The New Yorker Radio Hour
Episodes
Wedding Hair on Fire, and William Barber’s Religious Politics
02 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kristen Wiig plays a bride whose idea for her wedding hair is out of control. And the Reverend William Barber tells David Remnick that politics needs ...
Jerrod Carmichael, and the Truth About Impeachment
26 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The comedian Jerrod Carmichael explains why he simply will not give back to the community. And a former lawyer for Bill Clinton explains what it reall...
Fear and the N.R.A., and Lena Dunham on the end of "Girls"
19 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, a gun blogger critiques the N.R.A., and Lena Dunham bids goodbye to “Girls.”
Podcast Extra: A Hundred Days of the Trump Presidency
18 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Lydia Polgreen, Eli Lake, Joy Reid, and David Fahrenthold talk about the challenges the press faces in covering Trump.
The Sequel to “A Doll’s House,” and a President Abroad
12 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The official line on Trump’s foreign policy; Jeffrey Toobin on the firing of James Comey; and a brand-new sequel to a century-old play, Henrik Ibsen...
Roger Corman’s Monsters, and a Roomful of Spies
05 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week: Roger Corman, master of monsters; experts in espionage talk shop; and Toni Collette, who’s never played a boring character.
CNN’s Jeff Zucker, the Man Who Made Trump
28 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump’s TV years; Steve Bannon’s Hollywood years; and Bruce Eric Kaplan on New York Street, a set in Los Angeles.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, and How to Pick a Great Cartoon
21 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Warren on the future of the Democratic Party, the pianist Chilly Gonzales, and the cartoon editor Bob Mankoff.
Margaret Atwood, Evangelizing Against Climate Change, and Greek Tragedy
14 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Margaret Atwood’s realism, an evangelical climate scientist, and the dangers of working from home.
Jon Stewart’s Children, and Trolling the Press Corps
07 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Trevor Noah, Bassem Youssef, the founders of Reductress, and Andy Borowitz talk satire; a far-right blogger in the White House looks for a fight.
Terrific, Tremendous New Health Plans, and Lynn Nottage on her play “Sweat”
31 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ideas to replace Obamacare that will blow your mind; Lynn Nottage’s new play about racial tension in the Rust Belt; and Jessica Lange’s foray into...
Goodbye to “Elephant and Piggie,” and Getting to Know Gorsuch
24 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jill Lepore takes a look at history and the Supreme Court. Plus, we hear stories about life in prison and learn why Mo Willems retired his enormousl...
High-Fashion Hijabs, Jill Soloway, and Bluesman Blind Joe Death
17 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jill Soloway, the creator of “Transparent,” goes after the patriarchy; a Muslim designer unveils high-fashion hijabs; and we lo...
Podcast Extra: The Stuff of Fiction
15 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Salman Rushdie, Tony Kushner, and Claudia Rankine talk about culture and politics in the age of Trump.
Refugees in Limbo, and a Conservative in Washington
10 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
At a safe house for refugees in Buffalo, New York, the difficult process of seeking asylum becomes even harder. And an establishment conservative asse...
Goonswarm Takes Over, Trump/Nixon, and Birding with Jonathan Franzen
03 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A populist uprising in an online multiplayer video game, and Jonathan Franzen’s favorite place to spot birds.
Podcast Extra: The "Remarkable Parallels" Between Nixon and Trump
02 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In 1987, Richard Nixon wrote to Donald Trump, expressing his optimism about Trump’s future political prospects. Was it a bad omen for Trump?
Lily Tomlin on Love, and News from Moscow
24 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Lily Tomlin reflects on falling in love and breaking taboos, and reporters in Washington and Moscow look at Trump’s vexed relationship with Russia.
John Goodman, Jeremy Irons, and Keegan-Michael Key
17 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Three actors in conversation at The New Yorker Festival.
Bun Cha With Obama, and Trump’s New World Disorder
10 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Bourdain talks writing, travel, and President Obama’s eating habits, and Robin Wright looks at the dangers of foreign policy conducted by tw...
Politics at the Oscars, and a Doctor’s-Eye View of Trump
03 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Two doctors describe how Trump’s policies may affect patient care, and a brief history of entertainers making political statements on Oscar night.
How to Cover Trump’s Presidency, and Football’s Concussion Crisis
27 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
An N.F.L. pro, whose son now plays football, struggles to balance safety against a certain necessary brutality, and BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith on why he b...
The Two-State Solution, and a Standing Desk Problem
20 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We take the temperature of the Middle East peace process. Plus, Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry, Run the Jewels’ oldster rap, and the lifesaving ben...
Episode 65: High-Rise Lettuce Farms, and the First Woman President
13 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ian Frazier explores indoor farming; Dan Savage tells David Remnick a thing or two about sex; and Amy Davidson asks, Why Angela Merkel but not Hillary...
