‘The Woman King’ sits somewhere between the cringe of 'Coming to America' and the fantasy of 'Black Panther' in Hollywood’s troubled history of stories about Africa. Dr. Aje-Ori Agbese, professor in the Communication department of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, joins host Kai Wright to discuss Hollywood’s spotty history with stories about Africa and the cultural significance of the new blockbuster hit. Companion listening for this episode : Somebody, Sing a Black Girl’s Song (5/16/20...
Sep 28, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast The world has changed a lot since 2020. We open the phones to hear how this change has shaped listeners’ relationships and political opinions. Angela Davis, host of Minnesota Public Radio’s daily call-in show, MPR News with Angela Davis, shares the changes she’s seen personally and politically–from money to mental health. Companion listening for this episode : The Dangerous Cycle of Fear (4/11/2022) Asian American New Yorkers explain how Covid-era bigotry and violence changed their lives, and wh...
Sep 26, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Host Kai Wright checks in with producer Regina de Heer about our summer playlist one last time. Hear the latest submissions from listeners and WNYC staff, about their songs of the summer and why they chose it. Stream the complete Summer Playlist on Spotify here . Plus, we end the playlist by unveiling our show's new name and theme music with our sound designer and engineer, Jared Paul. Companion listening for this episode : Introducing 'Notes From America': New Name, Same Show (9/20/2022) We’re ...
Sep 21, 2022•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re inviting you into a more positive – less anxious – conversation. Notes from America with Kai Wright airs Sundays at 6 p.m. ET on public radio stations and YouTube. Companion listening for this episode : A Pre-Midterms Vibe Check (9/19/2022)An election is coming. Summer is over. And the vibe is…what? We open the phones to hear what’s on your mind–from democracy to baseball. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from ou...
Sep 20, 2022•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast An election is coming. Summer is over. And the vibe is…what? We open the phones to hear what’s on your mind–from democracy to baseball. WNYC's own Brian Lehrer joins to help take your calls. Tune in to The Brian Lehrer Show ’s midterm election special, 30 Issues in 30 Days , starting on 9/27. Companion listening for this episode : What Could Go Wrong? Everything (And It’s Ok) (8/8/2022) What zombie movies can teach us about our era of perpetual crisis, and other lessons from a disaster managemen...
Sep 19, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast The story of one local NYC artist who uses digital technology to honor our city’s past. Meet Vladimir Nazarov, a visual artist living in New York City, who combined his love for the city and his love of art to create a special 9/11 NFT. Through his story of hope, grief, and artistry, find out what happened to his commemorative NFT – and how this technology can bring a whole new experience to the world of art. Plus, a question about the subject of the piece propels the conversation in a completel...
Sep 14, 2022•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast So why don't more people vote in smaller elections? What motivates people to vote — and how that could inform greater participation in the upcoming midterm elections? Roxanna Moritz , former chief election officer from Scott County, Iowa, shares her story of what drew her to public service — and what made her walk away. Plus, Zaki Hamid , Director of Community Engagement at KUOW, reports his radio station’s community feedback club's response to the question “what election did you care about the ...
Sep 12, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast A National Geographic explorer’s story of diving for sunken slave ships. Hear more of Tara Roberts' historic journey in the six-part podcast series, Into the Depths . Companion listening for this episode : Revisiting A Conservative View of the Vigilante Right (9/5/2022)Mona Charen discusses the true meaning of conservative and the radical shift in the GOP. *And stream our Summer Playlist on Spotify here . “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes...
Sep 07, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mona Charen discusses the true meaning of conservative and the radical shift in the GOP. Companion listening for this episode : Episode 1: How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going? (9/22/2016) Listen back to our very first episode where we went to Long Island to find out if America has truly lost its mind. *And stream our Summer Playlist on Spotify here . “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To ...
Sep 05, 2022•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Folashade Olatunde, a WNYC Radio Rookie , shares a series of open and honest audio diaries, inviting listeners on her journey to rebuild a relationship with her dad. Folashade's dad went to prison when she was two years old. She used to go visit him all the time with her mom. Until her parents got divorced. Now, it’s been more than a decade since she saw her father. In this extended version of an installment of Radio Rookies, Folashade shares a series of open and honest audio diaries and invites...
