Live Wire: The Loud Life and Shocking Murder of Alan Berg
Live Wire: The Loud Life and Shocking Murder of Alan Berg
Alan Berg was starting over as a divorcee, disbarred lawyer and recovering alcoholic when he found his true calling on the radio. His brash and bold on-air persona made him one of the true renegades in a “shock jock” revolution that took over broadcast media in the 1980s. Despite the numerous enemies the brash Berg made through his radio show, the world was stunned when he was assassinated outside…Social links:
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Episode 10: Honoring Alan.
Decades after his shocking murder, Alan Berg was mostly forgotten, even among the people of Denver who had fallen in love with his radio show. That tide turned in 2022 when the Denver Press Club finally inducted him into their Hall of Fame. But what took so long? And what could Alan Berg have becom…
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Episode 9: The Trial of the Order.
After their leader is killed in a violent firefight with federal agents, the remaining members of the Order come together to stand trial in a Seattle courtroom. For the first time, Alan Berg's friends and colleagues are privy to all the details of exactly who killed this titan of talk radio and the…
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Episode 8: Standoff at Whidbey Island.
Following the discovery of the weapon used to murder Alan Berg, Wayne Manis and the FBI close in on the Order's leader, Robert Mathews. Their attempt to bring Mathews to justice culminates in a violent and fiery exchange on Whidbey Island, Washington. And the details of that standoff between Mathew…
32:41
Episode 7: Cracking the Case.
Following the shocking murder of popular radio host Alan Berg, local law enforcement in Denver went weeks without much of a lead. But all that changed when an armored car was held up hundreds of miles away in Ukiah, California. A single piece of evidence from that brazen robbery swiftly cracked the…
38:01
Episode 6: Mourning a Friend, Investigating a Murder.
In the wake of the shocking assassination of Alan Berg, KOA staff were forced to balance mourning their friend with the task of reporting his murder. All while the Denver Police Department struggled to find any leads. As station manager Lee Larsen worked to maintain calm and order at KOA, his produ…
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Episode 5: The Danger Zone.
As the biggest name in Denver talk radio, Alan Berg knew a thing or two about which topics got callers and listeners riled up. And nothing got the phonelines buzzing quite like the nexus between religion and race. That realization inspired Berg to invite a number of high-profile white supremacist l…
30:02
Episode 4: Boiling Point.
As his show begins to reach a critical mass, heated discussions on race inspire a new level of fury in both Berg and his guests. Particularly when leading figures in the emerging white nationalist movement become frequent guests on his program. It all leads to ratings so impressive that 60 Minutes …
28:30
Episode 3: The Man You Love to Hate.
Firmly established as the most popular voice on Denver radio, Alan Berg proved to be an incredibly shrewd businessman. Especially when it came to working with sponsors, even if he did occasionally go rogue when reading ads live on the air. Covering topics ranging from politics to sex to his beloved…
35:20
Episode 2: First Day at KOA.
After overcoming alcoholism, epilepsy and a failed legal career to become one of the most popular radio voices in Denver, Alan Berg suddenly needed a job. And he landed in the perfect place at KOA, one of the city's biggest and most prestigious radio stations. But Berg didn't take the awesome oppor…
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Episode 1: Who was Alan Berg?
He was the man you loved to hate. A pioneering radio personality who was adored by some, despised by others. And he was poised to become one of the biggest stars in radio before his shocking, violent murder outside his home in 1984. This series tracks the unique origin story and meteoric rise of Al…
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