Episode 64: Self-Esteem for Owls, and Newt Gingrich on the Heroin Problem
06 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Newt Gingrich talks about the opioid epidemic and Donald Trump’s Twitter habit; Patricia Marx tries to relax, and fails.
Episode 63: Late-Night Icon David Letterman and Songwriter Jason Isbell
30 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David Letterman discusses life after late night and songwriter Jason Isbell talks about songwriting while sober.
Episode 62: Laura Poitras, David Bowie’s Last Band, and the Poet Brenda Shaughnessy
23 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Laura Poitras turns surveillance into art, David Bowie’s jazz band, and more.
Episode 61: Jeanette Winterson’s Christmas and Obama’s Legacy
16 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The New Yorker’s political reporters assess the successes and failures of Barack Obama’s Presidency; Jeanette Winterson celebrates Christmas; and ...
Episode 60: What Is Trumpism?
09 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
A populist candidate hires an economic team from Goldman Sachs, and an English professor delivers a Hegelian analysis of Trump the disrupter. Plus, M...
Episode 59: The Koch Brothers and Boxing Champion Heather Hardy
02 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Mayer gets pushback after she investigates the Koch brothers; Heather Hardy prepares for a big fight; and an astronomer makes his case for the ex...
Episode 58: Bruce Springsteen Talks with David Remnick
25 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Bruce Springsteen tells David Remnick why he waited decades to put out a memoir.
Episode 57: Zadie Smith and Conservatives Strike Back
18 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
A conservative keeps the faith in the age of Trump; Zadie Smith discusses the death of the novel; and a Thanksgiving side dish speaks out.
Episode 56: Leonard Cohen’s Last Days and Donald Trump’s First Term
11 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David Remnick’s conversation with Leonard Cohen in the last months of the musician’s life, and Amy Davidson and George Packer grapple with the Tru...
Podcast Extra: Looking Back with Leonard Cohen
10 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In Leonard Cohen’s last interview, he discusses his career, his spiritual influences, and what he is doing to prepare for death.
Episode 55: Final Notes on the 2016 Election
04 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The 2016 election gets the Hollywood treatment, and an evangelical minister contemplates the decline of the Christian G.O.P.
Podcast Extra: The State of The Union Songbook Live
03 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Friedman performs his State of The Union Songbook live — songs that capture the confusion, hope, and despair of the strangest presidential...
Episode 54: Syria, the World’s Nightmare
28 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This special hour examines the effects of Syria’s civil war, the worst humanitarian crisis of the twenty-first century, from both inside the White H...
Episode 53: Putting Trump in the White House, Playing Andrew Bird in the O.R.
21 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, the surgeon Atul Gawande talks with the musician Andrew Bird, and a panel of experts discusses what a Trump Presidency would look lik...
Episode 52: Mikhail Baryshnikov, T.C. Boyle, and Germany's Kriegskinder
14 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Mikhail Baryshnikov talks about the playing the revolutionary choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, and T.C. Boyle shares a blues musician he discovered on a...
Episode 51: David Axelrod on the Cubs and the Candidates, and Kenya Barris on “Black-ish”
07 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Obama’s former campaign strategist talks Clinton and the Cubs, a mathematician rocks out, and the “Black-ish” creator Kenya Bar...
Episode 49: The State of Debate and Colson Whitehead’s Underground Railroad
23 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Colson Whitehead reimagines the Underground Railroad, Jill Lepore assesses the sorry state of political debate,and Sharon Horgan find...
Episode 48: High-Fashion Hijabs, Jill Soloway, and Bluesman Blind Joe Death
16 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jill Soloway, the creator of “Transparent,” goes after the patriarchy; a Muslim designer unveils high-fashion hijabs; and we look...
Episode 47: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Ups and Downs of Ayahuasca
09 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Ariel Levy investigates ayahuasca, an ancient Amazonian hallucinogen, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks with David Remnick about the mort...
Episode 46: Gary Johnson, Angel Olsen, and a Bee Stylist
02 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Libertarian Presidential nominee Gary Johnson talks guns and marijuana, dead bees are beautified, and actor Reed Birney reads Donald ...
Special Preview: Gary Johnson’s Bid for the White House
30 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Libertarian Gary Johnson is an E.P.A.-supporting gun-rights advocate who appreciates a good edible, and he wants your vote for President.
Episode 45: Father Pfleger, Larry David, and the History of Autism
26 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Larry David vents, and a Chicago priest delivers a sermon to gang members.
Episode 44: Russia Then and Now, and the Bard of Katonah
19 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, a Nobel Prize winner talks about the pain of the fall of the Soviet Union, David Remnick remembers the coup the failed, and Hillary C...
Episode 43: Summer in the City
12 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, F. Murray Abraham reads Arthur Miller’s essay about the sweltering summers of Miller’s youth; two writers talk fish and fiction; ...
