Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at the Apple Developers Conference in San Francisco, Monday, June 11, 2012. Apple says it’s introducing a laptop with a super-high resolution “Retina” display, setting a new standard for screen sharpness. (AP)

We here at On Point often say how much we appreciate our callers; as a daily call-in talk show, they are a fundamental part of what we do every day.

But today seemed like an especially moving reminder of how much callers can shape the heart of a conversation.

From Tara in Harford, CT, who movingly told us about her career as an openly gay police officer, to Robbie from Nashville, TN, who told us about his experience being terminated from his position after a co-worker discovered he was gay.

“I was told I was not of their culture, and a couple of my religious co-workers were afraid of me,” Robbie said. “I was terminated, quote unquote, for the good of the company.”

Sharing stories like this live, on national broadcast, can be hard, and we’re glad that our listeners feel like On Point is a place where their stories can be voiced.

Jim, a Realtor in Des Moines, IA, painted the “covering” issue in a particularly potent way.

“There’s a pressure of, who knows? Who doesn’t know? Do they care?” Jim said. “I don’t go out of my way to bring rainbow flags to work, but I am legally married to another man.”

And in our second hour today, on the difficult realities of street harassment, we were heartened to hear our listeners, like Chloe, in New Orleans, LA, share their very blunt experiences of just that issue.

“On the surface, these cat calls seem benign,” Chloe said. “I think any woman who has walked down a public street in a city has experience the variety of people who have attacked you with your words.”

In Savannah, GA, caller Ray was nearly moved to tears by sharing her stories of cat calls.

“It happens to me even when I’m in sweatpants,” Ray said. “I feel more vulnerable, afraid to express myself when I’m feeling empowered…it’s just so exhausting, and dis-empowering, and leaves you feeling incredibly vulnerable.”

We like to consider ourselves as a part of a national conversation, and a huge part of that conversation always includes you. We’re glad that our listeners feel comfortable sharing some of their stories and experiences with us the rest of our audience, on air and online, and we never want that to change.