A history of anti-Black fear has left everyone unsafe in a nation full of anxious gun owners. 

There are more guns than there are people in the U.S., and a lot of people seem to be afraid. According to historian and Emory University African American studies professor Carol Anderson, our nation’s history with guns is directly related to its legacy of anti-Black racism. She explains this history in her 2021 book, “The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America.” 

Anderson joins host Kai Wright to discuss the state of gun violence today and the role that race and fear have played. They hear from both pro and anti-gun listeners about fear and choice as they respond to gun violence in this country. 

Then, producer Rahima Nasa returns to reflect on her Ramadan celebration. She joins Kai to open our listener mailbag and hear voicemails responding to our recent episodes. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

Grieving Loss From Gun Violence (4/6/2023)

Two mothers lost their daughters to gun violence but received disparate levels of attention. Now, they’re using their stories – and their grief – to inspire others.

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

Filmmaker Lisa Cortés tells the inspiring and painful story of the Black, queer inventor of rock and roll–Little Richard.

Richard Wayne Penniman launched rock and roll into pop culture and wrote a new set of rules for what it meant to be free as an American, but his own freedom is a much more complicated story. Filmmaker Lisa Cortés set out to capture his tale in her new documentary, Little Richard: I Am Everything. She joins host Kai Wright to discuss the inspiration behind the film and how the artist reached global stardom. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

Billy Porter on Bringing Blackness, Queerness and Fullness to Art (12/19/2022)

What does a next-level victory look like for an Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner? For actor Billy Porter - it’s an authentic sense of self.

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

In a world that feels divided, two storytellers invite people to share what shapes their politics through poetry, using the prompt “Where I’m From.”

Host Kai Wright–inspired by a listener voicemail–considers poetry as a potential vehicle for facilitating challenging conversations. He’s joined by poet and filmmaker Bob Holman, owner of the Bowery Poetry Club and original slam master of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and Steve Zeitlin, author of “The Poetry of Everyday Life: Storytelling and the Art of Awareness” and founding director of the grassroots cultural preservation organization CityLore. 

Holman and Zeitlin run a project called Across the Great Divide, which asks people to write poems using the prompt “Where I’m from,” to promote communication and positive social change. They unpack some submissions from the project and turn the prompt to callers as they respond to poems live. 

You can learn more about Across the Great Divide and how to submit a poem here. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

Living With And Learning From Estrangement (1/23/2023)

Estrangement isn’t linear. For those who have severed ties or been cut off, it can be necessary, empowering, devastating and confounding—all at once. 

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

On the 55th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, one journalist examines the 1968 Holy Week which he calls one of the most consequential weeks in U.S. history. 

Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was buried on April 9, during what's commonly called Holy Week. In the runup to Easter Sunday and nothing about life in America would be the same after that week. 

Vann R. Newkirk II is a writer for The Atlantic and host of the new podcast “Holy Week: The Story of a Revolution Undone,” which charts the reaction to King's death in cities around the country. Newkirk joins host Kai Wright to share stories from Holy Week and the events that laid the foundation of urban politics for the next 50-plus years. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

The Legacy of MLK Jr. Is To Be Young, Gifted and Black (1/26/2023)

How does Martin Luther King Jr.’s generation of young, gifted, and Black people inspire today’s changemakers and their ideas for how to achieve racial justice?

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

Brandon Johnson's mayoral election could change the national conversation about crime, schools -- and an aging Black establishment in big city politics.

Chicago’s recent mayoral election saw two Democratic candidates–Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas–fight for their very different visions of how the windy city should be run. The race centered debates on crime and schools, issues with inevitable implications on race and class. Chicago-native Natalie Moore, WBEZ’s reporter for race, class and communities, joins host Kai Wright to discuss this election’s significance, and how it reminds her of Harold Washington’s historic election in 1983. 

Then, Kai explores parallels in Democrat-dominated mayoral races from New York and Los Angeles with Christina Greer, professor of political science and American studies at Fordham University.  

Companion listening for this episode: 

Black Georgians Are Leading the Charge to the Polls (10/17/2022)

Young Black voters are the key to changing the politics of Georgia. What can the rest of the country learn from the civic engagement in that state?

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

A recent mass shooting at a school in Nashville added to the toll of death and injuries from the nation’s gun violence crisis. A reporter wonders if we’re grieving properly – or at all.

