Stern: Why I Won't Hire a Prostitute

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Howard Stern says former sidekick Artie Lange may return to the air for the first time following last year’s suicide attempt. “He said to me recently that he would be willing to come on the air and explain what happened and stuff," says Stern, but adds that he wants to make sure “I’d be doing the right thing by him … I just want Artie to stay alive." More from the interview:

• On Charlie Sheen: "I sort of admire Charlie Sheen's ability to say f*** you to the world. It's a fascinating car wreck because, you know, how many people are in Hollywood dying for a hit television show? I don't know whether to give him a medal or to throw him in a loony bin.”

• On the wild days following his divorce: "After my divorce, I realized, ‘Oh, wow, I can go have sex.’ And I was running around, picking up women. Then all of a sudden, it dawned on me that I really didn't need that much sex.”
• Why he’ll never hire a prostitute: "I'm too germ-phobic."
• Why he’s not a Rush Limbaugh fan: “Wouldn't he be a lot more interesting if once in a while he was for something that the Republican Party was against? I thought he had a real opportunity with that whole drug-addiction thing to maybe open up and say, ‘Man, I'm as confused as all of you.’ But, no, he has to keep the persona.”

Click for more from the interview. (More Artie Lange stories.)