Rachel Martin
Appearances
Consider This from NPR
Farming is uncertain — a trade war makes it more so
On this week's episode of Wildcard, actress Elizabeth Olsen reflects on being a Marvel superstar. I think I haven't always successfully made choices in my work that are aligned with my personal taste. And that is something I feel like I'm still trying to prove myself. I'm Rachel Martin.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
Nels Klein first made his mark on the Los Angeles scene in the 80s, often in groups alongside his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. They played in a variety of jazz as well as indie rock bands.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
This sort of dual-genre life is mirrored in Klein's involvement in jazz, where he's played in almost every subgenre imaginable, from raucous, scrawny free jazz to lush, romantic takes on the classic American songbook on his 2016 release Lovers. The concentric quartet is capable of starting out hummable, as they do on Surplus, and rising toward a spectacular fury. This is brawny music at times.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
Some of it harkens back to the 80s and the sort of free jazz fusion combos. And at times there are passages that are reminiscent of the growing range of heavy metal jazz blends on the scene today. Klein founded the group. for an improvised jam in Brooklyn six years ago, but then he began writing for them, especially during the lockdowns when he felt enveloped by silence.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
And that's a key to the quartet's range. Moments of delicate austerity alternate with bold, provocative sections, as they do here on the aptly named Slipping Into Something. Since moving to New York in 2009, Klein has played with bassist Chris Leikhapp and drummer Tom Rainey in multiple formats, most notably in Leikhapp's outstanding group Superette.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
For Concentric Quartet, he added saxophonist Ingrid Laubrach, another stalwart of the New York scene. Their unisons over Lightcap's snorting bass and Rainey's furious drumming generate a big, bright, energetic sound, which makes their quieter segments feel dark and affecting.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
That's the sequence on Satomi, which was named for Satomi Matsuzaki, the bassist and singer for Deerhoff and Indie Rock Powerhouse. It was written for her family drama during the pandemic when she had to fly back and forth between her native Japan and the United States. Klein sometimes chooses wry names for his bands.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
For instance, his group, the Nels Klein Singers, has no vocalists, and they play abstract, brooding music that even Bjork might be hard-pressed to vocalize. But the concentric quartet is more straightforward. He considers the playing and the building of solos between his bandmates to be a series of concentric circles.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
However, he chose the Middle English spelling, consent, R-I-K, because he liked it better. It's hard to say why this particular lineup, guitar, saxophone, bass, and drums, hasn't become more commonplace. There was the John Schofield, Joe Lovano bands of the 80s, and more recently ensembles featuring saxophonist Walter Smith III and guitarist Matthew Stevens.
Fresh Air
Baby Bonuses, Trad Wives & The Pronatalist Movement
As happens in this group, the joyous roar of Klein's guitar pairs nicely with the pithy wail of Lelbrook's saxophone. When joined by the grooves of Light Cap's bass and Rainy's drums, it feels like a new millennium version of hard bop. The music of the concentric quartet suggests that there is a wealth of sonic ground to explore here, no matter how you spell the band's name.
Fresh Air
Author James Patterson On The Art Of Collaboration
World news is important, but it can feel far away. Not on the State of the World podcast. With journalists around the world, you'll hear firsthand the effects of U.S. trade actions in Canada and China, and meet a Mexican street sweeper who became a pop star. We don't go around the world. We're already there. Listen to the State of the World podcast from NPR every weekday.
Fresh Air
The 'Fog Of Delusion' In Biden's Inner Circle
I think I haven't always successfully made choices in my work that are aligned with my personal taste. And that is something I feel like I'm still trying to prove. I'm Rachel Martin.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
It would be impossible to do a tribute to all of Anthony Braxton's music. There are operas, there are large-scale ensembles like his Composition 84 for four orchestras, and there are iconic, intimate ensembles from the late 80s and early 90s. But his early 70s work is great and often overlooked.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
Steve Lehman, who studied with Braxton at Wesleyan, then played with him for nearly a decade, has created a smart ensemble. riveting tribute to his mentor, the music of Anthony Braxton, by focusing on his early compositions, tunes that are a cornerstone of his formidable reputation.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
We just heard their take on a piece called 34A that showcases the composer's penchant for horn lines that coil like an Escher drawing. This is an ordinary tribute by Lehman. In addition to music by Braxton, Lehman includes two of his own paeans to his mentor. Lehman has followed Braxton's example in accepting no conventional limits.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
His catalog includes covers of Otecker and Wu-Tang Clan, his superb octet integrates spectral music, and he co-leads Cele Bayon, a hip-hop fusion project with H Prism of Andy Pop Consortium and Senegalese rapper Gaston Bandemic. A unifying theme in Lehman's varied music is force.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
There's a relentless urgency to his saxophone, perhaps the impact of his other key influence, saxophone's Jackie McLean. So it's no surprise that he recorded this music live at the ETA Club in Los Angeles, where Lehman presently lives. It's an implicit rebuke to those who think Anthony's music is dry and academic.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
There's a roaring crowd after each number, sometimes after each solo, and you are there immediacy to the sound. Lehman is working with his regular trio, which features the propulsive bass of Matt Brewer and powerhouse drummer Damian Reed, plus guest saxophonist Mark Turner. The arrangements have a loose-limbed effect. Reed is swinging, Brewer is walking, and the horns play freely.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
Turner shares with Braxton an admiration of saxophonist Warren Marsh. Braxton has often honored his roots. He's recorded albums of standards and paid tribute to his heroes like Lenny Tristano, Charlie Parker, Andrew Hill, and Thelonious Monk. Here, Lehman's ensemble does Monk's Tinkle Tinkle with a subtle nod to Anthony as a horn duet starts in abstraction with the tune slowly coming into view.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
Lehman was born in New York City in 1978 and spent some of his youth in Paris. Like many of his peers, Jason Moran and Vijay Iyer to name two, he grew up with hip-hop as an established genre and with electronic music as an emerging one. He brings a unique rhythmic acuity into his appreciation of Braxton. He was pointed toward Anthony by his mother.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
Braxton was a good advisor for a young musician with wide-ranging interests and clearly inspired Lehman and many others to follow as many of them as possible.
Fresh Air
Are Kids With ADHD Being Treated Effectively?
Our rum, from a quality standpoint, is the best in the world.
Fresh Air
MLK, The Organizer & Radical Thinker
That period was a great period of hope for me. and I'm sure for many others all across the nation, many of the Negroes who had about lost hope, saw a solid decade of progress in the South. And in 1954, which was, I mean, 64, 1963, nine years after the Supreme Court's decision to be in the March on Washington, meant a great deal. It was a high moment, a great watershed moment.
Fresh Air
MLK, The Organizer & Radical Thinker
But I must confess that that dream that I had that day has in many points turned into a nightmare. Now, I'm not one to lose hope. I keep on hoping. I still have faith in the future. But I've had to analyze many things over the last few years, and I would say over the last few months. I've gone through a lot of soul-searching and agonizing moments.
Fresh Air
MLK, The Organizer & Radical Thinker
And I've come to see that we have many more difficult days ahead, and some of the old optimism was a little superficial, and now it must be tempered with a solid realism. And I think the realistic fact is that we still have a long, long way to go, and that we are involved in a war on Asian soil, which, if not checked and stopped, can poison the very soul of our nation.
Fresh Air
MLK, The Organizer & Radical Thinker
It may be true that morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. It may be true. That the law cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me. Religion and education will have to do that, but it can restrain him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important also.
Fresh Air
MLK, The Organizer & Radical Thinker
And I must honestly confess that I go through those moments of disappointment when I have to recognize the fact that there aren't enough white persons in our country who are willing to cherish democratic principles over privilege. But I'm grateful to God that some are left
Fresh Air
MLK, The Organizer & Radical Thinker
I will never change in my basic idea that non-violence is the most potent weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for freedom and justice. I think for the Negro to turn to violence would be both impractical and immoral. There is an increasingly vocal minority who disagree totally with your tactics, Dr. King. There's no doubt about that.
Fresh Air
MLK, The Organizer & Radical Thinker
I will agree that there is a group in the Negro community advocating violence now. I happen to feel that this group represents a numerical minority. Surveys have revealed this. The vast majority of Negroes still feel that the best way to deal with the dilemma that we face in this country is through nonviolent resistance. And I don't think this vocal group will be able
Fresh Air
MLK, The Organizer & Radical Thinker
to make a real dent in the Negro community in terms of swaying 22 million Negroes to this particular point of view. And I contend that the cry of black power is at bottom a reaction to the reluctance of white power to make the kind of changes necessary to make justice a reality for the Negro.
Fresh Air
At 3 Years Old, David Tennant Knew He Wanted To Be Doctor Who
On the Wildcard podcast, author John Green fights to be optimistic.
Fresh Air
At 3 Years Old, David Tennant Knew He Wanted To Be Doctor Who
I'm Rachel Martin. Join us for NPR's Wildcard podcast, the show where cards control the conversation.
Fresh Air
'Hacks' Returns! With Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs
On the Wildcard podcast, author John Green fights to be optimistic.
Fresh Air
'Hacks' Returns! With Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs
I'm Rachel Martin. Join us for NPR's Wildcard podcast, the show where cards control the conversation.
Fresh Air
Celebrating 20 Years Of 'The Office'
I think I haven't always successfully made choices in my work that are aligned with my personal taste. And that is something I feel like I'm still trying to prove. I'm Rachel Martin.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-28-2025 12AM EDT
Consumer confidence appears to be on the rise after the Trump administration suspended some of its most punishing tariffs. NPR's Scott Horsley has details.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-28-2025 12AM EDT
Abortion providers in Missouri say a recent state Supreme Court ruling amounts to a new ban on the procedure. St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lippman explains.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-28-2025 12AM EDT
You're listening to NPR. In a letter to government agencies, the General Services Administration is calling for a review of federal contracts with Harvard and suggests that they find an alternative vendor. GSA is also giving the agencies until June 6th to send a list of the contracts that have already been canceled.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-28-2025 12AM EDT
The move comes as Harvard sues the Trump administration for freezing federal funding to the school. A high-ranking former employee took the witness stand at the federal racketeering trial of Sean Combs Tuesday. Capricorn Clark testifies she was repeatedly threatened and alleged that the defendant once kidnapped her at gunpoint. NPR's Anastasia Siokos was in the courtroom Tuesday.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-28-2025 12AM EDT
And a warning here that this report mentions physical violence.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-28-2025 12AM EDT
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens. A U.S.-backed private foundation has begun distributing aid to civilians in Gaza. As NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports, the U.N. is describing harrowing scenes. at food distribution sites.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-28-2025 12AM EDT
U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street. Following Tuesday's gains, the Dow added 740 points, the Nasdaq rose 461. On Asia Pacific, market shares are mixed. This is NPR News. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-28-2025 12AM EDT
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow it to quickly deport migrants to countries not their own. The administration wants the justices to overturn the lower court order, blocking deportations without sufficient notice or giving deportees the chance to argue their cases in court.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-29-2025 4PM EDT
The 6888, as it's called, was a mostly black, all-female unit that made history by deploying to England in early 1945. Their mission was to sort through backlogs of undelivered mail for American service members. The women worked around the clock to clear some 17 million pieces of mail in just three months, half the expected time.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-29-2025 4PM EDT
After working in France, they returned home in 1946 without any public recognition for decades. Congress bestowed the award and President Biden signed the law in 2022. Only two of the 855 women lived to see this medal ceremony. Rachel Triesman, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-02-2024 8PM EST
it does meet the concern that President Biden indicated that he had with respect to Hunter Biden, which is that he was concerned that he was being singled out and selectively prosecuted in an effort basically to get at President Biden himself.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-02-2024 8PM EST
And so if that's your concern, the worry would be that the next administration, for example, could be going on a witch hunt for any number of possible things. And this kind of blanket pardon would avoid the ability for them to do that.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-17-2025 3PM EDT
The study showed that two different kinds of stem cells began making the chemical messenger dopamine after being transplanted into the brains of Parkinson's patients. In one study, 12 patients received either a low or high dose of neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-17-2025 3PM EDT
Dr. Lawrence Studer of Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York says over the next 18 months, scientists used a standard rating scale to assess symptoms like tremor.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-17-2025 3PM EDT
A team in Japan reported similar success using a different type of stem cell treatment. Researchers caution that it will take larger studies to confirm the results. John Hamilton, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-17-2025 3PM EDT
He says students are concerned about... "...the lack of information about why visas are being terminated. I think there's a large sense of fear."
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-02-2025 5PM EST
The National Weather Service says blasts of air from Siberia have reached the northern plains and will spread east and south into next week. The cold front is likely to bring below average temperatures as far south as Florida and the Gulf Coast. Forecasters are also warning of a weekend storm that could dump heavy snow and hazardous ice from the central plains to the mid-Atlantic and northeast.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-02-2025 5PM EST
They're encouraging people to stock up on three days' worth of provisions, insulate their pipes, monitor emergency alerts, and check in on their loved ones. Rachel Triesman, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-27-2025 3PM EDT
On this week's Wildcard podcast, Brett Goldstein says even though his shows Ted Lasso and Shrinking get emotional, he doesn't.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-27-2025 3PM EDT
I'm Rachel Martin. Brett Goldstein is on Wildcard, the show where cards control the conversation.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-11-2025 6PM EST
We're talking about meeting up on a regular basis to help each other clean up and maybe have some community meals and rebuild our neighborhood together. For now, Paul and her daughter are fighting refuge in a hotel south of Altadena, but they've received an offer on a place to stay across town rent-free. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Miro in Pasadena.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-11-2025 6PM EST
Chumi Paul and her 11-year-old daughter were already driving away from the Eaton fire when the official evacuation order came over their phones. A neighbor provided the heads-up hours earlier. Paul says her cul-de-sac at the edge of the forest has been tight-knit since the pandemic, and that sense of community has continued in another difficult moment.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-14-2025 2PM EDT
The six-person crew included singer Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, who is the fiancé of Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos. This was the first all-female flight since 1963, when a Soviet cosmonaut became the first woman in space. The Blue Origin flight took just over 10 minutes. The capsule reached about 62 miles above sea level before parachuting back down to West Texas.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-14-2025 2PM EDT
Passengers all said the experience has inspired them, in Perry's case, to write a new song. Rachel Triesman, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-07-2025 4PM EDT
On the Wildcard podcast, author John Green fights to be optimistic.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-07-2025 4PM EDT
I'm Rachel Martin. Join us for NPR's Wildcard podcast, the show where cards control the conversation.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
No, I like it. I like it. I mean, it's real. That is your fear, the ostrich.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Three. In what ways do you choose to find joy?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
You said that sometimes you catch yourself, or maybe it's not catching yourself, just sometimes you do just talk out loud to your mom or your grandmother. Does it happen when you're cooking?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
I'm Rachel Martin, and this is Wildcard, the game where cards control the conversation. Each week, my guest chooses questions at random from a deck of cards. Pick a card one through three. Questions about the memories, insights, and beliefs that have shaped them. My guest this week is poet Nikki Giovanni.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
We've got another quick break, but when we come back, Nikki tells me about her belief system.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
So now this is the beliefs round. Beliefs. One, two, three. Okay, three. Three. Do you think about the legacy that you will leave behind?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
No. Wow, I'm surprised by that answer. No. Huh.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Have you seen people get too caught up in preemptively analyzing their legacy?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Let me ask this question a different way then, though. I get what you're saying, that you don't want to get wrapped up in your ego. You don't want to think about, you know, I'm so important. People are going to remember me. What are they going to write on my tombstone? What are all the great accolades they're going to give me?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
But are there moments when you think back on your life and allow yourself moments to feel proud?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
That's beautiful. Thank you. This is the last one. Okay. Last question. One, two, or three. Let's go two again.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
What belief helps you make sense of the world?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
There are so many words I could use to describe my guest today. Poet, revolutionary, queer icon, feminist, space enthusiast, mother and grandmother, legend. Nikki Giovanni is all those things. But she is also a woman who figured out really early that she didn't have to apologize to anyone for who she was or for what she wanted from her life.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Don't go to church. Don't pray. But there's still something about Jesus.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Well, you won the game, Nikki. So the prize, alas, is not ginger cookies. Oh. I know. It is a trip in our memory time machine. So, as your prize, you get to revisit one moment from your past that you would not change anything about. It's just a moment you'd like to linger a little longer in.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
I want you to be in it now, though. Can you go there now in your mind?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
She can write poems that look directly at all the pain and hatred in the world. And she can write children's books about feeling safe and loved. She can also conjure what it will look like when humans set up shop on Mars and black women lead the way.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Well. You don't owe me anything. You don't have to take me to your moment.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
But I'm glad that you can go there easily these days. Yeah. They're with me. Yeah. Yeah.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Well, it was my great pleasure to get to talk with you. Thank you so much for doing this.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni, poet, author, revolutionary, amazing human. Thank you so much for talking with me.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
If you want to hear more from Nikki Giovanni, we've got a bonus question you can hear by signing up for Wildcard Plus. I asked her what her thoughts are on marriage.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
You'll also hear Ted Danson talk about adjusting to the world of adult responsibility. And you'll hear my reflections on how those conversations affected me personally. Wildcard Plus is the best way to support our show and support public radio at the same time. Go to plus.npr.org slash wildcard to join today.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni has just been doing it her own way all along and writing it down so the rest of us can start to see beyond ourselves and whatever hard thing we happen to be stuck in at any particular moment. Nikki Giovanni, welcome to Wildcard. I'm so glad you're here.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
So are you a person who enjoys a good birthday party? Did you have one?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
I get it. I get it. I'm so glad you're out of the hospital. I'm glad that you're doing better. Are you a game person? What do you think about this?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
All right. I'm into it. So let me explain how this is going to go, okay? Okay. I've got a deck of cards in front of me, and each one has a question on it that I would love for you to answer. I'm going to hold up only three cards at a time. And then you, Nikki, are going to choose one at random to answer. Okay. There are two rules. You get one skip.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
If you use your skip, I will swap in another question from the deck. Okay. And rule number two, you get one flip. So you could put me on the spot and ask me to answer one of the questions before you do. Okay. And we're breaking it up into three rounds. Okay. Memories, insights, and beliefs with a few questions in each round. And because it's a game, there's a prize when you make it to the end.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Ginger cookies. Ginger cookies. How did you know?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
It's not ginger cookies. I should just tell you right now so you can emotionally prepare.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Okay, so this is the memories round. Three cards to choose from. One, two, or three? Of course, two. Of course, two. You said that like everybody knows it's two. It's the best number.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Okay. Were you ever obsessed with a particular cosmic question as a kid?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
And I love that you have planted that idea in our collective consciousness and have written a lot about it. When did Mars come into your head? Do you remember? Like as a kid? I didn't think about Mars as a kid. How did it capture your imagination?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Did fixing your gaze upward make you feel safer? I mean, you had a tough home life. You've talked and written a lot about that. Did thinking about the planets, the cosmos, the universe, Did that help you escape whatever was going on at home?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Three new cards. Okay. Same drill. You pick one, two, or three. I guess I should take one. Okay. Let's do one. What's something you thought was normal about your childhood? that you now realize was unusual?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Because that was your norm. So you assumed that all families to some degree were broken in that way.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
We've got to take a quick break, but when we come back, I ask Nikki if she is afraid of anything. And her answer may surprise you.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
Now, we move into the second round. Oh. The insights round. This is stuff you're learning now, stuff you're working through now. Okay, three new cards. One, two, or three. Remember, you have a skip and a flip. You don't have to use them. One, two, or three. Well, let's go for two again. Okay. What emotion do you understand better than all the others?
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
It's a long life already, Nikki, 81. And most of your friends are older than that. Some good longevity.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
My kids asked me that recently, if I wanted to, you know, not just to 100, but like, would I want to live forever? And then, you know, that's an interesting question to talk about with kids and how having a finite end to life sometimes creates... because you think things are going to end, you know. But I said I would do it with some caveats. I just want my health.
Up First from NPR
The Poetic Wealth of Nikki Giovanni
I just want my body to still work. I don't want things falling apart on me.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Sterling K. Brown
On this week's episode of Wildcard, actress Elizabeth Olsen reflects on being a Marvel superstar. I think I haven't always successfully made choices in my work that are aligned with my personal taste. And that is something I feel like I'm still trying to prove. I'm Rachel Martin. Join us for NPR's Wildcard podcast, the show where cards control the conversation.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
What struck me about it is, as I was reading it, it gave me such a sense of security. Like, just thinking about how this young girl is born and brought into the world. And the illustrations are so gorgeous. But you're writing in the illustrations. Mm-hmm. leave you with the sense that this young new being is just has been woven into this beautiful, beautiful tapestry of her family.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
And everybody's just going to be there for her. It doesn't matter what hard things come and all the hard things will come. But it was just this precious feeling of safety that I got from reading this story through the whole thing. I thought, what a beautiful gift to give a child that sense of safety, which feels all the more profound thinking about your own childhood and how unsafe you felt.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Since then, she's used her writing to capture the diverse experiences of Native people in this country. And in 2019, she was named the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate. And this spring, she's releasing a new version of her book, For a Girl Becoming. Joy Harjo, welcome to Wildcard. Hi. I'm glad I could be here. I'm so glad you could be here, too.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
I mean, do any of us walk through those doorways gracefully, those transformative moments? I feel like it's always awkward. Yeah. But I love that you shared that in your poetry, you can do the things that you weren't able to do the first go around. It's a second chance.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Round two. Insights. Three new cards. One, two, or three?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Okay, so now, and when you say sat in, you mean you played.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Yes, I did, and that terrified me. You are a musician. You play the saxophone, right? Yeah, yeah. So you played the saxophone at the Blue Note?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
It's just like the most world-famous jazz club.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
But you got over your nerves. You got on stage. And you did it.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
I feel like playing the sax with Esmeralda Spalding is safer and probably a bigger high, frankly.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
One, two, three. Let's do the three again. Three. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I'm so glad this one came up. Is the music you listen to happier or sadder than you are?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
First round. Memories. One, two, or three. Oh, you're already feeling something for the middle. You're already feeling it. Okay. Where would you go when you needed to escape as a teenager?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
I'm hearing you say, you're in for the whole gambit. You're in for the whole thing. All the emotions.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
We're in the last round. This is the beliefs round. Sort of touched on beliefs throughout the whole thing, though, but they're going to get more pointed.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Okay, here we go. How have your feelings about God changed over time?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Is that the present version for you?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Okay. Three more cards. One, two, or three.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
When do you feel connected to the people you've lost?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Yeah. Is there something in particular that you felt that you needed to get away from when you were an adolescent? Or was it just adolescence?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
We end the show the same way every time, with a trip in our memory time machine, in which you travel to one moment from your past. It is not a moment that you want to change anything about. It's just a moment you would like to linger in a little longer.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Can you share any more details about that moment where you were, what she smelled like, what you're looking at?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Joy Harjo, it has been such a pleasure to get to share this time with you. Thank you so much.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
If you enjoyed this conversation, I think you should check out my episode with another poet, Hanif Abdurraqib. Like Joy, Hanif has this really thoughtful and deliberate way of speaking. And the answers that he gave to the wildcard questions that I asked really take you on a journey. It's definitely worth a listen.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
This episode was produced by Lee Hale and edited by Dave Blanchard with help from Romel Wood. It was mastered by Patrick Murray. Wildcard's executive producer is Yolanda Sangweni. Our theme music is by Ramteen Arablui. You can reach out to us at wildcard at npr.org. We're going to shovel the deck and be back with more next week. Talk to you then.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Hey, it's Rachel. Just a heads up, there's a story about domestic violence in this episode. What's the biggest risk you've ever taken?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
One, two, or three. One. One. What's a place that shaped you as much as any person did?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
It makes sense to me what you said. It was taking you out of your regular life. Like regular life was busy. You had a bunch of siblings. There was a lot of household work to do. Just the work of being alive. And that was taking you out of that.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
It's been a long time, but do you remember a specific dream you had as a child that evoked that for you, a place you didn't know of, and then you came back knowing it?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
I'm Rachel Martin, and this is Wildcard, the game where cards control the conversation. Each week, my guest answers questions about their life, questions pulled from a deck of cards. They're allowed to skip one question and to flip one question back on me. My guest this week is poet Joy Harjo.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
But dreaming like that as a child, then did dreaming become something that was a little bit scary to you? Or did you look forward to it because it was going to transport you places?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Okay, last one in this round. One, two, or three.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
This is the first round, Joy. You got to hydrate.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
What was a moment in your life when you could have chosen a different path?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Did that division become more stark, though, when you went to the art school? And then presumably you still came home to see your mom. And did it feel worse knowing that there was this other life that you had access to now and his behaviors were all the more egregious because you had something to compare it to?
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
Joy Harjo is one of the most revered poets in the United States, and there are all kinds of reasons why that didn't have to happen. She actually studied pre-med in college. But as if to hedge her bets on that particular career choice, she began taking creative writing classes. And in the end, the arts won out. Stability be damned. Joy grew up in Oklahoma as part of the Muscogee Creek Nation.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
What a wonderful thing that you found that school.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
But her stepfather forced Joy to suppress her creativity. She wasn't even allowed to sing in the house. That creative spirit could have died inside her. But when she was finally out on her own, she realized that making music and telling stories and writing poetry wasn't just something she wanted to do. It was something she had to do.
Wild Card with Rachel Martin
Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret
I want to push back from the game for a minute because I want to talk about the new version of your very, very beautiful book. It is called For a Girl Becoming. You published this originally in 2009, right? Yes. And how do you describe the story that's embedded in this book?