Radio talk show host Leonard Lopate interviews guests on ‘The Leonard Lopate Show’ at the WNYC Radio studios. Image by Evan Agostini/Getty Images

By Aiden Pink December 6, 2017

Two popular New York public radio hosts have been put on leave as their station investigates allegations of inappropriate conduct.

Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz were being taken off WNYC airwaves immediately, the station announced Wednesday.

“New York Public Radio takes these kinds of allegations very seriously and is reviewing these matters promptly,” WNYC CEO Laura Walker said in a statement. “NYPR is committed to taking all appropriate steps to ensure a respectful, equitable, inclusive and harassment-free workplace for everyone.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Lopate has hosted a public discussion show on WNYC for 32 years, and has interviewed wide-ranging guests like Barack Obama and Stephen Sondheim. Schwartz, an authority on jazz and Frank Sinatra, first appeared on the radio in New York in 1958.

Lopate told CNN that he was shocked by the decision.

“I’m baffled by this. It makes absolutely no sense to me,” he said. “I’m sure that any honest investigation will completely clear me.”

The suspensions come after claims of inappropriate behavior have led to the firing or suspensions of other public radio figures, including “A Prairie Home Companion” creator Garrison Keillor.

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount