Wild Card with Rachel Martin
NPR
NAMED A TOP 10 PODCAST OF 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES <br><br>There are interview podcasts and then there's Wild Card. Rachel Martin rips up the typical interview script and invites guests to answer questions they've never been asked before about life's biggest questions. Actors, writers and musicians 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.<br><br><em> Want more Wild Card? Support NPR by subscribing to Wild Card+. You'll get access to bonus episodes and you'll get to listen sponsor-free. Learn more at </em><em>plus.npr.org/wildcard</em><em>.</em>
- 43 minutes 45 secondsWagner MouraWagner Moura doesn’t compromise when it comes to doing work that feels meaningful and aligned with his values. That much is clear in the politically-charged Brazilian film, "The Secret Agent," for which he's earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He spoke with Rachel about getting better with age, the sacredness of performing onstage and why he's made seeking joy a priority.
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NPR Privacy Policy12 February 2026, 12:00 pm - 43 minutes 19 secondsMelinda French Gates
Melinda French Gates has been through some painful and public transitions — ending her marriage of 27 years, stepping away from the foundation she built with her ex-husband Bill Gates and turning her professional focus to women’s health and social progress. She talks to Rachel about forgiveness, learning to trust, and her ex-husband’s association with Jeffrey Epstein. To listen sponsor-free and support the show, sign up for Wild Card+ at plus.npr.org/wildcard
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NPR Privacy Policy5 February 2026, 11:00 am - 1 hour 1 minuteOprah
Oprah could never just ignore her weight. Everyone else was always talking about it – from tabloids to late-night shows. She talks to Rachel about her weight journey and her new embrace of GLP-1s, the topic of her new book, “Enough,” co-written with Dr. Ania Jastreboff. Oprah also opens up to Rachel about her childhood in Mississippi and the lessons she learned from Maya Angelou and Sidney Poitier.
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NPR Privacy Policy29 January 2026, 12:00 pm - 48 minutes 1 secondJennette McCurdy
In her early 20s, Jennette McCurdy left her childhood acting career and turned to writing. In both her memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” and her debut novel, “Half His Age,” she confronts the kinds of abuse and power dynamics she had to navigate long before she was ready. But she tells Rachel she has been able to move past it and find acceptance on the other side. To listen sponsor-free and support the show, sign up for Wild Card+ at plus.npr.org/wildcard
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NPR Privacy Policy22 January 2026, 12:00 pm - 53 minutes 34 secondsTig NotaroTig Notaro knows all about how humor and grief can coexist. She's explored those topics in her stand-up comedy, TV shows, and podcasts. Her latest project is "Come See Me in the Good Light," a documentary about her friend, the poet Andrea Gibson's, who died of cancer last year. She tells Rachel about growing up skiing with gators in Mississippi, and what Andrea taught her about the preciousness of life.
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NPR Privacy Policy15 January 2026, 12:00 pm - 39 minutes 43 secondsJonathan Goldstein
When Jonathan Goldstein sets out to help a guest on his podcast “Heavyweight,” he always hopes he can help them feel unburdened by the end. But it’s often on the path to finding closure for a regret or deep-seated disappointment that the real healing happens. Jonathan shares with Rachel what making the show has taught him and why he believes anyone is capable of change. To listen sponsor-free and support the show, sign up for Wild Card+ at plus.npr.org/wildcard
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NPR Privacy Policy8 January 2026, 8:05 am - 45 minutes 20 secondsJohn Green (Encore)John Green keeps busy – from authoring blockbuster young adult novels like "The Fault in Our Stars," to running a YouTube empire with his brother Hank, to publishing his latest nonfiction book, "Everything Is Tuberculosis." His projects share one key goal: to make the world "suck less." John talks to Rachel about how he battles despair and why he's unconcerned with the question of God's existence.
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NPR Privacy Policy1 January 2026, 8:05 am - 32 minutes 49 secondsAnn Patchett (Encore)Ann Patchett's 2001 novel Bel Canto was a huge hit. She's continued to have success with her later work, including The Dutch House, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. But she recently returned to Bel Canto with a new edition annotated by Patchett herself. She and Rachel talk about why she wanted to critique her own work and they also discuss their shifting ideas of God and feeling comfortable being alone.
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NPR Privacy Policy25 December 2025, 12:00 pm - 50 minutes 2 secondsKumail NanjianiKumail Nanjiani is learning to embrace big feelings, he tells Rachel. Kumail’s projects are all about how we feel our way through living, including his new Hulu stand-up special, “Night Thoughts.” Kumail talks to Rachel about learning to embrace fear and failure, his creative partnership with his wife, Emily, and why the world would improve if everyone could eat his grandmother's biryani.
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NPR Privacy Policy18 December 2025, 12:00 pm - 54 minutes 10 secondsJamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis never wanted to be an actor. She tells Rachel, despite having famous show business parents, she originally thought she’d become a police officer. Jamie talks about how she unexpectedly wound up in Hollywood, her fight against unhealthy beauty standards in the industry, and why she thinks of her children’s books as “her best thing.” Jamie Lee Curtis is currently in “Ella McCay.”
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NPR Privacy Policy11 December 2025, 12:00 pm - 39 minutes 27 secondsMel RobbinsMel Robbins tells Rachel that she was plagued by anxiety, trauma and “relentless self-hatred” when she was younger. Now she has a bestselling book (“The Let Them Theory”) and a massively successful podcast (“The Mel Robbins Podcast”). Her hope is that she can share the tools that have helped her better herself so that other people can improve their lives.
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