In the world of radio, it takes a unique personality full of charisma and passion to garner attention. One half of the highly successful Opie and Anthony radio show from 1995 to 2014, Anthony Cumia stood out with his ability to offer candid commentary, a keen sense of humor, and a broad range of knowledge on various topics. Dubbed by the mass media a ‘shock jock’ in the vein of Howard Stern, Cumia helped make Opie and Anthony one of the hottest radio shows in the USA, achieving syndication and eventually finding itself with a dedicated channel, XM Satellite Radio (later becoming SiriusXM), for an entire decade.
No small feat, Cumia was unceremoniously fired from the show in the summer of 2014. Still, rather than fade into the night, he made his way with a subscription-based network, Compound Media. One of the first broadcasters to dive into the world of podcasting before a massive boom in the format, Cumia has continued keep his shows going, more recently under Compound Censored, and even authored two books (2018’s Permanently Suspended: The Rise and Fall… and Rise Again of Radio’s Most Notorious Shock Jock and 2024’s Spare Me).
Proving there is life after radio, something astonishing happened in early 2025, and Anthony Cumia was called on to return to the world of broadcast radio. Catching everyone by surprise, he launched The Anthony Cumia Show in March 2025 on WABC, which quickly became syndicated, receiving national exposure. A turn of events that even Anthony Cumia himself never saw coming, the seasoned and talented broadcaster recently sat down to discuss his career in radio, his return to traditional airwaves, and more.
Cryptic Rock – The last time we spoke was eleven years ago, following SiriusXM’s decision to let you go. A lot has transpired since that time. You launched your own platform, continued to host podcasts, put out books, and more. You are arguably a pioneer ahead of the curve with podcasting. Now, all these years later, you are back on broadcast radio. A wild ride, how would you describe it all?
Anthony Cumia – Yeah, the course of the past decade or so has been pretty crazy. It’s worked out not quite how I thought it would before I got fired from SiriusXM, but I’m enjoying the hell out of it.
It really is different than just being on SiriusXM. I liked that, it was cool doing the O & A show, but being forced to get out of that comfort zone and actually produce something yourself, it’s pretty scary. But when it works and you continue to build it, there’s great satisfaction in that, there really is. And that seems to be what happened in the years right after I got the boot.
Yeah, having a studio in my house helped initially. I was able to start doing a podcast, and it was pretty new at the time. A lot of people were doing audio podcasts and whatnot, but the idea of having a TV station in your house was something not a lot of people did. I think me doing that inspired a few people and gave people ideas to do it. Obviously, it’s the staple now. Everybody seems to have a goddamn podcast now! (Laughs)
So, coming back to traditional broadcast radio, a lot of people are like, “Why would you do that?” I see it as something that has come full circle. I think the podcast world has gotten so saturated with anyone who has a microphone and a camera that going back to broadcast radio was kind of the next step, even though it seems like a step backward, it is absolutely a step forward.
You can go to Best Buy these days, and you could literally buy a podcast kit. Anyone who wants a show can buy this. Unwrap it like, “Ooh, a microphone and a camera.” Technically speaking, you’re doing a podcast, but there are a lot of people just doing terrible, terrible impressions of a podcast out there. So, going to traditional broadcast talk radio seemed like the logical next step.
Cryptic Rock – It is incredibly accurate what you are stating about the podcast world; it is absolutely oversaturated. Quite literally, everyone and their mother now has a podcast.
Anthony Cumia – Yes! Literally. I’ve seen those shows too. Everyone and their mother. It’s probably the name of a podcast right now. Welcome to everyone and their mother. We’re here with our mothers, and all right. Who cares? (Laughs)
Cryptic Rock – (Laughs) It is a bit much. To your point about returning to broadcast radio, it is indeed a step forward. With the overexposure of podcasting and YouTube posting, as well as a gross overuse of social media, there seems to be a want and need for a more traditional medium of broadcast radio. There is a desire for interactive talk radio and written journalism, opposed to just hearing someone yammering on about something.
Anthony Cumia – And it is something that you do because you want to do it, and you enjoy doing it. I do this Monday through Friday, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., when I do my internet show. Then, on Sunday night, from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM, I host the WABC radio show.
Without bragging, I did very well with the O & A show. I had some smart financial people around me who forced me to make sure I saved money and invested very wisely. I don’t need to do anything. I’m in my 60s. I can coast and have fun. I just got a dog, it’s amazing, and a lot of fun. I moved to South Carolina. I have land. I have some peace and quiet. I don’t have to do this.
I do this because I love doing it. It’s so much fun for me. It’s a release to be able to voice your opinions or get people excited about something you find compelling, which is really cool to me. So, I do it because I enjoy doing it. The fact that people will still compensate me for doing that is a great aside for me, but it is absolutely not the primary goal here.
It seems like most of the people that we just talked about, these pseudo-podcasters, are trying so hard to make money at it. They do it, they don’t put a show together, and a lot of shows these days are people reading a chat. They are trying to combat trolls and hoping they get Super Chats and make money. That’s their goal.
If you want to do that, fine. Who am I to say you can’t do what you want to do and make some money? But there’s something that makes the broadcast a lot better when the person doing it is genuinely enjoying what they’re doing, they’re interested in it, and they’re passionate about it. And that’s just something that isn’t happening.
Now, to come back to the radio aspect of it, yeah, that’s a medium that demands more than podcasting. Even my podcast show, my weekday show, I work on it. Every day, I have reams of show prep and things. I work on it, but I know it’s not held to the same standard as broadcast radio, even in 2025.
With my Sunday show on WABAC, it’s more regimented. There are times when you have to go in and out of breaks. And there’s a boss… I have a boss again. I don’t know why the fuck I went and did that! (Laughs) But I enjoy it. It’s much different than the podcast thing. But again, I think anyone’s passion for broadcasting shines through and is appreciated by the audience. That’s something you just don’t see in the vast majority of podcasting today.
Cryptic Rock – Most certainly not. The Anthony Cumia Show premiered on WABC back in March 2025. Since then, it has become syndicated, been extended to a three-hour show, and continues to grow. How did this come about for you? Most could never have imagined you returning to broadcasting on the radio. Was it something that caught you completely by surprise?
Anthony Cumia – Yeah. That’s the truth that surprised the hell out of a lot of people… especially me. I wasn’t looking for a radio job, but not because I wouldn’t have loved to do broadcast radio. When I moved down here to South Carolina, my girl and I drove into Greenville, and we passed a complex of radio station vans and stuff. And obviously, there’s a radio station in there. I thought, “Maybe one of these days I’ll inquire. It would be kind of cool to get a local Greenville, South Carolina talk show, and I could just pop on there and do a local show.” Again, because I enjoyed doing it. I really wasn’t concerned about money when it came to that.
But I understand the situation involved with me leaving, this accusation of racism, and my former shock jock pedigree on broadcast radio might be a little rough for owners of stations, and especially corporate radio stations, to try to try me out. So, I wasn’t looking. Then I got a call from the president of WABC Radio, Chad Lopez, and he wanted me to come to New York and talk about doing a show.
It did come out of left field. I think when you look at independently owned radio like WABC in New York City, it’s a different attitude than corporate radio.
Corporate radio has a lot of problems these days because they have to look at so many different facets of its corporation. If you do a radio show and they also own a diaper company and a dishwashing liquid company, the people will be upset if you’re a little controversial because you might affect their diaper sales. An independent radio company sees what you do. If you’re controversial, you’re getting ratings, and they love that.
Obviously, there’s a line that they put there and say, You don’t want to lose the license; you’re still under FCC jurisdiction. But they enjoy a little controversy and the audience getting stirred up and enjoying what the personality does. A lot of times, that’s not looked at as something good on corporate radio because, again, you’re going to upset our car tire sales because we also own that.
So, ABC being independently owned was great. When I talked to everyone up there, I was really impressed by that, because I hadn’t talked with radio people in quite a while. My last impression was this corporate entity, even on satellite radio, anytime Opie and I would ask about something we wanted to do, an idea that was a little out there, our boss would point at the ceiling and go, “Well, well.” And he’s like, “Oh, the people upstairs, the nameless, faceless consortium of board members that won’t allow us to do that, that we can’t even talk to. We don’t even know their names!”
So, it was refreshing to go to ABC and sit down with John Catsimatidis and with Chad and actually talk about the station and what they want and what I want. We realized we had so much common ground there that it was the proverbial no-brainer to throw me on the air. I appreciate the shit out of it. It’s been going very well, knock wood.
