Notes from America with Kai Wright

By WNYC Studios

History

What's Notes from America with Kai Wright about?

Notes from America with Kai Wright is a show about the unfinished business of our history, and its grip on our future.

4.3

1,292 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

Out of hope? Maybe stop for...

11.27.2023

Playwright Lynn Nottage says it’s in her nature to be optimistic. And if it’s true what they say that you can manifest good things by thinking positively, well, it’s worked out for her in myriad ways. Nottage is the first ...

Notes from America with Kai Wright episodes:

11.27.2023 Out of hope? Maybe stop for a sandwich and a song. Playwright Lynn Nottage says it’s in her nature to be optimistic. And if it’s true what they say that you can manifest good things by thinking positively, well, it’s worked out for her in myriad ways. Nottage is the first ...
11.20.2023 How Boston’s Big Dig built our expectations of American infrastructure Boston's Big Dig started as a vision for a large-scale highway tunnel system that became a cautionary tale about American infrastructure. Guest host Nancy Solomon speaks with Ian Coss, host of The Big Dig podcast from WGBH and PRX, which ...
11.13.2023 Nikki Giovanni and Kimberly McGlonn on space travel, sustainable fashion and Black liberation Guest host Janae Pierre sits down with legendary poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, who is the subject of a new documentary, Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project. Giovanni reflects on the legacy of Black storytelling, gospel music, what she ...
11.06.2023 Black Lives Matter, 10 years later It’s been 10 years since the Black Lives Matter was founded in response to the acquittal of the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Kai Wright speaks with organizer Chelsea Miller about the impact the movement has had on ...
10.30.2023 ‘It’s Worse Than Ever’ The events of October 7th shook the world and greatly impacted different intersections of people. Arab Americans sit at a unique intersection. As an Arab American journalist, Notes From America producer Suzanne Gaber set out to find a place for ...
10.26.2023 Imminent Danger Ep 3: One Doctor and a Trail of Injured Women Imminent Danger, a new series from NYC NOW, looks into the role state medical boards had in how one doctor was allowed to keep practicing despite consistently bad outcomes. Marquita Baird has kept a bootbox full of medical records on ...
10.23.2023 Can Osage Citizens Revive Fairfax? Killers of the Flower Moon, a new film directed by Martin Scorcese based on the bestselling book of the same name, tells the story of how greed and profound injustice took the lives of so many Osage. The film has ...
10.19.2023 We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 3 Our friends at On the Media have teamed up with ProPublica to create a miniseries about how the U.S. Supreme Court moved so far to the right. In the third and final episode of We Don't Talk About Leonard, Leonard ...
10.16.2023 The View From Gaza How can we have a more honest conversation about security, war, and peace in the region? As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, we ask two scholars with ties to the region for help. Kai is joined by Laila El-Haddad, ...
10.12.2023 We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 2 Our friends at On the Media have teamed up with ProPublica to create a miniseries about how the U.S. Supreme Court moved so far to the right. In the second episode of We Don't Talk About Leonard, Leonard Leo realized ...
10.09.2023 I Was A Child of Dread In a new memoir, How to Say Babylon, the award-winning poet and essayist is revisiting her youth as a Rastafari girl. Being Rasta is about so much more than what shows up in American pop culture – it’s an anti-colonial, ...
10.05.2023 We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 1 Our friends at On the Media have teamed up with ProPublica to create a miniseries about how the U.S. Supreme Court moved so far to the right. In this first episode of We Don't Talk About Leonard, ProPublica reporters Andrea ...
10.02.2023 Is Capitalism Working for You? One guest says “a free market is a mythical creature, like Santa Claus.” So how do we describe “capitalism” really, and can we make it do better? We examine our current economic system, callers’ feelings about it, and the evolution ...
09.28.2023 Silicon Valley’s History of Fumbles with Capitalism Silicon Valley is notorious in the global economy and the American psyche. According to author Malcolm Harris, the Bay Area tech hub and California at large are a laboratory for the worst consequences of capitalism–centuries in the making. Harris unpacks ...
09.25.2023 What Does It Mean to be Free? Ayana Mathis joins us to discuss her new novel, The Unsettled. It’s 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. ...
09.21.2023 Eating Elk Kabobs in Idaho A new graphic memoir from New Yorker cartoonist Navied Mahdavian tells the story of his decision to move with his wife from San Francisco to rural Idaho. Mahdavian joins producer Kousha Navidar to discuss, This Country: Searching for Home in ...
