The Thompson Show – October 17, 2025 (WWCR 4840 kHz)

Back home in southwest Michigan after a week on the road, Todd returns to the airwaves sounding a little under the weather but fully in fighting form for a wide-ranging episode that blends nostalgia, tribute, and a passionate defense of exploration, courage, and country.

🔹 Segment Highlights

• Opening – On the Road and Under the Weather

After a marathon drive back from the Smoky Mountains, and a brutal weekend for Michigan sports, Todd kicks off the show with his signature humor and grit. He powers through the cold, promising another full-throttle broadcast before the show’s planned Halloween finale.

• Remembering Ace Frehley (1951–2025)

News breaks that legendary KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has died at 74. Todd reflects on Frehley’s influence, the mythic 1975 KISS Cadillac High concert, and his own childhood memories of living in Cadillac, Michigan during the event. The story turns personal, his sisters were there, full makeup and all, as Todd recounts how a small-town football team’s pregame ritual turned into one of rock’s strangest and most heartwarming legends.

• Farewell to Jim Lovell (1928–2025)

The episode transitions from rock stars to real heroes as Todd honors Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who was laid to rest this week at the U.S. Naval Academy. He recounts Lovell’s NASA career, his pivotal role in saving Apollo 13, and the quiet heroism that made Lovell one of the defining figures of human spaceflight. Todd links Lovell’s story to his own stop at the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio, where he marveled at the original Gemini 8 capsule, the one that nearly spun Armstrong and his co-pilot to their deaths before they regained control.

• Exploration, Courage, and the Human Spirit

From the Apollo missions to America’s pioneers, Todd expands the discussion into a passionate monologue about exploration as humanity’s defining trait. He compares the courage of astronauts and settlers — both venturing into the unknown without safety nets — and calls for a new era of discovery.

“We looked at the moon and said, ‘Let’s go there.’ That’s what people do. That’s what we’ve always done.”

He argues that space exploration represents not waste, but wonder; a way to restore faith in human potential and national pride in an age of cynicism.

• A Defense of the Founders and the Frontier

The tone sharpens as Todd addresses modern critics of American history. He contrasts today’s “safe-space generation” with the settlers and colonists who crossed oceans, fought hostile wilderness, and built the foundations of Western civilization. His message is defiant: don’t apologize for courage, ambition, or conquest. They’re the roots of the freedom we now enjoy.

• America the Promised Land

The episode closes with a powerful moment of gratitude, an emotional reflection on America as a sanctuary for millions. A moving clip from Gene Simmons recalls his story of arriving in the U.S. with his mother and his swearing allegiance at the consulate:

“Even if you’re the sons and daughters of Nazis, you can come here and nobody will try to kill you. This is the promised land.”

Todd ends the show reaffirming his love of country and teasing next week’s topic, the No Kings 2.0 protests spreading across the U.S., and how conservatives can counter the ideological street theater now gripping the left.

Broadcast Information:

The Thompson Show airs Fridays at 11 p.m. Central / Midnight Eastern on WWCR 4840 kHz (Nashville, Tennessee, USA), and is available after on all major podcast platforms under The Toddzilla X-Pod.