“Notes on a Native Son” is a new, limited audio series about how and why the writer James Baldwin continues to matter. We hear from people who turn to his words again and again for ideas and inspiration, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Nikki Giovanni, Bryan Stevenson and many more. Hosted by journalist Razia Iqbal, each episode explores a Baldwin passage chosen and beloved by her guests. Their conversations underline Baldwin's lasting power and remind us of his prescience and acuity on issues such a...
Sep 14, 2024•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Elie Mystal , justice correspondent and columnist for The Nation, joins host Kai Wright “On the Call” to break down how Vice President Kamala Harris used classic trial lawyer tactics to take apart former president Donald Trump in their ABC News debate. Perhaps you’ve noticed: the news is newsing in overdrive lately. Notes from America is meeting the moment with an extra podcast drop on Thursdays like this one. It's a pop-up series of conversations about politics, voters and democracy right now t...
Sep 12, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The election is less than two months away and neither candidate has laid out specific terms or plans for environmental policies if they were to win the election. Here’s what we do know. The Trump administration was vocally critical of policies meant to protect the environment and pursued policies that would retrace protective measures. Recently, it was reported that former president Donald Trump promised to ease regulations on big oil companies if they supported his campaign to the tune of $1 bi...
Sep 10, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Biden administration says it’s putting forward its best and final proposal to Israel for a ceasefire deal that would pause the violence in Gaza and give regional leaders and global stakeholders the opportunity to work toward a resolution. But the Netanyahu government has not seemed interested in a deal, and it’s likely that the next president-elect of the U.S. will find their leadership and legacy defined by what happens next in Gaza. This week, host Kai Wright gets on the call with Iranian ...
Sep 05, 2024•40 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast Dancers and romantic partners Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane stood out in the modern dance movement of the 1970s and 1980s as they explored a new vocabulary of movement that helped redefine the landscape of dance. Zane died of AIDS-related complications in 1988, and Jones vowed to continue their work with the company they co-founded. Shortly after, he began convening workshops across America with people who were living with a terminal illness. Jones studied their words, their expressions and their...
Sep 02, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2021, a trio of retired U.S. military generals co-authored an opinion piece in the Washington Post . It warned that what happened on January 6, 2021, would happen again — that America must prepare for another coup attempt in the aftermath of the 2024 election, one they predicted will have more help and coordination from members of the U.S. military. But how can the nation be prepared for more political violence aided by those who are supposed to protect it? A group of veterans decided to run ...
Aug 29, 2024•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast The 2024 Democratic National Convention was a spectacle filled with rhetoric around the middle class and the goal of creating an “opportunity economy.” But what does that actually mean for millions of Americans concerned about the cost of housing, childcare, gas and groceries in their communities? Host Kai Wright is joined by Today, Explained co-host Noel King to talk through her reporting on the DNC and how it was received by residents in its host city. They take a look at the differences betwe...
Aug 26, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Everything about the dynamic of the 2024 election changed when Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Kamala Harris to take his place on the Democratic Party ticket. But are the polls looking much different now that there’s a new match-up? This week, host Kai Wright gets Patrick Toomey on the call to talk about some of the latest survey data in critical parts of the country. Toomey is a partner at BSG, a consulting and research firm that has collaborated with Cook Political Report...
Aug 22, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Vice President came of age inside collegiate institutions that have shaped Black, middle-class culture for generations. She says they imprinted deeply upon her as well. Kamala Harris's story is remarkable in numerous ways. If elected president, she’ll be the first coming from several life experiences, including one that many Black commentators have noticed: She’d be the first president who’s a graduate of an HBCU, and a member of one of the “Divine Nine” Black sororities and fraternities. Sh...
Aug 19, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Slate staff writer Aymann Ismail gets “On the Call” with host Kai Wright to share his reporting on the “uncommitted” Democrats pushing Kamala Harris for an arms embargo on Israel — and the awkward scene he found at the Republican National Convention . Plus, they talk about the nominee’s notorious “I’m speaking” moment at a rally in Detroit in response to interruptions from pro-Palestinian protestors, and the work the Harris-Walz campaign has to do to engage voters who are dismayed at the White H...
