A review of the United States of Anxiety for GreatPods.Co
This week’s review is of United States of Anxiety.
United States of Anxiety is a hybrid show. It originates as a call-in radio show on WNYC, hosted by Kai Wright. The show then drops in podcast form, which is how I listen.
The goal of the show is to deal with topics that impact our life. Some of these are top of the mind issues like their recent shows on abortion. Others are undercurrents that have run through the history of this country and western civilization, topics including racism and education issues. Kai always brings on interesting guests including historians, politicians, activists, and authors.
Because it’s a call in show, and Kai doesn’t shy away from bringing on guests he disagrees with, it can get heated at time. But one thing Kai is fantastic at is keeping his cool and finding intelligent ways push his guests and callers alike to go further in backing up their arguments and explaining their points.
I’ve shared this show around, because I love it so much, but I will say frequently people let me know they don’t like it because it’s a call in show. I get it. I find that interesting, hearing from people in this capacity. But for a lot of people, they don’t like it for the exact reason I don’t listen to podcasts that are just random people talking about topics. Because, who cares about your opinion if you have no expertise or lived experience to back it up? While I personally think that adds something interesting to this show in particular, I get why a lot of people don’t like it. In my opinion, this is one of those unique experiences where random opinions actually drive intelligent conversation.
Anyway, for me, I give it an 8/10. It’s a great show and one I always look forward to hearing and learning from.
Check it out at https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anxiety or on Great Pods!
