# Most annoying public radio personality? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2001, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824 "2001-11-16T21:52:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Barking\_Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Barking\_Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Spider)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/21 "2001-11-18T01:34:16Z")
Yep, I believe the OP said “PUBLIC RADIO”. In case some posters dont understand the definition of that, it means “radio broadcasting by the Fed. Gov., which is paid for by your money which we steal from your paycheck. We dont care if you dont like it, because you paid for it anyways.” ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/22 "2001-11-18T01:53:52Z")
I second **Ira Glass** of “This American Life” and the irritating way he “tsks” between sentences and his pronounciation: **“It’s This American Liiiiiife…I’m Ira Glaaaaaaas”** like a pubescent Encinitas surfer girl. Don’t get me started on NPR mastubatory figurehead **David Sedaris** who’s voice seems to be a cross of a gay, deranged Elmer Fudd and a sleepy Truman Capote. How about **The Satellite Sisters?** Three yapping yentas and they all sound like Joy Behar…what a treat. On a more local note I enjoy Minnesota Public Radio’s **Katherine Lanpher** who barks at callers like a Navy SEAL instructor if they take more than 3 seconds to ask a question. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/23 "2001-11-18T08:16:40Z")
I vote for the Satellite Sisters. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@PatrickM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickM)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/24 "2001-11-18T16:46:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Torgo \* > **…How about The Satellite Sisters? Three yapping yentas and they all sound like Joy Behar…what a treat.** I see you the Satellite Sisters and raise you Dianna Nyad, who’s taken over hosting “The Savvy Traveler” show. Bring back Rudy Maxa full-time, that’s what I say. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/25 "2001-11-18T18:40:00Z")
I have to go along with Ira Glass. He’s got that obnoxious voice, plus his inability to pronounce the “L” sound drive me crazy. In Abilene, Texas (KACU), there was a student who read the local news burps named Vanessa somebody. She was so bad, I had to e-mail the program director. She was obviously nervous and kept tripping over her words and sentences. It was actually painful to listen to her. I hope she’s graduated by now. Robin ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/26 "2001-11-18T18:51:27Z")
Like **Guinastasia** , I’m just so tired of Howard Stern. He’s just run that juvenile potty/sex/penis schtick into the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/27 "2001-11-19T02:24:50Z")
If we are going to hold this to National Public Radio, here is a nomination for Daniel Shores (sp?). The old guy shown up every weekend and pontificates for three or four minutes in a solemn and magisterial manner and he is **never** right about any thing. The old saw about the blind pig sometimes finding an acorn doesn’t seem to apply. Everybody on the broadcast sort of tippy-toes around the old guy, paying the deepest respect to his every utterance. For Pete’s sake how much millage can he get out of being on Nixon’s Enemies List? Better than that, can he get through one segment without pointing out that he made Tricky Dick’s list? I like public radio. I send money to public radio. I urge all Doppers to send money to public radio. Nevertheless, Daniel Shores irritates me. ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/28 "2001-11-19T03:07:26Z")
Hands down, Carl Kasell! Who would want his voice on their answering machine? He’d probably mispronounce your name and fumble through the script anyway. Click and Clack Rock. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/29 "2001-11-19T03:07:59Z")
Hands down . . . . Michael Feldman. Terrible, terrible jokes. You can hear the audience snoring. Rotten ad-libs. Flat jokes. Jokes that bomb. Jokes that even he doesn’t believe are funny. Deep, deep envy and hatred of Garrison Keillor that you could cut it with a knife. Good incidental music, however, and the guests are interesting. But that’s it. “Whaddya Know?” Horseshit. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/30 "2001-11-19T03:09:39Z")
Ummmm . . . sorry about the expletive. Meant to edit that out before hitting send [sub]sorry, really, really sorry. [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/31 "2001-11-19T15:38:31Z")
Jomo Mojo- OH! You know when you realize that you’ve been hearing something all wrong? And you feel so enlightened? I thought her name was “Jo Anselberner”! I gotta say that I kinda like the lot of ‘em. I LOVE the quirkiness of voices like Ira Glass’ and Marianne McPartland(sp?) I guess thats why I initially posted incorrectly…I read “annoying”, and I think AM radio, not NPR! ---
