Howard Stern’s raw live reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks has resurfaced nearly 25 years later, capturing the confusion, fear and anger that unfolded in real time as the country realized it was under attack.
Stern was hosting his radio show in New York City when reports first emerged that a plane had struck the World Trade Center’s North Tower. He quickly abandoned the program’s normal format as the seriousness of the situation became clear.
“I don’t mean to interrupt the fun, but, uh, this is a breaking news story, a serious news story,” Stern told listeners before announcing that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
A television was switched on inside the studio as black smoke poured from the North Tower.
Seventeen minutes after American Airlines Flight 11 struck the first tower, United Airlines Flight 175 slammed into the South Tower at 9:03 a.m., making clear that the crashes were not accidents.
Stern and his staff began following live television and radio coverage while trying to make sense of the rapidly developing attack.
As reports came in of a third aircraft hitting the Pentagon and another crashing in Pennsylvania, Stern relayed the information to listeners and began taking calls from frightened Americans.
One of those callers, a woman named Kathy, said her nine-year-old sister had called her with a question that captured the confusion being felt by children across the country.
“Why do the people hate the Americans?” the child had asked.
Kathy’s voice cracked as she repeated the question on air.
Stern responded immediately.
“Well, because we have everything,” he said. “And we have a way of life that’s organized and free. And they’re jealous.”
“I mean, it’s an easy question to answer. We have it all,” Stern continued.
Later in the broadcast, Stern expanded on his response, saying people in other countries lived in fear of their leaders and were “raised to hate.”
The exchange has become one of the most striking portions of the resurfaced broadcast because it captured a question millions of Americans were asking in the hours after the attacks.
Stern’s remarks were delivered before investigators had established the full scope of the plot and before the country understood the political and ideological motivations behind the hijackers.
During the broadcast, Stern also raised Osama bin Laden as a possible suspect, years before the al-Qaeda leader was killed by US forces in Pakistan.
Investigators ultimately determined that 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., followed by United Airlines Flight 175 striking the South Tower 17 minutes later.
American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon, while United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers, per the Daily Mail.
Authorities have said Flight 93 was believed to be headed toward either the White House or US Capitol.
Both World Trade Center towers ultimately collapsed, sending massive clouds of smoke and debris through Lower Manhattan.
The attacks killed 2,977 people, excluding the 19 hijackers, and injured thousands more, making September 11 the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil.
The events also reshaped US foreign policy for decades, triggering the War on Terror and military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Nearly a quarter-century later, Stern’s broadcast provides an unusually immediate record of Americans absorbing the attacks before their enormous consequences were understood.
The resurfaced audio also preserves the deeply personal moment when one frightened child asked a question that many adults were struggling to answer themselves.
