Notes from America with Kai Wright

It’s been a turbulent election year so far and artists at the forefront of the conversation match that energy. From Megan Thee Stallion debuting “Hotties for Harris,” to Sexxy Red sporting MAGA red, to Charli XCX declaring “kamala IS brat”, to Kid Rock’s rally cry of “fight, fight” during his performance at the RNC — it’s hard to imagine what song the candidates will be affiliated with next before their campaigns are over.

In this episode, host Kai Wright is joined by two experts to break down what music can tell us about our current political moment. Noriko Manabe is professor and chair of music theory at Indiana University. Chris Willman is Variety's senior music writer and chief music critic. Together, they go song by song while taking your calls with submissions to our annual playlist.

Every summer we crowdsource a Spotify playlist with our listeners built around a particular theme. This year, for the third edition of our seasonal soundtrack, we are asking you to contribute a song that represents your political identity or political priorities in 2024. See how the collection is shaping up so far, and add yours to the mix by leaving a message at 844-745-8255. Be sure to share your first name, where you’re calling from and a little bit about what the song represents for you in the context of the 2024 election.

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 Harris for President 2024 Campaign made its latest political move by announcing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ choice for vice president. The selection of Walz signals that, for Democrats, this election is about more than just defeating Donald Trump, says author and political commentator Anand Giridharadas.

He joins host Kai Wright in this episode of “On The Call,” our political pop-up series, to talk about how a Harris-Walz ticket sends a message about America’s future that is sorely needed, and why this pairing gives off “vibes” that shouldn’t be underestimated on the political stage this year.

What are you vibing to this summer? We're building a playlist and we'd love your help! Leave a message at 844-745-8255 and tell us what's a song that speaks to your political priorities or your political identity this election year? We're growing this song collection all summer long and we'd love to add your selections to the mix!

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.

Kamala Harris’s nomination for president is historic and unprecedented. But one thing that has followed Harris since her initial campaign for president in 2019 are the many questions around her record as a prosecutor, district attorney and eventually the Attorney General of California. These questions have come to a head through the lens of the brutal, high profile killing of Sonya Massey at the hands of an officer on July 6 just outside Springfield, Illinois. 

Massey thought someone was breaking into her home and called the cops. She was actually in the midst of a mental health crisis, and when two officers showed up, the situation got much worse despite the officers acknowledging that they knew Massey may be in mental distress. Body camera footage ultimately revealed a horrific scene in which Deputy Sheriff Sean Grayson shoots Massey in the face, then refuses to provide aid as she dies. Grayson has been indicted on murder charges and denied pretrial release. 

Massey’s story broke into national news just days before Kamala Harris became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for president.  So what, if anything, in her extensive career can provide insight on what a potential Harris administration could or even would do to end this cycle of police killings?

In this episode, host Kai Wright discusses the juxtaposition of Sonya Massey’s life and death and candidate Harris’s record on police violence specifically and law enforcement generally with 

Christina Carrega,criminal justice reporter at Capital B, and Jamilah King, editorial director at Mother 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 August 2, 1924, a baby boy was born at Harlem Hospital in New York City — one who would grow up to become one of the most celebrated writers and thinkers of the 20th century. James Baldwin’s novels, essays and ideas were captivating and controversial. They challenged society’s ideas of race, power, sexuality and belonging through politics that were rooted in his personal experiences as a Black, queer man in America, and later as an expatriate in other nations.

In this episode, host Kai Wright reveals his own connection to the works of James Baldwin, and speaks with Razia Iqbal, a professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Iqbal is also the host of the forthcoming podcast series “Notes on a Native Son,” which features conversations with modern-day writers and activists who have been inspired by Baldwin. The six-part series will be featured on Notes from America starting on September 7.

Craving more James Baldwin? Check out these episodes from our sister shows at WNYC:

Meshell Ndegeocello’s Ode to James Baldwin on NYC Now

100 Years of 100 Things on The Brian Lehrer Show

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.

President Joe Biden says he has a plan to reform the Supreme Court — one that will keep presidential power in check. Political commentator Elie Mystal says it’s about time. Mystal is the justice correspondent for The Nation magazine and someone who has been advocating (at the top of his lungs) for SCOTUS reform for years. 

In this episode of “On the Call,” our political pop-up series, host Kai Wright talks with Mystal about what Biden is proposing, why the judicial reform push is coming now that the president has decided not to seek re-election, and how Vice President Kamala Harris is positioned to pick up the baton and make change a part of her political legacy.

