Ten Questions for NPR’s Katherine Maher - What Republicans should ask the public radio CEO when she testifies before Congress

Christopher F. Rufo Substack ^ | 26 Mar, 2025 | Christopher F. Rufo

[MtnClimber]

I think her eyes scream CRAZY.

[gundog]

PBS has been warning me about the treachery of white people....

[Starboard]

Defunding NPR is a no brainer which is why Republicans will never do it.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Those are all excellent questions. She sounds like a bizarre liberal. But let her tell us about her views.

[bert]

It has been my thought for many years that the governors must kill NPR and PBS.

All public radio is controlled by the states. All the governors have to do is just go tell the station managers to cease broadcasts of NPR and PBS. Their state must get out of the propaganda business. Propaganda is not free speech when delivered over state publicly owned stations.

When Free Republic had chapters, the Media Bias Chapter researched the subject in depth. What we learned is that PBS and NPR are in effect left wing bastions, superb fortresses enclosed with land mines and then moats and then more land mines and then tremendous rolls of concertina razor wire and then walls of sand bags 4 to 6 feet thick on top of which are rows and rows of interconnected fields fire machine guns. Their defense is serious.

[Reily]

Anytime NPR or PBS is criticized or threatened with a Federal budget cut legions of local Karen's come out and claim her son/daughter local middle\high school orchestra, the county or state orchestra\ballet\art programs will be threatened Additionally you want to kill Big Bird! These Karens besiege state legislators, congresscritters and senators with visits and phone calls. I estimate a third of these Karens are Republican or at least claim to be conservative. Supporting PBS\NPR allows people to pretend they are part of the cultural glitterata.

[Brian Griffin]

Kindly list the reasons why we don’t want to fund NPR and tell us what you will do to do overcome them.

My main objection to NPR is the constant whining for more federal handouts for everything.

[Brian Griffin]

I used to regularly donate to public broadcasting.

It needs to be made palatable to both sides of the political spectrum.

[Vaduz]

2. In 2020, you wrote that “America is addicted to white supremacy” and expressed support for race-based “reparations.” Do you still believe that America is addicted to white supremacy? And do you still support wealth transfers from one race to another?

[MtnClimber]

My main objection to NPR is that they have become a state-funded mouthpiece to indoctrinate people to vote for ever more state control over many aspects of life. We are being forced to fund the destruction of individual liberty and freedom that our contract with government (the constitution) guarantees. I basically object with being forced (with threat of imprisonment) to fund my own enslavement to the state.

[Fledermaus]

Ugly lesbian

[cgbg]

Good luck fixing that toxic trash.

It needs to be gone.

No federal funding.

End local station licenses for their TV affiliates.

Ban their use of the name “national” and “public”.

Enough is enough.

[SMARTY]

Everyone of them looks like that. ..rumpled ill-fitting clothes, matted dirty hair, etc.

The Woodstock thing ended in ‘72, but no one told them

[Robert357]

They should ask her if she has read the former NPR CEO Ken Stern's book, “Republicans like Me; How I left the Liberal Bubble and learned to love the Right.” Ken was a life long Democrat. He even admitted he did not know any Republicans. He doubted there were any at work and there were none in the community he lived in.

After retiring he took a major road trip into what he referred to as “fly over country.” The attended backyard BBQ’s, church services, went hunting and fishing with red necks. Until then he had never fired a firearm. After spending several months he found the people to be honest, kind, and extremely ethical, friendly and inclusive. He was stunned at how much he liked and admired them. He then went on to reflect that his exposure had changed him and his views.

If she has read Ken's book, ask her what she is doing about the liberal bubble at NPR? If she hasn't give her a copy and ask her to get in touch with the former NPR CEO after she has read the book to discuss his advice on what NPR should be doing.

If you haven't read the book, I suggest that you read it.

[Sirius Lee]

Those are all excellent questions.

Which is why the GOPtards won't ask any of them. They'll speechify for sure, and what questions they ask will lack all coordination and come off like nailing jello to the wall.

The demoncraps will have a unified defense, and a coordinated attack on the GOP gomers.

[hinckley buzzard]

I believe she is the one who asserted literally that ‘the truth’ is not high on her list of priorities.

[MplsSteve]

“Supporting PBS\NPR allows people to pretend they are part of the cultural glitterata”

Your post is spot on.

For members of Congress, they fear most of all their inability to network properly if they vote for cuts in NPR, etc. They fear they’ll be cut out of holiday parties, cocktail receptions and honor banquets - or god forbid, word will get out and a local political columnist will write badly of them.

So much of DC thrives on this atmosphere and the perks that come from it.

[Henchster]

Just ONE question:

"When we completely de-fund your propaganda network, are you going to learn to code?"

[catnipman]

i would amend question 6.) with the following: "Do you still believe that banning the political opposition is consistent with the First Amendment and, more broadly, a culture of free speech? ... And now that the Republicans are in power and the Democrats are the opposition, is it acceptable that Republicans censor the Democrats like the Democrats censored the Republicans?