Life’s too short for small talk. Rachel gets right to the questions that matter most. Once a week, famous guests pull questions from a deck of cards and open up about the kind of stuff we all think about but rarely say out loud. Actors, authors, and thinkers are prompted to talk about everything from their insecurities and dreams to grief and God. Named one of the 10 best podcasts of 2024 by The New York Times, Wild Card stands out among celebrity interview podcasts. When modern life feels chaotic or overwhelming, listen to Wild Card for a joyful, grounding reminder of our shared humanity. Want to listen to Wild Card sponsor-free? Support NPR by subscribing to Wild Card+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/wildcard.
123 episodes transcribedSuleika Jaouad has written extensively about what it means to live in the in-between — the space between sick and healthy. She’s dealt on and off with...
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...
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...
“You cannot rely on somebody else to push you out of the plane — you have to jump,” Shania Twain tells Rachel. For someone who has lived a life marked...
“I still feel like I'm wondering what I'm gonna be when I grow up,” Hrishikesh Hirway tells Rachel. That might be because he’s drawn to so many things...
"Are you willing to be responsible for your own happiness?" Tracee Ellis Ross asks in this episode, recorded with a live audience at LAist. Tracee is...
Terry Tempest Williams often writes about what is easy to overlook – the “holy ordinary” as she calls it. Whether it's the beauty and plight of the na...
For Danny McBride, success in Hollywood has taken patience, hard work, and a little bit of delusion. That sense of delusion is also present in the cha...
John Cena didn’t become a WWE megastar and Hollywood leading man by accident, he worked at it, and he takes none of his big breaks for granted. He tel...
Writer David Sedaris tells Rachel he doesn’t mind being humiliated, because he knows it will wind up as great material. David’s new book, “The Land an...
Dave Eggers isn’t about rushing creativity. His latest novel, "Contrapposto," has been on his mind for about two decades. And he tells Rachel he belie...
Maya Hawke is such a natural fit for Wild Card that she had several answers for many of the questions. The self-described “verbose” musician/actor tal...
From "Step Brothers" to “Chicago,” John C. Reilly imbues every one of his roles with humor, empathy, and heart. In his latest project, a vaudeville st...
Noah Kahan's breakthrough album, Stick Season, made him known to millions of fans. But he tells Rachel that experience left him feeling like he knew h...
Rita Wilson tells Rachel that she was tired of always being cast in the same kind of “nurturing” roles. And so she decided to explore a totally differ...
Anne Lamott says she felt drawn to writing almost like it was a call to become a monk. She has also felt called to teach others how to write, to help...
After decades of releasing new albums every few years, Amy Grant went mostly quiet for the past decade. In the time since her last album of original s...
Get your tickets for Wild Card live in Los Angeles with special guest Tracee Ellis Ross on May 7! Lena Dunham tells Rachel that for much of her 20s an...
Bob Odenkirk says he was never supposed to be an action hero, but he’s grateful for the way his career has turned out. Starting out as a sketch comedi...
From "O Brother, Where Art Thou" to "Watchmen" to "Poker Face,” Tim Blake Nelson is the actor you call when you want a character’s face to tell a life...
