Michael Smerconish is an American radio host, television presenter, political commentator, author, lawyer, and father. Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Smerconish has lived his entire life in and around the Philadelphia area, graduating from Lehigh University and earning a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael is married to Lavinia Smerconish, a prominent realtor in the Philadelphia area. Together, they have four children. The family resides in Villanova, Pennsylvania where Smerconish commutes to Ardmore, PA every day to record his radio show.
Smerconish attempts to report unbiased news or “non-ideological” thinking. Through his show on CNN, “Smerconish”, and his radio program on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel, he is able to provide listeners with an analysis of fact. He comments on politics, technology, current events, and everything in between.
As a member of his local Jewish community, Michael recently spoke at Main Line Reform Temple on November 17th, 2022. His hour-long speech touched on many topics surrounding politics, his childhood, books he has read, and news consumption.
Smerconish’s main argument, and the title of his presentation, was to change the channel. People tend to live around others of similar demographics, and thus, similar ideology. The internet is programmed to adjust to our political preferences and filter information for topics we agree with. Therefore, Michael argues that it is not entirely our fault that the current political climate is so polarized, but we must change the channel. It is imperative that all citizens literally change the television channels they watch each day and read diverse sources so they can see the full picture of every situation.
Smerconish closed his speech with one final anecdote. On November 8th, the day of the general elections, Smerconish woke up to a squirrel in his home office. Surprised, he shut the door, locking the squirrel inside. He woke his wife up at 5 am in a scare. They decided to leave the squirrel where it was until later in the afternoon, and Michael left for work. On the air that day, Smerconish talked about his dilemma that morning, and what he should do about the squirrel that was still in his office. His tweet about the situation got more responses than his tweets about the elections that day, which were heavily publicized and debated over.
Smerconish shared this story during his speech at Main Line Reform Temple. It didn’t matter the race, political affiliation, gender, or social class of the commenters, everyone had an opinion about how he should get the squirrel out of his office. Michael wants his radio show to allow more time for anecdotes like this one. He would like to spend less time analyzing the polarized ideas of politicians today, and more time interacting with viewers about the shared life experience.
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