Notes from America with Kai Wright

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?  Kai talks with three change-makers about the role of government in our lives. Activist Mari Copeny a.k.a. “Little Miss Flint” recounts how a letter that she sent as an elementary school student brought national attention to a public health crisis in her backyard - and inspired her to continue giving back to her community, speaking out and holding her government accountable. Anand Giridharadas, author of Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World (2018), explores Reaganism, the possibilities of the Biden presidency, and challenges the idea that the country’s biggest problems are best solved by turning to the leadership of the super wealthy -- as philanthropists and innovators, presidents and mayors. And Senator Liz Krueger (D-28), chair of the New York State Senate’s Finance Committee, joins to talk about the proposed $212 Billion dollar state budget deal and the monumental tax increase -- on New York’s wealthiest -- that echoes cries to “tax the rich”. Companion listening for this episode: “A Secret Meeting in South Bend” (2/27/20) Descendants of the Great Migration in South Bend, Indiana, tell their family stories of housing in the “heartland,” and inequity in home ownership today. “One Family’s Land of Opportunity” (11/30/20) A family’s legend about "40 acres and a mule” takes Kai on a fact checking mission to the Mississippi Delta. He finds an unexpected solution to wealth inequality in the U.S.  “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.

A gun-toting Black Power advocate was made principal of a Marin County, California school during efforts to desegregate 50 years ago. As they try again, we recount his radical legacy. As the Sausalito Marin City School District continues to grapple with school desegregation, Reporter Marianne McCune brings us the sequel -- and the prequel -- to “Two Schools in Marin County”. She takes us back in time to witness how one of the first communities in the country to voluntarily desegregate took an unapologetically Black approach to better educate all students and the lessons that resonate as they push for change today. Special thanks to David Duncan, a PhD student in history at UC Santa Cruz looking at school desegregation in the Bay Area, and to many other Sausalito and Marin City residents, past and present, who shared their memories for this story. Companion listening for this episode: “Two Schools in Marin County” (2/6/2020) In the classrooms and town meetings of Marin, California we witness a community grappling with what desegregation and reparations might look like in the 21st century. “Actor Daniel Kaluuya’s Road to Revolutionary” (3/4/21) Kai talks to the “Judas and the Black Messiah” star about his award-winning portrayal of Fred Hampton and the legacy of the Black Panther Party. “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.

Andrew Cuomo’s just the latest. Why is masculinity so often conflated with domination? And how do we separate the two? Kai turns to a historian and to a novelist for answers.  Linda Hirschman, author of Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment, tells the story of how a small group of women in a room in Ithaca, New York, came up with two words that attempted to change the law, and the workplace, forever. But as you'll hear, victory really has a thousand mothers. Many of the social movements against sexual harassment and assault, including #MeToo, have been pioneered by Black women like Carmita Wood and Tarana Burke, but violence against Black women is often overshadowed or missing from conversations. Kiese Laymon, author of the essay collection How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America and the forthcoming re-release of Long Division, talks to Kai about the role of masculinity in this violence through his own journey to manhood -- what he has learned, had to unlearn, and how he and Kai are both still wrestling with it. Companion listening for this episode: The 'Indoor Man' and His Playmates (10/2/2018) Playboy wasn’t just about the pictures. Hugh Hefner’s magazine helped create a new ideal for the so-called alpha male -- built on the notion that women were there for the taking. The Dream Was Not Mine (9/17/2018) Jennifer Willoughby and Saily Avelenda each woke up one day wanting to make a change. They ended up toppling two political giants. “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.

We’ve been here before: A time of national stress, Asian Americans made into scapegoats, and violence follows. The community saw it coming. So why didn’t everybody else? A mass shooting in Atlanta follows a year of warnings from Asian Americans who have said they do not feel safe. But the violence has forced to the surface old questions about where Asian Americans sit in our nation’s maddening racial caste system, and community leaders have struggled to get people across the political and racial spectrum to take the moment seriously.  Helen Zia, activist and author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People and other books about the Asian American community, was spokesperson for the Justice for Vincent Chen campaign in the early 1980s. She tells the story of that era’s scapegoating of Asian Americans, and draws a line all the way back to the 18th Century. And Arun Venugopal, senior reporter in WNYC’s Race and Justice Unit, shares his reporting on the community in New York City, which has emerged as an epicenter of day to day reports of harassment and violence.  Companion listening for this episode: The (Un)Making of a ‘Model Minority’ (1/4/21) 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? 'Community' Is a Verb. And It’s Hard (6/12/20) Racism is not a Black and white challenge; communities of color are often pitted against one another. A story from Chicago about how the pandemic challenged, and strengthened inter-community alliances. Plus, a dispatch from one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the country, where the community has had to fend for itself.  “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.

More than half a million Americans - our family, friends, neighbors, loved ones - have lost their lives to the virus over the past year and our collective grief continues to compound, but communities have come together in remarkable ways to take care of themselves. Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Gregory Porter checks in with us on the first anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic to talk about grieving his brother lost to the virus, the power of community, and finding encouragement through song. Activist Dean Spade, the author of “Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)” and Associate Professor at Seattle University School of Law, offers a primer on the political history of mutual aid and communal care-taking before taking listener calls. Companion listening for this episode: “What COVID Revealed” (COLLECTION) COVID-19 revealed hard truths about our society, but it could also force us to make new choices and transform our lives. “Rage, Grief, Joy” (6/18/20) Something has been pushed to the surface that can no longer be repressed. And it’s transforming everything— from what we tolerate politically to how we mourn those we’ve lost. “Lessons From a Year in Isolation” (12/28/20) A first draft of history for 2020, told through three very personal efforts to find -- and keep -- human connection amid a pandemic. “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.

