Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

NAMED A TOP 10 PODCAST OF 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES There are interview podcasts and then there's Wild Card. Rachel Martin rips up the typical interview script and invites guests to answer questions they've never been asked before about life's biggest questions. Actors, writers and musicians open up about their fears, their joys and how they've built meaning from experience – all with the help of a very special deck of cards. Want to listen to Wild Card sponsor-free? Support NPR by subscribing to Wild Card+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/wildcard.

Episodes

Jenny Han insists on hope

July 3, 2025 • 30 mins
Jenny Han feels like the same person as her teenage self – which might explain why her books and their adaptations connect so strongly with teen audiences. Her "To All The Boys" and "The Summer I Turned Pretty" franchises are streaming juggernauts – among teens and adults. Jenny spoke with Rachel about the importance of writing about love and why embarrassment feels so close to the surface.

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Michelle Obama doesn't regret saying 'no'

June 26, 2025 • 39 mins
Michelle Obama says she's never truly been able to realize her own ambition. But now she's changing that. She's saying "no" to what's expected of her and "yes" to what she wants to do, including starting a podcast with her brother, "IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson." She reflects with Rachel on owning her decisions and the words her mom told her at the end of her life.

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What Kyle MacLachlan learned from his friend David Lynch

June 22, 2025 • 14 mins
Kyle MacLachlan says he wouldn't have a career without his friend and longtime collaborator David Lynch, who died earlier this year. His first gig was on Lynch's "Dune" which was followed up by "Blue Velvet" and then by their iconic run together on the series "Twin Peaks". In this bonus episode, MacLachlan shares what it was like to live in Lynch's world.

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Kyle MacLachlan daydreams about the future

June 19, 2025 • 29 mins
Kyle MacLachlan is known for his iconic roles in David Lynch classics like "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks," but he's reinvented himself again and again throughout the years. His recent work includes roles in the TV series "Fallout" and "Overcompensating." He's also cultivated a huge following on TikTok and Instagram where his charm is on full display for a new generation of fans.

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Jason Reynolds loves being a "crybaby"

June 12, 2025 • 44 mins
Jason Reynolds writes stories that don't talk down to kids. In young adult books like "Long Way Down," "Ghost" and two Miles Morales Spider-Man novels, there is a clear understanding: kids are complicated people, and Jason treats them that way. His newest audio-only book is called "Soundtrack." He talks with Rachel about the value of being a crier and the advice about rest he got from LeVar Burton.

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Orville Peck killed his impostor syndrome

June 5, 2025 • 30 mins
Orville Peck is full of apparent contradictions. As a kid in South Africa, he went from dancing ballet to playing drums in a punk band. He loves musical theater but made a name for himself as a country singer. He sings about vulnerability but covers his face with a mask. Peck talks to Rachel about embracing those contradictions and about starring in "Cabaret" on Broadway.

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Ramy Youssef wants to make it weird

May 29, 2025 • 39 mins
Ramy Youssef's creative pursuits range from stand-up to his semi-biographical Hulu show, "Ramy," to his new animated series, "#1 Happy Family USA." In all of his efforts, he says he's just trying to make work that feels exciting to him. Ramy is one of the costars of the new HBO film, "Mountainhead." He talks to Rachel about his gripe with Santa Claus and reckoning with his mortality.

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Mike Birbiglia doesn't think every setup needs a punchline

May 22, 2025 • 38 mins
When Mike Birbiglia tells a story, he tries to make it relatable to everyone in the audience – whether it's tapping into his childhood anxiety, relating his clumsy attempts at self improvement or sharing his earnest fears about his aging parents. Mike's new Netflix special is The Good Life. He shares with Rachel how he learns valuable lessons from writing jokes, and explains how found some peace.

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Jonathan Groff lost his faith while spelunking

May 15, 2025 • 40 mins
Jonathan Groff has brought his killer vocals and Disney-hero charm to Broadway hits like "Spring Awakening," "Hamilton" and "Merrily We Roll Along." He's nominated for a Tony award for his latest Broadway show, "Just in Time," a musical about singer Bobby Darin. He talks to Rachel about responding to criticism like a 7-year-old and realizing he didn't believe in God at a Youth for Christ camp.

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Wanda Sykes is looking for higher stakes

May 8, 2025 • 36 mins
Wanda Sykes life has been defined by one act of courage after another. Leaving a safe career for comedy, getting divorced, coming out and surviving breast cancer all took a lot of guts. She shares with Rachel what she learned from each chapter of her life, and how it has made her stand-up stronger. Wanda is on the road for her new tour - it's called Please and Thank You.

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'Weird Al' Yankovic is the most normal person in show business

May 1, 2025 • 33 mins
When Weird Al's debut single, "My Bologna," came out, there wasn't really a model for how a parody artist could have any longevity in their career. Yet Al's figured out how to stay popular for over four decades. Ahead of his summer "Bigger and Weirder" tour, he talks with Rachel about staying weird as he ages, parenthood, and his devoted (some might say obsessive) fans.

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Joy Harjo thinks writing can heal regret

April 24, 2025 • 33 mins
Joy Harjo is one of the most revered poets in the United States, but she took a winding path to get there. The former U.S. poet laureate spoke with Rachel Martin about a pivotal decision in her childhood that put her on the creative path and how she views writing as a way to have second chances. This spring, Harjo is releasing a new version of her book, For A Girl Becoming.

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Brett Goldstein avoids emotions at all costs

April 17, 2025 • 36 mins
Don't be fooled by Brett Goldstein's grumpy exterior – he can't resist a big, open-hearted story. You see it in the TV shows he's acted in and helped create, "Ted Lasso" and "Shrinking." He's about to release a new HBO standup special called "The Second Best Night of Your Life." He spoke with Rachel about what Pixar knows about the afterlife and about finding ways to love annoying people.

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Julianne Nicholson just wants everyone to take a beat

April 10, 2025 • 31 mins
Anyone who has seen Julianne Nicholson in "Mare of Easttown" or "Janet Planet" knows she is really good at portraying grief. In her new show "Paradise," she plays Sinatra, a heartbroken tech billionaire trying to micromanage the end of the world. She's an evil genius who is also a little bit funny. She shares with Rachel an early memory of "outhouse beauty" and her secret to social situations.

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Elizabeth Olsen idolizes idleness

April 3, 2025 • 36 mins
Elizabeth Olsen is most famous for her role as Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But she says her own taste is reflected in indie films she's starred in like "His Three Daughters" and the new sci-fi thriller "The Assessment." She shares with Rachel why she's terrified of dying but is fascinated with death and the joy of idle people watching.

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John Green still has hope

March 27, 2025 • 44 mins
John Green keeps busy – from authoring blockbuster young adult novels like "The Fault in Our Stars," to running a YouTube empire with his brother Hank, to publishing his latest nonfiction book, "Everything Is Tuberculosis." His projects share one key goal: to make the world "suck less." John talks to Rachel about how he battles despair and why he's unconcerned with the question of God's existence.

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Uzo Aduba can do anything... except for the butterfly stroke

March 20, 2025 • 34 mins
From a young age, Uzo Aduba's parents taught her that she could do anything. That confidence has led to some iconic performances – from Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in "Orange Is the New Black," to Shirley Chisholm in "Mrs. America," to her lead role in the newest Shonda Rhimes production, "The Residence." Uzo talks to Rachel about how motherhood shaped her and why she's made peace with mortality.

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For Natasha Rothwell improv is like prayer

March 13, 2025 • 37 mins
Natasha Rothwell can't help but collaborate. She honed her improv skills at the Tokyo Comedy Store which led her to roles in memorable ensemble casts on "Insecure" and "How to Die Alone." Now, her character Belinda is back in the new season of "The White Lotus." Natasha talks with Rachel about bringing her own ideas to the show, the spiritual power of improv and what she's learned about love.

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Zadie Smith lives more in the world than on the page

March 6, 2025 • 38 mins
London today is very different from the one Zadie Smith grew up in and the one she wrote about in her debut novel "White Teeth." That is just one of the things Smith is grappling with 25 years after her best-selling book's debut. She talks to Rachel about the difficulty of revisiting the first few pages of "White Teeth," the wisdom only teenagers possess, and fighting despair with crème brûlée.

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Bowen Yang thinks being present is overrated (encore)

February 27, 2025 • 29 mins
This week we're revisiting our episode with comedian Bowen Yang. The "SNL" cast member and "Las Culturistas" podcast co-host had a big year between being in the film adaptation of "Wicked" and the "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary special. He talked with Rachel last spring about living too much in the present, the risks of being real and why the afterlife will definitely have roller coasters.

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