On Monday evening, KFAB hosted a “Welcome Back Baker” party at Lansky’s in Omaha, celebrating the return of its longtime afternoon host, Chris Baker, to the airwaves.
Baker has spent time in the radio wilderness over the past few years—a journey he likened to a story of Biblical proportions.
“A friend of mine compared me to Jonah,” Baker said. “He said, you caused a lot of trouble. And then you got on a boat, and the fisherman said, ‘You’ve caused a lot of trouble, get out of here,’ and they threw you off the boat. That’s when the whale swallowed him and took him where God wanted him to be.”
Baker left the airwaves in April 2021 after posting a tweet announcing the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. He wrote “Guilty!” alongside an animated GIF of four apparently older Black men in body paint and loincloths. The reaction was swift, and iHeartMedia fired him the next day.
Baker attempted to continue his career in talk radio online, broadcasting from a home studio, doing fill-in shows for other stations, and launching his own program on various streaming platforms. During the Biden years, however, being abruptly “cancelled” on such platforms became a routine experience for many conservative commentators.
“If I was critical of Joe Biden? Boom, they’d cut us off. Or if I was critical or made fun of China? They’d boot us right off,” Baker told The Plains Sentinel. “And so it was a constant battle.”
Afternoon hosts who took over Baker’s slot on KFAB included Ian Swanson and later Emery Songer. Fans, however, continued to call for his return—particularly on social media—for years after his departure.
“I think it’s a real testament to the company,” Baker said. “We work for the biggest broadcast company out there. They handle everything, and they did something that a lot of corporations don’t do—they listened to their customers.”
Baker specifically credited Scott Voorhees for advocating on his behalf with station management.
“I started working with him when I was 19 years old, which was 30 years ago,” Voorhees told The Plains Sentinel. “I’ve worked with him at a number of different radio stations in a couple of different cities, and I’ve always said there are two moments in time: the times I’m working on the radio with Chris, and the times that I will be working on the radio with Chris again.”
At his “Welcome Back Baker” party, Baker and Voorhees took requests and performed a handful of satirical songs long featured on Baker’s show. Baker played acoustic guitar while Voorhees played keyboard.
Among the guests was former Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, who now hosts an hour-long call-in show on KFAB.
“I don’t know how he does a four-hour show a day, but he does a lot of prep,” Stothert said. “Every now and then he’ll pop in when I’m on the air, we’ll put him on. He makes fun of me all the time on the radio, and I just give it right back to him. But I respect him a lot. We just have a good time, a good relationship with each other, and he’s a hoot.”
Several dozen guests came and went throughout the evening. Many attended specifically to see Baker, while others stopped in for dinner at Lansky’s. One couple, Jim and Carol, drove 70 miles from Denison, Iowa, just to see him. Another longtime fan, Larry, has attended numerous “Gourmet Club” events hosted by Voorhees. “He knows me by sight,” Larry said.
Stand-up comic Caleb Salvatore was especially pleased to have Baker back. The two met at a comedy club, and Salvatore joined Baker on air the previous Friday to host a segment of “reverse trivia.”
“He never should have been fired, but it is what it is,” Salvatore said. “I think you see that in every industry, government, politics, whatever you want to talk about—if enough people make enough noise, we can actually get what we want.”
Baker can now be heard every weekday from 2 to 6 p.m. Central on 1110 KFAB, either on AM radio or through iHeartMedia’s various streaming platforms.
