Notes from America with Kai Wright

Former President Donald Trump has spent the last days of his 2024 campaign casting doubt on the U.S. election system, even taking the stage at a rally in Pennsylvania to say he “shouldn’t have left” the White House in 2020. The rhetoric and lies coming from the Trump campaign have also included a false narrative that non-U.S. citizens are voting illegally in large numbers, setting a stage to justify mass deportations or, if needed, declaring a stolen victory. To put it bluntly, there will likely be no simple resolution to the outcome of this election. Anne Applebaum, a staff writer for The Atlantic, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and co-host of the podcast Autocracy in America, joins host Kai Wright to discuss and dissect the ways the Trump campaign has laid the groundwork for distrust in the election results, no matter what they are. Plus, we hear from NBC News disinformation reporter Brandy Zadrozny about the spaces where these lies are spreading and how to weed through disinformation on Election Day and beyond. 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.

In the seventh episode of “Notes on a Native Son" our guest is writer, philologist and James Baldwin biographer David Leeming. In the biography, Leeming tells us that almost from the moment h e met Baldwin, he recognized that he was in the presence of a highly complex and driven individual, who was more intensely serious than anyone he had ever encountered. It was in 1961, during Leeming’s time as head of English at the Robert College in Istanbul, that he first met Baldwin. Over the years, Leeming worked as an assistant to Baldwin, who gave him permission to take care of his papers. He tells host Razia Iqbal that he was at the author’s side during some of Baldwn’s liveliest years. Leeming eventually became professor of English and comparative literature at the University of Connecticut. He has written several books on comparative literature and mythology, as well as a biography of the painter Beauford Delaney, who Baldwin regarded as his spiritual father. 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.

This presidential election is likely to be a squeaker, decided by a handful of votes in some key swing states. In this episode from our friends at the podcast Code Switch, we visit one of them — Michigan — in order to hear from some of the most influential and misunderstood voters in the country: Arab Americans in Dearborn. Code Switch host Gene Demby reports that The Dearbornites they met said that the war in Gaza is one of the key issues weighing on their minds as they consider how to cast their ballots. But what that will mean in the voting booth is still a complex question. Will they go for Kamala Harris? Donald Trump? A third party candidate? No one at all? What these voters ultimately decide could have huge consequences for the whole country. Companion listening for this episode: "Voter Vibe Check: Democratic Voters Are Torn Over Biden’s Gaza Policy" (published March 18, 2024) 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.

With the 2024 presidential election right around the corner, all eyes are on the swing states. In this episode, host Kai Wright travels to Atlanta, the heart of one swing state where early voting numbers are at a record high, to hear about the historically large political gender gap. While the show was in town, Atlanta hosted homecoming festivities for Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, two of the nation’s most famous historically Black schools — and the perfect campuses to talk politics with students and alumni in between the parties. Kai is joined by Omar Ali, a local Atlanta business owner and political organizer; Rose Scott, host of the daily news magazine Closer Look on WABE, Atlanta Public Radio; and Errin Haines, co-founder and editor-at-large of The 19th, a newsroom that covers the intersections of gender, politics and policy. Plus, listeners tell us how the candidates’ appeals to their gender identity will affect their vote. Thanks to our station partner WABE for collaborating on this episode. 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.

In the sixth episode of “Notes on a Native Son,” writer Caryl Phillips shares the experience of getting to know James Baldwin beyond the pages of his work. Phillips not only respected Baldwin as a writer, but regarded him as a friend and perhaps a mentor, too. Phillips was born on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, and moved to Leeds, in northern England, when he was just 4 months old. It was as a student at Oxford where he first encountered the work of Baldwin. He tells host Razia Iqbal that meeting Baldwin was the first time he’d ever met a writer, something he knew he wanted to be. Caryl Phillips was on the 1993 Granta list of Best of Young British Writers. His literary awards include Britain's oldest literary award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, for “Crossing the River,” which was also shortlisted for the 1993 Booker Prize. “A Distant Shore" was longlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize, and won the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of the Arts, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He currently teaches English at Yale University. 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.

