The New Yorker Radio Hour
Profiles, storytelling and insightful conversations, hosted by David Remnick.
Episodes (51)
Elaine Pagels on the Mysteries of Jesus
After a lifetime spent studying Christianity, the scholar and best-selling author talks with David Remnick about why there’s still controversy over the religion’s foundational texts.
Senator Chris Murphy: “This Is How Democracy Dies—Everybody Just Gets Scared”
The Trump Administration is moving to prevent fair elections in 2026, the Connecticut Democrat says. “It won’t matter if we’re more popular than them.”
A West Bank Family on the Verge of Annexation
Soon after October 7th, Hisham Awartani and two Palestinian friends were shot on the street in Vermont. At home in the West Bank, he contemplates the prospect of Israeli annexation.
Kaitlan Collins Is Not “Nasty”; She’s Just Doing Her Job
The CNN anchor and chief White House correspondent talks with the guest host Clare Malone about covering the Trump Administrations—and how Trump’s circle isn’t as hostile as it seems.
We the Builders: Federal Employees Stand Up to DOGE; Plus, Celebrating 100 Years: Michael Cunningham on “Brokeback Mountain”
Federal employees share what life is like under DOGE cuts, and why they’re speaking out. Plus, the novelist talks about Annie Proulx’s 1997 story, which eventually became a hit film.
Atul Gawande on Elon Musk’s “Surgery with a Chainsaw”
Gawande, until recently a senior leader at U.S.A.I.D., explains the agency’s importance to America and to the world, and what its undoing by DOGE will bring.
How Bob Menendez Came By His Gold Bars
The former senator faces prison time for accepting bribes in cash and gold, and for related crimes. Then he made a thinly veiled plea to the President he had once voted to impeach.
What Trump Has Got Wrong—and Right—About the War in Ukraine
The Russia scholar Stephen Kotkin looks at America’s turning point in supporting Ukraine.
Alan Cumming on “The Traitors” and His Brush with Reality Television
The actor talks with Emily Nussbaum about his role on “The Traitors,” why he had always been “judgy” toward reality shows, and the perils of fame.
Does Tim Walz Have Any Regrets?
The Minnesota governor, who was Kamala Harris’s running mate, on what went wrong for the Democrats in 2024, and what they should do now that Donald Trump is back in the White House.
Richard Brody Presents the 2025 Brody Awards
Oscar who? The film critic—a true believer in the art of cinema—picks the winners of the most coveted award of all: The Brodys.
John Fetterman on Trump’s “Raw Sewage,” and What the Democrats Get Wrong
The Pennsylvania senator says the Administration is dumping “three feet of raw sewage” on America, “and we have a Dixie cup” to bail it out. But Democrats have to work with Trump.
Celebrating 100 Years: Jia Tolentino and Roz Chast Pick Favorites from the Archive
The staff writer and the cartoonist share their picks from the archive—an essay by Joan Didion, and a caveman cartoon by George Booth—to celebrate The New Yorker’s centennial.
The A.C.L.U. v. Trump 2.0
Anthony Romero, the head of the A.C.L.U., says that the United States is on the brink of a constitutional crisis. “We’re at the Rubicon. Whether we’ve crossed it remains to be seen.”
“No Other Land”: The Collective Behind the Oscar-Nominated Documentary
Two of the filmmakers, Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, discuss the challenges and the threat of violence they faced making a film about Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
Trump’s Boogeyman: D.E.I.
The staff writer Jelani Cobb talks about the Trump Administration’s attempts to root out policies of diversity, equity, and inclusion—which it describes as discriminatory.
The New Yorker Celebrates a Hundred Years as a Poetry and Fiction Tastemaker
The New Yorker editors Deborah Treisman and Kevin Young discuss literary anthologies published for the magazine’s centennial.
Bill Gates on His New Memoir and Dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
The Microsoft co-founder and public-health philanthropist discusses the future of A.I., vaccine skepticism, and the politics of technology in 2025.
Returning to a Home Consumed by the Wildfires
The longtime staff writer Dana Goodyear talks about the devastation of the wildfires that devastated her house and thousands of other buildings in the Los Angeles area.
How “Saturday Night Live” Reinvented Television, Fifty Years Ago
The New Yorker editor Susan Morrison on Lorne Michaels, the producer who still runs “S.N.L.” with an iron hand. Plus, Tina Fey reads The New Yorker’s review of the show from Season 1.
The Political Scene: Big Money and Trump’s New Cabinet
“Donald Trump is a master of picking appointees for very senior positions who never would have gotten those jobs under anyone else,” the staff writer Susan B. Glasser says.
Antony Blinken’s Exit Interview
President Biden’s long-serving Secretary of State on the crisis in Gaza, and his reason for optimism about a lasting peace in the region.
One Environmental Journalist Thinks that the U.S. Needs More Mining
Mining for rare-earth metals has severe environmental consequences. Speaking with Elizabeth Kolbert, the journalist Vince Beiser says that the U.S. needs more of it.
Representative Ro Khanna on Elon Musk and the Tech Oligarchy
Representing Silicon Valley in Congress, Khanna knows tech moguls—and knows how dangerous they are. “Some of them,” he tells David Remnick, “think they’re Nietzsche’s Superman.”
Sara Bareilles Talks with Rachel Syme
The songwriter and performer on her journey from pop music to theatre, with a live performance of “Gravity.”
Rachel Aviv on Alice Munro’s Family Secrets
Munro kept quiet about the sexual abuse of her daughter by her partner—but wrote about the family trauma in fiction.
Julianne Moore Explains What She Needs in a Film Director
The actress talks with Michael Schulman about her time on “As the World Turns,” starring in Pedro Almodóvar’s first film in English, and why she hates when people call actors “brave.”
The Art of Cooking with Ina Garten
The food guru explains why she hated dinnertime growing up, and how she learned to love it. Plus, Pick Three: Erotic Thrillers.
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
In 1979, a minister received a telegram from Iranian militants who had taken hostages in the American embassy, inviting him to perform Christmas services. Two days later, he was inside.
Willem Dafoe on “Nosferatu”
The actor talks with Adam Howard about playing a vampire hunter in Robert Eggers’s remake of “Nosferatu.” After hundreds of vampire movies, Eggers “wanted him to be scary again.”
From the Archive: James Taylor Will Teach you Guitar
James Taylor’s songs are so familiar that they seem to have always existed. Onstage at the New Yorker Festival, in 2010, Taylor peeled back some of his influences—the Beatles, Bach, show tunes, and...
From the Archive: St. Vincent’s Seduction
Annie Clark, known as St. Vincent, launched her career as a guitar virtuoso—a real shredder—in indie rock, playing alongside artists like Sufjan Stevens. As a bandleader, she’s moved away from the...
From the Archive: Elvis Costello Talks with David Remnick
Elvis Costello’s thirty-first studio album, “Hey Clockface,” will be released this month. Recorded largely before the pandemic, it features an unusual combination of winds, cello, piano, and drums....
From Critics at Large: After “Wicked,” What Do We Want from the Musical?
Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Broadway hit is the latest iteration of a quintessentially American form. Why has the musical endured—and where might it go next?
Rashid Khalidi on the Palestinian Cause in a Volatile Middle East, and the Meaning of Settler Colonialism
The historian discusses events that have weakened supposed allies of the Palestinians, and the idea of settler colonialism that has taken hold on the left. Critic Adam Kirsch responds.
Audra McDonald on Stephen Sondheim, “Gypsy,” and Being Black on Broadway
The actress stars as Rose in a Broadway revival of “Gypsy.” She shares that, throughout her career, some people have been upset when she plays characters conceived for white actors.
Inside Donald Trump’s Mass-Deportation Plans
The staff writer Jonathan Blitzer on the rhetoric and the reality of deporting “millions”—and why immigrants in the country legally are likely to be targeted.
Pick 3: Justin Chang’s Downer Movies for the Holiday Season
The New Yorker’s critic on holiday-season films that he’s excited about. “These are not upbeat movies,” Chang admits, “but they are among the most thrilling that I've seen this year.”
A Lakota Playwright’s Take on Thanksgiving; Plus, Ayelet Waldman on Quilting to Stay Sane
The staff writer Vinson Cunningham speaks with the playwright Larissa FastHorse about “The Thanksgiving Play.” Plus, Waldman talks about the science behind why quilting helps with stress.
Sarah McBride Wasn’t Looking for a Fight on Trans Rights
The first transgender person elected to Congress discusses how to respond to a bathroom bill and transphobic attacks from other House members, including Speaker Mike Johnson.
Ketanji Brown Jackson on Ethics, Trust, and Keeping It Collegial at the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court Justice talks with David Remnick about the decline in public trust and questions about the Court’s ethical code, and how Justices get along in a very partisan era.
Danielle Deadwyler on August Wilson and Denzel Washington
The actress discusses starring in the new film adaptation of “The Piano Lesson,” Wilson’s play about the Great Migration and a family torn apart by inheritance.
The Authors of “How Democracies Die” on the New Democratic Minority
Two leading political scientists explain why voters failed to defend democracy: We never do.
Sam Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” Is Shakespeare for the Youth
Gold, a celebrated Shakespeare director, designed his theatre production for a young audience. “It’s loud. I’m willing to hear the complaints, because I have risk tolerance,” he said.
Donald Trump’s Reëlection, and America’s Future
David Remnick joins Evan Osnos, Jane Mayer, and Susan Glasser to explain how Trump won the race, and what his rhetoric of vengeance and retribution portends for his return to power.
Rachel Maddow on the Fascist Threat in America, Then and Now
The MSNBC host says that Trump’s authoritarian message is timeless. “You can sell [it] to people who are in great need of relief,” she says. “But you can also sell it to billionaires.”
Liz Cheney on Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Jeff Bezos
Once a top Republican in Congress, and now a supporter of Kamala Harris, Cheney cancelled her subscription to the Washington Post after Bezos blocked its endorsement: “It’s a disgrace.”
How Alpha Kappa Alpha Shaped Kamala Harris; Plus, Bill T. Jones
Jazmine Hughes considers the nation’s oldest Black sorority and its most famous sister. And the choreographer talks about a new performance of his classic “Still/Here.”
Charlamagne tha God Has Some Advice for Kamala Harris and the Democrats
The “Breakfast Club” co-host talks with David Remnick about Black voters, his recent interview with the Vice-President, and why the Democratic Party needs a lot more “Bulworth.”
The Stakes for Abortion Rights, from the Head of Planned Parenthood
Alexis McGill Johnson discusses lobbying for a Democratic “trifecta” in Washington—and what a second Trump Administration would do on abortion rights in America.
With “The Warriors,” Lin-Manuel Miranda Takes on Another New York Story
A concept album based on a 1979 gang film is no big stretch for the creator of “Hamilton,” a rap musical based on a biography of a Founding Father.
About this Podcast
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WNYC Studios and The New Yorker
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en-us