Another thing I want to bring up, and this kind of ties in with the podcasting thing, they are very knowledgeable about what’s going on in the podcast world and technologically. So, you think, “Oh, an AM radio station. What year is this? The ’30s?” They have integrated the internet and online media, such as social media, into the AM radio.
By the time I’m done with my show on Sunday night, a half hour later, there are clips up. My entire show is up on Spotify. It’s on YouTube. They’re already blasting the links on X and Instagram. They’ve integrated the technology of podcasting into this old-school radio technology. It works, and they’ve done it perfectly.
When I met again with Chad and John, and then the technology team up there, I was really impressed and pleasantly surprised that they hadn’t done what radio did so many years ago by going, “Ah, that’s a fad. Screw that. Radio is where it’s at. This internet thing will never take off.” That made me even more attracted to coming on board with them.
Cryptic Rock – WABC is doing a fantastic job of combining the media. It is great to be able to listen to the show live on Sunday evenings, perhaps even call in. However, if you missed it, you can also listen at your leisure during the week, while driving to work, with minimal commercial breaks.
Anthony Cumia – Yeah. I do the show on Sunday night. I have a lot of people who DM me and say, “Yeah, I can’t listen Sunday night. But I downloaded the show, and it’s my commute Monday morning.”
They say they can’t listen on Sunday, so they listen during the week. Radio is so day part oriented, you know? Morning drive, afternoons, middays. With this technology, that kind of becomes a thing that isn’t really that important anymore.
If you want to listen to me on Monday morning on your drive, you can. It’s available there, and that’s a cool new twist on an old radio idea.
Cryptic Rock – Agreed. The best way to describe The Anthony Cumia Show broadcast on WABC is that it is you, as everyone knows you from years past, on your own and with Opie & Anthony. However, it seems different in that you are getting more in-depth and insightful on topics. You always offered up interesting opinions as part of Opie & Anthony. This became more pronounced with your podcasts, but those who missed that might be excited to hear the solo Anthony Cumia Show on WABC. It seems you can let it all hang out more. Is that an accurate assessment?
Anthony Cumia – Yeah. I think with the advent of podcasting and so many other mediums to listen to people talking, radio had to adapt and realize that they need to be competitive with a medium where you can say anything and it’s legally allowed. There’s no FCC in podcasting. You still have to work within the lines of the FCC on broadcast radio, but they understand, “Hey, I need to be competitive here. I can’t be talking like it’s 1950 and I’m coming out of the old Edsel radio with my family in the car.”
I think a certain latitude has been given to personalities, especially those who would be considered controversial political personalities, to let them go further. It’s not breaking FCC rules and regulations, but a lot of people get nervous when you bring up issues of race, sexuality, and things like immigration. All these hot-button issues that were pretty much verboten on regular radio. You would have PDs tell you – do not talk about that at all in any context. Now they understand that in order to be competitive, you need to be able to address those things.
It take a brave (and using the word brave might seem silly), but in these days when you’ve seen the consequences that some people have faced by just speaking about certain hot button issues, it does take a brave company, owner and boss to allow that on their station, knowing there’s going to be pushback, and they’ll at some point have to address that without throwing the personality under the bus.
So that’s refreshing to see. And I think that’s been the evolution of radio, especially of late. I did see a big change after Trump’s election. For some reason, I haven’t quite been able to figure this out yet, but a lot of broadcasters and writers, and even some aspects of mainstream media, have turned a little bit, and they aren’t as critical of people talking about hot-button issues. That’s pretty interesting to see.
Cryptic Rock – Yes. You talk about the risk of saying certain things. You look at what has transpired since 2014, when SiriusXM let you go, and you were canceled. Now, this is a time before we started using the term cancelled. You could argue you were one of the early cases of Cancel Culture. The interesting part is that those who were pushing for cancellation also started to face cancellation.
Anthony Cumia – Yeah, it is strange. I think a lot of people who were getting canceled, especially early on, like me, could see that coming.
Because historically, that’s always been the way it happens. There could be a group, and they’re persecuted and canceled or murdered or whatever happens in history. Eventually, it gets back to the people who were cheering on the cancellation or persecution of the original groups of people. So, when I started seeing the left eating their own, I felt good about it in that it was some kind of revenge, almost; you know, I’m human. But a lot of times I was like, “See, that’s nonsense because they are only speaking their mind. I think what they’re saying is moronic, but they absolutely have a right to say it.”
