Notes from America with Kai Wright

Trump-to-Biden voters may decide the upcoming midterms. So, who are they? And what do they want from candidates now? Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, host of the podcast “The Focus Group,” and founder of the Republican Accountability Project, has studied voters throughout this midterm election cycle. There’s one group that she finds particularly fascinating: modern-day swing voters. These voters–who voted for Donald Trump in 2016, but Joe Biden in 2020– are a small population with significant political potential. Host Kai Wright is joined by Longwell to better understand her interest in this group, as they go to the polls in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona. And, we take calls from voters on the eve of Election Day. Companion listening for this episode: Black Georgians Are Leading the Charge to the Polls (10/17/2022) Young Black voters are the key to changing the politics of Georgia. What can the rest of the country learn from the civic engagement in that state? “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Beauty. Everyone wants it, but only some are considered to have it. What steps can we take to democratize beauty? Journalist Tracie Hunte is trying to foster real and honest conversations about what it means to be beautiful, and who has access to the power that comes along with beauty. Hunte speaks with Tressie McMillan Cottom, a New York Times columnist and sociologist who has thought and written about the culture of “Big Beauty” in America for years. Her 2013 essay “When Your (Brown) Body is a (White) Wonderland” and 2020 essay “AOC’s Attractiveness Drives Us All Mad” went viral and sparked conversations about the challenges Black women face against beauty standards. Together, they wrestle with what it means to not just reclaim beauty, but reimagine it. Companion listening for this episode: Blackness (Un)interrupted (2/22/2021) Our Future of Black History series concludes with conversations about self-expression. Because when you carry a collective history in your identity, it can be hard to find yourself. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

We’ve received a lot of messages from listeners in response to our recent episodes. So producer Kousha Navidar and host Kai Wright open the listener mailbag and one voicemail inspires a conversation with Dr. Carol Anderson, author of “One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy,” about the efficacy of voting and what we can do beyond it. And, we take your calls about what motivates you to keep voting. Companion listening for this episode: Your Vote Matters (9/12/2022) 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? “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

