Notes from America with Kai Wright is a show about the unfinished business of our history, and its grip on our future.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anxiety
Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 9 days 15 hours 12 minutes
When Chicago Closed 50 Public Schools at Once
In 2013 Chicago shut down 50 public schools – the largest mass closing in U.S. history. The city promised a chance to revitalize communities. 10 years later, it’s another reality. We speak with Sarah Karp from WBEZ and Lauren FitzPatrick from the Chicago Sun Times about their recent reporting story. Tell us what you think. Instagram and X (Twitter): @noteswithkai. Email us at notes@wnyc.org...
Public School’s Failing Prospects
“The Death of Public School” author Cara Fitzpatrick tells the story of a movement, six decades in the making, that’s picked away at the very idea of public education in the U.S. Listeners from Chicago and Jersey City, including a teacher, call in with their own perspectives about the state of our schools. Tell us what you think. Instagram and X (Twitter): @noteswithkai. Email us at notes@wnyc.org...
When Hip Hop Tried to Fight the Power, and Lost
As hip hop turns 50, Kai and reporter Christopher Johnson look back on an era of “conscious rap” that championed a sound that was political, community-minded and deeply pro-Black. But about six years after it started, that first wave of socially-conscious hip hop seemed to be over...
The Blurry Line Between Appropriation And Appreciation
This summer, producer Regina de Heer explored diaspora stories through the lens of music. In this installment, she meets someone whose identity is more complex than what we hear in the mainstream: Nodia Mena is a former Lecturer of Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She gave a TEDx talk a few years ago about her background as a Garifuna person born in Honduras, now living in the United States...
Republican Debate No. 1: How Do You Limit Demagogues?
Vivek Ramaswamy labeled Trump the best president of the 21st century. Chris Christie compared Ramaswamy to ChatGPT. Conservative callers share their reflections on the first Republican presidential debate, and Mona Charen from The Bulwark breaks down why having just 12 minutes of airtime can encourage bad behavior. Send us your song for our summer playlist! What’s a song that represents your personal diaspora story? Go to notesfromamerica...
Trump’s Indictment: Georgia’s Crucial Voters Respond
As former President Trump is indicted in an alleged conspiracy to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election in Georgia, we wonder what’s on the mind of folks in Georgia right now. In partnership with our friends at WABE in Atlanta, we welcome Rose Scott, host of WABE’s daily news magazine Closer Look. We hear from listeners across the state about how these racketeering charges sit with them ahead of the upcoming 2024 presidential election...
The Music of Your Diaspora
Producer Regina de Heer is asking listeners for songs that represent something about their identity as part of a diaspora – any kind of diaspora! And you’ve been answering. In this installment, we hear Brazilian Calypso, a modern take on a Yiddish classic by the Andrews Sisters, and get a special submission from one of our favorite show guests. And you can hear the playlists now at WNYC.org/playlist...
Doom. Denial. ‘Hopium.’ What About Climate Action?
Kai talks with Rikki Held, the 22-year-old lead plaintiff in Held v. Montana, a lawsuit brought by the group Our Children’s Trust. Held and her co-plaintiffs won an historic victory recently when a court ruled that the state violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment.” Then, author and activist Liza Featherstone shares insight from her essay “The Case Against Both Climate Hope and Climate Despair,” in The New Republic...
The Planet Sent a Bill. Here’s What We Owe.
David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming calculated the cost to fix our climate. It requires us to reconsider what needs to change and who’s responsible. He talks to Kai about some of the ways we can rethink the history of climate change and one way forward. Send us your song for our summer playlist! What’s a song that represents your personal diaspora story? Go to notesfromamerica.org and click on the “RECORD” button to leave a voice note with your answer...
The Radical Roots of Plant-Based Eating
Producer Rahima Nasa wants to know about the roots of plant-based eating. So she talks to writer and cook Alicia Kennedy, author of No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating. If not eating meat is not enough, then what is? Send us your song for our summer playlist! What’s a song that represents your personal diaspora story? Go to notesfromamerica.org and click on the “RECORD” button to leave a voice note with your answer...