D’Angelo and the Power of Last Albums

“We’re living in protest-y times! Where are all the protest songs?” That was a question that Wesley Morris was asking in the time leading up to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show. He thinks the scarcity of direct protest art in this moment contributed to the intense speculation and anticipation about what Bad Bunny would do on that stage. Would it be a protest? And if so, what kind of protest? Well, now the show’s over. So what did it turn out to be? To discuss, Wesley Morris sits back down with his friend Sasha Weiss, culture editor at The New York Times Magazine. They also think about the role of protest music more broadly. When does a song need to hit us over the head? And when is subtlety useful — or called for?

“The Pitt” is back for a second season, and it’s appointment viewing for Wesley Morris. Every Thursday at 9 p.m., the show serves up an emergency room’s worth of maladies and realities — sparing us none of the naked truths about being a human in a vulnerable body. Sasha Weiss, the culture editor at The New York Times Magazine, joins Wesley to talk about how the show is making an old-school television genre feel not just contemporary, but vital. Plus, a conversation with the writer and novelist Taffy Brodesser-Akner about when loving a work of art becomes an obsession. And Wesley has an unexpected reaction to the Grammys.

“Marty Supreme” is a box office and critical hit. The film just received nominations in many of the most coveted Oscar categories — best picture, director and actor. And Wesley is glad about all of it. He loved the movie and its shameless protagonist, Marty Mauser. But it turns out that a lot of people going to see this movie don’t share his feelings. In fact, a lot of them hate it. And much of that seems to have to do with a hatred of Marty himself. Wesley’s friend and a culture editor at The New York Times Magazine, Sasha Weiss, thinks people may be missing the point. Which, to her, has a lot to do with the Jewishness of the film. She joins Wesley to talk it out.

Last November, Wesley spent an evening with Michelle Obama to celebrate the release of “The Look,” her new book about fashion and the power of style. It’s a heavy text – weighing in at about 4.12 pounds (Wesley checked). That makes it great for coffee tables. But it also reflects the weight of what it meant to Michelle Obama, as First Lady, to be looked at. Every outfit carried meaning and significance, and she knew it. Together, Wesley and Michelle reflect on her approach to fashion from day one in the White House, her time in the East Wing, and some of her most memorable looks.

Wesley has a practice as a new year begins of saying goodbye to those who won’t be coming with us. He could have easily done an episode on any number of household names. He could have done the same with people who weren’t the biggest names, yet still loomed large for many. But out of all the artists who passed in 2025, Wesley decides to dedicate time to Roberta Flack. The critic and scholar Daphne A. Brooks, a friend of Wesley’s, joins him to reflect on treasured moments in Flack’s music. They reminisce on the powerful range of her discography, the quiet it kept and the fire it sparked in others.