Aug 31, 2022•19 min•Ep 204•Transcript available on Metacast He went to prison at age 19. When released, he had to learn how to be a father to two Black sons with very different life experiences. His letters to them have lessons for us all. Read more from Shaka Senghor in his book, Letters to the Sons of Society: A Father's Invitation to Love, Honesty, and Freedom , available now. Audio included in the episode excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio, read by Shaka Senghor. Companion listening for this episode : Jason Reynolds Needs to Be Useful (...
Aug 29, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Which election did you care about the most, and why? We want to hear your stories. Next month, we’re doing an episode about how we can make voting better. Is it an issue of motivation, or something else? So send us your stories, about any kind of election, political or not. It could be an election for a sports team, to the local PTA, or for your favorite reality competition show. Send us a voice recording to anxiety@wnyc.org . We hope to use your stories during an upcoming episode. *And stream o...
Aug 26, 2022•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast A listener voicemail sends the show’s Senior Digital Producer Kousha Navidar on a search for moral clarity with philosopher and senior lecturer in ethics and public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Dr. Christopher Robichaud. Then, Shirin Ghaffary, senior reporter at Recode and co-host of the podcast Land of The Giants, shares the story of Facebook, and why it has been so hard of them to respond to the damage their technology has created. *You can read more about Land ...
Aug 22, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Host Kai Wright checks in with producer Regina de Heer about our summer playlist. H ear the contributions from listeners, and some folks on our team, about their songs of the summer and why they chose it. S tream our Summer Playlist on Spotify here . And k eep the song submissions coming by sending us your own summer song recommendations. Record a voice memo with your name, location and the story or memory you associated with your song then email it as an attachment to anxiety@wnyc.org to have y...
Aug 19, 2022•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Host Kai Wright speaks with Joseph Osmundson, microbiologist, activist, writer, professor at New York University, and author of Virology: Essays for the Living, the Dead, and the Small Things in Between (W. W. Norton & Company, 2022). They welcome listener questions about the state of the monkeypox outbreak, and the polarizing narrative surrounding the LGBT communities that the virus is disproportionately affecting. A special thanks to Kali, Michael, Justin, Larry and Daniel – LGBT community lea...
Aug 15, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast What can we learn from the HIV pandemic? We revisit a conversation from a year of living with COVID-19. Back at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, senior editor, Karen Frillmann was reminded of life in this city in the 1980s. She reached back into the far corners of a closet in her apartment, and dug out a recording that she made decades ago. In this segment, Karen shares parts of that intimate conversation, as an act of remembrance. Companion listening for this episode : What Could Go Wrong? ...
Aug 12, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast What zombie movies can teach us about our era of perpetual crisis, and other lessons from a disaster management specialist. Former Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security under President Obama, and current professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Juliette Kayyem joins host Kai Wright to help us make sense of our current age of constant disasters. Learn what tools we have at our disposal based on her new book, The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters. Companio...
Aug 08, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2020, Michael Tubbs lost his reelection campaign after capturing the nation’s attention. But he hopes the lessons he learned can inspire future generations of local leaders. Find out more about End Poverty in California on their website . Companion listening for this episode: How to Start Saving the World (8/1/2022)Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe has a simple request for the 93 percent who know there’s a crisis: Talk to each other about it more and start with your values. *And stream our S...
Aug 05, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Scientist Katharine Hayhoe has a simple request for the 93 percent of people who know there’s a climate crisis: Talk to each other about it more and start with your values. Plus, producer Regina de Heer is joined by members of the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions to hear how th ese ideals are put into practice on a local level. Find more in Professor Hayhoe’s bestselling book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World and her Global Weirding series on Yout...
Aug 01, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Two mothers lost their daughters to gun violence but received disparate levels of attention. Now, they’re using their stories – and their grief – to inspire others. WNYC correspondent Tracie Hunte introduces host Kai Wright to two mothers – Nelba Márquez-Greene and Celeste Fulcher – who both lost their daughters to gun violence. Their stories teach us about the exacting toll of gun violence, and the power grief yields to stir change and inspire progress. Companion listening for this episode : Th...
Jul 28, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Host Kai Wright speaks with Nina Vinik, Founder and Executive Director of Project Unloaded about the culture of gun violence in our country and why that must change to make any political progress on gun control. How can we reduce gun violence, and has there been progress on that front since the shooting in Sandy Hook? Plus, Marie Delus, New York State Survivor Lead of Moms Demand Action, redefines what it means to be a survivor of gun violence. *Find our Summer Spotify playlist from the previo...
