ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Well, Robert...
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Yeah.
SHAPIRO: This is it...
SIEGEL: This is it.
SHAPIRO: ...Your last day as host of ALL THINGS CONSIDERED after 30 years.
SIEGEL: Yeah.
SHAPIRO: Listeners have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this milestone, and we wanted to take a moment to hear from some of them. So our co-hosts Audie Cornish and Kelly McEvers joined me to help.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
Hey there, Robert. You know, the listeners we heard from - they come from all walks of life.
EURDORA EVANS: I'm a truck driver with my husband.
HELMAR MENZ: Speech therapist.
KELLY PURDUE: A hospice social worker.
JOHN B COOPER: I am 74 and retired.
CORNISH: And they say they'll miss a lot of things about you, Robert, one thing most of all. Here's Eurdora Evans of Harvey, La., and Kelly Purdue of Grand Rapids.
EVANS: He has a soothing voice to me. Like, it's not soothing where it would put you to sleep, but it's just really calm.
PURDUE: And kind of all is right in the world.
MENZ: There was just always something welcoming about turning on the radio, you know, at 3 or 4 p.m. and having him be the first voice that I hear, you know, right after the news.
CORNISH: That's Helmar Menz of Portland, Ore.
MENZ: He is kind of a father figure. You know, I don't know him as a person, but just the range of introspection that listening to his voice allows, I do think that it was kind of - some kind of father figure over the radio, honestly, over the last 20 years. And that's probably part of why I'll feel especially affected by his departure.
KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
Over and over, people told us how it's more than your voice; it is your presence that has meant so much. Kelly Purdue feels it. She has been listening over 25 years.
PURDUE: Being a hospice social worker, I have hard days that are sad and difficult. But as I drive in my car, going about my daily tasks, visiting with patients and families who are dying, Robert was my companion. He made my day better.
CORNISH: And it's not just adults. Generations of backseat NPR listeners grew up hearing your voice, two of them Zaden and Kaia Eby-Holmes from Fishers, Ind. They're brother and sister, 16 and 15 years old.
ZADEN EBY-HOLMES: When my mom would just drive us places she'd just have NPR on. And I'd hear the name Robert Siegel, and I thought the last name was great, you know, 'cause, like, we thought he was a bird.
KAIA EBY-HOLMES: (Laughter).
EBY-HOLMES: And we'd hear, hi, I'm Robert Siegel, and you're listening to NPR, and we'd just freak out. Take us somewhere. Fly us away.
KAIA: I was just really bummed out that, like, no one, like, not even, like, my kids are going to be able to hear him in a whole bunch of years, to feel the joy of his voice and laugh at his name and everything.
(SOUNDBITE OF GLENN MILLER'S "IN THE MOOD")
SHAPIRO: People trapped in cars appreciate you, Robert.
GREG GUNGOR ATMACA: My name is Greg Gungor Atmaca. I am listening Robert over 15 years.
SHAPIRO: That's the Turkish Lyft driver who picked you up this summer during a reporting trip in Boston. He didn't recognize you at first, but once you started talking, he knew exactly who you were.
ATMACA: He was great that he asked me questions. And we exchanged opinions. It was perfect. And I enjoyed it so much. And I will never forget that the rest of my life.
(SOUNDBITE OF RED GARLAND'S "ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE")
PURDUE: Oh, Robert, I'd like to say thank you.
EVANS: Robert, thank you so much.
KAIA: Thank you.
EBY-HOLMES: Thank you so much for making me and my sister happy when we were in the back seat of a car.
SHAPIRO: Robert, thank you from your co-hosts.
MCEVERS: Thank you, Robert.
CORNISH: Thank you, Robert. And we want to end on this - a wish from John B. Cooper of Colorado. He's listened to you since you were Bob Siegel 40 years ago.
COOPER: When that mic goes dead, I will hope that he moves on to a great adventure and a wonderful life because he has enriched my life. And I've been so proud to be able to be a listener over all these years.
(SOUNDBITE OF RED GARLAND'S "ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE")
SIEGEL: Well, I'm bowled over and speechless, Ari.
SHAPIRO: Hopefully not so speechless that you can't round out the segment right now.
SIEGEL: I can say it. This is NPR News.