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Comedian Bill Maher called out NPR as part of the “far extreme of the left” during an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Wednesday, even joking he was surprised he had the “Real Time” host on the show.
Inskeep spoke to Maher on NPR’s “Newsmakers” podcast and covered a range of topics, including his meeting with President Donald Trump, his career and his Kennedy Center award. Maher frequently criticizes Trump and Republicans on his show and podcast, but also does not hold back on critiquing the left.
“Your audience is going to love this by the way,” as the comedian defended inviting Louis CK to his Kennedy Center event, where he accepted the Mark Twain prize. Maher argued the “sort of no rules for how we mete out punishment in this country for offenders is pretty weird,” and said Hamas “rapists” were being cheered by some people, while others were fired for less severe actions.
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Inskeep suggested NPR’s audience was more diverse than Maher thought.
Mark Twain Prize recipient Bill Maher attends the 27th Mark Twain Prize For American Humor Gala at The Kennedy Center on June 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
“I’m surprised you even had me on,” Maher said.
“Because I just think of this place is so different than what it used to be, and what I always want people to do, but it’s so hard to get people to do these days, is just engage with the argument. You can hate me, for whatever your reasons,” he went on. “You know, I’m too old, whatever I am. Are you engaging with the argument? Tell me if I’m wrong about something. And then we’re going to be cool. But that’s not what either extreme does in this country anymore. And, maybe I’m wrong, but I think of this place is like on the far extreme of the left.”
Inskeep said there may be more variety in who NPR talks to than what he’s been told.
Maher then said, “Who you talk to is different than like what people believe.”
The National Public Radio logo is displayed on a sign outside its headquarters in Washington, D.C., on May 29, 2026. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
“We want to hear all kinds of people, and we go out of our way to do it,” Inskeep said.
Maher has criticized NPR in the past, specifically following the outlet’s CEO, Katherine Maher, and her testimony before Congress in 2025.
During a March 2025 “Overtime” segment for his HBO show, the comedian specifically called out his “namesake” Maher over her repeated assertions that NPR was “unbiased.”
Bill Maher attends the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor gala at The Kennedy Center on June 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Shannon Finney/WireImage)
“Give me a break, lady,” Maher said at the time. “I mean, they’re crazy far-left.”
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The HBO host went on to say the country is “past the age” where the federal government can subsidize outlets like NPR and PBS.
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“Why do we need to subsidize,” Maher asked. “We’re so polarized. These outlets became popular at a time when Republicans and Democrats didn’t hate each other and weren’t at each other’s throats and didn’t think each other was an existential threat. In that world, you can’t have places like this, I think, anymore. They have to be private.”
NPR faced funding cuts in 2025 after Congress voted to rescind $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for public media in July 2025.
