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Sacha Stone
Hi, this is Free Thinking through the Fourth Turning. My name is Sacha Stone. All Things Not Considered How NPR was sucked into the cult of the Left. Like everyone else on the left, I grew up wanting to exist in the rarefied air of npr. It was to me like the green light at the end of Daisy's Dock in the Great Gatsby, the place you don't belong, but the only place you want to be. I was thrilled when NPR invited me to the studio in 2012 for an interview. I even took a picture of the parking lot. Anything with NPR on it broadcast listeners. Four photos of me at npr, including in the studio.
NPR Host
To give us an overview of the category itself, we've called Sasha Stone. She's the founder and editor of of the Awards Daily blog and she joins us from NPR West. Sasha, thanks for talking with us.
Sacha Stone
Oh, it's so nice to be here. Thank you for having me.
NPR Host
At its most basic, what makes an effective film adaptation?
Sacha Stone
Well, the first thing you need is to be a strong best picture contender because the adapted screenplay race is very closely married to best picture. It has less to do with a great adaptation, which is what we sort of hope it would be, you would think, and more to do with how successful is this contender in the race Race.
NPR Host
Okay, so let's for the sake of argument, put aside the fact that all these have to be really good films. Is there any criteria for judging an adaptation that that requires some kind of analysis of how closely the the ultimate screenplay mirrors the original source? Do people even think about that?
Sacha Stone
No, you'd think so. They really don't. I think that the exception this year would be I finally made it ma top of the world. I woke up with Morning Edition and spent the afternoon with All Things Considered. It required no effort at all. It was always on. Every time I got into my car and drove somewhere. And in Los Angeles, everyone drives everywhere. Long before controversial CEO Catherine Marr was hired at npr, listeners were already dropping like flies. Any honest person knows that NPR changed dramatically. Even my sister, a die hard Democrat, joked with me in 2020 that she had to stop listening because every episode seemed to be about a transgender migrant crossing the border for an abortion in Texas. Here is a sampling of the Republicans.
Representative
Grilling Mar Ms. Maher, who is Uri Berliner?
Yuri Berliner
Mr. Berliner is a former senior editor.
Representative
That's all.
Yuri Berliner
A former senior business editor for NPR.
Representative
How long do you work at NPR?
Yuri Berliner
I believe he was there just over 25 years.
Representative
25 years. Award winning journalist. Did you win any awards?
Yuri Berliner
Our time to Peabody Award.
Representative
That's pretty important, isn't it? That is a pretty distinguished journalist, right?
Yuri Berliner
Certainly.
Representative
And he wrote a long story about what you do at npr. Is NPR biased?
Yuri Berliner
Congressman, I have never seen any instance of never of political bias determining editorial decisions. No.
Representative
Well, Mr. Berliner in his story last year wrote I've in the D.C. area editorial positions at NPR. He said he found 87 registered Democrats, zero Republicans. Is that accurate?
Yuri Berliner
We do not track the numbers or the voter registration. But I find that award winning journalists.
Representative
Who worked 25 years at NPR. Mr. Berliner, was he lying when he wrote that?
Yuri Berliner
I am not presuming such. I just don't have. We don't track that information about our journalists.
Representative
87 to 0. And you're not biased?
Yuri Berliner
I think that is concerning. If those numbers are accurate, it's concern.
Representative
I mean it wasn't 44, 43 wasn't 60, 27. It wasn't 70, 17. It wasn't even 80 to 7. It was 87 Democrats, zero Republicans. And you say NPR is not biased. How about the big stories over the last few years? According to Mr. Berliner? Again, he wrote on the Trump Russia story. He wrote at npr we hitched our wagon to Trump's most visible antagonist, Representative Adam Schiff. He said they interviewed him 25 times. That accurate?
Yuri Berliner
I was not there at the time. But those numbers sound accurate.
Representative
Those sound accurate. But then he said when the Mueller report came out and they said Mueller said, Robert Mueller said he found no evidence of collusion. He said Russiagate faded from our programming. Is that accurate?
Yuri Berliner
Again, I was not there at the time. I'm not. I couldn't say.
Representative
You couldn't say?
