dickenbock

Magda is my wife. Every year around the time of her birthday, I dedicate an entire show to her by playing birthday songs. I do my best not to repeat recordings so there are lots of new birthday songs on the show today. But do you have a birthday this year? Have you had a bir... Read more

A caller during the show asked me if the theme was parasites because all of the parasites descending on our nation's capital at the moment. Sadly, these shabby shows of mine are planned somewhat far in advance. But if it helps the enjoyment, you can think that! It's a show ... Read more

When a listener asked me if I had ever done a Self Help Radio episode about guns, I said nope. I said it was too general a topic. (I didn't say I wasn't particularly interested in it.) But this listener persisted & I asked if they had a favorite gun. Apparently they did - a... Read more

Hey I've been pretty anxious about the election so instead of making a regular dumb Self Help Radio episode I just played a lot of music - music I might not normally play on Self Help Radio. & all of it's new! Hopefully the news tonight won't be so terrible & I'll have the ... Read more

You don't have to be a crow to be scared of scarecrows. Those creepy mock humans in cast-off clothing just sitting out there in the fields day in & day out - they must cause farmers nightmares! They are therefore a perfect subject for this year's Halloween show! In addition... Read more

As a kid I loved kaleidoscopes. & of course I took them apart. In the 1960s & later, when certain kinds of drugs made you see the world like a kaleidoscope, kaleidoscopes started appearing in songs. This week's Self Help Radio features lots of songs about kaleidoscopes plus ... Read more

Hey! It's a radio show about pandas! We talk about pandas! & people whose work is related to pandas! & there's lots of music about pandas! Because PANDAS yay! Oh, the last hour of the show is an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming in which there's no panda content.... Read more

Self Help Radio premiered on 91.7fm KOOP in Austin, Texas, on October 9, 2002. Since then it's appeared on something like eight stations in four different states. On Self Help Radio anniversary shows, I revisit an old theme. This theme is my favorite music from 1971. The or... Read more

Aw shucks! It's an episode of Self Help Radio about oysters! Featuring lots of oyster songs, a discussion of movies featuring oysters, a humorist whose new book mentions oysters, & a religious fellow who wants to make non-aphrodisiac oysters! I'm hoping you don't have to en... Read more

Spirals are found everywhere in nature. & now they're found on the radio! Featuring lots of songs about spirals (as you can see below) plus I talk to an artist who has been filling spiral notebooks since he was a kid. & a scientist who's written a book of poetry called The B... Read more