Politically Incorrect was an American late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002, first on Comedy Central and then on ABC. Four guests (usually including at least one comedian) would debate topics across the political spectrum in what Maher once described as "The McLaughlin Group on acid." Of the 1300+ episodes produced, 190 can be viewed on YouTube.
Background
Wikipedia: "On rare occasions, Maher would interview a single guest. The show was pioneering in mixing political figures and entertainers. Maher tried to air all points of view, especially controversial ones. Guests could be both aggravating and insightful, with the conversation similar to a cocktail party with quick-witted guests."
The Show
Playlist for all shows. (Slightly out of order.
1993 (Comedy Central Era)
July 25, 1993: Jerry Seinfeld, Larry Miller, Robin Quivers & Ed Rollins (Alternate link)
September 12, 1993: Jerry Seinfeld, Larry Miller, Wilbert A. Tatum & Curtis Sliwa (Alternate Link)
September 19, 1993: Roseanne Barr, Matt Lauer, Lorraine Bracco & John O'Sullivan (Alternate Link)
1994
March 15, 1994: Tim Allen, Ed Asner, Arianna Huffington & Tom Hayden
November 3, 1994: Neil Peart, Alan Zweibel, Franklyn Ajaye & Elizabeth Wurtzel
1995
March 29, 1995: Garry Shandling, Kato Kaelin, LeVar Burton & Susan Estrich
March 31, 1995: George Clooney, Jay Leno, Gabrielle Carteris & Daryl Gates (Alternate Link)
April 26, 1995: Julianna Margulies, Tom Arnold, Carrot Top & Hugh Downs
November 29, 1995: Jason Alexander, Jeff Foxworthy, John Tesh & Tammy Bruce
November 30, 1995: Jay Leno, Ed McMahon, Randy Newman & Doris Allen (Alternate Link)
1996
March 5, 1996: James Carville, Todd Rundgren, Maureen Reagan & Ming-Na Wen (Alternate Link)
May 1, 1996: Jon Lovitz, Paul Butler, Ralph Farquhar & Rachel Campos
May 23, 1996: David Cross, Michelle Phillips, Robert Anton Wilson & Bob Guccione, Jr.
June 27, 1996: Dolph Lundgren, Slash, Tom Dreesen & Richard Blackwell
1997 (ABC Era)
February 3, 1997: Lisa Kudrow, Mark Hamill, Jeff Greenfield & Roger Hedgecock
February 12, 1997: Bob Odenkirk, Ken Osmond, Joe Arpaio & Daryl Gates
March 14, 1997: Phil Hartman, Merrill Markoe, Jerry Yang & Clifford Stoll
April 16, 1997: Dave Matthews, Carl Reiner, Clarence Page & Judith Regan
May 15, 1997: Gary Busey, Steven Wright, Susan Carpenter McMillan & Yxta Maya Murra
May 16, 1997: Al Franken, Rick Schroder, Star Parker & Christine O'Donnell
May 26, 1997: Weird Al Yankovic, Gibby Haynes, Stephen Bishop & Me'shell Ndegeocello
May 30, 1997: Norm Macdonald, Arianna Huffington, Christopher "Kid" Reid & Paul Theroux
June 24, 1997: Todd Rundgren, Tom Dreesen, Sheneska Jackson & Don Feder
July 31, 1997: Marilyn Manson, G. Gordon Liddy, Florence Henderson & Lakita Garth (Alternate Link)
August 19, 1997: Paul Rodriguez, Rick Schroder, Joe Scarborough & Dee Dee Myers
August 28, 1997: Jon Lovitz, Sammy Hagar, Clifford Stoll & Farai Chideya
September 9, 1997: Clive Barker, Sophie B. Hawkins, Wil Shriner & Christine O'Donnell
September 29, 1997: Kevin Nealon, Michael O'Keefe, Christine O'Donnell & Courtney Weaver
October 14, 1997: Whoopi Goldberg, Fran Drescher, Willie Brown & Dana Rohrabacher
October 31, 1997: Jerry Springer, Dan Cortese, Todd Rundgren & Jenica Bergere (Alternate Link)
November 17, 1997: Dom DeLuise, Rick James, Chris Hardwick & Christine O'Donnell
November 25, 1997: Sammy Hagar, Kathy Griffin, Cornel West & Marianne Williamson
No Airdate: Camille Paglia (This was a two part episode which aired on Comedy Central, most likely in 1997. Ms. Paglia was Bill's only guest for both evenings.)
