Rachel Martin

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wow, I'm surprised by that answer.

Wow, I'm surprised by that answer.

Wow, I'm surprised by that answer.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.