Topic Idea: Calling In Sick for Fat Days or Bad Hair Days
Randy Lane • May 27, 2012
According to The Daily Mail, some women have such self-esteem and body issues that they can’t even bring themselves to go to work. More than nine out ten women (92%) said they continually doubt their looks, and some admitted to calling in sick to work on ‘fat days’, because they couldn’t bear to see colleagues. The participants in the study admitted that “bad hair days” or “fat days” impacted on their performance at work, and 6% even admitted to even phoning in sick as a result.
Read more here, in this Grindstone article from Eric Rowe, Executive Producer, Roula & Ryan, KRBE/Houston.
Set Up Ideas
- Ask listeners: “What unusual excuse have you called in “sick” for even though you were never sick?”
- If you’ve ever suspected your co-host of playing hooky, ask them on-air to spill the truth.
- Play a friendly prank on your Program Director. Do pre-production the day before by calling him or her, in tears, and explain that you feel “too fat” or that “your hair is too ugly” to come to work. Go on and on, and see if you receive anger or sympathy. Record the call to play back on-air when you discuss this topic.
Recent Posts

By Randy Lane
•
September 29, 2026
When I start coaching a show, talents often say:“Nobody calls anymore.” Or: “Listeners in this market don’t call radio shows.” My response is, “That’s interesting, because several of our shows get more calls than they need.” The difference isn’t necessarily the market. It’s often how the show invites people into the conversation. Airing callers and text […]

By Randy Lane
•
September 21, 2026
Jerry Seinfeld wrote every episode of Seinfeld longhand, on a yellow legal pad, with a blue Bic pen. He still writes that way. He’s said the flashing cursor on a screen makes him anxious, like it’s asking, “So, whaddaya got?” Why Start With Pen and Paper?Writing by hand slows you down just enough for ideas to […]

By Randy Lane
•
September 15, 2026
In the era of loud, fast-talking announcer DJs, my radio mentor, Todd Wallace, asked my fellow DJs and me, “Would you talk to your neighbor over the back fence like a pukey DJ or just in natural conversation?” Of course we all said we’d talk to them conversationally. Todd concluded, “Talk to listeners on air like […]
