In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

How much do you rely on the validation of others? I don't. It's never been important to me what

other people think. I can't waste my time and energy caring about other people's validation.

And also, when you believe the good things people say about you, you also then are obligated to believe the bad things.

I'm Rachel Martin, and this is Wild Card, the show where cards control the conversation.

Each week, my guest answers questions about their life.

Questions pulled from a deck of cards.

They're allowed to skip one question and to flip one question back on me.

My guest this week is Shonda Rhymes.

I can sort of sink into that creative writing space where the world sort of fades away around me.

And I don't know.

Is that feeling like you feel like you could fly forever?

It is one thing to create massively successful shows like Gray's Anatomy and scandal.

It is quite another to create characters, stories, and language that change culture.

Shonda Rhymes built shows with diverse casts and strong women at the center,

which honestly was rare 20 years ago when Gray's first came out.

And the character she created in Dr. Christina Yang became an avatar for every woman

who has ever wanted to cast off self-doubt and live in her own power,

which is what Shonda Rhymes eventually learned to do herself.

...