NPR CEO Katherine Maher (Extended)

Summary

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The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Guest: Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR
Episode Date: September 6, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this extended interview, Stephen Colbert sits down with Katherine Maher, the CEO and President of NPR and former CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation. The conversation centers on the challenges facing public media in the United States amidst severe funding cuts, the irreplaceable role of local NPR stations, and why public media is essential to the health of America’s democracy and communities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Katherine Maher’s Role at NPR

• [02:01] Stephen kicks off with humor, asking if Maher picks out NPR’s famous tote bags.
• [02:18] Maher explains her real job: defending public media at a time when its very existence is being questioned.
  • “The first thing I ended up having to do was defend public media in this moment in time when there has been so much, so many questions about why we should even exist.” — Katherine Maher [02:18]

2. Impact of Congressional Funding Cuts

• [02:45] Colbert notes that Congress recently cut $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which underpins both NPR and PBS.
• [03:03] Maher confirms that CPB will be folding due to the lack of federal funding, describing the loss as “enormous.”
  • “They rely entirely on federal funds. … They are also the primary funder of independent documentary filmmaking in this country. … It is an enormous loss to see them disappear.” — Katherine Maher [03:06]

3. The Scope and Vulnerability of Local NPR Stations

• [03:32] NPR has 246 member stations—almost everywhere in the U.S.
• [03:54] Maher warns that 70–80 stations are likely to go out of business because of the cuts.
  • “The current estimate on the radio side is somewhere between 70 to 80 will go out of business.” — Katherine Maher [03:54]

4. The Decline of Local News & Democratic Health

• [04:24] Maher stresses that one in five Americans lack access to local news, making NPR’s local stations even more vital.
  • “What that means is they don’t have anyone covering their local PTA… the issues of how they're for, or the issues of what prices look like in terms of agricultural and commodity sales. And that really matters.” — Katherine Maher [04:44]
• NPR stations help combat polarization by fostering trust and civic engagement at the local level—something “incredibly damaging” to lose.
  • “…the decline of local news in this country correlates with higher rates of polarization, lower trust in civic institutions, [and] lower trust in the very institution of democracy itself.” — Katherine Maher [05:20]

5. The Value of Unique, Local Programming

• [06:03–07:09] Colbert and Maher riff on the unique local shows only possible through public radio, like South Carolina's “Dr. Walter Edgar’s Journal” and Alaska’s lost-and-found announcements.
  • “That’s where—you can only get that on your local NPR station.” — Stephen Colbert [06:50]
  • Maher describes the “Lost Dog Report,” mittens lost in Utah, and swap-and-sell programs in Alaska as examples of deep, hyper-local community service at NPR stations.

6. Local Public Media and American Values

• [07:39–08:07] Colbert points out the irony: those who call for "old-fashioned values" are gutting the very institutions that foster them.
  • “Those seem like old-fashioned values. The little, the small town memories of their childhoods, what they’re trying to get America back to. And that’s it.” — Stephen Colbert [07:47]
  • Maher jokes: “My apple pie cooling on my windowsill right now.”—Katherine Maher [08:07]

7. Why Some Want to Undermine Public Media

• [08:11] Colbert asks why some politicians target public media.
• Maher responds that public media acts as social glue, connecting diverse communities and letting Americans see each other’s shared interests and humanity.
  • “…when we do our jobs right, you really have to listen to a person. … you can fundamentally disagree with something someone says, but you can’t deny their empathy or humanity. And that is such a powerful tool.” — Katherine Maher [09:05]
  • She warns that undermining this tool makes it easier for bad actors to exploit social divisions.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You can drive from here all the way to the other side, hit the Pacific, and almost never miss a beat [of NPR coverage].” — Katherine Maher [03:40]
• “When you take away local news and when you take away local public radio, what you’re really doing is undercutting our ability to trust one another, those of us who we’ve never met, to talk about how we want to live together.” — Katherine Maher [05:30]
• “You can only get that on your local NPR station.” — Stephen Colbert [06:50]
• “If you’re seeking to create some sort of advantage in societies that are fractured and splintered, taking away this tool that allows us to see one another as fellow citizens, fellow Americans, it’s a really powerful advantage.” — Katherine Maher [09:48]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 02:01 – Maher on her real role as NPR CEO.
• 02:45 – The consequences of Congressional funding cuts.
• 03:32–03:54 – Number of NPR stations at risk of closure.
• 04:24–05:53 – The impact of local news decline and civic trust.
• 06:03–07:09 – Examples of unique and community-driven NPR programming.
• 07:39–08:10 – Local media, nostalgia, and “old-fashioned values.”
• 08:11–09:48 – Why some seek to stop civic engagement through public media.

