The CEOs of NPR and PBS are appearing Wednesday before a House subcommittee on government efficiency, chaired by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, where they will answer questions about perceived political bias at the public broadcasters. 

Watch the livestream  below, beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

The hearing, entitled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable,” was called by Greene in February to examine accusations by conservatives that news and cultural programming at the radio and television networks have a profound liberal bias. She has expressed skepticism that any federal funds should go to public broadcasting.

PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger, who worked at New York City’s WNET public television before taking over the reins at the network nearly two decades ago, will appear beside NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who came to the public broadcaster last year from Web Summit. She is also a former CEO and executive director at the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wednesday’s hearing is part of a larger Republican-led effort to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), established by Congress in 1967 as a private, nonprofit corporation to distribute federal money to NPR, PBS and other public broadcasting entities. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., introduced legislation to bar all funding for the CPB. Meanwhile, Brendan Carr, President Trump’s newly appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has also initiated inquiries of NPR and PBS stations, arguing that their corporate underwriting spots violate federal laws and policies because they too closely resemble commercial advertisements.

NPR receives about 3% of its funding from the government, either directly via CPB or through its member stations, who pay fees to carry its programming. PBS receives 16% of its funds from the CPB.

NPR reaches 43 million listeners each week with its flagship news programs, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Its programming is distributed by 230 member stations around the country, which together hold the licenses to 1,300 local public broadcasters. The programming at PBS ranges from the acclaimed News Hour to children’s programming such as Daniel Tiger.

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Correspondents Scott Neuman and David Folkenflik. It was edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editors Gerry Holmes and Vickie Walton-James. Under NPR’s protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

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The Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans to restructure in early March. The agency will eliminate 80,000 jobs according to a memo issued by the VA’s chief of staff. 

The goal is to reduce the number of staff members to pre-pandemic levels. This is another proposed cut to add to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s list of federal job cuts. Under Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), hundreds of jobs have already been cut at the VA.

Read more: 10 year Marine Corps veteran terminated from Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor

Veterans make up a large percent of federal workers who are already at risk of losing their jobs due to cuts to other departments. They are a substantial portion of the VA workforce too. So the restructuring plans for the Department just makes things even more uncertain. 

They also rely on the VA to provide the essential services that help them return to civilian life after serving. Veterans get housing assistance and health care through the program. 

Today on The Metro, we’re looking at these cuts and how they could negatively impact services for veterans who need it. 

Guests: 

• Kevin Scott: Decorated combat-era Marine Corps veteran who provides therapy and support to veterans who are facing all kinds of challenges after serving.
• Vedia Barnett: Co-founder and executive director of Vet Space, a group for women veterans to share nature-based experiences. 

We also asked our listeners: 

“What is the transition to civilian life like for veterans and their families?”

Ryan, a Marine Corp veteran in Royal Oak, said: “I mean, (the VA has) been my health care service for 20 years, and I’m hoping to be till I die, my service. And if it goes away, you know, that upends my life in a different way. So it worries me.”

Tomorrow’s caller question: “What would allow you to give up your car in southeast Michigan?”

Use the above media player to hear the full conversation.

More headlines from The Metro on March 25, 2025: 

• The Michigan statehouse is split with Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans controlling the House, making many wonder what bipartisan work can get done this session. To discuss what’s going on at the state capitol, Michigan Public Radio Network political reporter Colin Jackson joined the show.

• Alyce Hartman is the founder and executive director of Birdie’s Bookmobile. She is also a K-4 STEM teacher at Detroit Prep and the Mack Kids director at Mack Avenue Community Church. Hartman travels the city putting books in little hands and is getting ready to open Birdie’s Book Nest. She joined the show to discuss the project.

• Flooding is an issue Detroit residents are constantly facing, with water main breaks, extreme weather events and flooding growing more common over the last few years. Earlier this year, Metro co-host Robyn Vincent spoke with Nick Schroeck, professor of environmental law and dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, about the problem of flooding and some of the solutions that are being proposed to change it.

• We also revisited a conversation with Todd Scott, executive director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, about pedestrian safety in Detroit. Hear the conversation below beginning at the 47:50 mark.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

From the National Park Service to FEMA, thousands of people have been laid off as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to “make government agencies more efficient.” 

Under the leadership of Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency is slashing jobs across more than a dozen agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Ten year Marine Corps veteran Andrew Lennox joins the show. He was working as an administrative officer in the primary care department in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor and is now without a job due to DOGE cuts.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Feb. 26, 2025.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.