**Author:** ![Palve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Palve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palve)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/32 "2001-11-19T16:15:11Z")
_ **RUSH!** _ Besides the stupid name, his illogical statements make my head want to explode. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/33 "2001-11-19T16:22:39Z")
For all of you that ignored the “Public Radio” part and said “Rush” instinctively (As if you ever even listened to him), I would point out that the people that he gets to fill in for him whenever he goes on vacation (He gets about 20 weeks off a year) are way worse. Their voices are very irritating and all they do is parrot what Rush or the callers say. How they have their own shows is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/34 "2001-11-19T16:47:04Z")
I agree that Scott Simon sometimes gets a little too reverent for words - you can almost see teers coming to his eyes. And that loud guffaw is a bit much. The most annoying voice on our local NPR station belongs to a local host - Greta Dowlitz (sp?). True, English is her second language, but her inflections are really odd and you never know where she’s going to put the stress in the sentence. Her tag line used to be “Join us, won’t you?” It always came out sounding like “Joyyyyyne uz, WUNT you?” She has since changed it to “Won’t you join us?” which is much easier for her to say and for me to hear. And I love to say Sylvia Poggioli’s name with a really bad Italian accent. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/35 "2001-11-19T16:49:03Z")
Neither Stern, nor Rush Limp-balls are on NPR where I live. So I’m going to have to nominate Juan Williams. He will completely rip apart any comments made by women, or worse, barely acknowledge a female caller’s insight. Later in the same show, when a man calls in to make the exact same point, he gives it his full attention as though it’s the first time he’s ever heard the comment. Clearly, he’s a misogynist bastard. I miss Ray Suarez. (Cannot, for the life of me, think of the name of the show. It comes on right before All Things Considered, here.) ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/36 "2001-11-19T16:50:50Z")
Talk of the Nation. That was it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/37 "2001-11-27T23:12:23Z")
I also nominate Ira Glass, in part because he has his own show, so his annoying qualities are multiplied by a high time factor. Extremely precious postmodern sort of self-regard going on there. A little less “personality,” please! But minute-for-minute, Bill Harley’s short segments on “All Things Considered”. He just loves the sound of his own loud, yelping voice on the air… (In fact, his short bit just now prompted this addendum. Not nearly as annoying as he normally is, but he still deserves this ill-fame. Feh!) [hijack] In fact, the entire self-praising NPR fundraising edifice gets no support from me – an will not, as long as they are prostituting themselves to the likes of Archer Daniels Midland and their corporate ilk. :mad: You wanna impress me with your programming quality and freedom? Quote someone other than yourselves, dammit; let’s hear what staff, writers, and researchers from CJR, AJR, [and even Brill’s Content] and esteemed members of the nation’s Schools of Journalism & Communication professoriat have to say. The way WNYC continually toots their own horn makes the local network affiliates, of all things, paragons of modesty and good taste by comparison. (And I never thought I’d say anything nice about local TV news programs!) [/rant] ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/38 "2001-11-27T23:18:54Z")
**Mike Savage** bay area conservative…Idiot. very rarely does he ever have a good point, I will give him a few sometimes ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/39 "2001-11-28T04:56:18Z")
Susan Stamberg. She’s got the arts and letters beat, so she interviews mostly poets, artists and writers. But she does most of the talking! She’s in love with the sound of her own voice and seems to think she can explain someone’s work much better than they themselves can. I hate her. I can’t believe people don’t like Scott Simon! He has the perfect voice to wake up to: friendly, intelligent, compassionate. And his tete-a-tetes with Elvis Mitchell and Daniel Pinkwater beat any similar content on the weekday programs. ---
**Author:** ![DaToad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DaToad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaToad)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824/40 "2001-11-28T15:25:42Z")
I agree with DP, it’s Dr. Laura. The woman curddles my seminal fluids. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-public-radio-personality/93824.md?page=3)