Then, over the past couple of years, or when Trump first started coming back on board and realistically looked like a viable candidate for a second term, it seemed like, huh, people seem to really be getting tired of the cancellation, and you can’t talk. You’re not allowed to even talk about these topics. So, I think that helped in me getting this job. I think John and Chad are very brave people when it comes to those issues. But you can only survive in that environment by playing by the rules to an extent.
When the rules changed after Trump got elected and we see a little more latitude being given to these personalities, yeah, you’re more apt to push the envelope a little more and go, “Okay, I can do this. I’m allowed to talk about this now.”
Cryptic Rock – Right. Your once-a-week WABC show is live on Sunday evenings for two and a half hours. You pack a lot into that time, going through a whole week’s worth of current events, and so on.
You touch on news, but also dig into entertainment. In culture, especially in America, we often judge everything by the standards of the entertainment world. Political point of view aside, it is exhausting to see how many modern forms of entertainment seem to have an underlying agenda that undermines genuine artistic expression.
Anthony Cumia – I bring it up a lot. I think because I think people listening to my show would call it kind of a pseudo-political show. I talk about politics a lot, and what’s going on in the world. It’s my own take in that I try to keep some element of humor to a lot of things that I talk about, because you know it’s Anthony from the Opie & Anthony show. I didn’t want to think that I could all of a sudden become Walter Cronkite of the old days. I still have to be me. That’s kind of how I talk about things anyway. I want to be as authentic as possible.
The entertainment factor has gotten so mixed up with politics that it’s kind of the same animal, or at least in the same family. You can’t talk about entertainment without mentioning politics. I didn’t do that, the entertainers decided at some point that just going on a talk show and talking about their newest movie, or going to Vegas to open a show and meeting up with the rest of their entertainment people, and giving us these great stories of a life we would never know in Tinseltown, wasn’t good enough. Somehow, they felt we needed to know what their political affiliations were and how we should lead our lives based on what they say from their gated house and security staff.
It really wrecked them. The idea of celebrity now, when you say celebrity, it conjures up more of a negative impression than it used to. When you used to say celebrity, you’d think, “Oh, Hollywood, great movies. I’m going to the movie theater. If I’m watching a celebrity on a talk show like Johnny Carson, I’m going to laugh. It’s going to be fun.” Now you say celebrity, and you think this elitist pompous jerk off who is telling me what to do, who to vote for, how to raise my kids, and there’s such negativity there.
Obviously, I bring up De Niro a lot. Here’s a guy who, a few years back, you never would have thought could do anything to taint his collection of work. Obviously, I’m going to watch Goodfellas (1990), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and all of his amazing movies. But right when he first pops on the screen, I’m compelled to just go, “Ugh, this asshole.” It’s because he had to open his mouth and talk about politics.
I don’t mind it, though. I don’t think that being a celebrity or being a movie star or a musician should make it so you can’t ever talk about your ideology. But to have this attitude, this holier-than-thou, pompous attitude that I know it’s right and you’re an asshole has, like I said, just wrecked that whole industry.
Cryptic Rock – Many would agree with that regardless of their own personal ideologies. That goes for both sides; no one wants to hear anyone spouting polarizing opinions when they turn to entertainment as a form of artistic appreciation and escape from everything.
The divisive climate has become awful. There are situations where some people have disowned their own family members or lifelong friends because of the division. There is no open dialogue anymore. It has become a matter of me versus you.
Anthony Cumia – I’ve seen it too. I don’t think there’s anybody in this country who hasn’t seen a family division that was permanent- they will never talk again over this. And it’s really strange because I do see the left being a lot more intolerant of people’s ideas than the right.
Every time I talk to somebody who calls themselves a Republican or conservative, they never chase people away. I’ve never seen a group of people that would be considered right-wing saying, “No, we are going to do everything in our power to stop you from talking at our institution or school, etc.” We like the left coming up and speaking because it exposes everything we talk about when we criticize the left.
The left, on the other hand, will go to every extent, every length, even violence, to prevent somebody on the right from speaking and being heard by a number of people. You see this on many university campuses. People are booked to speak, there are these demonstrations, and threats of violence are made. Then the school goes, “Well, because of security reasons, we won’t be having this person speak here.”
