Podcast Summary: What Now? with Trevor Noah

Episode: Wesley Morris: How Critics at Large See the Stories We Miss
Date: December 25, 2025
Host: Trevor Noah
Guest: Wesley Morris (Pulitzer Prize-winning critic)
Additional Voices: Eugene

Episode Overview

This episode features a lively conversation between Trevor Noah and Wesley Morris, delving into what it means to be a “critic at large,” how trends in culture tell deeper stories than we realize, and the changing power of names, art, and movies in society. The episode moves seamlessly from playful banter (about old-fashioned names and messy bathrooms) to philosophical explorations about how art reflects and shapes identity, power, and the stories we tell about ourselves—often without noticing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Some Stories Stay Unnoticed (Critics at Large)

• Defining the "Critic at Large":
  Trevor frames the “critic at large” as someone who notices unspoken cultural trends and makes connections other people might miss. Unlike a traditional critic who reviews a single work, the critic at large sees the broader patterns and what those patterns say about society.

  • “A critic at large is somebody who is looking at society, all of the elements that are within that society, and then tries to notice how the shifts in that society are telling us a story that the society itself doesn't notice.” —Trevor Noah [13:23]

• Approaching Culture as a Living Story:
  Morris explains his process of seeing beyond surface phenomena. For example, why he’d write about the public’s fixation on a tennis player’s haircut rather than an everyday win:

  • “The US Open is the place where people do the weirdest stuff to themselves... it's like, what's the story here?” —Wesley Morris [15:31]

The Power and Performativity of Names

• Name Trends as Cultural Barometers:
  Names once cycled linearly, but now the cycle is eating itself due to celebrity culture, globalization, and assimilation. Morris notes how certain names fall out of fashion or are considered “too ethnic” to catch on, even after prominent visibility (e.g., “Barack”).
  • “I just want to live in a world where like Yoon is just... the new James in the US. But I don't know if we really want that because of the way assimilationism works here...” —Wesley Morris [09:49]
  • “Have you heard about Donald?... I don't believe Donald is on [the top names list].” —Wesley Morris [12:14]
  • “Judith. Margaret. Arnold. My parents’ names... Those are dead names.” —Wesley Morris [06:33]

Haircuts, Sports, Gender, and What We Notice

• Superficial Trends as Deep-Symbol Stories:
  The conversation turns to Carlos Alcaraz’s haircut at the US Open and how the media fixated on it, forcing an apology and reflection on why some appearances demand explanation—and how that burden is usually reserved for women.

  • “Now here’s a man having to, like, explain his physical appearance in a way that I don't recall a male tennis player... ever having to do. It's usually women.” —Wesley Morris [27:01]

• Men Now Explaining Their Appearance:
  The Alcaraz moment is rare, showing how anxieties about appearance—and their social meaning—are shifting unpredictably across gender lines.

Who Owns the Past? Museums, Art, & the Politics of Returning

• Should Art Go Back To Its Origins?
  The hosts debate if art looted or exported from its place of origin should be returned. Morris and Eugene offer contrasting views, exploring what art means when it’s “foreign” versus “returned home,” and how context gives objects significance.

  • “I feel like it's not art if it’s with its people. I feel it’s art when it's not home. It becomes, it has significance when it's not at home.” —Eugene [38:12]
  • “It kind of only gets you so far with art... responsible institutions will tell a story of where it was and how it got to be where it is.” —Wesley Morris [45:34]

• Time vs. Ownership:
  Trevor introduces the idea that the time in which art is moved may be more important than the people who moved it—raising questions about which era or government’s authority should count.

Art as Proof of Existence and Dignity

• Artifacts as Evidence for Identity:
  When traditional narratives erase African civilizations’ achievements, everyday objects become crucial proofs of existence, dignity, and intelligence—making debates about repatriation deeply meaningful.

  • “Now all of a sudden, that plate, that comb, that statue is no longer just a plate, comb or a statue – it’s now proof that these people... actually happened.” —Trevor Noah [61:02]
  • “A people needs to know its story and the value of the story that the artifacts represent—a whole that kind of dignify or redignify a people.” —Wesley Morris [61:52]

• Art in Diaspora:
  Pride comes from seeing one’s own heritage recognized in the great museums of the world.

  • “It just fills you with pride. Like, I came all the way over here, didn’t need to see any black shit... but here we are.” —Wesley Morris [63:22]

Art, Power, and National Identity (Trump & Museums)

• Why Politicians Fear Museums:
  Trevor notes the peculiar energy and focus certain American politicians—especially Trump—placed on museum exhibitions, suggesting they understand the narrative power of art in shaping public memory and identity.

  • “He’s not saying ‘my kid could do that.’ He’s saying, ‘this shit is powerful... and it needs to be stopped.’” —Wesley Morris [66:36]

• Trump as America’s Apotheosis:
  Morris offers that Trump may lack empathy or understanding of history, but is also a “quintessential” American, shaped steadily by the room he’s in.

