As a boy, Ben Kieffer loved sound.

Any sound, really.

“I had discovered somewhere in the attic an old Masterwork, a reel-to-reel recorder,” he recalled. “I had endless hours of fun recording sounds around my house, sounds of my sister and my brothers, then also doing radio theater. Then I figured out how I could slow things down, and speed things up so you could talk like one of the Chipmunks.”

Not much has changed for the 45-year-old. Except instead of talking like Alvin, he now hosts two Iowa Public Radio shows with his real voice — “The Exchange,” on which he interviews public figures, airing daily at noon with an estimated 50,000 listeners, and “Java Blend,” a live café performance show recorded Fridays at 2 p.m. in the Java House, 2111⁄2 E. Washington St., airing later on Iowa Public Radio and UITV.

In preparing for his interviews, Kieffer, a lanky man who wears glasses, said he reads “smart and quick.”

“I’m a stand-in for the people listening,” he said. “So I put myself in their place and wonder what questions they want to know.”

Kieffer was not always a familiar voice in the Iowa City community. Before arriving here, he lived in Germany for 11 years, working for public radio and reporting from two historic scenes.

First was the Berlin Wall — the most emotional moment of Kieffer’s life (aside from his three children’s births, of course).

The next event came only a couple weeks later, as the seasoned interviewer stood on a second-floor balcony in Prague, witnessing a crowd of 300,000 celebrate in what’s known as the Velvet Revolution.

“I could see that these people had never experienced anything like a democracy and were yearning for that and crying for change, and they did succeed in doing that,” Kieffer said.

While living in Europe, Kieffer met his German wife, Angelika, 45, and had children (Daria, 18, Sawyer, 16, Liam, 9). The family moved to the United States in 2000, and Kieffer returned to work for Iowa Public Radio.

UI journalism Professor Stephen Bloom noticed Kieffer’s interview skills and suggested he teach at the university. So now, Kieffer teaches Interviewing Across Media.

“The school is fortunate indeed to have a professional of Ben’s stature, giving students his breadth of experience and expertise,” Bloom wrote in an e-mail.

Indeed, that experience brings a certain technique, with Kieffer participating in what he largely calls “conversations” instead of “interviews.”

Thus Kieffer’s personality shines through — something UI junior Cristina Sarnelli, who works at Iowa Public Radio as a production assistant, said is a reason for his success.

“He has an edge to his style,” Sarnelli said.

Iowa Public Radio producer Jeff Schmidt, who works on “The Exchange,” credits Kieffer’s thoughtful interviews to natural inquisitive nature.

“He doesn’t let anything go by without following up and getting a clear answer,” Schmidt said. “But Ben always tries to put the twist on it from a personal level.”

But ultimately, Kieffer is curious — about everyone.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s someone who collects garbage on your street or someone who is a Nobel Prize laureate — they all can have a passion for their work or feel like their work is important in some way.”