Kirk Minihane returned to his daily podcast this week after a near month-long hiatus. It was the second time this year he took a break from The Kirk Minihane Show to focus on his mental health.
Minihane joined Barstool in May 2019 after previously serving as a co-host to Boston’s popular morning show Kirk & Callahan Show on WEEI. Twice in 2018, Minihane stepped away from the WEEI morning show after experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts. The second break ultimately led to his departure from WEEI and their parent company Entercom, Minihane joined Barstool shortly after.
His first leave of absence with Barstool came earlier this year, but he was back in studio less than two weeks later as COVID-19 was becoming a news story that took over the country. When Minihane stepped away from his Barstool podcast for the second time beginning July 27, he expected this break to last longer, tweeting “I’m going to be gone for a while, not a week or two like before. I need to get better, need to figure this out. But I will be back.”
And he is back. Minihane recorded a short podcast last week, announcing plans to return to the daily show beginning Monday, Aug. 24. In the podcast, Minihane briefly discussed his struggle with suicidal thoughts and his understanding that it’s something he will continue to address for the rest of his life.
“This is with me and it’s my job to speak up when it arrives – I did in February, quickly,” Minihane said. “I didn’t this time, I didn’t want to admit it was here, I didn’t want to admit it was back. And it was back, and it was worse than it’s ever been.”
But Minihane said that he did get treatment, receiving different medications and diagnoses, adding that he feels much better than he did a few weeks ago.
Through the needed time off from his daily podcast, Minihane’s fanbase remains as strong as ever. In the days prior to his most recent leave of absence, Minihane put on two sold out live shows at a drive-in movie theater in Saco, ME, attracting droves of Minifans. Last week, a 90 second accidental periscope broadcast from Kirk’s pocket received over 40,000 views.
If you or someone you know is dealing with depression and thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