Jul 25, 2022•33 min•Ep 193•Transcript available on Metacast Joy. Freedom. Resilience. We kick off a summer playlist project with Danyel Smith's selections from the Black women who have defined pop. From Phillis Wheatley to Beyoncé, read more about Danyel’s picks in her new book, Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop . Playlist curation will begin this Sunday, so record a voice memo with your playlist recommendation (and the story that inspired it) and email it to anxiety@wnyc.org to have your song included. *Starting this week, we ...
Jul 21, 2022•20 min•Ep 192•Transcript available on Metacast The YA author talks about his successes, fears, and his new podcast that explores his relationship with his mother. Hear more from Jason Reynolds in Radiotopia Presents: My Mother Made Me. *Starting this week, we are publishing individual segments from each live episode. Check back later this week for another segment talking about our summer playlist. Companion listening for this episode : Lynn Nottage: Unexpected Optimist (1/3/2022) Playwright Lynn Nottage breaks down her remarkable career and ...
Jul 18, 2022•34 min•Ep 191•Transcript available on Metacast Cryptocurrency promised to democratize the financial world by giving people equal access to banking tools. It has potential, but also a long way to go. Guest host and senior digital producer Kousha Navidar takes calls and speaks with fintech policy expert Scott Astrada about the value and pitfalls of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether and Dogecoin. Then, Dr. Kortney Ziegler from Stanford’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society speaks about empowering communities the traditional banking...
Jul 11, 2022•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Decoding the Jan. 6th Insurrection – what we should have learned from the past and what we must remember for the future. This Independence Day weekend, host Kai Wright is joined by Andrea Bernstein and Ilya Marritz, who previously hosted Trump Inc. They discuss their new 8-part podcast series, Will Be Wild , which examines the forces that led to the January 6 Insurrection and what comes next. Companion listening for this episode : Can America Be Redeemed? (7/5/2021) Eddie Glaude and Imani Perry ...
Jul 04, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast The series ends with a final test for the Jaguars at the city championship. After the final point has been scored, members of the team try to assess their success. And what about the success of the merger? Students and coaches look at how the integration played out across John Jay’s athletics program, and ask: was it all worth it? “Keeping Score” is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The Bell . This four-part series will appear in the United States of Anxiety feed on Thursdays in June. Connect ...
Jun 30, 2022•43 min•Ep 188•Transcript available on Metacast Plus, a reflection on the significance of LGBT Pride in a scary political time for the community. Host Kai Wright and listeners react to the recent SCOTUS decisions, including the fall of Roe v. Wade. Hear Dr. Sanithia Williams from Alabama Women’s Clinic, and her experience as a provider in one of the 13 states with trigger laws; Elie Mystal, justice correspondent at The Nation; and Imara Jones, the creator of TransLash media. Companion listening for this episode : The Abortion Clinic That Won'...
Jun 27, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does it mean to lead a team in an anti-racist way? After getting strong feedback from Mariah and other players, Coach Mike Salak decides to change his tactics. But as the girls volleyball practices lead into tournaments, it’s clear that who gets to play continues to be a divisive issue. “Keeping Score” is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The Bell . This four-part series will appear in the United States of Anxiety feed on Thursdays in June. Connect with us at keepingscore@wnyc.org. For WN...
Jun 23, 2022•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this national live call-in special: The history. The party. The food. Black Texans school us on the holiday they created. This Juneteenth, host Kai Wright is joined by Pulitzer-Prize winning historian and Harvard law professor, Annette Gordon-Reed, to break down the history behind the newest federal holiday, and help take calls from Black Texans about what it means to them. Plus, Ms. Opal Lee, retired teacher, counselor and activist known as the "grandmother of Juneteenth," checks in as she's...
Jun 20, 2022•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mariah Morgan, a junior at Park Slope Collegiate and setter on the girls varsity volleyball team, was an early proponent of the merger – she helped lobby for it as a member of the Campus Council. But her optimism is tested when practice starts. To understand the building’s complicated history, she explores how Millennium came to be at John Jay in the first place, and why the campaign to merge the athletics programs began. “Keeping Score” is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The Bell . This fou...
Jun 16, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
