Opinion: Susan Stamberg gave NPR its voice

Scott Simon

October 18, 2025 / 5:00 am

We are here — and I mean on the air with you today — because of Susan Stamberg. There are of course others who helped turn the idea of National Public Radio into a distinctive sound. But a little over 50 years ago, when Susan's voice began to crackle into kitchens and cars all over America, the people who heard her didn't ask, "What's NPR?" but, "Who is that?"

She was the first woman to co-host a nightly news broadcast, and she didn't sound like a sonorous news anchor. Susan sounded irreverent, not official. Boisterous, not boring. She was courteous, and often hilarious.

Susan Stamberg gave NPR a voice, and that laugh that could make microphones tremble.

We saluted Susan at NPR — and on this show — w

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