meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Notes from America with Kai Wright

Whose Kansas Is it Anyway?

Notes from America with Kai Wright

WNYC Studios

News Commentary, Politics, History, News

4.41.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2017

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The city of Olathe, Kansas, has been shaken since February when a man gunned down two Indian immigrants in a bar there. Witnesses say the shooter yelled, “Go back to your country!” It was the first hate-crime killing after the 2016 presidential election. WNYC’s Arun Venugopal traveled to Kansas to speak with members of the Indian community about how they’re dealing with the deaths, and with their changing status in America. We hear from Professor Raj Bhala, a specialist in international law who is half-Indian and half-Scottish, along with his wife Kara, a Chinese-American woman from Malaysia. The couple is dreading July 1, when a law allowing the concealed carry of weapons on college campuses goes into effect. Kara Tan Bhala even wrote her U.S. Senators and congresswoman about concerns for her husband's safety. The congresswoman, the only one to reply, sent a defense of the Second Amendment. “It just made me feel as if my voice wasn't being heard in a very conservative state and that perhaps it was time to just take a break from the country and come back when things get better," Tan Bhala said. "I know things go in cycles so the pendulum has swung really one way to quite an extreme. We're waiting for it to swing slowly back.” But for the first time since the couple arrived in 2003, they are seriously considering leaving the state — and the country. Episode Contributors: Kai Wright Arun Venugopal Karen Frillmann The United States of Anxiety is hosted by Kai Wright and produced by WNYC Studios. Listen to more shows from WNYC Studios: http://wny.cc/yzc4304odXp WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics, Radiolab, Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin and many more.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

We left you on November 10th, 2016 what feels like eons ago.

0:08.0

I Donald John Trump do solemnly swear.

0:11.6

He won all of it. This is not a Muslim band, it's not a travel band.

0:17.4

Our press secretary gave alternative facts to that.

0:21.2

For the first time ever, the Dow Jones closed above 20,000

0:24.9

points. Donald Trump has now been president for 100 nerve-wracking days so we

0:30.4

are back to take stock.

0:37.0

I'm Kywright and from WNYC Studios this is round two of the United States of Anxiety.

0:42.0

The Culture Wars.

0:43.0

Wars. For the next several weeks, we're not going to talk at all here about the

1:06.9

grind of daily controversies that have filled the past four months. If you're

1:10.9

like me, you're already reaching exhaustion on that front. We actually

1:14.3

won't even talk much about Donald Trump. Rather, we want to discuss something Trump

1:18.4

seems to understand about American politics. Or maybe it's even broader than American politics. Maybe it's even broader than

1:22.8

American politics. Maybe it's humanity overall. He gets this one

1:27.3

important thing about us. And the best way I can explain that thing is

1:31.8

this iconic scene from the Devil Wears Prada.

1:35.0

Oh, okay, I see, you think this has nothing to do with you.

1:40.0

It's the one where Miranda Priestley, Merrill Streep's character of course, is annoyed with her new assistant,

1:45.8

Andy, who thinks she's too good for fashion. Miranda schools her.

1:50.4

You go to your closet and you select, I don't know that. her.

1:55.0

She tells Andy the story behind the sweater,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WNYC Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WNYC Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.