Adam Carolla is no lover of tech

ByABC News
February 19, 2012, 9:54 PM

— -- Comedian Adam Carolla was let go three years ago by CBS Radio, which had hired him to replace its top-rated Howard Stern show in some markets. On Feb. 22, 2009, Carolla decided to pick up where he left off, funding a self-produced Monday through Friday radio show, one that would only be available on the Internet.

Three years later, his advertiser-supported Adam Carolla Show, averages 2 million downloads a week and, according to Guiness Book of World Records, is the most downloaded podcast ever.

The comedian has parlayed his Internet success into other arenas as well. His November 2010 InFifty Years We'll All Be Chicks book hit the best-seller charts, he hosts Speed TV's The Car Show and is on the new season of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice as a contestant.

And unlike most of the guests we speak to on Talking Your Tech, he makes his living from cyberspace but hates technology.

We met with Carolla at his warehouse in Glendale, Calif., where he produces his podcast.

Why he started the podcast

"When I found out I was going to be canned from terrestrial radio, my buddy said, 'You should do a podcast,' and I said, 'Yeah, let's keep going.' For me, it was never a big distinction between what I was doing on the radio and what I'm doing here. It was a radio show that was on the Internet. The only distinction: You hear it out of your iPhone that happened to be plugged into your car stereo, or sitting at your computer."

How the podcast pays his bills

"The podcast is a platform. It helps to sell books, to sell out theaters, promote whatever project you're doing. I sold 20,000 copies of my book two months before it came out, and ended up in the top 10 on Amazon just from the podcast. That puts money in my pocket."

Working in cyberspace; hating tech

"I don't know anything about computers. I didn't even know what the 'pod' part of the podcast was for the first two and a half years of the show. I believe I emit some sort of electromagnetic (field) that screws up technology and causes things to go bad around me. I'm a sort of nuts-and-bolt guy. I'm into turning wrenches and swinging a hammer and wrenching on cars."

Growing more comfortable with tech?

"No, that's like saying, 'Has being in the porn biz gotten you more intimate with your husband?' It's just a way to say, look, I want to be in business for myself. It's kind of a powerful tool, a big bullhorn, and you can ultimately work for yourself, have a flexible schedule, say what you want to say, and pay the bills."

Not using a laptop computer

"I don't know how to use a laptop. I don't use one during the podcast. I can retweet or tweet, but I don't know how to add a comment. I'm an idiot. I'm a doofus from the Valley, a blue-collar guy."