# Best Names in Public Radio **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 9, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512 "2012-11-09T19:43:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/21 "2012-11-10T00:00:38Z")
WBAI in New York (Pacifica Network) has almost too many awesome names to choose from, but here are some favorites (all hosts): Tiokasin Ghosthorse Esther Armah Lister Hewan-Lowe Imhotep Gary Byrd Elvira Liceaga (sometimes calls herself Elvis) Ife Dancy Aura Bogado ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/22 "2012-11-10T00:06:24Z")
My favorite names - Audie Cornish And one of our local WNYC guys, Soterios Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/23 "2012-11-10T00:41:09Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Curiously, I’m pretty certain Lakshmi is a fairly common Indian feminine name, and Singh is damn near the Indian “Smith.” But we love Lakshmi Singh all the same. “Lakshmi” is the Hindu goddess of prosperity and good luck, I believe. One of my faves is a former NPR reporter, now with CNN: Maria Hinejosa. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/24 "2012-11-10T00:58:05Z")
SHIRLEY JIHAD! Her name is SHIRLEY JIHAD. She should be doing anti-american propaganda broadcast out of Iran trying to dishearten our troops “Bart Simpson is making love to your wife.” Sherry Glaser…her name is literally two letter changes from being a porn star name. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/25 "2012-11-10T01:13:37Z")
Our local San Antonio NPR station’s token fun name is [Deirdre Saravia](http://tpr.org/people/deirdre-saravia), spoken in a lovely Irish brogue. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/26 "2012-11-10T01:42:13Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > Don’t you mear Mark O’Worman? 😉 > > (and, btw, over in the thread **Wordman** linked to, I think I’m the only one who voted for Lakshmi) > [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > I had him figured as Marko Wurman. That’s the beauty of it - so many possibilities. I was personally thinking it was Marco Orman until I looked it up today, but so many permutations would fit: Mark O’Worman Marko Wurman Marco Orman Mark O. Ehrman etc. > [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Our local San Antonio NPR station’s token fun name is [Deirdre Saravia](http://tpr.org/people/deirdre-saravia), spoken in a lovely Irish brogue. Ooh, I’ll see your Deirdre Saravia and raise you a **Fiona Ritchie**. There is nothing on Earth more Gaelic than her introducing herself as the host of the Thistle and Shamrock! Most of our local people sound so whitebread: Dick Gordon, Keith Weston, David Brower, Catherine Brand, Eric Hodge, and so on. My favorite locals to hear on the air are **Patty Painter-Wakefield** and \*\*Leoneda Inge \*\*(pronounced “Inj”). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/27 "2012-11-10T01:48:47Z")
Iowa Public Radio has nothing but folks with ordinary names. Sarah McCammon, Barney Sherman, Ben Kiefer, Rob Dillard, Rick Fredericksen. About as interesting as it gets is a gal named Charity Nebbe (say Nebby). ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/28 "2012-11-10T03:12:46Z")
> [@mack](#): > > My favorite names - > > Audie Cornish > > And one of our local WNYC guys, Soterios Johnson. Until I looked it up, I was fairly sure his name was “Satyrios.” Which would have been even cooler. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/29 "2012-11-10T03:42:53Z")
Ira Glass of This American Life. My rave fave. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/30 "2012-11-10T06:31:04Z")
Soterios Johnson just sounds so cool. It sounds way better than it looks. I wondered for years how to spell it until I finally looked it up. I was imagining something more like “Citterius.” ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/31 "2012-11-10T07:07:35Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > Ooh, I’ll see your Deirdre Saravia and raise you a **Fiona Ritchie**. There is nothing on Earth more Gaelic than her introducing herself as the host of the Thistle and Shamrock! Funny, if you read Dierdre’s profile page linked above, her break into local NPR radio was when there was a problem airing Fiona Ritchie’s show and they needed a sub. 😃 Somehow Saravia gets rendered into about eight syllables. It’s really quite something… ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/32 "2012-11-11T02:30:18Z")
