NPR has lost one of its singular and most recognizable voices. Longtime National Desk correspondent Wade Goodwyn died Thursday of cancer. He was 63.
For more than 25 years, Wade reported on his home state of Texas and the southwest United States, covering top stories including the Oklahoma City bombing, school shootings, hurricanes, the American Sniper murder trial, and the Boy Scouts sexual abuse scandal.
"For generations of public radio listeners, including me, he was one of NPR's iconic voices. Aside from that instantly recognizable voice, Wade was a uniquely gifted storyteller and a brilliant reporter. From the first words of one of his stories, you always knew you were being taken on a journey by a master of our craft. You were in for a true treat, whatever the subject matter," said NPR CEO John Lansing.
Wade Goodwyn had a knack for finding stories that few others could — like this 2013 piece about camels trekking in the Texas desert.
Courtesy Goodwyn family
Drummond says that skill for observation — combined with his big, deep, rich voice — made it a pleasure to listen to Wade on the radio, even if he was delivering bad news.
"He was just an amazing storyteller," says Drummond.
Out of college, Wade left Austin to work as a political organizer in New York City. There, he got hooked on NPR member station WNYC. He told Current in 2016 that he was so absorbed by the voices and stories he heard, he decided to pursue a freelance public radio career back home in Texas (where the rents were more affordable).
He started freelancing for NPR, and was assigned in 1993 to cover a high-profile story — the standoff between the federal government and cult leader David Koresh in Waco, Texas.
"As a wintery dawn broke over the central Texas landscape on Feb. 28th, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms rushed through their preparations for the assault on David Koresh and his followers in the Branch Davidian compound," Goodwyn reported on Morning Edition. "Heavily armed cult members were waiting for them a few hundred yards away."
It was the first of countless tragic news events Wade would bear witness to — mass shootings at churches, schools, and military bases; the Boy Scouts sexual abuse scandal; and, right at home, the ambush killings of Dallas police officers in 2016.
"It's been a very rough day, the roughest day the city has had in some 50 years," he told Morning Edition, likening the mood to the aftermath of President Kennedy's assassination.
He had a knack for politics, doing profiles over the years of a host of rising political stars from Texas — among them George W. and Laura Bush, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Dick Cheney and Beto O'Rourke. He reported on the rise of the Tea Party, covered the Enron financial scandal and trial, and remembered the wit and wisdom of Molly Ivins.
For more than 25 years, Wade reported on his home state of Texas and the southwest United States, covering top stories including the Oklahoma City bombing, school shootings, hurricanes, the American Sniper murder trial, and the Boy Scouts sexual abuse scandal.
"For generations of public radio listeners, including me, he was one of NPR's iconic voices. Aside from that instantly recognizable voice, Wade was a uniquely gifted storyteller and a brilliant reporter. From the first words of one of his stories, you always knew you were being taken on a journey by a master of our craft. You were in for a true treat, whatever the subject matter," said NPR CEO John Lansing.
His keen writing and "big, deep, rich voice"
Wade's soothing bass had a way of pulling listeners a little closer to the radio. A profile once described his voice like "warm butter melting over barbecued sweet corn." But Goodwyn argued that his writing is what really mattered. And he was right. If his voice pulled you in, his way with words kept you listening. For instance, this memorable line from his coverage of Hurricane Rita in 2005:"You know Wade was a poet," says NPR senior editor Steve Drummond. "The little detail, the little color or sound that he'd seen out in the field, and it just made what he said sparkle.""In Louisiana, you hug your NASCAR teddy bear when the big blow comes, even if you're a barrel-chested National Guardsman."
Wade Goodwyn had a knack for finding stories that few others could — like this 2013 piece about camels trekking in the Texas desert.
Courtesy Goodwyn family
Drummond says that skill for observation — combined with his big, deep, rich voice — made it a pleasure to listen to Wade on the radio, even if he was delivering bad news.
"He was just an amazing storyteller," says Drummond.
Drawn to radio and its storytelling
Radio storytelling is what pulled Wade Goodwyn into journalism. He'd been a history major at the University of Texas, a natural field of study for the son of noted historian Lawrence Goodwyn, who had been active in the civil rights movement and wrote books on grassroots populism in America.Out of college, Wade left Austin to work as a political organizer in New York City. There, he got hooked on NPR member station WNYC. He told Current in 2016 that he was so absorbed by the voices and stories he heard, he decided to pursue a freelance public radio career back home in Texas (where the rents were more affordable).
He started freelancing for NPR, and was assigned in 1993 to cover a high-profile story — the standoff between the federal government and cult leader David Koresh in Waco, Texas.
"As a wintery dawn broke over the central Texas landscape on Feb. 28th, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms rushed through their preparations for the assault on David Koresh and his followers in the Branch Davidian compound," Goodwyn reported on Morning Edition. "Heavily armed cult members were waiting for them a few hundred yards away."
It was the first of countless tragic news events Wade would bear witness to — mass shootings at churches, schools, and military bases; the Boy Scouts sexual abuse scandal; and, right at home, the ambush killings of Dallas police officers in 2016.
"It's been a very rough day, the roughest day the city has had in some 50 years," he told Morning Edition, likening the mood to the aftermath of President Kennedy's assassination.
He had a knack for politics, doing profiles over the years of a host of rising political stars from Texas — among them George W. and Laura Bush, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Dick Cheney and Beto O'Rourke. He reported on the rise of the Tea Party, covered the Enron financial scandal and trial, and remembered the wit and wisdom of Molly Ivins.