Notes from America with Kai Wright

After a summer of outdoor dining, hiking, and staying indoors, New York City is on alert… again. Localized COVID spikes across the city have prompted lockdowns of schools and businesses, but the pandemic is back on all our minds, following the diagnosis and hospitalization of President Trump and many of the people around him. Dr. Oxiris Barbot M.D., the former commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, joins us to discuss leadership in a pandemic, the state of American public health today and the hard choices we’ve made to live another day. And reporter Jenny Casas brings us a short meditation on risk in the time of Covid-19.

For information on free COVID testing in New York City, visit nyc.gov/COVIDtest.

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.

Reporter Christopher Werth brings us a story from Wisconsin, a key swing state, about the legal efforts to suppress the votes of communities of color and how Milwaukee-based organizers like Melody McCurtis are determined to make sure that every vote is counted. 

WNYC’s Brigid Bergen joins us to talk about the challenges that New Yorkers are facing to get their vote out amidst uncertain circumstances. Visit vote.nyc (NYC) or vote.org to ensure that you are registered to vote and make a plan. 

Listen to Brian Lehrer’s special, “America, Are We Ready to Vote in a Pandemic?” here.

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.

As the country confronts racial tensions and class conflicts, the question begs: how did we get here? We look back to a moment in our history when our country was struggling to become a true, multiracial democracy -- and meeting a lot of roadblocks - many of which persist today. Historian Eric Foner gives us a primer on the Reconstruction Era amendments that we explored in season four and producer Veralyn Williams rides along to help us make sense of what it means today and how we can move forward as one nation.

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 Republican Party has long sought a stable conservative majority in the Supreme Court. With the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat up for grabs, that could become a reality - but not without a fight. WNYC's Jami Floyd (Senior Editor for Race and Justice) and Elie Mystal (Justice Correspondent at The Nation) join us to set the scene for the battle over the Supreme Court and what a vacancy on the bench of the highest court in the nation represents for Election 2020 and our collective future.

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 this special episode, we reflect on the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, following her passing on Friday. Kai is joined by Emily Bazelon (Staff Writer at The New York Times Magazine and Co-Host of “Political Gabfest” at Slate), WNYC’s own Brian Lehrer and callers like you to talk about the impact of the “Notorious RBG” on the nation and its citizens.

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.

Many teams have been playing without crowds this year but stadiums still have a captive audience. Sports editor and “Edge of Sports” podcast host Dave Zirin joins us for the hour as we explore how and when in our history athletes have taken a stand for civil rights and social justice. WNBA point guard Renee Montgomery talks about what led her to sit out the 2020 season to pursue change and uplift Black communities.

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.

2020 has been a year of reflection, mourning and perspective. This Labor Day, we look back at the last major fiscal crisis in New York City before delving into the history and experiences of the “essential workers” who have kept the city running during the COVID pandemic. Reporter Jenny Casas gets into the gritty work and history of “New York’s Strongest,” the Department of Sanitation. Ai-jen Poo, the co-founder and Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, joins us to talk about the state of care and domestic work today. Plus, we take calls from listeners who work in homes across the Tri-state.

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 suburbs are in danger, according to the speakers at the Republican National Convention last week. President Trump and Republican voices leaned into the anxieties that some white and suburban residents are grappling with in the face of deep political division, violent unrest and rapidly changing demographics.

We revisit our 2016 segment with Kwame Holmes, a historian and scholar-in-residence for Human Rights at Bard College, about the segregated history of the classic American suburbs of the past and today. 

Andrea Bernstein, host of the WNYC and ProPublica podcast, Trump, Inc. and best-selling author of “AMERICAN OLIGARCHS: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power,” (out in paperback on October 6th) offers insight into her coverage of the RNC and joins us as we take calls from suburban voters who are uncertain about how they will vote come November.

Following the untimely passing of award-winning actor and philanthropist Chadwick Boseman, globally known for his role as Black Panther/ King T'Challa in the Marvel film franchise, our producer Veralyn Williams responds and encourages our listeners to tell us how they are lifting their own spirits in the midst of these heavy and uncertain times. 

How have you been seeking joy? What is keeping you going? Send us your voice notes to [email protected] or tweet using the hashtag #USofAnxiety. 

You can also follow Kai at @kai_wright and subscribe to our podcast for all of our episodes.

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.

Do you have a story about something you’ve endured for racial justice? Producer Veralyn Williams tells us her story and we wanna hear YOUR version! How much tension and discomfort are YOU willing to endure (or not), to create the kind of equitable, multiracial society we say we want? Record a voice memo and 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.

For our first LIVE episode, we reflect on last week’s Democratic National Convention by exploring what it means to be a Democrat in a party divided and we take your calls about what you need to see from the Dems. 

Producer Carolyn Adams takes us to Southeast Queens to meet District Leader Roslin Spigner who sheds light on civics in Black institutions and what it means to be a Democrat in a borough divided. Kai invites Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a former Democratic candidate for Governor in Michigan and author of “Healing Politics: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic,” to discuss progressive policies, privilege and power. And we ask listeners what they need to see from Democratic candidates going forward.

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.