NPR's Newsmakers

4.7 (54)
News

Go face to face with the person of the moment. NPR’s Newsmakers brings the biggest names in politics, business, sports, arts, and culture out of the headlines and into the interview chair to discuss the mark they’re making on the world.

2d ago

Hunter Biden on addiction and being publicly shamed

Hunter Biden says he has nothing left to hide. He’s been all over the internet in recent months, including appearances with some of his harshest critics, such as ultra-conservative podcasters Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes. In May, he reactivated his long-dormant X account, writing, “You've never actually heard from me.” Since then, he’s posted an average of 23 times per day — weighing in on politics, news and culture. After his private life and struggle with addiction was made public through leaks in the media, congressional investigations and federal prosecutions, Biden now says being ‘stripped naked in the public square’ was, in a way, a gift. NPR’s Scott Simon sat down with Biden, who opened up about that public shaming, why President Joe Biden decided to pardon him after tax and gun convictions and why he didn’t want his father to run for reelection in 2024 – but didn’t tell him at the time. Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. Follow or subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you watch or listen to podcasts to get new episodes as soon as possible. You can also find Newsmakers on the NPR app. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
5d ago

Bill Maher on comedy, atheism and dining with Trump

Bill Maher says he’s “exactly the same person” he plays on TV. He’s been hosting comedy shows on TV for 33 years and just won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. NPR’s Steve Inskeep sat down with Maher at his Los Angeles home and asked him about his creative process, inviting Louis C.K. to honor him at the Kennedy Center Twain ceremony and what he thinks about President Trump since having dinner with him. NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available — any day of the week. Follow or subscribe wherever you listen or watch so you always get the latest episode as soon as possible. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to ?plus.npr.org?. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
Jul 7

MAGA-linked pastor Doug Wilson’s plan for a Christian theocracy

Pastor Doug Wilson believes women should not be allowed to vote and homosexuality should be a crime. He was also invited to speak at the Pentagon this year. That controversial invitation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth underscores Wilson's growing influence in the Republican Party. Wilson is a self-described Christian nationalist who leads Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho — part of a small network of churches with locations including Washington, D.C. Wilson said he opened a D.C. church service because of the number of Christians who adhere to his church’s teachings within the Trump administration. One of the most prominent attendees is Hegseth. NPR's Leila Fadel sat down with Doug Wilson at his main church in Moscow, Idaho, to hear more about why he wants the U.S. to become a Christian theocracy and what that would mean for women and non-Christians in the country. This episode contains profanity and references sexual assault. NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available — any day of the week. Follow or subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you watch or listen to podcasts so you always get the latest episode as soon as possible. You can also find Newsmakers on the NPR app. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
Jun 18

Chloe Malle’s vision for a new era at Vogue

Chloe Malle has a new job: steering American Vogue into a new era, and capturing a new generation of readers — ones accustomed to consuming fashion and culture via algorithm rather than the pages of a glossy magazine. Last fall Malle was tapped to succeed Anna Wintour as Head of Editorial Content. The daughter of actress Candice Bergen and the late filmmaker Louis Malle, she started at Vogue 15 years ago as what she describes as a “social editor,” overseeing a weddings-and-parties section that once struck her as too frothy for a serious journalist. Now, in a time when trends are accessible on your phone at any hour of the day, Malle says she believes people still care about Vogue. Under Malle’s leadership, the magazine’s summer issue published in June focused on celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States. In this episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, Malle sat down with Michel Martin to discuss how the Vogue of today is different from the one she read as an adolescent, why Vogue still matters and how legacy media is evolving. NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available — any day of the week. Follow or subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you watch or listen to podcasts so you always get the latest episode as soon as possible. You can also find Newsmakers on the NPR app. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
Jun 4

Jill Biden on Hunter’s pardon and her husband’s turbulent political end

Former first lady Jill Biden is shedding new light on one of the biggest decisions her husband made as president: to drop out of his own reelection campaign. In this episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, Biden sits down with host Scott Detrow to discuss her new book, View from the East Wing: A Memoir. She opens up about the infamous 2024 presidential debate that doomed President Joe Biden’s campaign -- when his performance so concerned those in his inner circle, Biden says her husband was checked by doctors after leaving the stage -- and the personal and political toll of the months that followed. She also reveals Joe Biden “truly changed his mind” on pardoning their son Hunter, who was convicted on federal gun and tax charges in 2024. She says it was then-candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric about Hunter’s criminal cases that eventually led her husband to pardon their son, who faced prison time. NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. Follow or subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you watch or listen to podcasts so you always get the latest episode as soon as possible. You can also find Newsmakers on the NPR app. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
Jun 1

Can Maine Senate hopeful Platner survive another controversy?

Anti-establishment candidate Graham Platner seemingly came out of nowhere to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Senate seat in Maine. But his campaign has been dogged by controversies. There were the old, deleted Reddit posts in which he made racist comments and blamed sexual assault on victims. There was a now-covered tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. And most recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage. Taken together, they raise a big question. Does he have too much baggage to carry on? Or can his anti-establishment political message — that has generated SO much enthusiasm among the democratic base — carry him through? In this episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, Platner addresses earlier controversies, the failures of his own party and calls Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “insecure.” Platner says he aspires to a version of masculinity different from the one embodied by Hegseth. “This idea that you're supposed to use your strengths to use power over other people or to offend people, be mean to people — that somehow that's manly. That's not masculinity,” he says. “That's the act of a coward.” NPR sat down with Platner before news broke of the explicit sexual messages. NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. Follow or subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you watch or listen to podcasts so you always get the latest episode as soon as possible. You can also find Newsmakers on the NPR app. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
May 22

Byron Allen on replacing Colbert, political comedy and Black ownership

Byron Allen, the media mogul and former stand-up comedian, is gearing up for his latest venture: bringing his show Comics Unleashed to the CBS time slot long held by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In this episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, Allen sat down with NPR’s Ailsa Chang ahead of his debut episode. He discussed his plans for Comics Unleashed in its new prime late night slot, why he thinks there’s still more than enough political comedy after the cancellation of Colbert, and why it’s important for Black Americans to own and produce media. NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. Follow or subscribe wherever you listen or watch so you always get the latest episode as soon as possible. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
May 18

Dana White on Trump, masculinity and bringing UFC to the White House

When Donald Trump celebrated his imminent return to the White House on election night in November 2024, a parade of high-profile supporters joined him on stage. They included Dana White, the president and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the multi-billion dollar mixed martial arts organization, which will host a fight on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14. In this episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, White sat down with Steve Inskeep to discuss the growth and success of UFC, political polarization and masculinity in the Trump era. NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. Follow on Spotify, subscribe on YouTube, or find us on the NPR app so you always get the latest episode as soon as possible. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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Trailer

Welcome to NPR's Newsmakers

NPR's Newsmakers is where you'll find NPR's biggest interviews. We post new episodes as soon as they're available -- any day of the week. Follow the show wherever you listen or watch on NPR’s YouTube channel. Newsmakers relies on supporters who value independent journalism and a free press. Join NPR+ today to support our work and get perks from the podcasts you trust. Go to plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

4.7

out of 5

54 Ratings

Encouraging so far

May 20

Word guy 1233456754

Thank god NPR is doing this. Just listed to the Dana White interview. While many questions were framed as uncharitably as possible, I nevertheless got the sense that NPR might actually care about how Americans they despise actually think. Here’s hoping!
Ailsa needs to stop interrupting people. Ask the question and let them talk.

May 23

Aaaaaacrash

Ailsa needs to stop interrupting people. Ask the question and let them talk.
Unbiased

Mar 28

coffee a go go

I look forward to this podcast on hopes that it brings interviews from all sides of the spectrum. Political, religious and society and education. I don’t want to be spoon fed only what fits with my beliefs but stretches my understanding
Dana white?

May 18

PAyscue

Good god, what happen to NPR?! I doubt the UFC bros are tuning in. Joe Rogan next? Bankrupt Alex Jones? Of all the "Newsmakers" in the world, who would want to hear anything from this meathead? I'm reconsidering my Sustainer contribution if this is where yall are headed

Go face to face with the person of the moment. NPR’s Newsmakers brings the biggest names in politics, business, sports, arts, and culture out of the headlines and into the interview chair to discuss the mark they’re making on the world.