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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

You can't outrun voters' feelings about the economy

As we take in the news of another Donald Trump administration, we thought who better to turn the mic over... more

06 Nov 2024 · 23 minutes
Diving into the Black Manosphere

The manosphere is a sprawling online ecosystem aimed at disgruntled men. Now a subset of the manosphere aimed at Black... more

30 Oct 2024 · 41 minutes
Spitting on Andrew Jackson's grave with Rebecca Nagle

That's how Nagle begins her new book and how she frames the version of history she's telling. The book digs... more

23 Oct 2024 · 33 minutes
In Michigan, Arab Americans weigh the power of a vote

We travel to Dearborn, aka the "capital of Arab America." The Dearbornites we met said that the war in Gaza... more

16 Oct 2024 · 41 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Am I the "token" at work?

This week on Ask Code Switch, we're getting into the question a lot of minorities face when climbing the ladder... more

14 Oct 2024 · 11 minutes
Two Palestinian writers on the right to share their stories

In the year since the devastating Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Even... more

09 Oct 2024 · 33 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Is it a preference or fetish?

This week on Ask Code Switch, when it comes to race and dating, how important is diversity in your dating... more

07 Oct 2024 · 13 minutes
The Trump campaign strategy to demonize Haitian immigrants

This week, we're looking into the endgame of the racist and false rumors targeting Haitian immigrants. Are the lies being... more

02 Oct 2024 · 33 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Is picky eating about taste or race?

Today on Ask Code Switch, we're talking about taste. How we eat, why we prefer certain foods, and where those... more

30 Sep 2024 · 13 minutes
Latinos are moving to the far right. Paola Ramos thinks she knows why

As we close in on the election, it's Trump-supporting Latinos that some pollsters believe could decide this race. So how... more

25 Sep 2024 · 33 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Do bike lanes cause gentrification?

Today on Ask Code Switch, we tackle a question about race, bike lanes and gentrification. Who are bike lanes serving?... more

23 Sep 2024 · 12 minutes
Fighting back on book bans

B.A. Parker brings us around the country to see what access to books is looking like for students in Texas,... more

18 Sep 2024 · 29 minutes
Ask Code Switch: The racial politics of washing dishes?

This week on Ask Code Switch, we're getting into the politics and power dynamics of race and dishes in the... more

16 Sep 2024 · 13 minutes
The park. Sunday. Queens, New York.

This week on Code Switch, we're doing a different kind of immigration coverage. We're telling a New York story: one... more

11 Sep 2024 · 38 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Is this a racist question?

Ask Code Switch is back! Lori Lizarraga and the Code Switch team tackle all new listener questions this fall. From... more

09 Sep 2024 · 12 minutes
Going back to school with schizoaffective disorder

Michael Vargas Arango was having a fairly typical day — hanging out at his home in Medellín, playing Xbox with... more

04 Sep 2024 · 30 minutes
What James Baldwin can teach us about Israel, and ourselves

It's been more than ten months since devastating violence began unfolding in Israel and Gaza. And in the midst of... more

28 Aug 2024 · 39 minutes
Black praise in white pews: When your church doesn't love you back

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

21 Aug 2024 · 38 minutes
Race, Romance and Reality TV

Reality TV has been referred to as a funhouse mirror of our culture. But even with its distortions, it can... more

14 Aug 2024 · 33 minutes
Who's "woman" enough: The long history of sex testing in sports

Why are some female athletes asked to prove her womanhood? To understand how we got here, we're bringing you episode... more

09 Aug 2024 · 40 minutes
The beauty and entitlement of traveling as a tourist

Summer is a time when many Americans are taking off from work and setting their sights on far-off vacation destinations:... more

07 Aug 2024 · 32 minutes
'Not a badge of honor': how book bans affect Indigenous literature

For some authors, finding their book on a "banned" list can feel almost like an accolade, putting them right there... more

31 Jul 2024 · 34 minutes
Kamala Harris, Revisited

With Kamala Harris entering the presidential race, we look back at what has shaped her personally and politically —from being... more

26 Jul 2024 · 40 minutes
The return of the U.S.'s oldest drag king

For decades now, drag queens have captured the national imagination. Drag kings, on the other hand, have been relegated to... more

24 Jul 2024 · 31 minutes
Honoring my enslaved ancestors: Episode 2

Every summer B.A. Parker returns to Creswell, North Carolina, where her family still has a farm. But she's mostly avoided... more

17 Jul 2024 · 34 minutes
Honoring my enslaved ancestors: Episode 1

In part one of two episodes, B.A. Parker meets people who, like her, are grappling with how to honor their... more

10 Jul 2024 · 34 minutes
How one event in history can ripple through generations of a family

This week we're bringing you the first episode in a new series called Inheriting, created in collaboration with our friends... more

03 Jul 2024 · 45 minutes
The truth and lies behind one of the most banned books in America

Author Mike Curato wrote Flamer as a way to help young queer kids, like he once was, better understand and... more

26 Jun 2024 · 31 minutes
Some freed people actually received '40 acres and a mule.' Then it got taken away.

The promise of "40 acres and a mule", is often thought of as a broken one. But it turns out,... more

24 Jun 2024 · 50 minutes
The history of trans misogyny is the history of segregation

As anti-trans legislation has ramped up, historian Jules Gill-Peterson turns the lens to the past in her book, A Short... more

19 Jun 2024 · 36 minutes
Should we stop using the word "felon"?

This week, we're turning our sights on the word "felon", and looking into what it tells us (and can't tell... more

12 Jun 2024 · 33 minutes
100 years of immigration policies working to keep out immigrants

President Biden just issued an executive order that can temporarily shut down the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers once a... more

05 Jun 2024 · 42 minutes
White evangelical Christians are some of Israel's biggest supporters. Why?

As war continues to rage in the Middle East, attention has been turned to how American Jews, Muslims, and Palestinians... more

29 May 2024 · 38 minutes
Falling in love in a time of colonization

This week Code Switch digs into The Ministry of Time, a new book that author Kailene Bradley describes as a... more

22 May 2024 · 31 minutes
Why the trope of the 'outside agitator' persists

As protests continue to rock the campuses of colleges and universities, a familiar set of questions is being raised: Are... more

15 May 2024 · 31 minutes
In 'Chicano Frankenstein,' the undead are the new underpaid labor force

Daniel Olivas's novel puts a new spin on the age-old Frankenstein story. In this retelling, 12 million "reanimated" people provide... more

08 May 2024 · 33 minutes
Exclusion, resilience and the Chinese American experience on 'Mott Street'

This week on the podcast, we're revisiting a conversation we had with Ava Chin about her book, Mott Street. Through... more

01 May 2024 · 31 minutes
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
Race, queerness, and superpowers in 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once'

How can anything be more important than what's happening right now? That's the question a woman named Evelyn Wang is... more

20 Apr 2022 · 25 minutes
A makeup company gets a facelift

In the 70s and 80s, Fashion Fair was an iconic cosmetics company designed to create makeup for Black women of... more

13 Apr 2022 · 24 minutes
A New Movement on Standing Rock

What do you do when all your options for school kind of suck? That was the question some folks on... more

06 Apr 2022 · 36 minutes
The dance that made its way from Harlem to Sweden

Lindy Hop is a dance that was born in Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s — created and performed by... more

30 Mar 2022 · 42 minutes
Why the N-word is so toxic

It is probably the most radioactive word in the English language. At the same time, the N-word is kind of... more

23 Mar 2022 · 37 minutes
Screams and Silence

This week marks the one year anniversary of a deadly shooting spree in Atlanta, where eight people were killed. Six... more

16 Mar 2022 · 31 minutes
What's In A Dad?

Gene Demby and comedian Hari Kondabolu are both new fathers, and they're both learning to raise kids who will have... more

09 Mar 2022 · 28 minutes
Mabel Fairbanks: The Ice Breaker

Figure skating has always been about flair and drama. But what happens on the ice is nothing compared to what... more

02 Mar 2022 · 39 minutes
The rise and fall of 'America's Dad'

At the height of his career, Bill Cosby was one of the most famous men in the United States. He... more

23 Feb 2022 · 41 minutes
Can therapy solve racism?

In 2020, nearly 20% of Americans turned to therapy. Many of those people were looking for a space to process... more

16 Feb 2022 · 32 minutes
Humor, poetry and romance on Code Switch Live

Live from your computer screens, it's Code Switch! Guest hosts Ayesha Rascoe and Denice Frohman joined us to talk poetry... more

09 Feb 2022 · 36 minutes
Bonus Episode: Consider the Lobstermen

In Canada, tensions between indigenous fishermen and commercial fishermen have been simmering for decades. On today's bonus episode, from our... more

07 Feb 2022 · 24 minutes
The 'double-edged sword' of being a Black first

It's Black History Month, which is likely to bring boundless stories of Black Excellence and Black Firsts. So today on... more

02 Feb 2022 · 34 minutes
Bonus: Getting real (like, really real) with Gabrielle Union

We hear the phrase "unapologetically Black" thrown around a lot. But what does it actually mean? In this bonus episode... more

30 Jan 2022 · 48 minutes
Playing Pretendian

People lie about being Native American all the time – on college applications, on job applications, in casual conversation. But... more

26 Jan 2022 · 33 minutes
Bonus: Remembering the iconic, complicated André Leon Talley

Since he died this week, André Leon Talley has been described over and over again as "larger than life." But... more

23 Jan 2022 · 35 minutes
A whiteness that's only skin deep

We use words related to color to describe different racial categories all the time — Black, white, brown. But how... more

