Luke Burbank | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Burbank, taping the 2000th episode of his programToo Beautiful to Live in 2015 | |
| Born | (1976-05-08)May 8, 1976 (age 48) |
| Spouse(s) | Carey Burbank (2013–2020) Nicola Vruwink (2001–2006) |
| Children | 1[2] |
| Career | |
| Show | Too Beautiful to Live |
| Station | Podcast |
| Show | Live Wire Radio |
| Station(s) | Podcast, Public Radio |
| Style | Talk Show |
| Country | United States |
| Previous show(s) | Bryant Park Project (host), Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! (guest host and panelist), Ross and Burbank (co-host), The Luke Burbank Show (host) |
| Website | www |
Luke Burbank (born May 8, 1976) is an American radio host andpodcaster who hosts the Portland, Oregon-based syndicated variety showLive Wire Radio and the Seattle-based former radio program and current podcastToo Beautiful to Live.[3][4] He was most recently co-host of "The Ross and Burbank Show" and host of "The Luke Burbank Show" on Seattle'sKIRO-FM radio station. Burbank is also a correspondent forCBS News Sunday Morning.
Burbank was raised atLighthouse Ranch on Table Bluff in Humboldt County, California, where he spent his private time listening to radio shows.[1] In the 1980s his parents moved to Seattle, Washington, where he attended high school.[1] He graduated with a communications degree from the University of Washington in 1998, with an emphasis on editorial journalism.
Early in his radio career, Burbank worked in Seattle as a producer for the conservative talk show hostKirby Wilbur as well as the public radio station'sKUOW 94.9 FM local talk showThe Conversation and the public radio show "Rewind".[5] Later, Burbank moved to Los Angeles, California, where he began booking appearances for the NPR programDay to Day and worked as an assignment reporter on showsAll Things Considered andMorning Edition.[6] On November 2, 2001, he had a story aired onThis American Life.[7]
In July 2006, he became a panelist on the radio game showWait Wait...Don't Tell Me!. He substituted as host forPeter Sagal for some weeks while Sagal finished his book,[3] and has since guest-hosted when Sagal is on vacation.[2]
Burbank spent two months as host of NPR's short-lived morning showThe Bryant Park Project, an experiment in alternate programming by the network that aired on 13 public radio stations.[6][8] Burbank left the show in mid-December 2007 in order to spend more time with his daughter in Seattle.[3][6] His last appearance on the program was on December 14, 2007.[9]
After leaving NPR, Burbank returned to Seattle to host a local show calledToo Beautiful to Live. The program ran for 18 months (initially onKIRO-AM and then onKIRO-FM). It wasSeattle Weekly's choice as "Best Radio Talk Show" in July 2009,[10][11] but after a poor showing in the JulyArbitron ratings, the radio program was canceled in September.[11] Burbank and KIRO said that the program would continue as a daily podcast.[11] The podcast has continued since its radio cancellation, first onAmerican Public Media and then as an independent podcast since 2023, with longest-serving co-host Andrew Walsh, a veteran radio producer and sometime host in his own right.
On October 26, 2010, after one year off the KIRO airwaves, Burbank joinedThe Dave Ross Show as co-host. The show was renamed toThe Ross and Burbank Show. On January 7, 2013, the show was involved in a KIRO morning lineup change. Ross anchoredSeattle's Morning News from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., then co-hostedThe Ross and Burbank Show from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Burbank hostedThe Luke Burbank Show from 10 a.m. to noon. with co-host Tom Tangney. On August 2, 2013, Burbank announced that he was leaving both shows to pursue longer-form broadcast opportunities.
On March 11, 2013, Burbank became the interim host for the syndicated public radio variety showLive Wire Radio. In September 2013, he became the full-time host.
He previously appeared in a regular weekly segment titled "Awesome, Not Awesome" on theMadeleine Brand show onKPCC until its cancellation in September 2012.[12]
In September 2013, he starred in a Microsoft online video advertisement with his wife Carey Burbank, which made headlines after it was pulled by the company less than 24 hours later following viewer backlash.The Huffington Post declared the ad was "terrible"[13] while The Next Web described it as "cringeworthy."[14] Burbank defended the ad, however, saying it was "successful."[15]