On Nerve.com, Sarah Hepola (previously familiar to me only as a Salon.com writer) confesses her erotic fantasies about NPR personalities. A sample:

Let's take Steve Inskeep, for instance. He has a different sonic appeal than Ira [Glass]'s hipster nerdiness; his baritone is more anchor chic. He's the kind of guy who might buy me a few martinis, loosen his tie over some tapas, and get a throbbing boner for Mozart's concertos. This has its own sordid appeal; he could probably explain what's happening in Iraq, in which case I'd totally get wet. I like to envision an erotic evening in which he merely pronounces the names of Al-Qaeda operatives as if it were some kind of Salome striptease — Abu Masab Al-Zarqawi, Saif al-Adel, Abu Mohammed al-Masri. By the time he got to the third "Abu," I'd be ready to jump across the table and rip off his sensible button-down.

Wow—who knew? For the record, I did have a slight passing crush on Alisa Roth’s voice a while back, but never any fantasies about playing footsie in a sound booth while she read a piece for Marketplace Morning Report. My loss, I’m sure. (There is also a local reporter whose voice I find extremely attractive. But since there is a remote chance I might meet her some time, we’ll just let that be my little secret.)

It’s an interesting idea: that since a lot of us who listen to NPR do so alone, in the car or on headphones, an intimacy develops between us and the reporter or host’s voice, a perceived one-to-one relationship. And once that happens, occasionally it’s going to turn sexual. I suppose.