There is a longstanding, widely held belief that the best chance at a better future is to go off to college – especially for people from marginalized communities. Whether it was your teacher, general political rhetoric, or one of many sitcoms that reflect middle class American life, the message was to go to school or risk failure — dismissing millions of people who decided not to go to college and created viable, sustainable careers in trade professions, from manufacturing and welding to plumbing and software engineering. And now, as college costs continue to rise and more people want to develop a sense of financial stability, education and careers in the trades through vocational schools are becoming not only more accepted, but also encouraged across all factors of society. In our latest episode, host Kai Wright talks to ​​Maya Bhattacharjee-Marcantonio, co-founder of The Marcy Lab School in Brooklyn, New York, and Eric Kelderman, a senior writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education about the shifting cultural cachet around earning a 4-year college degree. We talk about what motivates some students to pursue vocational education, what this change might mean long-term for Americans across demographics, and why some still prefer a professional path that includes college. Support of WNYC’s coverage of economic mobility and opportunity is provided in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information about how the Gates Foundation supports economic mobility and opportunity, visit usprogram.gatesfoundation.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.

In the fifth episode of Notes on a Native Son, our guest is Turkish-British writer Elif Shafak. She has published 21 books, 13 of them novels — including “The Forty Rules of Love” and her latest, “There are Rivers in the Sky” — and her work has been translated into 58 languages. Shafak is among those contemporary writers who are both lauded with awards, and deeply beloved by her readers. Born in Strasbourg, France to Turkish parents, Shafak’s early life was peripatetic, living in both Ankara and Istanbul for long periods of time before moving to London. She tells host Razia Iqbal that her love for Istanbul connects her to James Baldwin, who also lived there on and off during the 1960s and early 1970s. 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.

Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson has always aspired to be a federal judge. In fact, the newest appointed associate justice of the United States Supreme Court wrote in her application to Harvard University that she wished “to attend Harvard Law School as I believed it might help me ‘to fulfill my fantasy of becoming the first Black, female Supreme Court justice to appear on a Broadway stage.’” She tells stories like these in her new memoir, "Lovely One." Justice Jackson joins host Kai Wright to discuss the bestselling book and more in a live conversation recorded at the U.S. National Archives in Washington D.C. They are accompanied by musical performances from the percussive and vocal group The Women of the Calabash. This episode was made in partnership with the March On Festival, telling stories that move, and AIDS Healthcare Foundation, through its We The People National Campaign, elevating the power of democracy for all Americans. Notes from America is a 2024 Signal Awards finalist! Community voting is now open for the show to earn a Listener’s Choice honor for Best Live Podcast Recording, and we would be honored for you to take a minute to cast a vote our way. Click here to vote through October 17, and thank you for listening and supporting Notes from America! 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.

In the fourth episode of “Notes on a Native Son,” our guest is the writer and essayist Darryl Pinckney. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books and The Village Voice. Most recently, he's been the recipient of a highly prestigious award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for his contribution to American literature. Host Razia Iqbal meets up with Pinckney in Harlem, where James Baldwin grew up and eventually left in the 1940s. Pinckney lives there in a striking, sprawling house with the English poet James Fenton, and they find the perfect spot to record a conversation: in the library, directly beneath Pinckney’s shelf of Baldwin’s works. They talk about how Baldwin so eloquently documented the emotion of love — how it drives us and why we fear it. Notes from America is a 2024 Signal Awards finalist! Community voting is now open for the show to earn a Listener’s Choice honor for Best Live Podcast Recording, and we would be honored for you to take a minute to cast a vote our way. Click here to vote through October 17, and thank you for listening and supporting Notes from America! 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 year ago, the world was shaken when Hamas militants entered Israel, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the kidnapping of hundreds more. It was one of the most devastating days for Israelis and Jewish communities around the world in decades. In the immediate hours after that attack, Israel launched an invasion of Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 42,000 Palestinians and counting. Early on in the escalation of the war, two women came together to start having difficult dialogues in a moment of high emotions. Najla Said is an actor, author, activist and the daughter of renowned Palestinian intellectual Edward Said. Judith Sloan is an actor, radio producer and adjunct professor at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. They collaborated on a project they call “Imperfect Allies: Children of Opposite Sides.” In this episode, they join Notes from America guest host Suzanne Gaber to talk about their year-long work in progress that started as a discussion between two longtime-friends and evolved into a series of listening sessions around the country about the ongoing war in the Middle East. Plus, they give listeners advice on how to navigate difficult conversations about the conflict while managing immense trauma. Notes from America is a 2024 Signal Awards finalist! Community voting is now open for the show to earn a Listener’s Choice honor for Best Live Podcast Recording, and we would be honored for you to take a minute to cast a vote our way. Click here to vote through October 17, and thank you for listening and supporting Notes from America! 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.

