Jordan Neely’s death raised deep, fundamental questions about our society; about what kind of people we are, and why? Our colleagues at The Brian Lehrer Show talked with Elie Mystal from the Nation to confront these questions.   Last week, our show talked about homelessness. “Homelessness Hides in Plain Sight. So Does Its Fix.” is available in your feed. We recommend listening alongside this episode.   Tell us what you think. Instagram and Twitter: @noteswithkai. Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or going to Instagram and clicking on the link in our bio. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. Tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

Notes from America

Who’s Responsible for Jordan Neely’s Death?

One in every 14 Americans experiences homelessness at some point. Our listeners who know about it firsthand talk to us. Plus: - Michael Kimmleman, architecture critic for The New York Times. His article, “How Houston Moved 25,000 People From the Streets Into Homes of Their Own,” was published in his Headways column of the Times, from June 14, 2022. - Ana Rausch, Vice President of Operations for Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County.   Tell us what you think. Instagram and Twitter: @noteswithkai. Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or going to Instagram and clicking on the link in our bio. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. Tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

Homelessness Hides in Plain Sight. So Does Its Fix.

Before she was the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo’s journey as an artist began at a federal Indian boarding school. She reveals an unexpected perspective about her experience. Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2019-2022. Her new children’s book, Remember (Penguin Random House, 2023), is an adaption of her famous poem by the same name. That poem was one of the first Joy ever wrote, almost 40 years ago. Today, her book invites readers to pause and reflect on the wonder of the world around us, and our place in it.  Joy joins host Kai Wright to discuss the poem and reflect on her own career and inspirations. Those inspirations include her fellow students at the Institute of American Indian Arts, a Bureau of Indian Affairs School. Her honesty reveals an unexpected perspective to the nuanced conversation about a difficult history.  Companion listening for this episode:  Tell Me Your Politics–But Do It In Verse (4/17/2023) 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.” “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.

Joy Harjo and Native Stories

From 1819 and 1969, the U.S. removed thousands of Native children from their homes and tried to strip them of their culture. What would a reparations program for this history look like? The U.S. Department of the Interior has begun finally wrestling with the history of the Indian boarding school program. In 2021, the department’s head, Secretary Deb Haaland, launched the  Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to not only document the history, but to understand its ongoing impact.  Last year, the Bureau of Indian Affairs published the first volume of their findings from the initiative, which found that the U.S. operated or supported 408 boarding schools across 37 states and highlighted the dire conditions many children faced in these schools. The report also called for a reorientation of federal policy to support tribal languages and culture, to counteract the harm caused by the federal Indian boarding school system.? Allison Herrera, the Indigenous affairs reporter at KOSU, has been covering Secretary Haaland’s listening sessions and has spoken with many of the survivors. She joins Kai Wright to share these emotional testimonies and hear from Native listeners.   If you are a survivor or related to someone who went through the federal Indian boarding school program, you can find resources for healing and self care through the National Native American Boarding Healing Coalition.  If you want to hear from more survivors about their experiences you can listen to: Stolen: Surviving Saint Michaels Investigative journalist Connie Walker unearths Canada’s residential school program and what the path to healing looked like for survivors, including her father. She also examines the flaws in the way the Canadian government has attempted to reconcile with its role in the program through reparations. IllumiNative: American Genocide: Series hosts Crystal Echo Hawk (Pawnee) and Lashay Wesley (Choctaw) hit the ground in Pine Ridge, South Dakota to chronicle the actively-developing situation for themselves, covering every twist and turn in this true crime story about the compounding intergenerational pain of Native American boarding schools and whether it’s possible for a community, Native peoples, and the United States to achieve truth, healing, and reconciliation. In Trust: “In Trust” By Rachel Adams-Heard is the story of the Osage Nation and a system that moved wealth from Native hands to White ones. One that three brothers learned to operate, laying the foundation for a modern American dynasty of land and influence that continues to this day. They Called it Prairie Light  Established in 1884 and operative for nearly a century, the Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma was one of a series of off-reservation boarding schools intended to assimilate American Indian children into mainstream American life. Critics have characterized the schools as destroyers of Indian communities and cultures, but the reality that K. Tsianina Lomawaima discloses was much more complex. “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.

Indian Boarding Schools Are Not Ancient History

The world of finance can be confusing for people who weren’t born into it – more often, that’s people of color. Berna Anat is a “Financial Hype Woman” on a mission to fix that.  The freelance writer-turned-financial education content creator is deeply skeptical of capitalism and dedicated to empowering first-generation Americans and people of color to thrive in the system.  Anat shares the lessons she’s learned in her book, "Money Out Loud: All the Financial Stuff No One Taught Us." It investigates our relationship with money, debt, and a new way forward. Amid the world’s ongoing economic anxiety, host Kai Wright turns to Anat for a money talk. Together, they invite listeners to share their money stories.  Companion listening for this episode:  How Black People Remade Mississippi (2/16/2023) Who are the rightful owners of this country’s staggering wealth? Down in the Mississippi Delta, the Lester Family made a space for themselves and claimed their land–and they didn’t need “40 Acres and a mule” to do it.  “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.

Money Shame, and How To Overcome It Through Financial Literacy

A deadly encounter fifty years ago between the New Jersey State Police and a group of Black activists turned Assata Shakur into a cultural icon – and an enduring political villain.  In May 1973, activist Assata Shakur and two members of the Black Liberation Army were pulled over by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike. Tragically, guns were fired, people were killed, and in the aftermath, a political standoff between Shakur and state law enforcement began.  On the fiftieth anniversary marking the incident, WNYC reporters Nancy Solomon and Tracie Hunte share their reporting with host Kai Wright. They explore the many unanswered questions it raises and what this moment means in the history of Black self-defense movements. A previous version of this episode mistakenly stated that Ralph Yarl was killed by a gun. He survived his injuries.  Companion listening for this episode:  The Week That Changed America’s Cities (4/13/2023) 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. “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.  

How Assata Shakur Became One of America’s Most Wanted

The state of Fox News today is thanks to Rupert Murdoch. A look inside the Murdoch media empire shows how media outlets can turn into right-wing political influence machines.  Famed Fox News host Tucker Carlson got fired. The story is still unfolding, but initial reports claim that the decision came straight from media tycoon Rupert Murdoch after vulgar language and messages were attributed to Carlson. In a recent episode, our colleagues at On The Media took a moment to consider Murdoch’s history and his impact on our present culture.   On The Media host, Brooke Gladstone speaks with Jim Rutenberg, writer-at-large for the New York Times and its Sunday magazine, about the Fox News Dominion lawsuit settlement and what’s next for the company.   You can listen to more episodes of On The Media here.  Companion listening for this episode:  Of Tech Moguls and Gold Miners: A Capitalist History (4/3/2023) In Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, one writer sees a model for amassing obscene wealth, pioneered in 19th century California, finally nearing its limits.  “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.

Tucker Carlson, Rupert Murdoch, and the Future of Fox News

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.

Why Ralph Yarl Was Shot

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.

The Joy and Pain of Little Richard

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.

Tell Me Your Politics–But Do It In Verse

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 Jr. 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.  

The Week That Changed America’s Cities

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.  

How a Young, Black Progressive Won in Chicago

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.

Grieving Loss From Gun Violence

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.  

Of Tech Moguls and Gold Miners: A Capitalist History

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.

Trump, the GOP, and a New Confederacy

Notes from America with Kai Wright is a show about the unfinished business of our history, and its grip on our future.

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Notes from America

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