The Guardian today revealed new details about its upcoming US video podcast, Stateside with Kai and Carter. Hosted by Peabody award-winning host and journalist Kai Wright and Emmy-nominated Guardian journalist and author Carter Sherman, Stateside with Kai and Carter premieres on 13 May 2026. With new episodes three times a week, the interview-led show will bring the Guardian’s global perspective and unique lens on the US to life through lively conversations about the rise of authoritarianism, inequality and racial injustice, climate change and corporate power – alongside soccer, wellness, lifestyle and more.
At a time when other podcasts from news organizations are adapting to video, Stateside with Kai and Carter will launch as a video-first podcast that slows down fast-moving stories, bringing the viewing and listening audience analysis that helps make sense of the news. Stateside with Kai and Carter will be available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast platforms, and will also have a robust social presence across Instagram and TikTok.
Together, Kai and Carter bring a wealth of journalism experience to Stateside with Kai and Carter in their role as co-hosts. Kai was most recently a host and managing editor at WNYC, the largest public radio station in the US, where he was at the helm of Notes From America with Kai Wright and a number of limited series podcasts focused on social justice themes. Until recently, Carter was the reproductive health and justice reporter at the Guardian, and is also the author of The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation’s Fight Over Its Future.
Stateside with Kai and Carter is executive-produced by Jonathan Menjivar, an acclaimed journalist and podcast veteran who is tapping into his extensive experience in narrative audio storytelling to shape the unique vision for the podcast. In addition to his work on shows including This American Life and Fresh Air, Jonathan was previously a senior producer at Pineapple Street Studios, and also created and hosted Classy with Jonathan Menjivar, which was named one of Time’s 100 Best Podcasts of all Time. The show’s deputy executive producer is Rachel Humphreys, a Pulitzer prize finalist who was most recently with the Wall Street Journal’s daily news podcast the Journal and a senior producer on their award-winning series Camp Swamp Road. She was also a host and producer on the team that launched the Guardian’s flagship UK podcast, Today in Focus.
Rounding out the production team are Anabel Bacon, senior audio producer joining from the New York Times with prior work at WNYC and Audible; Tiara Chiaramonte, senior video producer with experience at CNN, Today, 60 Minutes and more; Suzanne Gaber, audio producer joining from This American Life; Mónica Espitia, video producer from the Wall Street Journal Opinion; Ivan Kuraev, show engineer, who joins from Lemonada Media; and Russel Kogan, a social media producer with experience making content for Brut America, PBS and the Dodo.
Stateside with Kai and Carter is a key element of the Guardian’s latest growth in the US and represents a major step in expanding the newsroom’s audio and video journalism, bringing its independent, global perspective to American audiences in a fresh format. The show builds off the success of the Guardian’s award-winning podcasts in the UK, including, The Birth Keepers – a six-part narrative series investigating the Free Birth Society, which reached #1 on the Apple Podcasts Top Series and Documentary charts – and Off Duty, a gripping investigative podcast examining Chicago’s notorious criminal legal system. The Guardian’s US staff now exceeds 200 people for the first time in its history, with substantially larger teams covering US politics, media, sports, culture, breaking news, AI, political movements and more.
For information about advertising and sponsorship opportunities on Stateside with Kai and Carter, contact: us.advertising@theguardian.com.
Carter Sherman, co-host and creative director of Stateside with Kai and Carter, said:
“I have been constantly astounded and impressed by my colleagues’ incisive reporting over my years at the Guardian, so it is a delight to help bring our newsroom’s work to a new format and new audiences. At this critical moment in US history, too much of our media is dominated by celebrity-driven content, political surrogates making partisan arguments, and journalists who pretend not to have an identity or perspective. At Stateside, we’ll ask the questions we actually have and say what we actually think – but do so backed by the Guardian’s unique brand of global, forward-thinking journalism.”
