Bob Boilen, All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Founder, Leaving NPR After 35 Years

Bob Boilen, the NPR host, producer, and director who created All Songs Considered and the Tiny Desk Concert series, is leaving the broadcaster after 35 years. His colleague Lars Gotrich says his last day will be October 2.

In a note posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Boilen said:

“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.” 

Boilen first joined NPR in 1988 and quickly became the director of All Things Considered, the network’s flagship news program. He would direct the show for the next 18 years. In 2000, he founded All Songs Considered, a music podcast inspired by the songs he would play between segments on the news program.

In 2008, Boilen and his NPR colleague Stephen Thompson founded the Tiny Desk Concert series, inviting musicians to perform intimate concerts at Boilen’s desk in the NPR offices in Washington, D.C. The show draws its name from the lifelong musician’s former band Tiny Desk Unit. Since folk singer Laura Gibson played the first show in April 2008, Boilen’s desk has played host to the likes of Mac Miller, Usher, Justin Bieber, Lizzo, Juvenile, Taylor Swift, the Wu-Tang Clan, and many, many more over more than 800 concerts.

In 2015 NPR hosted its first Tiny Desk Concert contest, inviting musicians to submit their music; The winner, decided by a jury of musicians and NPR staff, is chosen to perform a Tiny Desk Concert.