09.18.2023 The Birth of Climate Denial Starting with the 1925 Scopes Trial — also known as the "trial of the century" — we look at one of the most controversial topics in our time: the debate over evolution versus a Fundamentalist understanding of the Bible. It ...
09.14.2023 When Chicago Closed 50 Public Schools at Once In 2013 Chicago shut down 50 public schools – the largest mass closing in U.S. history. The city promised a chance to revitalize communities. 10 years later, it’s another reality. We speak with Sarah Karp from WBEZ and Lauren FitzPatrick ...
09.11.2023 Public School’s Failing Prospects “The Death of Public School” author Cara Fitzpatrick tells the story of a movement, six decades in the making, that’s picked away at the very idea of public education in the U.S. Listeners from Chicago and Jersey City, including a ...
09.07.2023 When Hip Hop Tried to Fight the Power, and Lost As hip hop turns 50, Kai and reporter Christopher Johnson look back on an era of “conscious rap” that championed a sound that was political, community-minded and deeply pro-Black. But about six years after it started, that first wave of ...
09.04.2023 The Blurry Line Between Appropriation And Appreciation This summer, producer Regina de Heer explored diaspora stories through the lens of music. In this installment, she meets someone whose identity is more complex than what we hear in the mainstream: Nodia Mena is a Lecturer of Spanish in ...
08.31.2023 Republican Debate No. 1: How Do You Limit Demagogues? Vivek Ramaswamy labeled Trump the best president of the 21st century. Chris Christie compared Ramaswamy to ChatGPT. Conservative callers share their reflections on the first Republican presidential debate, and Mona Charen from The Bulwark breaks down why having just 12 ...
08.28.2023 Trump’s Indictment: Georgia’s Crucial Voters Respond From Stone Mountain to Alpharetta, we hear from listeners around the state and unpack what Trump’s indictment means for future elections and our democratic process. As former President Trump is indicted in an alleged conspiracy to overturn the lawful results ...
08.24.2023 The Music of Your Diaspora Producer Regina de Heer is asking listeners for songs that represent something about their identity as part of a diaspora – any kind of diaspora! And you’ve been answering. In this installment, we hear Brazilian Calypso, a modern take on ...
08.21.2023 Doom. Denial. ‘Hopium.’ What About Climate Action? More people consider climate change an urgent concern than ever. But people in the climate movement fear that our collective anxiety about the end of the world has paralyzed us from taking action. In this episode, Kai collects stories of ...
08.17.2023 The Planet Sent a Bill. Here’s What We Owe. David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming calculated the cost to fix our climate. It requires us to reconsider what needs to change and who’s responsible. He talks to Kai about some of the ways we can ...
08.14.2023 The Radical Roots of Plant-Based Eating It's beyond impossible to save the planet one meatless plate at a time. So what can we do instead? Producer Rahima Nasa wants to know about the roots of plant-based eating. So she talks to writer and cook Alicia Kennedy, ...
08.10.2023 If You Go After Me, I'm Coming After You! Former President Donald Trump’s latest indictment leaves a lot to unpack. We answer questions and take your calls. Brian Lehrer, host of The Brian Lehrer Show, talks to Charlie Sykes, founder and editor-at-large and host of a podcast at The ...
08.07.2023 Critical Race Theory: What It Actually Means Jelani Cobb, staff writer for The New Yorker, tells the fascinating story behind a provocative idea. Understanding the origins of Critical Race Theory is the first step in understanding the evolution of civil rights and whether racism could be a ...
08.03.2023 When Barbie Stopped Being White The story of the first Black doll to have the name Barbie. Until 1980, Barbie was always white. Mattel had made Black dolls before, but they were sidekicks to the brand’s main character with facial features that didn’t really distinguish ...
07.31.2023 The Misunderstood Era of Crack Cocaine A disastrous period in the 1980’s. Where we went wrong and what we keep doing wrong today. What do you think of when you hear the term, “crack cocaine?” The drug is at the heart of an epidemic in the ...
07.27.2023 A Punk Rock Guide to Making a Scene James Spooner made a documentary in 2003 called “Afro-Punk.” It was a defining film for a generation of young Black people who felt like outsiders. This fall, he’ll publish a collection he co-edited with Chris L. Terry called Black Punk ...
07.24.2023 A Song to “Define the Most African Moment of My Life” Our producer, Regina de Heer, wants to know which songs reflect your experience being part of a diaspora. For her, having to choose an entrance song for her engagement ceremony made a new connection with her Ghanaian heritage, and made ...
