Tom Barnard to Step Away from Podcast in 2026

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, April 24, 2025

Tom Barnard

Longtime Twin Cities radio personality Tom Barnard has announced plans to step down from "The Tom Barnard Podcast" in November 2026, passing the show on to his children, Andy and Alex Barnard. The podcast, produced by Hubbard Radio, marked Barnard's shift from terrestrial radio to digital broadcasting following his departure from KQRS-FM in Minneapolis, where he hosted the morning show for nearly four decades.

Despite a loyal audience, Barnard said the transition to podcasting has lacked the broader support he once had in radio. "The listener support is great, but I don't get a lot of other support for the podcast," Barnard told the Star Tribune. "The segue from radio to podcasting has gotten better, but it's still uncomfortable for me. I just don't have the same enthusiasm for it."

He added that many fans urged him not to quit. "I've been told by 8 billion people this past weekend that there's no way I can leave. They say there's not anything else to listen to."

Barnard joined Hubbard Radio in early 2023 to launch the weekday podcast, airing live from 7-10am and distributed on-demand across streaming platforms. The move followed his exit from KQRS-FM in December 2022, where Cumulus Media had described his departure as a "retirement."

Though he's stepping back from daily hosting duties, Barnard made clear that he's not ready for full retirement. "I will never retire. But I don't know where I would go," he said. "Maybe I could go to KFAN, do one or two hours a week. So many good people over there. But I don't see where there would be room for me."