Susan Stamberg, the first woman to host a national news programme in the United States and one of the founding figures of National Public Radio (NPR), has died at the age of 87.
NPR confirmed her death on Thursday, October 16, though the cause was not disclosed.
Stamberg joined NPR in the early 1970s, shortly after the network was established. She became the host of All Things Considered in 1972, NPR’s first major news show and led it for 14 years.
During her long career, Stamberg interviewed thousands of people, from presidents and artists to everyday workers like White House chefs and film crew members.
In an interview earlier this year, Stamberg recalled how few women were on air when she began. “The only ones on were men, and the only thing I knew to do was imitate them,” she said. Her manager later encouraged her to speak naturally, a shift that helped shape NPR’s warm, conversational sound.
She often referred to herself and her colleagues Cokie Roberts, Nina Totenberg, and Linda Wertheimer as NPR’s “founding mothers,” a term she created to highlight the women who built the network’s foundation.
After All Things Considered, Stamberg hosted Weekend Edition Sunday, where she introduced the popular Sunday puzzle segment with Will Shortz, who is now the crossword editor of The New York Times. She later served as a cultural correspondent for Morning Edition and Weekend Edition Saturday until her retirement in September.
In 1979, Stamberg co-hosted a live two-hour call-in show with then-President Jimmy Carter from the Oval Office, where callers asked unscreened questions — a rare moment in radio history.
Over the years, she interviewed notable figures such as Nancy Reagan, Rosa Parks, Annie Leibovitz, and James Baldwin.
Stamberg was known for her sharp mind, curiosity, and warm style of storytelling. She was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2020.
Born Susan Levitt in Newark, New Jersey, in 1938, she grew up in Manhattan. She is survived by her son, actor Josh Stamberg, and her granddaughters, Vivian and Lena.
