NPR: National Progressive Radio or Just Bad at Hiding It?
Oh, NPR, you sweet, soft-spoken bastion of public radio, whispering soothing liberal lullabies into the ears of your Prius-driving, kombucha-sipping audience. You claim to be the gold standard of “unbiased” journalism, but let’s be real—your reporting often tilts so far left it’s practically doing a cartwheel into Bernie Sanders’ backyard. Don’t believe me? Let’s rip the Band-Aid off with some examples of NPR’s left-wing bias that are so blatant, they might as well come with a “Sponsored by the DNC” disclaimer.
Exhibit A: The Hunter Biden Laptop Fiasco (2020)
Remember when the New York Post dropped the bombshell about Hunter Biden’s laptop in October 2020, alleging shady business dealings that could’ve embarrassed the Biden campaign? NPR’s response was peak NPR: they didn’t just ignore the story; they practically threw it into a shredder and set it on fire. Their managing editor for news, Terence Samuel, tweeted that NPR wasn’t covering it because it wasn’t “a real story.” Really, Terry? A laptop with emails suggesting influence peddling by the son of a presidential candidate isn’t news? Meanwhile, NPR was busy churning out think pieces on systemic racism and climate change. Funny how they found airtime for that but couldn’t spare a minute for something that might make Democrats sweat. When the story later gained traction (shocker: it wasn’t Russian disinformation), NPR had to eat crow, but don’t hold your breath for an apology.
Exhibit B: The COVID Lab Leak Theory Dismissal (2020–2021)
Back when the COVID-19 origin debate was hotter than a Wuhan wet market, NPR was quick to dunk on the lab leak theory like it was some tinfoil-hat conspiracy cooked up by your uncle at Thanksgiving. In 2020, they ran stories quoting “experts” who called the idea implausible, framing it as a right-wing talking point. Never mind that scientists, including those at the NIH, were privately debating its plausibility. NPR’s coverage leaned hard into the natural-origin narrative, giving short shrift to anything that smelled remotely like a challenge to the WHO’s party line. Fast forward to 2023, when the FBI and CIA said, “Uh, yeah, lab leak’s looking pretty legit,” and NPR had to mumble a half-hearted correction. Oops, guess they forgot to “follow the science” when it didn’t fit their progressive script.
Exhibit C: The Border Crisis Wordplay (2021–Present)
NPR’s coverage of the U.S.-Mexico border crisis is a masterclass in linguistic gymnastics. While millions of migrants streamed across the border, overwhelming facilities and sparking heated policy debates, NPR’s reporters were busy playing Scrabble with terms like “migrant surge” or “border challenge.” Crisis? What crisis? Calling it that might sound too, I don’t know, Republican. In 2023, when border apprehensions hit record highs (over 2.5 million, per CBP data), NPR framed the story as a humanitarian issue, focusing on the plight of migrants while barely mentioning the strain on border security or local communities. Compare that to their hawkish tone on, say, Trump’s border wall, which they dissected with the precision of a surgeon and the disdain of a hipster at a dive bar. Apparently, “context” only matters when it fits the narrative.
Exhibit D: Uri Berliner’s Tell-All (2024)
When NPR’s own senior editor, Uri Berliner, dropped his bombshell essay in 2024, it was like a fox exposing the henhouse. He spilled the tea: NPR’s newsroom was a liberal echo chamber, with 87 registered Democrats and zero Republicans among editorial staff. Zero. Nada. Not even a token conservative to balance the vibe. Berliner pointed to NPR’s obsession with progressive pet causes—DEI, gender ideology, you name it—while sidelining stories that didn’t align with the lefty agenda. NPR’s response? They suspended him faster than you can say “free speech.” The irony of a news outlet punishing one of its own for calling out bias is so rich, it deserves its own NPR podcast episode, probably titled All Things Censored.
Exhibit E: The Trump Coverage Tilt (2024 Election)
During the 2024 presidential election, NPR’s coverage of Trump versus Harris was like watching a rom-com where one candidate gets the villain edit. A Media Research Center analysis found that PBS (NPR’s TV cousin) gave 72% negative coverage to Trump’s convention speech and 88% positive coverage to Harris’s. NPR wasn’t far behind, with stories framing Trump’s policies as “divisive” or “controversial” while Harris’s were “bold” or “inclusive.” Subtle, guys. Real subtle. When Trump called for defunding NPR, citing bias, their response was a sanctimonious lecture about the importance of public media. Maybe if they spent less time preaching and more time reporting both sides, they wouldn’t be in this mess.
Why This Matters
Look, NPR’s got a loyal fanbase who’ll defend it like it’s their grandma’s heirloom quilt. And sure, their soothing voices and deep dives into niche topics like artisanal goat farming are nice. But when your newsroom looks like a Democratic National Convention afterparty, and your reporting consistently skews toward one side’s talking points, you’re not “public radio.” You’re a megaphone for half the country, funded by all of us. Taxpayers deserve better than a station that picks sides while pretending it’s neutral. So, NPR, maybe take a break from the self-righteous monologues and try listening to the other half of America for a change. Or, you know, keep doing you—nothing says “journalistic integrity” like doubling down on bias.
Sources
Hunter Biden Laptop: New York Post, October 2020; NPR’s Terence Samuel tweet, October 2020.
COVID Lab Leak: NPR coverage, 2020–2021; FBI/CIA statements, 2023.
Border Crisis: CBP data, 2023; NPR archives, 2021–2024.
Uri Berliner Essay: Free Press, April 2024; NPR suspension reports.
Election Coverage: Media Research Center, 2024.