sports programming, and Martin was eliminated during the switch. Subsequently, his former staffer spoke out against him. "Stuff he'd say to us on the air he wouldn't say to us in the hall, because he's a coward," says J.D. Ryan, Martin's radio right-hand man for 25 years. "To him everything was a bit, but eventually he crossed the line. It became personal. He made it clear that being successful wasn't enough. For him to be truly happy, those around him also had to fail miserably." On July 1, 2010, KEGL ran a promo announcing the return of The Russ Martin Show. The show began airing on July 12, 2010, in the 6:00a.m.10:00a.m. time slot. On September 14, 2011, KEGL started airing best-of-episodes of The Russ Martin Show during the show's daypart for an extended period of time. On September 22, 2011, KEGL's then-program director Chris Ryan, announced the Russ Martin Show would be moving to the 3:00p.m.7:00p.m. time slot beginning September 26, 2011. On November 17, 2014, KEGL's sister station KFXR-AM began airing previous afternoon episodes of the show weekdays from 7:00a.m.11:00a.m. Starting in 2016, Russ began having various medical issues and missed several shows throughout the year. Dan, Clo, and Alfie carried the show, with help from Scott West on occasion, and remained at the top of the ratings despite Russ' absences. In addition to Russ Martin, cast members include Dan O'Malley, Clo Raborn, Alfie Coy, and Jerry Caldwell. The show has a number of recurring guests including Dr. Scott Thornton, Everett Newton, Captain Mark Howard, Mark Verma, Scott West, and Ty Jäger. On January 15, 2020 Jerry Caldwell and Ty Jäger were released from the show as a result of sweeping iHeartRadio budget cuts. The theme song for The Russ Martin Show is Fire and Mercy by William Orbit from the 1987 Strange Cargo album. Charity work Martin founded The Russ Martin Show Listeners Foundation in 2002, which benefits the families of police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty. The Foundation also coordinates an annual parade called the Heroes Day Parade. In 2006 he formed The Russ Martin Show Experience, a band made up of RMS cast members, regular guests and local musicians. The band performs rock cover songs at live venues and at an annual "White Trash Party" to raise money for charity. The shows benefit The Russ Martin Show Listeners Foundation.