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Closing Thoughts

Maher and Colbert deliver a compelling, sobering, yet witty discussion about the value of public media and the threat posed by funding cuts. The episode lays bare not only the stakes for NPR and public radio but also the broader implications for democracy and American community life. Maher leaves listeners with a sense of urgency about the vital role local journalism and public radio play in connecting and informing America.

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Transcript

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[Stephen Colbert]

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. My next guest tonight is the former CEO of the Wikimedia foundation and current president and CEO of npr. Please welcome to the Late Show, Kathryn Marr. Hello.

[Kathryn Maher]

Hi.

[Stephen Colbert]

So what does the CEO of NPR do? Do you pick the tote bags? What do you.

[Kathryn Maher]

Yes, yes. They all come across my desk for approval. Every single one.

[Stephen Colbert]

How long have you been the CEO?

[Kathryn Maher]

Just over a year and a half or around that.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, but what was the first thing you had to do when you got in there? What's the job?

[Kathryn Maher]

The job. The first thing I ended up having to do was defend public media in this moment in time when there has been so much, so many questions about why we should even exist.

[Stephen Colbert]

Why should you even exist?

[Kathryn Maher]

Because we are part of the infrastructure that connects communities across this country and within the local community.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, in July. In July, Republicans in Congress cut $1.1 billion for the corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees NPR and pbs, and cpb, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, they're folding right in October.

[Kathryn Maher]

So they have let us know. Unfortunately, yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Because without that funding, there's just no reason for them to be there.

[Kathryn Maher]

They rely entirely on federal funds. They fund, not just public radio, npr, pbs. They are also the primary funder of independent documentary filmmaking in this country. They allow for independent music to thrive through their support of music rights for independent music stations. It is an enormous loss to see them disappear.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, how is that. How is that going to impact the. How many stations you guys have?

[Kathryn Maher]

We have 246 member stations.

[Stephen Colbert]

246 member stations. That's enormous. That's enormous.

[Kathryn Maher]

There's one in your local community.

[Stephen Colbert]

There's one everywhere you go in The.

[Kathryn Maher]

United States, 99.7% of the country, you can drive from here all the way to the other side, hit the Pacific, and almost never miss a beat.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, so what does it mean to those stations? How many of those are not going to survive?

[Kathryn Maher]

So the current estimate on the radio side is somewhere between 70 to 80 will go out of business.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. And while it's possible now to, like, use streaming wherever you are, to basically get another radio station, one of the things, as I understand it, is that with the decline of local newspapers and local news, these NPR stations are critical sources for people to know about their own community.

[Kathryn Maher]

That's exactly right. So one in five Americans currently lives without access to local news in their community. And what that means is that they, sure, they have access to national news, national television, national newspapers, perhaps, if they can afford the subscriptions, maybe. But that means that they don't have anyone covering their local pta. They don't necessarily have anyone covering the issues of traffic and commuting or the issues of how they're for, or the issues of what prices look like in terms of agricultural and commodity sales. And that really matters when it comes down to how folks live and interact, and especially in rural areas. The other thing, though, is that we know, and there's lots of evidence because this has been going on for about 20 years, that the decline of local news in this country correlates with higher rates of polarization, lower trust in civic institutions, lower trust in the very institution of democracy itself. So when you take away local news and when you take away local public radio, what you're really doing is undercutting our ability to trust one another. Those of us who we've never met to talk about how we want to live together. In our towns, in our cities and make decisions as a democracy, not at that big D level of Congress, but at that little D level of what? Where are my tax dollars going to go? How do I want to raise my family? What's the community that I want to live in? It's incredibly damaging.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, some of the we know the major NPR shows, they get shared among the stations, but there are lots of local shows that only address that.

