The iconic host of NPR’s All Things Considered will step down in January 2018. Siegel has been part of the public radio network since he first arrived in Washington in 1976, after getting his start in radio as a freshman in college. He joined NPR as a newscaster, moved into an editor role, opened NPR’s London bureau, and as chief of NPR News ran the newsroom, all before he took over at All Things Considered in 1987. He’s covered countless major news events, including the Paris attacks in 2015, the massive 2018 earthquake in Chengdu, China, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and the 9/11 attacks. The homages to Siegel even include cameos on the Simpsons.
“This is a decision long in the making and not an easy one,” said Siegel. “I’ve had the greatest job I can think of, working with the finest colleagues anyone could ask for, for as long a stretch as I could imagine. But, looking ahead to my seventies — which start all too soon — I feel that it is time for me to begin a new phase of life. Over the next few months, I hope to figure out what that will be.”
