who are your favorite radio hosts? what qualities make for a good talk-show radio host?

Ira Glass ( This American Life)
Bob Bolen ( All Songs Considered)

Ditto for Glass. Terry Gross (Fresh Air)

Being factually well-informed, being able to listen carefully, being able to stay on-topic, being funny, being able to control the interruption gene, being the antithesis of Anne Coulter or Rush Limbaugh.

Jad Abumrad: great name, good voice, asks interesting questions.

never heard jad abumrad, but the others don’t qualify.
this american life is an often fascinating show but not a talk show.
terry gross does and interview program.

of the actual talkers there are many that i like for different reasons

rush. mark levin. dennis prager. art bell. roy masters. jerry doyle. phil hendrie. glenn beck. michael medved’s national holiday specials in which he delves into signifcant events and periods of american history are excellent.

and then there’s michael savage, whom i would love were it not for the fact that he’s an emotionally disturbed, self-obsessed a.hole and drama queen. really a shame when a brilliant person is so self-diminished and despoiled by his own insecurities and unresolved childhood emotional issues.

not likely at his late age, but if this guy was to get well i think he would rule talk radio ratings.

_fluther provides the marvelous live preview feature, and i still don’t do it.
bad, archer, bad!_

Mark Labrand, even though he doesn’t always play the best music, he can make very funny sketches which in itself make him worth listening to ;-)

George Noory of Coast to Coast AM. I listen every night!

Don and Mike, the radio gods.

Morning “drive-time” radio hosts are what drove me to begin listening to NPR.

syz went from the frying pan, not into the fire, but into a room temperature bowl of oatmeal.

either thetmle and i are the only ones who understand the question, or the only ones who don’t, or a significant difference of opinion on what the definition of talk radio is is in evidence.

i think the commonly accepted definition is as follows:
discussion of current events, politics; from local to world, sociological, cultural, and pretty much everything else sprinkled in to lesser degree, with caller participation being an essential element.

i too love michael savage… archer, that’s what makes radio so refreshing.. i cannot stand the rap radio stations these days… at this point, i dont even listen to radio anymore, i always have my ipod plugged in in my car..

If you want to listen to the smartest, most intellectually honest, inspirational, and just plan nice to listen to, try Dennis Prager. You won’t regret it!

the problem with prager is that he is so excruciatingly slow-paced. he speaks to his audience often as if they were middleschool students, stopping to define and explain everything to such a degree that his paragraphs are often 75% parenthetical assides. you can nap between his thoughts. presented at a normal pace, the content of his three hour program would fit nicely into one.

Jason Bentley ( better when he hosted Metropolis ) and the legendary Joe Frank now off the air but can be found on the net. ( Joe Frank tells mesmerizing, haunting, humorous, disturbing stories… there’s nothing like him ).