At his house in the Truro woods, journalist and radio host Jeremy Hobson sits at a desk in his unfinished basement. The air smells of exposed wood and cement floors. Behind him, a large banner reads “The Middle.”

He is printing out a list of names, introductions, and questions for tonight’s episode of The Middle With Jeremy Hobson. He started the show two years ago; now it airs live on 419 radio stations across the country, including Boston’s WGBH, every Thursday at 9 p.m.

His goldendoodle, Midas, roams the empty basement. The show’s technical director, Harrison Patiño, comes through on the Comrex that rests on the left side of the desk. The Comrex is a device that compresses and decompresses data to enable faster transmission. It looks like an oversize beeper. Through the Comrex, Hobson sends a signal to WILL, the NPR station in his hometown of Urbana, Ill. — the same station where he got his start as a nine-year-old on a show called Treehouse Radio. WILL then sends The Middle by way of a satellite connection to reach other stations.

Hobson gesticulates under the microphone hanging in front of him. His voice is confident and urgent: “Stay right there — The Middle starts right after the news.” NPR airs a newscast on all the network’s stations for five minutes before The Middle. Hobson estimates there are 300,000 listeners to his show.

Hobson, who is 42 and has a journalism degree from Boston University, spent 10 years hosting NPR’s Marketplace Morning Report, Here and Now, and special coverage for breaking news. He interned at All Things Considered at 17 and became the youngest national host in public radio history in 2010. In 2018, Hobson and his husband, Ziggy Zografakis, moved from Boston to Truro.

The Middle is the first show Hobson has had complete control of: he is the show’s executive producer and host and is able to do what he likes on the air.

“These are our stations,” Hobson says, displaying a map of the country marked with blue pins. Eighty-five percent carry the show live, he says. He scrolls across the map from Massachusetts to Wisconsin and over to Colorado, then up to Washington.

Hobson has call-screening software pulled up on his computer. Listeners call the show (844- 4MIDDLE), and two screeners answer the lines and put people through to Hobson, who selects the ones he wants to talk to.

Recent topics on The Middle have included phone addiction, the right to die for those with terminal illnesses, the diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic, and outer space. Tonight’s episode is about young voters: what’s important to them heading into the presidential election and whether they’re going to vote.

Hobson says his show is for anyone and everyone. “We have people of all different stripes,” he says. “Everyone feels welcome on The Middle.”

Every show begins with a conversation with two guests. Tonight, one is Anil Cacodcar, a 19-year-old junior at Harvard who is chair of the Harvard Public Opinion Project, which runs the nation’s largest survey of the political and civic attitudes of young Americans. Cacodcar believes young voters care about issues of personal freedom. “The theme of freedom is something the Harris campaign has latched onto,” he says.

For his other guest, Hobson wanted someone from a nonpartisan organization encouraging the youth vote. He tapped Carolyn DeWitt, president of Rock the Vote. The organization was founded to oppose censorship of hip-hop and rap artists, DeWitt says, but it also focuses on other issues. “Since our founding, we have reflected what young people care about,” she says. “Gun violence, climate change, abortion — we address that.”

DeWitt says young voters are motivated by issues, not candidates. But, she says, “we’ve seen a surge since Biden dropped out — we didn’t see a lot of interest in the rematch.” Voter registration deadlines are early in some states, she says, which makes it harder for young people to vote. There are four million new 18-year-olds who are eligible to vote this year.

“Trusted messengers are incredibly important,” DeWitt says.

An independent voter calls in. “Hi, I’m Kenzie,” she says. “I’ll be 25 on election day.” Kenzie is excited to vote now that Harris is running instead of Biden. “Now I’ll go to the polls,” she says.

Hobson turns to his DJ, the L.A. musician and writer Toliver, who reads from emails people send in. “Spoiler alert,” says Toliver. “All these emails have to do with climate change.”

A caller from Kansas City is concerned about voter suppression. He’s interested in how it affects young voters.

“Since Shelby, we have seen a rollback,” says DeWitt, referring to the landmark 2013 Supreme Court decision that limited voting rights. “We’ve been seeing voter suppression we haven’t seen in decades. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act can change that. Even if you are registered to vote, it’s incredibly important that you check your registration.”

Justin from St. Paul, Minn., who is 28, says he’s worried about the war in Ukraine and is looking for a candidate who can “de-escalate the fighting.”

William in Nashville doesn’t see the violence in Gaza ending with Harris or Trump and thinks there’s too much money in political campaigns on both sides.

“Are you planning to vote?” asks Hobson.

“I don’t like either one,” William says, “but I’m planning to vote for Kamala because of her stance on abortion.”

Henry from Dallas calls in. He wants to see more civility in elections but admits, “I’m 25, so I don’t have a memory of most elections.”

Throughout this episode of The Middle, Hobson has pressed his callers on whether they will vote. He clicks on someone from Allentown, Pa.

Tommy’s on the line. He’s 18 and this will be his first election. Gun control and social justice issues are most important to him.

“Are you definitely going to vote in this election?” Hobson asks. Tommy says yes.