Yuri Berliner
I was not at NPR at the time.
Representative
You didn't prepare for that. You knew we were going to ask you about this guy, didn't you? It's come up like 6,000 times already in the hearing.
Yuri Berliner
I just couldn't say whether it faded from our coverage.
Representative
Sir, how about this story? October 2020. The New York Post had the Hunter Biden laptop story and one of those editors, I guess One of those 87 Democrat editors said this. We don't want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories. We don't want to waste the listeners and readers times on stories that are just pure distractions. Was that a pure distraction story?
Yuri Berliner
Our current editorial leadership believes that that was a mistake. As do I. Yeah, the whole country.
Representative
Knows that was a mistake.
Sacha Stone
Mars testimony at the anti American airwaves. Accountability for the heads of NPR and PBS will be seen by Most on the left as something along the lines of the House of UN American Activities in the 1950s and for similar reasons here. In the most viral exchange, Representative Gill even brings up Marxism.
Congressman
Ms. Marr, I want to start with you. Just generally. Would you say you generally agree or disagree with the following statement? The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.
Yuri Berliner
I would not say I agree with that.
Congressman
That's good to hear. It's interesting because a lot of your thinking, as expressed by your public statements, is deeply infused with economic and cultural Marxism. Do you believe that America is addicted to white supremacy?
Yuri Berliner
I believe that. I tweeted that. And I. As I've said earlier, I believe much of my thinking has evolved over the last half decade.
Congressman
It has evolved. Why did you tweet that?
Yuri Berliner
I don't recall the exact context, sir, so I wouldn't be able to say.
Congressman
Okay. Do you believe that America believes in black plunder and white democracy?
Yuri Berliner
I don't believe that, sir.
Congressman
You tweeted that in reference to a book you were reading at the time, apparently the Case for Reparations.
Yuri Berliner
I don't think I've ever read that book, sir.
Congressman
He tweeted about it. You said you took a day off to fully read the Case for Reparations. You put that on Twitter in January of 2020.
Yuri Berliner
I apologize. I don't recall that I did.
Congressman
Okay.
Yuri Berliner
I no doubt that your tweet there is correct, but I don't recall that.
Congressman
Okay. Do you believe that white people inherently feel superior to other races?
Yuri Berliner
I do not. I don't believe that I did read that book, sir.
Congressman
Do you think that a few years ago, NPR educated America about, quote, the whole community of genderqueer dinosaur enthusiasts? Do you think that that's an appropriate use of tax dollars?
Yuri Berliner
I was not at NPR at the time, sir.
Congressman
That's not. Do you think that that's an appropriate use of our tax dollars?
Yuri Berliner
I think our tax dollars that we use are to be able to provide a wide range of.
Congressman
I'll take that as a yes. You do believe that that's appropriate? Your health advisor at NPR also stated in an interview that, quote, fear of fatness is more harmful than actual fat. Would you like to explain how fear of fatness is more harmful than actual fat? That's directly. That's an editorial at npr.
Yuri Berliner
I am not familiar with the editorial, and I don't believe that was published during my time here.
Congressman
It's called Diet Culture is Everywhere. Here's. Do you think that that's an appropriate Use of taxpayer dollars.
Yuri Berliner
I think any reporting on health is an appropriate use. Taxpayer dollars? Yes.
Congressman
And you think that editorializing that fat is not unhealthy is appropriate?
Yuri Berliner
I don't know what that article is, sir, and I'm not familiar with it.
Congressman
I couldn't say fake news. Do you think that basic accommodations like doorways or seat belts represent, quote, latent fat phobia?
Yuri Berliner
I don't have an opinion.
Congressman
It's also from npr. Do you think civility is racist?
Yuri Berliner
No, sir.
Congressman
No. Your outlet ran an article entitled, quote, when civility is used as a cudgel against people of color. That was on All Things Considered.
