Inside ‘Kristi’s world’ — what you don’t know about ‘Bob & Tom’s’ Kristi Lee

This week’s episode features a guest folks in central Indiana know so well – at least in one context – that she requires little introduction. Kristi Lee has been a core cast member of “The Bob & Tom Show” for nearly 40 years and is heard daily on close to 100 radio stations nationwide that carry the Indianapolis-based show. Her role is deceptively simple: reading news stories, cracking some jokes, chatting with guests and generally trying to maintain some sense of decorum. She left the show briefly in 2016 to expand her horizons after original co-host Bob Kevoian retired, but she returned after about seven months.   She’s an open book when on the air but there’s only so much time for biographical details when you’re competing for the microphone with a pack of comedians. For this week’s episode of the IBJ podcast, host Mason King asked Lee to fill in the blanks and discuss the elements of her life and broadcasting career that don’t often get discussed. She covers growing up on the west side of Indianapolis as a child of divorce, the career path she almost followed into aviation, and her days as a teenage wunderkind in Indianapolis radio. She also discusses what it’s like to essentially grow up in a frat house, her role in throwing one of the city’s biggest parties, her high-level work for nonprofits, her sibling-like relationship with the late Kevoian, her post-retirement goals and how she wants to be remembered.