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The comedy4cast network.
Let's dog-ear that for now.

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This is comedy4cast,
episode 874, 80' s Recovery System.

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 It's time once again for the August
Dog Days of Podcasting Challenge.

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 For more information and to
hear shows from all the participants,

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go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com.

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comedy4cast is taking this time
to provide you with some interesting,

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yet totally useless, odd news.

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In fact, two odd news stories
that we think deserve each other.

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So, let's have some fun
with Odd News Times Twos.

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♪ "PATREON MUSIC" UP AND OUT ♪

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For our first story, we could go
to New York City or Chicago.

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But I haven't been to the Windy City
in a while. So Chi-Town, here we come.

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[ ELECTRONIC WHOOSH ]

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We're here at the Volo Museum,
just outside of Chicago.

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It's kind of an odd news story in its
own right. You can explore Jurassic Gardens,

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see Titanic artifacts, hop on a
double-decker bus for a tour,

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or see exhibits about all types
of transportation, including trains,

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military vehicles, and, of
special importance to us today,

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Automobiles. Including screen used and
replicas of cars such as Herbie, the Love

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Bug, several TV and movie Batmobiles,
Greased Lightning, Christine,

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all types of vehicles
that are Fast and Furious.

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But here's where we were headed.
This is KITT from the TV series Knight Rider.

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I'll wait while you get that thumping bassline
earworm theme song out of your head.

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Knight Rider originally ran for
four seasons on NBC from 1982 to 1986.

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It was the story
of a man who does not exist.

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Which sounds pretty odd when I say it
out loud. Anyway, this modified Pontiac

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Firebird Trans Am has been
here at the museum for years.

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But recently, museum officials received
a letter from New York City about the

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car, and it left them
scratching their heads.

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We'll find out more about that in a minute.

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But right now, for our second story,
we need to head to Cincinnati, Ohio.

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[ ELECTRONIC WHOOSH ]

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For people of a certain age, a mention of
Cincinnati brings back memories of

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one particular terrestrial
radio station, WKRP.

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And most of those people never
lived in Cincinnati. Odder still,

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WKRP wasn't even an actual radio station.

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For those of you unfamiliar, WKRP in
Cincinnati was the title of a workplace

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sitcom that ran for four seasons,
1978 to 1982, on CBS.

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Yes, if you've ever run across a clip
of a radio station doing a Thanksgiving

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promotion by dropping turkeys from a 
helicopter, you've seen

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a moment from WKRP in Cincinnati.

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But don't expect to binge watch it by 
inding pristine copies of the show on

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streaming platforms. The show used
a lot of hit song needle drops.

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And, like many other shows, negotiating
the music licensing for syndication

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or streaming that kind of show is
seldom worth it as far as the distributors

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are concerned. Uh-oh, I think I just made
the argument for generic Muzak. Shudder.

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My apologies to WKRP's
Dr. Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap.

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Okay, it was fake. Then why are we here
in Cincinnati? Especially when Dayton

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is just down the road apiece.

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Because, as of the 4th of May, 2026
 radio station WKRP is live. On the air.

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In Cincinnati. But it was a
bit of a journey to get here.

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Co-owner Jeff Zeismann explains that a 
ow-power North Carolina non-profit station

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had been using the call letters since 2014.

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As part of the process to secure the
call letters, Zeisman and his associates

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made a donation to the non-profit.

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Oh, they didn't do it to steal away the name.
That wouldn't be very, well, WKRP of them.

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The low-power North Carolina station
is still allowed to use the call letters,

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since they are a different
FCC class of radio station.

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They've simply given their approval for the
co-use of the call letters by the new group.

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Now, three stations in Dayton, Ohio,
Northern Kentucky, and yes,

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Cincinnati, simulcast the new station's
programming, all identifying as WKRP.

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In the spirit of the diverse music played
on the show, all from a surprisingly

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small on-screen record collection,
WKRP's expansive playlist includes music

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from the early 60s through the 1980s.

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As a bonus, the station occasionally uses

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the actual TV sitcom's
WKRP in Cincinnati ID stinger.

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And actor Gary Sandy, who played the 
cowboy hat-wearing station program director,

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also recorded some promotional
spots for the station. Fun fact,

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Sandy was actually
born and raised in Ohio.

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If you don't live in the greater
Cincinnati area, relax. You can also stream

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WKRP 97.7 on iHeartRadio.

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Just don't expect to hear Les Nessman,
five-time winner of the Buckeye NewsHawk

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Award, giving you the latest
1980s headlines. Oh, the award?

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Yeah, it's given to the best news story
specifically about, or related to,

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taproot vegetable production
in the tri-state area.

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Now back to the
Volo Museum outside of Chicago.

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[ ELECTRONIOC WHOOSH ]

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Museum officials are still trying to make
sense of this letter from New York City.

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It's a ticket, and not the fun
chocolate factory tour kind.

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It's a speeding ticket. Apparently, KITT
was tagged as going 36 miles an hour

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in a section of Brooklyn where
the speed limit is 25 miles an hour.

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That is a pretty neat trick for a car
sitting in a museum 900 miles away.

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But the ticket includes a photo.

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Sure enough, it's a black Trans Am
with a California license plate that reads

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K-N-I-G-H-T, caught on a traffic cam.

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We can't tell if David Hasselhoff is
behind the wheel or if Kit was on its own

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adventure. Wait, no, this
can't be the museum's KITT.

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It must be Michael's evil twin, Garth driving
a replica KITT. A KITT Kit, if you will.

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And if there were a pet in that car
would it be a KITT Kit Cat?

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Where was I? Oh, right, the ticket.
New York City can't explain any of this

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either. The museum has requested
a hearing to fight the ticket,

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and I get the sense that they will
probably win, especially if KITT testifies.

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Your Honor, I have
nothing to do with this incident.

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I fully obey speed limits.

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Besides, my microwave jamming system could
easily disable any speed detection systems.

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Um, I would like to speak with
my Knight Industries lawyer, please.

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So, what did we learn today? I thin
 it's that the 1980s never really died.

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They're living on the air
in Cincinnati and in KITT.

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♪ "END THEME" MUSIC IN AND UNDER ♪

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That about wraps it up for
today's Odd News Times Twos.

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But first, a very special shout-out to my
Patreon patrons, including producer-level

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patrons Paul Barrie from the
A Window to the Magic podcast,

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Kirby Bartlett-Sloan, Chuck Tomasi
from the Technorama podcast,

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Kyle Nishioka,
Brian Martsolf, Amy Murphy,

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and Steve Ng from steveng5.com.

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That's S-T-E-V-E-N-G,
the number 5, dot com.

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You too can show your support.
Just search for comedy4cast,

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all one word with the number 4,
on Patreon.com.

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Original script, voices, and original music
by me, Clinton Alvord. Copyright 2026.

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All rights reserved. Talk to you again
next time. But for now,

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that's it. We're done, done,
done, done, done. Bye-bye.