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Code Switch
Code Switch
NPR

What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles... more

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Episodes

How Jewish Communities Are Divided Over Support of Israel

In the wake of October 7, and the bombardment of Gaza by the Israeli government, many American Jews have found... more

24 Apr 2024 · 41 minutes
The Rise and Fall of the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal has been dubbed the greatest engineering feat in human history. It's also (perhaps less favorably) been called... more

17 Apr 2024 · 32 minutes
Reflecting on the legacy of O.J. Simpson

With the news of O.J. Simpson's death on Thursday, we're revisiting our reporting from 2016, where we took a look... more

12 Apr 2024 · 17 minutes
How Frederick Douglass launched generations of Black and Irish solidarity

What's a portrait of Frederick Douglass doing hanging in an Irish-themed pub in Washington, D.C.? To get to the answer,... more

10 Apr 2024 · 31 minutes
WTF does race have to do with taxes?

It's that time of year again: time to file your taxes. And this week on the pod, we're revisiting our... more

03 Apr 2024 · 30 minutes
Who does language belong to? A fight over the Lakota Language

Many Lakota people agree: It's imperative to revitalize the Lakota language. But how exactly to do that is a matter... more

27 Mar 2024 · 39 minutes
Getting let down by the 'Great Expectations' of electoral politics

This episode is brought to you by our play cousins over at NPR's It's Been A Minute. Brittany Luse chops... more

20 Mar 2024 · 17 minutes
In the world of medicine, race-based diagnoses are more than skin deep

We've probably said it a hundred times on Code Switch — biological race is not a real thing. So why... more

13 Mar 2024 · 33 minutes
This conspiracy theory about eating bugs is also about race

Gene Demby and NPR's Huo Jingnan dive into a conspiracy theory about how "global elites" are forcing people to eat... more

06 Mar 2024 · 32 minutes
The musical legacy of Japanese American incarceration

In February of 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government issued an executive order to incarcerate people... more

28 Feb 2024 · 30 minutes
Why menthol cigarettes have a chokehold on Black smokers

In the U.S., flavored cigarettes have been banned since 2009, with one glaring exception: menthols. That exception was supposed to... more

21 Feb 2024 · 35 minutes
Before the apps, people used newspapers to find love

To celebrate the history of Black romance, Gene and Parker are joined by reporter Nichole Hill to explore the 1937... more

14 Feb 2024 · 37 minutes
How college footballers led the fight against racism in 1969

It's 1969 at the University of Wyoming, where college football is treated like a second religion. But after racist treatment... more

09 Feb 2024 · 32 minutes
What it's like to be a Black woman with bipolar disorder

"Three springs ago, I lost the better part of my mind," Naomi Jackson wrote in an essay for Harper's Magazine.... more

07 Feb 2024 · 29 minutes
Taylor Swift and the unbearable whiteness of girlhood

Taylor Swift has become an American icon, (and she's got the awards, sales, and accolades to prove it.) With that... more

31 Jan 2024 · 35 minutes
A former church girl's search for a new spiritual home

After leaving the Pentecostal Church, reporter Jess Alvarenga has been searching for a new spiritual home. They take us on... more

29 Jan 2024 · 49 minutes
What happens when public housing goes private?

The New York City Housing Authority is the biggest public housing program in the country. But with limited funding to... more

24 Jan 2024 · 40 minutes
The women who masterminded the Montgomery Bus Boycott

When people think back to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, they often remember just the bullet points: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther... more

17 Jan 2024 · 36 minutes
Everyone wants a piece of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy

Martin Luther King Jr. was relatively unpopular when he was assassinated. But the way Americans of all political stripes invoke... more

10 Jan 2024 · 30 minutes
67 years after desegregation, Arkansas schools are in the spotlight again

Classrooms in Arkansas were at the center of school desegregation in the 1950s. Now, with the LEARNS Act, they're in... more

03 Jan 2024 · 35 minutes
Women of color have always shaped the way Americans eat

For decades, the ingredients, dishes and chefs that are popularized have been filtered through the narrow lens of a food... more

27 Dec 2023 · 33 minutes
Here are our favorite Code Switch episodes from 2023

It's that time of year again, fam, when we look back at the past 12 months and think, "WHOA, HOW'D... more

20 Dec 2023 · 30 minutes
Revisiting 'The Color Purple' wars

The Color Purple remake drops this week and to celebrate, we're bringing you this special episode from our play cousins... more

18 Dec 2023 · 47 minutes
This is what "real self-care" looks like

"You can't meditate yourself out of a 40-hour work week with no childcare and no paid sick days," says Dr.... more

