Big fan of the Radio medium here....World Service, LBC etc, anyone have good recommendations for a decent current affairs US talk radio stations? Stations the that down the middle..not leaning to either democrats/republicans either way...and for general topical discussion?

I do not. But if anyone's looking for a good radio station for very eclectic listening, then France's FIP is really great. You won't get metal, but then again you won't get hardcore drum 'n' bass either, but for everything in between, it's great. Mike Patton's last album with Jean-Claude Vannier was featured heavily when it came out, often get Jeff Buckley, Zeppelin, loads of jazz and world music. VoilĂ !

NPR is exactly the radio station you are looking for.