What Does It Mean To Be Free?

What Does It Mean To Be Free?

Author Ayana Mathis' new novel, The Unsettled, is an intergenerational story centered around one Black family’s struggle to find freedom in the 1980s. Like her previous work, migration and movement are major themes in the book. But this time, her characters are at a crossroads, unsure of their next step in search of self-determination. Mathis joins host Kai Wright to reveal the questions that torment the characters in her gripping novel, and discuss her own journey grappling with those themes.

During this episode, Kai refers to a previous episode about our Future of Black History series featuring Saidiya Hartman, which can be found here.

This episode was originally published September 25, 2023.

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)

Lessons From a Year in Isolation

Lessons From a Year in Isolation

A first draft of history for 2020, told through three very personal efforts to find -- and keep -- human connection amid a pandemic.  We hear from 13-year-old Adiva Kaisary about how 2020 has complica...

28 Joulu 202049min

The Racist History of Georgia’s Runoff

The Racist History of Georgia’s Runoff

Segregationists gamed the system 57 years ago. But this year, Black organizers may have finally slipped the knot that Jim Crow tied around democracy in the state. Ari Berman, senior reporter at Mother...

21 Joulu 202049min

Tell It To Me Straight, Doc

Tell It To Me Straight, Doc

Two Black physicians describe the racist history the medical world carries into the COVID-19 vaccine rollout -- and answer listeners’ questions about why we should still get vaccinated.  A recent Pew ...

14 Joulu 202048min

ACT UP, Fight Covid

ACT UP, Fight Covid

The HIV epidemic is nearly 40 years old. So what can we learn from that pandemic, as we approach a year of living with COVID-19? When COVID-19 overwhelmed New York City this spring, our executive prod...

7 Joulu 202047min

One Family’s Land of Opportunity

One Family’s Land of Opportunity

A family’s legend about "40 acres and a mule” takes host Kai Wright on a fact checking mission to the Mississippi Delta. He finds an unexpected solution to wealth inequality in the U.S. We first told ...

30 Marras 202051min

MAGA, the New Confederate Lost Cause

MAGA, the New Confederate Lost Cause

White supremacist myths turn defeated leaders into heroic victors. Will Donald Trump now get the same transfiguration as Robert E. Lee? If history is our guide -- as it often is on this show -- then t...

16 Marras 202046min

Meditations on a Bittersweet Election

Meditations on a Bittersweet Election

Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry joins Kai to discuss all of our complex feelings as Donald Trump’s presidency comes to an end. More people voted in this presidential election than ever. But did it resolve an...

9 Marras 202045min

An Invitation To Dream

An Invitation To Dream

Radical imagination is now essential. What can we imagine for our country, our communities, and ourselves beyond this election, and beyond this pandemic? In this episode, we face our fears and dream b...

2 Marras 202048min

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