Sacha Stone
Like this moment. This hearing will be shapeshifted into a story that paints them as the victims and their side as the side standing up for free speech. The truth. They abandoned objectivity long ago, if they ever had it at all. I used to think they did. I was a faithful believer in people I thought had our best interests at heart. Took me years to understand why the Republicans have been complaining about them since their inception. Maher is a stunner. Even at her age, with her platinum blonde bob and Hepburn cheekbones, she's probably not used to being dragged before a tribunal and made to answer for how NPR has abused the public's trust. But abuse it they have. She might not also be aware that this is a revolution. No heads didn't roll, but the 2024 election was a triumph of the people, by the people and for the people. A revolution made possible only by Donald Trump's alliance with Big Tech and Elon Musk. Especially to the left, in their delusional fever dreams, they are the oppressed side. They're the resistance. Like back when German tanks rolled into Paris. But they're not. They never were. They were always the empire. How do I know? Because I was one of them. I was an enthusiastic participant in the movement that would overtake much of American society, grow its power with the rise of the Internet, and spread its fundamentalism like a fungus, one that is now killing its host. A revolution because there was no other option. A revolution because the kids were at risk. A revolution because this isn't a country that likes to be ruled over by an elite, out of touch aristocracy and never has. Maher sat before the Republicans polite but poker faced. They finally had the chance they've been waiting for since NPR and PBS first began as Bill Maher. No relation makes clear.
Bill Maher
Well, a little background here. I mean, they've been after them for the Republicans have wanted to get rid of PBS for as long As I can remember, this crowd will probably do it. I mean, I also read my namesake, Catherine Mar was head of npr, and you know, she said, we're completely unbiased. Give me a break, lady. I mean, they're crazy far left. So, I mean, I think we're past my view. We're past the age really, where the government, first of all, why do we need to subsidize? Why can't we have outlets like this? And 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 Listener
Yeah, I think Yuri Berliner, ex NPR employer, his piece this week, whistleblower, where he said that they should just let go of the funding. I love NPR. I listen to NPR almost every day. Have since 1975 when my parents used to play it in our Chevrolet Caprice when I was like nine years old. I love it for its point of view, but since, since 2020, it has no longer been general. I remember in 2021, my then 9 year old asked me, and of course she has no sense of context. I don't pump her full of things like this. She said from the back seat in a very different car, she said, daddy, why is it that NPR is always playing the same thing? And I said, what do you mean the same thing? And I swear she said, now she doesn't have a vocabulary, but she said it's always about how somebody can't do something. And what she was getting at was that I wouldn't have said that about the NPR that I knew back in the day, and I wouldn't have said it 10 years ago, but that is what it is now. I will listen to it daily, but it's no longer a general audience venue. They just give up national funding.
Sacha Stone
PBS isn't that much better than npr, but if I had to choose Sophie's Choice style, I'd take pbs. They didn't go quite so crazy because they didn't have to produce so much content and they weren't made only for radio. NPR is using the opportunity as a fundraiser. Give us money, they say, because they're partly why we're in this mess. We did it for you, our last remaining listeners who still use the radio and still love NPR because it has become, like so much of our culture now, little more than a propaganda arm for the Democrats. We interrupt this program to bring you an important advertisement from National Public Radio. Calls to defund public media are getting louder. Whether uncovering local matters, analyzing national affairs, or amplifying global issues, we do it for you and we do it with you. Your voluntary financial support is an essential part of the NPR network. Every dollar you donate strengthens this public service for the road ahead. Can you please pitch in? Yes, I'll donate. This revolution was well overdue. It had to come from the right because the left has become too comfortable in its wealth and privilege. And no woke virtue signaling can't hide that, at least not forever. They gave it a good run though, didn't they? They almost had the people fooled into thinking they really did represent the underclass. Maher is a sign of one of our potential futures had the Democrats prevailed. She was born the year I graduated high school. She's a millennial, the generation Neil Howe says will be the new baby boomers America chose. Right? At least for now. Her insistence that she no longer believes Trump and his supporters are racist is a lie. It has to be. They all believe that, just as she likely thinks the attacks against her now are rooted in misogyny. Barr was right about one thing, though. She isn't in charge of editorial. It looks to me like the