Originally published on May 15, 2009

Dr. Drew Pinsky

Loveline
Co-host

After 25 years, late-night radio is still where this doctor wants to practice

"Loveline" began in 1983 at alternative KROQ/Los Angeles on Sunday nights, hosted by Jim "Poorman" Trenton and Swedish Egil. About a year later, Trenton added a segment, "Ask a Surgeon," hosted by his friend Dr. Drew Pinsky, a fourth-year med student at the University of Southern California. Soon, the segment became the show itself with Pinsky and Trenton as co-hosts. "Loveline" expanded to five nights per week in 1992, entered national syndication in 1995 and also ran for five years on MTV.

Pinsky also hosts "Strictly Sex With Dr. Drew" on cable TV's Discovery Health Channel and "Celebrity Rehab" on VH1, and he has either authored or co-authored three books, including his newest, "The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America." He is board-certified in addiction medicine; the medical director for the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, Calif.; a staff member at Huntington Memorial Hospital; assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Keck USC School of Medicine; and runs a private practice.

This is your 25th year on "Loveline." Did you ever think you'd be doing this for so long?
No way. When I started I thought I was doing community service; it was a fun way to express myself and educate people. I feel very privileged to be so connected to young people across three decades. I think it's because I've been continuously connected that they trust me. I'm part of their cultural landscape and understand what the world looks like to them.

How do you balance your private practice with the demands of being a TV and radio personality?
When "Loveline" was on MTV I said, "Look, I can only do this two days a week. I practice medicine, I have a life, stay away." About three years into it, the television show kicked in, much to my amazement. I finally thought that I should take this seriously and really make an effort. Since then I've developed relationships with partners and built teams, so I can now move in and out of my clinical practice as I please.

What conflicts arise balancing the welfare of people versus the need of producing a great show with expectations for ratings?
The two things that must always take priority is the well-being of the person and the information that's going out and how that influences people. A more subtle aspect is, if I engage in the fun and glib dialogue that is part of radio, am I diminishing myself in terms of potential impact, my professional position? That's something I have to judge minute by minute.

What were the typical problems listeners were experiencing 25 years ago, and what are they today?
Back in the day there was a naïve enthusiasm. It was much more about the biology. It was a world where [sex advice talk show host] Dr. Ruth was saying, "Everybody just have good sex." I was thinking, "Young people already got that down." The problem is they need to know about this thing I see every day in the county hospital, which we called gay-related intestinal disease syndrome and we now know as AIDS. No one was talking to kids about sexually transmitted diseases. The term "safe sex" had not even been coined yet. At first I was sort of vilified: "How dare you talk publicly about these things?" When the AIDS story broke, all of a sudden it became a mandate and people who had shunned me before were asking me to talk about it.

Then we started getting more into the interpersonal functioning of young people, and it became increasingly clear that our families were so severely destroyed and abuse was common. We've stayed there. The lack of basic knowledge about interpersonal relations and emotional function is really startling. It influences overall health, which for young people is reproductive, interpersonal and mental health.

What makes the show a big draw for artists and celebrities?
It's probably partially because it's the only talk show environment where people get to be just human beings and talk about their life experiences, share important issues and offer reflections to young people. It's very rewarding to talk to young people and shape their behavior in a critical time of life. I probably have something to do with it because they always ask a lot of questions. You can't imagine the stuff I hear during the commercial breaks.

What are some of the challenges of having celebrities on the show?
The biggest frustration is with movie stars who lay claim to special knowledge when in fact they have no training or no understanding of what they're commenting on. I want to treat them as a good guest, but some of the things they say make me go off like a Roman candle. I remember on the TV version of "Loveline" I got in a fight with [actor] Jon Favreau. We had on the phone a clearly psychotic man. I did a quick analysis and advised him to do what his doctors were telling him. Then Favreau said, "You need to do whatever you want, don't listen to those people." So he and I just went at it. Beyond that, it's just getting everybody to drop whatever banter, whatever aphoristic rejoinders they normally have, and they usually do.

Working with celebrities gives you unique insight into them.
That's where the [new] book came from. I was treating them in the hospital, not necessarily the same ones on radio. A friend of mine, Mark Young, a professor at the USC Business School, said, "We've got a ready-made study population every night on radio. We should administer some sort of quantitative instrument to measure them." We gave [celebrity guests] the narcissistic personality inventory for about a year-and-a-half and it drove [10-year "Loveline" co-host] Adam [Carolla] crazy. He hated that we were doing it. We published it, then spun the book, which is our thoughts about where this is coming from.

Naysayers claim that young people don't listen to radio. But the ratings for "Loveline" proves that wrong.
Terrestrial radio will always exist when there's something compelling. There's something communal about gathering together live at the same time that is really a special feeling and you can't get it any other way. I love radio and I believe in it. It's the ultimate medium of communication. It's about human connectivity. It's not about processing things or saving time. It's so real and I just love it for that.

Quote
'It's very rewarding to talk to young people and shape their behavior in a critical time of life.' - Dr. Drew Pinsky