Talk Radio is undeniably one of the most popular radio formats in America today. Years ago, when the public stopped listening to the radio and started engaging it, the dynamics changed, and the medium hasn’t been the same since. Today, talk radio is available anywhere, anytime, and with leading talk show personalities like Rush Limbaugh, Larry King, Howard Stern, Don Imus and former talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, it’s easy to see and hear why this type of entertainment has our ears waning for more.

Just like the aforementioned hosts, Steve Deace, host of “Deace in the Afternoon” has audiences listening, too. The Christian and conservative talk show host and sports fan has a widespread following that tunes in to 1040-WHO Radio while covering a bevy of topics during your drive-time commute.

It's time to have a conversation about shame, and who deserves it. This has become an issue lately, as two local notables have been telling their audiences that people with HIV infection deserve whatever shame and stigma they get.

One is a talk radio host who has called homosexuality a sexual disorder, gay behavior stupid and gay people, even married ones, promiscuous. The other is a state Senate candidate running against a gay incumbent whom he calls a "marriage-diluting sodomite," suggesting he has AIDS and could spread it by shaking hands.

Jan Mickelson and David Leach have been responding to a series of ads sponsored by the AIDS Project of Central Iowa in which I played a role. They feature a variety of Iowans, some known, some unknown, saying that whether or not someone has AIDS won't prevent our associating with them. Each of us begins a sentence with "HIV won't stop me from..." Sen. Matt McCoy, whom Leach is challenging, continues "shaking hands with my constituents." I say, "putting a human face on people who test positive." The ambiguity about which of us has it underscores that "HIV is not the sum of who we are."

But Mickelson claims HIV does discriminate - against gays. As for Leach, he wrote on his website that he fell on the floor each time he heard McCoy's ad. He suggested McCoy must have HIV based on "which direction the disease would be most likely to travel," and if so, would put people at risk by shaking their hands.