By JT Santana | jtwb768

I decided to take a chance and enter the 2026 Top Host competition, a national contest searching for someone with the ability to connect with people, ask meaningful questions, and create conversations worth hearing.

Right now, I am 11th in my group.

That is far better than I expected this early in the competition, and every person who has already voted helped put me there. Now I would like to keep moving.

Why I Entered

I have never hosted a podcast, and I made no attempt to pretend otherwise when I entered. What I bring comes from decades of interviewing, writing, advocacy, public health work, government service, nursing, organizing, and listening to people whose lives rarely fit neatly into a headline.

My Top Host profile sums up what I hope to bring to the microphone:

“I ask bold questions, listen deeply, and turn lived experience into conversations people remember long after the episode ends.”

That is the kind of podcast I would want to create. I am interested in conversations about identity, stigma, sexuality, justice, grief, survival, culture, public health, and the complicated experiences people often struggle to discuss openly.

I want conversations that get past rehearsed answers. I want to ask what happened before the part everyone knows, what happened afterward, what changed, and what people misunderstood.

Top Host gives me an opportunity to find out what I could do with that format.

What Is Top Host?

The competition progresses through several rounds of public voting. Contestants must continue placing high enough within their groups to survive each elimination round before reaching the later stages of the competition.

The winner receives $25,000, a six-episode podcast produced by iHeartRadio, and an appearance on On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

For me, the podcast opportunity is especially exciting. Six professionally produced episodes would give me the chance to build the type of long-form conversations I have wanted to explore and introduce those conversations to a much larger audience.

I’m Currently 11th

Seeing “Currently 11th” underneath my photograph was a bit surreal.

I entered knowing many competitors already have broadcasting, podcasting, entertainment, or public-speaking experience. I entered with something different: years spent asking questions, researching complicated subjects, listening closely, and working with people whose stories deserve more than a sound bite.

So 11th place tells me people are responding to that idea.

It does not guarantee anything. Rankings can change as voting continues, and every round brings another cutoff. I need continued support if I am going to stay in the competition and move higher.

You Can Vote Once Every Day for Free

Here is the easiest way to help:

Vote for me once every 24 hours at no cost.

My official voting page is:

https://tophost.org/2026/jay-santana

You do not have to purchase votes. The competition permits one free vote every 24 hours, so you can support me simply by returning each day and casting another free vote.

If you are willing to share the link with friends, family, coworkers, or anyone who might enjoy the kind of conversations I want to create, that helps too.

Scan the QR Code

You can vote through the link above or scan the QR code below to go directly to my Top Host page.

I have no idea how far this will go, and that is part of what makes it fun. I entered hoping people might see potential in putting me behind a microphone and letting me ask the questions I have spent much of my life asking.

Right now, enough people have supported that idea to put me in 11th place.

Thank you to everyone who has already voted. If you have not voted yet, I would appreciate your support. If you have voted already, come back tomorrow and do it again.

Vote once every 24 hours for free:

https://tophost.org/2026/jay-santana

Let’s see how far we can take this.