The New Yorker Radio Hour

Episode Two: Amy Schumer, Jorge Ramos, and the Search for a Lost Father

Date: October 30, 2015
Host: David Remnick, WNYC Studios & The New Yorker

Overview

This episode weaves together an eclectic mix of humor, social commentary, personal history, and investigative storytelling. Editor David Remnick leads insightful conversations with comic Amy Schumer—the year’s standout comedic voice; anchors a profile interview with pioneering newsman Jorge Ramos (by William Finnegan); and continues the search for a lost father in the intertwined lives of writer Jill Lepore and her friend Adriana Alti. Interludes featuring New Yorker cartoonists Matt Diffie and Drew Durnovich add lightness and behind-the-scenes perspective.

Key Segments and Insights

1. Behind the Scenes with New Yorker Cartoonists

[00:29]–[02:07], [18:12]–[19:24], [31:38]–[33:20]

• Cartoon Drafts and Creativity:
  Matt Diffie and Drew Durnovich share how cartoon ideas evolve, riff on half-baked jokes, and commiserate over creative block and last-minute inspiration.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “Sometimes the end of the week, the desperation helps.” — Matt Diffie [01:59]
  • On pitching odd jokes: “Maybe it’s not even funny at all.” — Drew Durnovich [01:36]
• Cartoon Marketplace Realities:
  Selling to the New Yorker involves batches of ideas; often, the strangest ones end up as reader caption contests rather than traditional picks.
  • “It’s sort of like getting accepted and rejected at the same time.” — Matt Diffie [32:30]

2. Amy Schumer: Comedy, Family, and Responsibility

[02:07]–[17:19]

Personal Comedy Rooted in Family and Pain

• Schumer connects her comedic sensibility to deep family experiences: her father’s MS diagnosis, financial struggles, and the solace/survival mechanism of humor.
  • “The only way I can deal with it is to find a way to laugh about it.” — Amy Schumer [03:26]

Evolving as a Performer and Writer

• Schumer discusses evolving from punchline-driven stand-up to material with “an agenda,” blending laughs with meaning.
  • David Remnick presses her to define her agenda:
    • “To make people laugh and feel better.” — Amy Schumer [07:10]

Satire, Feminism, and Political Comedy in “Inside Amy Schumer”

• Breaks down the “I’m Sorry” sketch about women’s apologetic behavior:
  • “We were talking about just how women say ‘I’m sorry’ so much… but we gotta do a scene about that.” — Amy Schumer [08:16]
• Describes the collaborative writers’ room and contrasts stand-up with TV sketch writing.

Navigating Public Criticism and the “PC Police”

• Defends her boundary-pushing jokes, adapts as her audience and sense of responsibility grows.
  • “If there’s a part of you that’s sensitive to that, it’s probably because there’s a little truth in it.” [13:05]
• Acknowledges evolution away from some older material as her platform and responsibilities expand.

On Not Taking Over for Jon Stewart

• Schumer details her reasons for turning down the Daily Show:
  • “I’d have to be in that same building every day for five years.” [14:22]

Future Plans & Artistic Fearlessness

• Wants to try new, riskier projects, possibly directing, and keep growing creatively.

David Remnick’s Final Take

• “The indomitable Amy Schumer… just this past weekend, she appeared yet again in support of gun control legislation with her cousin, Senator Chuck Schumer.” [17:22]

3. Jorge Ramos: Journalism, Advocacy, and Political Dissent

[19:24]–[31:27]
*Interview by William Finnegan

The Advocate Journalist

• Ramos doesn’t hide his passionate defense of immigrants, contrasting himself with “neutral” U.S. broadcast journalists.
• On Rubio and Cruz not backing undocumented immigrants:
  • “It’s incredibly unfair and sad that these two politicians are closing the door… behind their parents.” — Jorge Ramos [21:10]

Standing Up to Trump

• Recalls being thrown out of Trump’s Iowa press conference:
  • Plays audio of confrontation; emphasizes the importance of remaining calm under pressure due to decades of experience (and yoga):
    • “[Yoga] helps me… with breathing, it’s amazing what you can achieve.” — Jorge Ramos [24:00]