Perhaps you’ve noticed: the news is newsing in overdrive lately. Notes from America is meeting the moment with an extra podcast drop on Thursdays like this one. It's a pop-up series of conversations about politics, voters and democracy right now that we're calling On the Call.

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.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu’s July 24th address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress was skipped by roughly half of the Democratic caucus, including the party's new presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. This marks a shift in Democratic Party politics around Israel and Palestine after nearly 10 months of mass protests across the country in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. For many, it has been a first introduction to the U.S movement for Palestinian rights, but for Arab Americans across the country, it is the latest in a very long story of Arab American political engagement and its connection to U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Arab American civil rights lawyer Abdeen Jabara was born in the small town of Mancelona, Michigan in 1940. Over the course of his life, he watched the Arab American community grow into a political group now at the forefront of the 2024 presidential election. In this episode, Jabara joins host Kai Wright and producer Suzanne Gaber to share the history of the community’s political organizing and its complicated relationship with the U.S. government – a history that includes how he discovered the government was illegally surveilling him and more than 150,000 other Arabs in the U.S.

Find Notes From America's 2024 Summer Playlist, Your Politics Through Song, 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.

Perhaps you’ve noticed: the news is newsing in overdrive lately. Notes from America is meeting the moment with an extra podcast drop on Thursdays starting today. Welcome to On the Call, a pop-up podcast series of conversations about politics, voters and democracy right now.

While most of America was still processing the news that President Joe Biden would not seek re-election, Black women across the nation were receiving notifications to join a Zoom call in support of the person Biden endorsed to replace him as the Democratic nominee: Vice President Kamala Harris. In the end, an estimated 44,000 people joined that virtual meeting, which managed to raise more than $1 million dollars in a matter of hours. One person on that call was CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend, who says at times it was more like a prayer circle than a political event. In this episode, she joins host Kai Wright from the campaign trail to reflect on the meeting, what’s happened since with organized efforts in support of Harris, and what these investments of energy in a new contender mean for the 2024 election.

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 call was coming from inside the house,” says Fordham University political scientist Christina Greer about the pressure campaign Democrats applied to President Joe Biden in the weeks since his debate against Republican contender Donald Trump. Biden’s fitness for another four-year term had been called into question, and although he seemed determined to stay in the race, his late-July announcement that he’d suspend his re-election campaign came with little surprise. That decision also came with an endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the new Democratic nominee, which prompted anxiety from Biden devotees, excitement for some Democrats who hoped for a (younger) infusion of energy into this campaign, and vicious attacks from the right. 

In this episode, host Kai Wright is joined by Greer, who is also host of The Blackest Questions podcast, and by Joan Walsh, national affairs correspondent for The Nation magazine, to discuss Biden’s choice and electability politics as they relate to a likely new Democratic ticket with Kamala Harris at the top. They also hear from Americans around the country as they process the new dynamics of a volatile campaign year.

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.

Federal investigators are charged with uncovering how a 20-year-old man was able to use an automatic rifle from a rooftop just outside of a campaign rally for Donald Trump to open fire, killing one attendee and injuring others, including the former president. The horrific images from the rally flooded social media timelines, followed by conspiracy theories, misinformation and more concerning narratives that demonstrate how trust in politicians and media alike has eroded.

In this episode, host Kai Wright unpacks the violence and the fallout with a panel of expert guests. Joining him are:

• Juliette Kayyem, professor of national security at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, CNN senior national security analyst, former United States Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, and author of “The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters.”
• David Gilbert, reporter for WIRED who covers disinformation and online extremism.
• Jacob Ware, research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who studies domestic and international terrorism and counterterrorism.

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.

WNYC, the most listened-to public radio station in America and the production home of this podcast, turns 100 years old this year. Its audio archives are full of gems from history — including voices, interviews and performances from some of the most well-known Black Americans of the 20th century.

In this episode, host Kai Wright digs through some of the audio and discovers moments that illuminate the Black experience through the words of legends like Josephine Baker, Malcolm X, Dick Gregory and Shirley Chisholm. He’s joined by Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University and the host of the podcast The Blackest Questions. Together, they listen through time and discuss a shared goal of these influential figures: making the promise of America work for them.

Special thanks to the WNYC Archives, The Municipal Archives and to archivist Andy Lanset for preserving and cataloging the historical audio contained in this episode. To learn more about WNYC’s centennial anniversary, click 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.