The news is stressful. Talking about it doesn’t have to be.
Join the Guardian’s Kai Wright (@kai_wright ) and Carter Sherman (@heyyymizcarter ) for conversations with the best journalists and biggest thinkers.
New episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Starting 13 May.
Introducing BIG LIVES from @pushkinpods & @BBCPodcasts — a new show about the cultural giants we think we know... until the archive proves we don’t. Each episode, acclaimed journalists @kai_wright and @newsmanual_ dive into the BBC’s century‑deep vault of interviews, performances, and forgotten tape to rediscover the humans buried beneath the headlines. Jane Fonda, George Michael, Richard Pryor, Amy Winehouse and more: the people who shaped modern culture, but were flattened into punchlines, scandals, or single defining images. New episodes release on Mondays, starting March 23. Hear the trailer today and subscribe wherever you like to listen!
Every legend has a twist...
How do states keep getting away with racist voter suppression?
Last month, the supreme court ruled that states can’t consider race in redistricting, gutting the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Since then, state legislatures in the south from Tennessee to Alabama have rushed to erase majority Black districts.
In our debut episode, Kai Wright talks with voting rights activist and former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (@StaceyAbrams ) about the dangerous myth of “race neutrality” – and the real reason voter suppression persists. Find the full episode at the link in our bio.
@CrookedMedia #VotingRights #SupremeCourt #Tennessee #Alabama #USPolitics
“They are not just rigging the game. They’re kneecapping the players.”
In our debut episode, voting rights activist and former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (@StaceyAbrams ) reacts to recent voter suppression efforts in southern states following the US supreme court decision, Louisiana v Callais.
When asked about the way forward, Abrams told Stateside host Kai Wright: “They have fractured communities and said we’re going to scatter these seeds. Our job is to grow.” Find the full episode at the link in our bio.
@CrookedMedia #VotingRights #SupremeCourt #Tennessee #Alabama #USPolitics
On the latest episode of BIG LIVES…we revisit Muhammad Ali’s iconic TV duels with Michael Parkinson. Listen wherever you get your podcasts! #muhammadali #popculturehistory #blackhistory
On Big Lives, @newsmanual_ and @kai_wright look back at the moments Muhammad Ali refused to make his audience comfortable. Through the lens of a historic BBC interview, they examine how Ali navigated the draft, the Nation of Islam, Joe Frazier and a media landscape that wasn't ready for a Black celebrity who spoke up (or talked back). Discover more wherever you get your podcasts!
#MuhammadAli #PopCultureHistory #CulturePodcast #BlackHistory #CivilRights @BBCPodcasts
Born into a spotlight she never asked for, Liza Minnelli didn’t only survive her inheritance... she made it into her own art. Using BBC archive, iconic performances, and her complicated bond with her mother Judy Garland, @kai_wright and @newsmanual_ reveal why her vulnerability is her superpower on the Big Lives podcast. Listen now!
#LizaMinnelli #PopCultureHistory #Podcast #Fame #HollywoodHistory @BBCPodcasts
Today is the day! Mother Nature has given us a beautiful spring day to celebrate Great & Future Trees of Newburgh. We will be on the patio, in the gallery, and gathered around trees and flowers at ADS Warehouse, 6-9PM tonight. It’s not too late to get your tickets, link in bio. @ads_warehouse_newburgh #greattrees #greattreesofnb #greenspaceforall
Sir David Attenborough turns 100 this year... and no one has done more to shape how humanity sees our planet 🌍 But for years, there was one issue he didn’t talk about. On the "Big Lives" podcast, @newsmanual_ & @kai_wright chart the story of how one nerdy rock-collecting kid became one of TV’s biggest stars, and took on the most important mission of his life.
#DavidAttenborough #Attenborough100 #PlanetEarth #CulturePodcast @BBCPodcasts
LL Cool J didn’t conquer hip‑hop by being the toughest or the slickest, he did it by being unabashedly himself. @kai_wright & @newsmanual_ break down the charisma, contradictions, and carefully crafted showmanship that turned a Queens teenager into a global cultural force on #BigLives 🎛️🎤
#LLCoolJ #PopCultureHistory #CulturePodcast #RapHistory @bbcpodcasts
ARBORLOGUES is coming to Newburgh!
ARBORLOGUES: A BOTANICAL RECITAL PERFORMED FOR ONE TREE is a one-person play where you are the performer and a single tree is your audience. Performed across the world, for a wide variety of trees, ARBORLOGUES will be in Newburgh May 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
The 15-minute play takes place within a specially built red curtain theater that hangs from a specifically chosen tree. You’ll receive a script that leads you through a series of stories, prompts, and actions related to this tree, this land, and yourself. Originated by Dan Daly and LeeLeBreton. Funding for this project has been provided by the Awesome Newburgh Foundation. Sign up link in bio.
#newburghenvironmentaljustice #great trees #urbanforestry #awesomenewburgh
Amy Winehouse was a once‑in‑a‑generation voice, rewriting the rules of modern songwriting by refusing to fake a single feeling and highlighting grit over gloss.
@kai_wright and @newsmanual_ revisit Amy Winehouse’s rise from North London teenage jazz obsessive to global icon behind Back to Black, and the media machine that turned her pain into spectacle on the Big Lives podcast🎧
#AmyWinehouse #PopCultureHistory #CulturePodcast #Fame @bbcpodcasts