former CEO of Wikimedia and the chairman of the board at Signal has been hired to salvage NPR from total collapse. She represents that strange new species of human that combines big tech with social justice, the woke capitalism Vivek Ramaswamy always talks about. With no way to make the jump to the podcast and the video age, NPR became like the Bates Motel and Hitchcock's Psycho, a once well trafficked institution that fell into obscurity because once they built the interstate or Internet, no one knew how to find it. Who listens to the radio anymore? Bring NPR into the modern age. That seems to have been Mars directive. Some of the millions who have left, she assures us, are now coming back a revolution because our future was in the hands of dangerous people who push dangerous ideology that has now infected our kids. Purging it from our culture required a revolution. They gave us no other option. Just look at NPR's shameful coverage of the trans issue. Maher had nothing to do with that. But go ahead and try it for yourself. Search for Abigail Schreier or the Cass Report. Search for Chloe Cole. Search for any story that tells the opposing viewpoint. Ever. You won't find it for an ideology that Democrats insist represents only 1% of the population it sure is a popular topic at npr. Searching just in the last year brings up hundreds, if not thousands of stories. They seem to never tire of different ways to tell the transgender perspective to their listeners, and yet have no way of telling even one story that represents the alternative viewpoint. Here is but a small sampling of the headlines from NPR over the past year or so. What happens when a Chicago hospital bows to federal pressure on trans care for teens? Jennifer Phinney Boylan's latest memoir, Cleavage is a reflection on transgender life Iowa struck gender identity from its civil rights law A parent fears for his transgender child Iowa strips protections for transgender people from its Civil Rights Act Census Bureau stopped work on data for protecting trans rights Former director says Trump's passport policy leaves trans intersex Americans in the lurch Stonewall Inn protesters stand against recent moves to erase trans and queer people Park Service erases transgender on Stonewall website uses the term LGB movement. What an endocrinologist says about the differences between trans and cisgender athletes Spoiler alert. Don't read it unless you want to pull your hair out. Trump's anti trans effort is an agenda cornerstone with echoes in history. Everything is changing every minute. New prison rules for trans women on hold. Trans community fears Trump's actions will upend legal precedent on prison protections. Activists worry that Trump will bulldoze trans rights. Here's how they're preparing Montana lawmakers cross the aisle to block a trans bathroom bill in the state Capitol. Trans healthcare under Trump may follow the abortion playbook and its Hyde amendment. Minnesota is a refuge for trans health care. Here's how doctors are meeting the need. Minnesota clinics are figuring out how to best care for out of state trans patients. New research finds trans teens have high satisfaction with gender care. Republican campaigns have been blanketing the airwaves with anti trans ads. Tim Wall's state became a trans refuge. Here's what that means and how it happened. More trans teens attempted suicide after states passed anti trans laws, a study shows. If you search detransition, only two stories come up. Seeing through a trans lens, Torrey Peters pens detransition Baby and this story why one Ohio therapist changed her mind about gender affirming care for kids, which reads then Carrie Callahan is a therapist in Ohio who detransitioned. She previously said she was against gender affirming care for kids but is now advocating against bans on trans healthcare. She tells us more about her story. Between that and stories of racism or the plight of undocumented workers, NPR leaves no room or any consideration for the silent majority who knew they had only one option if they wanted their country back from whatever this madness is that has overtaken it. NPRs like Hollywood book publishing, all institutions of culture, education and NGOs. So much power concentrated in so few hands is what usually means a revolution is coming. People now have to answer for how bad things have gotten. People like Catherine Marr. It's not rocket science to figure out why NPR's coverage has become so narrowly focused on the left's newfound zealotry. Everyone needs religion, even those who pretend they don't. If one isn't there already, we will invent one. It gives people like Catherine Marr a sense of purpose and absolution, a necessary component for those who have everything else. White women especially needed a way out of being called white feminists or terfs. Mara was trying not just to save her job, but also to save npr. If NPR goes down, it will all be on her, just as the snow white catastrophe will be on Rachel Zegler, whether fairly or not. Go ahead and worship as you please say, the American people, but not on our dime. One brave Democrat recently in New Hampshire, a 23 year old Democratic representative named Jonah Wheeler voted to protect women in sports, causing a major uproar in the city. His constituents demanded a town hall meeting, but Wheeler bravely stood up to them.