I’ll never get over losing Snigdha Prakash, which I always heard as Snit Kaprikash, which looks like something horrible, but sounded lovely. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/33 "2012-11-11T02:45:40Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > SHIRLEY JIHAD! Her name is SHIRLEY JIHAD. She should be doing anti-american propaganda broadcast out of Iran trying to dishearten our troops “Bart Simpson is making love to your wife.” It’s actually “Jahad.” But yeah, it sounds like “jihad” when she says it, and I was disappointed when I found out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/34 "2012-11-11T04:24:24Z")
**Don Gonyea** (“Gon-yay”) Run the names together and it sounds almost like a challenge in a foreign language: “Dongunyay!” (En garde!) Nightclub singer: “And now, the dulcet tones of… Doooon Gonyayyyyyyy, ladies and gentlemen.” One name matinee idol to make the ladies swoon: (high pitched voice) “Ooooooh, Dungunyay!” And ending to something: “And that’s it: It’s Done Gone. Yay!!!” A command in Japanese: “Dungunyay!” (Guy rams ceremonial sword into his belly and commits dungunye) Quasi ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/35 "2012-11-11T16:26:09Z")
No love for [Jian Ghomeshi](http://www.cbc.ca/q/)?!?! Locally, (Chicago / WBEZ) we have Mary DeBaggis (as in ‘I’m gonna shoot da coppers right in da Badges’). Local film critic [Milos Stehlik](http://www.wbez.org/users/mstehlik-0) sounds better than it reads. The s’s are sh’s. [Jim DeRogatis](http://www.wbez.org/blogs/jim-derogatis) is fun to say. That link has the oddest gif for the Oct31 blog entry. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/36 "2012-11-11T16:51:37Z")
What, no love for Click & Clack, the Tappitt Brothers, aka Tom and Ray Magliozzi? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/37 "2012-11-12T06:57:35Z")
While we’re on the subject, does anyone else think Zoe Chase has the sexiest voice on radio? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/38 "2012-11-12T08:24:02Z")
Jad Abumrad of _Radiolab_. > [@Erdosain](#): > > Her name is Yuki? I always hear it as “Yukino Gucci.” I have that same problem with Jo-Ansil Burner. I have that problem with Steve Inskeep. ---
**Author:** ![NPR\_Fan\_3565](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/977dab/32.png) [@NPR\_Fan\_3565](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NPR_Fan_3565)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/39 "2013-01-06T10:33:38Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > True. Kinda like dealing with the name Ralph Fiennes, if it wasn’t all “Rafe” and stuff…😉 > > Interesting tidbit: There is a new newsreader on NPR who’s name is \*\*Windsor \*\ ***Johnston**. Between the WASPy name and her vocal tone and reading style, it was not hard to think “wow, she sounds youngish - is she some sort of Fox news hottie that NPR has brought in?” > > I looked her up - she _is_ very attractive - [see photo](http://wrti.org/post/windsor-johnston-moves)accompanying article announcing her move to NPR, but a brunette, not a blonde. She looks about 19 in that photo, but apparently she is in her early 30’s…but the big news is that she is engaged (or perhaps married by now) to **NPR’s longtime Morning Edition host, Bob Edwards**. I enjoyed him and felt bad when NPR asked him to move on. But the dude is like 64 - go Bob! I happen to be a long time colleague of Windsor’s. Firstly, she is NOT in her early 30’s (hopefully she won’t kill me if she reads this post) she is 38ish and has been in public radios in various positions including Weekend Edition host/ reporter at WHYY in Philadelphia and News Director/ Morning Anchor at WRTI for 16 years. For the past ten years – she was an adjunct professor at Temple University. Last time I spoke with her she was gearing up for a new teaching position at American University in D.C. My point – she’s NOT a blond “hottie” from the most “unbalanced” cable news channel out there – but a gal that has put her LIFE on the line covering conflicts overseas – the Kenyan war in 2007-08, El Salvador, Beirut, Dubai …etc.. Hopefully my point has been made clear. And, honestly, she’s only been at NPR for under a year and people like YOU are already making premature conclusions about this woman. Shame on you. ---
**Author:** ![NPR\_Fan\_3565](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/977dab/32.png) [@NPR\_Fan\_3565](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NPR_Fan_3565)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512/40 "2013-01-06T10:37:03Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > While we’re on the subject, does anyone else think Zoe Chase has the sexiest voice on radio? NO [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-names-in-public-radio/640512.md?page=3)