Ursula Sommer is a producer and writer.
She has worked on a number of WNYC’s live radio shows, including All Of It, Midday on WNYC, and Indivisible. Ursula’s reporting has appeared on WNYC, Gothamist, and in The Art Newspaper. She has a master’s degree from Freie Universität Berlin where she studied visual and media anthropology and she loves getting lost in an archive.
Ursula Sommer appears in the following:
Sam Altman’s Trust Issues at OpenAI
Friday, April 10, 2026
Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz on the rise of the C.E.O. of OpenAI, and how allegations of deceptive behavior continue to dog one of the most powerful figures in tech.
How Donald Trump’s War on Iran Helps Vladimir Putin’s War on Ukraine
Friday, April 03, 2026
Olga Rudenko, the editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent, explains how Russia is supporting Iran with drone technology, and how the worldwide shock to oil prices is helping Russia.
Is Cuba Trump’s Next Target?
Friday, March 20, 2026
The staff writer Jon Lee Anderson on the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba, Marco Rubio’s strategy, and what regime change could look like.
Ryan Coogler on “Sinners,” His Epic Film about Race, Music, and the Undead
Friday, March 06, 2026
The director talks with staff writer Jelani Cobb about his movie, which has been nominated for a record-setting sixteen Academy Awards.
Failed “Finance Bros” Find Success with HBO’s “Industry”
Friday, February 27, 2026
The creators of the financial drama, Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, explain what “finance bros” misunderstand about capitalism’s allure.
What Could Go Wrong, or Right, in a War with Iran
Friday, February 27, 2026
The foreign-policy analyst Karim Sadjadpour on what it would mean for the United States to pursue regime change in Iran, once again.
What Donald Trump and “Everyone” Knew About Jeffrey Epstein
Friday, February 13, 2026
The Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown on what Trump told the Miami police, and how the latest batch of files from the D.O.J. “makes the public more distrustful.”
The City of Minneapolis vs. Donald Trump
Friday, January 30, 2026
The staff writers Emily Witt and Ruby Cramer, reporting from the occupied city, share interviews with the mayor, the police chief, and two citizens who were detained and interrogated.
How Bari Weiss Is Changing CBS News
Friday, January 23, 2026
The staff writer Clare Malone discusses her reporting on the new head of CBS News, who made her name as a crusader against “woke” thinking.
How Tucker Carlson Became the Prophet of MAGA
Friday, January 23, 2026
Jason Zengerle, the author of “Hated by All the Right People,” describes how an inside-the-Beltway journalist brought far-right extremism to the mainstream of American politics.
Trump’s New Brand of Imperialism
Friday, January 09, 2026
The historian Daniel Immerwahr says Trump’s embrace of imperialist adventuring is not just about business interests—it’s an appeal to masculinity which “seems to sell.”
Graham Platner Is Staying in the Race
Friday, December 19, 2025
The veteran and Senate candidate from Maine talks about the affordability crisis, his campaign’s controversies, and why he isn’t ashamed about his past offensive comments.
Poetry as a Cistern for Love and Loss
Friday, December 12, 2025
The poet Gabrielle Calvocoressi talks with Kevin Young, The New Yorker’s poetry editor, about their newest collection “The New Economy,” and poetry’s role in addressing grief.
Leon Panetta on the Trump Administration’s Venezuelan Boat Strikes
Friday, December 12, 2025
The former C.I.A. director and Secretary of Defense explains the problem with using the military for law enforcement.
Patti Smith on Her Memoir “Bread of Angels,” Fifty Years After Her Début Album, “Horses”
Friday, November 07, 2025
In the musician’s most revealing account she discusses her retreat from public life, the early loss of her husband, and the challenge of learning and writing about her biological father.
What Resistance Means to Governor J. B. Pritzker
Friday, November 07, 2025
The Illinois governor talks with Peter Slevin about immigration raids in Chicago, and the limits of state authority when it comes to opposing the federal government.
Zadie Smith on Politics, Turning Fifty, and Mind Control
Friday, October 24, 2025
The author’s new essay collection, “Dead and Alive,” addresses debates on representation in literature, feminism, and how our phones have radicalized us.
It’s Not Just You: The Internet Is Actually Getting Worse
Friday, October 24, 2025
In the new book “Enshittification,” Cory Doctorow argues that the deterioration of the online experience is a deliberate business strategy; he chats with the tech columnist Kyle Chayka.
How Lionel Richie Mastered the Love Song
Friday, October 03, 2025
The singer talks with Hanif Abdurraquib about his career’s “mountaintops and valleys,” being bullied as a child, and how the Commodores did the “dumbass shit” they wanted to avoid.
The Cartoonist Liana Finck Picks Three Favorite Children’s Books
Friday, September 19, 2025
The illustrator explains how kids’ books made her an artist, and shares favorites from William Steig, Maira Kalman, and Lore Segal and Harriet Pincus.