07.20.2023 The Case for 29 Supreme Court Justices We’re gonna need a bigger bench. Because when most people talk about expanding the Supreme Court, they're talking about adding a few justices. But Elie Mystal is not most people. He thinks we should just blow the lid and add ...
07.17.2023 Lessons from Mom at a Magic Mike Show in Vegas Listeners want to talk about moments from their past when they felt like they didn’t belong and who helped them through those moments. So Kai invites them to talk with Connie Wang, author of “Oh My Mother!” Connie’s most memorable ...
07.13.2023 Affirmative Action is About More Than Acceptance Letters Everyone’s talking about affirmative action at elite universities. But they educate fewer than 5 percent of students seeking advanced degrees. So why should the other 95 percent care? Kai wants to know about the future of equity in higher education. ...
07.10.2023 What Does “Color-Blind” Really Mean? Affirmative action is gone. Ibram X. Kendi tells us the history leading up to this moment and what could be next. Historian and best-selling author Ibram X. Kendi helps Kai understand the Supreme Court's ruling that ended race-based affirmative action ...
07.06.2023 Black Life Resuscitated from the Ocean Floor National Geographic Explorer Tara Roberts’s mission: To recover her ancestry as a Black American. Her destination: The bottom of the Atlantic. Tara Roberts walked through the National Museum of African American History when one photo stopped her in place. A ...
07.03.2023 Why It’s So Hard to Sound “American” A culture war from our past: Before he could define America’s sound for the next century, Aaron Copland had to overcome conflict over what “America” meant. There’s one line of questioning our listeners ask more than any other: “What is ...
06.29.2023 The Coolest Music Parties You Didn’t Know Were Happening Arab Americans around the country are celebrating their diaspora. And it starts with two guys in a band blasting music at underground parties in Washington, D.C. Philippe Manasseh and Nadim Maghzal were two guys in a band called Wake Island. ...
06.26.2023 Why the Indian Child Welfare Act is the Gold Standard in Family Law Allison Herrera, the Indigenous affairs reporter at KOSU, returns to the show to introduce us to Hodalee and Jamie Sewell, who are in the process of adopting their great niece– a baby girl. She’s a Cherokee Nation citizen, so that ...
06.22.2023 95 Unmarked Graves In 2018, a few months into building a new school in Sugar Land, Texas, construction crews uncovered 95 unmarked graves. This wasn’t a serial killer’s dumping, but it was evidence of a particularly dark period in our country’s history - ...
06.19.2023 Juneteenth Is an Act of Bravery It goes beyond the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s about liberating our own hearts and minds and staking a claim to freedom. On June 19th, 1865, roughly a quarter million enslaved people in Texas officially learned that they were free, years after ...
06.15.2023 Comedian Sam Jay Isn’t Afraid of Getting Canceled At least not anymore. That confidence comes from her purpose, her identities, and how comedy has evolved from the sitcoms she used to watch as a kid. Our former intern Vanessa Handy was watching reruns of Good Times with her ...
06.12.2023 Billy Porter Doesn’t Need a Month to Celebrate Pride He celebrates Pride all year long through art – and that’s been the journey of a lifetime. He’s got an Emmy, a Grammy, a Tony. But early in his career, Billy Porter was relegated to roles of comic relief. Things ...
06.08.2023 Trust the Media? Yeah, Right. According to Brooke Gladstone, host of “On The Media,” a lot of journalists think their job is to report “...fairly, accurately, and with principle.” But she also says that might be where we get in trouble. She and Kai and ...
06.05.2023 January 6th Was Not a Secret Attack Micah Loewinger, a reporter for On the Media, began monitoring militia conversations in early 2020. The potential for violence was immediately clear. And so when they staged an insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Micah was listening and ...
06.01.2023 Padma Lakshmi’s Low-Key Subversive Food Show Kai’s a legit fanboy of Padma. One reason why: She explores who we are …through what we eat. So Kai gets her on the mic to ask what food can tell us about the American immigrant story. You’ll hear from: ...
05.29.2023 No, We Can’t Stop Saying Their Names Ask a group of highschoolers, “who was Trayvon Martin?” and you’ll see some tragically blank stares. But replace that with “George Floyd”, and you’ll see heads nod. Kai’s struggling with how we memorialize anti-Black violence when we “say their names” ...
05.25.2023 How the Supreme Court Got So Supreme Our friends at More Perfect dove into Clarence Thomas’s past to make sense of his ideology today. You’ll hear from: Juan Williams — Senior Political Analyst at Fox NewsCorey Robin — Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College and the ...

