Wild Card with Rachel Martin

Weekly conversations with notable guests on life's deeper questions AI summary

NPR Visit website › Society & Culture · EN · 140 episodes · latest 2026-11-12

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What it is about

Life’s too short for small talk. Rachel gets right to the questions that matter most. Once a week, famous guests pull questions from a deck of cards and open up about the kind of stuff we all think about but rarely say out loud. Actors, authors, and thinkers are prompted to talk about everything from their insecurities and dreams to grief and God. Named one of the 10 best podcasts of 2024 by The New York Times, Wild Card stands out among celebrity interview podcasts. When modern life feels chaotic or overwhelming, listen to Wild Card for a joyful, grounding reminder of our shared humanity.

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Latest episodes

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen

2026-11-12 · 1 hr 5 min

“People put astronauts on pedestals all the time,” Jeremy Hansen says. “We’re very flawed.” The Artemis II mission specialist opens up to Rachel about the insecurities he felt before his mission around the moon this…
Busy Phillpps E

2026-11-05 · 49 min

Busy Philipps found out she had a rare malignant brain tumor within hours of finding out she’d landed a part in the new CBS drama, “Cupertino.” She’s spent the past few months processing the highs and lows of going…
Esther Perel

2026-10-29 · 58 min

Esther Perel’s warning is clear: “We are more and more sleepwalking into isolation.” Her work as a psychotherapist is, in part, an attempt to build connections in a disconnected world. This fall, she's going on tour,…
Zadie Smith (Encore)

2026-10-22 · 32 min

London today is very different from the one Zadie Smith grew up in and the one she wrote about in her debut novel “White Teeth.” That is just one of the things Smith is grappling with 26 years after her best-selling…
Jesse Eisenberg (Encore)

2026-10-15 · 33 min

Jesse Eisenberg plays characters who spend a lot of time in their heads grappling with anxiety, fear and insecurity. You can see it in “The Squid and the Whale,” “Zombieland” and “A Real Pain,” which he wrote directed,…
Pádraig Ó Tuama

2026-10-08 · 1 hr 2 min

“I think joy and melancholy have a lot to say to each other,” Pádraig Ó Tuama tells Rachel. In his poetry, he allows that conversation between joy and melancholy to play out as he explores love, grief, and faith.…
Trixie Mattel

2026-10-01 · 50 min

Trixie Mattel is so many things: a musician, entrepreneur, TV host, and one of the most beloved drag queens out there. But it all began with a deep love of music; her latest EP, "Till Death Do Us Part" is out this fall.…
Willem Dafoe E

2026-09-24 · 49 min

Willem Dafoe sees acting as a form of service – both to the audience and to his coworkers making a movie. That selfless approach means he’s also on guard for anything that can inflate his ego, including, he tells…
John Dickerson

2026-09-17 · 41 min

John Dickerson made a name for himself as an anchor at CBS News. Last year, he left the world of broadcast news to pursue stories that put his values of generosity, curiosity and integrity at the core of his work. He…
Gillian Anderson

2026-09-10 · 46 min

“How am I complicit in not getting what I say that I want?” This is the question Gillian Anderson wants you to ask yourself. She has read many accounts from women detailing their sexual desires and disappointments, and…

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Publisher details

Oldest episode in feed: 04/2024 · over 2 years
Typical length: 37 min
Format: Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone

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