Hi, bloodlines listeners. I'm Julia Lungoria, the host of a new podcast from the Atlantic and WNYC studios called The Experiment.

Every week we bring you stories about the powerful ideas that shaped the United States, and what happens when those ideas collide with people's everyday lives.

This week's episode is a conversation I had with Bloodlines host Van Newkirk.

We talk about voting rights in America, and how his mother Marilyn was part of the first generation of black women to actually have the right to vote here in the US.

If you liked this episode, please open up your favorite podcast app and subscribe and visit theAtlantic.com slash experiment to learn more.

Van, I was so sorry to hear about your mom passing. How are you holding up?

It's been a difficult couple of months.

Can you tell me about her? What was she like?

The first thing most people noticed about my mother was her eyes.

She had this like intense stare. She was a teacher, and lots of kids would ask if my mom ever blinked.

She never cursed. She was terrified of anything that did not have legs, snakes, slugs, worms.

The thing I think about a lot, and it's a really weird dumb thing to think about, but grief does really weird things to your brain.

I think a lot about her hands. She and I have like strangely similar hands.

Long, spindly fingers are knuckles are very prominent. It's like branches on a tree almost.

That's the first thing I think about her, because it was such a reminder that she was me.

The life of Marilyn Newcork ended on November 6, 2020, after a long battle with cancer.

She was 56. She survived by her husband, three siblings, and three kids, including her son Van, who's a senior editor at the Atlantic.

I'm a mom's oldest child. I am required under law to only speak good things in my mother.

When a life comes to an end, we, the ones who are left behind, were left with a story.

A really a bunch of different stories. Like, for Van, there were small stories about the way his mom looked.

A tie or what she cared about. How she treated people. She was an incredibly patient.

What she struggled with. You see the stress rising off her. Like, he almost.

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