Older episodes

Notes from America with Kai Wright

What's Notes from America with Kai Wright about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Notes from America with Kai Wright episodes:

Out of hope? Maybe stop for a sandwich and a song.

How Boston’s Big Dig built our expectations of American infrastructure

Nikki Giovanni and Kimberly McGlonn on space travel, sustainable fashion and Black liberation

Black Lives Matter, 10 years later

‘It’s Worse Than Ever’

Imminent Danger Ep 3: One Doctor and a Trail of Injured Women

Can Osage Citizens Revive Fairfax?

We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 3

The View From Gaza

We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 2

I Was A Child of Dread

We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 1

Is Capitalism Working for You?

Silicon Valley’s History of Fumbles with Capitalism

What Does It Mean to be Free?

Eating Elk Kabobs in Idaho

The Birth of Climate Denial

When Chicago Closed 50 Public Schools at Once

Public School’s Failing Prospects

When Hip Hop Tried to Fight the Power, and Lost

The Blurry Line Between Appropriation And Appreciation

Republican Debate No. 1: How Do You Limit Demagogues?

Trump’s Indictment: Georgia’s Crucial Voters Respond

The Music of Your Diaspora

Doom. Denial. ‘Hopium.’ What About Climate Action?

The Planet Sent a Bill. Here’s What We Owe.

The Radical Roots of Plant-Based Eating

If You Go After Me, I'm Coming After You!

Critical Race Theory: What It Actually Means

When Barbie Stopped Being White

The Misunderstood Era of Crack Cocaine

A Punk Rock Guide to Making a Scene

A Song to “Define the Most African Moment of My Life”

The Case for 29 Supreme Court Justices

Lessons from Mom at a Magic Mike Show in Vegas

Affirmative Action is About More Than Acceptance Letters

What Does “Color-Blind” Really Mean?

Black Life Resuscitated from the Ocean Floor

Why It’s So Hard to Sound “American”

The Coolest Music Parties You Didn’t Know Were Happening

Why the Indian Child Welfare Act is the Gold Standard in Family Law

95 Unmarked Graves

Juneteenth Is an Act of Bravery

Comedian Sam Jay Isn’t Afraid of Getting Canceled

Billy Porter Doesn’t Need a Month to Celebrate Pride

Trust the Media? Yeah, Right.

January 6th Was Not a Secret Attack

Padma Lakshmi’s Low-Key Subversive Food Show

No, We Can’t Stop Saying Their Names

How the Supreme Court Got So Supreme

Other shows like Notes from America with Kai Wright: