Natalie Bergman is looking at the world for the first time

Natalie Bergman needed a new beginning.

Her debut album, Mercy, was a deeply emotional record, written in the wake of her father’s sudden passing. Once it was released, she wasn’t sure how to keep writing.

Then, change came. Bergman met her husband, and last year, she gave birth to her son. That new chapter gave her the spark to create again. Her sophomore album, My Home Is Not In This World, is colored by fresh perspectives, especially as a new parent.

“Everything is kind of playful,” she says. “I look at birds in a new way. I look at trees in a new way. I feel like I’m looking at things for the first time.”

Faith also remains a steady source of inspiration for Bergman.

“It’s unwavering, so it’s there,” she says. “Whether I’m writing music or I’m taking a walk or I’m singing a song, it’s there no matter what.”

The new record, produced by her brother and longtime collaborator Elliot Bergman, was recorded analog-to-tape. Bergman also revisits the landscapes of her childhood, the woods she explored outside Chicago, drawing on those memories as a wellspring for her music.

Today, Bergman and her band join us in the studio to talk about My Home Is Not In This World; about finding wonder in the everyday; plus, Bergman performs live.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.