Students who desire an alternative to the typical Geraldo or Oprah issues on TV talk shows and who enjoy the spontaneous comedy of Steve Dahl and Garry Meier on AM-1000 are in for a treat.

WKDI, NIU’s student-run radio station, started airing its first specialty talk show this semester on 93.5 FM. The show is called “Bob’s Talk Radio Show With Drew” and runs every Sunday night from 7 to 10 p.m.

Bob English, a junior communications major, is the founder and head DJ of the show. He started working at WKDI as a freshman, originally to play music and introduce a few songs. Soon, listeners started calling the station just to talk and, over time, his airtime grew and he started to take-off as a talk radio show.

Mike Gallagher, WKDI program director and a senior communications major, said the station usually does not air talk shows, but made an exception when it came down to English because of his years with WKDI.

“I listen to his show quite a bit and I think he is pretty funny,” Gallagher said. “I felt his program was worth continuing so we gave him a shot.”

“When I came to NIU, I was used to listening to AM-1000 with Steve and Garry and there was nothing here on campus that I could compare to it,” English said. “I thought there were a lot of issues around campus that were funny and entertaining in the same way.”

English said he talks about whatever catches his eye as a controversial or absurd topic. “We talk a lot about campus issues that would strike a person as off-the-wall, but we also discuss controversial issues that listeners call in and give their opinions on,” he said.

English said he puts a lot of thought and time into each show. He has coordinated a listener-recruitment segment where he makes random calls to NIU students to see if they are listening.

English said he thrives on the spontaneity of this part of the show. “Most of the time the people think we are kidding when we say we are from WKDI, but then we usually strike up a lively conversation and gain a new listener,” he said.

Occasionally, English said he runs into callers who are rude and just want to hear themselves say anything on the radio. “I just hang up on the people if they are swearing, but I try to let everyone speak their mind.

“If they have something bad to say about the show, they should let everyone know why they feel this way, not just yell some profanity into the phone and hang-up,” he said.

His latest creation is a letter segment where students write in with their problems. Whether it is adjusting to the university, dating problems or roommate differences, English said he is always conscious of the fact that the problem is important to the student and he takes no problem lightly.

Andrew Landsly, a junior economics major, has been English’s sidekick, “Drew,” since the beginning of this semester. English said Landsly is a big asset to his show because he makes it fun with his crazy comments.

“At first I didn’t approve of Drew’s satirical antics, but now we are almost into the second semester and I’ve come to accept and appreciate his off-the-wall behavior,” English said.

Landsly said he enjoys working on the show and he wishes more people would listen. He said students should check it out because the show is a relaxing way to spend Sunday nights.

“The program deals with issues that everyone is interested in around campus,” Landsly said. “They are interesting and the topics we discuss are great conversation-starters at parties.”

Student Jeff Elder said he tuned-in to the show one night during the listener recruitment segment about a year ago and has been listening regularly ever since.