If you identify as conservative, what is at stake for you during these midterms? Which issues matter to you most, and how are you thinking about your place in the future of conservative politics? We’re looking for messages to use in our November 6th episode with guest Sarah Longwell. Here's how to talk to us: You can now record and send us a message right from https://www.speakpipe.com/notesfromamerica, or visit our website, notesfromamerica.org, and click on the green button that says “start recording.” The button is just above our episode descriptions. Or, you can record a voice memo and email it right to us. Our email address is [email protected]. And if you’re on Instagram, you can send us a message or tag us in your post or story. Our handle is @NotesWithKai. We look forward to hearing from you. Companion listening for this episode: The Higher Cost of Higher Ed for Americans of Color (10/24/2022) Student loans for higher education promises immigrants and people of color access to the American Dream — but at what cost? “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Higher education has traditionally been a pathway to achieving the American Dream for people of color and immigrants, but the high cost of tuition has resulted in a deepening of the wealth divide as student debt continues to create an economic crisis. Borrowers, including show producer Rahima Nasa, share their stories of how student loan repayment drastically changed their financial picture. Plus, policy expert Heather McGhee, author of “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together,” joins host Kai Wright to discuss federal forgiveness efforts and what else the U.S. government could do to promote economic equality with respect to racial justice. Companion listening for this episode: The Promise and Failure of Cryptocurrency (7/11/2022) 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. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Young Black voters are the key to changing the politics of Georgia. What can the rest of the country learn from the civic engagement in that state? Georgia’s two big midterm races may be the most consequential this election year. One will likely determine control of the Senate. The other is a bellwether for American politics – and democracy – overall. Out of this, can political power shift in the South? The answer to that question might be in the hands of young, Black voters. Trymaine Lee, host of MSNBC’s Into America has been traveling the country talking with Black students at HBCUs about their engagement on big political questions. He and Rose Scott, host of the daily news show, Closer Look with Rose Scott, out of WABE in Atlanta, offer us a pulse check on these young voters and their political priorities. Companion listening for this episode: The Racist History of Georgia’s Runoff (12/​​21/2020) Segregationists gamed the system 57 years ago. But this year, Black organizers may have finally slipped the knot that Jim Crow tied around democracy in the state. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Young Iranian Americans are witnessing a historic moment, as deadly protests in Iran continue over the death of a 22-year-old woman who died while in custody of the Tehran Guidance Patrol, better known as morality police. We invited some of them to share how they are processing these events and finding ways to participate from afar. Narges Bajoghli, Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, joins senior producer Kousha Navidar and host Kai Wright to talk about Mahsa Amini’s death and the response in Iranian communities across the U.S. Companion listening for this episode: The Art of Remembrance (9/14/2022) The story of one local NYC artist who uses digital technology to honor our city’s past. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Christian nationalism – the push to have laws, policies and social norms reflect Christian values – is a growing movement in the U.S. As its rise continues to influence contemporary politics, how should we consider and prepare for its impact on our government? Pastor and executive director of Vote Common Good, Doug Pagitt, walks us through the history of the movement, and tells us how he and other faith leaders are finding ways to combat the effects of Christian nationalism in their own faith communities. Companion listening for this episode: The Obamas' Lonely Walk on the High Road (10/3/2022) Anti-Obama conspiracy theories and lies about the 2020 election still shape post-truth politics. What, if anything, is to be done about these conspiracies? “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Imani Perry introduces us to A Raisin in the Sun, the first show ever staged on Broadway written by a black woman – and the show’s legendary playwright, Lorraine Hansberry. In Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, author Imani Perry pays tribute to one of the most pivotal Black playwrights in modern history. In Perry's 2018 biography of Lorraine Hansberry, we meet a talented writer whose mainstream success with A Raisin In The Sun often overshadows her strategic and radical work as an artist and progressive thinker. That renowned play has returned to The Public Theater and Imani Perry joins host Kai Wright to explore how Hansberry and the story of the Younger family shaped the landscape of theater. Companion listening for this episode: Lynn Nottage: Unexpected Optimist (1/3/2022) Playwright Lynn Nottage breaks down her remarkable career and shares how, as an optimist at heart, she finds the light and resilience in unexpected stories. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Anti-Obama conspiracy theories and lies about the 2020 election still shape post-truth politics. What, if anything, is to be done about these conspiracies? It’s been more than a decade since Barack Obama moved into the White House and began his first term as U.S. President. But conspiracy theories about the history-making leader continue to influence today’s political landscape and polarize Americans. The theories run the gamut – from the familiar (Obama’s citizenship) to the familial (calling Michelle Obama’s gender into question). Folklorist and professor at University of California, Los Angeles, Patricia A. Turner Ph.D., has been researching what’s at the root of so many unfounded and unhinged rumors about America’s first Black president and studying why they persist. She joins host Kai Wright to discuss her new book is called Trash Talk: Anti-Obama Lore and Race in the Twenty-First Century, and the connections between these harmful narratives, current political divisions, and digital media. Companion listening for this episode: The Line Between Independence and Insurrection (8/4/2022) Decoding the Jan. 6th Insurrection – what we should have learned from the past and what we must remember for the future. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