  • “He is the apotheosis of this country in many ways, right?... A very good example. There are lots of, like, great Americans. Trump is Trump, at the end of the day, no matter what you say.” —Wesley Morris [71:14]
  • “You just get him in the right room...” —Trevor Noah [82:28]

The Changing Shape of Movies – From Everyman to Superheroes

• Loss of Everyday Humanity in Film:
  The group discusses the stark difference between past films—rich with scenes of kitchens, families, and work—and today’s blockbuster movies, which are dominated by superheroes and lack regular people and real-life detail.

  • “There was a value to watching Sally Field try to keep her farm from going under... now, we don't have that with the Avengers.” —Wesley Morris [99:19, 100:11]

• Movies as a “Museum in Action”:
  Morris sees movies (and previously, video stores) as active records of a people’s inner life, hopes, and anxieties—the “museum in action.”

  • “The movies are the museum in action, right? Like a video store, when we had them, those were museums, 100%...” —Wesley Morris [95:56]

• Representation, Aspiration, and Imagination:
  Films once encouraged viewers to identify with ordinary people who changed their world. Today’s superhero giants, instead, ask audiences to watch (not imagine themselves as) the heroes.

  • “If you grew up watching Die Hard... you believed you as an individual could make an outsized influence in the world. Avengers comes along, and it’s like, listen, all you’re gonna do is be in your office screaming.” —Trevor Noah [100:54, 101:10]

What Makes a Critic at Large? (And Why So Many are Black)

• Outsider Perspective Breeds Insight:
  Trevor asks why so many great critics at large are Black. Morris reflects on being shaped by curiosity, encouraged to question, and the freedom to be both inside and outside the mainstream—seeing connections and context others miss.

  • “There's something about wanting to understand how the world works... art is a version of how the world works.” —Wesley Morris [121:10]

• Learning From Scarcity and Exclusion:
  Growing up with few flattering representations, Black viewers learned to read against the grain, notice absence, and imagine more.

  • “We grew up at a time... there were very few flattering depictions of Black people from Hollywood, at least. And it never mattered, right? It never mattered.” —Wesley Morris [121:20]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Exchanges

• On Critic at Large vs. Regular Critic:
  “A critic is somebody who is criticizing or commenting on the elements of any particular thing... But that's it. A critic at Large is somebody who is looking at society... and tries to notice how the shifts... are telling us a story.” —Trevor Noah [13:23]

• On the Power of Absence in Art:
  “So the thing that I love about, no matter where the art winds up, is responsible institutions will tell a story of where it was and how it got to be where it is.” —Wesley Morris [45:32]

• On Trump’s Relationship to History:
  “I can't think of a living person… with that degree of power, who also simultaneously knows nothing about history, but also has a deep understanding that he is making it as he goes.” —Wesley Morris [72:04]

• On the Loss of Human Stories in Movies:
  “I mean, I’m not saying I want more farm movies, but there was a value to watching Sally Field try to keep her farm from going under. Which is a kind of movie that happened every week.” —Wesley Morris [99:19]

• On Superheroes Displacing the Everyman:
  “Their family only exists as a device to give them an origin story… But we don’t see who these people are, or who they mean to them, or how they shape them.” —Trevor Noah [100:10]

• On the Enduring Power of Storytelling:
  “When they're focused on what regular people are dealing with and going through, you just... you learn something about how to be in the world.” —Wesley Morris [104:51]

Important Timestamps

• Naming patterns, assimilation, and power of trends: 03:08 – 12:22
• What a critic at large does (Tennis, haircuts, and meaning): 12:33 – 29:43
• Art, museums, and repatriation: 38:02 – 61:53
• Art as proof of identity, and the dignity of artifacts: 61:03 – 66:04
• Trump, museums, and the battle over narrative: 66:01 – 87:43
• Movies as reflections and tools of civilizational memory: 91:41 – 104:51
• Why critics at large are often Black, growing up learning to “read against the grain”: 109:18 – 121:19
• Closing reflections on movies, critics, and the value of noticing: 127:03 – Episode end

Final Takeaways

• Wesley Morris illustrates how the critic at large’s superpower is to make the invisible visible—spotting the subtle evidence of what we value, what we ignore, and how cultural objects shape who we think we are, often without us noticing.
• The episode challenges listeners to look beneath the surface of trends, names, art, and film, and understand them as living artifacts—reflecting our anxieties, aspirations, and the stories of power we tell, inherit, and sometimes resist.
• Trevor stresses the importance of slowing down and digesting culture—rather than consuming in haste—in order to see the stories we might otherwise miss.

Listen if you want: An insightful, funny, and thought-provoking conversation about culture, art, identity, and the power of criticism to reveal the hidden stories behind what we watch, name, and display.