Anderson is pleased to present the first episode of Audie Cornish's new podcast: The Assignment... but first a conversation on the intimacy of podcasting with Audie and Anderson.Fiery Twitter threads and endless news notifications never capture the full story. Each week on The Assignment, host Audie Cornish pulls listeners out of their digital echo chambers to hear from the people who live the headlines. From the sex work economy to the battle over what’s taught in classrooms, no topic is off the table. You can find The Assignment wherever you get your podcasts.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Anderson shares poignant and profound messages from listeners and reflects on the conversations he's had during the first season of the podcast.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Writer and poet Elizabeth Alexander talks with Anderson about how she and her two children coped with the sudden death of her husband, Ficre, ten years ago, and the recent death of her father.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Artist and composer Laurie Anderson reflects on the death of her husband, rock legend Lou Reed and also her beloved dog Lolabelle. She talks with Anderson about grief and the unexpected feelings she has experienced surrounding loss.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Filmmaker Kirsten Johnson lost her mother to Alzheimer's in 2007, now her father has dementia, and is disappearing before her eyes. As Kirsten struggles with grief over the inevitable loss of her father, she finds ways to celebrate his life and get closer to him. She tells Anderson it's never too late to get to know someone you love more deeply even after they are gone.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy