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NPR's Newsmakers

NPR's Newsmakers

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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.Copyright 2026-2026 NPR - For Personal Use Only Politics & Government
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  • Hasan Piker on his rise as a voice of the ‘insurgent left’

    Hasan Piker on his rise as a voice of the ‘insurgent left’
    Oct 15 2026
    President Donald Trump recently called Hasan Piker a “terrible liability” and a “communist.”

    The California-based streamer — who describes himself as a socialist — has become the GOP’s political bogeyman ahead of the midterm elections. Piker argues those attacks will backfire, but also says he has played a role in being portrayed as a 'figurehead of the insurgent left.'

    “The way that I'm portrayed in the media is an America-hating communist Islamist fundamentalist who wants to secretly do jihad, and then also, at the same time, very woke and gay, so there's this weird inconsistency in their messaging,” Piker says. “Who I am is very simple. I'm a socialist. I'm an anti-imperialist. I want what's best for Americans, and I want what's best for everyone from all around the world.”

    In this episode from NPR’s Newsmakers, Piker sits down with host Leila Fadel and argues Republicans are using him to distract from policies that made life less affordable. He also addresses his seven Twitch bans, defends his rhetoric against right-wing reactionaries, and reflects on the crisis of loneliness among young men — and the limits of his influence.

    “At the end of the day, I'm a Twitch streamer,” Piker says. “I hold no political office. I have no real political power. So getting people to be upset at a Twitch streamer and their affiliation as a, if you want to call it a surrogate, in the primary is going to be very difficult.”

    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.

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    42 mins
  • Tucker Carlson on his MAGA split and Trump’s ‘nihilism’

    Tucker Carlson on his MAGA split and Trump’s ‘nihilism’
    Sep 24 2026
    Tucker Carlson is talking about what happened behind closed doors in his very public break with President Trump over the war with Iran.

    He recounts an Oval Office meeting, before the conflict began, when Carlson says he warned Trump that he was allowing the U.S. to be led to war by Israel.

    “Yes, you’re right,” Carlson claims Trump admitted. “But in the end we all die anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

    "And I was shocked by that, because it's nihilism,” he says. “That's the last thing any leader should display.”


    In response to a request for comment from NPR, the White House did not address that point specifically, instead sending along a social media post by the president that describes Carlson and others as “stupid people” who want Iran to have a nuclear weapon.


    In this episode of NPR’s Newsmakers, Carlson and host Steve Inskeep unpack the conservative commentator’s split with Trump and the MAGA movement. They also get into faith, money, political power, and why Carlson believes both major parties have failed Americans.

    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.

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    58 mins
  • Robby Hoffman thinks comics can ‘say anything’ — and she does

    Robby Hoffman thinks comics can ‘say anything’ — and she does
    Sep 3 2026
    There’s a gripe in the comedy scene these days that ‘you can’t say anything anymore.’ Robby Hoffman doesn’t buy it.

    “Bro, you just did,” she says, responding to an ‘old guard’ of comics who feel maligned for speaking their mind. “You could say anything. But other people had a reaction to it. That also can happen.”

    Hoffman, for her part, has a lot to say — and more opportunities than ever to do so, from scene-stealing roles in Emmy-nominated shows like Hacks to her most recent Netflix special, Wake Up.

    She also doesn’t shy away from criticism for what she said in that special, including lengthy jokes about the non-binary community and dismissing the use of they/them pronouns.

    Hoffman, who describes herself as “somebody who’s clearly in the queer space, who cut my tits off, who could be they/them at the drop of a hat,” pushes back on critics who suggest that her jokes about the topic could be dangerous.

    “I like to cope and explore through jokes, and I feel like. I should be more able to do that than, say, some of my counterparts,” Hoffman says. “I feel like if I can’t talk about it, who can?”

    In this episode of Newsmakers, NPR’s Juana Summers sat down with Robby Hoffman at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles to discuss her journey to success and what’s next in her career.

    “So much, I can’t talk about it,” she says. “I don’t want to jinx it.”

    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
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    37 mins
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