After getting his start as Limbaugh's legal commentator and a contributor to Sean Hannity's radio program, Levin began his own show in 2002. He styles himself as a rough-and-tumble version of Limbaugh, full of energy and easily enraged. Like Limbaugh, he defends the Republican Party against those who would reinvent it, and he’s adopted a voice that resonates with ideological purity and a sense of righteousness.

Earlier this year, Levin had a famous, expletive-laced on-air fight with the former Bush speechwriter David Frum, a reform-minded conservative who denounced Limbaugh and right-wing radio tactics. Levin’s published works include a manifesto about his vision of conservatism, as well as a volume about his dog Sprite, who died in 2006.