Phil seems to have pretty wide circulation, so I guess there can be general discussion.
I occasionally listen to him in the afternoons in Los Angeles. After only a few times listening it was obvious to me that all the “guests” and “experts” are staged and in fact are just a few people doing all the parts. His women guests, in particular, all sound the same. In fact, and I have heard some corroboration on this, Phil himself might be doing all the voices. If you listen carefully you will note that Phil or the guest talks “over” the listener call-ins, but Phil never talks over the guest.
Having started the previous IMHO thread on this subject, I now have to confess that I am beginning to enjoy the show, at least in limited doses.
I’m not sure how long idiots and the easily fooled will keep calling in to debate his “guests”, but perhaps there really is an inexhaustible supply of morons out there. And if not, there’s always Bud Dickman’s Top Ten.
Thanks for the link to the IMHO thread, I usually don’t go there. (I did search for Phil Hendrie not too long ago, obviously I should have done it again.)
It could also be that the callers know it is staged and are playing along – much like the Monty Python’s Argument clinic.