Wild Card with Rachel Martin artwork

Society & Culture · NPR

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

by NPR

Life’s too short for small talk. Rachel gets right to the questions that matter most. Once a week, famous guests pull questions from a deck of cards and open up about the kind of stuff we all think about but rarely say out loud. Actors, authors, and thinkers are prompted to talk about everything from their insecurities and dreams to grief and God. Named one of the 10 best podcasts of 2024 by The New York Times, Wild Card stands out among celebrity interview podcasts. When modern life feels chaotic or overwhelming, listen to Wild Card for a joyful, grounding reminder of our shared humanity. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Wild Card.

Chart trend

Position in the Society & Culture chart (US), last 90 days.

#6
all-time peak
7
days in the top 10 since Nov 2024

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Sara Bareilles

“Being a human is so complicated for so many reasons,” Sara Bareilles tells Rachel. That’s why she’s trying to show more grace for both herself and others these days. In

Sep 3
51 min

Brittany Howard

“We’re all gentler and we’re more sensitive,” Brittany Howard tells Rachel about reuniting with her band, Alabama Shakes. The band is back with their first studio album i

Aug 27
36 min

John Leguizamo

“Being so vulnerable was really difficult,” John Leguizamo says of his role as Eumaeus in The Odyssey. It’s an opportunity he relishes, though, having come up in a Hollyw

Aug 20
48 min

Suleika Jaouad (Encore)

Suleika Jaouad has written extensively about what it means to live in the in-between — the space between sick and healthy. She’s dealt on and off with cancer since her ea

Aug 13
49 min

Brett Goldstein (Encore)

Don't be fooled by Brett Goldstein's grumpy exterior – he can't resist a big, open-hearted story. You see it in the TV shows he's acted in and helped create, "Ted Lasso"

Aug 6
37 min

Shania Twain

“You cannot rely on somebody else to push you out of the plane — you have to jump,” Shania Twain tells Rachel. For someone who has lived a life marked by so much loss and

Jul 30
49 min

Hrishikesh Hirway

“I still feel like I'm wondering what I'm gonna be when I grow up,” Hrishikesh Hirway tells Rachel. That might be because he’s drawn to so many things: he’s an accomplish

Jul 23
44 min

Tracee Ellis Ross (Live)

"Are you willing to be responsible for your own happiness?" Tracee Ellis Ross asks in this episode, recorded with a live audience at LAist. Tracee is all about actively c

Jul 16
55 min

Terry Tempest Williams

Terry Tempest Williams often writes about what is easy to overlook – the “holy ordinary” as she calls it. Whether it's the beauty and plight of the natural world, or the

Jul 9
44 min

Danny McBride

For Danny McBride, success in Hollywood has taken patience, hard work, and a little bit of delusion. That sense of delusion is also present in the characters he writes, w

Jul 2
44 min

John Cena

John Cena didn’t become a WWE megastar and Hollywood leading man by accident, he worked at it, and he takes none of his big breaks for granted. He tells Rachel that a sec

Jun 25
49 min

David Sedaris

Writer David Sedaris tells Rachel he doesn’t mind being humiliated, because he knows it will wind up as great material. David’s new book, “The Land and Its People,” is fu

Jun 18
53 min

Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers isn’t about rushing creativity. His latest novel, "Contrapposto," has been on his mind for about two decades. And he tells Rachel he believes many artists do

Jun 11
47 min

Maya Hawke

Maya Hawke is such a natural fit for Wild Card that she had several answers for many of the questions. The self-described “verbose” musician/actor talks to Rachel about h

Jun 4
51 min

John C. Reilly

From "Step Brothers" to “Chicago,” John C. Reilly imbues every one of his roles with humor, empathy, and heart. In his latest project, a vaudeville stage show called "Mis

May 28
50 min

Noah Kahan

Noah Kahan's breakthrough album, Stick Season, made him known to millions of fans. But he tells Rachel that experience left him feeling like he knew himself even less tha

May 21
50 min

Rita Wilson

Rita Wilson tells Rachel that she was tired of always being cast in the same kind of “nurturing” roles. And so she decided to explore a totally different career  – one in

May 14
42 min

Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott says she felt drawn to writing almost like it was a call to become a monk. She has also felt called to teach others how to write, to help them organize their

May 7
42 min

Amy Grant

After decades of releasing new albums every few years, Amy Grant went mostly quiet for the past decade. In the time since her last album of original songs in 2013, she’s

Apr 30
38 min

Lena Dunham

Get your tickets for Wild Card live in Los Angeles with special guest Tracee Ellis Ross on May 7!  Lena Dunham tells Rachel that for much of her 20s and 30s, she took a

Apr 23
50 min

Chart positions

Where Wild Card with Rachel Martin ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 9, 2026).

#57 ▼ 7 Society & Culture US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I love the guests and interviews I’ve heard on this podcast so far. Great choice of interviewees! Two ruses need reconsideration: the first time you listen, having the rules explained is fine. Upon the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, it’s a little unbearable to sit through all of that, but also to hear interviewees pick a card from three choices. Why pick a card from 3 downturned cards? You don’t need this—let your guests pick the top card (or from three upturned). Second—interviews are not about the host unless that host is famous and their presence is why guests come on the show. That’s why guests don’t choose the “flip” option (to flip a question on the host). Martin has had to awkwardly ask a guest if they want the card flipped. Guests don’t know who Martin is or want her opinion on a tough question—that’s info you want to hear from people you are close to in some way, not strangers. The audience wants to hear what guests have to say. I see why Martin would have thought that could be useful…but it misperceives the point of an interview. Lose some of the ruse and this will be an exceptional podcast.

KansasCoaster · Nov 2024

I love Wild Card. I can’t stop listening and telling my friends how meaningful this podcast is for me. I find myself making that little noise made when I hear someone saying something that touches me deeply. Every episode has a different flavor, with Rachel’s constant guidance. Do yourself a favor and listen to.

Laurie/Reader · Nov 2024

This podcast launched around the same time as the New York Times’ “The Interview,” and I vastly prefer this one. Where “The Interview” is somewhat haughty, self-important, and indulgent to the point of parody, this podcast is fun, lighthearted, yet deeply sincere. It takes you placed you’d never expect and teaches you things you didn’t even know you didn’t know. I love it.

Ghester42 · Nov 2024

I started listening to this podcast as soon as it dropped, but since then it has become my go to calming and centering podcast. It already has conversations about the existential thing that I love to ponder and think about, and then when we’re in this crazy world of upsetting news every other day, it is the best escape. These are the things that really matter.

KP-HP · Nov 2024

I tried, but I just can’t believe how bad this is. The idea is that guests choose a card with a question, and this is what they talk about. The questions are faux-deep and invite all sorts of self-centered, over-long answers about nothing. If you like to hear C-list celebrities prattle on, encouraged by a fawning host, this is for you. Otherwise, stay away!

NPR Big Fan · Sep 2024

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Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Wild Card with Rachel Martin, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.

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