Art Bell used to engage and challenge his guests. I like Ian Punnett, a lot more tongue-in-cheek approach to the bizarre, and good guests who are credentialed.
I grew up listening to Long John Nebel out of New York, on WOR.
His show was the prototype for C2C, five hours starting at midnight, and he was probably the equal of Art Bell. He was always the skeptic, but he loved a good story, and there were plenty of crackpots willing to join him. It was a live show with the guests in the studio, something C2C never does, which made for a much more interesting free-flowing discussion, and he rarely took calls from the audience, also a plus.
I used to dislike Ian Punnett for his liberal stances (global warming, in particular), but he is a very intelligent person, and on the right topic, he can be quite interesting to listen to.