Bob Boilen announces retirement from NPR

Bob Boilen, the founder of NPR’s All Songs Considered and the popular Tiny Desk Concert series, has announced his retirement from the organization after over three decades.

“After 35 years, I am leaving NPR,” Boilen tweeted. “I’ve had the thrill of creating Tiny Desk Concerts, All Songs Considered, directing All Things Considered for 18 years and so much more. I love the people I’ve worked with, but it’s time to find new challenges. thank you for listening/watching.”

According to NPR journalist Lars Gotrich, Boilen’s last day will be October 2nd. Boilen — who served as director for All Things Considered, NPR’s premier news program, from 1989 to 2007 — started All Songs Considered, its online music show, in 2000. The program was inspired by the musical “buttons” Boilen, a lifelong musician, played in between segments on the news show.

Boilen and NPR Music Editor Stephen Thompson created the Tiny Desk Concert series — named after Boilen’s former DC band Tiny Desk Unit — in 2008. By inviting artists to perform a handful of songs at Boilen’s desk, the program offered a much more intimate look at rising musicians than typical concerts, or even in-studio radio performances. Over the years, performing at Boilen’s desk has become a rite-of-passage for musicians of all genres; everyone from Mitski to Mac Miller to, in recent months, GWAR and Cypress Hill have taken a stab at the show.

After 35 years, I am leaving NPR. I’ve had the thrill of creating Tiny Desk Concerts, All Songs Considered, directing All Things Considered for 18 years and so much more. I love the people I’ve worked with, but it’s time to find new challenges. thank you for listening/watching.

— Bob Boilen (@BobBoilen) September 13, 2023

Bob Boilen, after 35 years, will retire from NPR on Oct. 2.

I will have more to say soon — probably even on the All Songs Considered podcast, which I’m taping with Bob on Friday if I can get through it without — but without Bob, there’s no Tiny Desk, no NPR Music.

— Lars Gotrich (@totalvibration) September 13, 2023

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