Michael Smerconish

Michael Smerconish was born on March 15, 1962, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. from Lehigh University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Initially involved in Republican politics, he managed the Philadelphia campaign for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter’s re-election in 1986 and served as political director for Frank Rizzo’s mayoral bid in 1987. After law school, he co-founded a title insurance agency and at age 29, was appointed regional administrator for Philadelphia Region III of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under Secretary Jack Kemp during the George H. W. Bush administration.

Following the 1992 election, Smerconish practiced law with James E. Beasley, Sr., specializing in complex tort litigation, and successfully sued abortion provider Kermit Gosnell in a medical malpractice case. He remains of counsel at the law firm Kline & Specter. His media career began in 1990 with radio appearances on Philadelphia’s 96.5 FM WWDB, eventually leading to his own Sunday night program by 1993. He moved to CBS affiliate WPHT in 1997, taking over the morning slot in 2003. In February 2009, his show became nationally syndicated, and he interviewed President Barack Obama live from the White House, the first talk radio host to do so. He has also interviewed Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, as well as Vice Presidents Al Gore, Dick Cheney, and Joe Biden.

Smerconish transitioned from the Republican Party in 2010, advocating for a more moderate political center. In 2013, he moved his daily radio program to Sirius XM’s POTUS Channel. In 2014, he began hosting his weekly program “Smerconish” on CNN. He has authored seven books, including “Muzzled: From T-Ball to Terrorism” (2007), a New York Times bestseller, and “Talk: A Novel” (2014), which was optioned for television by Warner Horizon Television. His one-man film, “Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking,” aired on CNN in 2020 and became a special on Hulu.