Tonya Mosley Reckons with a Dark Family Story and Holds Tight to Hope in the Podcast She Has a Name

Tonya Mosley Reckons with a Dark Family Story and Holds Tight to Hope in the Podcast She Has a Name

Tonya Mosley's voice is familiar to millions of public radio listeners across the country. She co-hosted NPR's midday news show Here and Now for several years before becoming co-host of Fresh Air in 2022. Now, the award-winning audio journalist is taking listeners on a personal journey.

Around two decades ago, Mosley was just at the start of her career working in Louisville, Kentucky, when she got a call from a young man named Antonio Wiley, who said he was her nephew. Mosley hadn't grown up with her father, so the idea that she might have a nephew she had never met wasn't totally shocking. But then her nephew said something that would shock her and come to define so much of Mosley's adult life.

Wiley’s mom and Mosley’s eldest sister, Anita Wiley, had been missing since 1987, and Wiley has been searching to find out what happened to her since the age of 14.

After a major discovery led to Anita's body in 2020, Mosley and Wiley decided to retrace Anita's life, hoping to find out what happened to her, documenting their effort in a podcast.

It's called She Has a Name, and it's part memoir, part investigative journalism — a deep dive into the city and the history that shaped Anita's life and the lives of the people who loved her.

In this episode of Notes from America, Mosley walks us through how this investigation redefined her relationship with her hometown and her identity, how it impacted her nephew, and what it means for people to try and find closure when so many questions remain unanswered.

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., and listeners to the broadcast and podcast are invited to join the conversation at 844-745-TALK(8255). Podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

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.

Jaksot(424)

Can We Finally Build a Multiracial Democracy in 2020?

Can We Finally Build a Multiracial Democracy in 2020?

When the Civil War ended, America set out to do something no other country had tried before: to build the world's first multiracial democracy. More than 150 years later, we’re still trying to pull it ...

16 Tammi 20202min

Welcome to 'The Stakes'

Welcome to 'The Stakes'

From host Kai Wright and the team that brought you The United States of Anxiety, a new show about what's not working about our society, how we can do better and why we have to. In episode one, we inve...

23 Huhti 201929min

Kirsten Gillibrand's Path to Power

Kirsten Gillibrand's Path to Power

The junior senator from New York has quickly developed a reputation as a political firebrand - one who's willing to challenge men who abuse their power, even when they're among her closest allies. Thi...

15 Marras 201824min

¡Sí Se Puede!

¡Sí Se Puede!

Before “Yes we can!”, there was “¡Sí se puede!” – the workers’ rallying cry coined by lifelong activist Dolores Huerta. In this episode, Huerta (now 88) is interviewed by her daughter Juana about the ...

9 Marras 201825min

What Does the Right Kind of Woman Sound Like?

What Does the Right Kind of Woman Sound Like?

Shrill, strident, bossy. These are the misogynistic slurs women often face when they run for elected office. In this episode, we meet Rena Cook, a voice coach in Oklahoma who’s training progressive, f...

5 Marras 201829min

The Right Kind of Woman

The Right Kind of Woman

Women running for office are often forced to play by different rules. We look at two candidates: Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Mikie Sherrill in suburban New Jersey. Both are Democrats fighting their w...

31 Loka 201835min

The Women of Texas's Secret Resistance

The Women of Texas's Secret Resistance

Rural Texas has a reputation as solid Republican territory, but hidden within those large swathes of red are small, individual flecks of blue. In this episode, we bring you the story of a group of pro...

25 Loka 201822min

Ida B. Wells

Ida B. Wells

Journalist and activist Ida B. Wells is in some ways a forgotten figure, overlooked even in black civil rights history. But her reporting on lynchings across the South was unwavering in its mission: c...

18 Loka 201827min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
politiikan-puskaradio
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-podme-livebox
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
the-ulkopolitist
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
linda-maria
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-sinivalkoinen-islam
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-girls-finish-f1rst
rss-ulkopoditiikkaa