Bill Maher Calls NPR 'Far Extreme of the Left' in Podcast Interview

Bill Maher said NPR stands on the far extreme of the left during an interview Wednesday on the network's Newsmakers podcast. Fox News reported that the comedian told host Steve Inskeep he was surprised the outlet had invited him. Maher defended his decision to include Louis CK at a Kennedy Center event where he received the Mark Twain prize.

He described the absence of consistent rules for punishing offenders in the United States as weird and noted that some people cheered Hamas rapists while others lost jobs for lesser conduct. Inskeep said NPR's audience was more diverse than Maher assumed and stated that the network goes out of its way to hear all kinds of people.

Maher replied that who NPR talks to differs from what its staff believe.

Maher said the country has moved past the era when the federal government should subsidize outlets such as NPR and PBS. He argued that these organizations became popular when Republicans and Democrats did not view each other as existential threats and added that polarized conditions now require them to operate as private entities.

Congress voted in July 2025 to rescind $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for public media.