Tiny Desk Radio

Origin stories are always told several different ways. Just ask anyone who reads comic books or watches the superhero movies (and endless reboots) they’re based on. It’s all a matter of perspective. The history of Tiny Desk has been told via YouTube breakdowns, newspaper profiles, online listicles and lengthy podcast conversations — sometimes with the NPR Music staffers who were there at the beginning, but often by a dedicated and growing fanbase who love this concert series.

Tiny Desk Radio (Sunday noon), heard only on public radio stations across the U.S., shares the concerts and stories about the artists whom we ask to make music like they never have before. In the very first episode, we tell our own Tiny Desk origin story with a bit of history and something of a “greatest hits” montage. And if you click the audio button on this page, you’ll hear an exclusive, extended version of what we broadcast, featuring Tiny Desk clips of Chaka Khan, Chris Stapleton, Sesame Street, Natalia Lafourcade, Wilco, Yo-Yo Ma and one of Mac Miller’s final performances.