Episode 42: The Honorable John Lewis, and the Inimitable Paul Simon
05 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, two living legends—the civil-rights leader John Lewis and the singer-songwriter Paul Simon—reflect on how far they’ve come. ...
Episode 41: Hillary Makes History, and Archery Makes a Comeback
29 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Andy Borowitz explains how the D.N.C. is like a Phil Collins music video from the eighties, and Patricia Marx practices archery at ho...
Episode 40: Donald Trump’s Ghostwriter and a Poet Fighting Cancer
22 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, the ghostwriter behind “The Art of the Deal” tells all, and Andy Borowitz reviews highlights of the Republican National Conventio...
Special Preview: Trump’s Remorseful Ghostwriter
18 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Tony Schwartz spent more than a year with Trump back in 1986, ghostwriting his memoir. He hasn’t ever talked publicly about the experience of wor...
Episode 39: The Gawker Sex-Tape Blowup, and George Saunders on Trump
15 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The founder of Gawker on the “karmic justice” of the Hulk Hogan lawsuit; George Saunders on what makes Trump supporters tick; and Parker Posey on ...
Episode 38: The Wisdom of John McPhee, and the Agony of an iPod Lockout
08 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, John McPhee reflects on a lifetime of writing; we explore the future of Brexit; and a reporter nearly loses everything after forgetti...
Special Preview: George Saunders on the Trump Campaign
05 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Fiction writer George Saunders takes to the Trump campaign trail, and a new understanding of America emerges.
Episode 37: El Chapo v. Flores Brothers, and Jack Handey’s Santa Fe
01 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Patrick Radden Keefe on the drug dealers who may help bring El Chapo to justice, and David Remnick talks to Black Lives Matter co-f...
Episode 36: Fear and the NRA, and a Hymn for Orlando
24 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, a gun blogger critiques the N.R.A., and a Presbyterian minister rewrites old hymns for new crises.
Special Preview: How the N.R.A. Uses Fear to Sell Guns
22 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
A prominent gun blogger and lifelong NRA member explains how the organization uses fear to get its way.
Episode 35: Samantha Bee’s Fury, and Staffing the Supreme Court
17 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Could Citizens United be overturned? Jeffrey Toobin and Pamela Karlan, a Stanford law professor, discuss what a Supreme Court dominated by Democratic ...
Episode 34: Cats vs. Dogs and the Late Zaha Hadid
10 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to the war on terror, bomb-sniffing dogs are essential companions. When it comes to your sex life, no animal provides blissful privacy l...
Episode 33: Awkward Dog Banter, and the Marxist Who Brought Us “Hamilton”
03 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In 2014, the New Yorker staff writer Jennifer Gonnerman wrote about Kalief Browder, a teen-ager from the Bronx who spent three years jailed at Rikers ...
Episode 32: Lena Dunham Turns Thirty, and Memorial Day Malaise
27 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Lena Dunham talks about turning thirty and backing Hillary Clinton when her peers are feeling the Bern; and Amy Davidson gives us a history lesson on ...
Episode 31: Larry Wilmore on Presidential Comedians, and James O’Keefe’s Blunder
20 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
David Remnick speaks to the comedian Larry Wilmore about performing at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he now-infamously ref...
Episode 30: The Politics of Genetics, Virtual Reality, and a Sound Castle in New Jersey
13 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
As scientists learn more about how genes affect everything from hair color to sexual orientation and mental health, we’re faced with moral and polit...
Episode 29: The Missing Boater, and Robert Glasper
06 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
On shows as varied as “Jessica Jones,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and “Game of Thrones,” characters are confronting sexual violence in w...
Episode 28: Annie Dillard, Anohni’s New Sound, and Torture in a Florida Prison
29 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
A former prison counsellor discusses the abuse and torture of mentally ill inmates she suspected inside a Florida correctional institution—and the e...
Episode 27: Who Will Care for Our Parents, and the Election According to Teens
22 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s episode, the activist Ai-jen Poo envisions a happier, more affordable alternative to nursing homes, and we meet a home health aide wh...
Episode 26: Syrian War Crimes, Country Music, and a Central Park Salad
15 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s show, Ben Taub shares his reporting on a group that’s gathering top-secret documents tying Bashar al-Assad’s regime to mass tortu...
Episode 25: The Ballad of a Trump Fan, and the Little Mermaid Gets Dumped
08 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look into the lives and careers of two giants of soul—Aretha Franklin and the late James Brown. From the campaign trail, Michael Fried...
Episode 24: Larry David, Amy Poehler, and Randy Newman
01 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, three highlights from The New Yorker Festival: Larry David explains why he envies his sociopathic alter ego on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” ...
Episode 23: The Birth of Instagram, and Tunisia’s Jihadis
25 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week: Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger talks about how Instagram took over the world; the New Yorker’s cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff, shares his...
Episode 22: Nate Silver on Trump Versus Cruz, and Roz Chast’s Horses
18 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week: Three great political minds talk to David Remnick about the 2016 election, Roz Chast is visited by a young cartoonist who is following in h...
Episode 21: Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the Presidential Race, and Malcolm Gladwell on School Shootings
11 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week: Julia Louis-Dreyfus says that, in light of the 2016 Presidential race, “Veep” is now like a “sombre” documentary; Malcolm Gladwell ...
Episode 20: G.P.S. for Drunks, and Coming Home to Serbia
04 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week: A Manhattan bartender, prizefighter, and onetime bank robber returns to his ancestral mansion in Serbia; Michael Friedman brings us a new s...
Episode 19: Father Pfleger, Larry David, and the History of Autism
26 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Father Michael Pfleger, a white priest on Chicago’s South Side, holds a funeral for a young man who threatened his life; Larry David appl...
Episode 18: Maria Bamford, and Fighting for Baltimore
19 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, two stories out of Baltimore: “The Wire” creator David Simon drives the city with Jelani Cobb, and David Remnick talks to the thirty-ye...
Episode 17: Cuba Gooding, Jr., on O. J. Simpson, and Embracing Insomnia
12 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Jeffrey Toobin revisit the O.J. Simpson trial, a songwriter hits the campaign trail, and the lifelong night owl Pat...
Episode 16: Laura Poitras, David Bowie’s Last Band, and the Poet Brenda Shaughnessy
05 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Oscar-winning documentarian Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”) talks to David Remnick about her first solo museum exhibition, “Astro Noise,” wh...
Episode 15: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Marc Maron, and the Broads of 'Broad City'
29 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, stars of the stage, screen, and earbuds. Marc Maron tells Kelefa Sanneh why talking into a mic saved his life. The magazine’s TV critic, ...
Episode 14: The Koch Brothers, the Ninth Planet, and an Undefeated Female Boxer
22 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, three epic battles: Jane Mayer recounts her experience investigating—and being investigated by—Koch Industries; Junot Díaz discu...
Episode 13: El Chapo v. Flores Brothers, and Jack Handey’s Santa Fe
15 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
If Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug kingpin known as El Chapo, is extradited to the United States, he might face two formidable witnesses: identical t...
Episode 12: Sarah Koenig on "Serial," and a Resilient Poet
08 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Koenig, the host of “Serial,” talks with David Remnick about why her podcast’s success caught her by surprise. Robin Coste Lewis, who re...
Episode 11: Life as a Reporter Covering ISIS, and Puppet Sex
01 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What's the funniest way to spook a horse? Cartoonists Matt Diffee and Emily Flake give us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how jokes get made. Then, com...
Episode 10: Lenny Shiller's Famous Cars, and the Search for a Lost Father
25 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Lenny Shiller owns some of the most recognizable cars around; his vintage vehicles have been appearing in movies for years (often with Lenny at the wh...
Episode 9: Christmas Skies Full of Drones, and Donald Trump's Ultimate Luxury
18 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Singer had the temerity to write about Donald Trump, and Trump wanted revenge -- but just who came out on top? Sofia Coppola talks about working ...
Episode 8: The Missing Boater, and Robert Glasper
11 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
On shows as different as “Jessica Jones,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and “Game of Thrones,” characters confront sexual violence in ways ...
Episode 7: The Mayor and the Mormon Church, and Roger Angell
04 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
High school students in Queens mount a fraught election simulation, Salt Lake City’s openly gay mayor-elect talks about the Mormon Church, and Roge...
Episode 6: Two Writers and a Rock Star Onstage
27 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Two interviews recorded live at the 2015 New Yorker Festival: Patti Smith talks with David Remnick about how her writing and music are intertwined, wi...
Episode 5: City Slickers and Soul Food
20 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
George Booth started drawing cartoons when he was three-and-a-half years old. (His first was a race car stuck in the mud.) Now nearly ninety, he’s b...
Episode 4: Surfing Lessons in a Warming World
13 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What is it like to grow up with twenty siblings? When Sue and Hector Badeau considered the lives of children in foster homes, which are often traumati...
Episode 3: Hacking for the Masses, and Gloria Steinem
06 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The hacker group Lizard Squad ruined Christmas for a lot of people last year when it hacked into Sony and Microsoft servers and rendered new PlayStati...
Episode Two: Amy Schumer, Jorge Ramos, and the Search for a Lost Father
30 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Amy Schumer began her career playing a deranged, rich party girl. With three seasons of her Peabody Award-winning series Inside Amy Schumer now comp...
Episode One: Boarding Call
23 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
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 Wo...
Coming Soon: The New Yorker Radio Hour
17 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
One of the nation’s most celebrated magazines comes together with New York’s flagship public radio station to create a new weekly radio program an...