Howard Stern’s live radio broadcast from September 11, 2001, has resurfaced as the United States approaches the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, offering a stark glimpse into the confusion and fear that gripped the country that morning.
Stern was on air when news broke that an aircraft had crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower in New York City.
The show’s regular conversation was immediately abandoned as Stern and his colleagues turned their attention to the unfolding disaster.
With television coverage playing inside the studio, listeners heard the radio host react as black smoke rose from the tower and reports began to emerge about the scale of the incident.
A second plane changed everything
At 9:03 a.m., just 17 minutes after American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.
The second impact made clear that the first crash had not been an isolated accident.
The United States was facing a coordinated attack.
Stern interrupted his program to tell listeners that the situation was serious, explaining that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center before continuing to follow developments through live news reports.
As the coverage intensified, an expert appearing on the broadcast warned that the attacks appeared to bear the hallmarks of terrorism originating from the Middle East.
The possibility of further attacks also became a growing concern.
Kathy brings a child’s question to the air
One of the most memorable exchanges came when a caller named Kathy contacted the program with a question from her nine-year-old sister.
Kathy explained that the young girl had asked her why people hated Americans.
Her voice became emotional as she repeated the question to Stern and his team.
Stern responded without hesitation, offering his own explanation for the hostility directed toward the United States.
Stern’s blunt explanation
“Well, because we have everything,” Stern said, pointing to America’s freedom, prosperity and way of life.
He added that he believed people in other countries were jealous of what Americans had, concluding that it was “an easy question to answer” because, in his view, the United States had so much.
Stern later expanded on his explanation, saying that people in some countries lived under leaders they feared and were raised to hate Americans.
The exchange reflected the raw emotions of the moment, when Americans were trying to understand why their country had suddenly become the target of an unprecedented terrorist assault.
The frightening reports continued
Stern’s broadcast remained focused on the rapidly developing crisis as reports of additional attacks reached the studio.
He told listeners that another aircraft had struck the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., while a fourth plane had gone down in Pennsylvania.
The radio host also mentioned Osama bin Laden as a possible suspect, years before the al-Qaeda leader was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan.
United Airlines Flight 93 ultimately crashed near Shanksville after passengers and crew members attempted to regain control of the aircraft.
Investigators later concluded that the plane’s intended target was likely the White House or the U.S. Capitol.
The full scale of the attacks emerged
The two World Trade Center towers eventually collapsed, sending vast clouds of smoke and debris through Lower Manhattan.
American Airlines Flight 11 had struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., followed by Flight 175’s impact on the South Tower.
American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon, while Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
Authorities later determined that 19 al-Qaeda hijackers had seized the four commercial aircraft.
The attacks killed 2,977 people, excluding the hijackers, and left thousands more injured.
September 11 became the deadliest terrorist attack ever carried out on U.S. soil.
A broadcast frozen in a moment of history
Nearly 25 years later, Stern’s recording offers a rare real-time account of how quickly ordinary life gave way to national trauma.
The conversation with Kathy stands out because it captured a question being asked not by a government official or political commentator, but by a frightened child trying to understand an event that adults themselves struggled to comprehend.
Stern’s response was shaped by the uncertainty and emotion of that morning, before investigators had established the full political and ideological background of the attacks.
The events of September 11 would ultimately reshape American foreign policy, launch the global War on Terror and contribute to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But Stern’s resurfaced broadcast preserves something different: the bewilderment of those first hours, when millions of Americans were watching history unfold without yet knowing what would happen next.