13 Dec 2023 · 36 minutes
Watching 'Renaissance' and what we hear in Beyoncé's silence

We're bringing you an extra treat this week from our play cousins over at It's Been A Minute: In the... more

11 Dec 2023 · 18 minutes
The world can be painful. But love is possible, too

Kai Cheng Thom is no stranger to misanthropy. There have been stretches of her life where she's felt burdened by... more

06 Dec 2023 · 34 minutes
Can you travel the world — ethically?

Traveling is supposed to open your mind and expand your horizons — but what if it doesn't? In her new... more

29 Nov 2023 · 31 minutes
A Tale of Two Tribal Nations

The word "reservation" implies "reserved" – as in, this land is reserved for Native Americans. But most reservation land actually... more

22 Nov 2023 · 51 minutes
Who Has The "Right To A Story?"

On this week's Code Switch, we hear from two Palestinian American poets who talk about what it's like to be... more

15 Nov 2023 · 35 minutes
How does a computer discriminate?

OK, not exactly a computer — more like, the wild array of technologies that inform what we consume on our... more

08 Nov 2023 · 33 minutes
All The Only Ones: The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle

We're bringing you something special from our play cousins over at Embedded: the first episode of a three part series... more

03 Nov 2023 · 43 minutes
Looking For My People In The Black Punk Scene

More than a decade since B.A. Parker last dabbled in the Black punk scene, she heads to a punk a... more

01 Nov 2023 · 31 minutes
Giving up on identity with Ada Limón

Ada Limón is many things: the U.S. Poet Laureate, a recently named MacArthur "Genius," a Latina, a summer person becoming... more

25 Oct 2023 · 35 minutes
The agony and ecstasy of parenting with Hari Kondabolu

Being a new parent is exhausting at the best of times. There are diapers to change, bottles to fill, screaming... more

18 Oct 2023 · 27 minutes
What does it mean to be good?

In her memoir Rivermouth, author Alejandra Oliva recounts her experiences working as a translator and interpreter for people seeking asylum... more

11 Oct 2023 · 32 minutes
Student activists are fighting big coal, and winning

South Baltimore has some of the most polluted air in the country. Local teenagers are fighting polluters back, and slowly... more

04 Oct 2023 · 38 minutes
Probation and parole — the under-researched arms of mass incarceration

In the past decade, the problem of mass incarceration has gotten increased attention and thought. But in his new book,... more

27 Sep 2023 · 36 minutes
'I Can Die For This Country, But I Can't Learn'

In June, the Supreme Court banned affirmative action at colleges and universities across the country, with one glaring exception: military... more

20 Sep 2023 · 37 minutes
Remembering and unremembering, from Kigali to Nashville

For centuries, the idea of the "American Dream" has been a powerful narrative for many immigrant communities. But for just... more

13 Sep 2023 · 38 minutes
Fall football — or the fall of football?

This week, the NFL is gearing up for the start of its 104th season. But as this new chapter begins,... more

06 Sep 2023 · 34 minutes
Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

Bad Bunny, the genre- and gender norm-defying Puerto Rican rapper, is one of the biggest music stars on the planet.... more

30 Aug 2023 · 38 minutes
What Makes A Good Race Joke?

When a comedian of color makes a joke, is it always about race, even if it's not about race? Code... more

23 Aug 2023 · 27 minutes
Family, fortune, and the fight for Osage headrights

When Richard J. Lonsinger's birth mother passed away in 2010, he wasn't included in the distribution of her estate. Feeling... more

16 Aug 2023 · 23 minutes
How Hip-Hop Fights The Power — And Also Serves It

For hip-hop's not-official-but-kind-of-official 50th birthday, we dig into its many contradictions. From the legend of the South Bronx block party... more

09 Aug 2023 · 34 minutes
Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop role-playing games of all time. But it has also helped... more

02 Aug 2023 · 33 minutes
Code Switch's beach reads — no beach required

There are race books, and there are beach reads, and never the twain shall meet. You know that old truism,... more

26 Jul 2023 · 34 minutes
This Conspiracy Soup Contains Bugs — And Racism

Gene Demby and NPR's Huo Jingnan dive into a conspiracy theory about how "global elites" are forcing people to eat... more

19 Jul 2023 · 33 minutes
Is "home" still home after 30 years away?

Brian de los Santos always thought of Mexico as his "home" — despite not having been able to return to... more

12 Jul 2023 · 36 minutes
What Happens After A Racist Massacre In Your Neighborhood?

This week, we're sharing the first episode of "Buffalo Extreme," a three-part series from our play cousins at NPR's Embedded.... more

05 Jul 2023 · 32 minutes
Honoring My Enslaved Ancestors, Part Two

In the second of two episodes, Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker is figuring out what kind of descendant she wants... more

28 Jun 2023 · 33 minutes
Honoring My Enslaved Ancestors, Part One

Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker digs into what it means to maintain the legacy of her ancestors. In part one... more

21 Jun 2023 · 33 minutes
Going to a white church in a Black body

How do you participate in a faith practice that has a rough track record with racism? That's what our play-cousin... more

14 Jun 2023 · 38 minutes
Spilling the "T" with comedian D'Lo

On this week's Code Switch, producer Kumari Devarajan finds her demographic clone in actor and comedian D'Lo. Kumari found that... more

07 Jun 2023 · 30 minutes
Exclusion, resilience and the Chinese American experience on 'Mott Street'

Ava Chin's family has been in the U.S. for generations — but Ava was disheartened to learn that so much... more

31 May 2023 · 30 minutes
Across the ocean: a Japanese American story of war and homecoming

One of the most pivotal moments in Japanese American history was when the U.S. government uprooted more than 100,000 people... more

24 May 2023 · 34 minutes
The implications of the case against ICWA

The Supreme Court is about to decide on a case arguing that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) discriminates against... more

17 May 2023 · 32 minutes
Naomi Jackson talks 'losing and finding my mind'

"Three springs ago, I lost the better part of my mind," Naomi Jackson wrote in an essay for Harper's Magazine.... more

10 May 2023 · 30 minutes
K-Pop's Surprising B(l)ackstory

K-pop disrupted pop culture in South Korea in the early 1990s, and later found fans around the world. Vivian Yoon... more

03 May 2023 · 45 minutes
The Fallout of a Callout

In 2017, comedian Hari Kondabolu called out Hollywood's portrayals of South Asians with his documentary The Problem With Apu. The... more

26 Apr 2023 · 28 minutes
Self-Care Laid Bare

"You can't meditate yourself out of a 40-hour work week with no childcare and no paid sick days," says Dr.... more

19 Apr 2023 · 35 minutes
W2s and WTFs

You finally get through the confusing, stressful work of doing your taxes only to hear back from the IRS: you're... more

12 Apr 2023 · 30 minutes
Women in hip-hop push back against the male gaze

The male gaze objectifies, consumes and shames people for not fitting into a mold. This week, we're looking at how... more

05 Apr 2023 · 34 minutes
The Tricky Obligations of Utang Na Loob

Utang na loob is the Filipino concept of an eternal debt to others, be it family or friends, who do... more

29 Mar 2023 · 38 minutes
The Women Behind the Montgomery Bus Boycott

We've all heard about Rosa Parks and her crucial role in the Montgomery bus boycott. But Parks was just one... more

22 Mar 2023 · 35 minutes
Whose Nightmares Are We Telling? How Horror Has Evolved for People of Color

Host B.A. Parker talks to Jasmin Savoy Brown, of the recently-released Scream 6, about playing a queer Black girl who... more

15 Mar 2023 · 33 minutes
The Women Who Influence How America Eats

For decades, the ingredients, dishes and chefs that are popularized have been filtered through the narrow lens of a food... more

08 Mar 2023 · 32 minutes
This Racism Is Killing Me Inside

This week, we revisit an episode from 2018 that looks into how discrimination not only degrades your health, but can... more

01 Mar 2023 · 29 minutes
Black History's Family Tree

Brett Woodson Bailey grew up knowing he was the descendant of "the father of Black history," Carter G. Woodson. He... more

22 Feb 2023 · 35 minutes
The Merengue War

From the dance floors of weddings and bar mitzvahs to the Billboard Hot 100, chances are, you've enjoyed some merengue... more

15 Feb 2023 · 43 minutes
Reckoning With The NFL's Rooney Rule

The large majority of NFL players are people of color. The coaches on the sidelines? Not so much. In this... more

08 Feb 2023 · 34 minutes
Celebrating Lunar New Year In A Time Of Grief

In this week's episode, we dive into the traditions and stories that shape Lunar New Year, and why violence and... more

01 Feb 2023 · 35 minutes
The Original Rainbow Coalition

In this episode we turn to late 1960s Chicago, when three unlikely groups came together to form a coalition based... more

25 Jan 2023 · 24 minutes
Bad Bunny, Reggaeton, and Resistance

Bad Bunny, the genre- and gender norm-defying Puerto Rican rapper, is one of the biggest music stars on the planet.... more

