RIP David Brudnoy

[Kraken]

Outside of Boston, he probably isn't well known. But radio talk show host David Brudnoy, who expects to die at any hour now, was an elevating spirit in local talk radio for 20 years; I listened to his show for 15 of them. He survived AIDS 10 years ago and a serious bout of cancer just a year ago, but returned to regular work before doing his final show from his deathbed tonight. His erudite, agnostic, Libertarian voice of common sense will be sorely missed around here. Nobody can replace him.

Although nobody here is likely to know the man's work, I was compelled to mark his passing. Thank you for reading.

http://www.thebody.com/loelpoor/dbrudnoy/dbrudnoy.html

[Montag]

I listened to his show a little bit. I found myself agreeing to alot of his ideas. He was Libertarian I believe.

[Kraken]

Here's a more proper tribute: Brudnoy in Cancer's Grip Prepares of End

As recently as Monday, Brudnoy was hosting his three-hour show on WBZ-AM. Last Thursday, he was still holding classes at Boston University, where he has taught part time for years and was elevated to a full professorship this year.

But exhausted and in pain, he checked himself into Mass. General on Friday, and a battery of tests revealed that the Merkel cell carcinoma that was in remission for the past year had reappeared in his vital organs, and doctors told him there was little they could do. Facing liver and kidney failure, Brudnoy has told doctors to treat his pain, not his disease.

When WBZ announced his dire condition yesterday, the reaction from rank-and-file listeners to fellow academics to the government officials he would gently provoke was one of collective shock. For as long as most people can remember, Brudnoy has been on the radio in what is typically the highest-rated nighttime talk show in town, his appeal slicing through socioeconomic, gender, and racial lines.

(...)

Indeed, in an age of radio hosts who try to achieve high ratings by slinging brutal insults against public officials and athletes, Brudnoy has always stood a world apart. A self-described libertarian, he appears as consumed by curiosity as by opinion. He is the rare host who reads the books of his author-guests. And he sheaths his most pointed questions to politicians in politesse.

(...)

His show was often an eclectic cocktail of modern culture -- a philosopher one hour, a novelist pitching a book or a movie star promoting a new film the next, and maybe a US senator in the last slot of the night.

''David is a Massachusetts treasure," Governor Mitt Romney said in a telephone interview. ''He is an unadulterated voice of truth.

I'm sure going to miss his voice. He had no use for the Libertarian Party, but his deeply held libertarian philosophy rubbed off on me. In this bluest of the blue states, Brudnoy disliked all political parties equally -- that was really refreshing.

[Eduardo X]

I hate to derail this, but how did he survive AIDS?

[Kraken]

I don't know. I just remember that he was at death's door and made a miraculous total recovery. Ironically, he established an AIDS foundation at the time, but didn't have a chance to set up anything for the disease that finally killed him (a rare form of skin cancer).

[Fireball]

AIDS is a syndrome that can flare up and fade down. When it flares up, it opens you up to opportunistic diseases. So, I could see someone saying they survived a bout of AIDS if they survived an period of high suppression and risk. But it's still there, of course.