In the third episode of “Notes on a Native Son,” host Razia Iqbal sits down with the celebrated writer of novels and essays, Siri Hustvedt. When Hustvedt was invited to record a conversation for the podcast about her favorite passage from the work of James Baldwin, the timing in so many ways couldn’t have been worse — it turned out to be the last few weeks of life for her husband, writer Paul Auster. However, a few weeks after his passing, Hustvedt reached out to say that she was ready. She felt that re-reading and talking about Baldwin would somehow be a balm for her grief. Hustvedt describes how Baldwin’s novels “possessed” her as a young reader and discusses his intricate ability to recognize the oppressor within, even as he gave a voice to the oppressed. Notes from America is a 2024 Signal Awards finalist! Community voting is now open for the show to earn a Listener’s Choice honor for Best Live Podcast Recording, and we would be honored for you to take a minute to cast a vote our way. Click here to vote through October 17, and thank you for listening and supporting Notes from America! 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.

Americans under 30 years old have been through a lot in their young lives. Perhaps living through and witnessing the volatile political moment that was Donald Trump’s presidency, a global pandemic, a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, and growing devastation due to war in the Middle East, has led to their reported lack of trust in several key political and social institutions. And yet, as we hear in this episode, Gen Z is deeply engaged with the issues and ideas that will improve their experiences as young adults who want their personal rights protected, and the ability to have safe communities and economic security. Gen Z voter voices are at the center of this conversation, hosted live by Kai Wright at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. We hear from journalist Rachel Janfaza, who covers the political culture of the Gen Z generation; Askar Mirza, commissioner of Ridgefield, N.J.; and Alexis Williams, who is a coder and a political and social justice content creator. They join Kai for a conversation about how they became engaged themselves and what they know about their peers’ political priorities this election year. Special thanks to the entire staff at NJPAC, especially Donna Walker Kuhne, Kitab Rollins, Megan Barry and Shira Vickar-Fox. Thanks also to the following colleagues at WNYC: Brenda Williams Butts, Kristina Newman-Scott, Ed Haber, George Wellington, Aaron Cohen, Bill O’Neill, Jim Stagnitto, Robin Bilinkoff and Matthew Marando. 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.

Host Razia Iqbal sits down with the celebrated civil rights lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson, a man as dedicated to his chosen profession as James Baldwin was to his. Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, Alabama, which has not only transformed the conversation about the disproportionate numbers of incarcerated Black Americans, but has also challenged how we think about the criminal justice system and the system’s treatment of children in particular. He's been described by the late South African bishop and civil rights activist Desmond Tutu as “America's Nelson Mandela.” Stevenson also initiated the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, and continues to make us all think about the lived legacy of more than 200 years of slavery in the U.S. By Stevenson’s own admission, Baldwin has had a profound impact on his life, professionally and personally. When asked to choose a single Baldwin quote that inspires him, Stevenson chose three, and an exception was made in the interest of an exceptional conversation. 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 36 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election. Who they will support in November is still very much in play — and this year, the candidates’ approach to seeking that support can’t be copied from playbooks of the past. In this episode, guest host Janae Pierre is joined by Mike Madrid and Chuck Rocha, co-hosts of the Latino Vote podcast, which looks at the voting trends and behavioral patterns among Latino communities in the U.S. from the view of two political strategists from different ends of the political spectrum. Madrid is a GOP consultant, co-founder of The Lincoln Project and author of a new book, “The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy.” Rocha is a Democratic Party consultant and the former senior strategist for Bernie Sanders’ campaign. They talk about whether Harris or Trump is resonating more with Latino voters, how different factions of this voting bloc view the issues, and why stereotypes about Latinos continue to cause candidates to miss opportunities to connect with these communities. 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.

In the debut episode of “Notes on a Native Son,” host Razia Iqbal sits down with essayist and novelist Ta-Nehisi Coates to discuss one of his favorite passages from the works of writer James Baldwin. His choice comes from Baldwin’s essay “On Being ‘White’…And Other Lies,” published in Essence Magazine in 1984. Coates shares why this piece resonates with him as a writer tackling whiteness, race and what it means to be an American today. Coates is the author of the bestselling books “Between the World and Me” and “The Water Dancer.” His latest book, “The Message,” (published October 2024) documents the time he spent in Palestine, Senegal and South Carolina — and details why the stories we do and don’t tell from areas of conflict matter. 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.

