Wild Card with Rachel Martin - Welcome to Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Episode Date: April 24, 2024

Part-interview, part-existential game show – this is Wild Card with Rachel Martin from NPR. Host Rachel Martin rips up the typical interview script and invites guests to play a game about life's biggest questions. Rachel takes actors, artists and thinkers on a choose-your-own-adventure conversation that lets them 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. Access sponsor-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes with Wild Card+ at plus.npr.org.Email the show at [e-mail] pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Are you ready to do this game? I'm ready. Okay. All right, let's do it. I'm Rachel Martin. This is Wildcard, the game where cards control the conversation. So you know when you're talking with someone and things go to really unexpected, even profound places and you come out on the other side feeling like something special just happened.

You understand that person on a deeper level and yourself too. So I want to have those conversations all the time. But that can be a little intimidating, right? So we made a game out of it. Each episode, I asked my guest a series of questions, that they choose at random from a deck of cards. Pick a card one through three. So even I don't know exactly where the conversation's going to go.

What is proof that somebody really knows you? I talk with all kinds of creative, thoughtful people, like comedian Jenny Slate, actor Issa Ray, musician Jack Antonoff, and poet Ada Limon. And we get into really big questions about the, experiences that shaped them, lessons they're still learning, and beliefs that help them make sense of the world. Like, I have Post-it notes everywhere, like, what is a good life? That slow, slow, slow, boredom of where I grew up made my imagination run wild. The nice thing about being in my mid-too-late 40s, I forgive myself all the time. I think I'll be answering that question

for the rest of my life. So we're going to talk about life's biggest questions, but we're also going to have a good time. What is something you think about very differently today than you did 10 years ago? Dressing. Like, not salad dressing. I've always loved it and I'll never stop. Love Ranch. Dressing my body.

And here's the thing. I hope when you listen, you think about these questions and how they fit into your own life. And maybe we'll all feel a little less lonely in our search for answers. Listen to Wild Card wherever you get your podcasts. Our first episode is out May 2nd. and we'll put out new episodes every Thursday. We'll also have regular bonus episodes for Wild Card supporters. I'm Rachel Martin.

Thanks so much for checking out Wildcard from NPR.