New kid on the talk.

It's possible that 35-year-old openly hetero talk-show host Rob Nelson may be even more gay-friendly than competitor Bill Maher. His show, The Full Nelson, airing Saturdays at 11 P.M. on the Fox News Channel, is an entertaining antidote to the usual hour of talking heads. And unlike Maher on Politically Incorrect, Nelson invites guests who are actually familiar with his topic and solicits questions and opinions from the studio audience.

"It pushes the limits," says Nelson. "My goal is to entertain people into awareness." He points out that one recent show--dubbed "Can Gays Become Straight?"--featured an "ex-gay" guest who was "so obviously in denial about his sexuality" that an audience member felt compelled to stand up and inform the guest he was indeed gay. Nelson hastens to add, "There's a danger in convincing people they can become 'ex-gays."

He then goes one step further: "I'm all for outing public figures. There's so much damage in forcing a life to be secret." Nelson, who resides in Manhattan, where the show is taped, admits that "it's easy for a straight guy to say that" but insists that while "you have the right to hide what you want about your life, hiding the truth reinforces the negative stereotype." Is it any wonder the boyishly attractive Nelson gets "great fan mail" from gay viewers?

Also an author, Nelson has just published Last Call (Delacorte Press), a fascinating memoir-cum-manifesto, in which he sets ten goals to change our political system--including the addition of an Equality Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "It shall be illegal for any state, state agency, or representative of the state to deny any person any job, promotion, service, or benefit--or to discriminate in any way against a person--based on gender, race, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation."

Nelson declares simply, "A society not inclusive of minorities is offensive." One common response from the book's readers, he reports, is guilt for their apathy. "I didn't intend to make people feel guilty," he says with a laugh. "But it's good to experience a consciousness awakening."

Nelson's own awakening occurred in 1992 during a near-death experience. Born in Wisconsin and raised as one of four children by devout Christian Scientist parents, he graduated from college in Illinois but now says his biggest learning experience came during a long fall while ice climbing in the Adirondacks. He remembers, "On the way down I thought, No one will remember anything about me. It was a catalyst for my new approach to life." Disillusioned by the political status quo, Nelson cofounded (with Jon Cowan) the effective grassroots organization Lead or Leave. The mission of the group was to pressure members of Congress to lower the federal deficit as a symbol of commitment to future generations.

Lead or Leave garnered support from prominent politicians, celebrities, and thousands of Nelson's fellow younger Americans before folding in 1995. After Nelson earned a law degree from Stanford in 1998, he made frequent appearances on the TV news talk circuit as a guest, which led him to his current gig. His mission, he says, is to raise awareness and lower apathy. "I'm not trying to convert people to my own viewpoint," he says. "I just want people to get involved and care."

Kinser also writes for the Spanish film magazine Dirigido.