Warning: This episode contains profane language and detailed descriptions of sexual assault allegations. More than 20 women say a man who went by Officer “Champagne” sexually assaulted them while they were held at the Rikers Island women's jail. Their allegations span decades and they are now suing the city for more than $500 million. But the Department of Correction says there was no one with that name who worked there during that time. WNYC spoke with several women who say they were assaulted by Champagne, and started to unravel the mystery. Who was Correction Officer Champagne? What the WNYC investigation found led to more questions — including why city officials have done so little to investigate more than 700 recent claims of sexual assault at the troubled jail?. Related links: He was Officer 'Champagne' at Rikers. 24 women accused him of sexual assault in jail Rikers guard charged with rape while off duty has a string of accusations from detainees CREDITS Reporter: Jesse Edwards Editor: Christopher Werth Executive producer: Ave Carrillo Producer: Jared Marcelle Contributors: Jared Marcelle, Samantha Max Technical Director: Wayne Shulmister Audio Mixing: Wayne Shulmister, Liora Noam-Kravitz Music: Jared Paul, Owen Kaplan Episode art: Rhe Civitello Thanks to: Sean Bowditch, Stephanie Clary, Audrey Cooper, Lauren Cooperman and Ann Givens 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.

Come November, an estimated 36 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in the U.S. presidential election. Across the nation, there are Spanish language radio stations invested in them as an audience — and content on those stations is targeting listeners with disinformation about the candidates, the parties and political issues. In this special episode, host Kai Wright sits down with journalist Paulina Velasco to discuss “Frequency of Deception,” an investigation into the lies, rumors and propaganda that have been peppering Spanish language broadcasts in recent years. Velasco’s reporting includes egregious examples of attempts to manipulate listeners, ideas about who and what is behind these nefarious efforts, and a look at the ongoing push to combat the spread of misinformation and disinformation among vulnerable communities. This story is part of Frequency of Deception / Radiofrecuencia de engaños, a six-part series on the spread of dis- and misinformation on Spanish-language radio in the U.S. by Feet in 2 Worlds in partnership with WNYC’s Notes from America, palabra and Puente News Collaborative. 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.

“Notes on a Native Son” is a new, limited audio series about how and why the writer James Baldwin continues to matter. We hear from people who turn to his words again and again for ideas and inspiration, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Nikki Giovanni, Bryan Stevenson and many more. Hosted by journalist Razia Iqbal, each episode explores a Baldwin passage chosen and beloved by her guests. Their conversations underline Baldwin's lasting power and remind us of his prescience and acuity on issues such as race, class, sexuality, power, belonging and love. New episodes are available on-demand every Saturday in the Notes from America podcast feed. This project was made possible through partnership between Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, Sea Salt & Mango Productions and WNYC Studios. 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.

Elie Mystal, justice correspondent and columnist for The Nation, joins host Kai Wright “On the Call” to break down how Vice President Kamala Harris used classic trial lawyer tactics to take apart former president Donald Trump in their ABC News debate. Perhaps you’ve noticed: the news is newsing in overdrive lately. Notes from America is meeting the moment with an extra podcast drop on Thursdays like this one. It's a pop-up series of conversations about politics, voters and democracy right now that we're calling “On the Call.” 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 election is less than two months away and neither candidate has laid out specific terms or plans for environmental policies if they were to win the election. Here’s what we do know. The Trump administration was vocally critical of policies meant to protect the environment and pursued policies that would retrace protective measures. Recently, it was reported that former president Donald Trump promised to ease regulations on big oil companies if they supported his campaign to the tune of $1 billion. Meanwhile, the Biden White House has been praised by some climate activists for its more progressive measures to implement pro-climate policies. It’s easy to assume that Vice President Harris would follow in Biden’s footsteps if she wins the election, however, no one is sure. In this episode, host Kai Wright discusses why there is lack of clarity on climate issues from the candidates with award-winning journalist Amy Westervelt, founder of the Critical Frequency Network. They also explore why there seems to be less discussion of climate change, not only from politicians, but from the general public as well. 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.