Notes from America with Kai Wright

And what MLK’s uniquely Black theology can teach us about the relationship between faith and politics in 2021. Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, dean of the   Howard University School of Divinity   and author of the forthcoming book “In My Grandmother's House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit,” walks Kai through the history of the Black Church and Dr. King’s place in its evolution. And Rev. D...

January 6, 2021, offered a hyper-condensed version of our country’s entire political history--with all of its complexity, inspiration, and terror. In a special national radio broadcast of our show, we walk through a day that began with the historic election of a Black man and ended with a horrifying insurrection led by white nationalists. Newly elected Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) explains why he’s i...

An odd racial pecking order puts Indian Americans in a curious place -- outside of whiteness, but distinct from other people of color. How’d that come to be? And is it changing? We explore these questions by revisiting a story from   Arun Venugopal , senior reporter with WNYC’s Race & Justice Unit, about how a Kansan community grappled with one of the first widely reported hate crimes following th...

A first draft of history for 2020, told through three very personal efforts to find -- and keep -- human connection amid a pandemic.  We hear from 13-year-old Adiva Kaisary about how 2020 has complicated her relationships with her school friends and new neighborhood. Producer Veralyn Williams brings us a story from WNYC’s own reporter Cindy Rodriguez who faced COVID-19 head-on this year - while li...

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. Ari Berman ,   senior reporter at Mother Jones and author of “ Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America ” (2016),   joins us to explain the history of runoff elections in Georgia -- and to talk about what migh...

Two Black physicians describe the racist history the medical world carries into the COVID-19 vaccine rollout -- and answer listeners’ questions about why we should still get vaccinated.  A recent   Pew Research Center survey , among others, revealed that Black Americans are by far the most likely to know someone who’s been hospitalized or killed by COVID-19. It also found Black people are most rel...

The HIV epidemic is nearly 40 years old. So what can we learn from that pandemic, as we approach a year of living with COVID-19? When COVID-19 overwhelmed New York City this spring, our executive producer 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 epis...

A family’s legend about "40 acres and a mule” takes host Kai Wright on a fact checking mission to the Mississippi Delta. He finds an unexpected solution to wealth inequality in the U.S. We first told the Lester family’s story in February, when we began exploring the unfinished business of Reconstruction. Now, as the country transitions out of the chaos of the Trump administration, we revisit the s...

White supremacist myths turn defeated leaders into heroic victors. Will Donald Trump now get the same transfiguration as Robert E. Lee? If history is our guide -- as it often is on this show -- then there’s reason to worry about the answer to that question. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian   Dr. David Blight   (Sterling Professor of History at Yale University and the author of " Frederick Douglass...

Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry joins Kai to discuss all of our complex feelings as Donald Trump’s presidency comes to an end. More people voted in this presidential election than ever. But did it resolve anything? Are we any closer to being a truly multiracial democracy? And how do we feel about the United States and our place in it -- after all that has happened? Listeners call in to answer these quest...

Radical imagination is now essential. What can we imagine for our country, our communities, and ourselves beyond this election, and beyond this pandemic? In this episode, we face our fears and dream big. Help us make a time capsule of our imaginations. Record a voice memo with your wildest dreams about the future, and send it to anxiety@wnyc.org.  Plus,   Ashley C. Ford , writer and co-host of the...

Trump, Inc. co-host Andrea Bernstein sits down with Kai Wright,  to discuss how American history informs the 2020 election. The conversation, called   "Who Matters in America 2020?,"  was part of Reporter's Notebook series at   The Greene Space . Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter) . Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on y...

Voting is a hallmark of our democracy, but it is not guaranteed for any American citizen. Visit WNYC/ Gothamist’s “ 2020 Voter Guide For New York And New Jersey ” to make a plan and if you live outside of NY and NJ, visit  vote.org  for information about how you can safely vote this year. This week, Senior editor   Christopher Werth   brings us a story about the not-so-secret legal crusade against...

With almost two weeks left until Election Day, Charlie Sykes, founder and editor-at-large of The Bulwark , joins us for a conversation about Republican party politics over the last 50 years, the Trump effect, the dramatic fight for the Supreme Court and how we all may move forward in the days, months and years following November 3rd. Conservative listeners grappling with their political identity a...

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...

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 circums...

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 o ur 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 produce...

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...

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...

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 an...

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-...

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-res...

Do you have a story about something you’ve endured for racial justice? Producer   Veralyn Williams   tells us her story and w e wanna hear YOUR version ! H ow 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 anxiety@wnyc.org. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Inst...

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...

Do you consider yourself part of the Democratic Party? We want to hear from you! Tell us what the Democratic Party can do for YOU, in YOUR life?  Record a voice memo and send it to us at   anxiety@wnyc.org .  Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter) . Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record o...