Notes from America with Kai Wright

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 c

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

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 h

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. If you live outside of NY and NJ, visit vote.org for information about how you

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. R

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

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 questi

“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 afte

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 e

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