Margaret Renkl on hope, despair and the diminishing call of songbirds

Author and New York Times columnist Margaret Renkl joins the show to share her joy of spring and talk over the polarization that she sees hindering our progress. She tells host Khalil Ekulona "when the macrocosm is hard to bear, focusing in on the microcosm usually helps." "I do still take an immense amount of pleasure and hope in the bluebirds building a nest in the nest box in my yard, or for the spring beauties poking up through the leaves left over from last fall," she says. "It's hard not to feel your heart lifting in the presence of new life." First up: @ Us! We respond to some comments we've received this week — about Nashville's queer scene, Newroz (the Persian New Year), the RaDonda Vaught verdict and food pantries.