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Interview: Mitski

March 21, 2026·42 min·3 clips
Mitski says the world wants women 'dead on the inside,' referencing Sylvia Plath's edited poems and Marilyn Monroe's grave.
Robin Hilton keeps the setup simple. World Cafe host Raina Duras sits with Mitski at the Power Station in New York City, after Mitski released Nothing's About to Happen to Me. The pressure is right there. Mitski talks about anxiety, wanting things to go a certain way, and realizing life will not follow instructions. Then the cats show up. Raina links the album's cat imagery to Maricat, a cat confidant, the song Cats, and the white odd-eyed cat in the visuals. Mitski starts with the obvious part: she loves cats. Pretty quickly, though, that opens into gender, obedience, and the stories people pin on animals. Dogs become the contrast. Mitski describes them as pack animals shaped by hierarchy, chain of command, and learned obedience. Cats do not take that deal. They are not cold to her. They are affectionate, but they have boundaries, preferences, and terms of their own. That makes them the album's mascot. The conversation turns animal symbolism into a sharp little map of femininity, control, and being misunderstood. The mood stays patient. No one hurries the point, and the interview gives Mitski room to leave the complicated parts complicated. Near the end, sound takes over. Mitski describes a woozy feeling, music for swaying while sadness starts to feel oddly good. It is not flat misery. It is a room, a body among other people, and a song that makes wallowing feel almost graceful. Then comes the performance. I'll Change For You closes it naturally, live for World Cafe and still carrying the interview's ache.

As heard by us

A candid interview about control, cats, and the uneasy comfort of sad music.

Mitski's interview feels less like promotion and more like a discussion about what it takes to make art that can carry a life that will not sit still.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want Mitski talking through the pressures of making Nothing's About to Happen to Me, with live songs folded into the interview.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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