I remember calling into a radio talk show when I was a teenager. I don't remember what topic I called to discuss, but I was put off when the producer screened my call off-air. When she answered, I said, "Hi. I'd like to talk to (the name of the talk show host.)" She responded, "What are you going to say?" I thought but didn't say, "Why do I have to tell you? Can't you just trust that I'll behave responsibly on the air and won't launch into a profane tirade or spout baseless conspiracy nonsense?"
Decades later, after hearing a fair number of off-base lunatic callers on various stations, I almost think that callers should not only tell the producer what topic they're calling about but submit a written rough draft online of what they intend to say. Also, it might not be a bad idea for a producer to ask a few basic general knowledge questions of the caller, such as, "What year is it?" or "Who is the current president of the United States?"
It would be reassuring to know that callers taking up time on the radio meet some minimum standard of cognition and civility. I think one of my high school teachers had the right idea when he passed out checklists for students giving presentations in class. The first question was, "Do I know what I'm talking about?"