19 Jan 2022 · 24 minutes
They came, they saw, they reckoned?

It's now been more than a year since the so-called "racial reckoning" that marked the summer of 2020. The country,... more

12 Jan 2022 · 35 minutes
Nikole Hannah-Jones on the power of collective memory

What stories do we learn about the history of the United States? Who dreamed up those stories? And what happens... more

05 Jan 2022 · 49 minutes
Ask Code Switch: What Does Race Have To Do With Beauty?

This time of year, folks are being inundated with messages about how to become more beautiful. But beauty is an... more

29 Dec 2021 · 47 minutes
What We Watched in 2021

Y'all, 2021 brought us a lot of TV. Some of it was even good! So this week, we're talking about... more

22 Dec 2021 · 33 minutes
Bonus Episode: The blessing and curse of the '90s Latin Pop Explosion

Our play cousins at NPR's It's Been a Minute podcast reexamine the so-called "Latin explosion" of the late '90s: What... more

20 Dec 2021 · 34 minutes
What Is 'Latin Music' Anyway?

The term 'Latin Music' can encompass everything from Celia Cruz to Bad Bunny to Selena Gomez to Los Tigres del... more

15 Dec 2021 · 35 minutes
A Glimpse At 'How The Other Half Eats'

How do race and class affect the way we eat? What makes dollar store junk food different from organic junk... more

08 Dec 2021 · 32 minutes
Imagining A World Without Prisons Or Police

When Derecka Purnell was growing up, the police were a regular presence in her life. Years later, the lawyer, activist,... more

01 Dec 2021 · 31 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Thought For Food

It's Thanksgiving week, so we're bringing you a second helping of one of our favorite episodes, where we answer your... more

24 Nov 2021 · 32 minutes
'The Characters Are The Light'

You already know we love books here on Code Switch — and given that we're smack dab in the middle... more

17 Nov 2021 · 31 minutes
'Being Fly Is An Act Of Community'

When 'Soul Train' first aired in 1971, there had never been a show like it. Fifty years later, that's still... more

10 Nov 2021 · 34 minutes
Love And Blood Quantum

If you're Native American, there's a good chance that you've thought a lot about blood quantum — a highly controversial... more

03 Nov 2021 · 21 minutes
Ask Code Switch: Parents Just Don't Understand

Or do they? This week, we're answering some of your toughest questions about race and your parents. How do you... more

27 Oct 2021 · 43 minutes
Painting By Numbers

The 2020 census data is finally here! At first glance, it paints a surprising portrait of a changing United States:... more

20 Oct 2021 · 32 minutes
Skeletons In The Closet

In a small suburb of Washington, D.C., a non-descript beige building houses thousands of Native human remains. The remains are... more

13 Oct 2021 · 32 minutes
The Once And Future 'Karen'

If you've been paying attention to the news over the past couple years, you know what a so-called 'Karen' is:... more

06 Oct 2021 · 23 minutes
The Rise Of The BBL

Black women have always faced immense pressure to make their bodies look a certain way. But if done the "wrong... more

29 Sep 2021 · 28 minutes
The Dramatic Life Of The American Teenager

Kacen Callender started out as a kid in St. Thomas writing fan fiction. Today, they are the author of multiple... more

24 Sep 2021 · 18 minutes
Who You Calling 'Hispanic'?

But seriously, who? Because while it is Hispanic Heritage Month, the notion of a multiracial, multinational, pan-ethnic identity called "Hispanic"... more

22 Sep 2021 · 34 minutes
The Making And Remaking Of Afghanistan

For two decades, many Americans have seen Afghanistan depicted primarily through the lens of war. But that's not the full... more

15 Sep 2021 · 55 minutes
The Lost Summer

Twenty years ago, during the dog days of summer , a fledgling journalist named Shereen Marisol Meraji — maybe you've... more

08 Sep 2021 · 46 minutes
The Folk Devil Made Me Do It

What moral panics reveal about the ongoing freakout over critical race theory in schools.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR... more

01 Sep 2021 · 37 minutes
'Seeing Ghosts' Across Generations

Kat Chow was 13 when her mother died, and with that loss came profound and lasting questions about identity, family... more

25 Aug 2021 · 26 minutes
Who Runs The World? Kids.

OK, they're not all kids. But they're all students, they're all amazing, and frankly, we're concerned that they might be... more

18 Aug 2021 · 28 minutes
Care To Explain Yourself?

It's hot out, places are shutting down again, and things might just be feeling a little bit slow. So in... more

11 Aug 2021 · 30 minutes
Violence That Doesn't Go Viral

We talk a lot on this show about people who have been killed by police officers. But there is so... more

04 Aug 2021 · 48 minutes
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Who You Calling 'Hispanic'?
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But seriously, who? Because while it is Hispanic Heritage Month, the notion of a multiracial, multinational, pan-ethnic identity called "Hispanic" is a... more