In The New Yorker Radio Hour’s début episode, the magazine’s editor, David Remnick, speaks with Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author of “Between the World and Me,” about the profound influence of James Baldwin on his writing and why he’ll always be wary of optimism. Jill Lepore, a staff writer at The New Yorker, introduces us to a childhood friend who was one of the only people of color in their small New England town. This is the first part of a three-part story, “The Search for Big Brown.” Kelefa Sanneh, who is also a staff writer, takes a day trip to a suburb of Philadelphia to visit Spraynard, a pop-punk band. Most of their friends have moved into the city, but the members of Spraynard stayed to try to create a punk scene in their home town. Boarding a plane just got even more chaotic in a Shouts & Murmurs written by George Meyer and performed by Allison Williams, from “Girls,” that imagines a farcical airport scene. And Evan Osnos, who writes about Washington for the magazine, talks about sexism in politics with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.