Listen: a candid conversation between Mary Lucia and Bob Collins

On May 31, 2019, MPR News editor and NewsCut blogger Bob Collins will retire after more than 27 years at Minnesota Public Radio. Listeners of The Current know Bob Collins from his daily 4:20 p.m. news breaks with Mary Lucia.

In the run-up to Bob's retirement, Mary Lucia and Bob Collins sat down for a thoughtful — and frequently funny — conversation in which they look back on Bob's 45-year career in radio, including his most memorable on-air faux pas and about what he calls "the best week [he's] spent in the radio business." We also hear about what some of Bob's plans may be once he is retired.

All who have listened to Mary Lucia and Bob Collins on the air know the two share a palpable chemistry and friendship, so we'll get to hear Mary and Bob share a couple of their favorite (read: laughter-inducing) moments from their years of doing news breaks together, and on a more serious note, they share their fondness for a well-written obituary.

We've also archived the Mary and Bob's final air shift together. Listen to those hours, as well as the long-form interview, using the audio player above.

Related Stories

• Your messages for Bob Collins As Bob Collins prepares to retire after his 27-plus year career at MPR (and 45 in radio), we asked you to share your messages for Bob. Read a collection of your memories and well-wishes.
• From the archives: listen to past news breaks with Mary Lucia and Bob Collins Around the turn of the decade, a number of news breaks featuring Mary Lucia and Bob Collins were gathered and archived as part of an early podcast experiment. Listen again to those great on-air moments, and relive a bit of news history while you're at it.