Tuesday, April 15th, at 2 pm.

The U.S. is facing a crisis of polarization, where Americans often act with outrage and disdain towards people whose politics don’t match theirs. But that’s not the full picture. The groundbreaking program Americans Reconnect: Talking Across the Political Divide features stories rarely heard about people from opposite political viewpoints finding understanding and common ground under seemingly impossible circumstances. You'll hear these emotionally riveting stories weaved with expert interviews that not only document this polarized moment in American history but also show how we can transcend it.

Sunday, February 23rd, at 10:00 am.

In November, 1898, an armed white supremacist mob – supported by most white elites in North Carolina – murdered untold Black Wilmington residents and drove the city’s elected Fusionist government from power, installing Democrats in their place. (Fusionists were a biracial coalition of mostly-Black Republicans and mostly-white members of the Populist Party.) The coup in North Carolina's then-largest city violently snuffed out some of the last flickers of multiracial democracy in post-Civil War America.

Echoes of a Coup tells the story of 1898 and puts these events in historical context, at a time when the United States is once again facing threats of political violence, amid orchestrated attacks on democracy – from within.

Tuesday, February 18th, at 8:00 pm.

A one-hour special, hosted by Vernon Neal, focusing on harpist Ashley Jackson’s program Take Me to the Water recorded at American Public Medias studios. Take Me to the Water, is an immersive audio experience that touches on themes from African mythology, the antebellum spiritual tradition and water’s transportive, transmogrifying nature.

Saturday, February 15th, at 2:00 pm.

This special program, hosted by author, educator and activist DeRay Mckesson, celebrates Black authors and politicians who have rethought and rewritten the narratives we tell ourselves about our shared history and who we are as a nation.

Shirley Chisholm was America’s first Black congressional representative, and shares her not easy route to power in the essay “Unbought and Unbossed,” read by Crystal Dickinson. Literary giant James Baldwin writes to a beloved nephew about the line between acceptance and integration in “My Dungeon Shook,” read by Christopher Jackson. Sonia Sanchez reflects on Malcolm X’s profound effect on the residents of Harlem in “Homegirls on St. Nicholas Avenue,” read by Marsha Stephanie Blake. And, in a final story by Percival Everett, a narrator delivers an unexpected embrace to the most potent of symbols below the Mason-Dixon in “The Appropriation of Cultures,” read by Wren T. Brown.

Monday, February 3rd, at 2:00 pm.

We’re used to recognizing someone powerful with a statue. But what happens when there’s no statue or memorial to a traumatic event? Whoever lives with the impact of that painful history has to confront the kind of power it takes to keep it hidden for so long. In this episode, you'll uncover the story of the only successful coup d’etat ever to happen on American soil. This act of racial violence was designed to eliminate all memory of a highly successful Black community in Wilmington, North Carolina back in 1898. That suppression involved racist mobs, as well as historians, city planners, journalists and countless others. They conspired for decades to make a Black community’s onetime prosperity and strength unimaginable. Almost unimaginable.

Thursday, November 28th, at 10 a.m.

Turkey Confidential is The Splendid Table’s annual Thanksgiving show. Francis Lam takes calls and comes to the rescue of Thanksgiving cooks, kitchen helpers, and dinner guests during the biggest cooking day of the year.

This year's guests include Paola Velez, author of the forthcoming Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store; Joe Yonan, author of Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking; Tiffany Derry, Texan chef of Roots Chicken Shack in Dallas; and Andrea Nguyen, a James Beard award-winning author and cooking teacher.

Monday, October 21st, at 7 pm

In this presidential election season, race and states’ rights issues are critical themes. This one-hour radio program highlights the 1948 contest when Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey called on his party to “walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.” In protest, Southern Democrats defected. President Harry Truman’s reelection campaign centered on civil rights; his victory set the stage for groundbreaking 1960s civil rights laws. Based on Samuel Freedman’s book “Into the Bright Sunshine,” this documentary features compelling interviews and archival audio and is of utmost national relevance.

Thursday, Oct 17th, and Friday, Oct 18th, at 9 a.m.

North Carolina is a purple, battleground, ticket-splitting haven of fascinating political dynamics. With the election mere weeks away, public radio reporters from across the Old North State are collaborating on a two-hour special. We’ll focus on issues that may influence turnout, a transforming electorate, fallout from the scandal involving the Lieutenant Governor, and the prospects for one of the most important factors hanging in the balance this November: A veto-proof majority at the state legislature. 

Wednesday, October 9th, 16th, and 23rd, at 8 pm.

WNYC’s Brian Lehrer hosts three weeks of live, national, election call-ins with Marketplace senior Washington correspondent Kimberly Adams. Together with guests and calls, they’ll open a national conversation, across divides, about what the outcomes of the November election, both in the White House and in Congress, mean for healthcare costs, housing costs and the Care Economy. How we spend our money and whether we think the outcome of the election can mean a better outcome for us could be a driving force for getting voters to the polls. So let’s make some space to hear the stories that shape our points of view, ask questions, and learn what the candidates’ probable policies could mean for things like medicine bills, the rent, and childcare.

Phone number for calling in will be made available closer to air date.

Tuesday, September 24th, at 11 am

Every year, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting gives taxpayer dollars to public media organizations around the country. So what is public media? And why do public media stations get federal grants in the first place? On Civics 101, New Hampshire Public Radio’s show about the basics of how our democracy works, talks about the politics, and policy, of public media. 

Friday, September 13th, at 2 pm.

Do two people need to be aligned politically to have a deep connection and strong romantic bond? Can one truly be considered liberal if they habitually swipe left on conservatives? In this special, Dating While Gray host Laura Stassi talks to older Americans and experts about ideological differences and their role in making and maintaining romantic connections.

Friday, August 30th, at 2:00 pm

Hear Harriett Gilbert talking to bestselling American writer Paul Auster, who died earlier this year (on 30th April 2024). Paul Auster joined Harriett in 2012, with a literary festival audience and readers from around the world, to discuss his acclaimed work The New York Trilogy, three brilliant variations on the classic detective story. Hear what readers made of Paul and his novel and what happened when another Paul Auster stood up to introduce himself to the Paul Auster on the stage – a very New York Trilogy occurrence.

Thursday, August 15th, at 8:00 pm.

For years, Off the Path has explored spots from New York to Boston and beyond — everything from quirky roadside attractions to eccentric oddities to places with deep historical significance. This year, host Davis Dunavin is going to sea; telling stories of submarines, lighthouses, white whales, sea monsters, and — of course — pirates.

Dunavin has always been fascinated by ships and the sea — maybe because he grew up in the landlocked parts of Middle America. From old sailing ships to lighthouses, there’s just something special about the places that have nautical history and home to famous pirates — Captain Kidd, Black Sam Bellamy, William Fly. You'll experience their traditions through sea shanties and ballads of adventures at sea.

Saturday, August 10th, at 7:00 am

We all know that Classical music can calm us - and our pets! We also know that there's a special connection we have with our pets. Do our pets have a special connection with Classical music? We think so! On Fur, Feathers and Flutes, you'll hear stories of composers who loved their pets and music inspired by their furry friends. You'll also meet an opera-loving parrot, curious Classical-loving cats, and you'll hear how Classical music helps train canines, as we celebrate the love we have for our special companions and their connection to music.

Saturday, June 22nd, at 2 pm.

Coming out means taking a risk and sharing something deeply personal with another person. In this hour-long episode of Nancy, the critically acclaimed podcast about the queer experience, hosts Tobin Low and Kathy Tu bring you three stories about different kinds of coming out.

Saturday, June 22nd, at 7 am.

Pride Month is a wonderful time to celebrate our unique identities and to reflect on how pride and authenticity show up in our lives. YourClassical from APM asked classical musicians in the LGBTQIA community about their thoughts on Pride. The answers they got were incredibly diverse and thought-provoking. This one-hour special brings all of those thoughts to you punctuated with music performed, conducted or composed by these featured artists.

Wednesday, June 19th, at 11 am.

In What Is Owed? from GBH News, reporter Saraya Wintersmith seeks to understand what reparations might look like in one of the oldest cities in America -- the first place in the country where slavery was legalized. In this special presentation, they'll uncover the lessons for a successful reparations framework through similar efforts around the nation and the world, and through the history of Black activists who have been demanding justice for generations. 

Wednesday, June 19th, at 10 am.