Aug 15, 2024•34 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast It’s been a turbulent election year so far and artists at the forefront of the conversation match that energy. From Megan Thee Stallion debuting “Hotties for Harris,” to Sexxy Red sporting MAGA red, to Charli XCX declaring “ kamala IS brat ”, to Kid Rock’s rally cry of “fight, fight” during his performance at the RNC — it’s hard to imagine what song the candidates will be affiliated with next before their campaigns are over. In this episode, host Kai Wright is joined by two experts to break down...
Aug 12, 2024•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Harris for President 2024 Campaign made its latest political move by announcing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ choice for vice president. The selection of Walz signals that, for Democrats, this election is about more than just defeating Donald Trump, says author and political commentator Anand Giridharadas . He joins host Kai Wright in this episode of “On The Call,” our political pop-up series, to talk about how a Harris-Walz ticket sends a message about America’s future that ...
Aug 08, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kamala Harris’s nomination for president is historic and unprecedented. But one thing that has followed Harris since her initial campaign for president in 2019 are the many questions around her record as a prosecutor, district attorney and eventually the Attorney General of California. These questions have come to a head through the lens of the brutal, high profile killing of Sonya Massey at the hands of an officer on July 6 just outside Springfield, Illinois. Massey thought someone was breaking...
Aug 05, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast On August 2, 1924, a baby boy was born at Harlem Hospital in New York City — one who would grow up to become one of the most celebrated writers and thinkers of the 20th century. James Baldwin’s novels, essays and ideas were captivating and controversial. They challenged society’s ideas of race, power, sexuality and belonging through politics that were rooted in his personal experiences as a Black, queer man in America, and later as an expatriate in other nations. In this episode, host Kai Wright...
Aug 03, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Joe Biden says he has a plan to reform the Supreme Court — one that will keep presidential power in check. Political commentator Elie Mystal says it’s about time . Mystal is the justice correspondent for The Nation magazine and someone who has been advocating (at the top of his lungs) for SCOTUS reform for years. In this episode of “On the Call,” our political pop-up series, host Kai Wright talks with Mystal about what Biden is proposing, why the judicial reform push is coming now that...
Aug 01, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu’s July 24th address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress was skipped by roughly half of the Democratic caucus, including the party's new presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. This marks a shift in Democratic Party politics around Israel and Palestine after nearly 10 months of mass protests across the country in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. For many, it has been a first introduction to the U.S movement for Palestinian rights, b...
Jul 29, 2024•52 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast Perhaps you’ve noticed: the news is newsing in overdrive lately. Notes from America is meeting the moment with an extra podcast drop on Thursdays starting today. Welcome to On the Call, a pop-up podcast series of conversations about politics, voters and democracy right now. While most of America was still processing the news that President Joe Biden would not seek re-election, Black women across the nation were receiving notifications to join a Zoom call in support of the person Biden endorsed t...
Jul 25, 2024•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast “The call was coming from inside the house,” says Fordham University political scientist Christina Greer about the pressure campaign Democrats applied to President Joe Biden in the weeks since his debate against Republican contender Donald Trump. Biden’s fitness for another four-year term had been called into question, and although he seemed determined to stay in the race, his late-July announcement that he’d suspend his re-election campaign came with little surprise. That decision also came wit...
Jul 22, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Federal investigators are charged with uncovering how a 20-year-old man was able to use an automatic rifle from a rooftop just outside of a campaign rally for Donald Trump to open fire, killing one attendee and injuring others, including the former president. The horrific images from the rally flooded social media timelines, followed by conspiracy theories, misinformation and more concerning narratives that demonstrate how trust in politicians and media alike has eroded. In this episode, host Ka...
