John E. Bozeman & Jay Harper
53 episodes listed below
Radio people, Nashville stories, business scars.
Circling The Drain gathers radio and music people around the table for loose, funny, sometimes cranky conversations about where the business has been and where it may be headed. The show moves from Nashville memories and artist stories to AI, syndication, podcasting, corporate radio, faith, fame, and the shrinking space for live local voices.
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Circling The Drain is a talky, insider-driven show about radio, music, Nashville, and the entertainment business as seen by people who remember how the room used to sound. It is not polished in the corporate sense. That is part of the appeal. John E. Bozeman, Jay Harper, and Jim McCarthy let conversations start with banter, side comments, missing cohosts, sports assignments, sponsor reads, and old names that send everyone down another hallway. Then the sharper material arrives. Corporate radio gets criticized for replacing craft with scale, consultants, debt, syndication, and managers who may not understand what happens on air. The hosts worry about live DJs, local stations, and the people wondering whether their key card will still work. They also talk about podcasting as a place where personality, length, and story can still matter. Some episodes are loose industry roundtables. Others bring in music people with resumes and personal stories, including Zoro, Scott Southworth, Sandy Gennaro, and Ron Allen. Those guest conversations often turn from career history into faith, ambition, discipline, disappointment, and the strange emotional math of fame. The show is comfortable with Nashville shorthand. It assumes that radio people, artist reps, sales teams, station clusters, old call letters, and backstage encounters are worth remembering. At the same time, it is not just nostalgia. There is a running argument underneath the jokes: entertainment keeps changing, but human connection, taste, training, respect, and personality still separate the good stuff from the disposable stuff. The tone can be warm one minute and dry the next. Celebrity pedestal worship, awards-show politics, expensive moviegoing, social media performance, and streaming all become fair game. The hosts rarely sound like they are delivering a finished thesis. They circle it through stories, corrections, interruptions, and laughter. That gives the show its texture: three radio people keeping the old conversations alive while asking what, if anything, survives the next format change.
Made for: For listeners who like music-business history, radio culture, Nashville personalities, and long-form conversations that sound more like a back-room hang than a formal interview.
What sets it apart: Its edge comes from radio experience: the show talks about consultants, station ownership, on-air talent, podcasting, and music careers with the shorthand and skepticism of people who have worked inside the machinery.
Circling The Drain is a show about the current state of the music and radio businesses as well as culture in general! Hosted by John E. Bozeman and Jay Harper along with Jim McCarthy as Co-Host/Executive Producer. John has had a storied career in music and talk radio, most notably as the Executive Producer for the late and legendary Phil Valentine. Jay also has has a long career in radio as Announcer, Play-by-Play, Voice and On-Camera Actor. He was also an Artist Rep for MCA records. Jim McCarthy ALSO has had a tremendous career in radio since 1996 and has...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Veteran radio voices turn industry upheaval into candid shop talk about programming, careers, digital change, and the people caught inside it.
Circling The Drain treats the music business as a working life, with John E. Bozeman, Jay Harper, and Jim McCarthy trading stories, industry opinions, and affectionate needling.
Seven HD subchannels, no content: your kind of radio absurdity if the dial still matters to you.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A loose, insider radio conversation that mixes Simmons, the Oscars, country-radio changes, and industry memory.
This Circling the Drain episode keeps a conversational, back-and-forth rhythm as John E. Bozeman and Jay Harper move through music and entertainment, Gene Simmons telling actors to shut up and do their art, and the Oscars shifting to a live-streamed format in 2028.
Fame, faith, and age are treated as questions about what lasts.
Circling the Drain spends most of its time on the gap between getting attention and still feeling empty. It moves through celebrity culture, then into Christian language, with the guest treating money and notoriety as useful only if they point people toward God.
A loose radio conversation about respect, shifting stardom, and the odd gap between hearing people and meeting them.
The episode settles into a loose talk about radio and the people who keep it running. Its sharpest idea is the four part standard for a good station: money, opportunity, training, and respect.
A sponsor intro turns into a blunt tour of radio's digital detours.
Circling the Drain opens with David Crabtree of Crabtree Benefits, setting out employee benefits and the appeal of helping business owners stay out of the weeds.
A loose, radio-minded conversation about podcast length, theater prices, and why crowd reaction still matters.
Circling the Drain starts with a familiar producer question: how long should a podcast run, and when does it make sense to take an exit ramp? John E.
Indie music marketing from the scene floor.
John E.
The episode opens by asking what fame is actually worth.
Johnny Bozeman opens by insisting the talk with James was not a bitch fest, then notes that Jay Harper is out announcing a baseball game.
This episode features an interview with Scott Southworth discussing his journey in music and entertainment, blending themes of faith and career.
Rock drummer Sandy Gennaro shares his journey from being inspired by seeing a band perform to visualizing and pursuing a career playing for large audiences, with mentions of working with artists like The Beatles, Cyndi Lauper, and Joan Jett.
Johnny opens with David Crabtree of Crabtree Benefits.
Circling The Drain brings Johnny B, Jay Harper, and Jim McCarthy into a conversation about hauntings connected to Nashville, country music, historic homes, and personal experiences.
The talk starts with podcasts.
This episode discusses the issues with corporate radio and consultants, featuring insights from insiders about management failures and the disconnect between executives and on-air talent.
This episode discusses how a listener's political views shifted from liberal to conservative after discovering Phil Valentine's radio show through its music, while introducing the hosts and theme of the podcast about entertainment and avoiding decline.
This episode discusses the decline of story songs in music, explores AI's impact on the industry, and features a casual conversation with hosts and guests about musical storytelling across genres.
This episode explores the challenges and humorous aspects of musicians attempting to transition into acting, using examples like Spinal Tap and Hank Williams.