‘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 (5/16/2022) An intergenerational meditation on Ntozake Shange’s iconic Broadway play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf." “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 what’s at stake for everybody when we fear each other. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 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. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on www.notesfromamerica.org or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @noteswithkai using the hashtag #NoteswithKai or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 management specialist. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 completely unexpected direction. Companion listening for this episode: Your Vote Matters (9/12/2022) 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? *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 catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 most and why?” Schools Had a Tough Year. What’d We Learn? (6/6/2022) Plus, follow the season of a girl’s varsity volleyball team, and find one Brooklyn school building’s effort to bridge its stark racial divide. From WNYC’s new miniseries, Keeping Score. *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 catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 listeners on her journey to rebuild her relationship with her dad. Companion listening for this episode: The Prison of Manhood Can’t Hold Shaka Senghor (8/29/2022) 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. *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 catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 (7/18/2022) The YA author talks about his successes, fears, and his new podcast that explores his relationship with his mother. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 [email protected]. We hope to use your stories during an upcoming episode. *And stream our Summer Playlist on Spotify here. Companion listening for this episode: Digital Life Is a Moral Mess (8/22/2022)It seems like digital technology – from Facebook to cryptocurrency – could do great harm to society. Should that change how, and if, we use it? “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 of the Giants, and hear new episodes, here. *And stream our Summer Playlist on Spotify here. Companion listening for this episode: The Promise and Failure of Cryptocurrency (7/11/2022) 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. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Host Kai Wright checks in with producer Regina de Heer about our summer playlist. Hear the contributions from listeners, and some folks on our team, about their songs of the summer and why they chose it. Stream our Summer Playlist on Spotify here. And keep 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 [email protected] to have your song included in the playlist — and our next update. Companion listening for this episode: Let Us Take You on an Pop Escapade (7/21/2022) Joy. Freedom. Resilience. We kick off a summer playlist project with selections from the Black women who have defined pop. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 leaders at the forefront of the monkeypox response in the Atlanta Metro Area – who participated in our listening session. Companion listening for this episode: Michael Calvert’s Good, Too Short Life (8/12/2022) What can we learn from the HIV pandemic? We revisit a conversation from a year of living with COVID-19. *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 catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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? 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 management specialist. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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. Companion listening for this episode: The Wolf Pack of White Nationalism (5/23/2022)There are no “lone wolves” in the terrorist violence of white identity politics. So what’s that mean for white people who want to confront it? *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 catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 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 catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 these 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 Youtube. The Global Weirding segment mentioned in this episode can be found here. Companion listening for this episode: Nothing You Do Alone Will Save the Climate (9/20/2021) New science finds we’ve got less than a decade to avoid catastrophe. Activist and author Bill McKibben says the only solutions that can beat that deadline are collective. *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 catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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: The Culture of Gun Violence (7/25/2022) And why it must change to make any political progress on gun control. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 previous episode here. To have your song included, record a voice memo of your song choice and the story of what it means to you and email the recording to us at [email protected]. Companion listening for this episode: The Wolf Pack of White Nationalism (5/23/2022) There are no “lone wolves” in the terrorist violence of white identity politics. So what’s that mean for white people who want to confront it? “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 [email protected] to have your song included. *Starting this week, we are publishing individual segments from each live episode. Listen back earlier this week for another segment talking about finding purpose through service with YA author, Jason Reynolds. Companion listening for this episode: Jason Reynolds Needs to Be Useful (7/18/2022) The YA author talks about his successes, fears, and his new podcast that explores his relationship with his mother. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 shares how, as an optimist at heart, she finds the light and resilience in unexpected stories. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 system leaves behind. Companion listening for this episode: The End of Institutions: Hollywood Edition (4/4/2022) To many, cryptocurrency’s value is its promise to revolutionize one of the oldest institutions: finance. Hollywood is another institution that is undergoing its own evolution. The hope is that this evolution leads towards something more inclusive. But is that the case? Which roles does Hollywood encourage its members to play, on screen and off? “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 consider the question through the work of James Baldwin and Richard Wright. Plus: How our country could enter a period of “post-traumatic growth.” “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 with us at [email protected]. For WNYC: Alana Casanova-Burgess, Jessica Gould, Joe Plourde, Jenny Lawton, Karen Frillmann, Emily Botein, Wayne Schulmeister, and Andrew Dunn. For The Bell: Mariah Morgan, Lauren Valme, Renika Jack, Noor Muhsin, Thyan Nelson, Jacob Mestizo, Taylor McGraw, and Mira Gordon. Fact-check by Natalie Meade. Music by Jared Paul – with additional tracks by Hannis Brown and Isaac Jones. Special thanks to Atiqa Chowdhury, Delsina Kolenovic, Giana Ospina, Adrian Uribarri, Mike Barry, Theodora Kuslan, Andrea Latimer, Kim Nowacki, Dalia Dagher, Jennifer Houlihan Roussel, Michelle Xu, Rachel Leiberman, Miriam Barnard, Andrew Golis, Christopher Werth, and the entire team at The United States of Anxiety. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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't Go Quietly (rereleased on 5/5/2022) A broken democracy. A Supreme Court showdown. And a group of Alabama women who continue to provide care despite it all. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 [email protected]. For WNYC: Alana Casanova-Burgess, Jessica Gould, Joe Plourde, Jenny Lawton, Karen Frillmann, Emily Botein, Wayne Schulmeister, and Andrew Dunn. For The Bell: Mariah Morgan, Lauren Valme, Renika Jack, Noor Muhsin, Thyan Nelson, Jacob Mestizo, Taylor McGraw, and Mira Gordon. Fact-check by Natalie Meade. Music by Jared Paul – with additional tracks by Hannis Brown and Isaac Jones. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 moving between Juneteenth celebrations in Fort Worth, Texas. And Houston Public Media reporter, Cory McGinnis, calls in from the "150th Juneteenth Celebration" festival in Houston's Emancipation Park. And, food writer and host of the podcast Hot Grease, Nicole A. Taylor, tells us about her new cookbook, Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations. A special thanks to Houston Public Media, KERA-Dallas, and Texas Public Radio for partnering with us on this episode. Companion listening for this episode: Juneteenth, an Unfinished Business (6/26/2020) As the nation grappled with a reckoning during the summer of 2020, we paused to celebrate Juneteenth, for Black liberation and the ongoing birth of the United States. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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 four-part series will appear in the United States of Anxiety feed on Thursdays in June. Connect with us at [email protected]. For WNYC: Alana Casanova-Burgess, Jessica Gould, Joe Plourde, Jenny Lawton, Karen Frillmann, Emily Botein, Wayne Schulmeister, and Andrew Dunn. For The Bell: Mariah Morgan, Lauren Valme, Renika Jack, Noor Muhsin, Thyan Nelson, Jacob Mestizo, Taylor McGraw, and Mira Gordon. Fact-check by Natalie Meade. Music by Jared Paul – with additional tracks by Hannis Brown and Isaac Jones. Special thanks to Andy Lanset, Norman Scott, Gwynne Hogan, and Afi Yellow-Duke. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Why We Can't (and Shouldn't) Move On From Jan. 6. Fordham University political science professor, Christina Greer, joins to takes our politics questions on the hearings and more. Plus, the story of 91-year-old artist Faith Ringgold, as told by her daughter. Companion listening for this episode: A Conservative View of the Vigilante Right (1/24/2022) Mona Charen discusses the true meaning of conservative and the radical shift in the GOP. Then, a listener mailbag begs us to explore how "normal people" became part of the Jan 6. attack. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