No Airdate: Roseanne Barr
1998
January 5, 1998: Jerry Falwell, Martin Mull, Carol Alt & Christine O'Donnell (Quality of tape is poor for the first 2-3 minutes)
March 5, 1998: Dennis Miller, Eric Idle, Arianna Huffington & Jeff Greenfield
March 31, 1998: Kevin Sorbo, Ann Coulter, Daniel Stern & Vincent Bugliosi
April 1, 1998: Faith Ford, Jim Hightower, John Schneider & Janet Parshall
April 2, 1998: Raquel Welch, Todd Rundgren, Stephanie Hodge & Jane Chastain (Alternate Link)
April 27, 1998: Al Franken, Lynn Redgrave, Star Jones & Elizabeth Wurtzel (Recording is incomplete.)
April 28, 1998: William H. Macy, Arianna Huffington, Robin Cook & Ruby Wax (Recording is incomplete.)
April 29, 1998: Meredith Vieira, Paul Mooney, Ray Davies & Suzanne Somers
May 6, 1998: Paul Sorvino, Shelley Long, Bill T. Jones & Pat Schroeder (Quality is poor. Recording is incomplete.)
May 14, 1998: Richard Lewis, Dennis Prager, Ron Reagan & (Lisa) Kennedy
June 12, 1998: Dennis Miller, Peta Wilson, Jack Burkman & Toni Tennille
June 30, 1998: David Cross, Jerry Mathers, Lynn Redgrave & Henry Jaglom
July 2, 1998: John Henson, Nell Carter, Tucker Carlson & Nancy Friday
August 3, 1998: Eddie Izzard, Martin Mull, Jasmine Guy & Christine O'Donnell
August 11, 1998: Pat Cooper, Garcelle Beauvais, Cal Thomas & Wendy Fitzwilliam
September 9, 1998: Fyvush Finkel, Steve Hytner, Dave Matthews & Christine Whitman
September 18, 1998: Eddie Izzard, Lea Thompson, Grace Slick & Niger Innes (Recording is incomplete.)
October 2, 1998 Pamela Anderson, Marilyn Manson, Robert Reich & Cyndi Mosteller (Quality is poor. Recording is incomplete.)
November 7, 1998: Bob Costas, Daisy Fuentes, Todd Rundgren & Tom Fitton (Alternate Link)
1999
January 8, 1999: Dick Clark, Coolio, Deborah Harry & Mark McGrath (Recording is incomplete.)
January 27, 1999: Richard Lewis, Stacy Keach, David Wyndorg & Melanie Morgan
March 8, 1999: Dave Matthews, Elayne Boosler, Joe Califano & Earl Jackson
March 17, 1999: Greg Proops, Gloria Allred, Todd Rundgren & Kirby Wilbur (Alternate Link)
May 6, 1999: Christopher Hitchens, Michael Caton, Suzanne Somers & Kevin Griffin
May 20, 1999: Michael Moore, Mark Lamarr, Jeremy Northam & Julie Kirkbride (Recorded in London)
May 20, 1999: Graham Norton, Jonathan Ross, Emma Samms & Jarvis Cocker (Recorded in London. Recording is incomplete)
August 9, 1999: Kato Kaelin, Danni Ashe, Golden Brooks & Floyd Brown
August 25, 1999: Joe Piscopo, Denyce Graves, Jerry Nachman & Anne Bateman
September 10, 1999: Colin Mortensen, Amaya Brecher, Matt Simon & Tecumshea Holmes (Recording is incomplete.)
