If you have the chance to listen to one of Howard Stern’s old interviews, don’t, the radio icon advises. If
you have one of his previous best-selling memoirs, “Private Parts” or “Miss America,” Stern
advises, “Burn them.” Famous for asking celebrities about their sex lives, Stern regrets the shock jock he
was. “I was an absolute maniac,” he recalls of his career’s first couple decades. “My narcissism
was so strong that was incapable of appreciating what somebody else might be feeling.”
He adds: “I have so many regrets about guests from that time. asked Gilda Radner if Gene Wilder had big
penis.” Of course, he hasn’t changed that much. His new collection of interviews and reminiscences is titled
“Howard Stern Comes Again,” after all. “That was conscious decision,” Stern, 65, says in an
interview with The Post from his Long Island home. “I was almost going to call the book ‘Howard Stern: The
Interviews’ or something. Then said, ‘Wait second, that’s really not reflective of who am.’
Because while we’re doing these interviews … in the next minute, you know.
“My sense of humor hasn’t changed,” he said, before referring to his old superhero character. “I
am Fartman, don’t deny that.” What he does deny, or at least has moved away from, is outrageous for the sake
of outrageous. He recalls unfortunate on-air encounters with George Michael, Eminem, Will Ferrell, Carly Simon and
others. “Possibly my biggest regret was my interview with Robin Williams,” he said, recalling when he
badgered the star about having left his wife for his son’s ex-nanny.
“I’m not proud of my first two books,” Stern writes. “I don’t even have them displayed on
my shelf at home. think of them, and of the interviews did with my guests during those first couple decades of my
career, and cringe.” Stern began facing his demons in the late ’90s — by finally seeing therapist.
Today he’s happily married, he paints, he gets along with publicists.
“I really wanted to get out there and tell people that psychoanalysis works, to not be afraid,” Stern said.
“It took me five years to call this psychiatrist saw. didn’t want to admit needed anyone. didn’t know
what it was all about. found it incredibly intimidating. “In fact, one of the reasons included Bill Murray in the
book … he sums it up by saying, ‘You take good hard look at yourself and sometimes you don’t like
what you find.’ And that’s true.” But, Stern said, “when you do, real profound change can
happen.”
Even though he was in therapy up to four days week, it took Stern 20 years to “work up the nerve” to call
Williams to apologize — but the comic died the day after Stern sought out his number. “I’m still
filled with sadness over his loss and remorse,” Stern writes. He reports he has made “amends” to many
others. So does Stern consider himself to be in recovery? The book has section titled “Drugs Sobriety” that
includes talks with Bradley Cooper, Miley Cyrus, Slash, Scott Weiland, Chris Cornell and many others.