The John Jay Educational Campus, a large brick building in Park Slope, Brooklyn, houses four high schools: Cyberarts Studio Academy, the Secondary School for Law, Millennium Brooklyn, and Park Slope Collegiate. Each school is its own separate universe, but the students yearn to connect. When the administration announces that the athletics programs will merge, they ask what it will take for the building to live up to its new motto: “We Are One.” “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 [email protected]. For WNYC: Alana Casanova-Burgess, Jessica Gould, Joe Plourde, Jenny Lawton, Karen Frillmann, Emily Botein, Wayne Schulmeister, and Andrew Dunn. For The Bell: Mariah Morgan, Lauren Valme, Renika Jack, Noor Muhsin, Thyan Nelson, Jacob Mestizo, Taylor McGraw, and Mira Gordon. Fact-check by Natalie Meade. Music by Jared Paul – with additional tracks by Hannis Brown, Isaac Jones, and "Con Anima" by Dee Yan-Key. Special thanks to Afi Yellow-Duke, Rebecca Clark-Callender and Tracie Hunte. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Schools Had a Tough Year. What’d We Learn? Plus, follow the season of a girl’s varsity volleyball team, and find one Brooklyn school building’s effort to bridge its stark racial divide. From WNYC’s new miniseries, Keeping Score. The past year has forced public classrooms into the center of our country’s intense culture wars and political debates, from Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, to Critical Race Theory, to the ever-present threat of gun violence. What do these fights mean about the future over public education itself? Education reporter for The Washington Post and author of the long-running Answer Sheet blog, Valerie Strauss, breaks what she learned covering this year, and takes your calls. Plus, WNYC host Alana Casanova-Burgess introduces us to a new miniseries that explores one school building in Brooklyn attempt to integrate its own student population this year. Companion listening for this episode: The True Story of Critical Race Theory (10/11/2021) Is racism a permanent fixture of society? Jelani Cobb, staff writer for The New Yorker, unravels the history of Derrick Bell’s quest to answer that question. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Schools Had a Tough Year. What’d We Learn? Plus, follow the season of a girl’s varsity volleyball team, and find one Brooklyn school building’s effort to bridge its stark racial divide. From WNYC’s new miniseries, Keeping Score. The past year has forced public classrooms into the center of our country’s intense culture wars and political debates, from Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, to Critical Race Theory, to the ever-present threat of gun violence. What do these fights mean about the future over public education itself? Education reporter for The Washington Post and author of the long-running Answer Sheet blog, Valerie Strauss, breaks what she learned covering this year, and takes your calls. Plus, how has one school building in Brooklyn tried to integrate its own student population this year? WNYC host Alana Casanova-Burgess introduces us to a new miniseries dropping in our feed. Companion listening for this episode: The True Story of Critical Race Theory (10/11/2021) Is racism a permanent fixture of society? Jelani Cobb, staff writer for The New Yorker, unravels the history of Derrick Bell’s quest to answer that question. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

