Today is HPR's 45th anniversary, making it the perfect occasion to celebrate some of the hosts and guests who have contributed to our airwaves over the decades.
While Hawaiʻi Public Radio has always been a place for homegrown talent to shine, it has also attracted nationally recognized radio journalists as well, including long-time NPR reporter Neal Conan.
After years with the national network, Conan began his semi-retirement on a macadamia nut farm on Hawaiʻi Island and later became a regular contributor to Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
One of his contributions? Thoughtful, informative and engaging analyses national news. Here's a snapshot from 2016 of former host Beth-Ann Kozlovich talking with Conan about his forecast for the year ahead.
"No information in the following few minutes should be used as the basis of any wager involving actual money," he jokingly began, kicking off what was already an energetic discussion.
After years of contributing to Hawaiʻi Public Radio and decades spent with NPR, Conan died on his farm on Hawaiʻi Island in 2021. His conversations, however, still echo as the things he spoke of mirror the state of the world today.
For more ways to commemorate Hawaiʻi Public Radio's 45th Anniversary, click here to listen to more conversations with the people that made our programs possible.
This story aired on The Conversation on HPR's 45th anniversary, Nov. 13, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