As Amazon workers conclude a historic unionization drive, we consider the history of collective action -- and the struggle to shield our humanity from the demands of productivity.  Labor journalist and Type Media Center reporting fellow Sarah Jaffe breaks down the history of workplace organizing at Amazon and in the Black South. And she talks about her new book, “Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone,” as listeners chime in about their own experiences with collective action in the workplace.  Then adrienne maree brown - writer, activist and co-host of the How to Survive the End of the World and Octavia’s Parables - joined our reporter Jenny Casas to frame our conflicts - as individuals within a country battling with overlapping crises - through the lens of Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower,” a science fiction classic that experienced a surge in readership in 2020. Companion listening for this episode: “The Necessary Work” (9/7/2020) Public and care workers have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, but who takes care of them? We explore the histories, realities and hopes of these very essential workers. “‘Community’ is a Verb. And It’s Hard” (6/12/2020) People all over the country are stepping up to make change. But as they do, they face challenges that go beyond Covid-19 and police violence. Two stories, from Chicago and New York City. “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.

On December 4th of 1969, Fred Hampton -- the 21-year-old chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party -- was shot dead in his sleep during a raid by Chicago police, but decades of investigation into his death revealed an even more insidious plot.  Actor Daniel Kaluuya -- known for his roles in “Get Out” and “Queen & Slim” -- portrays Hampton in the new film, “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which follows Hampton’s meteoric rise through the party, a multiracial class movement and the series of betrayals that led to his untimely fall. Weeks before he won the Golden Globe award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture,” Kaluuya joined Kai to talk about preparing for the role, the legacy of the Black Panther Party and how Hampton’s revolutionary love for his community positioned him as "an enemy of the state." A special thanks to our friends at The New Yorker Radio Hour, and particularly KalaLea, who produced the initial version of this conversation. Companion listening for this episode: “How Politics Turns Violent” (5/30/2017)In this episode we look at the culture wars of the Boomer generation 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? “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.

A cop in Westchester, NY, was disturbed by what he saw as corruption. He started recording his colleagues -- and revealed how we’re all still living with the excess of the war on drugs. Following months of investigation into allegations of police corruption in Mount Vernon, reporter George Joseph of WNYC’s Race & Justice Unit brings us a story about unchecked power, policing in communities of color and our long national hangover from the war on drugs. Part of George Joseph’s story, “The Mount Vernon Police Tapes: At Least Seven Black Men Now Allege False Drug Charges Involving Controversial Detective,” was published via Gothamist last year and can be found here. Special thanks to Jami Floyd (the editor of WNYC’s Race and Justice Unit), Celia Muller and engineers Bill Moss and Wayne Schulmister. Companion listening for this episode: “The Drug War” (7/3/2017) We didn’t always respond to drug addiction with militarized policing. In this episode, a look back at the political and cultural shift Richard Nixon’s administration drove.   “Revisiting Caught: ‘I Just Want You to Come Home’” (7/30/2020) The first episode in our award-winning series “Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice,” created in partnership with WNYC’s Radio Rookies program. “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. 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.

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.  We reflect on the life, language and legacy of renowned writer Zora Neale Hurston with Bernice McFadden, a novelist and contributor to the new anthology, Four Hundred Souls: A Community History Of African America, 1619-2019. Producer Veralyn Williams then brings us a story about a deep division that continues to plague the Black community today, despite being a remnant of chattel slavery: colorism. Through a candid conversation with her sister who lives with vitiligo, she learns how one’s outlook on life and love of self changes when you’ve lived as both a lighter and darker-skinned woman. Companion listening for this episode: “The Origin Story of Black History Month” (02/01/2021) 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 ‘Beautiful Experiments’ Left Out of Black History” (02/08/2021) Cultural historian 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.  “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. 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.

People are excited to replace Andrew Jackson’s face with an abolitionist hero. But Brittney Cooper argues not all honorifics are the same. The Biden Treasury Department has announced that efforts to put abolitionist Harriet Tubman’s portrait -- in place of President Andrew Jackson -- on the face of the twenty dollar bill will resume. It represents an effort to celebrate her and “reflect the history and diversity of our country,” but some believe that this would do more harm than good. Dr. Brittney Cooper, a professor at Rutgers University and author of Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, discusses how Black people have long been reduced to symbol, the failings of representational politics, and ways that the nation can actually honor the life and legacy of the formerly enslaved pioneer.  Last month, she addressed the subject in “Putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill Is Not a Sign of Progress. It's a Sign of Disrespect” (TIME). Companion listening for this episode: “The Origin Story of Black History Month” (01/31/21) To launch our Future of Black History series, we turned our complex relationships with Black History Month to curiosity in order to uncover how a week-long celebration of Black Achievement became the month-long observance that we know today. “The Life and Work of Ida B. Wells” (05/08/20) We look back at the life of the oft-overlooked journalist and activist Ida B. Wells, whose intrepid reporting contributed to the fight for racial injustice in America. “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. 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.