After publishing 34 books, Alice Walker talks through her latest release, a collection of personal journals spanning four decades. Read more in Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965–2000, out now. Companion listening for this episode: Lynn Nottage: Unexpected Optimist (1/3/2022) Playwright Lynn Nottage breaks down her remarkable career and shares how, as an optimist at heart, she finds the light and resilience in unexpected stories. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

There are no “lone wolves” in the terrorist violence of white identity politics. So what’s that mean for white people who want to confront it? First, 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 the moment with tools from her new book, The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters. Read her article for The Atlantic in response to the mass shooting in Buffalo here. Then, Sarah Posner, reporting fellow at Type Investigations and the author of Unholy: How White Christian Nationalists Powered the Trump Presidency, and The Devastating Legacy They Left Behind, helps us examine the packs in which these ideologies flourish, as candidates like Pennsylvania Republican Party's gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano, continue to thrive. Companion listening for this episode: The Dangerous Cycle of Fear (4/11/2022) Asian American New Yorkers explain how Covid-era violence changed their lives, and what’s at stake for everybody when we fear each other. Then, rediscovering community through food. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

An intergenerational meditation on Ntozake Shange’s iconic Broadway play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. First, host Kai Wright and producer speak with the director and choreographer of the current Broadway Revival, Camille A. Brown. Then, performers Trazana Beverley, Aku Kadogo, and Carol Maillard reminisce on the original production and with the show's legendary creator, Ntozake Shange. Companion listening for this episode: Lynn Nottage: Unexpected Optimist (1/3/2022) Playwright Lynn Nottage breaks down her remarkable career and shares how, as an optimist at heart, she finds the light and resilience in unexpected stories. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

His leaked opinion tells us more about a powerful minority’s view of the U.S. than it does about the Constitution or the history of abortion. Kai Wright talks to Susan Matthews, news director at Slate and host of the upcoming season of Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade, “The Constitution Wasn't Written for Women.” And Michele Goodwin, a Chancellor's Professor at the University of California, Irvine, joins Kai to open the phones to your questions and emotional reactions to this frightening but galvanizing moment. Companion listening for this episode: The Abortion Clinic That Won't Go Quietly (5/5/2022) A leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in a separate case suggests the Court is now poised to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. In this 2018 story, hear first hand from the medical providers who are determined to provide this health care – and learn the political history of this moment. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

In 2018, host Kai Wright visited the Alabama Women’s Center in Huntsville, to learn how abortion providers were dealing with the state’s new law that sought to make their practice a felony crime. The law was one of several that Republican controlled states passed in an effort to provoke a Supreme Court ruling on Roe. A leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in a separate case suggests the Court is now poised to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. So we revisit this 2018 story, to hear first hand from the medical providers who are determined to provide this health care – and learn the political history of this moment. Reporting for this episode was supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Jane and Gerald Katcher and the Katcher Family Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Companion listening for this episode: How to End the Dominion of Men Why is masculinity so often conflated with domination? And how do we separate the two? Kai turns to a historian and to a novelist for answers. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow and The Nation Magazine’s John Nichols explain how the Democrats can fight – and win – the culture wars. Plus, listeners weigh in with how they would like the party to proceed. Watch State Senator McMorrow’s speech here. Then, read John’s article in reaction to the speech here. Companion listening for this episode: How the Right’s Anti-Trans Hate Machine Works (5/28/2021)Last year, guest More than 100 anti-Trans bills have been introduced across 30 states since January. We find out what’s happening — both in the courts and in society — and what still needs to be done. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Kai Wright talks with WNYC colleague Nancy Solomon about her new podcast: Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery New Jersey politics is not for the faint of heart. But the brutal killing of John and Joyce Sheridan, a prominent couple with personal ties to three governors, shocks even the most cynical operatives. The mystery surrounding the crime sends their son on a quest for truth. Dead End is a story of crime and corruption at the highest levels of society in the Garden State. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected]. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at [email protected]. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.