Morning Edition turns 40 on Tuesday. Over the years, NPR's morning newsmagazine program has covered seven presidents, two Persian Gulf wars, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and nine Star Wars movies.
But the show was almost canceled before it even started — and there were obstacles to just keeping it on the air.
"They did this pilot with the original staff, and it was awful," said Bob Edwards, who hosted Morning Edition from 1979 to 2004.