The New Yorker Radio Hour will be broadcast Saturdays at 10 a.m., and Sundays at 7 a.m. via wgbhnews.org, and on 89.7 WGBH.

In The New Yorker Radio Hour’s début episode, the magazine’s editor, David Remnick, speaks with Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author of Between the World and Me, about the profound influence of James Baldwin on his writing and why he’ll always be wary of optimism.

Jill Lepore, a staff writer at The New Yorker, introduces us to a childhood friend who was one of the only people of color in their small New England town. This is the first part of a three-part story, “The Search for Big Brown.”

Kelefa Sanneh, who is also a staff writer, takes a day trip to a suburb of Philadelphia to visit Spraynard, a pop-punk band. Most of their friends have moved into the city, but the members of Spraynard stayed to try to create a punk scene in their home town.

Boarding a plane just got even more chaotic in a Shouts & Murmurs written by George Meyer and performed by Allison Williams, from Girls, that imagines a farcical airport scene.

And Evan Osnos, who writes about Washington for the magazine, talks about sexism in politics with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York.

The New Yorker Radio Hour is a production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Follow @NewYorkerRadio on Twitter.