Theory: People Think NPR Is Left-Wing Because of Its Prominent Arts Coverage

Way back around 1990, before I'd been red-pilled and became a daily Rush Limbaugh listener, I'd listen to "Morning Edition" on NPR before teaching class. Looking back, I can see how biased NPR is. You couldn't pay me to listen to it now, but one person says that NPR has a new show called "Left, Right, & Center."

"Left, Right & Center is KCRW's weekly civilized yet provocative confrontation over politics, policy and pop culture," so they say. Here are some recent topics they've covered:

A new front has opened in the culture wars: meteorology. Rampant disinformation spread across the Southeast after Hurricanes Helene and Milton left thousands in need of disaster relief. While some conservative lawmakers have been trying to manage the devastation, others including Donald Trump have platformed dangerous conspiracy theories.

The "never Trump" sentiment has long existed in the media. But there is a growing divide between what it means to be conservative, Republican, and pro-Trumper — they are not all one and the same. Established Republicans, including Liz Cheney, endorsed Kamala Harris in this election due to concerns that Trump has taken over the GOP. This week's Left, Right, and Center panel consists of three conservatives breaking down what it means to be a "never Trump" Republican.

Sounds unbiased, huh?

Apparently, the representative for the Left isn't progressive enough:

NPR has a show called “Left, Right, and Center” and the “Left” pundit, like, opposes single-payer healthcare lol
— dylan 🍉 (@DylanTweetin) October 19, 2024

And to be clear: supporting single-payer healthcare isn’t even all that left-wing. That’s my point. That’s how skewed to the right the Overton Window is in this country.
— dylan 🍉 (@DylanTweetin) October 19, 2024

David Grossman has a theory: people think of NPR as left-wing because of its prominent arts coverage.

Last time I accidentally turned on NPR the first words I heard were, I swear to God, "The urgent need for a queering of astrophysics and how Black perspectives change the way we see space" and they had some non-binary Black astrophysicist on to talk about lived experiences.
— I'm Writing in Gary Johnson (@colorblindk1d) October 21, 2024

My theory is people think of NPR as left-wing because it’s one of the ones in the tank for The Democrats. Especially after it punished an editor for pointing that out.
— Silence Dogood (@lordthx1139) October 21, 2024

Remember when NPR came right out and said you wouldn't be hearing any stories about Hunter Biden's laptop on NPR because they didn't want to waste their listeners' time with distractions?