Jul 15, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast WNYC, the most listened-to public radio station in America and the production home of this podcast, turns 100 years old this year. Its audio archives are full of gems from history — including voices, interviews and performances from some of the most well-known Black Americans of the 20th century. In this episode, host Kai Wright digs through some of the audio and discovers moments that illuminate the Black experience through the words of legends like Josephine Baker , Malcolm X , Dick Gregory an...
Jul 08, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast When President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump shared the stage for the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Namely, it displayed a concern of many Americans: Biden’s age and acuity. We watched two men, both in the late years of their lives, both of whom have already spent decades as rich and powerful people, both of whom have already been president, and neither of whom can conceive of a future in which they aren’t in char...
Jul 01, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Minority rule – by which a few get to decide the outcomes for many – is eroding American democracy at nearly every level, according to veteran journalist Ari Berman , author of Minority Rule: the Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People―and the Fight to Resist It. In this episode, host Kai Wright talks to Berman about how the U.S. has been in a push-and-pull between oligarchy and democracy since 1787 when the Founding Fathers put systems in place, like the Senate and the Electoral College, to...
Jun 24, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast The promise of American democracy could not be fulfilled until all Americans were free. Following the moment of Black liberation marked by Juneteenth, Black Americans began the ongoing project of securing and protecting their rights to vote, and to lead. In this special Juneteenth episode, host Kai Wright traces the lineage of our democracy being actualized to the period after Emancipation, when political leadership like that of late Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan emerged and began to shape ...
Jun 17, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Back in April, some of our listeners told us they were “Trump curious.” A few months later, the former president is now a convicted criminal and other listeners have lingering questions . The Notes from America inbox is always teeming with interesting takes from our audience and in this episode, host Kai Wright is joined by producer Regina de Heer to go through the various messages the show has received in recent months. They include notes about this year’s presidential election, one listener’s ...
Jun 13, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ten years after its original staging, “Appropriate” has received eight Tony Award nominations. Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins talks about the moments of his life that inspired it. The play tells the story of three siblings reuniting in their family home after the death of their father. Charged with going through his belongings, the children discover troubling relics within the home. They are left to deal with the question of an inheritance, but also this new challenge to their late father’s l...
Jun 10, 2024•45 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Notes from America producer Suzanne Gaber returns to the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, for an update on Hisham Awartani, a 21-year-old student of Palestinian descent, who was paralyzed after being shot during a holiday break in Vermont in 2023. As Awartani continues to work on his physical recovery and navigating life in a wheelchair, he has also assumed a high profile role on campus in the student-led movement to urge Brown to divest from companies doing business in th...
Jun 06, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, a jury in Manhattan handed down a guilty verdict in the hush money trial of Donald J. Trump for 34 counts related to falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election. Even though the verdict made Trump the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes, most American voters say the outcome of the trial doesn’t make much difference to how they’ll show up to the polls in November. In this episode, host Kai Wright is joined by award-winning journalist Andrea Bernstein,...
Jun 03, 2024•39 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Author Ayana Mathis' new novel, The Unsettled , is an intergenerational story centered around one Black family’s struggle to find freedom in the 1980s. Like her previous work, migration and movement are major themes in the book. But this time, her characters are at a crossroads, unsure of their next step in search of self-determination. Mathis joins host Kai Wright to reveal the questions that torment the characters in her gripping novel, and discuss her own journey grappling with those themes. ...
May 27, 2024•50 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast We should all know by now how foolish it is to underestimate youth. Gen Z, the generation of people born between 1997 and 2012, has already changed the world in ways that no one could have anticipated, from mass protests against gun violence to international movements to reckon with climate change. For members of this generation who are part of the graduating class of 2024, a series of unfortunate and unprecedented events have shaped the way they engage in political, social and cultural issues. ...
May 20, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast While news coverage has been justifiably focused on the aggressive police response to anti-war college protests at campuses around the country, it’s noteworthy that a handful of U.S. schools have agreed to come to the table with students and discuss their demands. At the top of the list for many campus activists: divestment. At Brown University, where protests against Israel’s war have been occurring since the fall of 2023, students want the administration to cut ties with companies that do busi...
May 13, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
