Wild Card with Rachel Martin LIVE

Wild Card with Rachel Martin is the celebrity podcast that throws out the standard interview script and replaces it with randomly-chosen questions from a deck of cards. It can get pretty deep pretty quickly! Join LAist for a night of exploring life’s biggest questions, live and unscripted with Rachel and special guest Tracee Ellis Ross. You’ll get to hear the show weeks before its podcast debut.

About Rachel Martin

Rachel Martin is the co-creator and host of Wild Card, an interview game show about life's biggest questions. She invites notable guests to play a card game that lets them open up about the memories, insights, and beliefs that have shaped their lives.

Martin spent six years as a host of Morning Edition, and was the founding host of NPR's award-winning morning news podcast Up First. She previously hosted Weekend Edition Sunday.

She served as National Security Correspondent for NPR, where she covered both defense and intelligence issues, and also worked as a NPR foreign correspondent, where she covered the London terrorist attacks, issues surrounding immigration and shifting cultural identities in Europe.

Martin worked extensively in Afghanistan, covering the reconstruction effort after the U.S. invasion and the country's first democratic presidential election. She also reported from Iraq, where she covered U.S. military operations and the strategic alliance between Sunni sheiks and the U.S. military in Anbar province. She traveled to Saudi Arabia in 2015 to report on women's rights, and in 2022, she reported from Ukraine's border with Belarus in the leadup to the Russian war.

Martin was part of the team that launched NPR's experimental morning news show, The Bryant Park Project, a live two-hour daily multimedia program that she co-hosted with Alison Stewart and Mike Pesca.

Martin also previously served as NPR's religion correspondent. Her piece on Islam in America was awarded "Best Radio Feature" by the Religion News Writers Association in 2007. In 2011, her story on racial discrimination in Hollywood won a Salute to Excellence Award from the National Association of Black Journalists and her series on the effects of the opioid epidemic on children won a Gracie award in 2019.

She started her career at public radio station KQED in San Francisco as a producer and reporter.

She holds an undergraduate degree in political science and an honorary doctorate from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., and a Master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University.

She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, two sons and dog named Lola F. Bear, Esq.

About Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Ellis Ross is an award-winning actress, producer, founder, and CEO. Ross is a leader whose cultural fluency and skilled storytelling allow her to forge meaningful connections with audiences and customers alike.

For eight seasons, Ross starred in ABC's critically acclaimed comedy series BLACK-ISH, earning a Golden Globe Award, five NAACP Image Awards, and nominations for Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Critics Choice Awards for her portrayal as Dr. Rainbow Johnson. The series also won a Peabody Award and was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, SAG Awards, and Critics Choice Awards. Ross also starred in the Emmy and GLAAD Award-nominated series GIRLFRIENDS for eight seasons, earning four NAACP Image Awards and a BET Comedy Award for her portrayal of Joan Clayton.

Ross is the owner, founder, and co-CEO of PATTERN Beauty, the global multimillion-dollar hair & body care brand she created for the curly, coily & tight-textured community and everyBODY. The brand’s award-winning products can be found at retailers such as Amazon, Sephora, and Ulta Beauty. In 2025, PATTERN expanded into body care, bringing juicy & joyful hydration to hair and now body. With PATTERN, Ross is changing the paradigm of how the textured hair community is marketed to and supported. The company's content and messaging are a celebration of Black beauty and joy, and that commitment extends beyond product, with PATTERN supporting organizations and programs that empower women and people of color. In June 2025, Ross starred in PATTERN Beauty's first-ever television commercial, reuniting with her "Girlfriends" co-stars Golden Brooks, Jill Marie Jones, and Persia White. The campaign, directed by child. and produced through ATTN, marked a major marketing milestone for the brand by showcasing PATTERN's full product range across streaming and network television.

Ross is currently in production for Season 2 of the Roku original series SOLO TRAVELING WITH TRACEE ELLIS ROSS. The first season set a record as Roku's most-watched unscripted original series. The docuseries follows Ross as she embarks on transformative solo adventures, showcasing her unique blend of humor, heart, and honesty. At each destination, she explores the intersection of beauty, fashion, design, food, and culture. Ross serves as the Executive Producer of the series, which is produced by Joy Mill Entertainment and Artists First.

Ross recently announced a multiyear first-look scripted and overall unscripted deal with Fox Entertainment Studios via her production company Joy Mill Entertainment. Under the partnership, Ross will executive produce and develop scripted content spanning comedy, drama, and animation, as well as unscripted and reality programming. Joy Mill Entertainment is dedicated to creating entertaining, culture-bending stories centered around identity and joy.

Recently, Ross starred in THE FAMILY MCMULLEN on HBO Max, the long-awaited follow-up to the classic THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN, alongside Ed Burns, Connie Britton, and Michael McGlone. Additionally, Ross was seen in season 7 of the critically acclaimed Netflix series BLACK MIRROR along with Paul Giamatti, Jesse Plemons, Rashida Jones, Chris O'Dowd, and Emma Corrin, among other returning cast favorites.

Ross also appeared opposite Jeffrey Wright in the Oscar-winning drama AMERICAN FICTION, directed by Cord Jefferson in 2023. The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture, Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Independent Spirit Awards. It was named one of AFI's Movies of the Year and won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. In December of that year, Ross also starred opposite Eddie Murphy in Amazon's holiday film CANDY CANE LANE, which became the most-watched Amazon movie debut in the U.S. and among the top 10 worldwide film debuts ever on the service.

Ross is a powerful voice for joy, self-acceptance, inclusivity, and equity. She has spoken at numerous prestigious venues including the TED Conference, where she made history as the first Black woman to open the event; Glamour's Women of the Year Summit; Fast Company Innovation Festival; Forbes Power Women's Summit; Masters of Scale Summit; Business of Fashion Global Forum; The New York Times Well Festival; Travel + Leisure WBA Summit; Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour, and Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival. Ross moderated a conversation with Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, at the WIRED25 Summit. Ross has also moderated multiple conversations for Michelle Obama's book tours, including her latest book THE LOOK, connecting with audiences on topics of empowerment and personal growth. Through her speaking engagements, Ross continues to inspire conversations about identity, belonging, and the expansiveness of joy.

Ross has been recognized with multiple prestigious honors throughout her career, including the People's Choice Awards Fashion Icon Award and induction as a Disney Legend by The Walt Disney Company. She received WWD's first-ever Hollywood Trailblazer Award for her significant impact on fashion as self-expression. Ross has been recognized as the “Racial Justice Trailblazer” by The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law for her commitment to racial and social justice, promoting values that foster an inclusive democracy. She has received a Webby Special Achievement Award for her innovative use of the Internet to share multidimensional stories of belonging, enhance Black representation in the beauty industry, and serve as a consistent positive force online. Additionally, she has been named a Cosmetic Executive Women Female Founder honoree and honored with the Trailblazer Award by 15 Percent Pledge. Ross has also been recognized as a CNBC Changemaker and received the Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts from the National Museum of Women in the Arts for her leadership in the entertainment industry and advocacy for gender equity.

Ross received honorary Doctorate degrees from both Spelman College and her alma mater, Brown University.

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