Longtime NPR Programming Executive Anya Grundmann to Step Down

Longtime National Public Radio (NPR) programming executive Anya Grundmann will leave the network after nearly 30 years, the media organization announced Monday (Aug. 21). Grundmann will step down from her post as senior vp of programming and audience development at the end of the year.

“It’s been the best kind of roller coaster ride,” Grundmann told NPR in a statement. “I’ve especially loved it when the sparks are flying, when we’ve imagined new ways we can lean into our enormous potential while staying true to our public service mission.”

Grundmann stepped into her current role at NPR in 2015 and went on help make the iconic Tiny Desk concert series a household name. She also oversaw many of NPR’s podcasts and worked throughout music, entertainment and talk shows at the organization.

NPR credits Grundmann for her part in creating its daily podcast Up First, which is based on top news stories in its morning show, Morning Edition. Additional podcast content developed under Grundmann includes Planet Money spinoff The Indicator, Code Switch and No Compromise, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for audio reporting.

“She’s really legendary in the world of public media,” NPR chief executive John Lansing told the outlet. Grundmann, he says, “led the podcasting revolution in many ways, and has been just an invaluable partner for me in my four years here.”

Lansing expressed that Grundmann’s decision to leave the network was entirely her own. In March, NPR cut 10% of its staff and stopped production on several podcasts. Lansing told NPR at the time, “We literally are fighting to secure the future of NPR at this very moment by restructuring our cost structure. It’s that important.”

Grundmann has impacted several facets of NPR’s business since she reportedly began at the network as an intern in 1994. Prior to her current role, Grundmann also served as the founding executive director of NPR Music. In 2013, she landed on the Billboard Power 100 list, an annual list of the most powerful executives in the music industry.

NPR has not yet named a successor.