September 16, 1999: John O'Hurley, Crystal Bernard, Dave Barry & Steve Frank (Recording is incomplete.)
September 17, 1999: Howie Mandel, Shae O'Lyn, Ali Landry & Tom Fitton (Recording is incomplete.)
October 4, 1999: Kid Rock, Marlee Matlin, Howie Mandel & Dennis Prager
October 26, 1999: Penn Jillette, Scott Turow, Nia Long & Karen Rickard
November 30, 1999: Joe Lieberman, William Baldwin, Barbara Olson & John Henton
December 8, 1999: Bill O'Reilly, Michael Bolton, Cathy Ladman & Natalie Raitano
December 16, 1999: Rob Schneider, Terry Bradshaw, Nadine Strossen & Marianne Lombari
December 22, 1999: Hal Sparks, Bif Naked, Leeza Gibbons & Tom Fitton
December 27, 1999: John Fugelsang, Rena Sofer, Bryan Kemper & Bishop John Spong
2000
January 3, 2000: Elayne Boosler, Marina Sirtis, Drew Pinsky & Amy Alkon
January 11, 1999: Jane Seymour, Joe Scarborough, Kevin Keating & Paul Provenza (Recording is incomplete.)
January 27, 2000: Naomi Judd, Robert Townsend, Rick Yune & Dinesh D'Souza
January 30, 2000: Jason Alexander, Mark Harmon, Ali Landry, Billy Corgan & Smashing Pumpkins
February 4, 2000: Larry Flynt, Steve Hytner, Edwin McCain & Charmaine Yoest
February 15, 2000: Pauly Shore, Rachael Leigh Cook, Gena Lee Nolin & Bell Hooks
March 1, 2000: Michael McKean, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Karri Turner & Darlene Kennedy
April 24, 2000: Tia Carrere, Todd Rundgren, Ken Hamblin & Reno Collier (Alternate Link)
May 3, 2000: David Spade, Greg Mathis, Freddie Mendez & Cindy Shill
May 4, 2000: Mike Farrell, Daryl Mitchell, Maria Martinez & Rubin Becarra
May 9, 2000: Drew Carey, Bill O'Reilly, Jeri Ryan & John Taylor
May 18, 2000: Hugh Hefner, Adam Carolla, Bijou Phillips, Scott Weiland, Amy Alkon, Catherine McCord & Jeff Bridges
June 12, 2000: Dennis Miller, Simon Le Bon, Jane Alexander & Deroy Murdoch
June 13, 2000: Adam Goldberg, Zach Galifianakis, Chuck D. & Laura Ingraham
June 15, 2000: Eddie Izzard, Bradley Whitford, Heather Donahue & Holly McClure
June 22, 2000: Cedric the Entertainer, John Singleton, Charlotte Ross & Cyndi Mosteller
June 28, 2000: Marina Sirtis, Julie Brown, Greg Graffin & Christina Hoff Sommers
July 7, 2000: Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Lennox Lewis & Ann Coulter (Recording is incomplete.)
July 10, 2000: Christopher Titus, Gail O'Grady, Balthazar Getty & Betsy Hart
July 19, 2000: Molly Sims, Corey Feldman, Mindy Sterling & Monica Crowley
July 20, 2000: Chris Masterson, Alex Borstein, Chad Everett & Niger Innis (Recording is incomplete.)
July 28, 2000: Peter Fonda, Rachael Leigh Cook, Paul F. Tompkins & Tasia Scolinos
July 31, 2000: Adam Carolla, Michelle Phillips, Maggie Gallagher & Maxine Waters
August 4, 2000: Paul Rodriguez, Terry McAuliffe, Jack Kingston & Darlene Kennedy
August 7, 2000: John Waters, Patricia Hearst, Stephen Dorff & Bob Larson
August 8, 2000: Richard Kind, Elayne Boosler, William McNamara & Alan Keyes (Recording is incomplete.)