Two mothers lost their daughters to gun violence but received disparate levels of attention. Now, they’re using their stories – and their grief – to inspire others. WNYC correspondent Tracie Hunte introduces host Kai Wright to Nelba Márquez-Greene and Celeste Fulcher, whose stories of loss teach us about the exacting toll of gun violence, and the power grief yields to stir change and progress.

This episode was originally published as ‘How Are We Grieving?’ on July 28, 2022. Listen to more episodes here. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

Monterey Park: The Making of America’s First Suburban Chinatown (1/26/2023)

A mass shooting in Monterey Park, California – on the eve of Lunar New Year – sent shockwaves through the predominantly Asian American ethnoburb and the Asian American community nationwide.

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

In Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, one writer sees a model for amassing obscene wealth, pioneered in 19th century California, finally nearing its limits. 

Silicon Valley is notorious in the global economy and the American psyche. According to author Malcolm Harris, the Bay Area tech hub and California at large are a laboratory for the worst consequences of capitalism–centuries in the making. Harris unpacks this theory in his book “Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World.” He joins host Kai Wright to dig into the global history of Silicon Valley and his upbringing in the region. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

The Future of Work As We Know It (1/9/2023)

The Great Resignation. Quiet quitting. These concepts allegedly defined the way we worked last year. Will anything change in 2023?

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

White supremacist myths turn defeated leaders into heroic victors. Are Donald Trump and the MAGA movement the next Lost cause? 

Donald Trump is the lead contender for the Republican nomination for President once again. And with pending indictment looming in the headlines, the opportunity arises for the former president to yet again, control the narrative of his defeat.

If we turn to history, we’ll see that this story isn’t unfamiliar. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Dr. David Blight, author of "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom," joins host Kai Wright to tell the story of the Confederacy’s Lost Cause mythology–how it was created, why it still matters today, and how similar it may feel to the narrative of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. Plus, we open our pre-election time capsule and hear from listeners about their wildest dreams for the future of the country and themselves.

This episode was originally published as ‘MAGA, the New Confederate Lost Cause’ on November 16, 2020. Listen to more episodes here. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

American Political Myths Have Consequences For Us All (2/9/2023)

From the “Southern Strategy” to the civil rights movement, we’re surfacing what is true about our nation’s past, and what is propaganda masquerading as history.

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

Ramadan Mubarak! We check in with people of the Muslim community, their intentions, traditions and plans for making the most of this holy month. 

Ramadan has begun, which means that close to two billion people worldwide will be abstaining from food and water from sunrise to sunset. But Ramadan is about much more than fasting. It is one of the most sacred periods for Muslims. The vastly diverse global community of Muslims spends the month of Ramadan exploring the deeper and personal meaning of their faith. It is also a time for the community to practice generosity–to themselves and others. 

To celebrate and learn more about this holiday, host Kai Wright speaks to Ahmed Ali Akbar, a James Beard award-winning writer and the host of the Crooked Media podcast Radiolingo. Akbar is also the creator and host of See Something Say Something, a podcast focused on the Muslim American experience. Together, they explore how Ramadan celebrations can evolve over time and take calls from listeners who are celebrating. 

We also hear from producer Rahima Nasa about her plans for Ramadan from trying new recipes to learning about different Islamic cultures. You can follow her celebration on our Instagram @noteswithkai. She’ll be posting weekly throughout the month. 

 Companion listening for this episode: 

 Face the Darkness, Welcome the Light (12/20/2021)

 Do you need a revival?  On the longest night of the year, join us to celebrate Yalda, a poetic Persian tradition. 

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.

Some believe that the religious right’s roots begin with Roe v. Wade. But there was an earlier court decision about the rights of segregated schools that first mobilized them.

The recent surge in anti-trans legislation nationwide sparked a conversation on our show, about how the religious right has worked to deny the rights and existence of LGBT people for decades. This movement dates back to the early 1970s; to trace its history, producer Jessica Miller visits Mississippi and follows the bitter fight against a religious freedom bill passed in 2017 called HB 1523. The bill states that people who don’t believe in LGBT rights can’t be forced to abide by new civil rights protections. A group of civil rights advocates sued the state in response, and the ensuing debate revealed the real history behind all of the religious right's arguments today. 

This episode was originally published as ‘In Jesus' Name... We Legislate’ on June 13, 2017. Listen to more episodes here. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

Church, State and the Soul of Our Nation (10/10/2022)

Christian nationalism – the push to have laws, policies and social norms reflect Christian values –  is a growing movement in the U.S. As its rise continues to influence contemporary politics, how should we consider and prepare for its impact on our government? 

“Notes from America” 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 notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org.