This week Public Radio Talent Quest started its search for America's next public radio host. It's a chance for listeners to pick a new host, as well as try out to be a host themselves. But what does it take to get behind the microphone? Weekend America host Bill Radke speaks with Jake Shapiro, executive director of Public Radio Exchange and Talent Quest judge, about "hostiness."

Notes from host Bill Radke:
This is Bill Radke. Have you ever wondered why I'm a public radio host and you're not? So have we. In fact, the Public Radio Talent Quest is searching the country for new voices -- maybe yours.

You start with a two-minute audio submission; it doesn't have to be slickly produced, or produced at all. You could just talk about what you want to say on the radio and how. A panel of professionals will choose 10 finalists, and in the fall they'll name a winner who gets $16,000 in cash and help producing a new show.

If this all sounds a little far-fetched, consider how many ways there are to tell a story. Ira Glass, Howard Stern, Jean Shepherd, Delilah After Dark, Wendy Williams... umm... Don Imus. We all have different styles. And thanks to computers, more people than ever have been experimenting, producing and distributing their stories. Maybe there's a breath of fresh air out there, passing over a set of vocal cords, that could delight today's public radio listeners and bring in a whole new generation of them.

In this interview, I talk with one of the contest's organizers. We play a few of the early entries he's received, and we talk about the quality of "hostiness" -- that intangible quality that compels you to perform one of the most intimate acts there is: listening.