August 15, 2000: Alec Baldwin, Joan Rivers, Billy Bush & Barbara Boxer
August 22, 2000: Joe Rogan, Shari Belafonte, Kari Wuhrer & David McReynolds
August 23, 2000: John Spencer, John Hagelin, Beth Littleford & Mitch Albom
September 6, 2000: Fred Willard, Bruce Vilanch, Gabrielle Union & Debra J. Saunders
September 8, 2000: Jay Mohr, Ernie Hudson, Elisa Donovan & Earl Jackson
September 11, 2000: Kathy Griffin, Richard Hatch, Leeza Gibbons & Mitchell Fink
September 25, 2000: Jay Thomas, Mary Louise Kurey, Elmore Leonard & Summer Altice (Recording is incomplete.)
October 11, 2000: Peter Boyle, Naomi Judd, Randy Tate & Faraj Chideya
October 13, 2000: James Van Der Beek, Chris Hardwick, Julie Stofer & Bryan Kemper
October 19, 2000: Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, Sam Elliott & Rod Lurie
October 27, 2000: Mos Def, Guy Torry, Charlotte Church & Holly McClure
November 8, 2000: Jason Alexander, Laura Innes, Jewel & Dennis Prager
November 16, 2000: Kelsey Grammer, Ann Coulter, Steven Weber & Lisa Ling
November 23, 2000: Keith Olberman, Lennox Lewis, Mark Cuban & Todd Ziele
November 24, 2000: (Recording is incomplete.)
November 28, 2000: Al Franken, Adam West, Sheryl Lee Ralph & Al Rantel
December 7, 2000: Michelle Phillips, Jimmie Walker, Alfred Molina & Darlene Kennedy
December 8, 2000: Annabeth Gish, Mo Gaffney, Jim Moret & Joseph M. Giardello (Recording is incomplete.)
December 14, 2000: Alan Thicke, Sharon Lawrence, Nadine Strossen & Dinesh D'Souza (Recording is incomplete.)
December 22, 2000: Victoria Jackson, Aaron Neville, Michael Shermer & Julia Sweeney
December 29, 2000: Andrew Dice Clay, John Salley, Joshua Morrow & Charmaine Yoest
2001
January 4, 2001: Richard Lewis, Art Alexakis, Paula Cale & Julia Goran
January 5, 2001: Dick Clark, P!nk, Nelly & Sisqo
January 10, 2001: Eddie Izzard, Orlando Jones, Donovan Leitch & Cyndi Mosteller
January 15, 2001: Coolio, Roshumba, Iyanla Vanzant & Carlton Pearson
January 16, 2001: George Wallace (comedian), Sean Young, Joe Scarborough & Sean Patrick Thomas (Recording is incomplete.)
January 22, 2001: Kim Coles, John Taylor, Dick Schaap & Debbie Schlussel
January 23, 2001: Shelley Long, Drew Pinsky, Anita Roddick & Jane Adams
January 25, 2001: Tommy Smothers, Bob Costas, Denyce Graves & Suzanne Fields
February 7, 2001: Naomi Judd, Bill Press, Barbara Boxer & Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Recording is incomplete.)