The promise of American democracy could not be fulfilled until all Americans were free. Following the moment of Black liberation marked by Juneteenth, Black Americans began the ongoing project of securing and protecting their rights to vote, and to lead. This Juneteenth, join Notes From America with Kai Wright to trace the lineage of our democracy being actualized to the period after Emancipation, when political leadership like that of Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan emerged and began to shape the potential and the power of the Black vote on our nation. Recorded live at Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, a historically Black house of worship in Houston where Jordan was a member, host Kai Wright and Jordan biographer Mary Ellen Curtin explore the legacy of the first Black woman elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction. They also discuss how Black voters continue to shape politics in an election year that's crucial to the sustainability of our democracy.

Saturday, June 15th, at 6 pm.

America, Learn Your History began as a popular Instagram series by composer and professor Bobby Wooten. Join us for our first radio special: Stonewall often gets credit for the beginning of the gay liberation movement. But there was an earlier riot, at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco, and it was started by a transwoman. Bobby's guests include actor Tituss Burgess and historian Dr. Susan Stryker.

Monday, June 10th, at 2 pm.

Dying Words, hosted by Rachel Maddow, is about Jeff Schmalz and the groundbreaking reporting he did on AIDS for the New York Times even as he was dying of the disease in the early 1990s. Jeff's story also describes the experiences of gay and lesbian journalists during a much less tolerant time in major news organizations.

Monday, May 27th, at 7:00pm

All wars are the same, it is said; only the scenery changes. And the repercussions are pretty much the same too.

Over the course of five years, Adam Piore gathered the stories of the surviving members of Delta Company, a Vietnam-era paratrooper unit.

At Fort Campbell before deployment, Delta was a ragtag bunch, the “leftovers” as one of their fellow soldiers put it, but on the night of March 18th, 1968, they became heroes. Their leader received the Medal of Honor and two others were awarded the nation’s second highest honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, for their valor that night when the company endured a long and devastating battle—not as long or as devastating, however, as the years that followed, after the men of Delta Company came home separately to live alone with the memories.

Friday, May 24th, at 7:00 pm.

Paul Ingles brings us a special tribute to the indomitable Tina Turner, featuring a curated mix of her most iconic tracks spanning over five decades of electrifying performances. From her powerful days in the Ike and Tina Turner Revue to her triumphant solo career starting in the mid-1970s, this episode showcases 15 unforgettable songs, including "Proud Mary," "What's Love Got To Do With It," and "The Best." With insights and favorite picks from music experts Holly Gleason, Anthony DeCurtis, and Aaron Cohen, we celebrate the legacy of a true rock 'n' roll queen who left an indelible mark on the world of music.

Sunday, May 19th, at 10:00am

Depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues are the most common complications during and after pregnancy, yet 75 percent of postpartum problems go untreated. The consequences can be devastating. Suicide and overdoses are leading causes of maternal death in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first-ever pill specifically aimed at postpartum depression, but most health plans don’t cover the medication. This special program looks at the under-recognized public health issue of postpartum depression and the challenge of treatment.

Wednesday, May 15th, at 2pm

Nearly half of incarcerated Americans have a history of mental illness – that's twice the prevalence of mental illness in the adult population of the United States. People with serious mental illnesses encounter law enforcement and the court system for many reasons. This program brings together stories of people who have lived with mental illness while incarcerated. We also meet mental health providers calling for increased mental health care in prisons and jails, and legal experts pioneering new systems.

Thursday, May 9th, at 7pm

Black women and girls experience discrimination, microaggressions and stereotypes every day. Living with daily racism has a profound impact on the mental health, well-being and lives of all those coping with it. This special program explores the unique mental health burdens of Black women and girls in the United States. Through interviews with mental health providers and people sharing their personal stories, we’ll explore the effects of racism and how care systems can shift to better help Black women thrive.

Tuesday, April 23rd, at 8:00pm

This passover special features funny, poignant, and thought-provoking stories and conversations that touch on the plagues, on slavery, on food, on the act of story-telling and more, and are meant to appeal to people of all religious (and non-religious) backgrounds. Hosted by Sara Ivry (Vox Tablet) and Jonathan Goldstein (WireTap, This American Life), the show’s contributors include Israeli writer Etgar Keret, DC food historian Michael Twitty (Afroculinaria), and radio producers Sally Herships (Marketplace), Debbie Nathan (This American Life), and Jonathan Groubert (The State We’re In). The show was produced by Julie Subrin (Vox Tablet, The Next Big Thing) and mixed by Pejk Malinovski (Studio 360, The Next Big Thing).

Monday, April 22nd, at 7:00pm

Climate change can feel apocalyptic and unsolvable. Yet, communities across the U.S. are finding ways to adapt and build resilience to its impacts. Higher Ground tells the stories of people engaging in community science to take control and find understanding in changes to their environment. Empowered with information, these communities are able to keep cool heads in the face of global warming. Hope and progress in the eye of the storm.

Saturday, April 20th, at 2:00pm

The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the American West. Millions of people rely on it to live. But we’re using more water than the river has to give and it’s already lost trillions of gallons to rising temperatures. Meanwhile rampant growth and water-intensive farming have depleted groundwater supplies.

In a special adapted from Marketplace’s award-winning podcast “How We Survive,” host Amy Scott visits places across the West that must fundamentally rethink how water is divided up and used.

Over the course of an hour, you'll meet a couple scrambling to find an affordable water supply amidst a worsening drought and making the most of every drop. You'll look at some of the tech innovations that could help us find a way out of the water crisis—which include looking to the ocean, the sewer and even the sky to produce drinking water. And finally, you'll look at a growing movement, rooted in Indigenous values, to give nature—rivers, fish, crops and trees—the same rights as people, and what that might mean for the future of the Colorado River.

Sunday, April 7th, at 3:00pm

On April 8, a total solar eclipse will stretch across the United states from south Texas to the northern tip of Maine, blotting out the sun for about four minutes within its 115-mile-wide path. In this special edition of Think, host Krys Boyd will prime listeners to have their best viewing experience and talk through the science of what’s actually happening 223,000 miles above our heads.

Thursday, April 4th, at 7:00pm

The Poetry Café is poetry, live music and artist interviews around creating community through the arts. It is a place where voices and ideas are valued and amplified to feed your mind, your body and your soul. 

Hosted by Josephus III, Greensboro North Carolina’s 1st Poet Laureate the show connects and shares the work of artists across state lines, color lines and religious barriers as we support and uplift artistic voices, changing the world, one poem at a time.

Wednesday, March 27th, at 3pm

Learn about two efforts to increase the number of women politicians in Africa. The story begins with a surprising reality TV show in Kenya called “Ms President,” where millions of weekly viewers watched dozens of women compete to be the country’s next “head of state,” so to speak. Then, you'll hear about Nigerian efforts to get more women on the ballot in last year’s election and why they largely failed.

Friday, March 22nd, at 2pm

Espionage was once a mostly male pursuit but these days the top three officials at the CIA are women. On this program we hear from Jonna Mendez, the CIA’s former head of disguise, and Amaryllis Fox, a former undercover agent. Each one tells the story of one dramatic operation.

Friday, March 8th, at 9am

A special hour-long edition of Witness History from the BBC World Service. Remarkable stories of women’s history, told by the women who were there. Selected from the BBC’s Witness History program, you'll hear moving, inspiring and even outrageous stories about a few of the most important women in living memory.

Tuesday, February 27th, at 10am

HIV and AIDS changed the United States and the world. It has killed more than 40 million people globally, up-ended medical science, torn apart families, communities and whole nations. And it is still with us. The permanent cloud over intimacy and love and lust for generations of people looms large, and there remains a stigma for a now treatable virus. The fight to break down that stigma starts in communities that have been disproportionately impacted and Notes From America with Kai Wright will invite stories and voices from those communities to look back at the mistakes made in understanding the full breadth of the epidemic.

Wednesday, February 21st, at 7pm

In November, 1898, an armed white supremacist mob – supported by most white elites in North Carolina – murdered untold Black Wilmington residents and drove the city’s elected Fusionist government from power, installing Democrats in their place. (Fusionists were a biracial coalition of mostly-Black Republicans and mostly-white members of the Populist Party.) The coup in North Carolina's then-largest city violently snuffed out some of the last flickers of multiracial democracy in post-Civil War America.

Echoes of a Coup tells the story of 1898 and puts these events in historical context, at a time when the United States is once again facing threats of political violence, amid orchestrated attacks on democracy – from within.

Sunday, February 11th, at 10am

Whether it's the way we talk,  the music we hear, or the clothes we wear- many Black people at some point were made to feel 'not Black enough’, including Leila and Hana.