The Ann Coulter Interview and the Power of Silence

• Ramos interviews Coulter despite her incendiary views, explains the effectiveness of silence in exposing extreme rhetoric.
  • “I made the conscious decision of not talking… it didn’t matter what I would ask. It would be weak in comparison to what she had just said.” [25:49]
• On confronting ideology:
  • “We have to talk with those who don’t agree with us. That’s the only way for them to get to know us.” [26:40]

TV as “Exaggeration of Life”

• Behind TV antagonism is professional performance, not personal enmity.

Reflections on Mexico, Risk, and Legacy

• Grew up under censorship; recognizes freedom—and peril—in U.S. journalism vs. Mexico, where “more than 80 journalists… have been killed.” [30:00]
• Final advice to his 25-year-old self:
  • “I would tell him to slow down a little bit… I should have enjoyed… but didn’t know how. Don't be stupid. That’s not the most important thing in life.” [31:14]

4. The Search for a Lost Father (Part II)

[33:20]–[50:30]
*With Jill Lepore & Adriana Alti

A Personal and Societal Story

• Adriana, adopted and raised in nearly all-white New England, never knew her biological father.
• Dramatic funeral encounter with her birth mother, “Nina”, jumpstarts questions of origin, identity, and race.
• Nina’s stories—connections with poet William Brown, claimed ties to Bob Dylan—sound mythic, but send Jill Lepore down a research rabbit hole.

Changing Social Contexts

• The history of transracial adoption in America: shifting attitudes, protest by Black social workers (1972), and evolving social policy and culture.
• “There’s just this moment, this little window… where what happened to her could have happened.” — Jill Lepore [44:22]

The Search Intensifies

• Using old and new clues (including the nickname “Big Brown”), Lepore hits on a 1965 Washington Square Park photo.
• Artistic profile: Brown as a public street poet, described by photographer Leroy Henderson:
  • “He was really quite vocal and quite… big guy, huge guy.”
  • “I think that shows that this guy saw something beyond being a black man… that probably would have been too limiting.” [49:20]

Resonance of Art and History

• The segment highlights both personal longing and the sprawling unpredictability of real-life detective work.

5. Birdsong and Tech in Prospect Park

[51:08]–[54:34]
*Reported by Carolyn Corman

• Field test of Bird Genie, an app that identifies bird calls, emphasizes nature and technology intersection and citizen science.
• “Maybe 85% of the time… you’re hearing the birds way before you see them.” — Tom Stevenson [51:54]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “You just shouldn’t have to see your parents this vulnerable, and we would find a way to laugh about it, always. The whole family. There was nothing that was off-limits.” — Amy Schumer [04:00]
• “We have to talk with those who don’t agree with us. That’s the only way for them to get to know us.” — Jorge Ramos [26:40]
• “TV is an exaggeration of life… the intensity that you see on TV… that’s not real life.” — Jorge Ramos [27:51]
• “I started trying ‘Big Brown’ … and he pops up, and then he’s kind of everywhere.” — Jill Lepore [47:23]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• New Yorker Cartoonists’ Workshop: [00:29–02:07], [18:12–19:24], [31:38–33:20]
• Amy Schumer Interview: [02:07–17:19]
• Jorge Ramos Profile: [19:24–31:27]
• Search for William Brown: [33:20–50:30]
• Bird Genie App Field Test: [51:08–54:34]

Tone and Original Flavors

The episode blends the quick-witted banter of Amy Schumer (“Night, Hill”), Remnick’s frank yet thoughtful interviewing style, Ramos’s passionate advocacy, and Jill Lepore’s gentle but persistent curiosity. Even the most serious discussions are laced with humor and candor, giving the episode a vibrant, intellectual, and deeply human tone.

For First-Time Listeners

This episode provides an immersive experience in what makes The New Yorker distinctive: the collision of art, politics, history, and personal storytelling. You’ll laugh; you’ll feel; you’ll likely Google William Brown yourself.

End of Summary