February 12, 2001: Chris Rock, Marlee Matlin, Donny Osmond & Laura Doyle
February 14, 2001: Caroline Rhea, Regina King, Mary Stuart Masterson & Wendy Walsh
February 20, 2001: Aisha Tyler, Shaggy, Charles Rangel & Joe Rogers
March 6, 2001: Trace Adkins, Vicki Lawrence, Rae Dawn Chong & Lama Surya Das
March 7, 2001: Cathy Moriarty, Neal Boortz, David Draiman & Holly Robinson Peete (Alternate Link)
March 27, 2001: John Lydon, Molly Sims, Joshua Redman & Kirby Wilbur
April 5, 2001: Adam Carolla, Ashley Power, Demi Bardsley & Daniel Tamaki
April 27, 2001: Jerry Springer, Jerry Falwell, Rosa Blasi & Lisa Miree
May 2, 2001: Whoopi Goldberg, Gene Simmons, Christopher Hitchens & Dennis Prager
May 4, 2001: Pauly Shore, Mos Def, Vivica A. Fox & Amy Holmes
May 10, 2001: Jay Mohr, Jane Seymour, Eve & Niger Innes
May 16, 2001: George Carlin, Horace Cooper, Julie Warner & Robert Shapiro
May 17, 2001: David Brenner, Valerie Harper, Taj Mahal & Kellyanne Conway
May 22, 2001: Tommy Smothers, Jennifer Tilly, Joey McIntyre & Kerri Houston
May 23, 2001: Al Franken, Holland Taylor, Jeff Baxter & Marjorie Strayer
May 24, 2001: Super Dave Osborne, Katherine LaNasa, Eric Burdon & Darlene Kennedy
May 28, 2001: Blake Clark, Adrian Cronauer, Wilma Vaught & Nguyen Cao Ky
June 1, 2001: Craig Ferguson, Dave Matthews, Florence Henderson & Ann Coulter (Recording is incomplete.)
June 4, 2001: Paul Rodriguez, Barbara Ehrenreich, Frank Turek & Rae Dawn Chong
June 11, 2001: Aisha Tyler, KRS-One, Jean Smart & Bob Glass
June 12, 2001: Kevin Nealon, Charlotte Hays, Evan Lowenstein & Tanya Roberts
June 13, 2001: Alan Thicke, Randy Tate, Wendy Wasserstein & Maile Misajon
June 14, 2001: Joe Rogan, Robert Wuhl, Mark Cuban & Nancy Wolf
June 15, 2001: Lionel Richie, Cory Kahaney, Jordana Brewster & Tom Sirotnak
June 19, 2001: Dane Cook, Andrew Farriss, Leeza Gibbons & Cheri Jacobus
June 20, 2001: Malcolm McDowell, Shelley Long, Bob Larson & Jay McGraw
June 21, 2001: Erin Brockovich, Rick Roberts, Bill Weir & Elizabeth Pena
June 25, 2001: Tim Stack, Kristin Chenoweth, Jennifer O'Neill & Suzanna Hupp
June 26, 2001: Michael McKean, Elizabeth Perkins, Regina Hall & Floyd Brown
June 27, 2001: Arsenio Hall, Daisy Fuentes, Rick Fox & Catherine Edwards
June 29, 2001: Adam Carolla, Suzanne Somers, Neil Clark Warren & Laura Corn
July 9, 2001: Jay Mohr, Elayne Boosler, Mark Langston & Roy Firestone
July 10, 2001: Jay Leno, William H. Macy, Laura Ingraham & Samantha Mathis
July 11, 2001: Michael Moore, Sandra Bernhard, Yancy Butler & Christina Hoff Sommers
July 12, 2001: Arianna Huffington, David Cassidy, Tony Perkins & Beth Lapides
July 13, 2001: Dave Navarro, Harland Williams, John Saul & Rebecca Hagelin
August 9, 2001: John Lydon, Kevin Griffin, John Cameron Mitchell & Maggie Gallagher
August 13, 2001: Rufus Wainwright, Robert Conrad, Lisa Ann Walter & Lou Sheldon
August 15, 2001: Bryan Crantson, Usher, Jami Gertz & Angela McGlowan
August 17, 2001: Terry Bradshaw, Rick Harris, Shannon Elizabeth & Genevieve Wood
September 20, 2001: Laura Innes, Dennis Prager & Peter Greenburg
September 27, 2001: John Waters, Michael Graham, John Henson & Sue Ellicott
October 11, 2001: Marlee Matlin, Henry Kriegel, Robert Scheer & Katherine Spillar
November 14, 2001: Snoop Dogg, George Wallace (comedian), Jill Stewart & Floyd Brown
November 15, 2001: Billy Connolly, Bill Press, Tammy Bruce & Kellyanne Conway
November 20, 2001: Mike Farrell, Charlotte Ross, Phil Little & Dana Rohrabacher
November 21, 2001: Mo'Nique Imes-Jackson, Gil Bellows, Clive Cussler & Jane Chastain
November 30, 2001: Richard Kind, As'ad AbuKhalil, Jean Sasson & Humberto Fontova
December 4, 2001: Seth Green, Holland Taylor, Bruce Thornton & Danis Tanovic
