# Season 4 Ep 1 | Richard Blanco | The Inaugural Poet on Politics, Poetry, and Power

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/some-things-considered-with-sean-murphy-7026430/season-4-ep-1-richard-blanco-the-inaugural-poet-on-politics-poetry-and-power
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/some-things-considered-with-sean-murphy-7026430/season-4-ep-1-richard-blanco-the-inaugural-poet-on-politics-poetry-and-power.md
Podcast: [Some Things Considered with Sean Murphy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/some-things-considered-with-sean-murphy-7026430)
Published: 2025-07-22T12:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://murphlaw.substack.com/p/season-4-ep-1-richard-blanco-the
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/168423475/268719c05a93043b10defadd1a95f8bb.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/some-things-considered-with-sean-murphy-7026430/episodes/season-4-ep-1-richard-blanco-the-inaugural-poet-on-politics-poetry-and-power
Duration seconds: 3631

## Resource

We’re back. And I can’t think of a better or more necessary guest to kick off Season 4 of STC than the poet Richard Blanco. If you’ve been reading or listening to me for any length of time, you know I believe in the power of storytelling—not only to entertain or inspire, but to bear witness, raise the stakes, and push the culture forward. That’s why this conversation means so much to me, and why I hope you’ll make time for it. Richard Blanco was selected by President Obama as the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history —the youngest, the first Latinx, the first openly gay person, and the first immigrant to serve in that role. Last year, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden. In addition to being a deeply gifted writer and public intellectual, he’s also an educator, an advocate, and one of the most thoughtful people I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with. We cover a lot in this episode. Art and activism, yes—but also attention and agency. We talk about the challenges of writing political poetry that is also beautiful, personal, and true. We talk about the pressure of platform, what it means to have a public voice in a fractured nation, and how to resist despair in a time when cruelty and confusion seem to have the upper hand. Among the many gems: * How to avoid cynicism by doubling down on your humanity * What James Baldwin meant when he said “The role of the artist is the same as the role of the lover…” * Why poetry, more than ever, is the form we need now * The moral weight and potential of witness in the 21st century We also talk craft, classroom dynamics, and why a poem can sometimes reach people in ways even the best essay or op-ed can’t. Richard shares insights into his own process and reads from How to Love a Country and Homeland of My Body…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/some-things-considered-with-sean-murphy-7026430/episodes/season-4-ep-1-richard-blanco-the-inaugural-poet-on-politics-poetry-and-power/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/some-things-considered-with-sean-murphy-7026430/season-4-ep-1-richard-blanco-the-inaugural-poet-on-politics-poetry-and-power.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.