Rob Carson: Missouri’s ‘Music Man’ of Political Satire

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – His work has been featured on more than 150 stations, his comedy sketches have been aired on several radio shows across the U.S, and he now hosts a podcast as well as online lifestyle videos about cooking and home improvement.

Yes, Rob Carson is a man of many talents, but what he’s best known for is his work in talk radio, taking the news of the day and providing his listeners’ with his own unique take, blending politics, pop culture and his personal life with a biting wit and sarcasm in a way that can only leave his listeners shaking their heads with laughter.

Beginnings and Limbaugh

Carson’s introduction into broadcasting began in Missouri after he graduated from Northwestern Missouri State University. There, he worked on the student station five days a week and spent his weekends working at a local station throughout his college career.

“I ended up getting on the air right as I turned 19 years old; I was the first freshman to get on the radio,” he said. “I listened to the radio as a kid, and I would audition for a yearly contest that they did in Omaha at the station called Sling 98. It was my dream to get that gig, but that didn’t work out.”

After that, Carson moved to Columbia, where he was hired right out of college to do a music morning radio program at a station now known as KPLA. It was there that Carson began writing his comedy for Rush Limbaugh, thanks to Limbaugh’s longtime chief of staff and producer, Christopher “Kit” Carson.

“Kit was the gatekeeper, the guy who gave me the ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’. He was always so encouraging. It was a thrill to do it for more than 20 years,” Carson said.

Carson’s scripts have even appeared in at least one of Limbaugh’s books.

Carson stopped writing for Rush after Kit’s passing in 2015, saying that since Rush can’t really hear much of it, he may not always recognize the musical material Carson’s skits parody. Limbaugh has admitted to a near loss of hearing in the 2000’s.

Widespread acclaim

Carson’s career has taken him across the U.S., hosting shows at KSTP-FM in Minneapolis, WVMX in Cincinnati, and WRQX and WMAL in Washington, working in music radio for the most part.

“I had been flirting with talk radio for some time, Carson said. “What happened was I was in D.C. and so bored doing music radio, so I went down the hall to WMAL, which is a massive talker in D.C. and Bill Hess was nice enough to give me some time on there. It really started to gel, and I was promised a position by someone who is no longer with that company that I would replace Sean Hannity on that station. That turned out to not be true, and I was let go.”

It was at that time that Carson decided to try something a little different. He went to his agent, and they went on eBay and bought the equipment to build his own radio studio. With the equipment, he was able to do high-quality broadcasts from anywhere in the nation, and landed a syndicated show called “American Weekend” and began doing shows from around the country.

“That grew from Nashville and Milwaukee to Atlanta, Chicago, to San Francisco, to Philadelphia and so on,” Carson said. “And I did it in my home, in my basement, generally in my workout clothes with my ball cap on.”

Even after hosting a show in the nation’s capital, and the success of striking out on his own, Carson knew there was only one place to go next: home. So, he returned to Kansas City in 2015 to take over the morning show slot at KCMO, a station he recalls listening to while still in college.

But, in November of 2016, Carson and Cumulus Broadcasting split ways, after the company decided not to extend his contract for a third year. Carson says that the only thing he has to say to the company is “Thank you.”

“Every day, I look at where I have been in broadcasting and where I am now, and think ‘Wow, this is great.’ I approach every day with humility and gratefulness,” Carson said.

Going solo

He’s grateful for the opportunity he was given, and is now looking toward his next project: his own podcast. And thanks to the equipment he had purchased before taking the job at KCMO, he still has the ability to produce his content from the comfort of his own home.

“This is weird for me, because I have done terrestrial radio my entire life. I’m not saying that I am forsaking terrestrial radio – Dear God in heaven, it’s provided me a living for a very long time,” Carson said in his introduction of the new podcast. “But I’m giddy. I’m excited about the possibility of delivering a show on the web.”

The show is hosted on the website patreon.com, and Carson released his first episode on Dec. 1. He’s calling it “The Rob Carson Show”, which he describes as a “libertarian-leaning-conservative Daily Show”. He says his hope is to put up a new episode every day and to eventually start inviting guests Carson says that he’ll be putting together a website, which will feature videos, podcasts, even the comedy sketches that he’s become known for.

The show itself will combine the news of the day, humor, and his brand of “infotainment”, in which he takes hit songs and turning the lyrics into political satire.

“Song parodies are interesting. I’ll come up with an idea, you write them down, and then look at where you’re going to go with the concept. I take the lyrics and write around them. So the lyrics sound similar to the original, but obviously are different,” he said. “You have to get all of the elements of the story in while and fit them in with lyrics that sound like the original. And when you nail it, you know you’ve got it.”

There’s no concern for copyright, since it’s all protected by a Supreme Court precedent in regards to satire. Carson said he did almost get sued by Michael Jackson for a parody of “Billie Jean,” not over copyright, but slander over the allegations of Jackson’s involvement with young boys.

And though he draws from other artists to build his work upon, Carson says he takes copyright and ownership very seriously.

“Intellectual property is a big deal to me. I don’t steal stuff. My material is sacred to me, and I feel the same way about others,” Carson said. “It’s a unique product of your brain.”

He says his goal is to do everything he possibly can in broadcasting, and he hopes to be syndicated some day. Carson credits his success to the audience, and the connection he has with them.

“It’s not necessarily just about what is trending, or what needs to be talked about. It’s also about connecting with people on a profound level,” he said. “You’ve got to separate yourself from the rest of the pack and connect with them on a personal level. It’s your take and your connection with the audience, that’s what I think the listeners like the most.”

So what’s next for Carson? He says that his focus right now is on the podcast and building the website. In the meantime, he’s doing some work on the side for other radio stations, but his hope is to truly build the podcast from the ground up, and see where it will take him.