The voice that irritates me the most, however, is the one that says, “Braaaaaaains!”
What’s the correct spelling for David (?) last name sounds like Flick and Flack? Flickenfleck? I heard his name on NPR today but don’t know that I’ve ever heard him.
David Folkenflik. Another who totally doesn’t look like I imagined; not sure what I thought he looked like, though.
I don’t have anyone who is completely annoying to me at the moment; I think I’m so used to everyone’s tics that they’re just markers I use to identify the speaker.
I can’t think of anything to say except “read my post more slowly.”
Good Morning. I just wanted to say something positive. I am in love with Christa Tippet’s voice. That melodic almost shy tone is great. A perfect person to talk about spirituality. I looked for a photo of her on line and could not find one. At first I didn’t like Ira Glass. I thought he lucked into his job by having Phillip Glass as his brother. American Life at first listen to years ago sounded like the most introspective, rambling piece of narcissistic prattle imaginable. Now after giving it a chance I love it. I think it is about the best thing on public radio. One question: Is it me or is a Prarrie Home Companion sounding more and more like the Lawrence Welk show of the baby boomer generation? Damn, I wish the host would stop singing1 At least that would be an improvement.
Along those lines of contributors to This American Life, I cannot handle David Sedaris’ voice. He’s an amazing writer, but I really want someone else to read his contributions to the show. (I understand the voice adds to it, but for me, typically that means I’m fast-forwarding through his part of the podcast.)
It’s not just you. Garrison Keillor had a stroke a few weeks ago; the evil little devil inside me wishes it had been just serious enough to end that dreck, but no such luck.
While I do enjoy my weekly “News from Lake Wobegon” podcasts, I really do wish someone would tell Mr. Keilor that he cannot, and should never on the public airwaves, sing, other than the the opening song for the show. There’ve been a handful of NfLW’s where he’s more or less ditched the notion of relating any news and instead sang for ten minutes or so. I tend to delete the podcast if he doesn’t stop singing within ten to thirty seconds now.
Aside from that: And here I thought NPR personalities had fabulous names when all I was doing was hearing them on the radio! Has John Smith no hope of ever achieving his dream of an NPR news reading gig? 
Then let me rephrase: How can anyone not like Ira Glass’ voice. I could listen to him for hours. 
I sometimes mistake David Sedaris for Ira Glass, unless they’re speaking to each other. Ira’s voice is lower.
And see, I really enjoy Glass’ voice, but there’s something about Sedaris’ that sends me scrambling for the fast-forward feature. shrug
It’s adenoidal quality annoys the snot out of me.
Am I mixing my metaphors?
There are no NPR voices that I really dislike. The newreaders are quite polished, and this thread makes me wonder if Ira Glass emphasizes his unpolished-ness. Mostly I just appreciate each for what they have to say.
But the three great voices on public radio are Carolyn Faye Fox (panelist on Says You!), Lyse Doucet (reader on the BBC World Service) and Roxanne Roberts (panelist on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me…).
Krista Tippett.
I find Eleanor Beardsley’s voice the most interesting. She’s got this Southern sorority girl/ Junior Leaguer sort of twang, very nasal, unintentionally snobbish.
I can’t decide whether I love or hate the way she pronounces “Sarkozy”. It’s not quite French, but it’s not really American either.
I’m gonna have to pay more attention.
What is wrong with you people? Seriously. I could listen to NPR for the spectacular voices alone. There’s not a single on-air personality I find ‘annoying’ (actually, what I find most annoying are people who are easily annoyed by the most trivial things). Ira Glass is the best broadcaster in the country, period; Terry Gross the best interviewer. No one knows health policy issues better than Joanne Silberner (who now reports for PRI). Nina Totenberg makes the Supreme Court come to life with her incredible readings. Wade Goodman sounds like Dr. Phil?? Peter Overby has a lisp? The late Daniel Schorr can’t enunciate? Please clean your ears. I could listen to all of them all day (and most days I do).
Oh we all do, Mr. Titus. This is like griping about your grandma, or something. You love her and visit her every single day — sometimes twice a day and three times on Sunday — but she can still annoy the crap out of you.
Welcome to the Straight Dope!
Since this zombie has been resurrected (that’s what we call old threads injected with sudden new life) I want to talk about Eleanor Beardsley some more. She’s been on a lot in the past few month due to the middle-eastern revolutions. I agree; her voice fascinates me. I keep expecting her to bust out a French accent for no particular reason. I wonder if she has children she’s raising in France and what they sound like.
I’ve spent way too much time recently wondering about ole Eleanor’s life.
[Dr. Phil]You just don’t get it, do you?[/Wade Goodwyn]
And if you didn’t hear anything wrong with the late Mr. Schorr’s voice, you need a new radio.
I have hard time describing what bothers me about Ira Glass’s delivery. It’s not the nasality. It’s that – he speaks with – odd pauses and – shoots the rest of the words out like an adenoidal machine gun. And even his back-up on This American Life does it too. It must be in the contract.
I’m definitely going to miss hearing **Liane Hansen’**s voice on Sundays. I wasn’t particularly in love with her voice, but it was a comforting way to start the day. On a related note, as much as I enjoy what the Puzzle Master has to say, Will Shortz has a really annoying voice (link to picture included only because I find the picture amusing).
He sounds like a kid playing radio in the basement. “Ira, will your little radio friends be staying for dinner?” 
Some cool stuff sometimes, though, like a haunted house in the nineteenth century being caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from gas lights and hallucination.
If she is who I think she is, (a) I went to school with her son and (b) she’s a twit.
Her then-husband* was a well-recognized and AFAIK well-respected professor at the University of South Carolina and minor local celebrity. Their son was, IIRC, one of my high school class’s co-valedictorians.
At my high school graduating class awards banquet, after I’d gotten up to receive my seventh or eighth recognition, she turned to my mother, seated next to her, and asked what my father did for a living.
“He drives a delivery truck,” my mother told her.
“And what do you do?” she followed up, clearly confused.
“I’m a secretary,” my mother answered.
There was a pause and she asked, “Where do you think he gets it?”
:rolleyes:
My mother loves to tell this story, and loves to add “I almost told her we had a really smart milk man, but she probably would have believed me.”
Oy, and in researching to see if I could tell for sure she’s not the Eleanor Beardsley I think she is, I see that we have the same alma mater. Foo.
*I neither know nor care if they are still married.