Closer Than They Appear

Run Up On The Bear

Carvell Wallace and his young daughter talk about how scary it is to confront a bear. Season 1 starts November 15, 2017.

How did I get here? (with Mahershala Ali)

Who or what is in your own past right now that you need to face, but aren’t facing — and why not? Host Carvell Wallace has a theory that maybe this whole nation is just 320 million people who all need to talk with someone they're afraid to talk to. He certainly needs to do that himself. Actor Mahershala Ali joins Carvell to talk about family, America, and grace.

Who is America? (with Shereen Marisol Meraji)

Carvell Wallace turns to Shereen Marisol Meraji from NPR's Code Switch to ask: How can we come together as a country when it seems like so many things are working to keep us apart? Thanksgiving is one of the only days of the year when a lot of us - literally, physically - have to come together with people we might not agree with, whether we want to or not. It's the quintessential American holiday. So who are the quintessential Americans?

If not me, then who? (with Dr. Ayaz Virji)

Going out and talking to people is a little thing, but it's also a big thing. Especially if those people are different from you, or might not like you, or might even reject you. Carvell Wallace talks to someone who's doing just that. Dr. Ayaz Virji is the town doctor in the 1400-person town of Dawson, Minnesota. He, his wife, and their three children are the only Muslim family in Dawson. The 2016 election changed how he saw his neighbors — so he started talking.

Why me? (with Shamrace Mims)

Carvell Wallace goes to his hometown of McKeesport, PA and it's like visiting a small town... but it's also like visiting the remaining survivors of an apocalypse. Carvell talks with his childhood friend, Shamrace Mims. Decades ago, they rode bikes and played Atari. They sat on porches in the late afternoon, throwing rocks and talking rap crews and Transformers. That was of course until Carvell moved. The town changed. And Carvell's path and Shamrace's path... they diverged.