As Nocturno-san also said, I saw some of these on Talk Soup.
Most of these weren't really my glass of beer; my favorite
talk show of all time is Space Ghost Coast To Coast.
I also never really watched them but I was definitely aware of them and occasionally if I was home sick from school I'd catch a little bit of one between when I turned on the TV and when I turned on the Nintendo.
I remember how popular these shows were in high school. It was the same mentality that led people to flock to the food court to watch a fight. People love to watch a good fight and they love to know the gossip behind that fight.
Are talk shows still a thing anymore? I don't have TV so I honestly don't know.
I completely forgot about the gay guy that revealed his crush and got murdered three days later...oh man. This entire genre of television deserved to die.