Carvell Wallace is a writer known for his work at GQ, ESPN and the New Yorker delving into sports, music and pop culture. But his writing has always been firmly rooted in context — where we are now, and how did we get here. (I recommend this piece about black punters in the NFL.)

And lately he’s been thinking about how America has gotten to this particular place in its history. But at the same time he’s been thinking about his own family’s fractured history and how to come to some reconciliation. His new podcast, Closer Than They Appear, is a mash-up of personal exploration of his family’s past and deep-thinking about America’s national estrangement. All with an eye for healing, or at least some kind of peace-making.

Listen to the rest of the show!

This is just one segment from a whole show! Click here to explore the entire episode, including interviews with Ashley Ahearn, host of Terrestrial, and Jon Ronson, writer and host of The Butterfly Effect.

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Thanks for reading, pals! ‘Til next time…keep listening, America.

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