Voice Weekly: Big Voice at the Voice

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Daily dose of Rothmann

by John Zipperer
Editor in Chief, The Voice of San Francisco

If you scroll through our list of recent podcasts, something immediately hits you: there’s a lot of John Rothmann there. How do they do that?

Luck and devotion, is my answer.

Rothmann is a former longtime daily radio host on KGO. I could also say “a legendary former daily host,” because his tenure there stretched from 1996 until 2023, in one form or another. On the weekends, in the early mornings, in the afternoons, and into the evening; at one time or another, John has done them all.

We’re lucky to have John not only contributing podcasts to the Voice, but for him to do it daily — each weekday — is a real treat. He uses his short daily podcasts to cover a wide range of topics and people here in San Francisco. Sometimes he fills in some historical background on chaotic times, other times he’s tackling a hot topic like education or development or water, and still other times he’s interviewing people.

If ever there was someone born to have a microphone in front of him, it was John Rothmann. I’ve known him for several years, since he first participated on a political roundtable panel I hosted at The Commonwealth Club. I quickly learned that he is the same off-mic as he is on-mic: strong, clear voice; never without an idea or an opinion; friendly and open-hearted; and caring deeply about the subjects he addresses.

So the Voice is lucky to have John Rothmann on our team, and San Francisco is lucky to have him on its side — and that’s the devotion part of this tale. John loves San Francisco. He’s got friends across the political spectrum, he has probably talked with anyone and everyone who has had any role of significance in this city’s history over the past few decades, and he wants the city to succeed. With all of the challenges facing San Francisco, it’s good to have a strong, clear voice at the Voice to guide the way.

You can find The Voice of San Francisco podcasts — John Rothmann’s daily ones as well as the weekly ones I co-host with Melissa Caen — on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the other usual spots for great podcasts, or you can listen on our website.

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