Hiss Golden Messenger doesn’t want to throw in the towel

MC Taylor, of Hiss Golden Messenger, had always thought of himself as a lone wolf — until he started challenging that idea.

“ I think I just found myself in sort of scenarios, situations, in emotional conundrums where I wasn’t gonna tough it out on my own. Like, I had to have conversations that were scary.”

On his new album, I’m People, Taylor puts his faith in humanity and the power of community.

“Like, my question is: What choice do we have but to try and work toward hope?”

Produced by former Hiss Golden Messenger bandmate Josh Kaufman, I’m People features appearances by Sam Beam, of Iron & Wine, Sara Watkins and Bruce Hornsby. Today, Taylor talks about why hope is both a choice and a responsibility, and you’ll hear live performances from Hiss Golden Messenger, recorded at WXPN during NON-COMMvention 2026.

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.