Representative Jonah Wheeler
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was a powerful story and I have heard many stories like that in the lead up to this vote here today. But Mr. Speaker, the powerful anecdotes of one person and the consent of one person cannot stand for the consent of another person. And if there are women who feel unsafe, if there are women who feel like their space has become not private, then we should listen to those women. And just because a small segment of the population would like those policies to accommodate them over women doesn't mean that we here today can do that. So Mr. Speaker, for us. And I pause because my colleagues are walking out as I give this speech. People are clapping in the gallery for their walking out. And Mr. Speaker, I think that illustrates exactly why I got up here today. I could have quietly voted. My conscience could have followed the party line. But Mr. Speaker, again, the consent of one person cannot see stand for the consent of another. And just because one person is comfortable with a transgender woman being in the bathroom with them or playing sports with them or being in a prison with them doesn't mean that another woman is. And these issues do not have to cause violence. These conversations can be nuanced and we can have conversations about Treating each other with respect and humanity.
Sacha Stone
Do you understand the ripple effect that your actions have on vulnerable people? And I am saying that, Jonah, as someone who has been in your corner almost as long as I've been a teacher. I had a best. I sat across from you and you talked about how you wanted to go to Boise State. I proudly voted for you.
Concerned Citizen
And I am ashamed of what you have done out in the world.
Sacha Stone
I cared for you. Jane is my student too. This room is full of people you are actively hurting.
NPR Host
I don't know how you know.
Concerned Citizen
You asked what you could do. I guess what I would ask you is if you're willing to accept responsibility for the number of children who statistically will commit suicide because they've been forced out to their parents in school or because they've been denied freedom to inhabit the gender. Not sex, but the gender, which is a different thing, which you maybe should read a little more about. To inhabit that gender authentically to be themselves. Because there is a large statistical number of children who will commit suicide as result of legislation you have forward. And I'm wondering if you're willing to take responsibility from that. If you stand up here and talk about how hard it is to be in the legislature. Try being in the world as a person who is not cisgender. That's all I have to say.
Sacha Stone
And it's dange.
NPR Host
It's dangerous to talk like that. It tells young people exactly that it's dangerous to have conversations like that.
Representative Jonah Wheeler
I think that's a great point. I just heard from somebody in the audience. I think it's absolutely. I mean, to go around and ascribe.
Concerned Citizen
The deaths of all those who would commit suicide to me, I think is a dangerous way to go about this.
Sacha Stone
At the same meeting, a young man spoke before the crowd asking the woman there what she would tell parents of detransitioners like him who had been convinced to have their testicles removed because that would make them a woman. He now has to live this way for the rest of his life.
Concerned Citizen
Here's my question, Councilwoman. Given your support for the castration of children like me under the guise of so called gender affirming care, what would you say to the parents of detransitioners who took their own lives after realizing this so called gender affirming care was actually the wrong decision. And in fact, here in New Hampshire and New Hampshire we have at least 100. And I can send you statistics if you want children who have been operated on and given cross sex hormones which do sterilize after long enough use handstander.
Sacha Stone
Surgeries have a lower regret rate than knee surgeries.
Concerned Citizen
That's a lie.
Yuri Berliner
That's not true.
Sacha Stone
That's not true. Thank you for the question. Wyatt, please. Thank you for the question. To be clear, the executive counselors do not get to vote on legislation. So there has been legislation passed HB619 last year that had to do with gender affirming care.
Singer
I did not get a vote on that.
Sacha Stone
Your representative, Wheeler and Leishman, your representation representatives did get to vote on that and they voted with the anti trans position on that.
Concerned Citizen
Answer the question.
Sacha Stone
Please answer the question.
Concerned Citizen
Coward. Answer the question. What would you say to the parent of a D transitioner? Like who I've known my friends who.
NPR Host
Are like our D transitioners here, what.
Concerned Citizen
They have done to their bodies. What would you say to those the.
NPR Host
D transitioners here, A child. I am very sorry for your loss.
Concerned Citizen
Thank you all for coming out. No matter what side you're on, this is what politics needs to be conversing with respect. And let me just say finally that if your position needs to shoot people down with yelling at them over as they speak or clapping at them as they speak or calling them a fascist, I'm not sure if your position is the right one position that our right ones can win based off of merit. Based off of the argument, and you know what I didn't hear tonight is a merit based argument.