December 5, 2001: Nestor Carbonell, Elayne Boosler, Drew Pinsky & Sheri Annis
December 6, 2001: Christopher Hitchens, Marilu Henner, Dave Barry & Larry Klayman
December 11, 2001: Danny Bonaduce, Mario Van Peebles, Rita Rudner & Cheri Jacobus
December 14, 2001: Bob Saget, James Van Praagh, Sean Young & Christine O'Donnell
2002
January 30, 2002: Boots Riley, Harland Williams, Eric Braeden & Erin Shannon
April 15, 2002: Eddie Izzard, Harry Hamlin, Farai Chideya & Janice Crouse
April 22, 2002: Annabelle Gurwitch, Kevin Richardson, Robert Conrad & Erin Shannon
June 10, 2002: Penn Jillette, Jane Seymour, Michael Olowokandi & Debbie Schlussel (Poor quality)
June 11, 2002: William Shatner, Al Franken, Lisa Pinto & Rania Masri (Poor quality)
June 12, 2002: Tim Stack, Valerie Harper, Peter Stormare & Tom Fitton
June 13, 2002: Gene Simmons, Dave Foley, Gary Johnson & Jane Chastain
June 14, 2002: Bryan Cranston, Little Richard, Rachael Leigh Cook & Lauren Kitchens
Cancelled
Politically Incorrect was cancelled by ABC in 2002, thanks to an incident that happened six days after 9/11. Maher and political conservative Dinesh D'Souza had this conversation on the show:
D'SOUZA: Bill, there's another piece of political correctness I want to mention. And, although I think Bush has been doing a great job, one of the themes we hear constantly is that the people who did this are cowards.
MAHER: Not true.
D'SOUZA: Not true. Look at what they did. First of all, you have a whole bunch of guys who are willing to give their life. None of them backed out. All of them slammed themselves into pieces of concrete.
MAHER: Exactly.
D'SOUZA: These are warriors. And we have to realize that the principles of our way of life are in conflict with people in the world. And so -- I mean, I'm all for understanding the sociological causes of this, but we should not blame the victim. Americans shouldn't blame themselves because other people want to bomb them.
MAHER: But also, we should -- we have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly. You're right.
Video here. Maher's comment was misinterpreted as saying the U.S. military was "cowardly." D'Souza's role in the conversation was ignored. A backlash followed. Several major advertisers (FedEx, Sears, General Motors) pulled out of the show and 17 ABC affiliates dropped it. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer denounced Maher's comments. Several months later, ABC cancelled the show citing poor ratings. Political (in)correctness had killed Politically Incorrect.
Salon.com interviews Maher, 2003: Why do you think D'Souza escaped criticism?
"That is a question I have been asking. Because I like Dinesh but boy, he took a cab after that. I never heard from him. He never stuck his head up, and he'd been a guest on our show many times. Lots of people came to my defense — people you never would have thought, like Rush Limbaugh. But Dinesh stayed way under the radar. He is not a warrior."
Maher went on to host live, one-hour show with a similar format the following year: Real Time with Bill Maher. As of 2014, Real Time is still going strong. In 2012, Dinesh D'Souza was a guest. "[Maher] told the conservative author how 'it could have been helpful' if during the national firestorm over his remarks, D'Souza had stood up to defend him since the two of them were originally just agreeing on the air. D'Souza shot back that Maher's real troubles were the result of his including the United States military in his comments — something D'Souza explicitly did not do. Clearly embittered by the experience, Maher was not convinced and expressed skepticism at D'Souza's claims to have defended Maher on "free speech grounds" while doing media appearances in the following weeks."