We are living in a time like none other in the United States. What to make of it is for you to decide. That's the assessment of NPR's Steve Inskeep, whose reporting is infused with his knowledge of history.
Inskeep is a host on NPR's Morning Edition and the Up First podcast, and author of several books on American history.
“You may think that everything is amazing right now, you may think this is the worst it’s ever been and you may be confused about what is even happening and either of those are reasonable positions to take,” Inskeep said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.
Inskeep is the featured guest at WGLT's Radio Faces dinner on Thursday, Oct. 30 at Illinois State University.
Public media
Inskeep’s visit comes at a time of significant change at NPR, which is in the opening weeks of a new era without federal funding — a change he suspects will be permanent, but not debilitating, as many stations are seeing more local contributions to help fill the gap. He said that short-term revenue can give stations time to develop a new business model.
“All indications that I’ve heard are that the audience has stepped up. We’re not out the woods yet,” he said. “They pay for the thing that is free — which is incredible — and people are paying a little bit more.”
Inskeep said the bigger concern for him is free speech and for the media and citizens to “insist on their right to gain information” so the public can understand “what our government is doing, why and how.”
Pentagon credentials
Inskeep called it a mistake that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stripped media credentials for Pentagon reporters who refused to sign a pledge to only publish information authorized by the Defense Department. A vast majority of reporters, including NPR’s Tom Bowman, turned in their credentials.
Citing his time as a war correspondent, Inskeep said the military’s fairly open access in Iraq helped the media report when conditions became less favorable for the U.S., which led to strategic changes that helped improve U.S. fortunes in the war.
He also cited two historical references where President Theodore Roosevelt invited investigative reporters to “poke around” to see if they could find evidence of corruption that had been rumored.
“He wanted to know what the reporters would find so that he would know,” Inskeep explained. “He did not assume that his aides would tell him everything because that’s not the way power works.”
Inskeep also noted President John F. Kennedy seemed to resent the media’s critical reporting of the Vietnam War, but regularly read the coverage and saw it as necessary to better inform his own understanding of the war.
Trump administration and the media
Inskeep said the Trump administration has grown more hostile toward the news media than during the first Trump term.
“I think they are openly hostile in a way that’s hardly been seen and they are blatant about it and they use government accounts to do it. I want to emphasize, that means we are paying them to do this.”
Inskeep noted the Trump administration is not alone, as the Biden administration pushed back at questions about President Biden’s health.
Inskeep said he’s noticed Democratic administration and leaders get more upset with negative coverage because they see the media are their “home team.” Conversely, Republicans — and conservative media — have made attacking the media a foundational strategy, he said.
“Their profits rely on them telling you not to trust anybody in the media except them. That is their business model,” he said.
Bannon interviews
Inskeep has interviewed populist provocateur and Trump ally Steve Bannon three times this year, including twice in Bannon’s “War Room” podcast studio. Those interviews led to some pushback from listeners and prompted a response from NPR’s public editor.
In one conversation, Bannon called undocumented immigrants “criminal terrorists,” and suggested Trump may find a way to run for president again in 2028, though the Constitution forbids a president from serving more than two terms.
“I like to talk to people across the political spectrum and I really believe in that. I believe it’s better for the country, it is better for our audience," Inskeep said.
Democracy
Inskeep called himself pro-democracy when asked about polls that show Democrats and Republicans have both had serious doubts about the future of democracy when the opposing party has been in power.
"I think that's an opinion I'm allowed to have because a free society is one in which I can do my job and operate," he said, citing history when he said democracy always renews itself as it continually “falls forward.”
Still, Inskeep sees something different in this moment in the U.S.
“I think I’m persuaded that we are entering some new era that I don’t fully understand,” he said.
He attributes that to shifts in the Republican party, the lean toward political populism, the assault on institutions and how social media and memes are changing how we communicate.
“We take steps forward, we take steps back, we take steps sideways and often we are doing all of those things all at once,” he said, drawing parallels to the Civil War era which he wrote a book about.
“We really don’t know where this bucking bronco is going to go and we’re just going to try to keep in the saddle if we can,” he said.
