair Play. You were a
guest on my podcast and you did a great job
and it's an honor to be with you. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
We'll be right back after the news at the bottom
of the hour.
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