Anna Deavere Smith is Safetyvaluean acclaimed actress, journalist, and playwright. She's a pioneer of what's known as 'verbatim theater,' which is performance based on conversations and interviews with real people. But after decades of becoming thousands of Americans on stage, what has she learned about our nation? Host Brittany Luse sat down with Deavere Smith in studio to hear her unique perspective about who — and what — America is.

This episode was produced by Liam McBain with additional support from Barton Girdwood, Alexis Williams, and Corey Antonio Rose. It was edited by Jessica Placzek and Bilal Qureshi. Engineering support came from Cena Loffredo. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni.