Vincent Cunningham
Appearances
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From the Archive: James Taylor Will Teach you Guitar
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From the Archive: James Taylor Will Teach you Guitar
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From the Archive: St. Vincent’s Seduction
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From the Archive: St. Vincent’s Seduction
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From the Archive: Elvis Costello Talks with David Remnick
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From the Archive: Elvis Costello Talks with David Remnick
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From the Archive: Elvis Costello Talks with David Remnick
Now, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
The Writer Katie Kitamura on Autonomy, Interpretation, and “Audition”
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
The Writer Katie Kitamura on Autonomy, Interpretation, and “Audition”
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sara Bareilles Talks with Rachel Syme
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sara Bareilles Talks with Rachel Syme
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sara Bareilles Talks with Rachel Syme
Yeah, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Donald Trump Is Trying to Rewrite the Rules of Capitalism
A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Alan Cumming on “The Traitors” and His Brush with Reality Television
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Alan Cumming on “The Traitors” and His Brush with Reality Television
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Alan Cumming on “The Traitors” and His Brush with Reality Television
Yeah, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Julianne Moore Explains What She Needs in a Film Director
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Julianne Moore Explains What She Needs in a Film Director
It's near Woodstock. It's about two hours from the city.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Julianne Moore Explains What She Needs in a Film Director
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Louis Mitchell.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Julianne Moore Explains What She Needs in a Film Director
This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer, with guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barish, Victor Guan, and Alejandra Deckett. Special thanks this week to Catherine Sterling, Amanda Miller, Nico Brown, and Michael Etherington.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Julianne Moore Explains What She Needs in a Film Director
The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherena Endowment Fund.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Julianne Moore Explains What She Needs in a Film Director
It's pretty simple. It sucks.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Julianne Moore Explains What She Needs in a Film Director
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Historical Epic of the Chinese in America
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Historical Epic of the Chinese in America
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Louis Mitchell.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Historical Epic of the Chinese in America
This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer, with guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Parrish, Victor Guan, and Alejandra Deckett. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherena Endowment Fund.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Historical Epic of the Chinese in America
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Historical Epic of the Chinese in America
Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Returning to a Home Consumed by the Wildfires
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Returning to a Home Consumed by the Wildfires
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Returning to a Home Consumed by the Wildfires
And we had special assistance this week from Jonathan Mitchell.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A West Bank Family on the Verge of Annexation
Since WNYC's first broadcast in 1924, we've been dedicated to creating the kind of content we know the world needs. Since then, New York Public Radio's rigorous journalism has gone on to win a Peabody Award and a DuPont Columbia Award, among others.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A West Bank Family on the Verge of Annexation
In addition to this award-winning reporting, your sponsorship also supports inspiring storytelling and extraordinary music that is free and accessible to all. To get in touch and find out more, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A West Bank Family on the Verge of Annexation
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A West Bank Family on the Verge of Annexation
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A West Bank Family on the Verge of Annexation
Smotrich suggested planning for this is already in motion.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A West Bank Family on the Verge of Annexation
Now, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Richard Brody Presents the 2025 Brody Awards
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Richard Brody Presents the 2025 Brody Awards
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Louis Mitchell.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer, with guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barish, and Alejandra Deckett.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
We the Builders: Federal Employees Stand Up to DOGE; Plus, Celebrating 100 Years: Michael Cunningham on “Brokeback Mountain”
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
We the Builders: Federal Employees Stand Up to DOGE; Plus, Celebrating 100 Years: Michael Cunningham on “Brokeback Mountain”
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From Critics at Large: After “Wicked,” What Do We Want from the Musical?
who alters, forges, knowingly destroys, knowingly mutilates, or in any manner changes this certificate may be fined not to exceed $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From Critics at Large: After “Wicked,” What Do We Want from the Musical?
That's the old man that I'd like.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
One Environmental Journalist Thinks that the U.S. Needs More Mining
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
One Environmental Journalist Thinks that the U.S. Needs More Mining
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
One Environmental Journalist Thinks that the U.S. Needs More Mining
Now, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Percival Everett’s “James” Wins a Pulitzer
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Percival Everett’s “James” Wins a Pulitzer
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm Vincent Cunningham, a staff writer for The New Yorker. There have been... At least 37 different productions of Romeo and Juliet on Broadway, not to mention countless high school productions. Maybe you were in one. I don't know. But this new one by the director Sam Gold is kind of a dark, clubby, Gen Z Romeo and Juliet.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
You know, one thing that Shakespeare has in common with this is not something that I was ever primed to think about, that Shakespeare has in common with Quentin Tarantino is that they are both adept at using the stories of their time.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
This is a long way of asking what it was like working with Jeremy Strong, who appears in one of the great stories of our time, Succession, when you worked with him on Enemy of the People. You know, you work with somebody that, like, comes from a world of reference. Like, this is the guy who played Kendall Roy. Is that something that I'm using with this person?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
Is it something that I'm trying to strip away?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
Yeah, no, I was thinking about this as I watched, again, in an amazing way, those young people who were at Romeo and Juliet at the end, just, like, swarming the exits, waiting to receive Rachel and Kit. And I wondered, what came into my mind is, you know, whether there is any difference, whether there needs to be any difference, um...
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
between sort of the function of the audience as we classically understand it in theater and the new word that we have, which is like fandom. And whether that at all is something that sort of is in the fringes of your consciousness as you make your work. I mean, I don't think it's new at all. True.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
Well, Sam, thank you so much for these interpretations, this work, and for talking to us. This is great. Thank you so much. Thank you. That's the director, Sam Gold, talking about the latest revival of Romeo and Juliet, which is now playing on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theater. And that's The New Yorker Radio Hour for today. I'm Vincent Cunningham, a staff writer at The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
And, by the way, I'm also one of the co-hosts of The New Yorker's weekly culture podcast, Critics at Large. New episodes drop every Thursday. David Remnick will be back on Friday. Thanks for listening.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
It's funny that you framed the play in that way. I've always thought of Romeo and Juliet as a play about young people, but not necessarily as one for young people. There were so many, especially young women in the crowd that I went to. There was certainly, like, a sort of fan aspect of, like, we know these people. We're excited for them.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
One sort of subtext of the play was Kit Conner's triceps are very prominently displayed all play along. But, you know, it just seemed to have this, like, very populist feeling where the people in the audience are being interacted with are— Offering their emotions, their sighs, their sort of exclamations. What was your theory of audience in making this show?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
It's as if the teens from Euphoria decided that they had to do Shakespeare, and this is what they came up with. The two stars are Rachel Ziegler, who you probably know from the latest movie version of West Side Story, and Kit Conner, who's from the teen Netflix hit Heartstopper.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, and now Romeo and Juliet. And I... has this been a project for you? Because you've also done, you've worked on Ibsen, you've worked on other things. But has this Shakespeare sort of visitation for you? Do you conceive of it as one project?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
Does the makeup of that ensemble, who's in it, what kind of ideas and physicality and everything that they bring, is that something that develops in conjunction with that ensemble? Or do you... as a director, show up with a concept. I want to try this thing. Let's see how this works. How does the idea develop? The thing that makes, I don't know, your Macbeth different than other Macbeths?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
We talked already about notions of sort of what is the popular or what is the sort of the broad audience. You mentioned earlier the Worcester Group, which is this downtown New York experimental avant-garde theater company. Another – I don't want to say benefit that they have, but – a particularity is the idea of a small audience that's coming for something that is self-consciously an experiment.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
Yeah. And you working this stuff out on Broadway, which is a very different notion of what it means to be a director, a very different notion of audience, very different prerogatives. How does it feel to do all the things that you're talking about on Broadway, which is the broadest audience possible?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
I wanted to talk to Sam Gold partly just because I really admire his work, but also because I always have this question when someone does Romeo and Juliet, and the question is, why now? Gold has famously directed five of Shakespeare's great tragedies, and it seems that he's kind of working through something about Shakespeare in public in front of all of us.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
Just because they're not wearing the frills or whatever does not mean that you have therefore sort of desecrated the play.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
that production was born in the mind of Ibsen. Exactly.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
That's the director, Sam Gold, talking about the new Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet. We'll be right back in a moment.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
I'm Vincent Cunningham, a staff writer here at The New Yorker, and I've been talking with the director, Sam Gold, about this latest new production of Romeo and Juliet. We'll continue our conversation now. Does staging something in the round change your whole conception visually as a director? I've always wondered, yeah.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
So I wanted to understand why Romeo and Juliet, why now, and how he came up with this totally interesting, totally bonkers production. How does Sam Gold find his way into the middle of this mess? Like, what makes you decide to do Romeo and Juliet now?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
People are increasingly engrossed in screens. Obviously, film precedes all the problems we think about with smartphones and everything, but what is the primary relationship between what you do and what shows up on screens in terms of TV and film?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
You know, as I was reading this book, I asked myself, if we are today in the modern world more or less inclined to believe in miracles than the contemporaries of Jesus.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
You've said that you left the faith as a teenager after briefly entering it. You've been through everything in life and more that has to offer, whether it's life and loss and love and its loss and all these things, and have had an incredibly rich scholarly intellectual life. Does religion as such play any role in your life beyond its being a source of your intellectual commitment and study?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Her new book out next week, a kind of culmination of her career, is called Miracles and Wonder. It takes on some of the central historical controversies of Christianity, including the stories of Immaculate Conception and the Resurrection.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Well, Judaism also is the one that I know where it's closest to me. It's also a matter of its being a civilization and a language and what language is and a great deal more. It's not just do I believe in God, do I not believe in God.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Meeting Pagels again 30 years later, I was struck by just how focused she is on the topic of belief in Christian history and how the world of two millennia ago and the historical landscape, the world of the Jews and the Romans and Jesus, is to her so vividly alive. We first met, you're not going to believe this, 30 years ago.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
So is it too banal to ask you if you're a Christian or not?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
What does all your study and experience lead you to think what happens after we die?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
And shortly thereafter, you published a book and I decided to write about you. You had suffered unimaginable loss. First, one of your children had died after a long illness. And then your husband, Heinz Pagels, had an accident and died while hiking. And you told me, and this is a quote from you at that time, I found that in times of grief, the church has little to say. It's just too remote.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Elaine Pagels is a professor of religion at Princeton University, and her new book is Miracles and Wonder, The Historical Mystery of Jesus. My colleague Adam Gopnik wrote a long, terrific, thoughtful piece about the book, which you can find at newyorker.com. And you can subscribe to the magazine at newyorker.com as well, newyorker.com. I'm David Remnick. Thanks so much for joining us this week.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
How did those losses affect your relationship to faith at that time?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
You describe this scene... It was, I think, at the old Cow Palace in San Francisco where basketball games were played. And you were so taken with Billy Graham, who was, I guess for younger people who are listening, don't know, but Billy Graham was the great evangelist of his day and filled Yankee Stadium and other such places. That's it.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
And you were so swept away as a teenager that in the course of the evening, you were called to Christ.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
So how did you decide to make a life of scholarship in religion? You've now published... the latest book in what I consider a lifelong project. There's a real continuity to all these books. Why did you come to focus on Christianity and some of the lesser-known narratives of Christianity, books that aren't part of the official canon.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
You've given your professional life to this, your intellectual life to this.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Describe that, because not everybody's had that. How did it change your life and your mind?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
When you were a kid and had this kind of evangelical breakthrough, no matter how fleeting it was, did you think of Jesus as a real person existing in a real historical time or Among political currents, as well as think of him in terms of a kind of supernatural or religious presence.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
It was a cinematic metaphor, but not real.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
If you could, and I know it's an elementary question, but it's crucial to understand it if we're going to get at your work in a deeper way. But we know the New Testament, and we know that there are four Gospels. Right.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Before Gospels emerged and somehow became canonical in what we know as the New Testament, there was a discovery at a certain point of a gigantic jar by somebody who basically came across it. And broke it open, and inside were texts, some of which were used as, I hate to even think about it, half of them seem to have been burned up most likely, right? Used as kindling for the fire, yes.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
But what survived are what's called the Gnostic Gospels. What are they, and how do they compare to the book of Mark and Matthew?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Decades ago, in fact, 30 years ago precisely, I published a piece in the New Yorker with the title The Devil Problem. It was a profile of Elaine Pagels, a scholar of early Christianity, who would also improbably become a best-selling author.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Why did they emerge and become the canon and the others fell away?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
But why would they be considered heretical?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
I'm talking with the religion scholar Elaine Pagels, and we'll continue in a moment.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
One part of your new book that's already received some, let's just say, attention in the Catholic hierarchy long before publication is your investigation of the narratives of Immaculate Conception. Tell me... How this is still controversial and uncertain 2,000 years later.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Or any Joseph. Or any Joseph, yes.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Pagels' 1979 book, The Gnostic Gospels, was scholarly and rigorous, but also accessible outside the academy and widely read. She changed how a lot of people, Christian and those we might call Christian-curious, how they thought about the Bible itself. Pagels went on to write The Origin of Satan, as well as works on Adam and Eve and the Book of Revelation.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
How long has that been in the scholarly discussion, the possibility that Jesus might have been an illegitimate child, to use the old phrase?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
Is it an unspeakable thing among Catholic prelates and in Catholic academia to raise this question?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
So it wasn't an entirely positive review.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
He thought you were making a mountain out of a molehill.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Bob Menendez Came By His Gold Bars
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Bob Menendez Came By His Gold Bars
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Bob Menendez Came By His Gold Bars
Yeah, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elissa Slotkin to Fellow-Democrats: “Speak in Plain English”
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Elissa Slotkin to Fellow-Democrats: “Speak in Plain English”
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
What Trump Has Got Wrong—and Right—About the War in Ukraine
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
What Trump Has Got Wrong—and Right—About the War in Ukraine
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
What Trump Has Got Wrong—and Right—About the War in Ukraine
Yeah, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
How do you evaluate as both a journalist and somebody leading a journalism school, the reaction of the press in these early weeks to what's been going on in Washington?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Because Paramount controls CBS. In almost every one of these cases, though, it seems the problem is... that the corporations that own these media outlets have much bigger fish to fry in the corporate world than their media outlets. So Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post and bought it for $250 million, that to him is nothing compared to the scale of Amazon itself.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
What I notice sometimes speaking with friends who aren't in the press, who are doing all kinds of other things, they don't want to engage with the news too much. They feel exhausted. They feel psychologically self-protective in the way... That is very different from 2017. Any number of people say, you know, I refuse to watch CNN or I refuse to read the paper. And I'm kind of shocked by it.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
And the tragic plane crash in Washington, the president also suggested, might well be the result of, yes, DEI. To understand what's happening here and why, I sat down the other day with Jelani Cobb. Jelani Cobb is a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, and he's a historian and the dean of Columbia University's journalism school.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
For a long time now, Steve Bannon has been talking about the importance of flooding the zone to cause a kind of blitz of news and orders and activity from the White House with the idea that the media would never be able to focus their attention. I have to say, that seems to be working out just fine for Donald Trump, at the moment at least.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
And you're the first person today to mention Frank the Animal Fletcher to me.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
You're saying a 78-year-old president can't keep it up forever. Yeah.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
I think there's an awareness among Trump's people that that's absolutely the case. But in many presidencies, the first burst of activity, the first hundred days, certainly the first two years before the midterms, is what's most crucial in getting things done. So a lot of activity can register as accomplishment for him very quickly. That's true.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Jelani, barely two or three weeks in office, Donald Trump has gone after academia, journalism, and diversity. So you're a dean, you're a journalist, and guess what? So how are you holding up?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
You mentioned McCarthyism earlier, and you're a scholar of the Cold War, among other things. What are the similarities that you see between the Red Scare, the anti-communist campaign of the 50s, and what we're seeing now with DEI?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
You'll let me know when he does. Jelani Cobb, I appreciate your time. Be well.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
You can read Jelani Cobb on politics, race, and much more at newyorker.com and at the very same website on the eve of our 100th anniversary. You can subscribe to the magazine there, too. I'm David Remnick. That's our show for today. Thanks for joining us. See you next time.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
And we had help this week from Evan David Roberts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Let's break this down then. What are the fears that you're sensing, for example, in academia where you're spending most of your days? You're at Columbia University.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Are those reasonable concerns, Jelani, since the people that are making the tenure decisions are senior faculty and deans?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
What executive orders that have been issued so far related to DEI concern you most?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Well, Jelani, what is DEI at its best, in your view? And are there abuses of it, and how would you describe them?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
They may be toothless, but we're... And there was a book about this called Diversity, Inc. I don't know if you read this. And, you know, if you stick around long enough at any company, sooner or later you'll be sent to a diversity training, which I have to say, certainly one of them that I went to seemed like
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
beside the point at best and a racket at worst, you know, and didn't really have any positive impact on anybody's consciousness, much less hiring. So there can be an abuse of it, no?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Yeah. That's put in a much more elegant way. I appreciate that. But what causes a president in the United States, on the eve of a horrible tragedy like a plane crash, with seeming sincerity and all the chutzpah in the world, to blame that horrible accident, the deaths of dozens of people, on DEI? And get away with it.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Welcome to the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Well, the opening weeks of the Trump administration seem to have followed a mantra from Facebook's earlier years. Move fast and break things and break them into a thousand pieces before anyone will notice.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
And yet we've seen the vote for Donald Trump among the Black community, among the Latino community, increase this last time around.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Last week, we woke up to Elon Musk bragging that he was feeding a congressionally authorized agency with a 40 plus billion dollar budget into, and I quote, a wood chipper. Breaking things at warp speed is very much the point now. Many of the most draconian measures have been justified as emergency actions to root out DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
Trump also released an executive order saying he would divert federal funds from schools teaching what he calls discriminatory equity ideology. It also said the government would sanction any school that taught that people can be oppressed due to their race, which is kind of amazing. What does that mean in practice? And how can a teacher reasonably deal with this?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
I'm speaking with Jelani Cobb. He's the author of The Substance of Hope, Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress, and many other books. We'll continue our conversation in a moment.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
And wound up killing 20, 30,000 people or so before it was over with.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. I've been speaking today with Jelani Cobb, who's a historian and a staff writer at The New Yorker. We're talking about the Trump administration's wholesale assault on DEI, programs in the federal government and elsewhere that encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI is a singular obsession for Donald Trump and his allies.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
So I'll return now to my conversation with journalist and historian Jelani Cobb. So in 2023, the Supreme Court issued its ruling that ended affirmative action as we knew it. Coupled with that, how are these executive orders going to affect the environment that you're in at Columbia and academia writ large?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
These are typically programs put in place by large companies or institutions or government agencies to encourage more diverse workplaces. But the administration characterizes DEI as discrimination and broadly as the root of so much of what ails this nation. The temporary freeze of trillions of dollars in federal grants since rescinded was described as an anti-DEI measure.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Inside Donald Trump’s Mass-Deportation Plans
On Radiolab, a story about how the country's most brilliant doctors did exactly what they were supposed to do.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Inside Donald Trump’s Mass-Deportation Plans
The question we'll ask is, how did this happen?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Inside Donald Trump’s Mass-Deportation Plans
Find out on How to Cure What Ails You from Radiolab. Listen where you get podcasts or on the WNYC app.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Bill Gates on His New Memoir and Dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Bill Gates on His New Memoir and Dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Jared Paul. This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Bill Gates on His New Memoir and Dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
With guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barish, Victor Guan, and Alejandra Deckett.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Bill Gates on His New Memoir and Dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherena Endowment Fund.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Bill Gates on His New Memoir and Dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Rachel Aviv on Alice Munro’s Family Secrets
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Rachel Aviv on Alice Munro’s Family Secrets
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of TuneArts, with additional music by Louis Mitchell. This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Rachel Aviv on Alice Munro’s Family Secrets
With guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barish, Victor Guan, and Alejandra Deckett. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherena Endowment Fund.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Rachel Aviv on Alice Munro’s Family Secrets
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
You can read Ayelet Waldman's essay, Piecing for Cover, at newyorker.com. She spoke with Jeffrey Masters, a senior producer on our show.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Ich möchte zurückkommen zu diesem Thema Ballett, weil es scheint, als wäre es ein sehr wichtiges Teil deines Lebens, dass du ein professioneller Balletttänzer bist. Wie viel trainiert du als Tänzer? Wie viel bleibt dir das mit? Ist das ein Teil deines Ansatzes als Schauspieler? Denkst du oft darüber nach, wenn du arbeitest?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Also die Thanksgiving-Serie. Es geht um vier Leute, die, sagen wir mal, als Weiße präsentieren, versuchen, eine Serie über die erste Thanksgiving zu stellen und versuchen, und ich denke, oft verfehlen, diese nativale Präsence zu erinnern, die sie irgendwie versuchen, zu bezeichnen.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Und ich dachte viel darüber, was in Florida passiert, wie wir unsere Kinder auf Themen beitragen, die sie fühlen, was auch immer, schuldig oder überrascht. Wie viel von heutigen Dramen über Bildung und Rasse und Geschichte denkst du mit dieser neuen Produktion?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
I mean, I imagine that that tension is exacerbated by the expectations of the audience, right? I mean, just the way the arts happen in America, usually the audiences are white. And they often, I think it's fair to say, some people come to the theater white. auf irgendeinem Niveau hoffen zu haben, eine Art lernende Erfahrung zu haben.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Was ich liebe an deinem Spiel ist, dass es so ist, dass du nur lachen wirst, und es fühlt sich seltsam an. Ist das etwas, mit dem du spielen möchtest, oder fühlt es sich als eine Hürde an? Nein, absolut nicht. Ich liebe das. Eine Sache, die ich liebe an diesem Spiel, ist, dass es einen Charakter namens Alicia gibt. Sie wird von Darcy Carton gespielt, ein sehr lustiger, wundervoller Performer.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Und sie wird auf die Überzeugung geholt, dass sie ein naturer Mensch ist. Und ich habe darüber nachgedacht, weil eine Menge der Literatur, die ich aufgewachsen bin, Black Literature, Passing ist ein großes Thema. Was bedeutet Passing für dich? Auf der Bühne und so weiter.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Is that America's subtitle? Is that perhaps the whole thing? Yeah.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Ich würde mir vorstellen, dass das eine Korrelation zu deiner Erfahrung hat.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Eines der tollen Dinge an den Thanksgiving Plays ist, dass es so viele Dinge über Theater beobachtet, die uns als Probleme zeigen und uns sagen, ob wir das wirklich meinen. Ich denke, wir sind alle in einer Orthodoxie eingegangen. Du kannst nicht außerhalb deiner Race, Ethnicität, deinem Aussehen spielen.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
und was tatsächlich passiert wäre. Wenn Sie denken, Sie würden gerne sehen, dass gutmeinende Liberale ihre eigenen guten Intentionen verursachen, dann ist dieses Spiel für Sie. Als das Thanksgiving-Spiel letztes Jahr auf Broadway premierierte, sprach unser Kritiker Vincent Cunningham mit der Schauspielerin Larissa Fasthorse.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Aber natürlich bedeutet das, wenn es nicht indigenische Rollen gibt, sind indigenische Schauspieler niemals in der Lage, diese aktive Repräsentation zu machen. In deiner Erfahrung, wenn du mit Schauspielern arbeitest, wie haben Leute damit angefangen?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
these same well-meaning people. I don't know. What has been the response to that? This is kind of you. How do you feel about that?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Sie ist die einzige Native Americanin, die ein Spiel auf Broadway produziert hat.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Think about the Lenape only usually before a show or something. And then someone comes out and does a land acknowledgement and say, this is the land of the Lenape people. How do you feel about that practice?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Thank you so much for doing this.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
That's Larissa Fasthorse speaking with staff writer Vincent Cunningham last year when the Thanksgiving play premiered on Broadway. It's been produced all over the country. This is the New Yorker Radio Hour with more to come.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. If you're feeling a little stressed out lately, not that I'm implying anything stressful is going on, you might do what Ayelet Waldman did and take up a hobby.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
Waldman is a novelist, an essayist, and earlier this year she wrote a piece for The New Yorker about quilting. Waldman discovered that quilting was not just pleasant or useful...
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Does Tim Walz Have Any Regrets?
Yeah, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Does Tim Walz Have Any Regrets?
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Does Tim Walz Have Any Regrets?
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
The Art of Cooking with Ina Garten
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
The Art of Cooking with Ina Garten
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Cory Booker: “America Needs Moral Leadership, and Not Political Leadership”
A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Cory Booker: “America Needs Moral Leadership, and Not Political Leadership”
And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How “Saturday Night Live” Reinvented Television, Fifty Years Ago
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How “Saturday Night Live” Reinvented Television, Fifty Years Ago
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Kaitlan Collins Is Not “Nasty”; She’s Just Doing Her Job
Now, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Kaitlan Collins Is Not “Nasty”; She’s Just Doing Her Job
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Kaitlan Collins Is Not “Nasty”; She’s Just Doing Her Job
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
John Fetterman on Trump’s “Raw Sewage,” and What the Democrats Get Wrong
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
John Fetterman on Trump’s “Raw Sewage,” and What the Democrats Get Wrong
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of TuneArts, with additional music by Louis Mitchell and Jared Paul. This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
John Fetterman on Trump’s “Raw Sewage,” and What the Democrats Get Wrong
With guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barish, Victor Guan, and Alejandra Deckett. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Tarina Endowment Fund.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
John Fetterman on Trump’s “Raw Sewage,” and What the Democrats Get Wrong
This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Willem Dafoe on “Nosferatu”
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Willem Dafoe on “Nosferatu”
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Willem Dafoe on “Nosferatu”
The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk, of course. This is Rook Zook. I'm seeing them tomorrow night. From their 1970 debut album. You're going to see Kraftwerk.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Well, this will be a pre-concert primer for you then. Oh, I hope so. Listeners of a certain age may know that song, Rook Zook, because it was used as the theme song to Newton's Apple, the public television show about science. And back then, Kraftwerk, they were kind of like a progressive rock band back then, right? It kind of almost sounds like Tubular Bells or one of those records.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Yes, early 70s. 73, too? Well, the debut record is 1970. And, you know, they're obsessed with electronic instruments, but also electronic rhythm, which turned out to be important to the history of music. Sure did. In 1974, they made this album called Autobahn. Here's a little bit of it.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
It went to number five on the American album chart. And it was kind of like a lot of great bands or great tracks. It was kind of considered a novelty record, right? Like these Germans singing about the Autobahn.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
And there was this idea that, like, these artsy Germans from Dusseldorf were making the music of the future. And the funniest thing about that joke is it turned out to be true, more or less. Although, if you wanted to make a parody of German music, you probably couldn't do much better than this track, Trans Europe Express, 1977. Rendezvous Heidi, it's severe, lyrics about trains.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
But the funny thing about this is a few years later, Trans Europe Express was reborn as a track called Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Yeah. And part of what I like about this history is it kind of flips the history of rock and roll, right? You have this rock and roll history of these beloved old black blues musicians and these upstart white bands are ripping them off. And here the role of the beloved black older blues musician is played by the members of Kraftwerk.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
And, you know, it's funny how quickly that sound, that Kraftwerk-y sound comes to be associated with other things. It comes to be associated with break dancers and stuff.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Did you ever bust out a little bit of cardboard and do some moves, David? Less frequently than you would have thought. I can barely spin on my feet. It wouldn't have worked well. So in 1981, Kraftwerk, you know, synthesizers are not so new anymore. And Kraftwerk makes basically a concept album about a different emerging technology, the personal computer. also turned out to be important.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
I heard that. They called it Computer World, and one of the best tracks is Numbers. You know, the vocals kind of sound like they're coming from a speakin' spell. But in fact, I believe they're coming from a device called the Language Translator, which was made by the same company, Texas Instruments, that made the speakin' spell. They were experimenting with all this stuff.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
And one of the things they've realized is, you know, I think a lot of us thought that to be a hit, a song probably needed a catchy tune. I think what they realized is they got more and more interested in the textures and sounds that were coming out of these electronic equipments.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
And they realized that you could have a rigid electronic beat, but somehow have enough happening that it wouldn't be boring and it wouldn't be predictable. Or if it was predictable, it would be predictable in a good way. But they were arguably the first. Well, you know, a lot of people were using this stuff, right? Like Sly Stone has one of the first drum machine hits, right, in 1971.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
So, you know, people are using this electronic stuff, but they had a – there was something about their vision. And as with anything else, they put elements together in a way that was catchy. It's a funny word to use about a track like Numbers, but – Numbers comes back. Here's a way in which Numbers comes back. A trio from Florida called Anquette has a song called Shake It, Do the 61st.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
And if you listen closely, you can hear those chirping, fluttering synthesizers in the background from Numbers. That's the group Anquette, yeah. So, I know we are a little bit digressive. I'd like to get extra digressive here for a moment, David.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
The single is called Janet Reno, who at the time was, I believe, a U.S. attorney in Miami-Dade County. Oh, it was before she was in the Clinton administration. Yes, because she was a local figure. And the idea was that if you don't pay your child support, Janet Reno was going to come after you. I don't know if she owns an autographed copy of that single, but I hope she does.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Anyway, back to Kraftwerk. This one particular track, Numbers, kept getting recycled and sampled and sampled. You might recognize the robotic counting in this techno track. This is Mike Hitman Wilson's remix of Rock to the Beat by Reese, which is a name of the producer Kevin Saunderson, who was one of the Detroit producers who created techno. And so this is a fairly early techno track.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
This is only a few years after the genre was born. And by this point, like, Kraftwerk is roots music. And for a techno producer, that's a way of paying tribute to, you know, the eight, by this point, eight years old German track that helped inspire them. Okay, one last Kraftwerk track, Computer Love, from that same 1981 album Computer World. It's kind of a love song about computers.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
I think the sense of humor in Kraftwerk is sometimes underrated. Overlooked. Yeah, there's a silliness to them or a sense of play.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Well, I think it's fair to say most of the people who come to see them now are there for the older songs, right? They would call that a legacy act, right? Not oldies. It's pejorative.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Yeah, so the heart of Kraftwerk was Florian Schneider and Ralf Hutter. Ralf Hutter is still alive and touring. Florian Schneider died in 2020. So, you know, it's partly an opportunity to pay tribute to this legacy. But, David, I think you might have told on yourself a little bit. You said that this track, Computer Love, sounded kind of familiar. Something. I think I know why. Why?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
Because Coldplay took the melody and used it for Talk from 2005. Wow. This is the ultimate musical lesson that no matter what kind of pioneer you are, you're going to come back to life as a Coldplay song. Okay.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
I have so much to say on this subject.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Confounding Politics of Junk Food. Plus, Kelefa Sanneh on the Long Influence of Kraftwerk
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Science Fiction Led Elon Musk to DOGE
Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Science Fiction Led Elon Musk to DOGE
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Science Fiction Led Elon Musk to DOGE
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of TuneArts, with additional music by Louis Mitchell and Jared Paul.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Science Fiction Led Elon Musk to DOGE
This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer, with guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barish, Victor Guan, and Alejandra Deckett.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Science Fiction Led Elon Musk to DOGE
The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherena Endowment Fund.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Science Fiction Led Elon Musk to DOGE
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Science Fiction Led Elon Musk to DOGE
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
How Science Fiction Led Elon Musk to DOGE
This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Antony Blinken’s Exit Interview
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Antony Blinken’s Exit Interview
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Louis Mitchell and Jared Paul.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Antony Blinken’s Exit Interview
This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer, with guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Parrish, Victor Guan, and Alejandra Deckett. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Tarina Endowment Fund.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Antony Blinken’s Exit Interview
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Atul Gawande on Elon Musk’s “Surgery with a Chainsaw”
The Catholic Church was made for this moment. I think 2,000 years ago, the Catholic Church basically anticipated TikTok, Instagram, X. You don't have those little Swiss guard outfits and think they're not being photographed. Oil painting is not enough.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Atul Gawande on Elon Musk’s “Surgery with a Chainsaw”
The New Yorker Radio Hour is a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Our theme music was composed and performed by Meryl Garbus of Tune Yards, with additional music by Louis Mitchell. This episode was produced by Max Balton, Adam Howard, David Krasnow, Jeffrey Masters, Louis Mitchell, Jared Paul, and Ursula Sommer.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Atul Gawande on Elon Musk’s “Surgery with a Chainsaw”
With guidance from Emily Botin and assistance from Michael May, David Gable, Alex Barish, Victor Guan, and Alejandra Deckett. The New Yorker Radio Hour is supported in part by the Cherena Endowment Fund.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Atul Gawande on Elon Musk’s “Surgery with a Chainsaw”
This is the New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
The A.C.L.U. v. Trump 2.0
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
The A.C.L.U. v. Trump 2.0
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
The A.C.L.U. v. Trump 2.0
Yeah, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Rashid Khalidi on the Palestinian Cause in a Volatile Middle East, and the Meaning of Settler Colonialism
Yeah, that's not the right question. The question is, why would they do such a stupid thing? Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Yeah, that's the question.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Rashid Khalidi on the Palestinian Cause in a Volatile Middle East, and the Meaning of Settler Colonialism
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Rashid Khalidi on the Palestinian Cause in a Volatile Middle East, and the Meaning of Settler Colonialism
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Will the Supreme Court Yield to Donald Trump?
From the online spectacle around Leo XIV's election to our favorite on-screen cardinals. This week on Critics at Large, we're talking all things Pope.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Will the Supreme Court Yield to Donald Trump?
I'm Vincent Cunningham. Join me and my co-hosts for an episode on what can only be described as Pope Week. New episodes of Critics at Large drop every Thursday. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.