Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

Finding Truth in Doubt with Anna Deavere Smith

Critically acclaimed playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith crafts groundbreaking art at the intersection of journalism and theater. Her explosive one-woman plays centered on the Los Angeles riots and the Crown Heights riots, “Twilight: Los Angeles” and “Fires in the Mirror” respectively, took shape from hundreds of interviews conducted by Smith herself. Her newest piece, “Notes From the Field” had her traveling everywhere from Finland to the Yurok Tribe of Northern California, compiling 250 conversations about the school-to-prison pipeline. Her work requires a masterful command of storytelling, empathy, and the art of the interview, and she joins this week to describe how those pieces came together in her celebrated career.Read  <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/the-last-of-the-nice-negro-girls/617786/">We Were the Last of the Nice Negro Girls</a> by Anna Deavere SmithFind out more about <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/inheritance/">Inheritance</a>

Every week Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night. How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history? Why is this (all) happening?

This podcast starts to answer these questions. Writers, experts, and thinkers who are also trying to get to the bottom of them join Chris to break it all down and help him get a better night’s rest. “Why is this Happening?” is presented by MSNBC and NBCNews Think.