Notes from America with Kai Wright

Latest Episodes:

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Haiti and International Aid Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

Haiti’s recent tragedies revive a conversation about disaster, aid, and how people recover. Then, a discussion about perspective on the 30th anniversary of the Crown Heights riots.

After a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti’s southwestern region, many of us were left wondering -- what does it mean to best support Haiti through disaster? And if the global community has donated so much humanitarian aid to prevent devastation, why does it keep happening? Is Haiti cursed?

Guest host Nadege Green confronts history, anti-blackness and the way forward with Dr. Marlene Daut, professor and Associate Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia. Listen as they explore the origins of Haiti’s image as a “cursed” country and how that image is rooted in anti-blackness.

Then, we turn to a conversation with playwright Anna Deveare Smith about the unrest that gripped Crown Heights, Brooklyn almost 30 years ago. How are social narratives shaped, and can we benefit from a shared one that celebrates difference?

Companion listening for this episode:

Collective Loss, Collective Care

We’re looking back at a year with Covid-19 to reflect on our tremendous losses and the remarkable ways communities have come together to take care of themselves.

Blackness (Un)interrupted

Our Future of Black History series concludes with conversations about self-expression. Because when you carry a collective history in your identity, it can be hard to find yourself.

“The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Affirmative Action: Truths and Lies Aug 16, 2021

Show notes

Originally Aired: 11/23/2020

“Reverse racism” has haunted the fight for job equity for generations. How’d this bizarre idea become such a bugbear? One Supreme Court case, 50 years ago helps explain.

This week, our reporter Marianne McCune tells the story of that case -- and its aftermath -- to help explain why the American workplace is still so segregated. It’s the story of an affirmative action program at an aluminum plant on the banks of the Mississippi River. Marianne introduces us to a Black family that finally found economic opportunity through the plant’s affirmative action program -- and to a white man who argued that the program violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and took his case all the way to the Supreme Court. The outcome will surprise you.

Companion listening from our archives: Two Schools In Marin County (02/06/2020) and A Secret Meeting in South Bend (02/27/2020)

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 one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

What the Olympics Taught Us About Us Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

If sports are a metaphor for life, what are they telling us about our society right now?

Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation, and author of ten books on the politics of sports, joins Kai to talk about the “Pandemic Games,” the peril of chasing perfection, and just how much has changed since the 2020 summer of activism in big league sports.

Plus, the hard conversation so many of us are avoiding: Executive producer Veralyn Williams gets advice from WNYC’s health and science editor Nsikan Akpan on how to talk with loved ones who refuse the Covid vaccine.

Companion listening for this episode:

Serving Up Social Justice (09/14/2020)

Despite empty stands, athletes are making waves across the sports industry speaking out against anti-black violence. Many Americans support, but not everyone is a fan.

What Covid Revealed

A curation of our episodes on the hard lessons of this pandemic -- and on the opportunities it offers for transforming our lives and our society.

“The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

‘Ethical People Can Be Effective’ Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

Remembering the life of Bob Moses, and his mission to build a more equitable America from the bottom up.

From teaching in New York City to registering Black voters in the 1960’s Mississippi, Moses was a measured man who believed leadership was about listening, not talking. Rutgers University Professor of African American Studies Charles M. Payne joins us to recap Moses' life’s work -- and his big ideas, from Freedom Summer to a radical education initiative that’s still used in schools today.

Companion listening for this episode:

The Origin Story of Black History Month (2/1/21)

We’ve got complicated relationships with this annual celebration -- from joy to frustration. So to launch our Future of Black History series, we ask how it began and what it can be.

The Short Life and Early Death of Voting Rights (7/12/20)

Birth, August 1965. Death, July 2021. So now what for multiracial democracy?

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

To Protect and Observe: A History Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

Today’s viral videos of police abuse have a long political lineage. But what if one of the oldest tools of copwatching is now taken away?

Ron Wilkins takes us back to 1966, in the wake of the Watts uprising, in which he joined an early cop watch program -- one that would inspire the likes of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

Then, reporter Jenny Casas introduces us to journalists and activists who have been using police scanners for decades to peek inside the infamously closed world of police departments. Many departments are now trying to end the practice. Special thanks to Andy Lanset and KQED for the archival tape.

And transformative justice organizer Ejeris Dixon, who is the Founding Director of Vision Change Win and editor of Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement, joins Kai to take calls about how communities can keep themselves safe without - and from - police intervention.

Companion listening for this episode:

Do We Need the Police at All? (April 26, 2021)

The answer isn’t simple, but it’s time to ask. Listeners weigh in with stories of their own efforts to solve problems with and without cops.

Collective Loss, Collective Care (March 15, 2021)

We’re looking back at a year with Covid-19 to reflect on our tremendous losses and the remarkable ways communities have come together to take care of themselves.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 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 American Story, in Half a Year Jul 19, 2021

Show notes

2021 began with an insurrection, and it’s remained quietly intense ever since. We open the phones for a six-month check in on the political culture of the Biden era.

Kai is joined by Christina Greer, Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, to unpack all that has — and hasn’t — happened this year. Did the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol really fail? What does the victory of Eric Adams in New York City say about the state of Black politics -- and the Democratic Party? And why the sudden uproar over “critical race theory”? Kai and Christina explore these questions while taking calls from listeners.

Companion listening for this episode:

The American Story, in a Single Day (January 11, 2021)

January 6, 2021, offered a hyper-condensed version of our country’s entire political history--with all of its complexity, inspiration, and terror.

David Dinkins vs. the NYPD (June 14, 2021)

How NYC’s first Black mayor tried to balance concerns about public safety with demands for a more accountable police force -- and the violent resistance he faced from the police union.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 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 Short Life and Early Death of Voting Rights Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

Birth, August 1965. Death, July 2021. So now what for multiracial democracy?

Mark Joseph Stern, who covers the Supreme Court for Slate, explains how the Roberts Court has rewritten the Voting Rights Act to render it a dead letter law. We explore what, if anything, can be done to revive it.

And Kai talks with Vann Newkirk II, a senior editor at The Atlantic, about a recent essay in which he tracks the legacy and impact of the Voting Rights Act alongside his family’s history in Mississippi. Influenced by his mother’s tenacity in exercising her right to vote, he reflects on her dedication to this civic duty and imagines how to preserve that access for the sake of a real democracy.

Companion listening for this episode:

A Zombie Political Party (Oct 19, 2020)

The Republican Party seems more interested in protecting minority rule, than winning elections. Kai talks with Charlie Sykes, founder and editor of The Bulwark, about his own journey away from the GOP, and the party’s journey away from democracy.

They’ve Never Wanted You to Vote (Oct 26, 2020)

From poll taxes to the canard of “voter fraud,” it’s always been a struggle to cast a ballot in America. We review the record, and investigate the anti-democracy enablers of 2020.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Can America Be Redeemed? Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

Eddie Glaude and Imani Perry consider the question through the work of James Baldwin and Richard Wright. Plus: How our country could enter a period of “post-traumatic growth.”

The two professors of African-American Studies at Princeton talk with each other about the impact of James Baldwin and Richard Wright’s work — on their own intellectuality and creativity, and that of the Black American zeitgeist at large and the harrowing relevance of their work as it echoes into the issues of today.

Later, a conversation with psychologist, minister and artist Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis as we prepare to navigate the traumas of this past year, and what it really takes to move forward individually, and as a whole.

And we offer our annual reading of Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, as performed by award-winning actor John Douglas Thompson.

Companion listening for this episode:

On This Occasion… (Series Collection)Some of our favorite shows come from holidays and commemorations that get us thinking about history -- and our places in it. Here’s a sampling.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

How the Right’s Anti-Trans Hate Machine Works Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

More than 100 anti-Trans bills have been introduced across 30 states since January. We find out what’s happening — both in the courts and in society — and what still needs to be done.

Executive Producer Veralyn Williams guest-hosts this week and is joined by journalist and media-maker Imara Jones of TransLash to discuss her work to elevate Trans stories and the inner workings of what she calls in her new podcast, The Anti Trans Hate Machine. Also, Veralyn and Imara breakdown why there is a lack of solidarity between Black cis and trans women.

Companion listening for this episode:

The ‘Beautiful Experiments’ Left Out of Black History (2/8/2021)Saidiya Hartman introduces Kai to the young women whose radical lives were obscured by respectability politics, in the second installment of our Future of Black History series.

These 'Witches' Are Empowering the Next Generation (6/2/2017)At a time when "traditional" values are making a comeback, a new radical group is forming around skateboarding and art, trying to disrupt the system and empower young people.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Why We Must Vote Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

New York City faces a consequential election. We look at the history of our local election laws. Plus, the mastermind behind new voting restrictions nationally.

Senior Reporter Arun Venugopal guest hosts and sits down with WNYC’s City Hall and Politics Reporter Brigid Bergin to discuss her reporting about voter turnout across New York City, the new ranked-choice voting system and how the history of the city’s political machines continue to impact the lives of New Yorkers today.

Then, Ari Berman, reporter at Mother Jones and author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, joins to talk about the coordinated attack on voting rights around the country and the forces that are determined to disenfranchise.

Election Day is Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021 and polls will be open from 6:00am to 9:00pm. You can find your poll site, track absentee ballots and more at vote.nyc.

Companion listening for this episode:

Government: A Love-Hate Story (4/12/2021)How did Americans come to think so poorly of government? And how did Joe Biden come to be the first modern president who’s even tried to change our minds?

“It’s My Party” (8/24/2020)For our first LIVE episode we take calls and reflect on last week’s Democratic National Convention by exploring what it means to be a member in a party divided.

BONUS: Juneteenth, an Unfinished Business (6/26/2020)As the nation grapples with a reckoning, we pause to celebrate Juneteenth. Our holiday special, for Black liberation and the ongoing birth of the United States.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email 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 one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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