Tony-Nominated Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Using Theater to Make Sense of Nonsense

Tony-Nominated Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Using Theater to Make Sense of Nonsense

Ten years after its original staging, “Appropriate” has received eight Tony Award nominations. Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins talks about the moments of his life that inspired it.

The play tells the story of three siblings reuniting in their family home after the death of their father. Charged with going through his belongings, the children discover troubling relics within the home. They are left to deal with the question of an inheritance, but also this new challenge to their late father’s legacy.

Jacobs-Jenkins has since staged “Appropriate” several times, been a Pulitzer Prize finalist for two subsequent plays, and been awarded a MacArthur “genius” fellowship. But it wasn’t until December 2023 that the playwright made his Broadway debut with “Appropriate,” which is now up for eight Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for actress Sarah Paulson.

Host Kai Wright sits with Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins to discuss the real-life moments that inspired the creation of this show, and the playwright’s efforts to understand the complicated inheritances of race in 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.

Jaksot(424)

F*&% Robert Moses. Let’s Start Over

F*&% Robert Moses. Let’s Start Over

We’re finally back in the streets -- but are we ready to reimagine how we share public space? This week, a trip through the century-long fight between cars, bikes, and people. Kai Wright takes us on a...

17 Touko 202151min

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Story Is Too Familiar

Ma’Khia Bryant’s Story Is Too Familiar

We failed her long before the cops killed her. We’re failing thousands more children like her now. In this bonus episode, we meet one of those girls. Girls often land in detention because they have ex...

13 Touko 202133min

No More ‘Selfless’ Moms

No More ‘Selfless’ Moms

Erased from history. Ignored in public policy. This Mother’s Day, we ask how to truly value “motherwork.” Plus: The story of one “woke birth.” Gates scholar and author Anna Malaika Tubbs encourages ea...

10 Touko 202150min

The Method to Tucker Carlson’s Madness

The Method to Tucker Carlson’s Madness

History suggests we shouldn’t laugh off what’s happening in right wing media right now. Plus, profiting off of racism is a business model as old as the news. Nicole Hemmer, an associate research schol...

3 Touko 202149min

Do We Need the Police at All?

Do We Need the Police at All?

The answer isn’t simple, but it’s time to ask. Listeners weigh in with stories of their own efforts to solve problems with and without cops. Community organizer and educator Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele j...

26 Huhti 202149min

Why Cops Don’t Change

Why Cops Don’t Change

A retired NYPD detective says the force’s stubborn, insular culture was built to last. And Elie Mystal explains a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that made killing “reasonable.” Armed with the lessons from ...

19 Huhti 202150min

Government: A Love-Hate Story

Government: A Love-Hate Story

How did Americans come to think so poorly of government? And how did Joe Biden come to be the first modern president who’s even tried to change our minds?  Kai talks with three change-makers about the...

12 Huhti 202150min

Desegregation By Any Means Necessary

Desegregation By Any Means Necessary

A gun-toting Black Power advocate was made principal of a Marin County, California school during efforts to desegregate 50 years ago. As they try again, we recount his radical legacy. As the Sausalito...

5 Huhti 202155min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
politiikan-puskaradio
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-asiastudio
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
otetaan-yhdet
rss-podme-livebox
the-ulkopolitist
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-ulkopoditiikkaa
rss-pinnalla
rss-50100-podcast
rss-kuka-mina-olen
rss-girls-finish-f1rst