I’m a liberal ass! I listen to NPR almost every day and sometimes I’m lucky on my day off to hear the Diane Rehm show while I’m driving in my car. Her voice at first irritated me, but I learned that she had a medical problem that involved her voice. So, she had to learn to speak slowly to be able to talk.
Since I’ve been listening to her, I’ve always assumed she was Black/Afro-American. That’s just the way her voice sounds to me.
Am I alone in this?
Between the two of us, yeah, you’re alone.
Um, I wasn’t aware that it’s possible to sound black. 
My wife and I just got back from visiting DC about three weeks ago and heard her show for the first time while driving into town. I could not stand her voice – very much like nails on a chalkboard, and her pacing just made it that much worse. Knowing that there’s a medical reason for it makes me feel better about her.
As to her looks, though – based on the link you sent, she looks almost exactly the way I pictured her (she looks a bit thinner than I would have guessed).
The sad part is that I very much liked her show - until her voice gave out (I forget exactly what the problem was). I remember feeling really badly for her at the time, but just being unable to listen to her.
Too slow, too warbly.
On the plus side, my brother does a fantastic Diane Rehm (post-voice problem) impression that never fails to get a chortle outta me.
You’d have really hated her voice if you’d heard her prior to her treatments. I don’t recall exactly, but I believe she even had surgery at some point.
I swear, you people who get so upset about her voice! Hope you never have an elderly relative to listen to. Seriously , though, Clockwork and Candy, have you never ever ever thought someone was black when you heard their voice? Around here, there are pretty distinctive differences in the way most white people talk, and most black people. Not all… but I’d say 85% of the time, if I had to guess the race of a customer who calls our store and then comes in, I’d be right, just from inflection and accent.
But Diane Rehm? She’s always sounded white to me!
I’m not sure it’s racist to say that many black folks in the United States share a style of speaking. Not all, and some white folks have the same style, but it is true.
I never noticed that Diane Rehm sounded that way.
In 1998, Rehm was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition that causes strained, difficult speech. After finding treatment, she wrote several articles and produced a program about the little-known disorder. The National Council on Communicative Disorders recognized her work with a Communication Award, and the Maryland Speech-Hearing-Language Association honored her with a Media Award."
So, am I completely alone in finding her voice to be oddly soothing? I started listening to her show sometime after her vocal problems started (somewhere around four years ago I think) and since then her’s has been my favorite radio voice.
As for the OP the only difference between what I thought she looked like by her voice and how she actually looks in that link is that I always pictured her to be slightly older looking, but I wasn’t all that suprised that somone with spasmodic dysphonia would not look exactly like their voice suggested.
I don’t like listening to her just because she’s become one of those interviewers who seems to interject her own editorializing into her questions. Criminy, can’t anyone just ask a question and let the guest answer?? Even if she had the most wonderful of radio voices, her style would have me tuning out. Thankfully, I’m usually at work when she’s on and I don’t have a radio at my desk.