In this special from The Stoop podcast, Leila explores with broadcast journalist Joshua Johnson what it means to be told she ‘talks white’, Hana talks to a psychologist as she wonders if she has to like everything Black to avoid getting called out, and we go deep with comedian W. Kamau Bell who's felt awkward in Black circles and in front of Black audiences.

What does it really mean to be ‘Black enough’?

Friday, February 2nd, at 2pm

This special program, hosted by stage and film actor Teagle F. Bougere, celebrates the protean literary master and social activist Langston Hughes (1901-1967). It features two of his most striking works. In “Passing” Hughes reflects on a difficult aspect of the Black experience—the need some felt to “pass” as white. Program host Teagle F. Bougere is the reader. And Joe Morton performs one of Hughes most celebrated works, “The Blues I’m Playing,” which charts the long and complex relationship between a brilliant young Black pianist and her white patron. The reader is Joe Morton. Both stories reflect Hughes’ explorations of questions of race, identity, and personal destiny. And, the show will include a much-anthologized favorite, “Thank You, Ma’am,” in which a feisty older woman sets a young boy on the right path.

Friday, January 12th, at 9:00am

Sponsored by Ashmore Rare Coins

In this special, host Reema Khrais helps listeners get their financial life together in time for the new year. She’ll unpack some practical tips with a personal finance expert and then Reema will interview a financial therapist to get some useful tips for understanding our relationships with money and how to navigate the uncomfortable feelings that come along with it. This hour will make you laugh, gasp, and think about money in a whole new way. 

Saturday, January 6th, at 7:00am

The January 6th Committee Hearings reached an audience of 20 million-plus people, and the investigators behind them stepped up to save American democracy. A surprising number of these investigators were Black, Latino, or South Asian — including three of the five team leads. These are the people whose work laid the foundation for the indictments of former President Trump. They endured the trauma of investigating the most powerful white supremacists in America, as well as tracing the legal and financial web of January 6th. You'll hear from the investigators what it took to save our democracy.

Thursday, November 23rd, at 10:00am

Sponsored by Deep Roots Market and The Extra Ingredient.

Turkey Confidential is The Splendid Table’s annual Thanksgiving show. Francis Lam takes calls and comes to the rescue of Thanksgiving cooks, kitchen helpers, and dinner guests during the biggest cooking day of the year.

Guests include chef Kristen Kish, Top Chef’s newest judge, Michigan chef and award-winning writer Abra Berens author of Pulp, A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit, Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes, and Dan Pelosi aka “GrossyPelosi” the exuberant author of Let’s Eat, 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart and Home.

Friday, November 10th, at 2pm

The law protects creators’ original work against copycats, but it also leaves the door open for some kinds of copying. When a photographer sues the Andy Warhol Foundation for using her work without permission, the justices struggle not to play art critics as they decide the case. More Perfect explores how this star-studded case offers a look at how this Court actually makes decisions.

Friday, November 3rd, at 2pm

More than thirty years ago, a Native American man named Al Smith was fired for ingesting peyote at a religious ceremony. When his battle made it to the Supreme Court, the decision set off a thorny debate over when religious people get to sidestep the law — a debate we’re still having today.

Friday, October 27th, at 2pm

David Souter is one the most private, low profile Justices ever to have served on the Supreme Court. He rarely gives interviews or speeches. Yet his tenure was anything but low profile. Deemed a “home run” nominee by Republicans, Souter defied partisan expectations on the bench and ultimately ceded his seat to a Democratic president. In this episode, the story of how “No More Souters” became a rallying cry for Republicans and inspired a backlash that would change the Court forever.

Friday, October 20th, at 2pm

When the justices heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the landmark abortion case, one word came up more than any other: viability. The viability line was at the core of Roe v. Wade, and it’s been entrenched in the abortion rights movement ever since. But no one seems to remember how this idea made its way into the abortion debate in the first place. This episode of More Perfect, traces it back to the source and discovers how a clerk and a couple of judges turned a fuzzy medical concept into a hard legal line. *listener discretion advised*

Friday, October 13th, at 2:00pm

To many Americans, Clarence Thomas makes no sense. For more than 30 years on the Court, he seems to have been on a mission – to take away rights that benefit Black people. As a young man, though, Thomas listened to records of Malcolm X speeches and strongly identified with the tenets of Black Nationalism. This episode of More Perfect, digs into his writings and lectures, talk to scholars and confidants, and explores his past, all in an attempt to answer: what does Clarence Thomas think Clarence Thomas is doing?