Luke Burbank quits NPR for Seattle and his daughter
In only his second month co-hosting a show on NPR, Luke Burbank is returning home to Seattle. The reason: to spend more time with his 13-year-old daughter, Addie Sandstrom.
On his “Bryant Park Project” program Tuesday morning, Burbank, 31, said he is quitting his job and leaving New York City.
Burbank, who’s anything but stuffy, announced his news in poignant but irreverent fashion. (Video link at www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark.)
“So here’s the thing about living 3,000 miles away from your kid. It really sucks. You miss her all the time. You wonder if you’ve got your priorities straight. All of this makes getting up at 3 a.m. particularly unpleasant.”
Burbank, who graduated from Nathan Hale and the University of Washington, first worked at Seattle’s KUOW-FM after answering an ad in his college newspaper, according to his NPR online bio.
He then reported stories for “This American Life,” “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition” and served as temporary host for the popular quiz show “Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me!”
“The Bryant Park Project,” NPR’s younger-skewing morning show, debuted Oct. 1 and marked Burbank’s second high-profile radio gig. He co-hosted the show with Alison Stewart. The show, which airs from 5 to 7 a.m. on KXOT 91.7 FM in Tacoma, is carried in 16 broadcast markets.
On Tuesday’s show, Burbank played an answering-machine message from his daughter before segueing into the Boyz II Men “End of the Road” song and sending a special message to certain bloggers who have called him certain names.
He’ll co-host “The Bryant Park Project” through Dec. 14. After that he’s not sure what he’ll do, although he’s been talking to some people about some radio jobs, Burbank said in an interview Tuesday from his Brooklyn residence.
“I’m totally pulling a Hargrove,” he said about his decision to put family first. Burbank became a father while he was in the 12th grade, and he’s kept a close relationship with his daughter, visiting her in Seattle just last week.
But it’s been more than three years since he lived here full-time.
“I’m so excited to be near a Taco Time again,” he quipped about his pending homecoming. “And as a former employee of Dick’s, I’ll be spending more time there too.”
Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com