18 Jan 2023 · 39 minutes
Meet Lori Lizarraga—Our Newest Co-host

From the world of local TV news, meet Code Switch's newest co-host, Lori Lizarraga! Before she was born, her mother... more

11 Jan 2023 · 27 minutes
Revisiting 'How The Other Half Eats'

How do race and class affect the way we eat? What does it mean to "eat like a white person?"... more

04 Jan 2023 · 32 minutes
How cumbia has shaped music across Latin America

Whether you're from Ushuaia or East Los Angeles, you've likely heard cumbia blaring from a stereo. From our play friends... more

28 Dec 2022 · 29 minutes
Unlocking family history in 'Before Me'

It wasn't until Lisa Phu had her own child that she started unlocking her mother's history. In her new 5-part... more

21 Dec 2022 · 45 minutes
What We Watched in 2022

There are a lot of TV shows to watch out there - so the Code Switch team isn't trying to... more

14 Dec 2022 · 29 minutes
Why some Republicans want to narrow who counts as Black

Republican officials in Louisiana want to change how Black people are counted in voting maps. If their plan is successful,... more

07 Dec 2022 · 35 minutes
Notes from America: 'Blackness (Un)interrupted'

So many of our perceptions of race have to do with color. How does that change if you've lived in... more

30 Nov 2022 · 29 minutes
A lost bird, a found treasure

Bear Carrillo grew up knowing only a few details about his birth parents: when he was born they were university... more

23 Nov 2022 · 34 minutes
Live from Chicago: What makes a city home?

This episode is excerpted from the Code Switch Live show at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, featuring special guests José... more

16 Nov 2022 · 50 minutes
Throughline: How Korean culture went global

From BTS to Squid Game to high-end beauty standards, South Korea reigns as a global exporter of pop culture and... more

09 Nov 2022 · 48 minutes
Code Switch fam! Say hello to It's Been a Minute's new host, Brittany Luse!

Code Switch's host B.A. Parker, introduces us to our play cousin It's Been a Minute's new voice, Brittany Luse! In... more

02 Nov 2022 · 34 minutes
Fear In An Age Of Real Life Horror, Revisited

It's that time of year again: celebrations of the macabre hit a little too close to home and brush up... more

26 Oct 2022 · 24 minutes
Skeletons in the closet, revisited

More than 10,000 Native human remains are currently sitting in a storage facility in a Maryland suburb. This week, how... more

19 Oct 2022 · 33 minutes
Black reality in a world of fantasy

Why build a fantasy world that still has racism? B.A. Parker moderates a discussion on Black science fiction and fantasy... more

12 Oct 2022 · 29 minutes
Omar Apollo on making music, being queer and Latinx

NPR's Alt.Latino gets a reboot, and for its first episode, they speak with R&B darling Omar Apollo. Apollo shares what... more

05 Oct 2022 · 29 minutes
Gaming out race in Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop role-playing games of all time. But it has also helped... more

28 Sep 2022 · 34 minutes
In 1962, segregationists set up "Reverse Freedom Rides"

Recently, Republican governors have been sending migrants from the southern border to cities they deem more liberal under false pretenses.... more

21 Sep 2022 · 39 minutes
Can therapy solve racism?

Nearly 20% of Americans turned to therapy in 2020. That had us wondering: What exactly can therapy accomplish? Today, we're... more

14 Sep 2022 · 35 minutes
How the Pell Grant helped POCs go to college

The cost of college has been on everyone's minds, especially with student debt cancellation. Pell Grants are one way many... more

07 Sep 2022 · 27 minutes
What does it mean to "inherit whiteness?"

In Baynard Woods' new memoir, Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness, Woods reflects on how growing up white in South Carolina... more

31 Aug 2022 · 26 minutes
What makes a good race joke?

When a comedian of color makes a joke, is it always about race, even if it's not about race? In... more

24 Aug 2022 · 27 minutes
What's so funny about race?

What makes a great joke about race? In the first of two episodes, Code Switch talks to comedians Ziwe, Anjelah... more

17 Aug 2022 · 31 minutes
Into the glittering neon universe of 'P-Valley' with Katori Hall

The Starz hit show P-Valley takes audiences to a strip club in a fictional town in the Mississippi Delta. Part... more

10 Aug 2022 · 30 minutes
Lost In Translation

Today on the show, we're bringing you the stories of two families grappling with how best to communicate across linguistic... more

