Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and the Power of Black Protest Music
Beyoncé. Kendrick Lamar. J Cole. Janelle Monae. Pop artists are increasingly speaking out against police violence these days, while amplifyi...
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Society & Culture
Micropolis
Micropolis is an in-depth series that brings into view the unique cultures of New York’s ethnically diverse communities. WNYC reporter Arun Venugopal makes the big, anonymous city just a lit...
Episodes
16 episodes
New York Artists React to the Primary, and Trump
As New York's primary approaches, many voters are trying to make sense of the 2016 presidential race. For local artists, some want to do mor...
Cruz, Trump and the Islamophobia Network
Should the U.S. ban Muslims from entering the country? Is radical Islam bent on taking over America? Ten or fifteen years ago, questions lik...
More Than Statuettes, #OscarsSoWhite is About Redefining Power
On the surface, the #OscarsSoWhite campaign and the current boycott of the awards show Sunday night by Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith and Sp...
Why Political Correctness is So Annoying...and Why it Works
Among the many striking aspects of the 2016 presidential race is this: 'political correctness' is regularly touted as one of our greatest so...
The Cultural Appropriation Debate, Starring Beyoncé & Coldplay
With their new video for "Hymn for the Weekend," shot in India, Beyoncé and Coldplay stumbled into a controversy that's been centuries in th...
Muslim Parenting in an Age of Terror
Beyond all the usual demands of child rearing, Muslim parents in America have their own set of problems. They're more likely to worry about...
What Europe's Refugee Crisis Says About America
The Obama administration announced that the U.S. would take in 85,000 refugees next year, including 10,000 Syrians. That's up from 70,000 th...
Serena Williams Shows Grace Under Fire, On and Off the Court
For many tennis fans, the story of Serena Williams begins in 2001 at the Indian Wells Masters tournament. While 19-year-old Serena was on th...
'Fresh Off the Boat' and the Burden of the Ethnic Sitcom
ABC's "Fresh Off the Boat," based on Eddie Huang's memoir of the same name, premiered last week on a wave of hype. This is the first Asian-A...
Rejected by Religion, Saved by God
When he was 17 years old, Kedar Powell's dad handed him a jar filled with $25 in change and kicked him out of the house. "'This is what you...
Religious Huckster or Humanitarian?
America has a long history of religious hucksterism — people who have used God to sell everything from widgets to wars. But in a cynical cit...
A Girl with Down Syndrome Takes Her Place in the Community
Hema Ramaswamy, a resident of Middletown, New Jersey has Down syndrome, but that didn’t stop her from rigorously studying Indian classical d...
PR Expert to Muslims: Face Your Haters
For those in the business of Muslim P.R., 2014 has been a pretty rough year. In the wake of ISIS beheadings and movements like Boko Haram, A...
A War on Christmas? Not in New York City
The “War on Christmas” has become a perennial rallying cry on Fox News and conservative talk radio. But in multicultural New York City, even...
The Hare Krishnas Are Back, Thanks to Occupy Wall Street
Nihal Kajjam remembers the precise moment when he encountered the Hare Krishnas in New York. He was wearing jeans and a black Megadeth t-shi...