[Kathryn Maher]

Oh, what do you got down in South Carolina?

[Stephen Colbert]

I always enjoy Dr. Walter Edgar's journal and South Carolina A to Z, like facts about South Carolina. South Dakota Public Radio has teacher talk podcasts about teachers talking about their jobs and giving advice to fellow educators. I love Vermont Public Radio's but why?

[Kathryn Maher]

I don't know.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's a program that answers kids questions.

[Kathryn Maher]

Do they call in?

[Stephen Colbert]

I don't know. Okay, they probably TikTok, the local station in Pullman, Washington has press a for play a journey through the music of video game. Yes. And this is my favorite W VXU in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show is called Backed Up. It's a program about local Cincinnati plumbing issues.

[Kathryn Maher]

Well, you know what?

[Stephen Colbert]

That's where you can only get that on your local NPR station.

[Kathryn Maher]

In fairness. In fairness, not to diminish plumbing. Flint would like a word. Right. These things really matter.

[Stephen Colbert]

They do, yeah.

[Kathryn Maher]

Absolutely. My favorite is a couple stations have things like the Lost Dog Report. Right.

[Stephen Colbert]

So wow. Oh, that's wonderful.

[Kathryn Maher]

There's a station out in Utah that, that at Park City that has you can, if you lose your mittens in town, they will let you know that your mittens have gone missing. There are stations out in Alaska that, you know, you can call in and say, hey, I've got this bookshelf I've got to get rid of or this junker of a car. Anyone wants to come and take it. So really what we're talking about is the ability for people to connect with one another and find ways to bridge and strengthen the communities that we live in.

[Stephen Colbert]

You see, I think that kind of community communication is actually it's very Mayberry.

[Kathryn Maher]

It is a little Mayberry.

[Stephen Colbert]

And as you know. What's wrong with that? I don't know. What I love that is because what strikes me is that so much of the, you know, the people who've cut this funding keep on calling for like a return to old fashioned values. Those seem like old fashioned values. The little, the small town memories of their childhoods, what they're trying to get America back to. And that's it.

[Kathryn Maher]

My apple pie cooling on my windowsill right now.

[Stephen Colbert]

Watch out for the Hoboken.

[Kathryn Maher]

Exactly.

[Stephen Colbert]

Now, you say the public media, you know, fosters civic engagement, especially locally. Why would any politicians or members of any administration want to stop that?

[Kathryn Maher]

Well, I think there are broader questions at play there, Stephen. I think that one thing that is certainly true is that if we in communities feel like we don't have a something in common with someone who lives down the road, it creates a space in which other people can come in and take advantage of us. It is so important, especially in a country that is as diverse, heterogeneous as ours, that things like public media exist to help us connect across divides. So there are ways that we connect already. We connect because our kids are on the same sports teams. We connect because we go to the same church. But there are people in our community who we might not meet otherwise. We work in different trades. We perhaps come from different cultures. And public media allows us to see one another as fundamentally sharing some of the same values. So what I love, particularly about audio, is that when we do our jobs right, you really have to listen to a person. You're not making judgments on the way that they look. You aren't distanced from them because you're sort of reading about their life experience. You are hearing from them in their own voice about what it means to hold the opinions that they have to have lived the lives that they have lived. And when we do that right, you can fundamentally disagree with something someone says, but you can't deny their empathy or humanity. And that is such a powerful tool. So if you're seeking to create some sort of advantage in societies that are fractured and splintered, taking away this tool that allows us to see one another as fellow citizens, fellow Americans, it's a really powerful advantage.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, good luck and thank you for the work that you do to maintain the public airwaves. Kathryn Maher, everybody. Thank you for listening to the Late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

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[Kathryn Maher]

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