Notes from America with Kai Wright

At the height of the election season last September, Hillary Clinton called Donald Trump’s supporters a “basket of deplorables.”  The comments spread like wildfire, and the next day, Clinton walked them back.  Yet the sentiment that a new movement of white nationalists was growing is true. Kai Wright takes a look at the so-called “basket of deplorables” and the alt-right movement that has emerged...

The culture wars of the Boomer generation still shape our politics today. In this episode  we look at those culture wars from another vantage point. Instead of focusing on the debates themselves, we ask the question: How do people move from radical politics to political violence? On June 7, 1970 the group of young radical leftists known as the Weathermen, accidentally detonated bombs in a Greenwic...

In the 1920s, composer Aaron Copland took off for Paris. His search for a uniquely American classical music resulted in some of the most familiar and patriotic music of the 20th Century — including his famous piece, "Fanfare for the Common Man." WNYC's  Sara Fishko  (" Fishko Files ") follows Copland’s story through the 1930s and '40s in America, when the Great Depression, the rise of Fascism and...

During the last election, when asked his opinion about experts and intellectuals, Trump supporter Fiore Napolitano voiced a fairly common sentiment from his cohort, "I've got more brains in my little thumb." That made us wonder whether hostility to intellect is an underestimated feature of American politics, which prompted us to formulate some questions. What's up, America? Why the qualms about er...

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 started with a substitute teacher in Tennessee who believed that evolution should be taught in the classroom. What followed was a fiery debate that rocketed around the world. Th...

The city of Olathe, Kansas, has been shaken since February when a man gunned down two Indian immigrants in a bar there. Witnesses say the shooter yelled,  “Go back to your country! ” It was the first hate-crime killing after the 2016 presidential election. WNYC’s Arun Venugopal traveled to Kansas to speak with members of the Indian community about how they’re dealing with the deaths, and with thei...

The United States of Anxiety: Culture Wars introduces you to people who have been battling to shape America’s political culture for decades. We profile culture warriors, past and present, who have influenced debates over race, religion, science, sexuality, gender and more. We connect those debates to real people, with real stakes in the outcome. We’re filling in the blanks – aiming to answer quest...

With  The United States of Anxiety , WNYC Studios and  The Nation  brought forth the ideas and concerns that made up part of the coalition bringing President-elect Donald Trump from his midtown Manhattan But with Hillary Clinton besting the President-elect in the popular vote by  over one million votes  to date, and protests of "Not My President" erupting  across the country , it remains a questio...

In 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain  dubbed  then-Senator Obama the "biggest celebrity in the world" in a scathing campaign commercial. But after this most recent election, it seemed like America had moved beyond mere fame and instead was on the path to elect which candidate would serve best as  Entertainer-in-Chief .This notion of campaigning for the Political People's Choice A...

Whether you prefer dark meat, white meat, Tofurky or just mashed potatoes, most Americans can agree that the 2016 presidential election was contentious. With neither candidate managing to garner  50-percent of the vote  and in a world of  charged media outlets , families coming together for Thanksgiving Dinner face the likely prospect of heated political conversation landing on their holiday platt...

About the show: In a Presidential election cycle big on negativity and short on discussion of issues, anxiety is proving to be a dominant theme -- over the economy, national security, and indeed, what it means to be an American in the 21st century. This podcast brings the voices of people trying to hold on to their piece of the American Dream and others who are looking to build one. The  United St...

This election, tweet-storms and email servers were more prominent than stump speeches and policy papers. Manoush Zomorodi, host of WNYC's  Note to Self , looks at how technology shaped our politics, and where the tech world might go under President Trump.  About the show: In a Presidential election cycle big on negativity and short on discussion of issues, anxiety is proving to be a dominant theme...

Throughout  The United States of Anxiety , Long Island-resident Patty Dwyer acted as a gateway to the  perspectives of individuals  forming the wave that swept Donald Trump from New York billionaire to President-elect. And with  exit polling  suggesting that Democratic nominee-Hillary Clinton gained the support of only 54-percent of women voters, it appears that gender in the voting booth was not...

In this election cycle, anxiety emerged as a dominant theme for voters across the political spectrum.  This is where  The United States of Anxiety   began --documenting the experiences and perspectives which informed voters as they selected their candidate for President of the United States and caused them to grapple with the idea of their lives if the other side prevailed. But following a campaig...

So, here we are. The race is over and Donald Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States. WNYC Studios and  The Nation  take the temperature of the country following the unprecedented election of a consummate political outsider. WNYC’s Arun Venugopal checks-in with Trump supporter Patty Dwyer and gauges her reaction on a come-from-behind political victory that shook the world. T...

This election certainly feels stressful. As Amanda Aronczyk from WNYC's Only Human podcast told us in Episode 7, it's possible to measure the election's effect on us biologically. This bonus episode explains more about the experiment the Only Human team did.  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...

Stress is a part of everyday life. But in this election filled with bombast, 24-hour news coverage, and October Surprises emerging at nearly every turn, the road to November 8th often appears overwhelming. Join WNYC Studios and The Nation  as we explore the burgeoning field of biopolitics and uncover how our bodies respond to 2016’s political circus. WNYC’s Amanda Aronczyk sits down with neuroscie...

Gang violence and a drug epidemic might not be the first things one thinks about when they picture the American suburbs, but they have become prominent facts of life for many residents in Suffolk County, Long Island. In fact, the leafy New York suburb led the Empire State in heroin and opioid overdose deaths in 2014.  WNYC Studios and The Nation  set out to understand how these problems emerged in...

Once again, race has become a central issue in a presidential campaign. But this time, it's not all about people of color. It's also about  white  Americans, and what  their  place is in 21st century America. This week, WNYC Studios and The Nation  examine the history of what it means and has meant to be white in the United States of America. WNYC’s Jim O’Grady accompanies journalist Chris Arnade...

So how did we get to this point? Where a nominee for a major party has been heard bragging about assaulting women. The United States of Anxiety has been listening carefully to Trump supporters in an effort to understand this election season. This week, WNYC Studios and  The Nation  turn once again to Patty Dwyer. We then go down the rabbit hole with WNYC reporter Matt Katz and take a look at the m...

Tom McCarthy, a retired NYPD detective and lifelong Long Island resident, has spent much of his adult life straddling two very different worlds. Each day he would leave the calm of his suburban community to patrol the notorious Queensbridge housing projects. This was in 1989, at the height of the crack epidemic, and what Tom saw in New York's public housing felt worlds away from his suburban Eden....

The idea of an idyllic 'suburbia' has been a touchstone along the cultural landscape of America for over 70 years. From Norman Rockwell's 1943  Freedom from Want  to the printed pages of  Martha Stewart's Living,  the trimmed hedges, white picket fences and—most importantly—families who live behind them, have become the consummate symbol encapsulating the American Dream. For Patty Dwyer's mother —...

For many voters, this election is not simply about deciding the next President of the United States, or even setting the landscape of national politics. Instead, it serves as a referendum on what it means to be innately American. Join WNYC Studios and  The Nation  as we travel to East Long Island to embark on a new journey beyond the constant churn of daily headlines. There we will begin the journ...

About the show: In a Presidential election cycle big on negativity and short on discussion of issues, anxiety is proving to be a dominant theme -- over the economy, national security, and indeed, what it means to be an American in the 21st century. This podcast brings the voices of people trying to hold on to their piece of the American Dream and others who are looking to build one. The  United St...