Identified with Nabil Ayers

In this episode of Identified with Nabil Ayers, Brendan Yates of Turnstile explores family, community, identity, creativity, and the relationships that shaped both his life and his music. From growing up outside Baltimore to forming Turnstile with close friends, Brendan reflects on the people, places, and experiences that helped define his creative journey.   Brendan discusses discovering mus...

From an Army household in Washington, D.C. to New York’s creative community, Meshell Ndegeocello reflects on the people who shaped her life, and the love that expanded her world. In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with Meshell Ndegeocello for a conversation about family, music, identity, mentorship, and belonging. Meshell reflects on growing up in a musical household, where...

In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with Matt Berninger of The National to explore family, creativity, friendship, and the communities that shape us.   Matt reflects on growing up in Ohio, the artistic influence of his parents, discovering music through his older sister, and the local scenes that first made him believe a creative life was possible. From college bands and desi...

In this episode of Identified with Nabil Ayers, Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast explores family, Korean identity, mixed-race identity, grief, language, heritage, and belonging. The conversation traces her family’s history, her upbringing in Oregon, and the experiences that shaped her understanding of herself and her place between cultures.   Michelle recounts discovering a diary w...

“Family to me is the feeling of safety without even understanding the concept.” In this episode of  Identified , Nabil Ayers sits down with Bedouine for a conversation about family, heritage, migration, and belonging. As they begin tracing her family’s history, Bedouine uncovers new details about her Armenian roots, including stories she had only learned days before the inte...

In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with Show Me the Body's Julian Pratt to explore the people, communities, and experiences that shaped his identity. Growing up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Julian was surrounded by family. With twin mothers, a sprawling network of cousins, and a household full of music, conversation, and chaos, belonging was never in short supply. But de...

In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with bestselling author and literary agent Betsy Lerner to explore identity, family history, and the complicated path to becoming a writer. Betsy reflects on her upbringing, the influence of her family, and how personal experiences eventually shaped both her writing and her career in publishing. Known for her work as a literary agent as well as...

Have you ever found community through your art? In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with musician Ryan Kattner to talk about growing up in an Air Force family, moving every three years, and never quite feeling rooted in one place. Ryan reflects on being mixed race, with a Filipino mother and a white father, and how navigating different cultural spaces shaped his sense of identity....

How much of who we are is shaped before we ever have a say? In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with musician Damon McMahon, formally Amen Dunes, to explore how family history, inherited trauma, and cultural identity shape who we become. Damon reflects on growing up between two very different worlds: his mother’s side of European Jewish Holocaust survival and his father&rsqu...

What does it mean to raise yourself across cultures—and carry tradition forward through food? In this episode of Identified, chef and author Camille Becerra sits down with host Nabil Ayers for a heartfelt conversation about family, identity, and the life-shaping power of memory. Born in Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban father, Camille moved to New Jersey at just one year old an...

Is Blood Really Family? In this episode of Identified, host Nabil Ayers sits down with Traci Thomas, creator and host of The Stacks Podcast, to explore the deeply personal terrain of identity, family, and legacy. Traci opens up about growing up mixed-race with older parents, navigating loss at a young age, and the impact of her Black and Jewish heritage on how she views belonging. Their conversati...

In this episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers is joined by acclaimed comedian, actor, and musician Tim Heidecker for an unexpectedly candid conversation about ancestry, grief, and identity. Tim traces the impact of family tragedy across generations—from the death of his grandfather’s mother in childbirth, to the sudden loss of a sibling in his father’s childhood, and how that casca...

What if your most formative identity traits come from people you didn’t grow up with? In this powerful episode of Identified , rapper and queer icon Cakes Da Killa reflects on growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey, raised by his teenage mother and grandmother. He shares openly about the complexities of reconciling with an absent father, discovering inherited traits in unexpected family members,...

In this episode of Identified , host Nabil Ayers speaks with  Bandsplain host Yasi Salek , who shares a moving, honest account of growing up Iranian-American in 1980s Los Angeles. Yasi discusses her family’s immigration story post-Iranian revolution, her experience being the “other” in a predominantly white community, and the identity conflict that shaped her early life &mda...

In this episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers speaks with Massima Bell —music producer, model, activist, and co-creator of Transa—about her journey through gender, place, and chosen family. Massima grew up between two vastly different worlds: a 100-year-old farmhouse in rural Iowa and a life on the move with her mother, a PhD who brought her to urban and suburban spaces from Maryland to...

In this episode of  Identified , host  Nabil Ayers  is joined by  Jad Abumrad —artist, musician, journalist, and creator of  Radiolab ,  Dolly Parton’s America ,  More Perfect , and  Fela Kuti: Fear No Man —for a conversation about grief, family history, and what it means to belong to a culture you weren’t fully given. Jad shares stor...

Nabil Ayers is joined by writer  Casey Kahn , who opens up about her personal journey through adoption, identity, and ancestry. Casey was adopted at two days old, raised by a deeply loving family in a tight-knit home—but everything changed when she had her own children and began searching for answers about her origins. With the help of 23andMe , private investigators, and a handful of u...

In this deeply personal episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers is joined by Dani Shapiro , the bestselling author and host of the podcast Family Secrets . Dani shares the stunning revelation that changed her life: learning through a DNA test that the man who raised her was not her biological father. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish family with deep cultural and religious roots, Dani takes us through...

In this episode of  Identified , Nabil Ayers is joined by  Devi Mambouka , the artist and producer behind  Masma Dream World , for a reflective conversation on  ancestry, spirituality, and chosen family . Born in Gabon and raised by her mother’s  Bengali side of the family, Devi opens up about the early disconnection from her father’s culture and how she set on...

In this episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers sits down with David Cross — Emmy-winning comedian, writer, and actor , best known for Mr. Show with Bob and David , Arrested Development , and The Ben Stiller Show . Over the course of his career, David has earned multiple Emmy and Grammy nominations and shared three SAG Award nominations for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Behind his sha...

In this episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers talks with Youngmi Mayer —comedian, author, and host of the acclaimed Feeling Asian podcast—about growing up biracial in South Korea, the long shadow of generational trauma, and the unresolvable contradictions that shape our identities. Youngmi, who was born in Korea to a Korean mother and white American father, opens up about the deep stigma...

In this standout episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers sits down with EGOT-winning artist, activist, and cultural icon John Legend to talk about family, race, ancestry, and the stories that shape who we are. John opens up about growing up in a tightly knit Black church community in Ohio, being surrounded by music, and taking piano lessons from age four—learning gospel by ear from his grandmoth...

In this episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers is joined by Laura Lee, founding member and bassist of the globally acclaimed band Khruangbin, for a vulnerable and wide-ranging conversation about family, ancestry, identity—and what it means to raise a child while on tour. Laura shares the emotional story of her parents’ abrupt separation when she was just six years old, a rupture that left...

In this episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers sits down with acclaimed artist, author, and entrepreneur, Chase Jarvis, for a candid and deeply reflective conversation about family, memory, and the evolving nature of connection. Chase talks about growing up as an only child in a tightly knit but unusually small family—no cousins, no siblings, and early exposure to adult conversations. He reflec...

In this profoundly personal episode of Identified , Nabil Ayers speaks with musician, actor, and visual artist Tunde Adebimpe —best known as a founding member of TV on the Radio—about identity, ancestry, and surviving deep personal loss. Tunde traces his journey from growing up between Pittsburgh and Nigeria, through his family’s expectations, to building an unconventional artist...