Wake Me for All Things Considered

Just after high school I worked part-time at a Top 40 radio station. I worked behind the scenes, doing "market research," never getting a shift on air. I wanted to DJ, of course, but the station required experience.

What about public radio, like at community college? No, said the boss. Public radio permanently ruins talent. It teaches them to erase their on-air energy. DJs spend one semester on public radio and they may as well stay forever.

Harsh! But not as hopeless as it sounds. Radio will always have room for narcoleptic mumblers. There will always be KCRW's Bookworm.