It's been 10 months since WISN introduced "The Early Spin" with Dan Deibert and Nicole Devin. The wake-up radio show airs weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on WISN-AM 1130.

Deibert, a native of the Quad Cities, has worked in radio for 15 years, including stints in Wausau, Madison and Green Bay. He's also a stand-up comic who regularly performs in comedy clubs.

Devin -- a member of ComedySportz -- won WISN's "Milwaukee Talk Star" contest last summer that landed her a two-year contract as the liberal co-host on the Early Spin alongside the more conservative Deibert.

The basic format is no wheel of reinvention, but the two are particularly well matched, with sharp intellects and wit -- as well as mutual respect. Deibert is even officiating Devin's wedding, but that'll come up later.

OnMilwaukee.com: Is your radio relationship the same as your off-air relationship?

Devin: Yes, it's all real. We're kind of like (a) brother and sister. There's lots of teasing and lots of hand gestures across the table.

Deibert: We disagree on a lot of stuff, but we're still friends. It gets exhausting having to correct Nicole all the time.

Devin: Ha ha.

OMC: What issues do you discuss on the Early Spin?

Deibert: We talk about whatever's in the news. We don't shy away from anything.

Devin: We have a general outline of what we're going to talk about, but we never know where we're going.

OMC: Nicole, how did you hear of the "Milwaukee Talk Star" contest and why did you enter?

Devin: A few months before the contest was announced, I decided to apply to Marquette to get my master's in radio broadcasting. (Devin has a bachelor's in fine art from UW-Milwaukee) Then, a woman at work who was a WISN listener told me about the contest ... Hundreds of people showed up, and I was the very first person to audition. I was told to "just talk" for three minutes.

OMC: Being a "liberal," and knowing WISN was a conservative station, did you censor yourself?

Devin: No ... I talked about birth control.

OMC: Were you surprised you won?

Devin: When we got down to the final three (contestants), I really didn't think I had won.

OMC: How would you describe yourselves politically?

Devin: I'm a Democrat. Socially, I am extremely liberal. Financially, I am somewhat moderate.

Deibert: Conservative. I think the government should be involved as little as possible ... I am not for the death penalty; gay marriage doesn't bother me. I guess I'm close to a Libertarian -- "a republican who likes porn and pot" -- although I don't like pot.

OMC: Dan, where did you grow up and did your family play a large role in the formation of your views?

Deibert: I'm from Rock Island, Ill. My family is very conservative. I started listening to Rush (Limbaugh) when I was like 12. I definitely got my sense of humor from my dad. And he needed one, especially when I told him that the two things I wanted to do were radio and comedy. I'm surprised he didn't have a heart attack.

OMC: What did you dad do for a living?

Deibert: He was a police officer. He actually lost his leg on the job while out on an "animal patrol" call. He was on a ladder, trying to pull a squirrel's nest from the rafters of a garage and a squirrel jumped out of the nest, causing him to fall off the ladder and break his ankle. It was like "Christmas Vacation." The ankle never healed.

OMC: What was your upbringing like, Nicole?

Devin: I was born in Iowa. I'm a "child of the corn" -- grew up on a corn and soybean farm. Everyone in my family is a Republican.

OMC: So, how did you end up a Democrat?

Devin: I was the only girl in the family, so I was always different. And, my parents split when I was 12 and my mom became Super Woman, working three jobs, putting herself through college, raising two kids.

OMC: You both are into comedy. Tell me more about that side of your life.

Deibert: I started doing it at 16. My dad took me to clubs in Davenport. Later, I did ComedySportz in the Quad Cities, and now I do shows a couple of times a month.

Devin: I did a ComedySportz workshop in 2001 right after my marriage ended and I needed something new. I love it; it's so freeing. I perform regularly now with ComedySportz, but not every weekend.

OMC: So, how do you think the show's going so far?

Deibert: It's going.

Devin: I haven't been asked to step back.

OMC: What makes the Early Spin different from other morning shows?

Deibert: We take a lot more callers, and we don't have to stop for music. I think we talk about issues that no one's talking about ... In a moment's notice we'll talk about whether or not you could live without a computer and then go to an interview with a woman who has a monkey in her yard -- and everything in between.

Devin: And we're funny.

OMC: Nicole, do you fit in at WISN?

Devin: Yes, I do. I feel very supported. This is my first job, and I couldn't have started any bigger. Sure, some days I want to cry for all of humanity, but for the most part I've learned to put my emotions aside.

OMC: What do you think of Milwaukee?

Devin: I love Milwaukee. Of course the winter sucks, but there isn't any place better than Milwaukee in the summertime. I love the community feel, and that so many people move away but then come back.

Deibert: I criticize Milwaukee plenty, but I do like Milwaukee. I do think there are plenty of things that Milwaukee could do better. I prefer Waukesha; I'm a small-town person.

OMC: What are your favorite local bands?

Deibert: Love Monkeys.

Devin: .357 String Band.

OMC: Is it true that you are going to officiate Nicole's wedding this month?

Deibert. Yep. I was ordained on the Internet ... It's not going to be a standard ceremony.

OMC: So what are you going to wear?

Deibert: I originally wanted to come out in an Elvis costume, but that was denied. I think I'm going to go to Goldmann's (Department Store) and buy a big, purple suit and a matching hat with a feather.

Molly Snyder Edler chats with Devin and Deibert every Thursday morning at 8:20 a.m. about upcoming weekend events.