Why did Tommy Mischke spend virtually half of last winter off the air on sick leave? Was it detox, as he initially claimed on the night he returned? Or was it a sex change? Or maybe Gulf War Syndrome? The real deal is that it has something to do with stomach problems, but you're not bound to get a straight answer out of Mischke. Plowing through the nightly news on his self-styled The Mischke Broadcast (weeknights 8:00-10:00 p.m., KSTP 1500 AM), T.D. boasts a built-in B.S. detector that's almost as sharp as his ability to dish the stuff out. Mischke is a special breed of Minnesotan: a proud resident of "good ol' St. Paul," a Venturian populist, and a Luddite with the same sense of humor as your nutty uncle who may or may not be kidding when he drops strange science around the Thanksgiving table. In a business that shuns dead air, Mischke is the master of using impossibly long silences for comic effect. Then there are his self-produced ads for sponsors--bizarre stream-of-consciousness diatribes that have little to do with the products. Mischke is just as capable of showing a conscience, as evidenced in his tireless protests of the plans to demolish St. Paul's landmark Coney Island building, or his reprimand of Tom Barnard listeners who would have Asian immigrants "assimilate or get out." In the bland and fascistic spectrum of talk radio, Mischke is a true standout.