I always say it’s not so much that they’re trotting upon that person’s freedom of speech. As much as it is, they’re infringing on the people’s right to hear it, to listen, a giant group of people. You get one person and you say, “Well, I’m not gonna let you speak.” Well, I could go in my backyard and I could just say whatever I want to the birds and the trees, but I could still say it.
What you’re really preventing is that group of people from hearing what I want to say and what they want to hear. So that’s much more damaging. You see that a lot on these liberal campuses where they don’t want a voice of dissent, a differing opinion to be heard by the people because, God forbid, they hear one idea that day and go, “Huh, well, that isn’t what I thought. And maybe I should look into that a little more.”
That is dangerous to people who want to keep the status quo of their power and their ideology.
Cryptic Rock – That is a great point. Any situation where either side of a discussion wants to control the dialogue is never good. Everything is really in a sad state. Let us hope something changes. The Anthony Cumia Show has been on WABC since March and is doing quite well. Could you see it going to more than one day a week? Would you want it to occur more than once a week?
Anthony Cumia – It’s such a weird position to be in. Because again, I like my life and I like what I’m doing, but there’s something in me that just, if the offer comes up, goddamn it, I’m going to take it. I’m going to take it. In late May, I filled in for Bill O’Reilly, Monday through Friday, 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
If that opportunity ever came about, where I was offered a Monday through Friday slot, I don’t want to do a full four-hour time slot Monday through Friday. I’m still going to do my internet show from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., but if they want me to do 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, kind of an afternoon thing, I have to be honest and say, “Yeah, I would absolutely take it.” I’m a glutton for punishment. I enjoy doing this, and I want to progress.
And here’s the other thing, because again, I’m human, this little fucking element of vindication. (Laughs) This little piece of me that goes, “Yeah, they called me back to come back on the air and do a radio show.”
Cryptic Rock – That is human nature to want to be vindicated. What is also great about The Anthony Cumia Show on WABC is that you are bringing back old friends to the show, like Jim Norton.
Anthony Cumia – Yeah, we’re going to have a lot of the people that were staples of the O & A show and made some of the greatest moments in broadcasting. I believe that when you bring a bunch of comics in the room to just bust each other’s balls, it was hilarious.
As a matter of fact, I go back up to New York once a month. I think every month I go up, if Jim’s available, he’ll come in and kind of be my co-host. But we’ll also bring a guest. We have lined up people like Rich Voss coming in, Andrew Dice Clay, and Bobby Kelly. We are just getting these guys back in to bust each other’s balls, laugh, and make jokes about what is going on in the world today.
That’s a perfect show for me, and the listeners are very psyched for it. They want some kind of incarnation of the Opie and Anthony Show without it being just the same old thing. I don’t want to try to resurrect something that was already. I definitely want to do something that is natural for me and these comics to do, which is hanging out.
I had Nick Di Paolo on, and people just love that ‘because they know there’s a camaraderie and a ball-busting aspect. We’re comics. So, we kind of just know how to make even some of the most depressing topics a little fun.
Cryptic Rock – Yes, and this show is undoubtedly an evolution and not a rehash. You are originally from New York with roots in Long Island. As we know, you relocated to South Carolina. Many who live in New York feel it is the best place on earth, but they often do not realize that there is another way of life.
Anthony Cumia – There’s just something about looking out your window and seeing trees in a field, and the people are different. I mean, people are inherently the same as their humans, their people, but living in that environment of New York just gristles you. It just makes you insensitive, inhuman. You feel like you’re on survival instinct 24 hours a day, and that’ll age you and make you feel like shit.
When people ask me if I miss New York, I say I miss my family and friends who are still there. If it wasn’t for them and work, I wouldn’t go back. I think when people tell you about the great parts of New York, the great things about New York, they’re just trying to sell themselves to stay. Because I’ve heard things like, “Oh, the food. Are you gonna miss the restaurants?” I say this all the time, I go into Greenville, and I get restaurants and chefs and the staff from places like New York, LA, Atlanta, and places that are known for having good food. They got out. They left too.
I’m seeing all the things that were good about New York are available in other places, while you don’t have to deal with what has gotten so completely bad, especially after COVID, in some of these bigger cities around the country.
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