July 2019 | Rolling Stone | 11
@j_g_10101:
Anyone who
has listened
to Howard
religiously
knows he’s
a softie at
heart and not
the monster
people used
to make him
out to be.Correspondence + LOVE LETTERS & ADVICE
Howard Stern Repents
Our June issue marked the fourth time Howard
Stern has appeared on our cover [“A Softer Side
of Howard Stern,” RS 1328], and the interview
showed Stern at his most vulnerable: After years of
psychotherapy, he looked back on his life, sharing
his deepest regrets and hopes for the future. Chris
Vaccaro tweeted that the issue made him “feel
like a kid on Christmas.” Debra Phillips tweeted,
“I am in the 40% women audience that listens to
you. I used to not stand the old Howard, but I love
the guy you are now.” Dave Hobson wrote, “I have
enjoyed listening to Howard evolve over the years.
I think the reason he has been so successful has
been his ability to change as a person. The show
is so different now. It’s better.” But other readers
were unhappy. “He should be held accountable for
years of attempting to normalize strip-club-culture
misogyny,” declared Jenapurr Kaplan. “Howard can
attend all the therapy he needs and support his
own daughters,” wrote Kar Es. “However, he’s not
redeemed.” “Honestly, I don’t think he has a hard
side anymore,” admitted Robert Silverman. Reader
J.D. added, “A PC version of apologizing for what
made him famous.” Most readers agree on one
thing, though: The foster kittens that Stern held for
the cover, brought to the shoot by his wife, Beth,
are really cute. “Howard and Beth do so much for
cats — they’re really dedicated,” Jen Ryan said.
“Their work encouraged me to start fostering cats.
I’ve had 15 come through my home in four years.”“I was never
really a fan,
but I am now.
I’m impressed
by his singular
ability to work
on himself
and change.
Plus, cats!”
—Kenneth, via the internetLetters to ROLLING STONE, 475 Fifth
Avenue, New York, NY 10017-0298.
Letters become the property of ROLLING
STONE and may be edited for publication.
Email: [email protected]
Subscriber Services: Call 800-283-1549.CONTACT USHitting the ‘Road’
With Lil Nas X
This is the most famous I’ve ever seen
anyone get over one song [“Hip-Hop
Desperado,” RS 1328]. Can’t wait to never
hear about him again.
—Gabe, via the internetI agree with Billy Ray. I think you are a gift
to the world right when we need it the
most.
—Lori, via the internetMatt Taibbi on the
Bernie 2.0 Trail
Taibbi, you’re going to be our Hunter S.
Thompson if you keep this up [“Bernie’s
Revolt,” RS 1328]. If you were ever going
to mix recreational-drug experimentation
and covering a presidential campaign,
may as well make it Campaign Trail of ‘20.
—David, via the internetYou know things are bad when Taibbi
thinks we’re screwed! Look, Sanders can
beat Trump. But so can someone else.
Our top Dem pick must be both exciting
to the youth and able to galvanize the
Midwest and South. Who can do both?
The left also needs to realize no candidate
is perfect and we must get behind the top
Dem, even if they aren’t our fave.
—Andy Fish, Portland, OregonStephen Rodrick’s story on white-male suicide [“All-American
Despair,” RS 1328] struck a chord with readers, making it the
most read story for a week. “Though I’m 27, my life has been
touched by the suicides of six people I knew well,” Frank Taylor
wrote to us. “It pains me that my concern for this often gets me
painted as a men’s-rights activist, but I’m glad to see a heartfelt
consideration of these issues.” The article took reader Julie
McCormick by surprise: “I wasn’t planning to get much out of
Stephen Rodrick’s piece, but it drew me in. Tell him to keep
telling stories. It’s what he was born to do.”Inside the U.S. Suicide Epidemic
AMERICAN TRAGEDY