Sacha Stone
NPR had no search results for Representative Jonah Wheeler and certainly none for whistleblower Jamie Reid, who was there to support Wheeler and even stayed after to make sure he got to his car safely. Reid has been traveling from state to state to ensure laws banning gender affirming care are passed.
NPR Host
I saw a patient population go from four new intakes per month of children who are mostly pre pubertal boys to 50 to 60 new patients per month and 80% of them were teenage girls. Guess what teenage girls have in common? They are absolutely susceptible to social contagion. This occurred right when COVID lockdowns happened, right when we stuck one of these in all of those teenagers phones. And right when we saw all of these girls watching videos. We actually referred to it in the clinic as TikTok tics. They literally were parroting and coming into our clinic with the exact same storyline that they learned online about what it meant to be trans. And then third and finally was that I actually harmed patients. This protocol itself physically harmed my patients to the point where I was sending children to the emergency room for emergency surgeries after they had their first sexual experience and their vaginas were ripping open. We removed the breast of a young woman who called us back begging to have them put on. She not only had detransitioned and was re identifying as a woman, she was also pregnant. She also grew up in foster care and she literally told us that part of this identity for her was a social contagion. So I absolutely had to change my mind because ethically it is the only right thing to do and I beg my party, please do the scientific right thing. Thank you.
Sacha Stone
But over at NPR, she doesn't exist. And if she doesn't exist, most of the people you know on the left will have never heard of her or this dramatic story playing out in New Hampshire. But don't worry, it represents just 1% of the population. Rep. Jonah Wheeler, NH 0 Results Thankfully, New Hampshire did pass the law banning puberty blockers and cross sex hormones on minors, and did so without any help from our nation's most trusted news sources. The one thing Democrats don't lack is money to burn. No doubt the donations are flooding in. As long as NPR continues to do their bidding, they'll be richly rewarded. But as a longtime listener and donor myself, I have to ask why did they never give kids a fighting chance? Why did they never have the backs of parents? Don't they matter? Aren't they part of All Things Considered? The question the Republicans should be asking, asking while they have people like Catherine Marr in the hot seat, is why they've said nothing for the past 10 years as the social contagion spread like wildfire. Why did they not care to tell the stories of girls who have now gotten hysterectomies in their twenties whose bones are deteriorating, some who have male pattern baldness and will never have children, and if they do have them, won't be able to breastfeed? They're being asked to decide that when they are still technically children. How can that not be an urgent and important story told at npr? Well, we all know why on the left. No one wants to be seen as bad, so they go along with what will prove to be one of the biggest medical scandals in modern American history. I hate the idea of losing NPR and pbs, but I don't trust them anymore to offer the kind of fair and balanced reporting we need from a taxpayer funded news outlet. They are now luxuries most of us can't afford. Thank you for listening to my podcast sashastone substack.com and remember to thine own self be true.
Singer
Don't you know Talking about the river Lucian Sounds like whisper don't you know hope? Talking about a river who shun sounds whisper While they're standing in the welfare lines Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation Wasting time in the unemployment night Sitting around waiting for a promotion don't you know Talking about a river who shines Whisper Poor people gonna rise up get their share Poor people gonna rise up Take what steps don't you know? You better run run, run, run, run, run, run oh, I said you better run Run, run, run run run, run, run, run, run Ride and run.
Concerned Citizen
Let'S.
Singer
Find the little tables are starting to turn Talking about a revolution yes, finally the tables Talking about a revolution Talking about a revolution oh, wow they're standing in the welfare lines Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation Wasting time in the unemployment Sitting around waiting for a promotion don't you know Talking about a river who shines the sounds.
Sacha Stone
Whisper.
Singer
And finally the tables are starting to turn Talking about a revolution.
Sacha Stone
Just.
Singer
Finally the tables are starting to turn Talking about a revolution oh, no Talking about a revolution Talking about a revolution Good night.