03 Aug 2022 · 36 minutes
Meet B.A. Parker — our new co-host!

Fam: We finally have a new co-host of the Code Switch podcast! And we're just a *tiny bit* excited. So... more

27 Jul 2022 · 24 minutes
Who belongs in the Cherokee Nation?

In 1866, the Cherokee Nation promised citizenship for Black "freedmen" and their descendants. But more than a century later, the... more

20 Jul 2022 · 38 minutes
School Colors Episode 9: "Water Under The Bridge"

Over the course of this season, we've explored a rich history and complicated present, but what about the future? In... more

15 Jul 2022 · 50 minutes
Code Switch's playlist for a summer road trip

This week, we're talking about the podcasts that podcasters listen to. These are the shows that members of the Code... more

13 Jul 2022 · 38 minutes
School Colors Bonus: "Ms. Mitchell's Pandemic Diary"

Pat Mitchell is the longtime principal of P.S. 48 – an elementary school in Jamaica, Queens. And while she cares... more

08 Jul 2022 · 28 minutes
'Wherever you go, there you are'

Many immigrants have described the feeling of being different people in different places. Maybe in one country, you're a little... more

06 Jul 2022 · 56 minutes
School Colors Episode 8: "The Only Way Out"

When the District 28 diversity planning process came around, many Chinese parents had already been activated a year earlier by... more

01 Jul 2022 · 1 hour,
No Man's Land

Tens of thousands of children were adopted from other countries by parents in the U.S., only to discover as adults... more

29 Jun 2022 · 34 minutes
School Colors Episode 7: "The Sleeping Giant"

In some ways, this entire season was prompted by the parents who organized against diversity planning in School District 28.... more

24 Jun 2022 · 59 minutes
On Food, Mattress Sales, and Juneteenth

It's the second year that Juneteenth has been a federal holiday — which means it's getting the full summer holiday... more

19 Jun 2022 · 33 minutes
School Colors Episode 6: "Below Liberty"

Though a lot of parents and educators agree there needs to be some change in District 28, the question remains:... more

17 Jun 2022 · 55 minutes
The impact of COVID-19, a million deaths in

A new book by Linda Villarosa looks at how racial bias in healthcare has costs for all Americans. Spoiler: Poverty... more

15 Jun 2022 · 28 minutes
Spilling the T

Code Switch's Kumari Devarajan found an unlikely demographic doppelganger in D'Lo, a comedian and playwright whose one-person show about growing... more

08 Jun 2022 · 31 minutes
School Colors Episode 5: "The Melting Pot"

Until recently, School District 28 in Queens, N.Y., was characterized by a white Northside, and a Black Southside. But today,... more

03 Jun 2022 · 54 minutes
Rethinking 'safety' in the wake of Uvalde

In the wake of violence and tragedies, people are often left in search of ways to feel safe again. That... more

01 Jun 2022 · 32 minutes
School Colors Episode 4: "The Mason-Dixon Line"

So much of the present day conversation about District 28 hinges on the dynamic between the Northside and the Southside.... more

27 May 2022 · 51 minutes
How We Decide Who Is 'Worthy of Welcome'

Millions of Syrians have been displaced by ongoing civil war. In her new book, Refuge, Heba Gowayed follows Syrians who... more

25 May 2022 · 41 minutes
School Colors Episode 3: "The Battle of Forest Hills"

In the early 1970s, Forest Hills, Queens, became a national symbol of white, middle class resistance to integration. Instead of... more

20 May 2022 · 59 minutes
The Utang Clan

Utang na loob is the Filipino concept of an eternal debt to others, be it family or friends, who do... more

18 May 2022 · 43 minutes
School Colors Episode 2: "Tales From The Southside"

School District 28 in Queens, N.Y., has a Northside and a Southside. To put it simply, the Southside is Black... more

11 May 2022 · 50 minutes
School Colors Episode 1: "There Is No Plan"

In 2019, a school district in Queens N.Y., one of the most diverse places on the planet, is selected to... more

04 May 2022 · 57 minutes
Coming Soon: Code Switch presents 'School Colors'

Coming soon to the Code Switch feed: School Colors, a limited-run series about how race, class and power shape American... more

02 May 2022 · 3 minutes
The LA Uprising, a generation later

Some call it a riot. Some call it an uprising. Many Korean Americans simply call it "Sai-i-gu" (literally, 4-2-9.) But... more

27 Apr 2022 · 50 minutes
Code Switch
School Colors Episode 1: "There Is No Plan"
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Description

In 2019, a school district in Queens N.Y., one of the most diverse places on the planet, is selected to go through... more