Kai Wright, co-host and creative director of Stateside with Kai and Carter, said:
“I’ve been making podcasts for a decade, and it’s incredibly exciting to create something that feels genuinely fresh, in our always evolving medium. But for me, the journalistic mission remains the same. The United States is at a pivotal juncture, one in which we will either embrace multiracial democracy or return fully to the apartheid state in which my parents were raised. We want to facilitate a conversation about how the nation can progress rather than devolve, and we hope to build community around the Guardian’s world-class journalism.”
Jonathan Menjivar, executive producer of Stateside with Kai and Carter, said:
“There’s a lot of talk in the industry right now about what it means that podcasts are introducing video. With Stateside with Kai and Carter, I think we’ve created a show that demonstrates that it’s possible to do everything I’ve always loved about audio in this other format. When there are difficult things happening or things you don’t understand, you ask the hard questions, you ask the awkward questions, you ask the funny questions and from that, you make something that connects with people. You can inform your audience, you can tell them a story, or give them a new idea that helps them reframe an issue we’re all wrestling with and you can do all of that with a little bit of fun and flair. I think we’re showing that it’s possible to bring the intimacy that everybody loves about podcasts into a new era and I’m so excited for people to see what we’re up to.”
Nicole Jackson, the Guardian’s global head of multimedia, said:
“As more and more people turn to watching their podcasts, the Guardian is excited to be part of that shift with the launch of Stateside, a video-first podcast designed to bring the Guardian’s trusted journalism to US audiences and beyond. At a time when the news cycle has never felt more relentless or consequential, hosts Kai Wright and Carter Sherman will draw on the Guardian’s own journalists as well as leading outside voices to help listeners understand and navigate this extraordinary period we are living through. With the intelligence and wit that defines Guardian journalism, Stateside is going to be the essential guide to making sense of it all.”
About the hosts
Kai Wright is a Peabody award-winning host, editor, and writer whose work explores the intersection of history, power, and the evolving American identity. He previously hosted WNYC’s Notes From America with Kai Wright, a live call-in show that aired on public radio stations around the country. Kai has also led several acclaimed limited-run podcasts for WNYC Studios, including Blindspot Season 3: The Plague in the Shadows, which documents the early years of the Aids epidemic in the US; Caught: The Lives of Juvenile Justice, honored with an Alfred I duPont-Columbia University Award; and The United States of Anxiety, which chronicled the rise of the Maga movement and its impact on our political culture over four seasons of original reporting. Kai is the author of Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay and Coming of Age on the Streets of New York, as well as two surveys of Black American history, and a contributor to the best-selling collection Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America.
Carter Sherman has been with the Guardian since 2023, leading the newsroom’s coverage of gender, power and politics in the US, with a focus on reproductive rights and justice. Previously a senior reporter for Vice News, Carter’s work both in front of and behind the camera has garnered several awards and nominations, including a National Press Club Journalism Award, a Scripps Howard Award, and four Emmy nominations. Carter has written for publications such as Elle, Ms. Magazine, and Los Angeles magazine, and has been interviewed by outlets like the New York Times, NPR’s Fresh Air and PBS NewsHour for her sharp commentary on everything from the unraveling of federal abortion protections to how politics is reshaping gender identity. Carter’s The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation’s Fight Over Its Future is an incisive account of how a new generation is navigating battles over sex, identity and control in post-Roe America. She is an alumna of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
About the Guardian
The Guardian is a global, reader-funded news organization committed to high-quality journalism, progressive values and editorial independence. Founded in 1821, the Guardian is renowned for its rigorous reporting and commentary on politics, the environment, social justice, sports, wellness and culture geared for a global audience.
In the US, the Guardian has more than 150 editorial staff members across its bureaus in New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles. Its agenda-setting journalism draws an audience of more than 40 million US readers every month, making it one of the top news sites in America. The Guardian’s US newsroom has been recognized with several awards, including the George Polk award, the Scripps Howard award, the Edward R Murrow award and the Pulitzer Prize.
Media Contact
Matt Mittenthal
Head of communications, US, the Guardian
matt.mittenthal@theguardian.com