On May 3, 2021, NPR turns 50 years old. To mark this milestone, we're reflecting on and renewing our commitment to Hear Every Voice. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of NPR's first original on-air broadcast, we look back at our origins in radio, how we grew from a staff of 65 to thousands, and into our future in the digital space. It's been a turbulent time, with a deadly pandemic and a chaotic — sometimes violent — political climate. In the midst of all this, NPR is marking a milestone; on May 3, 2021, the network turns 50 years old. On the same day, in 1971, we started holding up our microphone to America. Just outside our doors, on the streets of Washington, DC, one of the biggest antiwar protests in American history was taking place. NPR's story is that of a ragtag network — born in the era of the Vietnam War and Watergate — one that came of age during the explosion of the 24/7 news cycle.