Podcast Summary: "All Things Not Considered"
Introduction
In the episode titled "All Things Not Considered," host Sasha Stone delves into a critical examination of National Public Radio (NPR), arguing that the organization has become entrenched in a left-leaning bias. Drawing from personal experiences and recent political hearings, Stone articulates his perspective on NPR's transformation and its implications for American media and politics.
NPR's Perceived Left Bias
Sasha Stone begins by recounting his longstanding admiration for NPR, describing it as a coveted platform akin to the "rarefied air" desired by many on the left. However, his perception shifted dramatically over time. Stone criticizes NPR for allegedly abandoning objectivity, suggesting that its programming now predominantly reflects a liberal agenda.
Notable Quote:
"I was thrilled when NPR invited me to the studio in 2012 for an interview. I even took a picture of the parking lot." — Sasha Stone [00:00]
Congressional Hearing on NPR's Bias
A significant portion of the episode focuses on a congressional hearing where NPR's leadership, including CEO Catherine Marr and former senior editor Yuri Berliner, faced intense scrutiny over allegations of political bias. Representative questions centered on NPR's supposed lack of Republican representation and its coverage of contentious issues like Russiagate and the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Notable Quotes:
"Eight seven to zero. And you're not biased?" — Representative [03:53]
"I think that is concerning. If those numbers are accurate, it's a concern." — Yuri Berliner [03:55]
"I think you have to answer for how bad things have gotten." — Sasha Stone [21:01]
Allegations of Bias in Reporting
Stone highlights specific NPR coverage topics, particularly focusing on transgender issues. He argues that NPR disproportionately covers narratives that align with liberal viewpoints while neglecting alternative perspectives, thus failing to represent the "silent majority." Stone cites numerous NPR headlines over the past year to illustrate his point, emphasizing the absence of stories that present opposing viewpoints.
Notable Quote:
"If you search detransition, only two stories come up... You won't find it for an ideology that Democrats insist represents only 1% of the population." — Sasha Stone [10:41]
Impact on Public Perception and Funding
The episode discusses the broader impact of NPR's alleged bias on its listener base and funding. Stone contends that NPR's shift towards a more partisan stance has alienated long-time listeners and donors who once valued its balanced reporting. He also criticizes NPR's recent fundraising appeals, suggesting they are a survival tactic amidst declining support.
Notable Quote:
"NPR is using the opportunity as a fundraiser. Give us money, they say, because they're partly why we're in this mess." — Sasha Stone [12:48]
Revolution Against Established Media Narratives
Stone frames the criticism against NPR within the context of a larger "revolution" driven by dissatisfaction with entrenched media narratives. He attributes this revolution to a confluence of factors, including the rise of the internet, Big Tech influences, and perceived elite dominance in cultural institutions. Stone positions NPR and similar organizations as part of the old guard resisting this transformative wave.
Notable Quote:
"This is a revolution because there was no other option. A revolution because the kids were at risk." — Sasha Stone [08:04]
Personal Reflections and Call to Action
Towards the end of the episode, Stone shares personal anecdotes, including interactions with listeners and former supporters of NPR who have grown disillusioned with its direction. He emphasizes the importance of independent thought and urges listeners to seek diverse perspectives beyond mainstream media outlets.
Notable Quote:
"I hate the idea of losing NPR and PBS, but I don't trust them anymore to offer the kind of fair and balanced reporting we need from a taxpayer-funded news outlet." — Sasha Stone [29:51]
Conclusion
In "All Things Not Considered," Sasha Stone presents a vehement critique of NPR, arguing that its shift towards a leftist agenda undermines its original mission of objective reporting. By highlighting specific instances of perceived bias and discussing the broader implications for American media and politics, Stone calls for a re-evaluation of trusted institutions and encourages listeners to remain vigilant against partisan distortions in the media landscape.
Additional Notes
Timestamp Annotations: The summary incorporates key quotes with accurate timestamps to provide context and enhance credibility.
Balanced Perspective: While the episode is critical of NPR, it also reflects on the personal journey of the host, offering a nuanced view of media consumption and trust.
Relevance to Current Events: The discussions resonate with ongoing debates about media bias, free speech, and the role of public broadcasting in a polarized society.
For more insights and essays on politics and culture, visit Sasha Stone's Substack at sashastone.substack.com.